Category

Conversion

Fewer than 5% of visitors to an ecommerce site typically convert to customers. In this Conversion category, we offer insights to increase that percentage. Our expert contributors address ratings and reviews, social proof, site search, product page enhancements, product descriptions, checkout options, live chat, and much more — anything to help close online sales.

Analytics & Data | Checkout Tactics | Customer Retention | Customer Service | Photography & Video | Product Pages
  • Conversion

    Exporting Your Products: Do It Yourself or Hire an Exporting Firm?

    March 3, 2008 •

    Once you have conducted your market research and made the decision to export your products to foreign markets, you must devise an international sales and marketing strategy. Your initial obstacle will be determining which overseas markets have the most potential for selling your product...

  • Conversion

    Mobile-optimized Websites Extend Customer Service

    February 11, 2008 •

    When Apple reached out to Travelocity.com to develop an iPhone-optimized website, Travelocity jumped at the chance. “It was a great opportunity for us,” said Paul Briggs, Travelocity’s Director of Customer Marketing and Loyalty. “We already had a general mobile site, but with Apple’s su...

  • Conversion

    Time Is Money

    February 6, 2008 •

    It never ceases to amaze me how much time people waste trying to save money. Having grown up in a small town (fewer than 2,000 people), I recognized that paying a little more for staple items locally was less costly than driving 20 miles to save a few bucks. In the business of ecommer...

  • Conversion

    Conversion: Metrics Maximize Decision Making

    February 6, 2008 •

    One of the most appealing aspects of web marketing is that it is so measurable; you can actually quantify what works. Because I spend a considerable portion of my work time studying web analytics and metrics, here is a distinction I have found useful over the years: Some metrics are ...

  • Conversion

    Usability Report Card: Ceriellofinefoods.com

    January 30, 2008 •

    Joseph Malewicki, the owner of Ceriello Fine Foods, has been an avid reader of Practical eCommerce since its inception. He sells specialty Italian foods at Ceriellofinefoods.com and, when requesting a site-grade, said, “I think I’ve nailed down the info in past issues about usability an...

  • Conversion

    Advertising On The Google Content Network

    January 28, 2008 •

    The most common mistake Google AdWords advertisers make is assuming that Google’s search network and Google’s content network are the same. In reality, the two are very different. Below is a checklist of how one should go about settings up a content network campaign. Getting Started A...

  • Conversion

    Widgets: Moving Your Web Store Into The Community

    January 21, 2008 •

    Social media has grown to become a serious tool in a merchant’s marketing arsenal. Sites like Shopwiki.com, Thisnext.com and others provide excellent opportunities for merchants to gain favorable reviews and referrals, and other social networking sites like Del.icio.us, Reddit.com, Mys...

  • Conversion

    PPC Report Card: Homeexchange.com

    January 16, 2008 •

    Homeexchange.com helps people exchange homes while on vacation. The site has two conversion events: A $99.95 registration for one year and a $50 house-listing fee. The site’s owner recently asked Practical eCommerce to review its pay-per-click campaigns in Google and Yahoo!. In its cur...

  • Conversion

    Google AdWords: More Than Text Ads

    January 14, 2008 •

    Google AdWords offers a number of different ad formats and options in addition to the standard text-based ads. I’ve summarized these formats and options below. Standard Text Ads These are the regular text ads that we most commonly associate with Google's pay per click ad program....

  • Customer Service

    On Vacation? Pointers To Stay Connected

    January 9, 2008 •

    I often find myself traveling with little notice. These trips include last minute family gatherings or clients purchasing new systems and wanting me by their side as they transfer data and confirm stability. Some months I’m gone more than I’m home. However, I’m fortunate enough to be ab...

  • Analytics & Data

    How to Track Ad Results Using Google Analytics

    January 8, 2008 •

    If you're paying for any kind of advertising — for example, Google AdWords, banner ads, or e-mail marketing — it's important to know what's working and what's not. Fortunately, analytics programs have built in ad tracking capabilities. I'll describe how you can track your ads with Google Analytics.

  • Conversion

    New-year Ideas For eBay Powersellers

    December 26, 2007 •

    I hope you had a great holiday selling season online, and with the new year right around the corner, what follows are some tips for increasing your eBay presence even more in 2008. Use research tools like Terapeak.com, Hammertap.com and EverySeller Research (Everyseller.com) to fine t...

  • Conversion

    Five Tips For Improved Sales, In Good Times or Bad

    December 19, 2007 •

    Increase Focus On Existing Customers For many companies, the primary focus is on selling to new customers, and little attention is given to the tremendous potential in the existing customer list. But when consumers become more skittish and conservative in their purchase behavior, they ...

  • Conversion

    Usability Report Card: Accepted.com

    December 19, 2007 •

    Accepted.com is an admissions consulting and application editing service website. It has requested this usability site grade. Home Page Clarity To ensure credibility and trust, sites that gather customer information should include a “Privacy Policy.” Accepted.com has a link to its a...

  • Customer Service

    Numbers Should Not Dictate

    December 17, 2007 •

    They say the true measure of success for an online store is based on visitor and shopping statistics and analysis of investments for driving traffic to the site. The most common reporting method is Google Analytics, and with its recent integration with LivePerson (a live chat tool), sto...

  • Conversion

    Websites For The Visually Impaired

    December 17, 2007 •

    You put a lot of effort into making your website successful. You implement a strong design, you add features such as wish lists, coupon modules, gift certificates and perhaps even Flash and JavaScript functionality to attract customers and provide them an enjoyable shopping experience. ...

  • Conversion

    Pay-Per-Click Advertising: Alternative PPC Venues

    December 12, 2007 •

    In the world of pay-per-click advertising, there are three well-known players: Google AdWords, Yahoo! Search Marketing and Microsoft adCenter. However, there are several other interesting pay-per-click sites you may not be familiar with, which you might find useful. Clickriver Clickri...

  • Conversion

    Interview: Facebook Application Developer

    December 12, 2007 •

    Social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace generate huge numbers of visitors. Because of that, marketers increasingly are looking to those sites, and other social networking sites, as channels to promote ecommerce products. In May 2007, Facebook “opened up” its platform to ...

  • Conversion

    Web Analytics

    December 3, 2007 •

    Web analytics is a looking glass into the health and productivity of an online presence. Your online presence includes your website, your advertising, and any blogs, forum posts or web pages that mention you or otherwise link to your site. If your website affects your revenue in any way...

  • Conversion

    Social Site Search

    November 28, 2007 •

    Fast, which may be a company best known for specializing in site search, has launched a product platform that is looking to socialize the ecommerce storefront search function. It’s called FAST Recommendations, and it is based on offering product recommendations similar to those of Amazo...

  • Conversion

    PPC Report Card: Cheapbowlingballs.com

    November 27, 2007 •

    Cheapbowlingballs.com is a three-year-old ecommerce business that sells bowling balls and accessories. The site has Google and Yahoo! pay-per-click campaigns running with ad spend of $2,000 and $1,000 per month, respectively. Cheapbowlingballs.com has approached Practical eCommerce for ...

  • Conversion

    Biggest AdWord Mistakes

    November 20, 2007 •

    Practical eCommerce asked Senior Contributor and website conversion expert Mat Greenfield, founder of Conversion Results, for his take on the biggest AdWord mistakes a website could make. If your AdWords' campaign is having troubles, it may be due to one of the following: Having too ma...

  • Conversion

    Usability Report Card: Lucky-devil.com

    November 20, 2007 •

    Lucky-devil.com’s tag line succinctly states its purpose: “Presents for Kiwis in the UK and NZ” (Kiwis being the nickname for New Zealanders, not the fruit). The site “soft launched” at the start of October before its official launch on Nov. 1, and the owners are committed to making as ...

  • Checkout Tactics

    Be Sure To Simplify Checkout

    November 15, 2007 •

    There have been many a debate about how to siphon shoppers into the checkout process quickly, and just as expeditiously get them to the final invoice page. The words easy, simplified and ‘lightning fast’ come to mind during such arguments, while retailers and advisers sight statistics, ...

  • Conversion

    Google Expands Ad Reach

    November 14, 2007 •

    In another advertising venture offline, Google recently announced an extension of its Print Ads initiative. The program, which Google originally began testing in 2006, now includes more than 225 newspapers, with a circulation of roughly 30 million. It’s what is being promoted as newspap...

  • Conversion

    Google Audio Ads Look To Make Some Noise

    November 13, 2007 •

    Have you ever considered a radio campaign as a method to increase awareness of your organization’s online presence? Recently, Google announced that its Audio Ads are available through the AdWords account interface. Not only could this present a viable marketing opportunity to reach cons...

  • Conversion

    Conversion: Experimentation Is Key

    November 7, 2007 •

    Deep down, we conversion experts carry a secret that we don't want you to know. Even though there are proven conversion principles which apply to any website, as well as many best-practices, which could be applied to improve most sites, there is a large grey area where we experts are f...

  • Conversion

    Ecommerce Facebook Applications

    November 5, 2007 •

    Facebook.com — a company that less than a year ago looked like fools for not accepting Yahoo’s bid to purchase it — has become the powerhouse of social media websites. It’s been said that much of the success is due simply to Facebook being the latest in a string of recently-hip online s...

  • Conversion

    Holiday Sales: Make Your List, Check It Twice

    October 29, 2007 •

    1. Target The Right Buyers Selling more effectively throughout the holidays means targeting the right person, with the right offer, at the right time. Pretty easy in theory, right? In practice it’s a lot more difficult. Most e-tailers, through trial and error, get in a rut of going wit...

  • Conversion

    Product Spotlight

    October 17, 2007 •

    Create Your Own Business Cards BusinessCards MX allows you to quickly and easily create your own custom business cards. Version 3.30 includes 400 examples of business card templates, and designing a card is simple through the program’s ready to use elements, which include a variety of ...

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