The first lesson in the ebusinessmatters.com ebusiness and SEO training course - how to start and run a business website. This lesson covers how people behave online and looks at Social Networking, Online Communities and Consumer Research. The second part of the lesson explains how successful businesses operate online.

4. Siemens

5. Microsoft

6. Enterprise Ireland

7. Web Design

9. How Websites and Search Engines Work

10. How to do Market Research: Getting to know your Customers & Competitors

11. How to Setup a Website

12. How to get the best deal on the right design for your site

13. How to Manage a Website

14. Google Analytics

15. Connecting With Customers (Blogging, Social Media, Newsletters)

16. Getting found on search engines (Search Engine Optimization)

17. Getting Visitors and Maximising SalesNotes Available on www.ebusinessmatters.com

18. What People do on the Web

19. What People do on the Web Socialise & Network Research Products and Services - and make buying decisions Publish whatever is on their minds (blogging) Learn Get News and Information Buy Products Watch Videos / Listen to Music Browse and Share News and Media

21. The Point is… Web users are your Customers Buying decisions are being made online You pay for ads in newspapers and magazines because your customers read them You can advertise to online customers for free Understanding these technologies means understanding your customers and helping them to understand you

22. The Social Web

23. How do People Socialise Online? Community Forums Boards.ie Social Networking Facebook, Twitter Social Media Blogging Youtube Sites that allow you to upload media (videos, images, slides etc)

24. Social Relevancy People don’t want to look at websites only. People want to see what other people are saying about companies Social Media People like to consume info in different way. Videos, Photos etc Social Networking It’s good to hang out where your customers / fellow professionals hang out (facebook, twitter, linkedin) The Social Web

25. Community Forums

26. How Discussion Forums Work Some are general (E.g. boards.ie) Others are specific to a particular niche (E.g. Digital Point Forum for Internet Marketing) For every niche there is a forum People post questions which other members answer. Each question is the beginning of a new thread Treads often rank in search results Signatures each time you post can be used to promote your website

29. Community Forums: Boards.ie “Boards.ie currently pushes out 45-50 page requests per second and has more than 5,000 users online at peak every day (and growing)” Members: Jan 1st 2011 = 407,168 Most ever online at once = 13,000+ http://blog.boards.ie/

30. Social Networking

32. Social Networking: Facebook More than 500 million active users 50% of our active users log on to Facebook in any given day Average user has 130 friends People spend over 700 billion minutes per month on Facebook More than 30 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photo albums, etc.) shared each month. http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics – Jan 1 2011

33. Other Social Networking Sites Linkedin – Business Networking for Professionals Weedle – New Irish Website – Similar to Linkedin Twitter – Similar to Facebook but without many of the bells and whistles. Great for getting news quick Ning – Allows anyone to create their own social network

34. Blogging

35. People who blog People like to write about what they are passionate about Blogs allow anyone to publish their own content cheaply and easily Bloggers like to review products and services and because they are viewed as consumers themselves they are trusted by other consumers Bloggers appeal to niche markets and are often ‘thought leaders’ who it pays to make friends with

36. A Blog about Celebrities

37. A Blog about Fashion

38. People like to voice their opinion (especially from the comfort and anonymity of home) Blogging is quick and easy You get paid to blog Bloggers get sent free stuff Businesses advertise on blogs Bloggers earn affiliate revenue by referring customers to businesses Why People Blog

39. Researching

40. “Nearly all consumers (97 percent) now use online media when researching products or services in their local area” http://www.kelseygroup.com/press/pr100310.asp

41. How People do Research Online Search using Search Engines Results include blogs, forums, review sites, business sites Consumer Review Sites (E.g. Cnet.com, tripadvisor.com) Comparison Shopping Sites Community Discussion Forums Great resources for research and marketing

42. The Research Opportunity By understanding how people research products and services online you can influence their decision making at a crucial point in the buying process

43. Search Engines Search Engines are central to how people interact with the web People search using Search Engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo! Users enter keywords (a.k.a “search phrases”) that they feel will give them the best chance of finding what they are looking for Google has Search Engines specific to every country. google.com, google.ie, google.co.uk Lots more on How Search Engines Work in the next lesson

45. Business Search

47. Product / Service Comparisons

48. Product / Service Review Sites

49. Product / Service Review Sites

50. Buying

51. How People Buy Online Classified Ad Sites (Gumtree, donedeal.ie, craigslist) Brokerage Sites (ebay, etsy, cafepress, boardsdeals, Amazon) Shopping cart powered websites (i.e websites that allow the owner to list items and accept payments)

55. Amazon In 1995, Amazon.com sold its first book, which shipped from Jeff Bezos' garage in Seattle. On its peak day for last year, (November 29 2010), customers ordered more than 13.7 million items worldwide across all product categories on Amazon. …which translates to a record-breaking 158 items per second. Learn how Amazon works (and how you can make money with them)at http://money.howstuffworks.com/amazon.htm/printable

56. Other Online Buying Mechanisms Phone Email Online bookings / reservations Simple Shopping Carts (i.e click ‘buy now’ and pay)

57. What Businesses do on the Web

58. Drive traffic to a great website that sells effectively Search Engine Optimization, PPC, Social Media, Blogging Create an “organisational voice” that delivers value to customers Blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Newsletter Reputation Management Who’s talking about you on review sites, blogs & discussion forums Understand where your customers come from and how they behave using Analytics The ebusiness Strategy

59. The ebusiness Cycle

60. Business Networking The Internet makes it easy connect with other businesses and professionals Post on other peoples blogs or build relationships to increase referrals Affiliate Programs encourage referrals LinkedIn has over 85 million members in over 200 countries. Similar Sites to linkedin: Weedle, ecadamy.com,

62. Build Customer Relationships The Internet makes it easy to build customer relationships. Interact with Bloggers directly or write comments on their articles Get involved on community forums Connect and interact with customers on Social Networking Sites Keep customers informed through blogging and newsletters

63. Online Business Models Basic Model: Promoting a Business * Merchant Model * The Mailing List * Blogging * The Subscription (a.k.a the Membership) Model * Community Model * The Affiliate Model * Advertising * Manufacturer (a.k.a the Direct) Model Utility Model Brokerages * Indicates applicable to SME owner

64. Basic Model: Promoting a Business

65. Basic Model: Objective

66. A Standard Brochure Website

67. The Cost of a Brochure Site Domain + Hosting (Estimated Cost: USD$60 per year) A Content Management System that allows you to manage your pages and content (Free) A Suitable Web Design (Estimated Cost: $50) A Graphic Designer to “touch up” the Web Design (Estimated Cost: $120) Total Estimated Cost: USD$230

68. The Cost of other Types of Sites By using WordPress to Manage Your Sites Content you can extend the functionality of the CMS for little or no extra cost which allows you to include: A Shopping Cart / Online Store A Membership Site An Auction Site A Directory / Classified Ad Site A Community Forum

69. Merchant Model

70. Merchant Model: Objective

75. Merchant Model Basics Special Shopping Cart Software Required Magento Lots of options to accept payments Coupons / Tiered Pricing Powerful but not user friendly (i.e. difficult for the inexperienced web master) WordPress Shopping Cart Plugins Available (Free vs. Paid) User-friendly (Recommended) Payment Gateways Required Paypal vs. Merchant Account

76. Business Blogging

77. Blogging Adds Value to Your Site

78. Benefits of Business Blogging A blog can (and will) drive more visitors to your site Establish yourself as an expert in your area (raise your profile and earn points with customers and other professionals) By delivering customers news and useful info you are growing your brand and staying fresh in the customers mind. You can grow a list of interested subscribers Add additional revenue to your site (paid reviews, advertising, affiliate revenue)

79. By 2009 there were 133,000,000 blogs indexed by Technorati 72% of those who are self-employed and blogging are interested in attracting new clients. 56% say that their blog has helped their company establish a positioning as a thought leader within the industry according to Universal McCann. 58% say that they are better-known in their industry because of their blog http://philbradley.typepad.com/phil_bradleys_weblog/2010/03/great-blog-statistics.html http://mashable.com/2010/06/04/look-whos-blogging-stats/

80. The Subscription Model

81. The Community Model

82. Community Model Bulletin board Software PhpBB vs. BBPress Can be added to a WordPress CMS for free Easy to Setup and Administer Specialized Social Networking Site Ning.com allows you to create your own Social Network Facebook and Twitter can easily be integrated into a WordPress site

83. The Advertising Model

84. Advertising Model Anyone can sell advertising space on their site / blog / mailing list Automated (adsense) vs. Manual (Selling Ad Space) Enabling Classified Ads, a Jobs Board or a Directory is also easy with WordPress

85. The Affiliate Model

86. Affiliate Model Incentivise People to Refer you Customers Setup Your Own Affiliate Program or use an Affiliate Company like Clickbank Works both ways: You can use your Blog or Mailing List to make money referring customers to others OR You can encourage other affiliate marketers to promote your product or service Affiliate Programme Examples: Amazon, ebusinessmatters.com

87. Which Models are Right for Your Business?

89. Build a Brand / Make a name for yourself

90. Make more repeat sales

93. Domains and Hosting

94. What is a Content Management System

95. How Google Works

96. Analysis of Search Results

97. Getting found on Google (Overview)