Starting Your Own Yahoo Store by Brenda Michell - HTML preview

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WHAT IS YAHOO STORE?

There are two important questions to learn the answers to from this chapter. What is Yahoo! Store and Is it right for me? If you can answer those, you know you are well on your way to investing in this company’s product.

Here’s a roundup of what Yahoo! Store has to offer to you in a nutshell:

    • It provides you with the web hosting you need to get your business on the web.
    • The company provides you with the software you need to build a catalog.
    • It provides you with the marketing tools you need to get your business out in front of people who will buy from it.
    • It provides the management tools to help you to oversee and monitor the success of your business.
    • You also get access to something called Yahoo! Shopping. With this service, you get access to incredible amounts of traffic, which are just visitors and buyers to your site. Most sales come from this resource!

So, what does this all mean to the business owner who wants to get his or her business off the ground and online? In short, having a Yahoo! Store website allows you to do just that but in a simplistic way so that you are not overwhelmed by the process of getting your business up on the web.

In short, a Yahoo! Store website is a type of ecommerce platform. You are able to sell your products and services through this store as you would in the off line world. However, with Yahoo! Store, the company gives you more security and more dependable services and features that other companies may not. For example, the shopping cart system used is highly recommended because it is an easy tool to use by your customers and works well from the business owner’s standpoint as well.

Although the Yahoo! Store is incredibly easy to use as a tool for getting your business online, some people do invest in having a professional web designer set up the site. This is an additional cost, and it will require a third party to do so, but the fact is, you do not have to use that service to reap the benefits of a Yahoo! Store.

TOP PRODUCTS

Yahoo! Stores do best when they sell a popular item that people go online to buy. For example, if you head online to purchase electronics, a Yahoo! Store is a great place to visit. You will find numerous products to choose from and you are likely going to find just what you need. Keep in mind that your store is just one of many that will be on the site, called the Yahoo! Mall.

Imagine if you will visiting your local mall. You walk in, walk around and walk into various stores. If you have come to the mall to purchase something specific, such as a pair of shoes, chances are good you my visit a few different stores. You want to see what your options are and you want to choose what works best for your particular needs. You may do a little bit of price shopping too.

The same is true when you visit the Yahoo! Mall. Keep in mind, there is not a website out there called the Yahoo! Mall. Rather, this term describes the numerous online stores that are selling products to consumers through the use of a Yahoo! Store. In other words, there is not going to be numerous retailers lining up with you to get each person’s business.

Your Yahoo! Store does stand-alone.

Check out Yahoo! Shopping. When you go to this website, you will find a wide range of stores. Each of these are using Yahoo! Store to operate.

What is fantastic about this is that the Yahoo! Shopping location is a one stop shop for just about anything you can buy online. Do you have something different or interesting to offer? If so, this is the place to get it listed so that you can easily start taking advantage of the traffic pouring in to this website.

Keeping that in mind, you may be wondering what types of businesses do best in a Yahoo! Store. You will find hundreds of options, of course. For example, the Lance Armstrong Foundation is a very specific brand and their products are very limited. On the other hand, some companies do very well by offering a full line of unique items for people to buy. There is variety and there are a number of ways for you to use this store to benefit your business.

Again, those stores that sell products that people shop for online are going to do best with the Yahoo! Store. What do you shop for online?

    • Clothing
    • Shoes
    • Electronics
    • Books
    • Health foods or supplements
    • Jewelry
    • Advertising packages and marketing services

This really is only a small portion of the types of stores found on Yahoo! Store. Remember that most businesses will do well here.

WILL YOUR BUSINESS WORK ONLINE?

Yahoo! Store works for many businesses. Ask the following questions about your business to determine if you should be using Yahoo! Store to get your business on the web.

    • Does your business sell a product that can be sold over the web? A physical product will do best on the site.
    • Do you have products that are in demand in the online marketplace? To find out, do some keyword research using some of the tools available. If people are searching for products like yours, getting them into your Yahoo! Store can be a profitable option.
    • Do you want to start a drop ship business but you are not sure how to get it online? Yahoo! Store can work in this particular case, too.

If these things sound like things that you would like to do, then investing in a Yahoo! Store is a good place to start. It could be the best option for you regardless of what your goals are. If you are ever unsure about your business and Yahoo! Store, simply check out the company’s website shopping.yahoo.com and check out your competition. If they are doing well online, your business is likely to do the same too.