Can someone explain this, please? (Two parts)

[KiwiSteve]

Hi, Stephen here from New Zealand.

I had an interesting occurrence yesterday - a customer ordered x2 (physical CD) audiobooks, which was good However, I do not have that title in my inventory, nor can I find it in my AC site. I rang the guy to thank him and talk about delivery, and he said he had just done a google search on the title+audiobook, and he clicked the link which took him directly to that title on my site, where he ordered. A nice surprise, but a mystery.

BTW, I purchased this site 2 months ago, and am still finding my way around the many traps for beginners.

1. How did the customer find that title on my site? Is there a link to another inventory somewhare else, or perhaps it IS in my catalog but I just can't find it? How did Google manage to index it?

2. Is it possible to integrate my AC site with Amazon (I am an affiliate, and was before I bought this site), so that if someone searches for a title, and I don't have it but it is available on Amazon, then they can purchase directly through Amazon? Amazon would get paid for fulfillment and shipping, and I would receive my affiliate commission.

I have search several likely forums on this second topic, but can only find old posts about what a good idea this would be.

Thanks for any ideas and help

Stephen

[jmestep]

Check in the admin for orphaned products and see if the title is there.
Check in the order for the referrer and click that title to see what page it was on Google if that is where it came from.
Do a search on Google for it and see what page it leads you to on your site.
Amazon integration- that would have to be customized.

[KiwiSteve]

Hi Judy

Thanks for your help.

This is what I found:
Not orphaned
Not on the first x pages of any related Google search... surprisingly
The referrer shows as:
http://www.audiobooks.co.nz/Good-to-Gre ... 16C20.aspx

So, I looked in Cat20 (Business>Leadership), which shows no titles at all. Hmmm...

And I don't yet know how to create a page, so that I can see where P1316 is.

Would you be good enough to point me in the right direction?

Also, across the top of my site there are tabs like Product Finder, Advanced Search, Contact Us. Where do I go to create a new tab/page to show, for example Specials, or Free Titles, Or Digital Downloads?

Sorry to be so helpless, but I have pored over the Help manual, and it doesn't give many details that I can understand. It seems to be written for people who already know what they're doing.

Many thanks

Stephen

[Katie]

Hi Stephen,

Have you tried searching from within the merchant Admin? There should be a free text search field in the upper right corner, in the header bar. I tried searching from the retail side, but there were no results. This makes me wonder if the product has a visibility setting of 'hidden'.

For the customization, you might want to start with the Website > Customized Pages menu. You can create a new page, like 'specials.aspx'. For content, you can use static html, or add the control that displays product specials.

Personally, I like to edit pages by going to the retail side. Make sure you are logged in as an admin, scroll to the bottom where you should see a MODE selection. Switch to EDIT mode and now you'll see more editing options in the footer of the page. Click the EDIT icon next to your Header selection, and then you can see the code that displays the tabs. A little copy, paste, and change to "specials.aspx", and you should be good to go.

Sorry this is a bit rough...if you need more help, just let me know.

Katie

[jmestep]

My guess from your website is that it is a hidden (ghost icon) product or that there is something on the leadership category page to not show products.

[RichWendrock]

If this is the title of the product "Good to Great CD: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...And Others Don't", then as someone said the product is marked hidden. You should mark items Disable Purchase if you do not want anyone to purchase.

[KiwiSteve]

Hi Katie, Judy & Richard

Thanks so much for your help and guidance, much appreciated

I'll do as you all suggest, no doubt it'll make more sense when I explore what you've said. I'm keen to customise what's there, but often don't know what I don't know. So thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

I'll report back with progress

Thanks

Stephen

[KiwiSteve]

Thanks guys, have made good progress with your help, starting to make some sense but just unfamiliar territory. The previous owner was not a tech, so replied on someone else to do things, so she had no real knowledge to pass on. Hence my questions here. Appreciate your help, Stephen