Introduction to make the sale

, launch, and manage e-commerce stores

You will learn about different e-commerce stores, including Shopify. You’ll learn about creating, designing, and optimizing an online store to sell products. Then, you’ll build a mock Shopify store and create product listings for it.

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Dedication to study

• Videos: 30 min

• Leitura: 2 h 50 min

• Teste: 1 Teste com avaliação

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Learning Objectives

• Explain what e-commerce stores and platforms are and how they work.
• Evaluate different e-commerce stores.
• Use basic Shopify features.
• Set up a mock e-commerce store using Shopify.
• Create a product or service listing for an e-commerce store.

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Content

1. E-commerce stores and how they work
2. Understanding Shopify
3. Use Shopify for your e-commerce business
4. Review: Learn about online stores

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1. E-commerce stores and how they work

Welcome to week 2

• Video Duration: 2 minutes

Hello again. I’m excited to guide you through the next part of the course, where you’ll learn all about e-commerce stores. You’ll also get the chance to start working on your first e-commerce project. Imagine this, you’re working for a local gift shop that wants to start selling their products online and you’re the one they’ve tasked with figuring out how to establish an online store. Where do you start? How do you create an online store and how do you add products to it? Coming up, you’re going to learn how to do all of those things and more. By the end of this section you’ll have a clear understanding of how an e-commerce store works. My first experience working in e-commerce was in my previous role where I lead the sales team that helped brand manufacturers sell directly to consumers. We helped them improve their online customer experience, which led to an increase in site traffic, a better conversion rate, and a higher average order value, and more repeat purchases. Now let’s review what’s been covered in this course so far. First you got an overview of e-commerce basics. Then you learned the importance of market research, including how to identify your target audience and do product research. You also learned important details about product sourcing and branding. Now it’s time for you to learn how to work on your own e-commerce store. First you’ll get an overview of e-commerce stores and how they work. You’ll discover the basic elements that make up an e-commerce store and explore how customers navigate through the buying process. Then you’ll be introduced to some of the major e-commerce store platforms. You’ll learn the difference between these platforms and why a company may choose one over the other. There are a lot of platforms that exist other than the ones you’ll learn about here. The important thing is to understand the basics of how an e-commerce platform works. Then you can use this knowledge to help you learn other platforms on the job. Next you’ll learn how Shopify works. You’ll also learn how to add products to an e-commerce store and set up a Google Merchant Center account. Sound good? Let’s get started.

Overview of e-commerce stores

• Video Duration: 5 minutes

It’s time to start learning about e-commerce stores. An e-commerce store is a store that sells its products online. In an e-commerce store, customers can search or browse for products, add them to a virtual shopping cart, and pay for their purchase online. In order for customers to easily shop online, an e-commerce store should include several basic elements that are considered best practice. These should be easily recognizable elements that customers can expect to find on almost any e-commerce site they visit. Let’s cover some of those elements now. First there’s a homepage, which is the main page of a website. In an e-commerce store, the homepage helps customers understand what types of products a company sells. It also helps customers find the information they need. And it serves as a main hub that connects to other pages on the website. At the top of an e-commerce store is a navigation bar, which is a collection of links to other pages within the website. The navigation bar helps customers find the section of a website that will be most useful for them. It typically stays at the top of the website no matter which page a customer is on. The navigation bar includes a menu with links to products which are generally organized by department or category. For example, the menu may include a link to the overall appliances page as well as secondary links to the refrigerator and washing machine pages. The navigation bar may include links to other important pages as well. For example, featured deals, a weekly ad, gift registries, or customer support. An e-commerce store also includes search functionality, such as a search bar. If the customer knows what they want to find, they can enter it into the search field to get the results from the store based on their search. Besides the menu and search elements, the navigation bar typically includes a link to create or sign in to an account. This allows customers to do things like create or edit their account information, update their payment information, and access previous orders. Once a customer navigates deeper into the website, they’ll find product detail pages, sometimes called PDPs, which provide information about a specific product. Product detail pages may include a description, images, specifications, and reviews, as well as other information about the product. When a customer finds a product they want to buy, they can add it to their digital shopping cart. The navigation bar includes a link to the shopping cart, so that the customer can access it anytime. By clicking on this link, customers can go directly to their shopping cart and view their current order at any time during the buying process. When they’re finished shopping, they can easily go to their shopping cart and enter the checkout process. Every e-commerce store includes a digital checkout system, that allows customers to enter their shipping and payment information and complete their purchase online. The checkout process is a key part to the customer journey. You’ll learn more about it later, as well as how to remove any friction that could keep customers from completing their purchase. Other pages that are important to include in an e-commerce store include links to customer support, contact information, return and exchange policies, and shipping information. It’s also important for e-commerce stores to have a responsive website if possible. A responsive website means that the site is designed to work on all types of devices, including computers, mobile phones, and tablets. Having a responsive website makes the customer browsing experience easier and more efficient, which typically leads to better conversion rates. An e-commerce store should also be accessible to all users. Web accessibility means that a website or mobile app is designed and developed so that people with disabilities can use it. 71% of people with disabilities leave a website immediately, if it’s not accessible. Also many enhancements made for accessibility improve all users’ experiences. Video captions are a great example of an accessibility tool that many users find valuable. Ultimately, each user is unique. So designing for accessibility is an important way to address the many different ways people navigate websites. If a business also has brick-and-mortar stores, a store locator is important to include. Customers often visit a store’s website first in order to research products and find stores in their area. They may also want to buy products online and pick them up in store, if the option is available. In an e-commerce role, you may hear this called BOPIS, which means “buy online, pick up in store.” Each of these elements is important to help customers find what they need in an e-commerce store. Many of these elements, such as the shopping cart and digital checkout system, are part of the store’s e-commerce platform. Most e-commerce stores are built on an e-commerce platform, which allows you to do things like add and update products, manage customer orders, receive payments, handle shipping and fulfillment, and more, all in one place. An e-commerce platform often includes built-in tools and templates to make creating and managing an e-commerce store easier. Coming up next, you’ll learn more about e-commerce stores and platforms. Keep up the great work.

How an e-commerce store works

• Reading Duration: 20 minutes

If you’ve ever bought something online, you know what it’s like to make a purchase from an e-commerce store. You’ve already learned about e-commerce stores and how they work. In this reading, you’ll learn more about how customers navigate an e-commerce store and review the basic elements that make up an e-commerce store.

How customers navigate an e-commerce store

When customers visit an e-commerce store, they might search for a specific product or just browse until they find products that meet their needs.

For example, imagine a customer is searching for a desk that their child can use at home. The customer might search for kids’ desks using one or more of the following methods:

• Search bar (usually located at the top of the page)

• Navigation menu (usually located at the top or left-hand side of the page)

• Links to specific categories or products on the page

The customer might also research products in more detail to decide which one meets their needs or desires. For example, the customer searching for a kids’ desk might research the different types of desks available and what features they offer, such as storage compartments or a keyboard tray. They might research products on the e-commerce store’s website as well as other websites or sources. If the e-commerce store offers a buying guide, blog, or other information about buying a desk, the customer can learn more about the products they’re interested in buying without leaving the e-commerce store’s website.

The customer can also research specific desks that the e-commerce store sells by visiting the product detail page, reading the product description, viewing the product images or videos, reading customer reviews, and browsing images or videos uploaded by other customers.

Researching products can happen at multiple times during the customer shopping journey, such as before the customer visits an e-commerce store, after they add a product to their shopping cart, or even after their purchase (if the product didn’t meet their expectations and they need to return or exchange it).

Once the customer finds a desk they’re interested in buying, they can add it to their shopping cart. Sometimes a customer might add multiple products to their cart while they’re still trying to decide which one to buy. The customer might also decide to add other products to their cart, such as a desk chair, to go along with the desk.

After the customer decides which products they want to buy, they’re ready to begin the checkout process. At this stage, the customer enters their payment, shipping, and billing information and any other details needed. Then, they complete their purchase.

Basic elements of an e-commerce store

Most e-commerce stores contain certain elements that customers expect to find whenever they’re shopping online. Here are some of the basic elements you might find in an e-commerce store:

Home page

The home page is the main page of a website. It helps customers understand what types of products a company sells, helps them find the information or products they need, and serves as a main hub that connects to other pages on the website.

Navigation bar

The navigation bar is a collection of links to other pages within the website. It helps customers find the department, category, or section of the website that will be most useful for them. The navigation bar is typically at the top or left-hand side of the page. It’s a fixed element, which means that it stays in place even when a customer navigates to a different page on the website.

The navigation bar usually includes a search function and a navigation menu to help customers find what they need. It may also include a link to the shopping cart and the customer’s account, as well as other helpful links. If the company has physical locations, the navigation bar may include a store locator.

The navigation bar also includes a menu with links to department or category pages. For example, an online store that sells furniture might include links to the kids’ furniture category or office furniture category. Within these categories, a customer would be able to find desks.

Product detail pages

Product detail pages—sometimes called PDPs—are pages on an e-commerce site that provide information about a specific product. They typically include a product description, specifications or technical details, product images or videos, customer reviews, and any other relevant information about the product.

Shopping cart

A digital shopping cart is the virtual equivalent of a physical shopping cart. It holds all of the products a customer is planning to buy. The customer can add multiple products to their cart or remove products at any time. After the customer is finished shopping, they can click on their shopping cart and begin the checkout process.

Checkout

During the checkout process, the customer enters their billing and shipping information. E-commerce stores use a payment service provider, which is a secure way to process transactions online.

If the customer has already created an account with the store, they can sign in to their account before checkout. This offers a faster checkout option, since the customer’s address and other information automatically populates in the required fields.

Help and support

E-commerce stores also include options for customers who may need help or support during or after the buying process. For example, the store might include a chat function so that customers can ask questions and receive answers online. There are often multiple ways to contact customer service and find self-help resources.

Typically, the store’s website also includes links to helpful information, such as frequently asked questions (FAQs), return and exchange policies, shipping policies, contact information, and details about the company and their values.

Links to these pages are often included in the footer, which is a navigation section at the bottom of the website. It includes a collection of links to other pages within the website. These are often supporting pages, such as customer support and services, policies, and information about the company.

Key takeaways

An e-commerce store should include several basic elements that customers expect to find on almost any e-commerce site they visit. This makes it easier for customers to navigate an e-commerce store, find the help or information they need, and complete their purchase.

E-commerce platforms

• Video Duration: 6 minutes

You’ve learned a lot about what goes into creating an e-commerce store. Now, you’re going to learn more about the platform that an e-commerce store is built on. There’s a large number of e-commerce platforms available to use. Some of the most common platforms include Wix, Shopify, BigCommerce, Squarespace, WooCommerce, and Magento. One of the basic differences between platforms is whether they use software that’s open-source or SaaS, which stands for Software-as-a-Service. Let’s discuss each of these in more detail. Open-source software allows the user to access and edit the original source code. That means that a company can customize their e-commerce website in any way they choose. WooCommerce and Magento are two examples of open-source platforms. Let’s use an analogy to make this easier to understand. Imagine a brick-and-mortar store in a building that’s fully owned by the retailer. The retailer can completely remodel the store building if they choose, similar to an open-source platform that allows for full customization. With an open-source platform, the company has complete control over how their e-commerce store appears and functions, but they also need to know how to make those changes within the code or to be able to hire someone with web development expertise. Next, let’s cover SaaS, which describes a web-based software available on a subscription basis. The user must purchase a subscription in order to use it. A SaaS e-commerce platform allows for a certain amount of customization, but it doesn’t allow access to the source code. Most SaaS e-commerce platforms offer different plans a company can choose from based on their size, budget, and the level of support that they need. Shopify and BigCommerce are two examples of SaaS platforms. In the analogy we used earlier, a SaaS platform would be similar to a brick-and-mortar store that leases its retail space. The landlord is the one who is responsible for maintaining the building. The tenant may be able to make a certain amount of changes to the building, but any changes need to be within the limits of what the landlord will allow. Now that you understand the difference between open-source and SaaS platforms, let’s consider the advantages and disadvantages of each. First, let’s cover open-source platforms. The biggest advantage of an open-source platform is that it gives the company complete control over the design and functionality of their e-commerce store. Being able to make changes to the functionality, or the technical features and capabilities available on the website, allows a company unlimited access to improve the customer experience. The options for customization are endless. One of the disadvantages, however, is that the company needs to have the coding and technical skills necessary to create and maintain their e-commerce store. They’ll also need to pay separately for a web hosting service, which is a service that enables a company to publish its website on the internet. Although the open-source platform may be free or low cost on its own, the company needs to consider additional costs involved, such as web hosting, web design, web development, security, and IT maintenance. Now let’s consider the advantages and disadvantages of SaaS platforms. The biggest advantage is that it’s an all-in-one solution that provides hosting, security, and customer service. SaaS platforms offer built-in templates and user-friendly software that allows a company to launch their store quickly, even without coding skills. While some SaaS platforms allow more customization than others, all of them have limits to how much customization is possible, and advanced customization may require coding skills. That’s one disadvantage. Another, is that the platform may only integrate with certain third-party apps or shopping channels. It may also only allow certain payment methods. Plus, there may be additional fees for some features within the platform. Now that we’ve covered the advantages and disadvantages of both open-source and SaaS platforms, let’s discuss a few more important things to consider that apply to all types of platforms. One thing to consider is how fast the web pages load in an e-commerce store. A slow site can frustrate customers and cause them to leave. Research shows up to 90% of customers will abandon the site if it’s too slow. Plus a one-second delay in mobile load times can impact conversion rates by up to 20%. Another thing to consider is how high up the store might show in search engine results. Showing up higher in the search results typically leads to more visitors, as you learned earlier. The search engine optimization, or SEO, capabilities of the platform can impact how well the store performs in online searches. Plus the SEO keywords and phrases used on the site can also make a difference. Finally, there’s a difference in platforms based on how much room they allow for growth. As a company expands, the platform needs to be able to handle increased traffic, allow for a large number of products, and have more flexibility and options to meet the marketing needs of a growing company. Although it’s helpful to understand the differences between e-commerce platforms, you probably won’t be the one deciding on a platform for your employer. Typically the platform is already chosen by management and you’ll learn how to use it on the job. Also, coding for open-source software is typically not a requirement for entry-level e-commerce positions. However, a basic knowledge of coding skills may be helpful depending on your role. As you’ve learned, there’s a lot to consider when it comes to choosing an e-commerce platform. Now that you have a better understanding of how e-commerce platforms work, you’re ready to go more in-depth with a very popular SaaS platform, Shopify. Meet you soon. (Required)

E-commerce platforms and domains

• Reading Duration: 20 minutes

Distinguishing between open source and software-as-a-service (SaaS) is essential for any e-commerce specialist. If you know the difference, you can identify what internal and external resources you may need to manage your website. In this reading, you’ll learn the advantages and disadvantages of each e-commerce platform. You’ll also learn about registering a domain for your e-commerce store.

Open-source versus Software-as-a-service (SaaS)

Both open-source and SaaS have benefits and drawbacks. You may not be tasked with deciding which is right for your brand if you work for a larger company, but you may need to at a smaller company. Plus, it’s important to understand the difference.

Open-source refers to software that allows the user to access and edit the original source code. The following are some benefits and drawbacks of open-source e-commerce platforms.

• Open-source platforms are fully customizable. You can make your website look exactly like you want.

• They require basic knowledge of coding, development, and design. If you don’t have that expertise, you may need to hire someone that does.

• They may take a lot of time to build.

• They may be less expensive than monthly subscriptions.

• They typically do not offer customer support if you have trouble with your website.

SaaS is a web-based software available on a subscription basis. The following are some benefits and drawbacks of SaaS e-commerce platforms.

• SaaS platforms typically do most of the website building, development, and design for you.

• Saas doesn’t allow you access to the original code and therefore it is not fully customizable.

• E-commerce stores using a SaaS platform take less time to build.

• SaaS can be more costly than open-source platforms.

• They typically provide customer support if you have trouble with your website.

• SaaS platforms include built-in analytics for metrics like traffic, clicks, and more.

Examples of open-source e-commerce platforms

There are lots of open-source e-commerce platforms available, so deciding which to use can be overwhelming. They all have their own benefits and drawbacks:

• WooCommerce is popular among industry experts because of its ease of use.

• Adobe Commerce offers vast capabilities but is more expensive.

• CubeCart offers more robust technical support than other platforms.

Examples of SaaS e-commerce platforms

Much like open-source platforms, there are many SaaS platforms to choose from:

• Shopify is one of the most trusted SaaS platforms and the one you’ll learn the most about in this course.

• Squarespace is considered to be one of the most user-friendly options.

• Wix emphasizes the importance of design and customization.

Domains

Whether you end up using an open-source or SaaS platform for an e-commerce store, you’ll need to register a domain. A domain is the URL (or web address) for your website—it can be found in the address bar at the top of your browser window. For example, when you learn about Shopify later in this course, you’ll notice the domain name we are using in our example store is www.bathecoshop.com Your domain must be unique, which means that no one else has registered the same domain name.

Note: Purchasing a domain requires an upfront cost and then an annual fee to keep it active.

Some SaaS platforms, like Shopify, allow you to purchase domains through the platform. For open-source solutions, you can register your domain through a site such as GoDaddy. You can find a list of accredited open-source solutions on Google Registry.

Key takeaways

Choosing between open-source and SaaS platforms can be overwhelming because there are so many benefits to each, but keeping everything you learned in this reading in mind will help you choose the right path for your business. Even if you aren’t tasked with selecting an e-commerce platform or registering a domain, familiarizing yourself with these concepts will make you a more effective e-commerce specialist.

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2. Understanding Shopify

Introduction to Shopify

• Video Duration: 1 minute

We’ve covered a lot of information about e-commerce platforms earlier. Now, we’re going to talk about one of the platforms used by many online stores, Shopify. I’m excited to share with you more about what Shopify is and how it works. First, let me introduce you to Shopify. It’s a SaaS e-commerce platform that allows companies to sell their products online to customers anywhere in the world. Using Shopify, companies can create a personalized online store, integrate with third-party shopping channels like Google or Amazon, or add e-commerce capabilities to an existing website. One of the great things about Shopify is that it’s an all-in-one solution. Companies that use Shopify get their own online store, a blog, secure checkout, payment processing for both online and in-person sales, a shipping platform, built-in marketing tools, analytics and reporting, plus companies have access to 24/7 support. Companies can choose from multiple plans based on their budget and other needs. Shopify software is designed to be user-friendly. Without any coding or developer knowledge, companies and business owners can easily add products and update their online store. Shopify is also flexible enough for a business of any size, big or small. So, why is learning about e-commerce platforms like Shopify important? Today more companies are moving their sales online than ever because their customers expect it. An all-in-one e-commerce platform is the easiest and fastest way to get started. Coming up later, you’ll explore how to use many of the important features in Shopify. Meet you there.

Learn more about Shopify

• Reading Duration: 20 minutes

Most customers expect to be able to purchase a company’s products online. That’s why it’s important for businesses to have an online store. Building an online store takes time and effort, but with an e-commerce platform like Shopify, the process is easier. Shopify is a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform, which is web-based software available on a subscription basis. In this reading, you’ll learn more about the benefits of using Shopify to build an online store.

Benefits of using Shopify

Shopify is an e-commerce platform that allows companies to sell their products online to customers anywhere in the world. It offers multiple plans designed to work for businesses of all sizes, from self-employed entrepreneurs to huge corporations.

Built-in features and tools

Shopify offers multiple features and tools that make it easier to build and manage an online store. Here are a few of these features and tools:

• Online store builder: Shopify makes it easy to build an e-commerce store with free website themes. Design or coding skills aren’t required. All Shopify themes are fully responsive, so they’re mobile-friendly and provide a consistent experience across all devices.

• E-commerce capabilities for existing websites: If you already have a website or blog, you can add e-commerce capabilities to it by adding a Shopify buy button that allows customers to purchase products on your existing site.

• Secure checkout: Shopify provides a built-in shopping cart and checkout solution that protects customers’ information. It’s also mobile-friendly for customers shopping on their smartphones.

• Payment processing: Shopify offers credit card payment processing for online and in-person sales with Shopify Payments. They also support third-party payment options, such as Paypal.

• Shipping platform: You can get products to customers easily with Shopify’s built-in shipping options. Plus, you can keep track of inventory levels.

• Integration with third-party shopping channels: Shopify makes it easy to save product details in one place and sell on multiple channels, such as Facebook, Google, Amazon, eBay, Pinterest, and TikTok.

• Marketing tools: You can manage your email marketing, content marketing, SEO, and ad campaigns all in one place with Shopify’s marketing tools.

• Blog: A built-in blogging platform makes it easy to share valuable information with customers and keep your content fresh.

• Analytics and reporting tools: You can stay up to date on how the store is performing with real-time analytics and reports you can share with stakeholders.

• 24/7 customer service: If you need help, you can visit Shopify’s help center online or contact their customer support team any time, day or night.

Key takeaways

There are a lot of e-commerce platforms to choose from, but in this course you’ll focus on just one: Shopify. It’s a SaaS platform with built-in features and tools that make it easier to launch an e-commerce store and sell products online.

Resources for more information

Learn more about all the features available in Shopify that make it easier to build and manage an e-commerce store.

• Shopify features: Learn about the features available on the Shopify e-commerce platform.

Test your knowledge: E-commerce platforms

• Practice Quiz. 3 questions. Grade: 100%

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3. Use Shopify for your e-commerce business

Introduction to building an e-commerce store

• Video Duration: 1 minute

I’m excited to introduce the project you’ll be working on in this section. You’ll be working with an e-commerce platform and using the features it offers to learn more about building an e-commerce store. In this video, I’ll give you a brief overview of the project, then you’ll receive instructions on how to complete each step of the project in the following course material. Although you might not launch an e-commerce store of your own, this project will help you become more familiar with navigating an e-commerce platform. You’ll also learn some of the basic responsibilities for an entry-level e-commerce role, such as adding or updating products on an e-commerce platform. These are valuable skills to have and ones that employers might be looking for on your resume. Working on this project will also help you get a better idea of all the different pieces involved in building a successful e-commerce store. Ready to learn how to use an e-commerce platform? It’s time to get started.

Activity: Set up a mock e-commerce store using Shopify

• Practice Quiz. 1 question. Grade: 100%

  • Access Quiz:

Note: As a student in this certificate program, you have access to a free trial with Shopify. If you would like access to the Shopify e-commerce store after the free trial period, you will need to purchase a plan. If you have any issues with your account, please visit the Shopify Help Center or contact their online support team.

• On Step 1: Visit the Shopify sign-up page To access the free trial, visit the Shopify sign-up page.

< Note: You will also find information about Shopify’s e-commerce platform and frequently asked questions about the free trial on the sign-up page.

Activity Exemplar: Set up a mock e-commerce store using Shopify

• Reading Duration: 10 minutes

Here is a completed exemplar along with an explanation of how the exemplar fulfills the expectations for the activity.

Assessment of Exemplar

Compare the exemplar to your completed form on Shopify. Review your work using each of the criteria in the exemplar. What did you do well? Where can you improve? Use your answers to these questions to guide you as you continue to progress through the course.

Let’s review the details included in the exemplar:

Account Details

The sign-up form includes an email address, password, and a unique URL automatically generated by Shopify.

• Start Free Trial here!

• Enter Account email address, password, and URL for the 60-day or 90-day free trial of Shopify.

Completed Questionnaire

Here are the questions and answers included in the completed questionnaire:

• Which of these best describes you? I’m just starting

• Where would you like to sell? I’m not sure

• Do you want to sell products through dropshipping? No

• What would you like to name your store? Your Store name

• Where will be your business located? United states

• Create a Shopify account. With Google, Apple, Facebook or Email access.

• Dashboard for the Shopify e-commerce store

Add products to a Shopify store

• Video Duration: 4 minutes

You’ve learned a lot about how an e-commerce platform works. Now it’s time to learn how to add products to an e-commerce store. I’ll use Shopify to demonstrate how the process works, although the platform you use in your work may be different, depending on the needs and resources of your company. Shopify makes it easy to add physical or digital products to your store. Plus, you can group products together in collections. Collections are categories that contain similar products, such as flower pots or clearance items. You can either add products manually one-by-one, or you can import multiple products using a CSV file. In this video and the following reading, I’m going to demonstrate how to add a product manually using an example store that sells gardening tools. In the reading that follows, you’ll receive detailed step-by-step instructions for adding a product listing. The store I created that I’ll be adding products to is called Garden Tools Express. I’ll start by logging into Shopify, where I’ll use the admin panel to make changes to my store. Now, I’ll choose the option to add a new product. First, I’ll enter a product title. For this product, I’m going to enter “Garden spade” The next step is to enter a product description. A good product description tells the customer how the product can meet their needs and describes the basic features of the product. I’ll write a short description of the garden spade in this section and use bullet points for the features to make them easier to scan. Then I’ll add a product image. Shopify gives you the option to either add a URL for an image already published online or upload an image from your device. I’m going to upload an image of a garden spade saved on my computer. The image needs to be high-resolution and not copyrighted. Now, I’m going to add alt text, which is a brief written description of the image. It helps the screen readers and search engines understand what’s in the image. For the alt text, I’ll type “Red garden spade” It’s a good idea to add photos taken from several angles to show the product from different sides. You may also want to demonstrate the product in use both in photos and in a video. The more you can help customers experience the product virtually, the more comfortable they’ll feel buying it online. Now it’s time to add a price for the product. I’ll add “$57.99” in this field. I can also list a comparison price, add the cost per item, and indicate whether or not to charge tax. The product page also allows you to track inventory levels. I’ll add the stock keeping unit, or SKU, which is a unique code that retailers use to identify a product. It helps the retailer track inventory and sales numbers. I’ll also add the product barcode and quantity available. Next, I’ll add shipping details. Let’s estimate four pounds for the weight. Then I’ll add the customs information for oversea shipping. Then I’ll add variants. Let’s say my garden spade comes with a choice of two colors, red or green. In that case, I’ll add a variant for the two colors. If your product has other options, like different sizes or materials, you can add those as well. I can also add specific pricing and inventory details for each variant. Here, I’m going to add “20” as the quantity for each color variant. Now, I’ll review how my product listing page will display in search engines. It’s good practice to add your store name at the end of the page title. So, I’ll do that now. Then, I’ll choose a vendor and product type. I can add the product to a collection so that it’s part of a similar group or category of products. I can also add tags to categorize the product and organize the search results for my customers. That’s all I need to do for now. Next, I’ll save the changes I made. Alright, my first product is added to the store. Before I change the product to active status, let’s preview how it will display in the e-commerce store. Nice, it’s all coming together now. Currently the product is in draft status. To make it available in my e-commerce store, I’ll make it active instead. Great, the product is now live on the site. There’s one more thing I want to do though. I want to add the ability for customers to review and rate the products in my store. To do this in Shopify, I’ll need to add an app. I’m going to choose the product reviews app made by Shopify. First, I’ll install the app. Then I’ll add it to my template so that it will show up on my product pages. That’s it. My first product page is live on the site and ready for customers to review.

Create a product detail page

• Reading Duration: 20 minutes

As an e-commerce specialist, you will eventually have to add products to your store’s website. This means you’ll need to add product descriptions, page titles, alt text, and meta descriptions. In this reading, you will learn about the basic process for creating product detail pages in your online store.

Writing a product description

A product description is the text on the product detail page of an e-commerce store that provides details and information to customers about the product. A good product description persuades customers to purchase your product. If your product description is incomplete or not descriptive enough, you are leaving questions unanswered, which means customers are less likely to buy the item.

When creating descriptions, make sure your copy stands out from the rest. To do this, consider your customers. Ask yourself:

• Who is my target customer?

• What kind of copy would they want to read? Humorous? Serious? Imaginative? Soothing? Fresh?

• What qualities are they looking for in a product? What makes my product special?

After you’ve answered these questions, you can start drafting your product description. Write a brief paragraph that includes features and any relevant information your target customers may want. After you’ve created your clear, concise description, feel free to add some personality and cleverness, if you think it makes sense. Remember, you’re trying to convince people that they want this product. Then, include a bulleted list of features the product has. The following is an e-commerce scenario and related product description:

Imagine you run an online electronics store, and you are writing a product description for a new pair of headphones that just arrived in your store. Your customers are tech enthusiasts who love the latest and most high-quality trends. They are clever, and they don’t mind spending a lot of money if the product is worth it, especially if the product looks cool, too. Your product description might read:

Immerse yourself in the smoothest sound and strongest noise cancellation on the market. Available in five colorways, these headphones will have everyone around you doing a double-take—but you won’t notice because you’ll be lost in the sound.

Writing a product title

A product title should be very straightforward and concise. Target customers should be able to read the product and know exactly what it is. To write an effective product title, include details like the brand’ name and the product’s name. Then, think about the color, flavor, material, and type of item, and include whichever aspects feel important. Finally, you may want to add information about size and quantity, depending on what you are selling.

Note: In a previous video, you learned that a stock keeping unit, or SKU, is a unique code that retailers use to identify a product. Certain products may have multiple SKUs based on identifiers like color, size, type, and more. If the product detail page allows the customer to select a size, color, or other variation, you wouldn’t include these identifiers in the product title because one product page will represent multiple SKUs for that product.

Revisit the online electronics store scenario. Here’s a good example title for the new headphones:

“Audiophile Over-The-Ear Studio Quality Headphones, Black”

In this example, it’s clear which style of headphones they are, that they’ll provide you with studio- quality sound, that the brand is Audiophile, and that the color of these specific headphones is black.

An example of a product detail page with the following text: Audiophile Over-The-Ear Studio Quality Headphones Black

Immerse yourself in the smoothest sound and strongest noise cancellation on the market. Available in 5 colorways, these headphones will have everyone around you doing a double-take—but you won’t notice because you’ll be lost in the sound

Writing alternative text

Alternative text, more commonly called alt text, is a brief, written description of an image with the primary purpose of assisting individuals who are visually impaired. Screen readers read alt text aloud, allowing customers to understand what the image is by describing it in words. Alt text is also important for search engine optimization, where it’s used to return search results. Alt text shouldn’t exceed 125 characters.

When you are writing alt text, keep these considerations in mind:

• Be concise but specific enough. The reader should have a general understanding of what the image is.

• Make sure the alt text makes sense when you read it aloud.

• Explain the type of image. Is it an illustration, graph, chart, stock photo, screenshot, or something else?

• Don’t start your alt text with “image of” or “photo of” as it can get repetitive if there are several images.

• Incorporate a keyword or two, but don’t over do it. Keywords will help your SEO, but if you use too many, this will be flagged by search engines and you may be ranked down.

Going back to your pretend store’s new headphone release, your alt text for the image below might read something like the following:

White headphones with a volume adjustment button, a bluetooth button, a USB-c port, and a 3.5mm port

Writing a web page title element and meta description

For SEO purposes, every webpage has a page title and a meta description. The webpage title provides both the users and search engines with a page’s topic, while the meta description provides search engines with a summary of what the page is about. Every page on your website will need a webpage title element and meta description so that your business can be found by potential customers when they search for products like yours.

Webpage title elements should be brief so that search engines don’t show only a portion of your text to potential customers. That doesn’t mean webpage title elements shouldn’t be detailed, though. Make sure that as you write your page title, you thoroughly describe what users will find on the page.

As for the meta description, it should be about 150–160 characters, and it should include carefully selected keywords. Make sure to be thorough in your meta description, because you’re summarizing what potential customers can find on the page.

Your headphones have their own page and need a webpage title element and meta description. Here’s what that might look like:

Key takeaways

Creating product page details can take a lot of time and isn’t something that should be overlooked or rushed. If you want to create a website that entices people to buy products, you’ll need to be very thoughtful about the copy you add to your product descriptions, alternative text, webpage title elements, and meta descriptions. Doing so will ensure the most effective SEO possible.

Activity: Begin adding product listings to your Shopify store

• Practice Quiz. 1 question. Grade: 100%
  • Access Quiz:

• On Step 1: Access supporting materials

The following supporting materials will help you complete this activity. Keep them open as you proceed to the next steps. To use the supporting materials for this course item, click the links below and select “Use Template.”

Link to supporting materials:

• Bath towel product specification sheet.

• Bath rug product specification sheet.

• On Step 2: Log in to your Shopify store

Log in to the Shopify e-commerce store you created in a previous activity: Set up a mock e-commerce store using Shopify.

Note: If you haven’t verified the email address for your Shopify account, click the link in the verification email from Shopify.

Also Note: The following steps may no longer be accurate if the software has been changed or updated.

Activity Exemplar: Begin adding product listings to your Shopify store

• Reading Duration: 10 minutes

Here is a completed exemplar along with an explanation of how the exemplar fulfills the expectations for the activity.

Assessment of Exemplar

Compare the exemplar to your product listings. Review your work using each of the criteria in the exemplar. What did you do well? Where can you improve? Use your answers to these questions to guide you as you continue to progress through the course.

To check your work against this exemplar, make sure you have the product listing open in Shopify. You may also find it helpful to have the Preview tab open.

Exemplar for Two Product Listings

The exemplar includes product listings for a bath towel and bath rug. Each product listing includes a product title, product description, and a product image.

Here is a preview of the bamboo cotton blend bath towel product listing:

Here is a preview of the organic cotton bath rug product listing:

Exemplar for Bath Towel Product Listing

The exemplar for the bath towel includes the following:

A product title that matches the information in the product specification sheet

The product title for the bath towel is Bamboo Cotton Blend Bath Towel. The product title is listed in the Product Details table in the product specification sheets.

A short paragraph that describes the product and its benefits

The product description for the bath towel describes why customers will love the product and describes the benefits of the product. For example, the towels are highly absorbent and dry quickly after use, which are a couple of the benefits customers might want in a new bath towel.

A list of the product’s features

The product description includes a bullet list of the features that are listed in the product specification sheet.

A list of the product’s technical specifications

The product description includes a bullet list of the technical specifications that are listed in the product specification sheet.

A product image

The exemplar includes a high-quality image of the bath towel.

Exemplar for Bath Rug Product Listing

The exemplar for the bath rug includes the following:

A product title that matches the information in the product specification sheet

The product title for the bath rug is Organic Cotton Bath Rug. The product title is listed in the Product Details table in the product specification sheets.

A short paragraph that describes the product and its benefits

The product description for the bath rug focuses on how the customer will benefit from the product by focusing on the plush comfort and stylish design. It also mentions that the rug is made with 100% organic cotton, which customers might be searching for if they’re concerned about purchasing an eco-friendly bath rug.

A list of the product’s features

The product description includes a bullet list of the features that are listed in the product specification sheet.

A list of the product’s technical specifications

The product description includes a bullet list of the technical specifications that are listed in the product specification sheet.

A product image

The exemplar includes a high-quality image of the bath rug.

Activity: Finish adding product listings to your Shopify store

• Practice Quiz. 1 question. Grade: 100%
  • Access Quiz:

• On Step 1: Access supporting materials

The following supporting materials will help you complete this activity. Keep them open as you proceed to the next steps. To use the supporting materials for this course item, click the links below and select “Use Template.”

Link to supporting materials:

• Bath towel product specification sheet

• Bath rug product specification sheet

• On Step 2: Log in to your Shopify store

  Log in to the Shopify e-commerce store you created in a previous activity.

Note: The following steps may no longer be accurate if the software has been changed or updated.

• On Step 3: Navigate to the product listing you want to edit

Select Products in the navigation menu. Then click the title of the product you want to update. You will be finishing the two product listings that you began adding to your Shopify store in the previous activity: Begin adding product listings to your Shopify store.

Activity Exemplar: Finish adding product listings to your Shopify store

• Reading Duration: 10 minutes
  • Access Activity Exemplar:

Finish setting up a Shopify store

• Video Duration: 4 minutes

Great work adding a product to your store. You’re starting to become more familiar with how an e-commerce platform works. As you get more comfortable working in an e-commerce platform, you’ll find that adding a product or doing other tasks becomes faster and easier with more practice. In this video, I’ll demonstrate how to finish setting up a Shopify store. Then I’ll introduce the built-in tools for marketing, sales, and analytics. Finally, I’ll demonstrate how to edit a Shopify theme and add a custom domain. Let’s start by enabling payment methods. Shopify allows you to accept payments using multiple payment providers, including their own provider, which is Shopify Payments. It’s a good idea to enable several payment methods so that customers can choose the option they want. Offering flexible payment options helps to remove friction from the checkout process. Shopify Payments is the default option for my store. So that’s where I’ll start. In order to receive payments from Shopify Payments, I’ll need to complete the account setup process by filling in the details for all the required fields. Within Shopify Payments, I can choose which types of credit cards and digital wallet payments to accept. I can also enable Shop Pay, which allows customers to save their shipping and payment information for faster checkout. Shop Pay also allows customers to pay in installments. Next, I’ll set up shipping and delivery methods. Shopify gives me the option to set up shipping, local delivery, and local pickup methods. In the shipping settings, I can choose the shipping rates and methods that I want to use for my store. Now, I’ll add the legal pages for my store. In Shopify, these include the refund policy, privacy policy, terms of service, and shipping policy. To make things easier, Shopify allows you to create your own policies using a template they provide. That’s the option I’ll choose, but I’ll still need to make updates to these policies to make sure they’re accurate for my store. After I save my legal pages, they’ll show up at the footer of my checkout. If I want them to show up in the main menu for my online store, I’ll need to add them manually. Shopify automatically creates a contact form for my store based on the contact information I included when I originally set up the store. I can also add a separate contact page with customer support details. I might also want to include links to troubleshooting and self-help articles. An FAQ page might also be helpful. Plus I can add a blog to my store by publishing blog posts. Next, I’ll take you through some of the built-in tools for analytics, marketing, and discounts. The analytics dashboard provides an overview of important metrics like total sales, conversion rate, and average order value. I’ll explain those in more detail later in this course. It also allows me to create custom analytics reports. And view real-time activity on my store with Live View. In the marketing dashboard, I can create campaigns for ads, email, social media, and other marketing channels. I can also automate campaigns to display ads and send messages based on customer behavior. All I need to do is set them up once and they’ll run for as long as I want. In the discounts section, I can manage promotions by creating discount codes. When customers enter the code at checkout, they’ll receive the discount. I can also create discounts that apply automatically to a customer’s cart. Next, I’m going to edit my theme, which is a pre-built website template that creates the design and layout for my e-commerce store. My current theme is one that Shopify adds by default. I can customize this theme by changing the logo, colors, font, layout, and more. I can change the copy on the site and add links to my social media accounts. I can also preview what my store looks like on a smartphone by choosing mobile view. Since the majority of customers shop on their smartphones, it’s important to make the website easy to use in mobile view as well as on a desktop. If I want to use a different theme, I can add a theme that’s already been created or upload my own. Finally, let’s discuss how to add a custom domain. A domain is the URL or web address for a website, such as www.example.com It’s where customers go to find your store on the internet. The default URL for Shopify uses a specific format. But let’s assume I want my URL to be different from the default. I can either buy a new domain, or connect an existing domain, if I already have one. Now that I finished setting up my store, I’m ready for my first customer.

Learn more about working in Shopify

• Reading Duration: 20 minutes

Previously, you learned the essentials for creating a functional Shopify store.

In this reading, you will learn about more ways to improve your customers’ shopping experience on your mock Shopify store. These include: adding your brand’s voice to your site, choosing the right theme, and optimizing essential information.

Add your brand voice

Expressing your brand’s voice on your store’s website is a great way to attract customers and get them interested in your brand. As a reminder, brand voice is the distinct personality a brand takes on in a company’s communications. This includes the messaging and imagery on your store’s website. Two ways to display brand voice on your site are creating “about us” pages and blog sections.

“About us” pages offer a great way for customers to learn about your business and who you are as a brand. Use this section to tell customers about your brand’s journey and mission.

Blog sections are a thoughtful and deliberate strategy to connect with customers. Adding a blog section to your store also helps improve its SEO by adding more searchable keywords. The blog posts can include information about your brand’s products, announcements, and compelling narratives about your company or a related topic.

You can add these sections to your site by using the sales channel menu on your admin dashboard.

While honing your brand voice with “about us” pages or blog posts, decide how you want your audience to perceive your brand. Then practice developing your tone of voice and implement it into all communications. Tone of voice is how the character of your business is perceived in written and spoken communication. It’s not about what you say, but rather the way you say it.

Choose the right theme

Earlier, you learned that a theme is a pre-built website template that creates the design and layout of your store. Themes form the organization, features, and style details—like fonts and colors—of your online store. Shopify applies a default theme to your store when it is created.

Choosing the right theme with specific layouts, colors, and fonts helps you tailor your brand’s identity so that your store is recognizable and distinctive. Choosing the right theme can also complement your product photos, making customers interested in what you are selling.

Select the Themes tab on your Shopify profile to view your live theme, explore the theme library for free and paid themes, or upload a theme you purchased elsewhere.

If you cannot find the right theme template for your store, you have the option to build your own theme or adjust an existing theme—but use caution. Themes are created using code, which takes time and skill to perfect without errors. To avoid making coding mistakes, some merchants hire web developers. You are not expected to purchase a theme or hire a web developer for your mock Shopify store.

Optimize essential information

Customers expect to be able to find important shopping information when they visit an online store. When important information is missing or inaccurate, it can cause the customer to lose trust in your brand—and even leave your site—costing you a possible conversion.

When optimizing your store, pay close attention to your contact information, product details, and return policy.

You should also include terms of service, which are legal agreements between a business and customers, and a privacy policy, which is a legal document that discloses some or all the ways a business gathers, uses, discloses, and manages a customer’s data.

Google requires that all e-commerce businesses include this information for customer review. Shopify offers templates for these items. Review the provided templates to ensure that they align with your business.

Contact information

A contact page is a common web page on a website for visitors to contact the organization or individual providing the website. Most templates include a contact page that has the option to add your business’s name, customer support email address, and phone number, if available.

You can also add a “contact us” feature on your store’s contact page to let customers get in touch with you. All Shopify themes have a built-in contact form that you can add to the pages you create so that customers can contact you directly with a message. This helps you build trust with your customers, as they feel that your brand is more accessible.

Product details

You learned earlier that you can update your product details on your Google Merchant Center account. When you link your Shopify and Google accounts, the products are added to your site. The details that you provide for a product affect the way that the product is displayed to customers, make it easier for you to organize your products, and help customers find the product. Be sure to check that your product details are accurate and to your liking. If necessary, edit your product details using the admin menu.

Return policy

A return policy is a document that describes, in detail, your business’s process and requirements for accepting returns. Having these policies stated helps your customers make informed buying decisions. You can edit your return policy under the policies tab of your admin dashboard.

Shopify has return policy templates for you to work from. If you choose to use a template, be sure to edit specific details to match your business model.

Your return policy should answer two basic questions:

• How can customers make a return? Most businesses offer customers the option to exchange their purchases for another product of equal value or return their purchase for a full cash refund.

• How long do customers have before they can make a return? Typically, most websites offer a 30 to 60-day return window.

Once complete, these policies will be easily accessible at the bottom of your store’s website, in accordance with Shopify guidelines.

Key takeaways

Creating a functional store website is just the beginning of your ecommerce store journey. To build a successful store, you must fine tune aspects like your brand voice, website themes, and key policy information.

Set up your Google Merchant Center account and link it to Shopify

• Video Duration: 1 minute

In this video, we’ll explore the requirements for linking a Shopify account to Google. To be clear, this is just an opportunity to learn more about how the process works. We don’t expect you to create your own campaigns. Okay let’s get started. Before you start advertising your products with Google, the first thing that you have to do is create a Google Merchant Center account. The Google Merchant Center is a tool advertisers use to upload their store and product data to Google and make it available for Shopping ads and other Google services. Think of the Google Merchant Center as a gateway you must pass in order for your products to get from your e-commerce store onto the Google Shopping platform. After setting up your account, you can link that account to a Shopify store. The Google Merchant Center is intended to help facilitate uploading and editing your product listings in order to advertise through Google Shopping. And helps ensure your product information is up-to-date. A few benefits to registering your e-commerce store with the Google Merchant Center include accurate Google Shopping listings, exclusive Google Analytics support, review capabilities for your online products, and simple Google AdWords integration. To create a Google Merchant Center account, you’ll need at least one existing Google account, a business and a website, and up-to-date product data on your e-commerce store, including pricing, availability, and shipping information. For specific instructions, be sure to visit the Google Merchant account website for full details. Now that you know about the Google Merchant Center and its connection to online stores, let’s move on to learn about selling products on Google and other shopping channels.

Add Google and other shopping channels in Shopify

• Video Duration: 2 minutes

So far, we’ve covered how to add products to your own website. If you want to reach the most customers, however, it’s a good idea to also sell your products through other channels, such as social media, mobile apps, or a marketplace that allows you to sell on a large, well-known site. Shopify makes it easy to sell products in more places by allowing you to add multiple sales channels. In this video, I’ll demonstrate how you can add sales channels to a Shopify store. Once you know how to do this, you’ll be able to manage your products all in one place and control how they display across multiple sales channels. Ready? Let’s get started. First, I’ll log in to the admin panel for my Shopify store. Then I’ll navigate to the settings for my sales channels. Here I’m going to add a new sales channel. Shopify gives me a list of recommendations. Let’s start with Google. Now, I’ll go through the process to connect the Google app to my Shopify store. I’ll choose the Google account I want to connect to, and then I’ll agree to the terms. Finally, I’ll complete any additional details needed to complete the channel setup. Great. Now when I add products in Shopify, they’ll display in Google as well. Next, I can add other sales channels using the same process. I can even create a mobile app for my website or add a channel to sell products in person. If I don’t see the sales channels I want in the list, I can visit the Shopify App Store to add other channels. Adding multiple sales channels is good for customers and it’s good for business. Besides helping you reach more customers, adding multiple sales channels through Shopify also makes it easier to manage your e-commerce store. You can promote and sell products, manage orders, and track inventory all in one place. Coming up, we’ll review the topics we’ve covered so far. Then we’ll discuss how to drive traffic to an e-commerce store and engage customers. Meet you there.

Shopify product listings

• Discussion Prompt Duration: 10 minutes

Now that you have created a product listing in Shopify, discuss any tips you learned from the process. Additionally, take some time to reflect on any challenges you encountered creating the product listing. Discuss those challenges here as well.

Please include a written response of 3–4 sentences. Then, read other learners’ responses, and comment on at least two of their posts.

Answer

Creating the product listings was a valuable learning experience. One challenge I faced was finding the right balance in product descriptions—providing enough information to entice customers without overwhelming them. Additionally, navigating the intricacies of shipping options and fulfillment proved challenging, requiring careful consideration of costs and logistics. Despite these challenges, the process allowed me to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the e-commerce landscape and refine my approach to product presentation and customer communication.

List products on multiple shopping channels

• Reading Duration: 20 minutes

As you learned earlier, if you want to attract more customers to your e-commerce store, it’s important to list your products on multiple channels—also called multichannel e-commerce. This reading will help you understand the benefits of listing products on multiple channels and how this process works in Shopify.

Benefits of listing on multiple channels

Listing your products on multiple channels can help you reach more customers with your products and services. Customers often have a preference for shopping on specific channels, such as Amazon or Google Shopping. If your products aren’t listed on their preferred channel, they won’t be as likely to find or purchase your products.

If customers research and compare products on multiple channels, they might come across your brand more than once. That’s a good way to increase brand awareness and build trust with potential customers. Plus, your products might show up higher in the search results for some sales channels versus others. That’s another reason why it’s important to list your products on multiple channels.

How to list products on multiple channels in Shopify

Shopify’s e-commerce platform allows you to list products not only in your online store but also on other sales channels. This means you can upload and manage your products all in one place but list them on multiple channels. You can sell your products on your website and list them on Google, Facebook, Instagram, Amazon, eBay, Walmart Marketplace, and other channels. You can also create a mobile app, or add a channel to sell products in person. For example, Shopify’s point of sale (POS) app enables you to sell products in person. The app accepts payments and processes transactions.

To add a new sales channel in Shopify, follow these steps:

1. Log in to your account at Shopify.com

2. Click the plus sign next to the channel you want to add. To access more sales channels, visit the Shopify App Store.

3. Connect to an existing account for the sales channel or create a new account.

4. Complete any additional steps needed to complete the setup process.

Troubleshooting

Occasionally, you may run into an issue where your product gets flagged or marked with an item disapproval. Disapprovals can occur when policies or product data requirements aren’t satisfied. For instance, a refund policy could be missing, a price mismatch could exist between landing and product pages, or promotional text could be present in product images. Some healthcare products may be disapproved due to online sales restrictions in certain locales.

If a disapproval happens, you’ll need to follow the process to get the item reapproved. This process may be different for each sales channel. To resolve the issue, you may need to visit the sales channel’s help center to access troubleshooting information or connect with their customer support team.

Key takeaways

Listing products on multiple channels can help you reach more customers and increase your sales. Shopify makes it easy to sell products through your own e-commerce store and through other sales channels as well.

Resources for more information

To learn more about listing products on multiple sales channels in Shopify, visit the resources below:

• Shopify sales channels: Discover how sales channels work in Shopify.

• Shopify app store: Customize your Shopify store with third-party apps.

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4. Review: Learn about online stores

Wrap-up

• Video Duration: 1 minute

Great work so far and congratulations on setting up your first e-commerce store. Let’s review what we’ve discussed already. First, you learned about e-commerce stores and how they work. You also learned that they’re typically built on an e-commerce platform. Then you learned about a specific platform called Shopify. You also learned how to add products to an e-commerce store. After that, you learned how to enable payment methods, setup shipping and delivery, and add more pages to your store. You learned how to access the built-in tools for analytics, marketing, and discounts. Then you learned how to edit your theme and add a custom domain. Finally, you learned how to set up a Google Merchant Center account and link a Shopify store to Google and other shopping channels. That is a lot of progress. You’re building the skills you’ll need in order to prepare for an entry-level job in e-commerce. Coming up, you’ll learn about ads and campaigns in e-commerce. But first, you’ll learn about the benefits of online advertising. Then you’ll learn about Google ad campaigns and how to use them to connect with customers. Next, you’ll learn about using smart shopping campaigns to increase sales and reach more shoppers across Google sites and networks. You’ll also learn about seasonality in e-commerce and how to optimize your marketing strategies to connect with customers. That’s a wrap. You’re making a lot of progress in learning about e-commerce. I’ll meet you again in the next video. Keep up the great work.

Glossary terms from module 2

• Reading: Duration: 10 minutes
  • Access the glossary

Module 2 challenge

• Quiz: 10 questions. Grade: 100%
• Link to challenge 1

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END! - Week 2 - Course 6