If you were an online
shopping aficionado like me, you’ll probably be aware of the hundreds and
thousands of shopping comparison sites (Au price comparison service or Search
engine) on the Internet, where you can see and compare the list of prices for
specified products. Most shopping comparison sites don’t sell these products
themselves, but source prices from merchants or retailers from whom you can
buy.
Such sites encourage
merchants or retailers to market their products to the masses. If you own a
small ecommerce business, stepping into a competitive environment like Shopprice.com.au
can seem pretty daunting at first. However, you can boost the sales and traffic
of your site by moving out of your comfort zone and playing your cards right.
Three Mistakes to
Avoid at the Onset
1. Don’t end up being that low-priced guy: Try
not to differentiate in terms of price alone. It’s the wrong way to go. While
merchants are better off by providing a fair price, customers rarely fall for
the Job. By demanding a great product description along with a great service,
customers make it apparent that it’s not just about the price. If you provide
complete information about a product and demonstrate how it fulfills a particular
need, customers will be able to respond to you more effectively.
2. Expecting too much from the site: Try to determine what
the site can accomplish for you. Don’t expect too much from it. Position your
goals as realistically as possible while ascertaining how much sales will be
converted from the new traffic.
3. Start slowly and see how it goes: Launch a site or two and
analyze its performance. Don’t go overboard with your stipulated budget for the
site.
How does a Price comparison site work?
It doesn’t take much effort and time to understand how a shopping comparison
site works. Such sites typically do not charge anything from users for using
the site. Instead, they are monetized through payments from merchants or
retailers listed on the site, who either pay a flat fee to be listed on the
site or pay a fee each time a user clicks through to the merchant or retailer
website. Other business models are also available, where the merchant or
retailers pays each time a user completes a specified action, for instance,
purchase or registration.
Shopping comparison
sites receive large product data feeds covering different merchants or
retailers from affiliate networks such as Link Share and Commission Junction.
By displaying products and prices from these feeds on their sites, they are
able to generate revenue each time a visitor clicks through to the merchant or
retailer site and makes a purchase. The user Search results are generally
sorted by the amount of payment received from the merchants or retailers listed
on the site.
How to select a
shopping comparison site?
With several shopping comparison sites inundating the marketplace and new sites
with PPC cost model emerging by the hour, merchants and retailers are left with
the difficult task of deciding which sites work out best for them. More often
than not, trial and error is the only available option for merchants and
retailers.
Such sites also create
a platform for merchants or retailers to showcase different products.
However, not everything is about shopping comparison sites. Such
sites render an extremely competitive environment, and that can imply profit
margins.
If you are selling the same products as your adversaries, it’s going to be even
more difficult to make a quick buck.
Additionally, increased traffic to your site from shopping comparison sites
doesn’t necessary translate into quality traffic.
Find out what any Products can be compared
