The dmi guide to ecommerce

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By Kelsey Jones

digitalmarketinginstitute.com

THE DMI 

GUIDE TO  

ECOMMERCE

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EBOOK: THE DMI GUIDE TO ECOMMERCE

 2

A How-to Guide to Ecommerce

by Kelsey Jones

1. 

An Overview of Ecommerce 

2. 

Benefits of Ecommerce 

3. 

What Ecommerce platforms are out there? 

4. 

Product Offering – What to Sell 

5. 

SEO Considerations for Ecommerce 

 a.  Meta Titles and Descriptions 

 b. Schema 

 c.  Keywords in Descriptions and Titles 

6. 

Ecommerce Copywriting 

7. 

Setting up Payment and Shipping Info 

 a. Suggested Vendors 

 b. When to Collect Sales Tax 

8. 

Order Fulfillment 

9. 

Key Metrics to Track and Review 

10. 

 Conclusion

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8

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27

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EBOOK: A HOW-TO GUIDE TO ECOMMERCE

 3

An Overview of Ecommerce

According to 

Concordia University-St.Paul

,

 the first real ecommerce 

transaction took place in 1994 when a music fan in Philadelphia bought  

a Sting album via his computer. This kicked off the long and rich history 

of ecommerce shopping and selling, which has brought us into the  

age of Amazon, eBay, and online small businesses around the world. 

In 2018 alone, according to a 

Statista report

, U.S. consumers spent  

over $501 billion on physical goods online. That number is projected 

to go up to $740 billion by 2023. The report indicates that worldwide, 

consumers spent almost 

USD $3 trillion online

. Ecommerce is big 

business for those wanting to reach a wide consumer base around  

the country or the world.

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EBOOK: A HOW-TO GUIDE TO ECOMMERCE

 4

The many benefits of ecommerce for businesses include:

 

Ɉ

Wider potential customer base 

 

Ɉ

Cheaper marketing (in some cases) compared  

to traditional methods like TV or direct mail 

 

Ɉ

More efficient workforce due to electronic, not manual, 

orders 

 

Ɉ

A/B testing of prices and offers 

 

Ɉ

Less customer inquiries about products via phone 

 

Ɉ

The ability to offer more products 

 

Ɉ

Lower overhead for employees if the business doesn’t  

have a physical store location 

 

Ɉ

Dropshipping and automated fulfillment options through 

platforms like Amazon

Even though it takes significant effort to get an ecommerce store 

up and running, the benefits far outweigh the cost for most types 

of businesses. This is especially the case if you are in a niche 

industry where a lot of other competitors are not selling the  

same products or services.