Foreign trade independent station used to be traffic and conversion tool, there are many companies secretly through the independent station to get results. The new crown epidemic has made more foreign trade enterprises realize the importance of online channels, and the independent station is the brightest pearl among them.
However, many foreign trade enterprises know little about the independent station, do not know its advantages and disadvantages are what, can not understand why there are international stations such as Ali to do independent station. Xiaodi wrote this foreign trade independent station and international station comparison article to help you solve the problem, to make clear the nature of the 2, which should be chosen.
Foreign trade independent website, usually refers to the English (small language) independent website/official website specially designed for international trade, which does not rely on any third-party platform (such as Amazon, eBay, Alibaba, etc.), and is built and managed by the enterprise or individual independently. This kind of website is usually used for displaying and selling products, as well as providing corporate information and services directly to global consumers or business customers.
It is worth noting that the real independent station domain name and website source code must be in their own hands, you can have permission to relocate the site at any time, change the domain name resolution. Many foreign trade enterprises official website source code is controlled by the station company, they do not have access, and even some official website domain name is also attributed to the station company.
Ali, Tencent cloud, Futong Tianxia, Vanke building station, China Enterprise Power and other independent station business, in their platform to open the site independently of their own design. These platforms are more Saas station, function and design have great limitations, control and ownership is not in the hands of the enterprise, speed and SEO is not good optimization, does not belong to the true meaning of the independent station.
Do independent station in order to SEO results and speed, must use foreign servers, with all the permissions, preferably using open source programs such as WordPress to build, scalable, easy to use.
Disclaimer: All screenshots in this article are from real chat records or third-party content, and are not intentionally fabricated. Other people's words only represent other people's opinions or experiences, and do not necessarily represent the facts or the position of Diiamo, please judge carefully.
Why do foreign trade must have an independent site?
The essence of closing a deal is trustTrust comes first, orders follow. Customers place orders with us only when they believe we can deliver stable, reliable products/services that solve their problems or help them make money. Customers will always order from the most trusted, reliable supplier—not necessarily the cheapest or the highest quality.
Trust stems from understanding. The more we know about a person or company, the more we trust them. Conversely, we remain wary of unfamiliar individuals or businesses. An official independent website serves as the fastest, easiest, most comprehensive, and most trusted channel for international clients to learn about us (backed by Google). If an export company lacks even a website, relying solely on a Gmail address and self-praise akin to a peddler touting their own wares, it will struggle to earn client trust.
In the absence of offline contact, the official website is the first basis for foreigners to judge whether a company is "real", "reliable" and "professional", and they will carefully check whether the product description is detailed and comprehensive, and whether the contact information is clear, and even check the office location through the street map. They will carefully check whether the product description is detailed and comprehensive, whether the contact information is clear, whether the team introduction is detailed, and even check the office location through the street map.
Ali international station can also be a certain degree of customer understanding of us, but the effect is greatly reduced: customers will certainly go to the peer store comparison, and ultimately fell into the goods than a number of, who price price (generally means poor quality), who will be marketing (bragging) who will get the order.
The effect of foreign trade independent site has good and bad?
Said that the independent site has a lot of good results, by the independent site to earn money in the minority. Said it is also a lot of people with poor results, after investing money and time to get nothing, and finally closed the site to leave the word “useless” evaluation.
accomplishwithdo a good jobCompletely 2 levels, the results are worlds apart. Most people just have an independent station, no in-depth optimization, no high-quality content (page), no careful maintenance operations. Just like planting flowers, inserted into the soil and watered, regardless of the probability of growth is not good.
Overseas customers are accustomed to "look at the official website before cooperation", foreign trade independent station is like a high-definition mirror, will be the enterprise's professionalism, credibility, strength of the details of unlimited amplification. Excellent official website is the "golden key" to open the international market; low-quality official website may be labeled as "unreliable" even if the product is excellent.
Independent station is the same as cooking, the same ingredients and cookware by different people cooking will have different results. If you feel that a certain dish is difficult to eat, the probability is not a recipe problem, but the chef's skills are not up to the task and do not achieve that effect.
After so many years of making high-end customized standalone websites and constantly researching conversion rates, speed, design, etc., we at Diiamo understand that there is a huge gap between different websites! It's like a roadside stand and a 5-star Michelin restaurant.
The same goes for standalone sites, we at Diiamo have been doing high-end custom standalone sites for so many years, constantly researching conversions, speed, design, etc., and we know very well how to make a good foreign trade website that will help you get excellent quality inquiries.
What are the advantages, benefits of foreign trade independent site?
Di engaged in foreign trade business for many years, has been doing a category, changed a few companies. Epidemic impact, switch to do foreign trade website, contact hundreds of foreign trade enterprises. Slight research on foreign trade as well as independent stations, analyze the personal views on the advantages of independent stations.
Feel free to leave a comment below if you have a better suggestion or a different opinion.
Low customer acquisition costs, diverse promotional methods, and a robust traffic pool
The essence of business is trafficNo matter whether it is a physical store or an online store, no matter whether it is selling garbage cans or smart robots, all of them need to get traffic/inquiries. Wine is also afraid of deep alley, in this overcapacity, white-hot competition in the market, no flow of foreign trade enterprises is difficult to survive.
The vast majority of foreign trade business traffic from the online, the Internet. The vast majority of online traffic from Google search, foreigners are used to Google search to find solutions/suppliers, especially foreign trade customers will basically through the Google search filter, understand the supplier.
(indicates contrast)free-standing stationIt is the most effective and reliable channel to get Google search traffic, you can participate in Google search rankings, share URLs, bind to Facebook/youtube, etc.gainFreeflux, you can also spend money to cast Google ads, ask jittery Netflix to bring goods, etc., attracting traffic is very convenient.
Usually use the enabled mailbox to communicate with customers, send development letters, etc. If customers are interested, they will also enter the website through the mailbox URL to view and learn about your company's products, scale, advantages, and whether it is suitable for customer's business, etc. If you think it is suitable, you will send inquiry or reply emails. If you think it is suitable, you will send an inquiry or reply to the e-mail, and it will be a big step closer to a single.
Independent site can get free Google search ranking traffic, do off-site promotion. Google advertising is also directly from the Google website to buy traffic, the price is the lowest. In contrast, Ali from Google and other buy traffic back to resell us, the price is much higher. And there is no free traffic on the international station (low-quality does not count), the ecological closure is not suitable for Google ads and off-site traffic.
When customers enter a B2B International Station store, they constantly receive ads from other stores and inevitably visit competitors' stores to compare prices. Therefore, driving traffic to the International Station is a joke—it's essentially doing the platform and competitors a favor.
With a steady flow of traffic and inquiries, it is also easy to retain talent and recruit good salespeople.
Gain trust and increase conversions
It was mentioned above that the essence of closing a deal is trust and how to gain it with an independent site.Foreign trade customers must be more than one, at the same time with at least 4-6 suppliers in the chat!The most suitable 1-2 suppliers will be selected for the sample order/small order test. Customers will be through the independent station to compare a number of suppliers to do what products, what are the advantages, what is the scale, how professional, whether reliable.
If your company does not have an independent station, and peers have. Or your independent station to do very ordinary, peer's very professional, content and detailed, design and access speed of all aspects are very good, then the customer is more favorable to your counterparts.
For example, we buy a car at the same time to visit a few stores, A brand store decoration is general, the car is arranged very messy, the staff is unkempt, B brand store decoration is very comfortable and low-key but low-key fashion and luxury, the car is arranged neatly, the staff is dressed neatly and the image of a good, very polite attitude is very good. Which brand would you choose in this situation?
An independent website is the face of a business! Like a high-definition mirror, it will magnify the enterprise's professionalism, credibility and strength details infinitely. Excellent official website is the "golden key" to open the international market; low-quality official website may be labeled as "unreliable" even if the product is excellent.
Xiaodi according to years of foreign trade experience and independent station building experience wrote aHow to increase the conversion rate of foreign trade independent site / e-commerce siteThe article, purely dry, introduces some of the ways to improve the conversion rate of independent websites. Do independent station, Diiamo is serious and professional.
Low-cost traffic sinks, repositories, creating private domain traffic
China's accession to the WTO has been decades now, AliPlus and other international sites have passed the bonus period, the effect is increasingly declining. If one day your company's Ali international website/Shopify website is not going to renew, the store will be closed. What about the products on it? What about the customers above who can't find you?
Independent station can maintain stable operation with just a few hundred dollars per year, with ownership and control firmly in their hands, and can upload company products/services to the site for customers to pick. It can also be shared with customers through the product URL, and can also be used as a data base for businessmen to check information, etc.
The standalone site can also be used as a low-cost permanent product data storage, display platform, and a way for regular customers to select information and contact us.
It can also be used to create private traffic, regularly upload new product styles or publish articles and other dynamic, synchronized updates to Facebook, Twitter, etc., continuous marketing traffic.
Precise and high quality traffic
Independent station to obtain customers, customers take the initiative to contact us, are accurate from the customer. Customers browse the website to send inquiries to us, first of all, to prove that the customer is a procurement needs, more accurate than the development of the letter to reach the customer. Secondly, customers feel that our products and strength meet each other's needs, so they will send inquiries to us.
So the independent station to the inquiry, the conversion rate is much higher. As long as the business properly follow up, the company's products and prices are appropriate, the order can generally be taken down. In contrast, send development letters to call and other active development methods have poor results, the customer is not accurate.
Of course, some inquiries may be phishing inquiries, spam inquiries, Diiamo built the site has a 3-pronged firewall, and spam inquiries blocking function, according to the inquiries real-time adjustments to block. Basically, our website will not receive these phishing and spam inquiries.
Disadvantages of a proactive approach to customer development
Active development of customers means sending development letters, phone calls, exhibitions, ground promotion and so on. Difficulty is relatively large, the effect varies from person to person. Previously, we do foreign trade salesman is very difficult, the company does not have much strength also dare not invest, only a basic package of Alibaba / Made in China network. Excellent quality inquiries are distributed to the relationship, know what they know. We civilian salesman can only rely on their own search for customer information and then send development letters, phone calls. It is difficult to take the initiative to develop customers, the success rate is less than 1%.Why is it difficult?
- 很难联系上对的人。要找到有下单决策权的人以及有效的联系方式不是一件容易的事，就算辛辛苦苦找到邮箱，可能对方已经不在那个职位/公司了；
- The other party does not necessarily need a new supplier at this stage. Even if they return emails, they may only ask for prices, ask for free samples to understand the market and so on, often without follow-up.
- Poor results. You can find customers, and so can your competitors. A client may receive thousands of development letters a month, most of which go into spam mailboxes or are blocked and have a low probability of being opened and viewed.
- 不是目标客户。客户主要产品是什么？什么价位/质量？是进口还是本国/邻国生产……？我们发开发信的对象大部分是非目标客户，就算联系上也很难转化成订单。
- 时间成本高。搜索客户资料+做背景调查+琢磨开发信联系客户=巨大的时间精力。选择主动开发意味着损失了维护老客户、学习新知识的时间。
P.S.: The contact information in the Canton Fair customer catalog book are false/outdated information, and the development letter 99% was returned.
The ground push is to go abroad to visit and so on, not many companies can do, not to chat in detail. The exhibition actually ended up being reduced to sending development letters, hahaha. The old salesmen of our group are all-powerful what will do: develop customers > arrange for proofing > do invoices > follow up orders > receive > shipments all by themselves. Before foreign trade companies do not have any customer acquisition channels mainly rely on salesmen to develop customers, and now the majority of young salesmen motivation and the ability to develop customers is not enough to rely on the company's channels and advantages of customer acquisition, to put it bluntly is sitting and waiting for customers to reply to the next email.
I've been using Fortis Global Eagle to automatically search for customer information and then send out mass messages. 6 years ago, most of the information searched was incorrect, and only a few letters were returned and not the target customers. Like digging for gold, this area has been dug by many people you still come to dig only by luck.
Disadvantages of foreign trade independent website
独立站优点众多，可是有个致命的缺点，就是自然分配的免费流量，必须上传优质文章、做谷歌SEO优化、引流才能获得优质询盘。
其实这不算独立站的缺点，任何网站，甚至是国际站，都是一样的情况。流量已经被巨头垄断，需要花钱买。谷歌搜索算是大善人，大部分流量通过咕谷歌搜索排名免费送给众多网站，而独立站是获取这个免费流量的入口。
独立站如果没有好的优质内容支撑（文章）、进行SEO优化，一般不会有好的排名，更不会有自然搜索流量和询盘。所以有很多人说独立站没有效果，就是这个原因。
如果舍得花钱，花几千块找我们帮你做SEO优化：代写SEO文章+ 优化谷歌SEO+教你社交平台引流。我们保证效果，效果不达标，免费一直优化到你满意为止，感兴趣私聊。
如果不舍得花钱，可以自己动手写文章，学谷歌SEO优化，注册主流社交平台发帖引流，也会有不错的询盘效果。我们博客有相应的文章教程，感兴趣请移步Blog pageMany people find that redirecting funds from their international platform ads to Google Ads yields significantly better results.
Comparison of Independent Websites and International Platforms
Independent station inevitably with Ali international station, China manufacturing network and other B2B platform comparison, they are essentially the same, 2 sides have a lot of supporters. Easily entangled which one to choose, which one is more suitable for you? In fact, B2BP
Conclusion: In fact, B2B platform is essentially an independent station + advertising diversion, but is a collection of many independent stations together into a line into the industry, and then the platform fee for their own diversion to sell advertising space to merchants. the difference between B2B platforms and independent stations is similar to the food court and vendors.
You can understand the B2B platform as a food court.管理方 (背后公司) 做场地和宣传引流(美食街本身自带流量属性)，制定一堆规则高价出租摊位，聚集一大堆摊贩。并且制作一堆广告位，规定摊贩只能向自己购买广告位引流。
而独立站相当普通摊贩，在其他地方(校门口、菜市场门口、实体店等)自由摆摊，没有租金，没有那么多同行恶性竞争，没有第三方监管，也没有人帮忙引流。可以打广告，放牌子等方式引流，成本低很多，也自由很多。
Xiaodi summarized the following points of foreign trade independent station and international station detailed comparison difference:
The methods for acquiring traffic/inquiries differ.
The only way to get the international station traffic like Ali is to spend money, buy high-priced packages, buy booths, buy exposure and so on, all of them are spending money to buy traffic, and can only spend money to buy traffic.
Although Ali has a free flow to the store, but know that those who know the quality of traffic is too poor, and even some people say it is fake traffic, fake inquiries, interested in their own Baidu. Xiaodi just share the voice of some real users.
谷歌不接受平台型网站店铺投放广告，所以阿里、MIC等国际站店铺无法投放谷歌广告，也不能参与谷歌搜索排名。唯一的引流方式就是通过分享网址给客户，可是这是很笨的做法。
There are numerous ways to drive traffic to your independent website, with organic Google search rankings being the primary source—delivering substantial volume and high-quality leads! For faster lead generation, consider Google Ads campaigns or collaborating with TikTok influencers to promote your products. You can also share your website links or products on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
设置可以直接发送网址给客户，邮件沟通时，客户也会主动通过邮箱里的网址进入独立站查看。
综上所述，国际站的流量比较单一，客户面相对较窄，效果好不好主要看阿里的引流策略，很明显，平台是不可能照顾到各行各业店铺的需求。所以有些行业国际站店铺流量和询盘普遍很差。
Independent station in this regard is much better, diversified traffic diversification, through the social media, forums, offline, search engines, AI search, etc., traffic diversification, for a variety of customers, to obtain more quality traffic.
Can I participate in AI/GEO search?
AI has now permeated virtually every industry, and international trade clients are also eager to use AI to find suppliers. In the past, they had to open Google, search through and compare numerous websites, and filter out suitable suppliers. Now, all they have to do is send their requirements to the AI to directly receive a large list of suitable suppliers—complete with contact information—and the system can even automatically send inquiries.
Currently, AI search results are all based on Google rankings (SEO), as this makes the results more reliable and ensures they have Google’s endorsement. B2B platforms such as Alibaba International have long been deemed irrelevant by Google and are unable to participate in search rankings; therefore, AI/GEO will not reference or recommend Alibaba International stores.
AliExpress has effectively lost its eligibility to participate in AI search and Q&A, and this situation is only going to get worse in the future. Meanwhile, independent e-commerce sites are favored by Google and AI, giving them a natural advantage in terms of traffic and search rankings; among these, websites built using the international version of WordPress are even more likely to achieve high rankings.
The cost of traffic/inquiries varies.
The cost of paid traffic to an independent site is also much lower, as the Google search ranking traffic mentioned above is free, as is sharing the URL to social media, etc. The only way to pay for traffic is to put in Google ads, which are much less expensive than buying Aliens windows and the like. The only way to pay for traffic is to invest in Google AdWords, which is a lot less expensive than buying an Ali Window or something like that.
Alibaba essentially makes money by selling traffic, acting as a wholesale traffic provider. The company acquires traffic through methods like Google advertising, on-ground promotions, and paid advertising, then resells this traffic to merchants. Yes, Alibaba itself lacks organic traffic—most of its traffic is purchased. After adding operational costs and profit margins, the traffic is sold to merchants at a significant markup.
现在流量价格越来越高，所以阿里的基础套餐价格也越来越高，从以前的最低29,800到现在35,800，还要捆绑销售其它产品。可是阿里整体的流量质量和数量在下降。
现在的B2B平台就跟淘宝天猫电商平台一样，已经过了红利期，进入衰退期，自然流量越来越少，效果大不如前，可是成本却越来越高。B2B平台还是有很多商家能赚钱的，只是比例比较少。
Maybe you have heard of Taobao only 20% sellers are making money, 50% maintained in the break-even, the rest of the loss of money.B2B platform is the same, only a portion of the head of the enterprise (at least hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to invest) is making money, most of the enterprise is to accompany the running to get along, the remaining part of the long term loss of money state.
The quality of the inquiry is not the same
上面说到国际站和独立站的流量性质以及质量不一样，这就导致询盘的质量和数量也不一样。国际站流量按理说应该更加精准，可是结果往往是询盘质量偏差，整体不如外贸独立站的询盘质量。
On one hand, the barriers to entry for businesses have lowered, with diverse approaches emerging. Bulk purchasing has become rare, while a large number of small B2B clients have risen to prominence—especially as e-commerce continues to chip away at brick-and-mortar stores' market share. Consequently, Alibaba has shifted its focus toward these smaller B2B players, directing traffic from AliExpress to its platform, resulting in a surge of small B2B clients. We frequently receive inquiries for orders of just a few dozen or even a handful of products, while bulk purchase inquiries have dwindled significantly. Moreover, these bulk orders primarily come from Indian clients (you know what I mean).
On the other hand, with too many cooks and not enough broth, Alibaba prioritizes premium traffic for clients willing to spend big.Spending less than 300,000 RMB annually on Alibaba ads yields mediocre results, with profits often failing to cover costs. I've seen many clients investing hundreds of thousands yearly, receiving thousands of monthly inquiries, yet closing only 2-3 standard clients per month and 1-2 larger deals annually. Stores investing 1 million RMB annually on the International Station rarely lack traffic and consistently receive inquiries from major brands.
关于阿里国际站的效果，小迪不方便讲太多，避免被别人误会、拉高踩低。感兴趣可以自己去抖音、微信视频号等搜索一下，很多真实案例。有的人说询盘是被平台控制和分配的，并不是纯靠商家优化商品获取更好排名获得询盘。
Independent websites generally yield much more reliable inquiry quality, as many serious buyers who prioritize supplier quality often search for suppliers via Google. The section below titled “Independent Websites Better Showcase Professionalism and Build Trust” elaborates on this. Even receiving just a few dozen inquiries per month can keep an independent website owner busy, with several potential clients closing deals. For instance, when Xiao Di managed an independent website for a Shenzhen energy storage battery company, Google ads generated an inquiry from Germany's second-largest importer within less than two months.
Another crucial point is that customers on the international platform are highly price-sensitive and discerning. Since the platform's rules require recommending multiple suppliers for the same customer to choose from, buyers naturally compare offers across vendors and become more selective. Suppliers are thus passively drawn into a price comparison and discounting game.
你发国际站店铺网址给客户，客户一定会去你N个同行的店铺对比，最后选价格更低或者更有实力的那家下单，你白送客户给同行。阿里的推荐机制就是这样，无论你的客户浏览哪个页面，阿里都会推荐你同行的店铺给客户。
甚至诱导客户发送RFQ，只要客户点一下按钮，就能发送询盘给你和众多同行。你想想，最后客户还会下单给你吗？而独立站就没这个问题，客户只能在你网站逛，不会被引导去同行网站。
Standalone sites are better at highlighting professionalism to gain credibility
国外客户更加信任独立站，因为他们信任谷歌。一个网站能在谷歌前2页显示出来，证明经过谷歌“肯定”，可信度高。相比之下，国际站里面的商家排名和商家资料只经过平台审核，可靠性不足。
I've read what British foreigners purchasing on B2B platform: in order to control the price and quality, they will directly find factories to cooperate. Nowadays, there are factories and traders on B2B platform, which is difficult to distinguish. Moreover, the products and information of each company on the platform look similar, and it is difficult to highlight the differentiated selling points due to serious homogenization. It's a bit of a headache to screen from hundreds of suppliers.
So I would choose to search for suppliers on Google search, and if I see a company with a good product design, I would think that this company is more focused on the brand image and customers, because they have “invested” (in the website), and appear more reliable and professional.
Below is a video interview with a British brand importer, explaining the problems of B2B platforms in the eyes of foreign customers and why foreigners prefer to find suppliers through independent sites.
Video from Shakeology blogger @Tommy, take your time.It has been awardedauthorizations.
The nature of the official website of the independent station is supposed to be more reliable than the platform store, and the independent station can freely add the video of the factory, production line process, team introduction, industry certification (such as ISO, CE) and other modules, which visually conveys the professionalism of the enterprise.
And you can also publish industry whitepapers, customer case studies, and technical blogs to establish an authoritative image of the industry. Case: a furniture company through an independent station to show the wood traceability process, European and American customers conversion rate increased by 40%
对比之下，国际站所有店铺的页面类型和内容布局一模一样，受限于模板，仅能上传基础图文，无法深度传递品牌故事。内容同质化严重，买家聚焦比价而非品牌价值。
Independent stations can access Trustpilot, SiteJabber and other third-party evaluation systems to display unscreened real user feedback. False positive feedback and single-sheet brushing exist on Ali's international website, and the loopholes in platform regulation have led to a decline in buyer trust.
The independent site clarifies user privacy policy through GDPR compliance statement, data encryption technology, while the data of Ali International Station belongs to the platform, and the enterprise can't manage the buyer's information directly.
Independent site can embed McAfee SECURE, BBB (Better Business Bureau) certification badge, especially for European and American buyers persuasive. Ali prohibits buyers and sellers from contacting each other through WhatsApp and e-mail, so buyers can't verify the authenticity of the company.
Essential Differences:The independent website is the “digital headquarters” of an enterprise, building trust through in-depth content and technical services, while the international website is like an “online bazaar”, where trust relies on the platform rather than the enterprise itself. In the globalized brand competition, independent websites have become the core carrier of the trust economy.
Less restrictive and ownership of stand-alone stations
Full corporate controlfree-standing stationDigital assets, enterprises independently registered domain names (such as brand.com), self-managed servers, website code, database, user information are private assets that can be migrated, backed up or sold.
Customer contact information, behavioral trajectory (browsing/purchase records) and other data belong to the enterprise, which can be used for email marketing, remarketing, and building a private domain traffic pool. Website content, SEO ranking weight and user evaluation are all deposited as long-term brand assets of the enterprise, which are not affected by changes in platform rules.
Ali International Station Restrictions:
- Merchants only have the right to use but not ownership, domain name, store structure, customer data are attributed to the platform, close the store that is the loss of all resources;
- Data access is limited, buyer contact information is desensitized by the platform, and companies can only communicate through on-site mail, unable to export a complete customer database;
- Constrained by platform template design and displayed alongside competitors on the same page, it risks falling into a price comparison trap, preventing the in-depth communication of brand stories;
- It is prohibited to direct buyers to external tools such as WhatsApp, email, etc., violators will be deducted points or close the store;
- Product detail pages need to conform to the platform template and cannot be embedded with personalized designs (e.g. brand story videos);
- Promotions require enrollment in platform events (e.g. "New Trade Festivals"), which are complex and require additional fees;
- Violations of the cumulative points (such as false advertising deduction of 6 points), the full X points will be restricted from participating in the activities, the full X points can be shut down;
- Unable to cast Google ads, participate in Google search rankings, etc., off-site attraction effect is poor;
Alibaba International Station stipulates:Any act of providing or requesting phone numbers, WhatsApp numbers, WeChat IDs, or Skype IDs—including software abbreviations, variations (such as W+A or "V-Xin"), and displays in image form—will be deemed as directing users to communicate outside the platform.
The scope of these regulations is not limited to chat windows; it also covers Alibaba seller communication signatures, automated replies, inquiry emails, RFQs, on-site messages, as well as information on product and store pages. Requesting a phone number will also be considered a violation.
I saw a group of friends in the foreign trade station sharing group share: because the product is similar to the constant complaints, and finally the store was closed, so he taught himself to build an independent station.
If the Ali store is not renewed or blocked, all the previous efforts will be in vain, remember to backup the customer data. Foreign trade website inquiry information and product information in their own hands, you can always download the migration.
Updated April 8, 2026: A friend reported that a store selling chemical products was shut down without any prior warning, and the platform refuses to refund advertising fees, account balances, store setup fees, and other charges.
2026.05.05 Update: Xiaodi was bored and brushed the WeChat video number when he found the video below, Ali's former employees (wreak of hair students) spit a few words Ali International Station (3 evil in the picture) was sued for 500,000 yuan.
Update: The hearing was canceled the day before it was scheduled to take place, as the plaintiff requested an extension to submit evidence. The hearing resumed on July 8, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. Case No. (2026) Su 0412 Min Chu No. 2124, presided over by Judge Chen Shaoshan. No judgment has been issued yet.
2026.10.31更新：官司出判决了，感兴趣可以自己看下该博主的Articles。简单总结：说阿里三大恶侵犯名誉，赔偿5万。其他讲阿里不好的视频不侵犯名誉权，只是要求下架。
小迪个人理解：其他说阿里不好的视频，阿里证明不了所说内容是假的，所以不构成诽谤和诋毁，没有侵犯名誉权。
The operating methods and costs are different.
国际站有规则要求，为了效果好，需要不断上传产品、刷新产品、及时回复、内容要规范、参加活动等等。还需要购买AI等功能，配置专门运营人员，烧直通车，成本很高。
独立站运营轻松很多，没有要求。只要每周有空上传一点产品，每个月写1-2篇文章，分享网站页面/内容到社媒，有询盘回复一下就行，很轻松。
独立站不需要专人运营，找个空闲点的业务员有空管一下就行。当然，如果想效果好，最好按国际站那样专人运营，发布内容，做点外链。最好投点广告或者做SEO优化。
plight of the many and the few
Times dividend period has passed, in the information explosion today, a bunch of suppliers take the initiative to find the door, customers casually in Google, AI search can also find a large number of high-quality suppliers, B2B platforms go downhill is inevitable.
一边是越来越多的入驻商家，一边是数量和质量越来越差的流量，B2B平台已经陷入僧多粥少的困境。物以稀为贵，所以B2B平台不断提高价格，这样筛掉一部分入驻商家，同时也能维持利润。
所以阿里和MIC等B2B平台/国际站的价格会越来越高，商家需要花更多钱才能获取到可观的询盘。小迪跟一个有10多年经验的B2B平台现任客户经理聊过，他肯定我的这个说法。
As an aside: Some account managers at certain platforms talk a mile a minute, making all sorts of outlandish claims and offering a slew of promises they can’t keep—only for merchants to realize it’s all just hot air once they’ve signed up.
Advantages of B2B platforms such as Ali
虽然效果不如从前，可阿里毕竟是排名第一的B2B平台，拥有一些优质客源。国外大公司的订单量十分巨大，需要很多供应商。它们就喜欢在阿里类平台找供应商，省事、高效。
However, only the popular keywords ranked on the first page of the business to have more access to these large customers, and the strength of the business itself and product quality, price to be excellent in order to arouse the interest of customers to send inquiries.
Moreover, when opening a store on Alibaba, as long as you're willing to invest, you'll get inquiries regardless of how well you manage operations. As long as your order prices and MOQs aren't too high, you can generally secure sales. Whether you get many or few orders, large or small ones, is another matter entirely—but at least it's stable. Independent websites primarily rely on operations. If managed well, they can generate excellent inquiries at low costs. However, if operations are poor, even investing 100,000 yuan might not guarantee any sales.
多年前，小迪在广州白云区一家贸易公司上班（10多个外贸业务员），公司主要靠2个阿里巴巴账户获客，一个账户投入30多万/年。从阿里询盘做下3个大客户，一年利润上千万。
Ali and other international platforms have the advantage of being able to do on-site payment, platform guarantee (Ali letter of guarantee commission 2% ~ 3%) some customers are more trustworthy, can contribute to the transaction to a certain extent. However, as long as the impact on the small amount of orders, large orders are almost always go T / T transaction is more stable. Sellers are also not assured that large sums of money through the international station platform collection, there is a risk of being deducted or delayed payment.
Summary:
接上面的例子，假设你是摊贩，你会选美食街还是在校门口、菜市场门口、实体店等地方摆摊/开店？其实这个答案很明显，你去美食街看一下人流多少，租金高低，同行多不多、产品竞争激烈程度，就知道选哪个。
去美食街看下就知道，你的产品在美食街购买的人多，利润可观的话，那肯定就在美食街摆摊，投钱引流都值得。订单多，利润客观，任何支出都是合理可接受的。
可是如果美食街你的产品目标客户人流不理想，已经有很多同行了，那再进去就没必要了。这时去其它地方摆摊/开店好些，成本低、自由度高。
Alibaba suits companies with strong capabilities and a willingness to invest. Opt for the highest-tier package directly, with annual spending of 300,000 to 1,000,000 RMB on the Trade Express service. Dominate search results with primary keywords, and expect substantial inquiry results (effectiveness varies by industry; for reference only). If your company lacks distinct advantages and is unwilling to invest, Alibaba's effectiveness is unlikely to be high. An independent website may be a better fit.
Independent e-commerce platform + international marketplace—a perfect match
通过上面外贸独立站和国际站对比，大家应该清楚独立站和国际站不是竞争关系，而是互助+互补关系，二者的流量也有点差异，客户群体有些不一样。有条件的话，建议2者都做，哪个效果好就加大投入，增加产出。
An independent website is like aged citrus peel—the longer it matures, the better the results. The sooner you start, the better. Xiao Di wrote an article titled "Avoiding Pitfalls in Outsourced Website Development + How to Screen Website Development Companies》Article, feel free to check it out if you're interested.
1 thought on “为什么做外贸一定要有独立站/官网？超深入外贸独立站和B2B国际站对比”
Investing heavily in international platforms requires significant money and manpower, yet the results are mediocre. Independent websites are indeed a solid option.