Page 136 – Practical Ecommerce

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Design & Development
6 Things to Look for in a Web Developer’s Portfolio

January 6, 2016 • Armando Roggio

Hiring a web or application developer to build your ecommerce site or money-generating mobile application can be a challenge, especially if you do not know what skills or experience the ...
Shipping & Fulfillment
Reducing ‘Waste’ in Ecommerce Fulfillment

January 6, 2016 • Michael Manzione

One of the best ways to improve profitability in your warehouse is to reduce or eliminate waste. I addressed this in my last article, “Streamline Ecommerce Fulfillment with 5S Methodology,”
Design & Dev Tools
2016 Online Marketing Checkup: 10 Tasks, Tools, Guides

January 6, 2016 • Kathleen Fealy

January is the perfect time to make improvements to your online marketing plan or implement a particular strategy to benefit your business, both in the long and short term. Having a solid foundation as you begin the year will help your business grow and compete more effectively.
Product Pages
9 Musts for a Competitive Edge in 2016, for Ecommerce

January 5, 2016 • Pamela Hazelton

It’s 2016. You can bet that hordes of new and existing online shoppers received a computer or smartphone for Christmas. New studies show that ecommerce will grow up to 20 percent ...
Business
Should Online Retailers Offer Senior and Military Discounts?

January 5, 2016 • Armando Roggio

Discounts for special consumer groups, like senior citizens and those with military service, may help online retailers increase sales and build loyalty. But offering these types of discounts online can ...
Social Media
Google Maps: A ‘Social Network’ in Disguise

January 4, 2016 • Paul Chaney

Gone are the days when Google Plus was the epicenter for local business information. Google My Business now owns that domain, for the business owner. For users, Google Maps has become a replacement for Google Plus Local and is somewhat of a social network in disguise.
Social Media
Tips, Tricks to Optimize a YouTube Channel

January 4, 2016 • Samantha Collier

Using YouTube for your business is easy. Simply set up a channel and start uploading videos. But as your investment in video grows, so does the pressure to make sure ...
Business > Merchant Voice
The perils of pre-orders

January 3, 2016 • Richard Stubbings

A few years ago, much of my business was built on customers ordering products in advance of the products’ release. Pre-orders allowed us to know what the likely demand was ...
Business > Merchant Voice
You lose money under-promising and over-delivering

January 2, 2016 • Elizabeth Hollingsworth

There seems to be a well-meaning but misguided belief that as online retailers we should under-promise and over-deliver to make our customers more loyal. But I don’t believe this to be ...
Social Media
Advertising Options to Test (and Expand) in 2016, for Ecommerce

December 31, 2015 • Michael Stancil

With the new year, advertisers can put mistakes behind them, take note of what worked, and try something new. At Tailor Brands, my employer, we include marketing tests in every monthly ...
Social Media
Changes to Google Plus: What You Need to Know

December 31, 2015 • Rodney Hess

Google has had many failed experiments in the past, such as Buzz, Wave, and, more recently, Google Glass. However, the search giant shows no signs of giving up on its attempt to compete in the social networking sphere, via Google Plus.
Content Marketing
5 Content Marketing Ideas for January 2016

December 30, 2015 • Armando Roggio

In January 2016, attract new customers and engage current ones with a podcast based on existing blog posts; produce content that focuses on culture; tell stories on Instagram; celebrate service;
Influencers & Affiliates
Notable Affiliate Marketing Events in 2016

December 29, 2015 • Carolyn Kmet

The following are leading affiliate marketing events in 2016. All are worthwhile to attend, but their benefits and specialties vary. Some are focused on the affiliate marketing industry in general;
Marketing & Advertising
Content Marketing Lessons from ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’

December 28, 2015 • Armando Roggio

The most recent Star Wars film can teach content marketers a lesson or two about how to make content successful, including reusing good material, answering and encouraging questions, and making ...
SEO
SEO: Prepare Now for 2016 Holiday

December 27, 2015 • Jill Kocher Brown

Analyze 2015’s holiday search marketing performance before you do anything in 2016. Search engine optimization attempts to improve past organic search performance. You must know how your site performed this year ...
Business
2015 Top 25: Our Most Popular Posts of the Year

December 24, 2015 • PEC Staff

As 2015 draws to a close, we’ve compiled a list of our 25 most popular articles of the year, based on the number of page views. Popular subjects included search engine ...
Inventory
Inventory hiccups highlight 2015

December 23, 2015 • Kenny Kane

As 2015 comes to a close, it is a good time for self-evaluation. Hopefully, you’ve met or exceeded your revenue goals, and come in under on the expense side. Regardless ...
Design & Development
13 Infographics to Kickoff Your 2016 Marketing Plans

December 23, 2015 • Kathleen Fealy

It’s time to plan your 2016 marketing calendar and make decisions about which strategies to implement. This collection of 13 infographics serves as a quick reference guide to concepts such as 2016 marketing trends, social network image sizes, AdWords optimization techniques, social media engagement practices, and more. Use it to spark new ideas and see where business opportunities exist.
Marketing & Advertising
Content Marketing: Build Your Story to Engage Prospects

December 23, 2015 • Armando Roggio

Storytelling is an important part of modern content marketing. But writing good stories that engage prospects is an art that challenges some small business marketers. How do you write a good ...
Customer Retention
Keep the Buying Momentum Going in January

December 22, 2015 • Pamela Hazelton

For most online retailers, the holiday shopping season accounts for up to 40 percent of annual sales. While we await final numbers for the 2015 Christmas season, the following 2010-2014
Schools & Resources
13 New Ecommerce Books for Winter 2016

December 20, 2015 • Sig Ueland

It’s time to look at the new ecommerce books for winter 2016. There are titles on content strategy, mobile marketing, building a business plan, design theory, launching small startups and ...
On-page SEO
SEO: Which Pages to Optimize First?

December 18, 2015 • Jill Kocher Brown

Deciding which pages to optimize for search engines can so paralyze marketers that they sometimes end up optimizing nothing. To optimize a page, edit the text that search engines place the most priority on:
Conversion
4 Ways Google Analytics Produces Confusing Data

December 17, 2015 • Abhi Jadhav

Google Analytics is a powerful tool that allows users to analyze data through a variety of customizable ways. The tool gets its power from the flexibility that it is built ...
Technical SEO
SEO: Do You Need More Than One Domain Name?

December 17, 2015 • Bill Hartzer

I recently spoke with a business owner who had purchased every possible version of his company’s domain name (including the "typos”) to protect his brand.
Email & Text Marketing
3 Ways to Increase Email Clicks, for Ecommerce

December 16, 2015 • Carolyn Nye

A marketing email from an ecommerce merchant will often result in a sale if the recipient clicks to the merchant’s website. But behavior patterns of email recipients are changing dramatically due ...
Social Media
Creating 1-day Facebook, Twitter Ad Campaigns

December 15, 2015 • Michael Stancil

Do you have a single-day sale planned for your ecommerce business? One day is plenty of time to create and execute a successful social media campaign. Say it’s 7:00 a.m. on ...
Business
Absence of U.S. Regulation Leads to Web Accessibility Lawsuits

December 15, 2015 • Armando Roggio

In the absence of clear U.S. government regulation or even clear guidance, there have been many web accessibility lawsuits that simultaneously bring attention to web accessibility and, perhaps unfairly and ...
Business
Avoiding Legal Liability from Holiday Gifts and Parties

December 14, 2015 • Elizabeth Lewis

As the holiday season approaches, business owners often consider gifts, company parties, and other forms of rewards for a year of hard work and relationships — and hope for additional ...
User Experience
Strategies for Website Accessibility, for Ecommerce

December 14, 2015 • Armando Roggio

Goodwill, smart business, and even vague governmental regulation should compel ecommerce businesses to make websites accessible to all potential customers, including those who are blind or deaf or have other ...
Social Media
11 Stand-out Social Media Campaigns from 2015

December 13, 2015 • Sig Ueland

Brands used new tools in 2015 to create compelling social content, with much attention on three innovations: live-streaming video, smartwatches, and emojis. Here is a list of stand-out social media in ...