Course Title: E-COMMERCE & ONLINE STORE MARKETING

course overview:

Welcome To EarthTab Business School. My Name Is Pierre Jones  And I Will Be Your Course Preceptor For The Course,E-Commerce And Online Store Marketing.

This course trains practitioners to design, launch, optimize and scale online stores that convert visitors into customers and turn customers into repeat buyers at efficient unit economics. It blends e-commerce product/operations, digital marketing, customer experience (CX/UX), analytics & data science, and global trade/fulfillment delivered at an operator + strategist level so graduates can run a store end-to-end or lead growth teams.

Below is a comprehensive program blueprint: aims, outcomes, full module map with deep topic breakdowns, practical labs and artifacts, KPIs & formulas, assessment model, capstone brief, tooling, and recommended resources. This is intentionally thorough so you can use it as the course syllabus, training manual, or curriculum playbook.

1. Course purpose & who it’s for

Purpose: Build operator-level mastery of how to create, market, optimize and scale online stores (DTC + marketplace + hybrid) so they are profitable, resilient, and data-driven.

Target learners

• Founders launching DTC brands or pivoting offline stores online.
  
  

• Growth/Performance Marketers tasked with scaling online revenue.
  
  

• E-commerce Managers / Merchants / Ops leads.
  
  

• Product managers and analysts working on e-commerce products/features.
  
  

• Consultants and agency strategists who run paid/search/email/technical programs.
  
  

Prerequisites

• Basic digital marketing familiarity (SEO, email, paid ads) helpful but not required.
  
  

• Spreadsheet literacy.
  
  

• Willingness to work with real stores or sandbox accounts.
  
  

2. High-level learning outcomes (what you will be able to do)

By course end, you will be able to:

1. Architect an online store proposition, choose the optimal platform (Shopify / WooCommerce / headless), and configure catalog, tax, shipping and payments.
   
   

2. Build data-driven customer acquisition funnels across organic (SEO, content), paid (search, social), and partnerships (influencers, affiliates).
   
   

3. Design conversion optimized product pages and checkout flows using UX, CRO and trust signals.
   
   

4. Implement retention systems: email flows, loyalty, subscription offers, and on-site personalization.
   
   

5. Measure and optimize marketing with clear KPIs and unit economics (CAC, CLTV, Payback, ROAS, AOV).
   
   

6. Scale internationally: localization, cross-border tax, multi-currency, and global logistics.
   
   

7. Integrate operational processes (inventory, fulfillment, returns) and fraud prevention to protect margins.
   
   

8. Create a 90-day growth plan and present a data-backed forecast and dashboard.
   
   

3. Course architecture : modules & deep topic map

The course is organized into 10 modules. Each module includes theory, frameworks, worked examples, labs (hands-on), a mini-project, and 5 MCQ quiz questions.

Module 1 : Foundations: E-commerce Ecosystem & Business Models

Core objective: Understand the landscape, business models, and strategic choices that determine long-term economics.

Topics

• History & modern landscape of commerce (marketplaces, DTC, wholesale, omnichannel).
  
  

• Business model taxonomy: Single SKU DTC, multi-SKU marketplace, subscriptions, dropship, private label, white-label, wholesale B2B.
  
  

• Value chain & unit economics overview: gross margin, contribution margin, fulfillment cost, returns impact.
  
  

• Channel strategy: direct vs marketplace vs retail partnerships.
  
  

• Legal basics: consumer protection, terms of service, privacy principles.
  
  

Lab / Artifact

• Business model choice memo + unit economics sketch (breakeven analysis, contribution per order).
  
  

Module 2 : Platform Selection, Architecture & Store Setup

Core objective: Select and configure a platform that matches strategy (rapid MVP vs scale / headless) and set up foundational store infrastructure.

Topics

• Platform comparisons: Shopify (SaaS) vs WooCommerce (WP) vs Magento vs headless (CommerceTools, custom). When to go headless.
  
  

• Catalog architecture: SKUs, variants, bundles, kits, UPCs, taxonomy, faceted filters.
  
  

• Payments & security: PCI DSS basics, payment gateway selection, multi-currency, payment routing, fraud scoring.
  
  

• Domains, hosting, SSL, site speed fundamentals, CDN, image optimization.
  
  

• Basic integrations: ERP/Inventory, CRM, PIM tools, analytics instrumentation (GA4, server side).
  
  

Lab / Artifact

• Build a working product catalog and configure payments + shipping rules in a sandbox store.
  
  

Module 3 : Product & Pricing Strategy for Online Stores

Core objective: Price for conversion and margin; define assortments and SKUs with profitability in mind.

Topics

• Pricing models: cost-plus, competitor indexing, value-based pricing, psychological pricing (charm, anchoring), dynamic pricing & promo cadence.
  
  

• Assortment planning, SKU rationalization, margin waterfalls.
  
  

• Bundles, cross-sells, quantity discounts, subscription vs one-time purchase economics.
  
  

• Inventory costing methods (FIFO, LIFO, weighted average) and impact on margins.
  
  

Lab / Artifact

• Price test plan + elasticity hypothesis for 3 SKUs; example A/B test plan.
  
  

Module 4 : SEO & Content for E-commerce

Core objective: Drive scalable organic traffic tailored to transactional search intent and product discovery.

Topics

• Technical SEO for e-commerce: canonicalization, hreflang, pagination, site architecture, crawl budget.
  
  

• Transactional keyword research (product + intent), category SEO, and product descriptions that convert.
  
  

• Structured data (schema.org Product), rich results, merchant feed optimization.
  
  

• Content strategy: category guides, buying guides, comparison content, user-generated content (UGC).
  
  

• International SEO: hreflang, ccTLD vs subfolder decisions.
  
  

Lab / Artifact

• Keyword map + content brief for top 3 categories + technical SEO audit.
  
  

Module 5 : Paid Acquisition: Search, Social & Programmatic

Core objective: Build high-performing paid funnels; optimize to ROAS and unit economics.

Topics

• Paid search (Google Ads) for e-commerce: shopping feed, Smart Shopping vs Performance Max, PLAs, negative keywords, bidding strategies.
  
  

• Paid social (Meta, TikTok, Pinterest): creative best practices, lookalike audiences, TOF/MOF/BOF funnels.
  
  

• Programmatic and retargeting; prospecting vs retargeting budgets.
  
  

• Attribution and incrementality testing (holdout groups, geo tests).
  
  

• Budget allocation: LTV vs CAC targeting, scaling rules and iOS/ATT implications.
  
  

Lab / Artifact

• Draft a 90-day paid media plan with channel splits, creative themes, and forecasted CAC/ROAS.
  
  

Module 6 : Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) & UX for E-commerce

Core objective: Systematically improve on-site conversion with UX, trust, and experimentation.

Topics

• CRO funnel decomposition: Visit → Product View → Add to Cart → Checkout → Purchase.
  
  

• Shopping/PD pages: hero, primary CTA, price clarity, scarcity, social proof, shipping cost messaging.
  
  

• Checkout optimization: progress bars, guest checkout, payment methods, friction removal, mobile checkout patterns.
  
  

• Trust & reassurance: SSL, reviews, returns policy, trust badges, delivery estimates.
  
  

• Experimentation framework: hypothesis, sample size, significance, duration, multi-armed bandits.
  
  

Lab / Artifact

• A/B test plan for checkout flow; wireframe for optimized product page.
  
  

Module 7 : Email, Retention & Lifecycle Automation

Core objective: Create systematic retention flows that maximize CLTV and reduce churn.

Topics

• Welcome series, abandoned cart, browse abandonment, post-purchase flows, win-back campaigns.
  
  

• Segmentation & personalization: behavioral, RFM, lifecycle stage.
  
  

• Loyalty and subscription programs design.
  
  

• Deliverability best practices, sender reputation, DKIM/DMARC/SPF.
  
  

• Measurement: repeat purchase rate, retention cohorts, LTV forecasting.
  
  

Lab / Artifact

• Implement a 5-flow automation roadmap (content + triggers + metrics) for a sample store.
  
  

Module 8 : Fulfillment, Logistics & Risk Management

Core objective: Design fulfillment and return operations that protect margins and customer experience.

Topics

• Fulfillment models: in-house, 3PL, dropship, hybrid.
  
  

• Shipping pricing strategies (free shipping thresholds, shipping zones, DDP vs DDU).
  
  

• Returns & reverse logistics: cost control, quality checks, refurbish/resell channels.
  
  

• Fraud prevention and chargeback management (AVS, 3-D Secure, velocity rules).
  
  

• Inventory planning: safety stock, reorder points, lead times, ABC analysis.
  
  

Lab / Artifact

• Create a fulfillment decision matrix and returns policy optimized for cost and CX.
  
  

Module 9 : Analytics, Measurement & Data Science for E-commerce

Core objective: Make data-driven decisions using event tracking, cohort analysis and predictive modeling.

Topics

• Instrumentation: GA4 ecommerce events, server-side tracking, data layer best practices.
  
  

• Core KPIs and formulas (see full KPI section below).
  
  

• Cohort & retention analysis, funnel conversion attribution, churn modeling.
  
  

• LTV modeling, payback period, unit economics, sensitivity analyses.
  
  

• Predictive use cases: propensity to buy, next best offer, dynamic pricing, inventory forecasting.
  
  

Lab / Artifact

• Build a KPI dashboard in Data Studio (or similar) with cohort view and payback calc.
  
  

Module 10 : Scaling & International Expansion, Trends & Future Proofing

Core objective: Plan for profitable scale, multi-market rollouts, and emergent tech adoption.

Topics

• Growth playbooks: scaling paid, organic growth loops, partnerships, marketplaces.
  
  

• Market selection matrix for international expansion (TAM, logistics, payments, compliance).
  
  

• Localization: language, pricing, content nuance, local payments.
  
  

• Emerging tech: headless commerce, PWA, AR product try-ons, voice shopping, metaverse storefronts.
  
  

• Organizational scaling: structure, hiring, RevOps for e-commerce.
  
  

Lab / Artifact

• Global expansion plan for one target market with legal, tax, and logistics checklist.
  
  

4. Assessment & artifacts

Per module

• Short quiz (5 MCQs).
  
  

• Hands-on lab submission (operational artifact).
  
  

• Peer review on at least one artifact.
  
  

Mid-course

• Halfway project: launch a paid test (mock or live) with basic funnel and report.
  
  

Final

• Capstone (major deliverable, detailed below) + 50-question final exam (covering all modules).
  
  

• Oral defense/presentation (board-style readout).
  
  

Rubrics

• Labs graded on: clarity, correctness, data grounding, feasibility, and presentation.
  
  

• Capstone rubric covers strategy, execution plan, financial modeling, risk mitigation, and defensibility.
  
  

5. Capstone project (sample brief)

Objective: Launch and scale a niche online store to £50k/month ARR (or equivalent) within 12 months projected present a 90-day operational launch + 12-month forecast.

Deliverables

1. Market & competitor analysis + ICP and buyer personas.
   
   

2. Platform selection, store architecture, & product catalog.
   
   

3. Go-to-market plan (SEO + Paid + Email + Social) with 90-day tactical calendar.
   
   

4. Unit economics model (CAC, CLTV, Payback months, gross margin).
   
   

5. Fulfillment & returns plan, legal/compliance checklist for primary market.
   
   

6. KPI dashboard prototype & 6-month growth forecast.
   
   

7. Risk matrix & mitigation plan.
   
   

Presentation: 20-minute board-style pitch + 10 Q&A.

6. Key KPIs & formulas (operator toolkit)

Use these as canonical formulas and ensure instrumentation can compute them reliably.

• Traffic → Revenue ladder
  Revenue = Visitors × Conversion Rate × AOV
  (Write as: Revenue = Visitors × (Orders ÷ Visitors) × (Total Revenue ÷ Orders))
  
  

• Conversion Rate (CR)
  CR = Orders ÷ Unique Visitors
  
  

• Average Order Value (AOV)
  AOV = Total Revenue ÷ Orders
  
  

• Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)
  CAC = Total Marketing & Sales Spend for period ÷ New Customers Acquired in period
  
  

• Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV or LTV) — cohort approach
  LTV (simple subscription formula) = ARPA × Gross Margin % ÷ Churn Rate
  (For non-subscription, LTV = AOV × Purchase Frequency × Average Customer Lifespan)
  
  

• Payback Period (months)
  Payback = CAC ÷ (Monthly Gross Margin Contribution per Customer)
  
  

• Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)
  ROAS = Revenue attributed to Ads ÷ Ad Spend
  
  

• Gross Margin %
  Gross Margin % = (Revenue − Cost of Goods Sold) ÷ Revenue × 100
  
  

• Repeat Purchase Rate
  Repeat Rate = Customers with >1 purchase ÷ Total Customers
  
  

• Churn Rate (subscription)
  Churn = Customers lost in period ÷ Customers at start of period
  
  

• Unit Economics
  Contribution Margin per order = AOV − COGS − Fulfillment Cost − Variable Marketing Cost
  
  

7. Tools & tech stack (recommended)

Store & Platform: Shopify, Shopify Plus, WooCommerce, Magento, BigCommerce, CommerceTools (headless).
Payments: Stripe, Adyen, PayPal, local PSPs (Paystack, Flutterwave).
Analytics: GA4, BigQuery, Looker Studio, Mixpanel.
Email/Automation: Klaviyo, ActiveCampaign, Mailchimp.
Ads & Social: Meta Business Manager, Google Ads, TikTok Ads, Pinterest Ads.
Search & SEO: Semrush, Ahrefs, Screaming Frog.
CRO & Personalization: Optimizely, VWO, Google Optimize (or alternatives), Nosto.
Fulfilment: ShipStation, Shippo, 3PL integrators, FBA (Amazon).
Product & Inventory: TradeGecko/DEAR (now in QuickBooks), SkuVault.
CRM / RevOps: HubSpot, Salesforce.
Fraud & Security: Sift, Riskified, 3-D Secure, ClearSale.
Headless / Frontend: Next.js, Gatsby, PWA frameworks.

8. Pedagogy & delivery format

• Blended: video lectures + readings, weekly live clinics, hands-on labs, peer workshops.
  
  

• Artifact-first: each module produces a living document/tool that can be reused in real projects.
  
  

• Red-team reviews: peer critique sessions for GTM plans and capstones.
  
  

• Industry panels: guest sessions from brand managers, 3PL heads, Google/Meta ads specialists.
  
  

9. Weekly schedule (example for a 10-week intensive)

• Week 1: Module 1 & 2 : business model and store setup (labs: sandbox store).
  
  

• Week 2: Module 3 & 4 : product/pricing & SEO.
  
  

• Week 3: Module 5 : paid acquisition deep dive.
  
  

• Week 4: Module 6 : CRO, UX & experiments.
  
  

• Week 5: Module 7 : email & lifecycle automation.
  
  

• Week 6: Module 8 : fulfillment & fraud.
  
  

• Week 7: Module 9 : analytics & cohort analysis.
  
  

• Week 8: Module 10 : scaling + internationalization.
  
  

• Week 9: Capstone work & mentor clinics.
  
  

• Week 10: Capstone presentation + final exam.
  
  

(Extend to 12 to 16 weeks if part-time or for deeper labs.)

10. Typical assignments & practical checks

• Setup checkout variants and measure cart abandonment baseline.
  
  

• Run a small paid test (e.g., £500) and report CAC/ROAS and insights.
  
  

• SEO content piece that ranks for a mid-volume keyword (or detailed brief + distribution plan).
  
  

• A/B test experiment implementable with sample size calculation.
  
  

• Build retention lifecycle map and project revenue uplift from +5% retention.
  
  

11. Compliance, privacy & legal considerations

• GDPR / CCPA compliance for tracking and email consent.
  
  

• PCI DSS compliance for payments; careful handling of tokenization.
  
  

• VAT / GST for cross-border sales; marketplace VAT rules (OSS / IOSS in EU).
  
  

• Consumer rights: returns windows, refunds, cancellations, digital goods policies.
  
  

• Intellectual property: product imagery, copyrighted copy, brand claims.
  
  

12. Advanced topics & elective deep dives (pick for extended programs)

• Headless commerce architecture & API design.
  
  

• Marketplace management (selling on Amazon, Walmart, Jumia).
  
  

• Retail media & first-party data monetization.
  
  

• Subscription & membership platform economics.
  
  

• Sustainability, carbon neutral shipping, and circular commerce models.
  
  

13. Reading list & learning resources

Books

• E-commerce 202x: Strategy & Practice (practical modern edition)
  
  

• Hooked by Nir Eyal (user behavior & retention)
  
  

• Lean Analytics by Croll & Yoskovitz (metrics & experiments)
  
  

• The Elements of User Experience by Jesse James Garrett
  
  

Blogs & Sites

• Shopify Merchants Blog, Klaviyo Blog, Reforge (growth), A Better Lemonade Stand (startups), Andrew Youderian (e-commerce ops).
  
  

Courses / Docs

• GA4 e-commerce guides, Google Merchant Center docs, Stripe & Adyen integration docs.
  
  

14. How success is measured for learners

• Practical competence: working store or sandbox with functioning flows.
  
  

• Business sense: credible unit economics and go-to-market plan.
  
  

• Analytical rigor: KPI dashboard and cohort analysis.
  
  

• Execution culture: running an experiment and iterating on learnings.
  
  

15. Example deliverables (what students take away)

• Live or staged product catalog + checkout with tracking.
  
  

• 90-day acquisition calendar (paid + organic + email) with budget and expected CAC/ROAS.
  
  

• SEO content map and one executed piece.
  
  

• CRO experiment plan & wireframe.
  
  

• Retention lifecycle flows (Klaviyo/ActiveCampaign sequences).
  
  

• Fulfillment & returns playbook.
  
  

• Final capstone GTM + financial model + dashboard.
  
  

16. Estimated time investment

• Intensive version: 10 weeks × 6 to 8 hours/week => ~60 to 80 hours + capstone 20 hours.
  
  

• Extended/professional version: 12 to 16 weeks × 4 to 6 hours/week => ~80 to 120 hours.
  
  

17. Final note : what makes this course advanced

This program goes beyond “how to run ads” or “how to set up Shopify.” It integrates strategy, operations, and data so students can reason about profitability at scale, manage real operational risks (fulfillment, returns, fraud), design scalable acquisition funnels, and build the dashboards and governance that let businesses grow responsibly and sustainably.

I Look Forward To Congratulating You Upon Completion Of This Course.