There used to be a time when eBay was synonymous with e-commerce. The company will always be remembered as the Internet startup that truly succeeded among many that failed during the dot-com bubble of the late 20th century. The meteoric rise of the company as the premiere global auction marketplace included strategic acquisitions like PayPal and Half.com, but the main eBay auction platform has been giving way to e-commerce shops.
There are many benefits to using eBay as an e-commerce platform, but users must be willing to accept more than just the company’s terms of service. When comparing the benefits of a self-hosted joomla e-commerce website for example versus using eBay as an online shop, users must consider certain factors that are intrinsic to Internet commerce. Would-be online shopkeepers must keep the following factors in mind:

Search Engine Optimization

The basics of getting traffic to an online store or to an eBay shop are essentially the same in terms of choosing relevant titles, listing descriptions, keywords, RSS feeds, etc. The basic idea is to make an e-commerce site or an eBay shop appear friendly to search engine crawlers with traditional SEO methods. There are, however, a few additional and significant factors that eBay store administrators must consider: the reputation management system, the About Me page and the mix of store and auction listings.
The eBay legacy as an auction site is not going away anytime soon, and to this extent auction listings are great methods to attract traffic from Google and other search engines. The company recommends putting 20 percent of a store catalog up for auction as a good SEO practice.
E-commerce administrators who choose to host their own sites will have an easier time managing their bounce and exit rates since on eBay visitors are easily distracted by the sheer amount of listings from other stores.

HTML5, Facebook iFrames and Plug-Ins

The use of HTML5 and JavaScript on eBay is clearly stated as part of the company’s policy: calling up remote scripts and pages –including iFrames- is not allowed. Facebook and eBay have announced certain initiatives that will allow greater integration of both platforms and enable social commerce, but so far this is limited to shopkeepers being able to list their eBay items on Facebook instead of bringing iFrames over to eBay stores.
As far as plug-ins, eBay offers the ToGo and Search widgets that allow listings and other content to be featured on blogs and other external sites. Administrators who run their own e-commerce sites have more options in terms of plug-ins and widgets for their listings.

Syndication and Feeds

Generating RSS feeds from eBay listings and content is a free and simple endeavor that is similar to the process that e-commerce website administrators must follow to syndicate their content, although external sites will have more free and paid options.

The Cost of Maintenance and Advertising vs a Joomla Hosted Site

The cost of maintaining an eBay store is mostly negligible until seller fees start adding up. One of the major reasons behind the move to e-commerce from traditional brick-and-mortar stores is that the overhead and operational expenses are lower in the online world. Online shopkeepers should not expect a free ride, however, whether they choose eBay or keep their own e-commerce sites.
When it comes to figuring out how much to invest in online advertising, both owners of eBay stores and external e-commerce sites should remember that their listings are not likely to sell on their own. Shopkeepers who choose eBay often think that they have an advantage because their items are listed on one of the world’s premiere online marketplaces, but they often fail to consider the fierce competition they face. External advertising can give eBay store owners an edge over their competition, but for e-commerce site administrators advertising is a must. Content Management System can easily fit the purpose for new business startups and ecommerce providing scalable business growth on top of the easy administration offered for example by Joomla Hosting providers.

Juliana – Best Hosting Advice

Juliana is a Content Manager for Los Angeles based InMotion Hosting, specialists in providing the Best Joomla Hosting for ecommerce sites. She advises webmasters to help them determine between Joomla or WordPress hosting according to their needs. You can reach out to her on Twitter @JulianaPayson and Google Plus  for content based on Web 2.0 design and ‘Socialization’ of websites.