Kerry Murdock

Articles by: Kerry Murdock

Kerry Murdock

Kerry Murdock is publisher and editor of Practical Ecommerce. Since 2005 he has managed all aspects of Practical Ecommerce’s journalism, from selecting writers and topics to editing and fact-checking thousands of professional articles addressing all facets of worldwide ecommerce.

He was previously the publisher of two community newspapers and a small book publishing company.

He is a member of SABEW (Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing) and holds a B.S. in Accounting from Oklahoma State University and an M.A. in Government from The University of Texas at Austin.

Cross-border Selling
Q&A: Passport CEO Talks Tariffs

February 24, 2025 • Kerry Murdock

Alex Yancher explains the state of President Trump's tariffs and their impact on ecommerce and global trade.
Business
B2B Dev Buys D2C Brand, Part 2: Holiday Prep

September 19, 2024 • Kerry Murdock

The founder of Brilliance Business Solutions, a B2B agency, ramps up her new acquisition, a D2C food manufacturer.
Staffing
Ecommerce Recruiter on Landing a Job

August 29, 2024 • Kerry Murdock

Harry Joiner advises job seekers to research prospective employers and stay in the right mindset.
Finance
Overstock Relaunches: Q2 2024 Recap

August 23, 2024 • Kerry Murdock

The saga of Overstock — now Beyond, Inc. — triggers memories of a long-ago interview.
Finance
BigCommerce Rising: Q2 2024 Recap

August 16, 2024 • Kerry Murdock

Quarterly financial results point to better days for the pioneering ecommerce platform.
Business
B2B Dev Buys D2C Brand, Part 1: Acquiring the Biz

July 22, 2024 • Kerry Murdock

Why would the owner of a busy B2B ecommerce development firm acquire a DTC food company?
Staffing
Q&A: Ecommerce Employment in 2024

January 8, 2024 • Kerry Murdock

"It's like Baskin-Robbins. There are 31 flavors of available candidates — interim, permanent part-time, full-time, per-project, onside, remote, partial remote, and fractional."
Finance
Q&A: Ecommerce Acquisitions Steady in 2023

December 20, 2023 • Kerry Murdock

The founder of Quiet Light, a digital business brokerage, describes steady deal flow in 2023, a return to normal from the frenzied market of 2021.
Staffing
Executive Recruiter on Ecommerce Jobs Mid-2023

July 14, 2023 • Kerry Murdock

Harry Joiner has been an ecommerce recruiter since 2005. He calls the 2023 job market "a zoo."
Business
2022 Top 25: Our Most Popular Posts of the Year

December 29, 2022 • Kerry Murdock

We published roughly 500 articles in 2022. Here are the 25 with the most page views.
SEO
Q&A: Barry Schwartz, Publisher of Search Engine Roundtable

December 21, 2022 • Kerry Murdock

Barry Schwartz is a pioneering tech publisher, journalist, and search engine authority. He just celebrated his 19-year anniversary with Search Engine Roundtable, having launched the site in 2003.
Finance
Quiet Light Founder on State of Ecommerce M&A

December 14, 2022 • Kerry Murdock

Coming off a historically robust 2021, ecommerce mergers and acquisitions had to cool, but by how much? For insights, we turned to Mark Daoust, a pioneering business broker.
Staffing
Q&A: Executive Recruiter on State of Ecommerce Employment

December 7, 2022 • Kerry Murdock

The news of layoffs at Amazon, Shopify, and other ecommerce companies has caused much industry angst. We asked Harry Joiner, a longtime ecommerce recruiter, for his perspective.
SEO Tools
SeoProfy Founder: Study Competitors to Improve Rankings

June 7, 2022 • Kerry Murdock

The best tactic for improving organic search rankings is analyzing successful competitors. That's according to Victor Karpenko, the founder of Ukraine-based SeoProfy, a global consultancy.
Finance
Q&A: Alyona Mysko of Ukraine-based Fuel Finance

April 25, 2022 • Kerry Murdock

Fuel Finance is a Ukraine-based "financial department in the cloud." Alyona Myskyo launched the company two and a half years ago to provide easy-to-follow info to help merchants with quick decision-making.
Business
Q&A: Anastasia Zhuk, Ukraine Agency Owner

March 13, 2022 • Kerry Murdock

The Whidegroup is an ecommerce agency in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, near Crimea. Its co-owner, Anastasia Zhuk, describes in this interview the war's impact on her business, family, and life.
Business
20 Years in Ecommerce for Miva’s CEO

January 19, 2022 • Kerry Murdock

Miva, the ecommerce platform, launched in the 1990s. Rick Wilson joined the business then as a salesman. He's now the CEO. He recently completed the company's second capital raise and authored his second book.
Business
2021 Top 25: Our Most Popular Posts of the Year

December 30, 2021 • Kerry Murdock

We published an article in late January from contributor Sig Ueland. It addressed the rise of drone delivery and the providers spearheading that technology. "8 Commercial Drone Delivery Companies" became our most-read piece in 2021. Sig returned to human-free carriers six months later, addressing robots rather than drones.
Business
Remembering Hamlet Batista

February 8, 2021 • Kerry Murdock

All of us here mourn the death last month of Hamlet Batista, our friend and contributor. Hamlet first appeared in Practical Ecommerce in an interview. A mutual acquaintance, an SEO practitioner, had suggested that we publish his views. “He’s really smart,” said the acquaintance. “He’s applying for a genius visa.”
Business
2020 Top 25: Our Most Popular Posts of the Year

December 31, 2020 • Kerry Murdock

Contributor Marcia Kaplan emailed me in early February 2020. She described a sickness in China that appeared to be impacting global trade. She called it a virus and suggested that we address it. "Coronavirus Disrupting the Global Economy, Including Ecommerce," Marcia's piece, made our annual top 25 list — articles published during the year with the most page views. It was the first of dozens of Covid-related stories.
Staffing
TaxJar CEO on Managing a Remote, 160-employee Team

April 3, 2020 • Kerry Murdock

The coronavirus pandemic is forcing many companies to adjust to a home-based workforce. TaxJar, a sales-tax compliance platform, has been entirely remote since its founding seven years ago. All 160 employees work remotely, mainly from their homes. Mark Faggiano is founder and CEO of TaxJar. I recently spoke with him about managing a large, distant workforce.
Business
2019 Top 25: Our Most Popular Posts of the Year

December 30, 2019 • Kerry Murdock

We've published roughly 500 articles in 2019. What follows is our annual list of the 25 most popular based on the number of page views. Articles related to search engine optimization remain, collectively, the most read. Other leading topics include
Business
Miva CEO on Thriving in an Amazon-dominant Market

August 19, 2019 • Kerry Murdock

The rise of Amazon has prompted some observers to suggest independent ecommerce merchants are threatened. Rick Wilson, CEO of Miva, the ecommerce platform, disagrees. His new book "Dragon Proof Ecommerce," offers a roadmap for continued growth. I recently spoke with him about the book, Amazon, and the outlook for independent ecommerce.
Business
Thrift Books CEO on $150 Million of Annual Used Book Sales

July 31, 2019 • Kerry Murdock

Anyone who has purchased used books on Amazon likely encountered Thrift Books. It launched in 2003 as a pure-play Amazon seller. It is now the largest used-book seller in the world. I recently spoke with Thrift Books’ CEO, Mike Ward, about the company and the logistics of selling tens of millions of books every year.
Business
Moz Founder Rand Fishkin on New Book, New Company

August 13, 2018 • Kerry Murdock

Rand Fishkin founded Moz in 2001 as a blog, calling it SEOmoz. It became an industry beacon. He left Moz earlier this year. His new book is a transparent view of running that company. I spoke with Fishkin last week about the book, leaving Moz, and his new venture, SparkToro.
Cross-border Selling
DHL Executive on International Selling, Logistics

July 25, 2018 • Kerry Murdock

Selling across international borders can provide helpful revenue to merchants. But the complexity of laws, transit times, and delivery cost can be daunting. Dr. Eugene Laney is an authority on ...
Business
Sales Tax Pro on Impact of Supreme Court’s Wayfair Decision

June 28, 2018 • Kerry Murdock

For roughly 200 years, the U.S. Supreme Court has resolved disputes arising from companies selling products across state borders. A notable case occurred in 1992 when the state of North Dakota ...
Amazon & Marketplaces
Beardbrand Founder on Moving Away from Amazon

May 24, 2018 • Kerry Murdock

In an ecommerce world that is seemingly dominated by Amazon, Eric Bandholz has just moved his company’s products away from that marketplace. The company, Beardbrand, is now focused on selling ...
SEO
What, Exactly, Is Barebones SEO?

February 22, 2018 • Kerry Murdock

Organic traffic from Google and other search engines remains critical to many merchants. It generates a steady stream of prospects. And it insulates merchants from over-relying on Amazon for sales. There is no greater authority on search engine optimization than Stephan Spencer. He's the co-author of The Art of SEO and the sole author of leading digital marketing books. I recently spoke with him on bare-minimum SEO tactics for ecommerce.
Cross-border Selling
Does U.S. Postal Service Subsidize China-based Merchants?

December 12, 2017 • Kerry Murdock

Cross-border ecommerce is booming, as is cross-border shipping. But the postage rates among countries for that shipping greatly vary. Merchants in certain countries, such as China, can ship very cheaply ...