How to Selling Online in China on Taobao
Taobao is China's most important e-commerce platform and online marketplace. With over 600 million monthly active users and more than 10 million sellers it is not only China's biggest e-commerce website but the world's!
A Guide to Selling on China's Largest E-commerce Marketplace
Step 1. The seller creates a store and product page(s)
Step 2. The seller attracts unique visitors to her store and product page(s)
Step 3. Buyers search for products and review the product page for more information
Step 4. The store's customer service (via Ali Wang Wang) handles customer questions
Step 5. The buyer makes a purchase using Alipay (e-commerce payment platform)
Step 6. Following confirmation of payment to Alipay, Seller will dispatch goods
Step 7. The buyer receives the product and may rate it, the store's service and delivery experience
Step 8. The seller receives the payment from Alipay and may rate the buyer. Upon completion, rating and reviews will be displayed for future visitors
Step 9. The seller utilizes promotions and discounts to continue to increase return traffic and cross store sales
Some Tips for Selling on Taobao
Product Pages
When a buyer clicks on the product she will visit the product page. To ensure the buyer purchases, it’s important to ensure the product page is attractive with plenty of images and clear and relevant product description. Adding product video will help search and click to sale. Positive product reviews, offering discounts and coupons as well product authenticity certificates (as buyers are wary of fake or poor quality products) can help increase product page effectiveness.
Product Search
A buyer will search for a particular product via the Taobao search engine which will display products in order of ranking. The ranking algorithm is based on many factors but some of the key ones include the product title keyword relevancy, accuracy and relevancy of product descriptions, store performance ranking, customer service quality and efficiency, and past 30 days sales transaction volumes. One of the best ways to optimize to product titles is to use Taobao’s keyword research tool that can help show popular key words related to your product. You can also try to leapfrog other products through paid search.
Optimize for mobile
Most users now use and purchase on Taobao via the mobile APP store. Therefore, make sure your store and product pages are optimized for mobile search and design mobile store pages. You can do this by purchasing and installing relevant mobile store plugins.
Customer Service
As an important aspect of product search is store performance and ranking, so customer service is critical. Through Ali Wang Wang, Taobao's built in Instant Messenger, customers will often ask questions about the product. You need to have a professional and efficient customer service to help convert sales, ensure positive reviews and improve store ranking.
Ultimately it will take time as competition is stiff and you need to be patient and persistent to build up your store and products performance. Contact Trade on Taobao for more advice and tips to sell online on Taobao in China.
