Click here to read Online Strategies magazine’s September issue!
Archive for the ‘SEM/SEO’ Category
September ‘09 Issue Now Available Online!
Tuesday, September 8th, 2009
Electronic Retailer’s September ‘09 issue featuring Montel Williams is now available online! For more information about Motel’s upcoming keynote presentation at the ERA D2C Convention on Monday, Sept. 14, click here.
Online Strategies August Issue Now Available!
Monday, August 31st, 2009
Click here to read Online Strategies magazine’s August issue!
Enticing Shoppers to Buy More - 8 AOV Boosting Tips
Friday, August 28th, 2009
In this world where “flat is the new up,” it is critical to make each visit of every shopper count. With fewer shoppers coming to your site, you have to be instantly engaging, catering to your shopper, making your site a destination. And, you have to get your shoppers to put as much as possible into their cart and then actually check out.
The question is - how can you take the flat or even decreased traffic and turn it into profit? Here are eight tips to help you entice your shoppers to buy more.
1. Shipping Offers - Lets start with getting people to your site. Shipping is something that shoppers are always concerned with. Free shipping, if you can afford it, always moves people to buy more. If your model does not support free, shoppers are also happy with flat fee shipping or even shipping with a minimum purchase (they will buy just one more product to qualify).
2. Incentives and Bundles - So, you got them to your site with a shipping offer, next, motivate them to buy more with incentives. Who doesn’t like getting a gift with a purchase or a special bundle of products for an extra discount? The shopper feels like they’re getting a bargain while you get to move more products.
3. Rebates - If you can’t offer discounts, another tactic to entice shoppers is to offer rebates. People get wide-eyed about rebates and will buy more to get them. Even if they do not actually redeem the rebate, they will be more loyal to your site for the service.
4. Personalized Product Recommendations - Next, lets turn to the customer experience. Today’s savvy shopper expects merchants to know them. Serving personalized product recommendations helps customers find what they’re looking for (and sometimes things they did not even know they wanted). The product detail page is the most logical location, but place recommendations throughout your site and most importantly in the shopping cart - it is a good place to put those impulse purchases - just like candy at the store check out.
5. Video - Another way to enhance the customer experience is to tantalize and engage your shopper with video. This medium can be used to demonstrate how a product works, show how apparel fits, or even do a virtual wine tasting. Video can answer questions shoppers have so that they buy even more than expected.
6. Ratings and Reviews - Lets face it, shoppers are social creatures, and love to talk and get advice from one another. Rating and reviews helps people get feedback from each other. Some shoppers can’t resist the temptation; they have to buy top rated items and will fill their cart.
7. Customer Service - Speaking of people talking , another thing that really helps is something just so simple - offer stellar customer service, and you will not believe how far that will get you. People talk and when they have a great experience, they will tell everyone they know. I do all the time!
8. Alternative Payment Methods - Okay, you have used tips 1-7 on your site and the shopper has stuffed their cart - this is when you are at risk for the dreaded cart abandonment. There are many things you should do to motivate your shoppers to click submit, maybe that is for a dedicated article. Suffice it to say, make it easy to check out. Alternative payment methods make it easier for anyone to check out - so make sure you offer them.
The bottom line is that you need to employ many different tactics to boost your average order value; it is the only way to take flat traffic and turn it up!
Lisa Joy Rosner is MyBuys‘ vice president of marketing.
All Aboard! Your Upcoming ERA Travel Itinerary
Thursday, August 27th, 2009
In addition to its upcoming D2C Convention in Las Vegas Sept. 13-15, ERA has also announced an October 19th networking reception in San Diego!
Before booking your travel to Las Vegas or San Diego, you may first want to get a few tips from “Saturday Night Live” travel expert Judy Grimes.
Did you miss out on the recent networking receptions in NYC and L.A.? Click here to view pictures from various events at Electronic Retailer’s Buzz page!
Pat Cauley is Electronic Retailer magazine’s eMedia Editor.
Bing One and Bing Two: Double Takes on Microsoft’s New Search Engine
Monday, August 24th, 2009
Microsoft’s new search engine has garnered a lot of media attention as it seeks to directly compete with Google, especially in a time when it seems no one in their right mind seeks to compete with Google.
The giant of the search-engine industry has its fingers in every possible pie, and it’s very rare that it doesn’t come out ahead. So what are Bing’s advantages and disadvantages?
Here’s two ways of gauging its chances of survival:
1. The Product Advantage
Bing is supposed to yield more relevant search results, which may actually sway consumers over to its side. The advantage to advertisers in that relevance is more precise, target marketing, which could change their game plan as well - if, that is, Bing’s searching is in fact superior to Google’s.
The content-driven approach helps sell that relevancy claim, as the system also adds consumer comments and reviews on the search results, e.g. getting customer reviews on a restaurant from services like Yelp.com.
2. The Marketing Advantage
Google has rarely spent money on advertising its own products. Consumers are ready to jump on just about anything that Google puts out, which means that the usual big spenders in a marketing budget are moot - television ads, for example. Microsoft’s Bing may have an advantage here, as the company seems to be willing to pour a near-endless stream of funds into promoting its new product.
It’s not a bad strategy, especially since nothing short of full media saturation is likely to sway loyal Google enthusiasts. Since they have no competition in many of their outlets, it might just give Bing a chance to play with the big boy.
Peter Koeppel is a Wharton MBA and president of Koeppel Direct, a full-service media buying agency based in Dallas.
Net Neutrality Bill Introduced in the House
Tuesday, August 4th, 2009
Late last week Representatives Markey (D-MA) and Eshoo (D-CA) introduced a bill that would keep the Internet open by preventing Internet service providers (ISPs) from imposing “a charge on any Internet content, service, or application provider to enable any lawful Internet content, application, or service to be offered, provided, or used. In other words, they cannot charge you (as a content provider) more than the cost of service for your lawful content and any lawful applications you make available.
The bill also prevents ISPs from providing or selling any content, application, or service provider any offering that prioritizes traffic over that of other such providers. This addresses concerns that ISPs will sell premium access to some companies, which would have the end result of degrading everyone’s content. This is important to any company that is using video online, but is not interested in paying more than they currently do to ensure the quality of the video is not reduced. It’s not easy to be moved by advertising when the video is pixilated or freezes every three seconds.
Similar bills were introduced in the last two Congresses. However, the larger Democratic majority and President Obama’s stated priority of keeping the Internet open may mean there will be some movement on this bill. However, the House will be in a District Work Period (aka recess) until after Labor Day.
In the meantime, you can watch this video.
For more information on ERA’s government affairs efforts, click here.
Tomi Turner is ERA’s legislative manager.
ERA’s 2009 D2C Convention Education Tracks
Friday, July 31st, 2009Here’s a sneak peek at what attendees can expect from the education lineup at ERA’s upcoming D2C Convention September 13-15, in Las Vegas.Â
Track One: Direct Response Success
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Track Two: Digital Marketing IntelligenceÂ
Optimizing Video for Search
Thursday, July 9th, 2009
Using video on your website is a powerful way to reach you audience. A well-crafted video with a catchy title can quickly go viral and is an excellent way to bring links to your site. In turn, links will help give your site search engine authority and ultimately higher search rankings.
The problem with video is that you can have great content full of all the keywords you are targeting, but search engines are going to have no idea what that content is. Here are some tips to help optimize your video content:
• Transcribe your video. Transcribing your video is a great way to let the search engines know what your video content is. There are many affordable transcribing services that will do this for you.
• Keep it short and sweet. Internet users have a short attention span. Keep your videos under six minutes. If you have a longer video that you can’t edit down to a reasonable time, consider breaking the video into chapters.
• Use catchy titles. Using a catchy title will give you much higher click through rates on your videos. Even if your subject is dry, be creative in how you title your video.
• Understand 3rd Party Hosting. Posting your video on video sharing websites like YouTube, Meta Cafe and Vimeo is a great way to increase your video views, but understand that these sites will have very high authority and will likely out rank your site. If the video becomes popular, the links will point to the hosting site instead of your website. One way to combat this is optimizing the on page factors on your site using the desired keywords. If you decide to post the video on a sharing site, change the titles and tags as not to compete with your site. Also, be sure to include a watermark of your website name as part of the video being posted on hosting sites.
• Offer the option to embed your code. Offering the code so visitors can post the video on their blog or website will help to make your video viral. Be sure to require a link back to your site for people who use the code.
• Use a good thumbnail image. Using a compelling thumbnail will greatly increase the chances of your video being viewed.
Dean Wicklund is Tower Media’s digital media manager.
Online Strategies Magazine Launches New Site
Monday, July 6th, 2009
Electronic Retailer magazine’s sister publication, Online Strategies, has launched its own homepage. Check it out here!
2009 ERA D2C Convention Video!
Thursday, June 25th, 2009Watch as ERA CEO Julie Coons delivers a sneak peak of what attendees can expect from ERA’s upcoming 2009 D2C Convention in Las Vegas September 13-15. Register now! Early bird ends July 1!
Click here to visit ERA’s YouTube channel!
Microsoft Launches Google Rival “Bing”
Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009“Why don’t you Bing it?â€
A year from now, if you hear someone say that — and actually understand what it means — Bill Gates will be a happy billionaire. That is because it will be a sign that Microsoft is finally making progress in its quest to challenge Google in the Internet search business. Bing, the name Microsoft gave to the new search service it unveiled Thursday, is its answer to Google — a noun that once meant little but has become part of the language as a verb that is a synonym for executing a Web search. After months of, uh, searching, Microsoft settled on Bing to replace the all-too-forgettable Live Search, which itself replaced MSN Search. Microsoft invested billions of dollars in those services and failed to slow Google’s rise, so a new name certainly can’t hurt. Microsoft’s marketing gurus hope that Bing will evoke neither a type of cherry nor a strip club on “The Sopranos†but rather a sound — the ringing of a bell that signals the “aha†moment when a search leads to an answer. The name is meant to conjure “the sound of found†as Bing helps people with complex tasks like shopping for a camera, said Yusuf Mehdi, senior vice president of Microsoft’s online audience business group. And if Bing turns into a verb like, say, Xerox, TiVo or, well, Google, that would be nice too. Steven A. Ballmer, Microsoft’s chief executive, said Thursday that he liked Bing’s potential to “verb up.†Plus, he said, “it works globally, and doesn’t have negative, unusual connotations.†Some branding experts said choosing the name Bing was a good start, but also the easiest part of the challenge facing the company, since most people turn to Google without even thinking about it.
To read the entire New York Times article, click here.
To check out Bing for yourself, click here.
Loading ...5 Steps to Smart Discounting
Tuesday, May 26th, 2009
Retailers know that if there was ever a time to keep their customers happy it’s now. They also know that finding new customers costs more time, resources and money than keeping existing customers. One way retailers are trying to keep economy-squeezed consumers satisfied is with discounts, and the key to effective discounting — without sacrificing ROI — is understanding your customers’ needs and motivations.
Here are five ways to make sure your discounting is on-target, customer-centric and profitable:
1.   One size does not fit all
The same discount offer will not fit the needs of all customers. Some are impulse buyers willing to pay full price; some are “coupon clippers†who won’t buy anything at full price but will buy something they don’t need if it’s on sale. Then there’s a range in between. Understand the differences between your customers and then use that insight to vary offers based on their discount-sensitivity.
2.   Test for the right mix
Start to learn customer differences by looking at the percentage of total items they purchase at a discount. Then compare how they respond to communications with a discount vs. those without. Try replacing discount offers with more relevant, full price product offers for those customers less sensitive to discounts. The right mix of discount and non-discount oriented offers will gradually emerge.
3.   Don’t over-discount
Many companies use discount offers and coupons in most of their customer communications, trying to drive loyalty. Although it’s often an effective strategy that drives traffic and purchases, discounting constantly trains customers to look for and wait for deals – lowering the chance that they will buy at full price. And then there’s the ongoing cost of the discount itself.
4.   Accept their terms
Make your offers consistent with customer shopping preferences. For example, if they like to buy in-store, your offer should emphasize store location and convenience in addition to the discount. You might prefer them to purchase online, but offering free shipping if they purchase online is not likely to work.
5.   Don’t rush to slash
Try to understand what motivates or turns off individual customers. For example, you probably have a large number of customers who have abandoned online shopping carts multiple times. They may be hesitating to complete the purchase because they just can’t stomach the shipping charges. Try testing free shipping for these people before you rush to discounting the product. You might just increase your conversion rate in the process.
Andy Cutler is chief strategy officer at Mercury, a Boston-based, insight-driven marketing agency that drives growth and profitability for clients through enhanced customer experiences.
