Page 248 – Practical Ecommerce

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User Experience
New Accessibility Guidelines A Welcomed Update

February 25, 2009 • Joseph C. Dolson

The World Wide Web Consortium recently approved new accessibility guidelines. Passed in December 2008, the new "Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0" is the official recommendation for web accessibility for the disabled. This new WCAG 2.0 document, a welcomed update, replaces...
Business
Quick Query: Prime Visibility CEO on Domain-Name Marketing

February 24, 2009 • PEC Staff

The use of additional domain names can help an ecommerce firm expand its reach. We asked Andrew Hazen to explain how this can work. Hazen is a web marketing pioneer and the founder and CEO of Prime Visibility, a Long Island, New York-based Internet marketing firm that specializes in sea...
Photography & Video
The PeC Review: Zoomify Adds Product Image Details

February 24, 2009 • Armando Roggio

Zoomify is a simple to use and easy to implement tool that adds an effective zoom-and-pan feature to product images, allowing customers to see high-resolution details, potentially boosting conversion rates for online merchants. Online shopkeepers have stiff competition from tradition...
Social Media
Ecommerce Know-How: Use Facebook, LinkedIn to Promote Your Store

February 23, 2009 • Armando Roggio

Online communities like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Tangle allow members to join groups, post content, and respond to other's activity. While some marketers have tried to exploit the media, there are positive ways for online merchants to participate in linking networks and build stronger re...
Business
Quick Query: Rackspace Executive on Hosting Trends

February 20, 2009 • PEC Staff

John Engates is chief technology officer for Rackspace, a preeminent hosting company. Rackspace was launched in San Antonio in 1996 and now, in 2009, the company's stock is publicly traded. Rackspace's 2008 revenues exceeded $500 million and they have data centers located around the glo...
Platforms & Apps
Cart of the Week: UltraCart

February 20, 2009 • Brendan Gibbons

Practical eCommerce counts over 300 different shopping cart systems. In this ongoing "Cart of the Week" feature, we profile a specific cart, asking the cart's owners and users about its strengths and weaknesses. Here we profile UltraCart, a California-based hosted cart solution that wa...
Conversion
PPC Advertising: Use Dynamically Generated Ad Text, Relevant Landing Pages

February 19, 2009 • Greg Laptevsky

When it comes to pay-per-click advertising campaigns, the most important tools are targeted keywords and relevant landing pages. For targeted keywords, it is possible to develop dynamically inserted keywords simply by monitoring search activity on your site and in your ad campaigns. I...
Keyword Research
SEO: Estimating Sales Potential from Keywords and Phrases

February 19, 2009 • Jill Kocher Brown

The perception that search engine optimization is a limitless source of free traffic and sales is one reason that SEO campaigns sometimes fail to live up to expectations. Yes, SEO efforts can deliver excellent returns on investment. But how much expected return is realistic? This articl...
Payments
Ecommerce Know-How: Understanding Your Payment Processing Statement

February 18, 2009 • Armando Roggio

While online shopkeepers are experts in their industries, they might not be expert at understanding their payment processing service or its statement, which can include adjustments, interchange charges, service charges, fees, and chargebacks. At its heart, ecommerce is about the exchan...
Social Media
Social Media: Listening is the New Marketing

February 18, 2009 • Paul Chaney

Marketers are known for talking, not listening. That is not to suggest we have not used tools like focus groups, user surveys or other research instruments in the past. It's just that, in the era of the participatory web, listening is not an option; it is a mandate. It provides great ...
Code
Web Design Tips: Use CSS to Adjust Opacity

February 17, 2009 • Armando Roggio

The CSS opacity property lets web designers define how particular page elements will blend, adding both style and emphasis to important page sections. Essentially, this property allows you to adjust an element's translucency, changing the amount of diffused virtual light that seems to ...
Conversion
How to Select a Great Domain Name for Your Company

February 17, 2009 • Dr. Ralph F. Wilson

A good domain name is relatively short. A short name -- if you can get it -- is important for several reasons. It is easy to fit into logos, makes a better brand, is more easily recognizable, and is harder to misspell.
Design & Dev Tools
The PeC Review: Audacity Makes Audio Editing a Snap

February 16, 2009 • Armando Roggio

Audacity is an excellent, free, open source audio editor that makes it a snap for ecommerce merchants to develop customer-engaging podcasts for any online store. More and more online shopkeepers are turning to rich multimedia content to inform (and even enthrall) Internet shoppers. F...
Business
Lessons Learned: Richard Kuipers of Windmill Trading

February 15, 2009 • Brendan Gibbons

"Lessons Learned" is a biweekly series where we ask ecommerce business owners to share their experiences and advice. For this installment, we interviewed Richard Kuipers, owner of Windmill Trading, a Seattle-based online retailer of computer parts and electronics. Kuipers has been the s...
Platforms & Apps
Cart of the Week: nopCommerce

February 13, 2009 • Brendan Gibbons

Practical eCommerce counts over 300 different shopping cart systems. In this ongoing "Cart of the Week" feature, we profile a specific cart, asking the cart's owners and users about its strengths and weaknesses. Here we profile nopCommerce, a free open-source cart first made available ...
Schools & Resources
Booklist: Ruby on Rails Creator David Heinemeier Hansson

February 13, 2009 • PEC Staff

Booklist is an occasional feature where we ask Internet personalities about the books they read, and why. For this installment, we’ve asked David Heinemeier Hansson, the creator of the Ruby on Rails software framework. Heinemier Hansson created Rails in 2004 while a student in Denmark...
Conversion
Weather the Recession by Integrating Search Strategies

February 13, 2009 • Lisa Wehr

Let’s face it, we’re in a recession. And while there may not be any such thing as a “recession-proof” marketing plan, there are proven methods that will help you capture online shoppers year round. It starts with integrating search engine optimization (SEO) and paid search marketing. An...
Shipping & Fulfillment
Is Five-Day USPS Delivery Coming?

February 12, 2009 • Armando Roggio

Many online retailers depend on the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to reliably deliver merchandise to customers, since the service is often less expensive than UPS (United Parcel Service) and delivers six days a week, something that UPS charges a significant premium for. But the USPS lost ...
Business
Quick Query: Internet Attorney John Dozier on eCommerce Law

February 11, 2009 • PEC Staff

Internet law is rapidly evolving and ecommerce merchants face legal issues that were unheard of just a few years ago. No one knows this more than John W. Dozier, Jr., the founder and president of Dozier Internet Law. Dozier has practiced law for over 25 years and, during that time, was ...
Photography & Video
The PeC Review: The Nikon D60 Camera is a Good Value

February 11, 2009 • Armando Roggio

The Nikon D60 is a full-feature DSLR (digital single-lens reflex) camera that will capture great product pictures for any ecommerce site. The D60 has a very good graphical user interface that makes this precision optical instrument easy to understand and use. For example, when you a...
Business
Bloglist: Yahoo! Developer Shawna Fennell

February 10, 2009 • Kate Monteith

In Bloglist, we ask ecommerce professionals to share some of their favorite blogs and tell us why they read them. For this Bloglist, we talked to Shawna Fennell, CEO of 1 Choice 4 Your Store, an authorized Yahoo! Merchant Solutions Developer. Fennell is also the host of the Yahoo Store ...
Conversion
Using Flickr to Socialize Your Products

February 10, 2009 • Sarah Worsham

Flickr, a photo sharing site, can be a powerful tool for promoting your products. Not only can you upload images of your products, where they can be seen throughout the Flickr website, but you can encourage your customers to participate and socialize with your company and products by up...
Social Media
Ecommerce Know-How: Social Media as a Marketing Tool

February 9, 2009 • Armando Roggio

An integrated social media marketing strategy can help you and your ecommerce site increase brand visibility, improve customer loyalty, and gain important insights about the markets you serve. And with the dramatic growth in social media traffic, ecommerce merchants would be smart to in...
SEO
Survey of The Month: SEO is Both Important and Misunderstood

February 9, 2009 • Armando Roggio

Ecommerce merchants overwhelming said that search engine optimization (SEO) was an active part of their marketing efforts and that they believed it accounted for a significant portion of their web traffic, but many of those same merchants identified black hat SEO tactics, like purchasin...
Platforms & Apps
Cart of the Week: Corncart

February 6, 2009 • Brendan Gibbons

Practical eCommerce counts over 300 different shopping cart systems. In this ongoing "Cart of the Week" feature, we profile a specific cart, asking the cart's owners and users about its strengths and weaknesses. Here we profile Corncart, a free open-source cart first made available for...
Checkout Tactics
PeC Traffic Report: Accept Competitors' Coupon Codes

February 6, 2009 • Armando Roggio

With the retail market suffering under the weight of a global economic recession, online shopkeepers must take every step to attract more site visitors. Accepting competitors' coupons in your own online store is a tactic that can help attract bargain-hunting customers, encourage loyalty...
Design & Development
Quick Query: Nextopia CEO on eCommerce Site Search

February 5, 2009 • PEC Staff

The ability for consumers to search the Internet for products and services is critical for the success of many smaller online businesses. Increasingly, the ability for those same consumers to search a specific site for products and services is just as important. A robust site search can...
Photography & Video
Ecommerce Know-How: Three Tips for Good Product Photographs

February 5, 2009 • Armando Roggio

In a brick-and-mortar store, customers can pick up a product, feel its texture, and sense its weight. These sensory inputs have an effect on a shopper's buying decisions. For online stores, achieving the same level of emotional buying excitement can be hard. One solution is to offer goo...
Schools & Resources
Booklist: Sagefire CEO Has "Standby" Books and "Recent Reads"

February 4, 2009 • PEC Staff

J.P. O'Brien is CEO of Sagefire, Inc., a Boulder, CO based software firm that produces KeepMore.net, the popular online accounting package. O'Brien tells us about books that are timeless for him, as well as newer books that keep him engaged and entertained. "Standbys" and "recent read...
Code
Web Design Tips: Basic CSS for Headers

February 4, 2009 • Armando Roggio

How your site looks matters. Even subtle improvements—like using fonts or colors that compliment your theme—can have a positive effect on how consumers rate the trustworthiness of your store. According to a 2003 Stanford University study of 2,440 people, 46.2 percent of online shoppers...