Lets face it it, if your site is not up and running or you are constantly having errors, then you are not making money. I have over 80 stores hosted with Hostgator and have never had a problem that I did not cause myself. This is crucial to your success and one of the biggest decisions you will make regarding your business.
9. Improper store installation
Many new BANS store owners are usually new to site building as well. There is a manual included with your download and I suggest you use it. My father says it best. "Read the F'ing manual!" Take it slow and follow it step by step, if you have questions then just ask for help in the forum.
8. Too broad of niche
If I had a dime for every xbox, ipod or baby store I have seen built by newbies, I wouldn't need to build any niche stores myself. If you are not a SEO expert then you do not even try to compete with the big boys in these niches. There are plenty of free keyword tools out there that will help you drill down your niche. Four word key phrases are perfect for newbies and will get you earning money just the same. Instead of widgets, think red tall fuzzy widgets.
7. Hurrying with site completion
New BANS store owners are in such a rush to get the store live, they do not take the time to optimize each and every page of there store. This is not a race and as my father always said, "Do it right the first time, so you don't have to go back and do it again." Take your time, folks.
6. Not monetizing properly
You might not know it but CJ offers affiliate programs that might just match your niche. Not everyone that comes to your store wants eBay items. Give them other places to go that you can earn a commission on. Amazon and Google ads are also a must for newbies.
5. Out of the box stores
Change all of those default store titles and navigation text. Make them fit a keyword. Do not just throw up a cookie cutter category. This only takes a little time to do and can help in the search engines.
4. Canonicalization
Don't confuse the search engines. Tell them if if want to be www or non-www. Do not take the chance of Google thinking you have 2 main pages. This is very simple to do and should be done first thing.
3. Knowing your traffic
You need to be on top of where you traffic is coming from at all times. Google offers free webmaster tools and analytic programs to make this a breeze. You need to be on top of who is linking to you and how people are finding your site. You can often uncover other keywords that will help in tweaking your store.
2. Checking CJ stats every five minutes
This will kill motivation very quick. Get in the habit of only checking at the most once a day. Every other day if possible. They update in the evening, there is no reason to check 50 times in the morning. BANS works. Build it and they will come.
1. Building one store and waiting
You need to think of these stores as outlets, the more outlets you have the more opportunities to make income. Do not sit on one store and watch it grow like grass. It sometimes takes six months for a niche store to seed well and start producing nicely. Start planting a bunch of seeds now, it's a beautiful site when they all start popping out of the ground.
1 comments:
This list is SO helpful! Should be mandatory reading for all new BANS users. Wish I read this months ago, but fortunately it's never too late!
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