Armando Roggio

Articles by: Armando Roggio

Armando Roggio

Armando Roggio is the longtime senior contributor to Practical Ecommerce. He's a global ecommerce authority and a practicing merchant, developer, and journalist.

Since 2008 he's written over 1,300 articles for Practical Ecommerce addressing all matters of ecommerce and presented dozens of webinars.

His previous positions include director of ecommerce for a regional retail chain and marketing publications manager at Micron Technology, a publicly-traded computer-chip manufacturer. He holds a B.A. in English Writing and Journalism from The University of Pittsburgh.

Contact Armando via email or LinkedIn. Follow his ecommerce tweets at @ecommerceboy.

Business
Inflation Could Harm DTC and Premium Brands

April 5, 2022 • Armando Roggio

Inflation typically helps brands with lower-priced and essential goods and hurts premium items. Amid a heightened inflation outlook, merchants should scrutinize their product mix and adjust as necessary.
Content Marketing
5 Content Marketing Ideas for May 2022

April 4, 2022 • Armando Roggio

The May 2022 installment of our long-running content ideas series suggests focusing on competitors, specialized reports, local content, product profiles, and "National Brother's Day."
Business
How to Use SUMIF, SUMIFS in Google Sheets

March 30, 2022 • Armando Roggio

Analyzing total site traffic by channel for a specific period can seem daunting. But Google Sheets SUMIF and SUMIFS functions make the process straightforward.
Google Ads
Are Google Ads SKAGs Effective in 2022?

March 28, 2022 • Armando Roggio

Single keyword ad groups were once popular in Google Ads campaigns. But has Google's pivot to ad automation made SKAGs less effective?
Marketing & Advertising
The Creator Economy Draws Entrepreneurs

March 24, 2022 • Armando Roggio

Is attracting an audience via content a better way to start and build an ecommerce business? The creator economy appeals to many would-be entrepreneurs.
Content Marketing
How to Spell Check a Website at Scale

March 22, 2022 • Armando Roggio

Checking the spelling and grammar for a single document is straightforward. But imagine having to check an entire website of 17,000 articles. Here's how.
Business
How Merchants Combat Inflation without Raising Prices

March 20, 2022 • Armando Roggio

Inflation could be an opportunity for merchants to improve their businesses. Subscriptions, updated products, new markets, heightened productivity — all are potential alternatives to raising consumer prices.
Business
How the Ukraine War Impacts Ecommerce

March 10, 2022 • Armando Roggio

Human suffering from the Ukraine war is far more important than economic impacts. Nonetheless, business leaders should contemplate the potential effects on their companies.
Business
Fortnite Maker Pivots to the Creator Economy

March 7, 2022 • Armando Roggio

In acquiring Bandcamp, Epic Games hopes to capitalize on the so-called creator economy, wherein writers, coaches, and others sell their services directly to consumers.
Content Marketing
5 Content Marketing Ideas for April 2022

March 3, 2022 • Armando Roggio

Since 2014 Senior Contributor Armando Roggio has published a monthly content marketing idea generator for ecommerce merchants. His April 2022 installment includes listicles, music, and more.
Business
The Fallacy of Data-driven Decisions

February 27, 2022 • Armando Roggio

The notion of data-driven decisions implies the data is perfect and the decision is unaffected by external influences. Neither is true.
Business
A Model for Choosing Products to Sell

February 22, 2022 • Armando Roggio

Commodities typically have lower profit margins than manufactured goods or transformational products. For merchants, understanding the difference could determine success or failure.
Google Ads
Outbound Marketing In an Inbound World

February 16, 2022 • Armando Roggio

Search engine optimization, content marketing, and the whole of inbound marketing are important for promoting a business. But let’s not forget about advertising. I recently attended a marketing event where an ...
Shipping & Fulfillment
Materials behind Sustainable Mailers, Boxes

February 8, 2022 • Armando Roggio

Consumers increasingly seek merchants who use sustainable packing and shipping materials. But recyclable or biodegradable products are not equally helpful. We explain.
Marketing & Advertising
How to Make an Instagram Link-in-bio Page

February 7, 2022 • Armando Roggio

Instagram allows no links in posts. Followers who want to learn more are stuck, unless the merchant provides a link in its bio to a page with post links, to learn more. We explain.
Content Marketing
5 Content Marketing Ideas for March 2022

February 6, 2022 • Armando Roggio

Since 2014 Senior Contributor Armando Roggio has published a monthly idea generator for content marketing. This March 2022 installment includes workshops, how-to, and more.
Marketing & Advertising
When Retailers Are Ad Platforms

February 1, 2022 • Armando Roggio

Amazon pioneered the concept of a retailer-driven ad network. Now other retailer marketplaces are selling ads, too. The trend has far-reaching implications.
Content Marketing
Advertisers Can Find Power in the Dark

January 27, 2022 • Armando Roggio

Temporarily stopping ads can help clarify sales attribution. And ads that heavily promote content can mask its organic traffic benefits. So, yes, there's power in briefly going dark.
Business
Are Big Changes Coming to Digital Ads in 2022?

January 24, 2022 • Armando Roggio

Could aggressive ad targeting go away? A confluence of proposed U.S. privacy legislation, federal rule changes, and a decentralized web suggest a coming digital ad transformation.
Email & Text Marketing
5 Ways to Promote a Paid Newsletter

January 24, 2022 • Armando Roggio

Many creators publish a paid newsletter. But getting subscribers is not easy. It takes aggressive promotion, such as the five ideas in this piece.
Email & Text Marketing
How to Set Up a Paid Newsletter

January 16, 2022 • Armando Roggio

The creator economy refers to podcasters, writers, musicians, and similar who are compensated directly for their work. Paid newsletters are one of those methods. We explain the concept and how to get started in this piece.
Content Marketing
5 Content Marketing Ideas for February 2022

January 11, 2022 • Armando Roggio

Content marketing drives search engine rankings and inbound traffic. Every month since 2014 we've published a list of content ideas for ecommerce merchants. This February 2022 installment includes topics such as National Freedom Day, Bob Marle's birthday, and more.
Social Media
The Risk of Social Media Marketing

January 4, 2022 • Armando Roggio

Ecommerce marketing decisions are difficult. Advertising, search engine optimization, social media, content marketing — all involve communicating a message to an audience. But depending on the channel, the marketer may not control the message, its distribution, or even the audience.
Google Ads
Google Ads: How to Set Up Account-level UTM Parameters

January 3, 2022 • Armando Roggio

UTM parameters can help marketers track the performance of Google Ads to individual campaigns, ad groups, and keywords. Unfortunately, manually creating tracking parameter strings takes time and is error-prone. Instead, automate the process. Turn on the account-level Google Click Identifier, set up account-level UTM parameters, and use a script to create ad-group-level custom parameters.
Business
5 New Year’s Resolutions for SaaS Companies

December 27, 2021 • Armando Roggio

Losing fewer customers and depending on advertising less should be the top New Year's resolutions for SaaS companies in 2022. Software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies are a segment of the ecommerce industry. Their subscription-based digital offerings can be profitable. But the SaaS model also has challenges.
Business
Will Web3 Change Ecommerce?

December 24, 2021 • Armando Roggio

The concept of a decentralized web could lead to new forms of ecommerce. Web3 — sometimes called web 3.0 — is a popular buzzword. Queries on Google for the phrase peaked in early December with search volume about 20 times that of just a year before.
Shipping & Fulfillment
Take a Side in the Future of the USPS

December 20, 2021 • Armando Roggio

In the last 15 years, the United States Postal Service has lost around $90 billion. It has often failed to meet delivery expectations. And yet, the USPS is vital for many ecommerce companies. By law, the USPS must deliver to every address in the United States six days per week. This makes the USPS a common and often good choice for last-mile delivery specifically and ecommerce generally.
Business
7 New Year’s Resolutions for Ecommerce Companies

December 15, 2021 • Armando Roggio

Clearly defined goals can help ecommerce companies make 2022 the best year yet. The goals or resolutions should be aspiring and engaging enough to encourage action. What follows are seven resolution ideas for 2022. Adapt these to your company and implement them throughout the year.
Google Ads
Setting Up a Google Ads Dynamic Search Campaign

December 13, 2021 • Armando Roggio

Setting up a Google dynamic search ad is straightforward. Even a novice can have a campaign up and running in a few minutes. This article is a step-by-step guide.
Conversion
Why Mobile SaaS Conversions Are Lower Than Desktop

December 7, 2021 • Armando Roggio

Some software-as-a-service companies experience much lower paid conversions from consumers on mobile devices versus desktop and laptop computers. The gap can be troubling, and there are four regular suspects.