"I've had a successful retail business for some time, and am thinking about selling online through my own website, and perhaps a Yahoo! Store. I carry a variety of merchandise, though, and there's no way I will be able to list everything on the website. What type of merchandise do people look for online, and how do I set this website up to attract the maximum amount of traffic?"

I've said it before in this column, and I'll say it again . . . the Internet is the future of small business retail. Two humble opinions:

— you're crazy if you're not selling online — more and more people are doing their shopping (and living) on the Web, people expect you to have a website, and if you don't have one, you risk losing credibility with your customers; and

— if you're selling online, you're crazy if you don't have your own website, because it's the only place on the entire Internet where you can sell stuff and keep 100 percent of the money you make.

Although it's been with us for over a decade now, the Internet is still in its infancy, and we still don't know everything it's capable of. Having said that, there are four things people routinely look for when they go online, and your website should feature as many of these as possible.

No. 1: People Look for Information. The Internet is the most amazing research tool ever invented. When people want to look something up quickly, they don't go to encyclopedias or libraries anymore, they go online. With a few mouse clicks, you usually can find the information you're looking for.

So, first off, your website needs to have more than just stuff to sell. It must have information that (1) people are looking for and (2) search engines will find easily. Also, given today's shortening attention spans, the information must be "cool and compelling" — it must entertain as well as inform. So write some articles, do a "blog" or record a Podcast on the stuff you sell (or just on life in general) — and keep putting new content up every week so the search engines keep coming back and boost your search rankings.

No. 2: People Look for Stuff They Can't Find Locally. Ours is an age of instant gratification. If people can find the stuff you sell in their nearby Wal-Mart or Costco, they won't be looking for it online. They won't want to wait a week for you to ship it to them, and they won't want to pay shipping and handling charges on top of a retail price.

Your best bet in selling online is to feature stuff that's difficult to find locally — people will buy from your website, because they can get their hands on the stuff quickly and will pay a premium price, plus shipping charges, for that convenience.

No. 3: People Look for Great Deals on Stuff They Can Find Locally. Last year, my beloved 30-year-old leather briefcase fell apart, and I needed a new one. Local stores had similar leather briefcases in the $200 to $250 range. I went on eBay and found one offered for sale from a guy in Texas who had only used it once or twice. I bid on it, and got it for $25 plus shipping. Enough said.

No. 4: People Look for Like-Minded People. People these days lament the decline of "community spirit," but they're wrong. Communities are alive and well — they are just moving online. A lot of Web surfers are finding out they have more in common with someone halfway around the world than with their next-door neighbor. Do what you can to create a "community" of people on your website who are talking to you, and to each other, about the problems your products and services help solve. Three wonderful things will happen when you do this:

— people will come back to your website over and over again to catch up with their online "friends" (and view your latest offerings);

— people will view your website as a place where people with similar interests or problems hang out, and will tell their friends about it; and

— you will get amazing free market research by watching their "postings," which will tell you what you're doing right with your business and what needs to change.

Selling online today is, I imagine, a lot like driving a car was back in 1915 — it wasn't easy, you had to know how it worked "underneath the hood," there was no support infrastructure (such as paved roads, AAA, and gas stations on every corner) to help you if you got stuck, and you spent lots of time just getting it to go from point A to point B. But everyone back then knew that the days of horses and wagons were coming to a permanent close, and that they were going to have to get comfortable with automobiles, like them or not.

The Internet is here to stay — get over it, and get on it.

Cliff Ennico (cennico@legalcareer.com) is a syndicated columnist, author and former host of the PBS television series "Money Hunt." This column is no substitute for legal, tax or financial advice, which can be furnished only by a qualified professional licensed in your state. To find out more about Cliff Ennico and other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit our Web page at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2008 CLIFFORD R. ENNICO.

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