Page 106 – Practical Ecommerce

Category

Platforms & Apps
Ecommerce Product Releases: January 16, 2018

January 16, 2018 • Sig Ueland

Here is a list of ecommerce-related product releases and updates for January. There are updates on mobile commerce, price forecasting, payment networks, and home delivery. BigCommerce and Handshake, a mobile-first B2B commerce platform, have announced a strategic partnership to bring a suite of enhanced B2B capabilities to BigCommerce customers worldwide.
Conversion
Use Your ‘About’ Page to Build Trust with First-time Visitors

January 16, 2018 • Marcia Yudkin

Scammers don’t go to the trouble of creating a company history with its values and original photos. Consumers know this — they are reassured by original content on your “About” page. To build trust, an “About” page should include unique details, such as who started the company and why she bothered, as well as what drives her to keep at it. Communicate the story in a real and distinct manner — not as a faceless bureaucracy.
Marketing & Advertising
Will Customer Profiles Replace Marketing Personas?

January 15, 2018 • Armando Roggio

Emerging technologies make it possible to move segmentation and personalization models beyond marketing personas to distinct, individual customer profiles. The ability to collect customer information — and organize it (i.e., big data) and draw insights from it (i.e., machine learning) — makes it possible for marketers to evolve. This evolution from buyer personas to individual profiles can provide superior personalization and an enhanced experience for shoppers.
Platforms & Apps
13 Innovative Mobile Shopping Apps

January 15, 2018 • Sig Ueland

By observing mobile shopping apps, merchants can discover new shopping features that resonate with consumers. Here is a list of innovative mobile shopping apps. There are marketplaces, curated product collections, shopping communities, discount and coupon apps, augmented reality tools, and product information apps.
Technical SEO
SEO: How to Identify High Rankings That Produce No Clicks

January 14, 2018 • Hamlet Batista

Google's AdWords Keyword Planner is helpful for keyword research, as are many third-party tools. But Google Search Console can also identify keyword optimization opportunities. I'll explain in this post. Many search engine optimizers believe that a web page can rank organically for just a few keywords, perhaps three to five.
SEO
7 Ways to Integrate Natural and Paid Search

January 12, 2018 • Jill Kocher Brown

It’s not a matter of organic search traffic being more important than paid, or vice versa. What matters is integrating the two — paid and natural search — so that the whole is larger than the individual parts. The goal of integrated search is to use the data available from both organic and paid search programs for strategies that maximize visits and revenue.
Google Ads
Testing Pay-per-click Ad Copy Requires Human Intuition

January 12, 2018 • Robert Brady

My first step in setting up a new AdWords campaign is to test the ad copy. AdWords has long recommended running three or more ads in each ad group. It’s an industry practice to test new messaging. The most common protocol for testing ad copy in a single ad group uses the following pattern.
Marketing & Advertising
Facebook, Google, Amazon: Which Ad Channel Is Right for Your Brand?

January 11, 2018 • Kiri Masters

Consumer brands can advertise to prospects on so many channels. There are seemingly countless options for targeting and for creative copy. Facebook and Google have long been the dominant consumer advertising channels. Shoppers use both of these platforms to discover and research products. But a third option, Amazon, is gaining ad share.
Local Business
2017 Ecommerce Round-up: 16 Percent Growth; ’Retail Apocalypse’?

January 11, 2018 • Marcia Kaplan

2017 was supposedly the year ecommerce pummeled the brick-and-mortar retail sector, creating what analysts called a “retail apocalypse.” Yet, according to research firm Statista, ecommerce contributed only 9.1 percent to total retail sales in the United States and 10.1 percent globally. In other words, there is room for much ecommerce growth. However physical stores will fight back by luring customers with new approaches.
Amazon & Marketplaces > Merchant Voice
Dissecting Amazon’s new ‘Pay by Invoice’ method

January 10, 2018 • Richard Stubbings

The new payment method is "Pay by Invoice." It is an attempt to entice new customers to Amazon that prefer to pay after receiving the goods. It is presumably based on the assumption that there are organizations — libraries, public bodies, larger companies — who do not let their staff pay in advance for an item. On the face of it, it seemed like a good idea.
Keyword Research
How to Build an Ecommerce Keyword List

January 9, 2018 • Armando Roggio

Keywords are an important building block for ecommerce marketing. Developing and maintaining a keyword list may help an ecommerce business understand shoppers and do a better job of marketing to them. In the context of search engine optimization, searchers' words or phrases summarize their thoughts, questions, or needs. Those keywords represent the language people use to ask for help finding resources online.
Conversion
Tips for Selling and Buying on B2B Exchanges

January 9, 2018 • Gagan Mehra

In "20 Leading Global B2B Exchanges," my previous post, I shared B2B marketplace options for buying and selling products. In this post, I'll offer pointers on using those exchanges. Selling on a B2B exchange is an easy and inexpensive way for suppliers to get started with ecommerce. A supplier does not typically need its own website to list products on exchanges.
Conversion
Mobile to Dominate Ecommerce Conversions

January 8, 2018 • Pamela Hazelton

For years, we’ve been hearing about the importance of responsive design and mobile-friendly features. Many small business etailers remained unconvinced of the power of mobile users as buyers. This made some sense, as data often showed that the majority of smartphone users were using devices primarily for research, and then finalizing purchases on tablets or desktop computers. This all changed during the past holiday season. On Cyber Monday 2017, mobile saw its first $2 billion day.
Schools & Resources
12 New Business Books for 2018

January 8, 2018 • Sig Ueland

Here is a list of new and upcoming business books for entrepreneurs, managers, and creative professionals. Learn how to launch a startup, execute decisions and actions, jump into a new venture, set and achieve goals, motivate your team, create meaningful business relationships, and harness the blockchain.
SEO Tools
Optimizing Google Search Options for Android Apps

January 7, 2018 • Jill Kocher Brown

Apps for iOS and Android mobile devices represent a chance to sell to captive prospects — if they can find your app to download in the first place. The first place to start is the Google Play Store, where Android users install apps. Google web search is another opportunity for app search, but most of the optimization focus should be on the Play Store itself.
Business > Merchant Voice
Would relocating damage my ecommerce business?

January 6, 2018 • Elizabeth Hollingsworth

When I met my English husband-to-be seven years ago, he had relocated to Melbourne, Australia. At the time, I lived in Sydney, roughly 540 miles (870 km) north of Melbourne. My mother lived on the Gold Coast, in Queensland, 540 miles (840 km) north of Sydney. On moving to Melbourne, I was easily able to relocate my ecommerce business, which sold hardbound and emailed astrology reports, boxed gift certificates, and telephone consultations.
Cross-border Selling > Merchant Voice
5 Russian fulfillment companies for cross-border ecommerce

January 5, 2018 • Maksim Komonov

In this article, I will profile five Russian companies that provide fulfillment services to foreign manufacturers and retailers, including customs clearance, returns, and marketing support. The market in Russia, according to the WBR Report, is number nine in the list of top expansion markets by U.S. brands. But small and midsized ecommerce merchants can expand into Russia, too, provided they master the local fulfillment and delivery challenges.
Technical SEO
How to Increase Click-throughs on Organic Search Listings

January 4, 2018 • Hamlet Batista

Finding new keywords to target and developing content around them is a common practice for search engine optimization. But optimizing for a keyword does not necessarily mean a searcher will ...
Analytics & Data
Google Analytics: 3 Reports to Customize for Ecommerce

January 3, 2018 • Morgan Jones

The standard reporting in Google Analytics works well for many ecommerce sites. But there are opportunities to enhance the default dimensions and metrics in Google Analytics, to empower online merchants even more. In this article, I'll review three ways to customize Google Analytics reports, to help merchants track key metrics and make critical decisions.
Content Marketing
5 Content Marketing Ideas for February 2018

January 3, 2018 • Armando Roggio

Valentine's Day dominates the retail calendar in February, driving more than $18 billion in consumer purchases in the United States alone, including, by some accounts, $5.4 billion in ecommerce sales. Valentine's Day spending often includes dinner out, movie tickets, and flowers. But there is still plenty of opportunity for online retailers. The challenge is in how to attract those purchases. One solution is content marketing.
Marketing & Advertising
10 Exceptional Digital Marketing Campaigns in 2017

January 2, 2018 • Sig Ueland

Looking back at the year’s best marketing campaigns can generate ideas for your own upcoming marketing efforts. Here is a list of 10 outstanding digital marketing campaigns from 2017. The campaigns include search hacking, viral retweets and replies, user-generated content on Instagram, Google hacking, success in failure, fake ads, and true.
Marketing & Advertising
Live Streaming Can Promote Ecommerce Products

January 2, 2018 • Armando Roggio

From demonstrating intricate products in real-time to broadcasting webinars and conferences, live streaming is a natural progression of an ecommerce business's video marketing. It is an important tool for engaging customers. The technology behind live streaming is not necessarily new.
Platforms & Apps
Ecommerce Product Releases: January 1, 2018

January 1, 2018 • Sig Ueland

Here is a list of product releases and updates for late December from companies that offer services to online merchants. There are updates on shipping, one-click purchasing, analytics programs, and ...
B2B
How to Set Ecommerce Goals for 2018

December 31, 2017 • Lori McDonald

Now is the time to set ecommerce performance goals for 2018. To do this, know where your business stands now. Be clear on past performance before you set goals for the new year. Create a spreadsheet with the key metrics to track for 2018. Fill in those metrics from 2017. You may even want to insert 2016 as well. This scorecard creates good visibility and accountability for you and your team.
Business
2017 Top 25: Our Most Popular Posts of the Year

December 29, 2017 • PEC Staff

As the year draws to a close, we’ve compiled a list of the 25 most popular articles published during 2017, based on the number of page views. Popular subjects included social networks, SEO,
Business > Merchant Voice
9 innovative ecommerce companies, for inspiration

December 28, 2017 • Peter Keller

2017 has been a good year for FringeSport. 2018 looks to be even better. Many ecommerce brands inspire my work. In this post, I will list several of them. I am a friend of the owners of some of these companies. Others I have no connection to. All of the companies are innovative.
Fraud Prevention
7 Telltale Signs of Payment Card Fraud

December 26, 2017 • Armando Roggio

Purchases made with stolen payment cards cost the ecommerce industry billions of dollars a year worldwide. But, in at least some cases, merchants could have avoided losses had they recognized ...
Conversion
6 Ways to Use Shoppers’ New Year Resolutions to Increase Sales

December 24, 2017 • Pamela Hazelton

With a new year come millions of people striving to keep their resolutions. Less than 20 percent will succeed, though — according to U.S. News & World Report, 80 percent ...
SEO
How to Create Your 2018 SEO Strategy

December 22, 2017 • Jill Kocher Brown

If you don’t have a search engine optimization strategy for 2018, it’s high time to create it. Writing an SEO strategy can be intimidating. It sounds like such a lofty document,
Amazon & Marketplaces
10 Repricing Tools for Amazon Marketplace Sellers

December 21, 2017 • Connor Gillivan

Repricing products on the Amazon Marketplace can determine if you generate sales, or not. Unless you sell your own private label item, you’ll likely compete with other sellers for the ...