Run an Independent Website and Master these 4 Points
Basic logic of independent site operation
No matter which part of the operation work is done, it cannot be separated from three words: traffic attraction, user retention, and conversion. Traffic attraction is achieved by various methods such as advertising, social media operation, and email marketing to bring traffic to the independent site; user retention is achieved by operational means on the independent site to extend the browsing time of consumers and encourage them to make purchases; conversion is achieved through operational means on the independent site to make consumers successfully complete the payment on the independent site. Excellent independent site operations not only focus on conversion, but also try to increase the average order value through different recommendation methods on the independent site, thereby improving traffic efficiency and achieving higher GMV.
Advanced independent site operation model
In the real scenario of operating an independent website, there is a process that is easily overlooked, which is the re-conversion of traffic accumulation on the independent website. As a DTC brand independent website, the transaction with consumers is not a one-time deal. One of the values of the brand is to attract consumers to make repeat purchases on the independent website in the long term and sustainable manner, which is also the re-conversion of traffic accumulation on the independent website. Therefore, for higher standards of independent website operation, how to activate the accumulated traffic on the independent website and continuously convert the traffic again is also an important aspect that cannot be ignored.
The difference between platform operation and independent website operation
Both are cross-border e-commerce, but what are the specific differences between the two operations? The operation of an independent website does not need to flourish under the rules of the platform, but pays more attention to its own initiative and deep understanding of the independent website model.
How to do a good job in independent website operation?
1. Clear self-positioning (supply chain, funding, team)
1) Solve the supply chain problem first, and do not consider what to sell after building the website.
2) Be prepared for funding. If you haven't planned your finances well, starting blindly often leads to giving up halfway.
3. Running an independent website is a long-term endeavor without a dedicated leader, making it difficult to produce significant results. Just like Amazon, without doing a good job on the basics, even with a lot of traffic, it is difficult to attract stores.
2. Find a niche market
Whether it is a platform or an independent website, external promotion is necessary. However, the core of a real business is products, production, and supply chain. In the case of consistent marketing methods and channels, the final competition still depends on products, prices, and delivery time.
3. Drive traffic by combining the characteristics of different channels
1. Google traffic is more targeted at people who have contact with the products or categories of independent website businesses. Therefore, it is easy to target products that can be located by keywords or have inherent attributes.
2. Facebook ads are targeted at people's characteristics and interests.
4. Based on the consumer experience
The so-called '4E' refers to experience, omnichannel, exchange, and evangelism. Based on the consumer experience, various methods should be used together to achieve better traffic results.
5. Do what you can handle
Simply put, it means doing as much as you are capable of. If you know that something must be done, don't worry about ROI every day, because ROI is not a problem that can be solved by building a website.
6. Managing Expectations
There is no overnight success, nor so-called experts. Lower your expectations, don't burn ads right from the start, and do a good job of basic optimization. Terms of Independent Website Operation
UV
Unique Visitor, the number of users who visit a website within a day (based on cookies). Generally, we consider a computer client that visits a website as a visitor, so it can be understood as the number of computers that access a website.
PV
Page View, the number of web pages viewed or clicked by website users.
Number of Unique IP
Also known as IP count, it refers to the number of users who access a website with different IP addresses within a day. Regardless of how many pages the same IP visits, the number of unique IP addresses is always 1.
Listing
Refers to a detailed display page for a product
SKU
Stock Keeping Unit (SKU), also known as inventory unit, is defined as the smallest available unit in inventory management.
SPU
Standard Product Unit (SPU) is the smallest unit for aggregating product information, which is a collection of reusable and easily retrievable standardized information describing the characteristics of a product.
GMV
Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV) is the total transaction amount within a certain period of time in the e-commerce industry.
AOV
Average Order Value (AOV), also known as average customer spend, is the average price per order. AOV = Total Sales Amount / Number of Orders
LTV
Lifetime Value (LTV) refers to the total economic value a customer brings during their entire lifetime. It can be understood as the total revenue generated by a customer from their first purchase to their last purchase in the entire lifecycle.
ARPU
Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) is the average income per user. A high ARPU indicates that the average revenue contributed by each user is high, indicating business growth during a certain period of time. Calculation formula: ARPU (USD/month) = Total Revenue / Number of Users
Bounce Rate
Bounce Rate is a metric used to measure the performance of advertising Landing Pages (typically also the web pages of independent brand websites).
CTR
Refers to Click Through Rate, also known as CTR, which is the ratio of clicks to impressions.
CVR
Refers to Conversion Rate, also known as CR, which measures the ability to convert traffic into actual sales, the ratio between the number of sales orders and the number of people (or times) entering the sales funnel.
Conversion Path
Refers to the path of conversion. In independent site operations, the conversion path refers to the detailed steps that consumers go through to achieve the seller's expected result (usually refers to the order conversion) after entering the independent site.
CTA
Refers to Call to action, which is any marketing term designed to encourage a quick response or immediate purchase. Independent site operations often use CTA to improve conversion.
CAC
Refers to Customer Acquisition Cost, which is the cost of acquiring a new customer. The general calculation formula for CAC is: CAC = (N months of marketing expenses + N months of sales costs) / N months of new customers.
CPL
Cost Per Leads (CPL) refers to the cost of each sales lead. Formula: CPL = Total Cost / Number of Leads
Add-to-Cart Rate
The ratio between the number of consumers who add items to their shopping cart and the total number of consumers who visit the independent website.
Add-to-Cart Conversion Rate
The rate at which consumers who add items to their shopping cart on the independent website ultimately make a purchase. It is an important metric in the conversion rate chain of the independent website.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
CRM is the management of interactions between a company and its existing and potential customers. By accumulating and analyzing customer data, CRM can enhance the relationship between the company and its customers, thereby maximizing sales revenue and improving customer retention. In the operation of independent websites, CRM mainly refers to email marketing, online customer service, and other important methods.
A/B Testing
It is a method of random testing that compares two different assumptions. It can be used to test the differences between two different versions of a variable. In the operation of cross-border e-commerce independent websites, usually two variables A and B in the independent website are made different, and then the differences in consumer reactions to A and B are tested. Based on the results, it can be determined which method of A and B is better.
Repurchase rate
Refers to the number of repeat purchases divided by the total number of purchases in a unit of time. For example, in a month, 100 customers made a transaction, and 20 of them were repeat customers, then the repurchase rate is 20%.
Product sell-through rate
It is an operational indicator that measures the sales situation of products. The formula for calculating the product sell-through rate is: Product sell-through rate = number of sold out SKUs / total SKUs * 100%. This indicator can indirectly measure the selection of products and is suitable for independent websites with a large number of SKUs.
Dropshipping
One of the key modes of independent websites, referring to the no inventory-based drop shipping model.