About Etrade or Online Business - Case Study Example

 Table of Contents 1. Introduction 2 2 2. Business Model 4 4 2.1 Visitor Analysis 4 4 2.2 Customer Analysis 5 3. Analysis of Homepage Design 6 Homepage Layout and Discussion 6 4. Results of Google Search 8 Query 1: Searching the Name of the Website 8 Query 2: Searching The University Websites (edu) Using Site 8 Query 3: Searching The University Websites (edu) Using Inurl 8 Query 4: Searching the University Websites (edu) using inurl and for Only PDF Files 9 Query 5: Searching nytimes.com Using Site 9 Query 6: Searching bloomberg.com Using Site 9 5. Results of Digital Search 10 Original Passage: 10 Summary: 10 10 6. Conclusion 11 11 Works Cited 12 Bibliography 13 13 1. Introduction The primary objective of the report is to generate an idea of online business from a particular website. Website selected for this report is etrade.com and with the help of etrade.com a conception regarding the online business activities can be observed. etrade.com is a website which generally deals with online trading such as buying of mutual funds and share along with knowledge about the banking solutions can also be gained. This website is largely beneficial for long-term investors who want to invest in share and commodities among others. It is one of the best sources of income for a dealer because by sitting at home the dealer can deal with and can be able to gain certain profits. The services are provided both through online method as well as through customer service related representatives along with investment advisors and professionals (Etrade, “About Etrade”). The report encompasses business model analysis of the etrade.com. Then, the report would intend to analyze the homepage design and layout of the website. Subsequently, results of Google search will be depicted along with results of digital database search. 2. Business Model Business model can be defined as the way in which business is being processed and the mode of income by running the business (Weill & Et. Al., “Do Some Business Models Perform Better than Others? A Study of the 1000 Largest US Firms”). Business model generally deals with the general analysis which is involved in the business process. The two analysis components are discussed as under: 2.1 Visitor Analysis Visitor analysis deals with the behavior and involvement of the visitors. In general, merchandiser, businessmen and employees are the visitors of the etrade.com site. Apart from them, competitors and researchers are also visitors to the website for acquiring pertinent information. To analyze, how many visitors visited the site and what was their main intention to visit the site, etrade.com uses analysis tools which help in vital assessment. Visitors generally visit etrade.com for dealing and trading online, with shares, stocks and commodities among others to generate added income. Products of etrade.com are online-based that include trading and investment facets like Stock, Options, Bonds, IPOs, Futures, Forex and Trade on Margin. The other products are retirement plans which include Traditional IRA, Rollover IRA, Roth IRA, Complete IRA, IRA for children, educational savings, Small Business Retirement Plans and Beneficiary IRA. Another available product option is the banking solutions, and within it, balance checking, mortgages as well as refinancing and savings facilities are present. The information provided create value for the visitors as it enables them to recognize recent trade activities which facilitate them in decision making (Etrade, “Home”). 2.2 Customer Analysis Customers are those who generally have the motive to deal with etrade.com and they are the main visitors. Visitors and customers are being supplied with the same products and services. Customers are analyzed for their basic needs and according to them, customers are being categorized in parts and allotted products and services which are suitable for them. Customers of etrade.com can come from any background of income and the mode of income of etrade.com is the brokerage collected in the process of dealing. Generally, excess profit ratio related with products and services bring customers to come closer for dealing with etrade.com. While dealing with the customers, etrade.com meets with certain expenditures like expenses regarding running of the website and incase if any customer desires to have the supply physically for the product then there are certain extra expenses like transportation cost and miscellaneous expenses. Customer analysis also indicates customer satisfaction received from the company. It is the services that would motivate the visitors to become the customers of the (Etrade, “Home”). 3. Analysis of Homepage Design Homepage of etrade.com is designed in an attractive way so that the visitors are attracted to their business as customers. The layout of the website is designed in such a way so that it is helpful for the customers to use. Homepage design analysis involves two sub topics under it; these are home page layout and a brief assessment of the design. Homepage Layout and Discussion Front layout motivates visitors to become the customers because a customer is required to obtain benefit related prospects from a company’s offerings, which can be depicted through the layout. Layout of the page is designed in such a way which motivates people to survey the etrade.com website. etrade.com can be found in the web-address www.etrade.com. In this site, visitors can get any kind of information related to etrade business. By entering in the homepage of etrade, the visitors can see certain headings present in the homepage, which provide information about their desire. The front options that can be seen are ‘Why etrade’, ‘Investing & Trading’, ‘Retirement and Banking’, under these headings visitors can get idea or information related to the heads. The homepage of etrade offers information regarding the upcoming plans and their plans for future which are going to be adopted in the market. Website of etrade also updates their business status in the page which is beneficial for the customers because the updated status includes information about the stocks’ and plans’ rise and fall in price and profit. Moving down the page, the visitors can see a heading called ‘Need Help?’, under this head, there are certain sub-heads like ‘I want to’, ‘how do I’, ‘I need help’ and ‘About etrade’. Under these heads, the visitors can see more sub-heads which help to fulfill the thoughts and requirements. Along the heads there are a few options which help the visitors to interact with the etrade employees. This design pattern helps the visitors and the customers to use the etrade website easily and along with this it also facilitates to strengthen the relation between etrade trader and customer (Etrade, “Home”). 4. Results of Google Search Google is a very well known search engine website. In other words, Google can be called as the homepage for majority websites as well as books or dictionaries for topics or words respectively. Google can be called as an encyclopedia for anything a visitor whishes to know over the internet. Query 1: Searching the Name of the Website Search Text etrade.com Quality of results High The first three results https://us.etrade.com/home https://us.etrade.com/e/t/user/login https://global.etrade.com/gl/home Query 2: Searching The University Websites (edu) Using Site Search Text etrade.com site:edu Quality of results Low The first three results http://www.merit.edu/mail.archives/nanog/2000-01/msg00409.html http://archive.ncsa.illinois.edu/lists/iperf-users/feb06/msg00005.html http://crypto.stanford.edu/~eujin/sslsniffer/etrade.txt Query 3: Searching The University Websites (edu) Using Inurl Search Text etrade.com inurl:edu Quality of results Low The first three results http://archive.ncsa.illinois.edu/lists/iperf-users/feb06/msg00005.html http://crypto.stanford.edu/~eujin/sslsniffer/etrade.txt http://faculty.haas.berkeley.edu/odean/Papers%20current%20versions/InternetAndInvestor.pdf Query 4: Searching the University Websites (edu) using inurl and for Only PDF Files Search Text etrade.com inurl:edu filetype:pdf Quality of results Medium The first three results http://faculty.haas.berkeley.edu/odean/Papers%20current%20versions/InternetAndInvestor.pdf http://nms.lcs.mit.edu/papers/wwww-thesis.pdf http://cscampers.cs.montana.edu/Safe_Computing.pdf Query 5: Searching nytimes.com Using Site Search Text etrade.com site:nytimes.com Quality of results High The first three results http://markets.on.nytimes.com/research/stocks/news/press_release.asp?docTag=201202160805BIZWIRE_USPRX____BW5301&feedID=600&press_symbol=102283 http://markets.on.nytimes.com/research/stocks/news/press_release.asp?docTag=201204050805BIZWIRE_USPRX____BW5614&feedID=600&press_symbol=102283 http://markets.on.nytimes.com/research/stocks/news/press_release.asp?docTag=201204180805BIZWIRE_USPRX____BW5272&feedID=600&press_symbol=260106 Query 6: Searching bloomberg.com Using Site Search Text etrade.com site:bloomberg.com Quality of results Low The first three results http://webfarm.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=conewsstory&tkr=ETFC:US&sid=aSimer.zD4DY http://www.bloomberg.com/article/2012-04-18/axGbJqdEDJ74.html http://webfarm.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20670001&sid=ag68CI.lNKWE 5. Results of Digital Search Original Passage: “Freddie Mac names ex-ETrade head as new CEO By MARCY GORDON Mortgage giant Freddie Mac is naming the former head of E(asterisk)Trade Financial Corp as its new CEO. Donald Layton, 62, is expected to be named as Freddie's next chief executive as early as this week, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said Wednesday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because that person was not authorized to speak ahead of an announcement (Gordon, “Freddie Mac Naming ex-ETRADE head as New CEO”). Summary: Freddie Mac, which is recognized as a leading name in terms of mortgage sector has decided to appoint previous Etrade head as their new Chief Executive. 62 years old Donald Layton has been anticipated to be announced as the chief executive of Freddie Mac. A person who has possessed up-close information with regard to the scenario has told that the final decision would probably be announced within a week. However, the person provided the information with a precise condition of maintaining secrecy, as it was unauthorized to reveal such news prior to pronouncement (Gordon, “Freddie Mac Naming ex-ETRADE head as New CEO”). 6. Conclusion In the present market scenario, the demands for the online trading business are experiencing a huge rise. Especially, an online company which deals with the stocks, investment plans among others is seeing special interest from traders and investors. etrade.com is one of the companies, which deals with stocks, mutual funds and banking solutions among others. etrade.com homepage is quite suitable, interactive and easy to use for the visitors and the customers and they can gain information about the market by seeing the updated information. Certain analytical tools are being used by the etrade.com to measure the involvement of the visitors. The company through its website has experienced substantial visitor traffic, which has enabled it to maintain significant profitability in the past. It can be said that etrade.com can maintain its presence and sustainability in future as well through proper information distribution and upright customer service. Works Cited Etrade. “About Etrade”. May 12, 2012. Home, 2012. Etrade. “Home”. May 12, 2012.Why Etrade, 2012. Gordon, Marcy. “Freddie Mac Naming ex-ETRADE Head as New CEO”. May 12, 2012. The Associated Press, 2012. Weill, Peter. & Et. Al. “Do Some Business Models Perform Better than Others? A Study of the 1000 Largest US Firms”. May 12, 2012. Sloan School of Management Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2005. Bibliography ETrade Financial. “E*TRADE Financial Announces $2.5 Billion Investment Led by Citadel”. May 12, 2012. Business Wire, 2007. http://investor.etrade.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=279066 Read More