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5 Web Design Facts Every Merchant Should Know – eBiz eXtra, Issue 5

By ebiz Insider Staff on Fri (3/5/10) in eBiz eXtra | 0 Comments

Top Story Quick Tip
Yahoo! turns 15,
celebrates successes:
CEO reflects with reporters at press conference

March 1, 2010 marked the 15th anniversary of Yahoo!’s incorporation (although the company was formed in 1994). For the past decade and a half, the company has been providing content, search, e-mail, small business tools and a slew of other web-related services to individuals and companies. CEO Carol Bartz held a party/press conference at the Yahoo! headquarters, where technology reporters shared in the celebration, keeping the press pass in full sight, of course. Quentin Hardy of Forbes shares highlights of the occasion in a post on the magazine’s technology blog, Velocity. He debunks the myth that Yahoo! is for sale, gives the skinny on it being neck-in-neck with Google for mobile users, how more content and customization options are on the way, and how Yahoo! wants to be the center of every mom’s life. Read the comprehensive report.

More on Yahoo!’s birthday around the web:
eConsultancy: Why Walmart chose Yahoo! for its largest ad campaign
USA Today: CEO Carol Bartz speakers her mind to reporters

Make your blog posts easier to read by using lists, bullets, images, subheads, and other formatting techniques.

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eCommerce Event
eCommerce News of the Week

Online Business
Selling on Facebook viable option for some retailers
AdAge.com reports social media is already driving sales for some online merchants via Facebook commerce apps. Proctor and Gamble added a “Shop Now” tab to its Pampers fan page and ran a special: a Cruisers diaper pack for $9.99. Within an hour, the company sold out of the 1000 it had in stock. AdAge.com explains the open API and a deal with PayPal give companies and third-party developers access to develop commerce apps. Facebook is also working on other options to help businesses expand social media retailing options. Learn more.

The end of Saturday mail delivery?
The United States Postal Service is looking to reduce mail service to a five-day week, removing Saturday delivery. USA Today reports Postmaster General John Potter is submitting a formal request to the Postal Regulatory Committee in a move to reduce debt. Potter explains mail delivery is projected to decline through 2020 and there are already plans to consolidate over 150 post offices nationwide. The approval process could be long and drawn out, as the proposed change also requires congressional approval. Get the full story.

Internet Marketing
10 ways to use LinkedIn to grow your company
You might already have a personal presence on LinkedIn but does your company have a profile? SocialSmallBiz.com reminds business owners that LinkedIn offers company profiles and, when completed using the proper SEO-friendly terms, a profile could enhance rankings and serve as a great source of information. A business profile allows you to build relations with other businesses, journalists and bloggers, as well as establish yourself as an expert in your field by participating in LinkedIn Questions & Answers. Get the full story.

Connect with local customers using Google Place Page
Google Local Business Center offers brick and mortar stores the opportunity to verify and update their Google Place Page to include valuable information such as official website, hours, location, reviews, special offers, and contact information. Additionally, the Place Page works with Google Maps and Google Earth, so users can get directions and even see your place of business. Users can access the Place Page directly from Google search results, so keeping this page updated provides customers more ways to find your business. Learn more.

Store Design & Development
5 web design facts every merchant should know
Practical eCommerce reminds online merchants that no matter how little involvement you might have with the design and development end of your site, there are at least five facts for which you should be aware. Look out for proper coding by checking with the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Markup Validation Service and keep tabs on your browser compliance. Also, declutter and streamline your site by asking your programmer to use content management systems, CSS, and to not go overboard with HTML tables. Learn more.

94% of shoppers research before buying, but methods vary by industry
It’s no doubt that search engines should be a critical area of focus for online retailers. But, understanding how consumers in your specific industry search can aid in your marketing strategy. Internet Retailer reports that 94% of online consumers perform online research prior to making a purchase, with search engines taking the lead with 61%. Coupon sites, marketing e-mails from retailers, online review sites, and comparison shopping engines are the other methods used. What’s more, IR reports, is the choices differ by vertical. For example, those looking to purchase consumer electronics are more likely to go directly to retail websites for brands they know (59%) or use search engines (45%), while people looking for apparel are not as likely to use search engines, with only 12% of shoppers using them. Instead, those shoppers prefer e-mails (38%) and retail websites (26%). Learn more about searching habits.

Most Popular Articles Last Week
13 Ways to Engage Your Facebook Fans

Big Jump in Small Businesses Using Social Media

How to optimize your eCommerce site for Bing
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Solid Cactus, Inc. has designed or redesigned more than 3,000 e-commerce sites. Solid Cactus is an Inc. 500 company and was named one of the "Best Places to Work in Pennsylvania" in 2006 and 2007.

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13 Ways to Engage Your Facebook Fans – eBiz eXtra, Issue 4

By ebiz Insider Staff on Fri (2/26/10) in eBiz eXtra | 0 Comments

Top Story eCommerce Event
Big Jump in Small Businesses Using Social Media

The number of small businesses thinking big with plans for social media has doubled. Chief Marketer reports 24% of small businesses are using social media, up from 12% last year (Small Business Index). Nearly half of companies surveyed anticipate these new channels will be profitable. The study reports business owners are turning to social media to expand marketing efforts, attract new business, and engage customers. While, according to the study, social media ranks third in the investments entrepreneurs want to make in the next year, some have their reservations: about half of the respondents worried about the time investment and 17% feared social media would open a channel for criticism. Learn more.

Did You Know?
53% of Fortune 500 companies have no natural search visibility for their most advertised keywords.

–MediaPost.com
eCommerce News of the Week

Store Design & Development
Marketing to mothers: How shopping behavior changes after having children
Mothers spend $1.7 trillion per year and control 80% of household spending. That said, online retailers should pay attention to how a woman’s shopping behavior changes after having children, says eMarketer. This week the digital intelligence company shared a BabyCenter and novaQuant study which shows a steep increase in online activity post-baby. Additionally, 85% of woman say their shopping habits change once becoming a mom. From mom-centric sites to usual social networks and traditional media, moms are researching more — and are more vocal about their needs, wants, and finds (and disappointments). Find out what else moms want.

75% of online stores looking to add attention-grabbing features in 2010
Seeing IS believing. Adobe Systems Inc. released results from a study on effective eCommerce marketing features. The word is users want more images and more interaction. The survey looked at features that are currently being used effectively, as well as innovations topping the wish-list for 2010. Coming in at number one on the effective list was multimedia product views (36%), following by a visually-filtered search (33%), product reviews/comments (32%), and better search landing pages(32%). The results show that over a third of the companies surveyed use a blog and/or a branded social network page and a quarter use dynamic product displays, such as carousels, scrollers, and tabbed views.
Get the full story.

Internet Marketing
13 Ways to Engage Your Facebook Fans
Mari Smith from Social Media Examiner this week explains a baker’s dozen ways to engage fans of a Facebook business page. She provides 13 tips to encourage participation from fans and monitor feedback to measure results. For instance, Smith explains to end status update posts with a question and address fans by name– better yet, tag them. She adds timing is everything; posting during the right window of the day and also responding quickly to comments can mean better results.
Get the other 10 tips.

How to optimize your eCommerce site for Bing
Microsoft’s search engine, Bing, is certainly gaining ground as a viable online search alternative. According to a recent article from Multichannel Merchant, in May 2009 Bing had 6% of the search share. Today, they have about 9.3%. Bing presents results and spiders sites differently than search leader Google and the runner-up, Yahoo! In this article, author P.J. Fusco explains how Bing/MSNbot uses 300 factors in its categorization criteria and provides tips — from technical to creative — to optimize for this new search engine. He also warns what practices can hurt Bing rankings, such as misspellings and irrelevant links. Learn more about Bing.

Money Matters
Coupon use highest in 17 years; nearly a billion dollars saved digitally
eCommerce store owners who haven’t yet embraced coupon codes, here’s some stats worth clipping. Coupons.com reports savings from digital coupons in 2009 exceeded $858 million, a 170-percent increase from 2008. The release also reveals 2/3 of coupon users exclusively use digital coupons, while 1/3 also clip from the newspaper. Coupons.com CEO, Steven Boal, explains coupon use in general is the highest its been in 17 years, but now, consumers are increasingly adopting digital coupons and brands and stores are listening. Digital coupon use has evolved from simple coupon codes and printable coupons, both still wildly popular, to incorporating social media, mobile, and save to loyalty card promotions. Get the full story.

Why credit cards are declining… in usage, that is
Online consumers will use credit cards less often, while PayPal and prepaid gift and debit cards will increase in use, according to new research from Javelin Strategy & Research. While major credit cards are by far still the leading payment option, accounting for 43.5% of all online transactions, Javelin forecasts a decline over the next several years. Since prepaid gift cards allow users to shop online as if they had a major credit card, they are becoming popular among credit-conscious online consumers. See the full story.

Most Popular Articles Last Week
SEO Bait: Hook, line and…linker?

69% of online shoppers use social media; Facebook #1 destination

Negative feedback increases conversions for one retailer
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Solid Cactus, Inc. has designed or redesigned more than 3,000 e-commerce sites. Solid Cactus is an Inc. 500 company and was named one of the "Best Places to Work in Pennsylvania" in 2006 and 2007.

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The #1 social media site for shoppers is… eBiz eXtra, Issue 3

By ebiz Insider Staff on Fri (2/19/10) in eBiz eXtra | 0 Comments

Top Story Quick Tip
eCommerce customer satisfaction near all-time high

Online retailers are making customers happy. The 2009 American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) reveals the eCommerce industry has a higher customer score than the traditional retailers and finance/insurance sectors. With a score of 81.4, the ASCI rating are near the industry’s record high. Topping the list of major retailers surveyed are Netflix, Amazon, and Newegg. Claes Fornell of the ACSI says competitive pricing, free shipping promotions, and better on-site search contributed to the happiness of online shoppers. Read the story.

 In addition to Google Alerts, try using SocialMention.com for detailed, personal reports that not only include social media mentions, but also include stats and ratings for passion, sentiment, reach, and strength.

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Did You Know?
In its first few days, Google Buzz already surpassed nine-million posts.

–Mashable
eCommerce News of the Week

Online Business
Quick shopping features and video top retailer wish lists
According to the E-Tailing Group, Inc., 62% of online stores surveyed offer a “fast buy” technology, a feature up 39% from last year. These quick shopping features allow users to add an item to the cart without having to go to a product page. E-Tailing Group’s study also reports use of video has grown significantly from 2008; in 2009, 61% of retailers offer video guides. E-Tail Group president, Lauren Freedman, spoke about these stats at this week’s Internet Retailer Web Design & Usability Conference. Read the story.

Capitalize on this: Americans more wired than ever
More and more people are searching and shopping online, using smart phones, communicating on social networks, and watching videos. These growing trends certainly open up opportunities for eCommerce store owners. Website Magazine reported this national growth spurt with data from Comscore’s 2009 U.S. Digital Year in Review. Get all the results here.

Internet Marketing
69% of online shoppers use social media; Facebook #1 destination
The 2010 Social Media Report from ForeSee Results reported that 69% of online shoppers use social networking sites. Facebook took a huge lead, with 56% of respondents regularly using the site, with YouTube coming in second at 22%. However, the survey also revealed that most users only follow/friend one to five brands actively. Read more about this survey.

SEO Bait: Hook, line and…linker?
Link bait, when done properly, can be an effective search engine optimization effort. A recent Practical eCommerce article from Jill Kocher explains the many types of link bait eCommerce store owners can use to reel in more links – and customers. Kocher brings up how to use humor, controversy, news, and incentives as link-building strategies. Read more.

Customer Service
Negative feedback increases conversions for one retailer
Internet Retailer reported Lee Jeans’ online store saw revenue increase by 98% (yes, 98%) after addressing web design and functionality issues. Extensive usability studies revealed many consumers had complaints about their shopping experiences. Shoppers were dissatisfied, confused, and in fact, over 71% had failed at making a purchase. Lee is a prime example of how polling (and listening to) customers can increase conversions. Learn more about Lee’s success.

Multichannel merchants should have multiple return policies
As many brick and mortar stores make the jump into eCommerce, these multichannel merchants should also offer the same customer service across multiple channels, says eConsultancy’s Graham Charlton. In his blog post, he uses a first-hand example of purchasing a faulty mobile phone online – a phone he was unable to return to his local store. Charlton digs deep into the return policy and explains how a multichannel customer service approach is not just a way save a customer, but also present upsell options. Read more.

Most Popular Articles Last Week
6 design goals for your new website

5 Indicators you don’t care about customers as much as you think you do

Using Twitter lists to market your business
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Solid Cactus, Inc. has designed or redesigned more than 3,000 e-commerce sites. Solid Cactus is an Inc. 500 company and was named one of the "Best Places to Work in Pennsylvania" in 2006 and 2007.

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Relationship advice: Do you love your web designer? eBiz eXtra, Issue 2

By ebiz Insider Staff on Fri (2/12/10) in eBiz eXtra | 0 Comments

Top Story Quick Tip

Relationship advice: Do you love your web designer?

In honor of Cupid’s big day, we lead with a recent Econsultancy story. You should be in love with your website, so don’t settle. When choosing a web designer, you have to keep that lasting relationship in mind, says Econsultancy.

Don’t be afraid to tell your web designer what you really think. Like any successful marriage, have an open communication channel, agree to a common goal, and compromise to their changes as well. Read more.

 Be like Mom; save every mention of your company and post or link to it on your About Us page. Think of it as your refrigerator.

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Did You Know?
43% of retailers plan to grow an online community over the next year. 26% already have one.

–Internet Retailer
eCommerce News of the Week

Design & Development
Product videos increase conversions by 20% for one retailer
Practical eCommerce reports Clean Air Gardening saw a 20% increase in conversions on items accompanied by a product video. No need to go professional right away either, as the retailer says they began the marketing effort using free editing software, a personal camera, and YouTube to embed their video on their site. They advise retailers to start small, and then invest in professional videos when they start to convert and pay for themselves. Read more.

6 design goals for your new website
DzineBlog lays out six important goals for a new website design. Taking a designers’ perspective, the author explains a user-friendly design built with a specific audience in mind is key. The blog post uses a host of colorful screen shots of example sites that have accomplished these goals. The post reminds us, too, that while business owners know their industry, designers know web best practices. Read more.

Internet Marketing
Using Twitter lists to market your business
Cindy King of Social Media Examiner tells us how to use Twitter lists to get organized, attract attention, segment marketing, monitor competitors, and more in a very visually-appealing post. Plus, she shows us an SEO bonus resulting from good use of Twitter list labeling. Find out how one Twitter list ranked 12th in Google for a popular keyword. Read the full story.

Younger, more educated bargain hunters prefer online ads
According to eMarketer, a poll from Adweek and Harris Poll revealed that 23% of those polled look offline for sale ads and coupons, making print media still the most popular option for bargain hunting. However, when broken down by age, the poll shows college graduates and the 18-34 and 35-44 age groups favor online ads. See the full survey.

Customer Service
5 Indicators you don’t care about customers as much as you think you do
ConversationAgent Valeria Maltoni reminds business owners that customers have options. When faced with poor customer service, they can and will shift loyalties elsewhere. Don’t avoid direct contact with your customers, warns Maltoni in her recent blog post. She lists ‘5 Characteristics of a customer averse company’ and topping the list is, “There is no human to answer the phone…” See the full list.

Customer Interactions to Grow in 2010
A study released by NICE Systems and Ventana Research reveals that 44% of customer contact centers polled expect a large increase in customer interactions over the phone, as well as instant messaging, text messaging and online web requests. An E-Commerce Times article covers the study and stresses that 2010 is ‘the year of the customer.’ Read the full article.

Most Popular Articles Last Week
SEO guru asks, ‘Does SEO copywriting still matter?’

Internet Retailer Top 500 merchants report 21.7% increase in 2009

Even the simplest design flaws could be costing you
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Solid Cactus, Inc. has designed or redesigned more than 3,000 e-commerce sites. Solid Cactus is an Inc. 500 company and was named one of the "Best Places to Work in Pennsylvania" in 2006 and 2007.

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eCommerces Sales up 22% says Internet Retailer : eBiz eXtra, Issue 1

By ebiz Insider Staff on Fri (2/5/10) in eBiz eXtra | 0 Comments

Top Story Quick Tip

eBiz eXtra Launches

Continuing its commitment to educate eCommerce business owners, Solid Cactus
is pleased to launch eBiz eXtra, an e-mail supplement to our bi-monthly magazine, the eBiz Insider.

Each issue will include eCommerce news, tips, trends, and other information useful to every aspect of your online business. We’ll feature headlines from some of the best and most trusted eCommerce and Internet marketing resources, as well as exclusive Solid Cactus stories.

eBiz eXtra joins eBiz Insider, Solid Cactus eCommerce Boot Camp, our forums and blogs, and webinar series as one more eCommerce resource for you. We’d love for you to be involved, too so feel free to send us your feedback or tips for possible inclusion in a future edition.

 Keep ‘em short and sweet – E-mail subject lines 35 characters or less generally have a higher open rate.Share: Twitter
Did You Know?
101 million people in the U.S. read blogs, 50% of those readers report blogs influencing their purchasing decisions.–comScore
eCommerce News of the Week

Online Business
Internet Retailer Top 500 merchants report 21.7% increase in 2009
As Internet Retailer is compiling data for its annual Top 500 Guide, the online authority released one positive trend: consumers are shifting spending to the web. The latest stats from their on-going compiling reveal that web-only merchants are seeing the biggest growth. Read more.

Yahoo! Shopping to merge with PriceGrabber.com on March 11th
As of March 11, online merchants using Yahoo! Shopping will need to submit products through PriceGrabber. Yahoo! Shopping will still exist as part of the Yahoo! portal; however, store owners will need to sign up for a PriceGrabber account. PriceGrabber will also handle cost per click data for Yahoo! Shopping. PriceGrabber will be offering accounts which will submit to both PriceGrabber.com and Yahoo! Shopping, or accounts which only submit to Yahoo! Shopping.

Solid Cactus will be providing additional information on how to submit products easily from Yahoo! to PriceGrabber in the coming weeks. Read the full article.

Design & Development
Reviews rate second only to word of mouth marketing
Ratings and reviews play an important part of gaining the trust of new customers. Customers reportedly are willing to pay up to 99% more for a 4 or 5-star rating on products. In PETCO’s 2007 survey, pages with high product ratings had a 49% higher conversion rate than the average site page. Read more.

Even the simplest design flaws could be costing you
Internet Retailer’s cover story this month features a look at how one web retailer dug deep into consumer behavior data to pinpoint areas for improvement. The answer was not a redesign, but fixing some “small” issues. Once things, such as a more prominent search, were addressed the site saw an increase in conversions and a 7% increase in average order size. Learn more.

Internet Marketing
SEO guru asks, ‘Does SEO copywriting still matter?’
People are making billions of searches online each month. In fact, search is the most common online activity after e-mail. In this article, Copyblogger.com contributor, Brian Clark, uncovers important elements of modern SEO. Find out what the biggest piece of Google’s Ranking Algorithm pie is. (Hint: it’s not on-page keyword usage.) Read more.

5 steps to an effective social media contest
Going to use social media to market your company? In order to see real return on investment, Mashable.com says to define what you want to get from the campaign, setting a clear goal, and implementing unique methods to stand out against the crowd. Most important is measuring the success of your contest, seeing how well you achieved your goal. Read more.

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Solid Cactus, Inc. has designed or redesigned more than 3,000 e-commerce sites. Solid Cactus is an Inc. 500 company and was named one of the "Best Places to Work in Pennsylvania" in 2006 and 2007.

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Welcome to eBiz Insider, the official eCommerce magazine of Web.com. We feature cutting edge stories about eCommerce and the world of online retail. We also welcome you to participate in our eCommerce discussion forums. If you already sell online, or are considering selling online, look no further than eBiz Insider.
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