Search engines and e-commerce

Question 1

What are search engines?

Answer 1

Software systems that match queries based on one or more techniques.
– Keyword indexes
– Page ranking

Question 2

What can search engines also serve as?

Answer 2

• Shopping tools
• Advertising vehicles
• Tool within e-commerce sites

Question 3

What is indexing?

Answer 3

Indexing is the process that creates a search index i.e. a database of all words on all pages of the web

Question 4

What is a crawler?

Answer 4

Is the search engine’s program to explore the web pages systematically

Following links to new pages that are indexed (unlinked will not be indexed)

Question 5

What are the four factors that influence page ranking?

Answer 5

– Link Popularity
– Refresh rate
– Page organization
– Free of spam

Question 6

How does ranking work?

Answer 6

• The search results are ranked by relevance
• Different algorithms control ranking
• A page is ranked higher if the searched words are found together than if they are separated

Question 7

What is Link Popularity?

Answer 7

Web pages that other pages link to are perceived as more important by the search engines than those with few or no links to them

Question 8

What is trusted feed?

Answer 8

Some search engines allow pages to submit changes directly to the search engine (Yahoo) instead of waiting for the spider

Question 9

What is payed inclusion?

Answer 9

Other ways to get noticed by crawler:
– Payment to be visited by the search engine
– Free service (sitemaps.org) that provides crawler information (Google)

Question 10

How can companies use search engine optimization?

Answer 10

– Be sure to get the desired pages indexed
– Choose the right keywords
– Optimize content

Question 11

What is an important difference between traditional commerce and e-commerce?

Answer 11

E-commerce is characterized by it’s ubiquity (the fact that it’s available almost everywhere and at all times) and the creation of a market space (a marketplace extended beyond traditional boundaries.

Question 12

What actors are mentioned in traditional retail?

Answer 12

◦ producers
◦ wholesalers
◦ retailers
◦ consumers

Question 13

What is said about attention and shelf space in traditional retail and e-commerce?

Answer 13

Shelf space and attention are limited resources in traditional trade, whereas shelf space is unlimited in e-commerce. Attention costs do remain also in e-commerce.

Question 14

What are some mentioned features of e-commerce?

Answer 14

• Consumer controls information flow
• From local to global
• Regardless of time
• Faster transactions
• New products and services unique to the web
• Requires user adaptation to new technology

Question 15

What are the five stages in the consumer decision process?

Answer 15

◦ Awareness of need
◦ Search for more information
◦ Evaluation of alternatives
◦ Actual purchase decision
◦ Post-purchase contact with firm

Question 16

What are some e-commerce website features that annoy customers?

Answer 16

• Popup and pop-under ads and windows.
• To many clicks to get to content
• Links that don’t work
• Confusing navigation; no search function
• Content that is out of date
• No contact information available

Question 17

What are the eight most important factors in successful e-commerce site design?

Answer 17

• Functionality
• Informational
• Ease of use
• Redundant navigation
• Ease of purchase
• Multi-browser functionality
• Simple graphics
• Legible text

Question 18

What are some e-commerce trends?

Answer 18

• More expensive to start e-commerce business that earlier.
• Higher consumer demands
• More knowledge required
• SEO is becoming harder and more expensive to reach for small players.