Set Up an Off-eBay Website to Boost Profits

Even though you may have only heard horror stories up to this point, setting up a website of your own is not as nightmarish as it may seem.  Living in the age of technology, we have access to tools and resources online that make it easy to do almost anything.  The secret to success is knowing where to look to find them.

Setting up your own website is one of the smartest moves you can make as an online business person.  The following are some of the many ways that having your own website can help to boost your profits:

• It can increase the traffic driven to your auctions and eBay store.
• It can attract more people to opt in to your mailing lists.
• It can help build your credibility.
• It can lower your total fees.
• It can improve exposure in search engine results.
• It can boost profits by giving you another way to make money.

Your website doesn’t have to be anything flashy or fancy.  All your website has to do is give visitors more information about the products that you are selling, and maybe a little more information about yourself.  You want to just give them basic information like opt-in forms, content that includes your keywords, and maybe a few links directly to your eBay store.

All you really need to do to get started is to come up with a domain name, like www.mysiteissocool.com.  This will give your visitors an address to type into the search bar so that they can access your website.

Below are four ways to drastically improve the amount of traffic to your off-eBay website:

1.  Using RSS feeds for your store and websites: As a special feature, eBay offers its users access to its RSS feeds.  All you have to do to use them is log on to your “About Me” page or your feedback page and click on the link titled, “View Items for Sale.”  Once you have done this, click on the RSS button near the bottom of the page and then copy the URL of the page you are taken to into your off-eBay websites.

2.  Using other shopping sites: One of the best places to put your products on display is Google Base.  Google Base allows you to post your products, with descriptions, links, and keywords included, onto their webpage free of charge.

Using a site like Google Base betters your chances of people buying your products who don’t use eBay.  Even submitting short descriptions of your products on a site like Amazon would greatly increase your exposure and draw more people to your auctions.

3.  Sending out press releases: This is another powerful way to get people to your sites.  Writing just a short, but informative, article that is entertaining about a popular event in society and then submitting it to a press release website has been proven to help people gain exposure for their businesses.

But don’t just write about any old thing.  You really want to try to find topics that are current and popular.  Writing about something that has been written about a thousand times makes it hard for you to take a unique approach to the issue.

Once you have written the article, do a quick search for “press release distribution” and you’ll come up with a list of services that will send out your press releases.  Some of them are free, while others charge a small fee for their services.  The most popular of these is PRWeb (www.prweb.com).

4.  Internet and affiliate marketing: The affiliate program that is run by eBay offers members an easy way to make money by promoting products.  Whenever a person clicks on your affiliate link to visit eBay, and signs up as a member through your link or makes a purchase, you get paid commission.  It’s really that simple.

A good way to increase your exposure, as well as your earnings, is to take advantage of this and become an affiliate.  Then, put links into your off-eBay website that directly link to eBay and every time someone goes through your affiliate links and buys something or signs up, you’ll be making instant money without having to lift a finger.