Archive for the 'e-commerce' Category

Making the Most of Cyber Monday

cybermondayThere’s no doubt you’ve heard the term Cyber Monday floating around the last few days.

In fact, it’s been around for the last few years … if you trust Wikipedia: “The term ‘Cyber Monday’ is a neologism invented by Shop.org, part of the U.S. trade association National Retail Federation. It was first used within the e-commerce community during the 2005 holiday season. According to Scott Silverman, the head of Shop.org, the term was coined based on research showing that 77% of online retailers reported a significant increase in sales on the Monday after Thanksgiving in 2004. In late November 2005, the New York Times reported that ‘The name Cyber Monday grew out of the observation that millions of otherwise productive working Americans, fresh off a Thanksgiving weekend of window shopping, were returning to high-speed Internet connections at work Monday and buying what they liked.’”

And there you have it – an instant education on what Cyber Monday means. And if you believe the hype, or – better yet – fall prey to it, we bet you’re at your desk right now, reading this post between purchases.

We say go for it. It’s only one day a year, right?

To help you navigate the treacherous backroads of the Internet as you spend money you haven’t yet made, CNN’s Josh Levs has compiled several helpful tips to keep you safe as you browse and buy online – advice that’ll help you get the most out of Cyber Monday.

Watch the video after the jump. Happy shopping!

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Using LinkedIn to Build Your Small Business

imagesOver at “The Internet Strategist,” one of Inc. magazine’s featured blogs, writer Maisha Walker has been hard at work on a series of posts dedicated to helping small businesses use LinkedIn as a sales tool.

Everyone has their own way of using the site to his or her advantage, but Walker’s list of power tools is great for anyone using LinkedIn to cultivate new business, network or keep up with existing contacts – and the competition.

Take a look at this comprehensive rundown of what you may or may not be doing to make the most of your presence on the professional networking scene.

Once you’ve studied it – and thought of ways to integrate the techniques into your own marketing strategy – feel free to read some of the LinkedIn success stories Walker has uncovered.

Just think … with the proper attention to detail, someday soon a similar story could be yours!

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Preparing Your Site for the Holiday Season

sug_0006_gifAfter the major disappointment that was last December, retailers will be spending more time and energy this year in preparing their Web sites for the holiday season.

You might be thinking though, how can I compete with major retailers whose sites are all shiny and sleek? Trust us, even the shiniest, sleekest sites have their problems. And their oversights could be your gain.

So what exactly should you do to prepare your site for the holiday season.

In an article on MultichannelMerchant.com, James Gardner details a few important steps you should take now to help stay ahead of the curve a month from now.

1. Don’t Forget the Basics

A common mistake that most retailers make, says Gardner – and we agree – is that too many times they concentrate their energy on a particular promotion or holiday campaign. But what about the rest of the site? What happens when all those people who are impressed by the company’s Christmas creativity can’t access others parts of the site because of poor functionality? Well, they answer, all too often, is that leave. They don’t want to be bother with a slow site that isn’t working correctly.

So, before you go spending all your resources on your holiday push, go through your site – meticulously – to make sure that everything is in working order. Make sure there are no unnecessary obstacles that stand in the way of consumer and checkout. Make sure that they have no reason to leave your site because of broken links and videos or images that don’t load. You owe it to yourself and your customers.

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Web Makeover Gives GolfEtail a Boost

GolfEtailScreenShotWhat a difference a Web makeover makes.

Over the past year we’ve made several changes to the GolfEtail e-commerce Web site, including the addition of rotating Flash banner ads; the launch of a blog that features golf player and product news; and the introduction of The DealTeam, animated characters designed to facilitate a sense of community among GolfEtail users.

The users have responded well to the changes as the site has experienced an uptick in traffic since the implementation of these components. Organic visits to the site have increased nearly 170%. Sixty-five percent of those visitors were new, and they account for nearly 60% of the transactions conducted on the site. Keywords have played an important role in new traffic as well, with more than 19,000 keywords driving search traffic up 330%. Almost 85% of keyword traffic was new.

What this means for the online golf apparel retailer is that Web 2.0 practices are working the brand, drawing traffic primarily using search engine optimization. SEO – through Web copy, the blog, and customer reviews – have introduced GolfEtail to a new customer base flocking to the Internet looking for the best deals on quality golf equipment.

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Interactive Marketing – Is That Really Where It's At?

iStock_000000307584XSmallIt shouldn’t come as a shock that more and more marketers are taking their advertising efforts online. We’ve chronicled this shift fairly frequently, like in this post on the increase in spending in social network marketing.

But just because marketers are increasing their budgets for interactive advertising, that doesn’t mean they’re making money.

The good news is at least they think they will. And positive thinking has power, people!

According to the “2009 Promo Interactive Marketing Survey” from PROMO magazine, more than one-third of marketers believe that interactive marketing ROI will be more profitable than traditional marketing – such as TV, radio and outdoor - this year.

Take a look at this bar graph from eMarketer, which details the results of the survey:

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