When thinking in terms of web, tags and keywording could not be more important. Properly tagging and categorizing your products in your Zlioshop could mean the difference between no visitors and visitors galore.

In case you’ve forgotten, review our post on Keywording 101. Then go back through your products and check if you’ve really chosen the best categories and key words.

Try to think of what you would search for if you were looking for this product, and assign keywords accordingly.

Click on the tab “Store Products” and then “Manage My Products” from the drop-down menu. If you weren’t paying attention before, this is where you can edit the products description, add a personal review, and tag the product with keywords and phrases.

Don’t forget to use the social features and tell other Zlionauts how you feel about your product. Do you love it, feature it, have it, or want it? Let us know!

Properly tagging your products is what helps them appear when visitors perform a search. When it comes to browsing, your Zlioshop will be easier to find if you take the time to choose your categories.

You can choose according categories and subcategories for individual products, as well as three principal categories for your Zlioshop. Once you’re done with all of that tagging and categorizing, sit back and enjoy the traffic!

Looking for another way to generate commissions on your Zlioshop? Don’t forget about referrals! For every person you refer to Zlio, you make 10% on their future commissions, and 5% on their friends commissions!

The easiest way to convince your friends to open a Zlioshop of their own is to send a personalized message inviting them to do so:

Click on “Manage My Shop” to access your Zlioshop’s report panel. Then click on “My Network” and select “Invite Contacts” from the drop-down menu. Here, you can inviteyour friends to visit your Zlioshop, create their own, and manage your preexisting referrals.

Trust us when we say your friends will thank you for it later…

In a previous interview with featured shopkeeper Hanane Jo, she mentioned that she promotes her Zlioshop mainly via web directories. For those of you who aren’t too familiar with web directories, they are a great way to get your Zlioshop out there and drive more traffic to your page: 

A Little “Web Directory 101″

• A web directory or link directory is a directory on the world wide web. It specializes in linking to other web sites and categorizing those links.
•  
• A web directory is not a search engine, it lists web sites by category and subcategory instead of keywords. 
• The categorization is usually based on the whole web site, rather than one page or a set of keywords, and sites are often limited to inclusion in only one or two categories. 
• Web directories often allow site owners to directly submit their site for inclusion, and have editors review submissions.
• There are both paid submission web directories and free submission web directories

Try a Google search for “web directory” and “shopping directory” and look for the link  “submit” or “suggest url.” We’ve provided a little list to get you started:

1. Elib.org Shopping Directory
2. DMOZ Open Directory Project
3. Monster Marketplace
4. PlanetOnline Electronic Shopping Directory
5. HotVsNot Web Directory
6. Online Stores Web Directory
7. The Web Stores Directory
8. Aalsmeer Web Directory
9. It’s All About Links
10. Romow Shopping Web Directory   

Do you know of a web or shopping directory that should be here? Let us know in a comment!

Did you know that giving your Zlioshop a specialty theme can do wonders for it’s popularity? A theme not only makes your shop more attractive and appealing, it makes it easier for your Zlioshop to be found by future clients! 

Choose a “classic” theme such as cooking or high tech, or think outside of the box and try something a little more specific such as items made from wood or gift ideas under $20.

The possibilities are endless, and the more creative and unique your Zlioshop is, the more it will stand out. Check out this Zlioshop dedicated entirely to graffiti!

The Added Benefit:  Receive much needed search engine love by adding unique search terms.  

Why would you want to ban a merchant? Who knows, maybe they don’t pay enough commission, maybe you don’t like their products. It’s not really important, because it’s your decision and you can do whatever you want with your Zlioshop.    

• If you would, in fact, like to ban a merchant, first click on “Manage My Stores.” Then click on “My Revenues”  and select “Manage My Merchants” from the drop down menu.  This is where you can ban a merchant by clicking on the red button.

Don’t worry, you can bring them back if you change your mind later.

You’ve probably noticed the new “Category” section that has popped up on the right hand side of your Zlio Home Page. We here at Zlio have put together a list of product categories, to help you get organized and make it easier for people to find you.

With so many ZlioShops out there, proper use of tags and categories is the best way to maximize traffic to your Zlioshop. Choose from categories like “Computers” and “Hi-Tech” to “Beauty” and “Gifts” to help put your Zlioshop at the top of the list!

Be sure to check out the top Zlioshops in each category for ideas about creating (or finishing) your Zlioshop.

The 80th Annual Academy Awards were last night and the winners were big! Viewers all over the country tuned in again this year to see who walked away with that coveted gold statue.

While No Country For Old Men took home Best Motion Picture, the Lead Actor and Actress awards went to Daniel Day Louis (for There Will Be Blood) and French actress Marion Cotillard (for La Vie en Rose). Children’s adventure The Golden Compass walked away with Best Visual Effects, and Best Art Direction went to (no surprise) Sweeny Todd.

Why not take advantage of our love for movies, film culture, and Hollywood and turn it into a super hot ZlioShop?

Focus on this year’s winners, or nominees… or perhaps your favorite Oscar winning movies of all time.

Some Zlionauts are already ahead of the game – take for example DVD Central, which offers everything from HD DVD to TV Box sets:

What We Like:

- The Idea: Why not join everyone else on the internet and help bring movies to the masses – legally!

- The Navigation: We love when it’s super easy to find exactly what you want, and DVD central makes it a snap. We especially like their list of “Favorite Products” for when we don’t know what we’re looking for!

Like the idea? Vote for DVD Central! Think you could do better? Create your own!

Do you have a blog or a website? Get to know the ZlioZone – it’s windowshopping for your blog! It’s as simple as creating a ZlioShop and within 5 minutes you can embed a vertical skyscraper in your blog or website that allows visitors to see your products. By clicking on your products, visitors are automatically redirected to your ZlioShop.

• Create Your ZlioZone now by clicking on Modules !

Valentines Day is only a few weeks away and our Zlio Team has gathered some helpful tips for you:

1- If you haven’t planned what products you would like to add to your shop for Valentines Day, this would be the best time to do so. Several of our merchants have added great products for this special occasion. So browse through our merchants list and see what’s being offered.

2- For all our new shopkeepers, this could be a great opportunity for you to start a new niche shop, and dedicate it to Valentines Day, selling all heart warming products and products that show that you care.

3- Our last tip to our shopkeepers is that if you are planning to send someone a gift or flowers, please make sure that you plan in the shipping time as well, so that your packages are delivered on time.

Let us know how your Valentines Day experience turns out!

XoXo

Your Zlio Team

CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheets. These styles define how to display HTML elements. These styles are normally stored in Style Sheets.

With the help of CSS, you can define your web site’s background image, adjust colors, and format your fonts and more. However, you have to know what HTML tag you are formatting in your site, in order to get the right effect. The result of CSS is something very fresh and exciting for your shop!

Would you like to know more about CSS and Style Sheets in general, please visit W3Schools.com!