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e-RETAILING NEWS & OPINION ARCHIVES

October 2009

For the Archives Index, please click here

 

About Advertising

and Promotion

 

October 30, 2009

From MarketingProfs.com:

"Digital Marketing Facts"

Armed with data regarding consumers' online habits, preferences and inclinations, you are able to best craft your digital message to reach loyal customers, reach new ones and retain them...

http://www.marketingprofs.com

 

October 29, 2009

From Search Engine Watch:

"Popular PPC Pitfalls, and How to Prevent Them"

The home page is almost never the right pay-per-click landing page because it essentially forces the visitor to search again...

http://searchenginewatch.com

 

October 29, 2009

From Marketing Charts:

"Top 10 Integrated Marketing Trends:  Beware of Hyperfocus"

With the click of a mouse, or a mobile phone, consumers can advance a great story/ad/video/picture/newsbite to vast, networked communities of hearts and minds.  However, content will only travel at the speed-of-share if it is worth sharing in the first place...

http://www.marketingcharts.com

 

October 29, 2009

From ClickZ.com:

"How to Empower Your E-mail Subscribers"

Sending information that subscribers want, even if it's less frequent, will earn higher response now, and improve the chances that subscribers will continue to engage and respond in the future...

http://www.clickz.com

 

October 28, 2009

From MarketingProfs.com:

"Email Marketing Tips for the 2009 Holiday Season"

Complementary messaging should be used in the months before November to help strengthen your future emails; a big part of that is having your email-list subscribers update their preferences...

http://www.marketingprofs.com

 

October 26, 2009

From MarketingProfs.com:

"Does This Look Like Spam to You?"

Regardless of what you consider as spam email, it's important to be cognizant of what your customers think is spam...

http://www.marketingprofs.com

 

October 23, 2009

From ClickZ.com:

"Meeting Your Online Marketing Challenges"

Could a strategy that increases the conversion rate fail to produce the most overall sales or best results?

http://www.clickz.com

 

October 22, 2009

From E-Commerce Times:

"Leveraging Social Media to Boost E-Commerce Holiday Sales"

It is important to first plan what you want to achieve through digital word of mouth, how you want to implement your strategies, and how you intend to measure success...

http://www.ecommercetimes.com

 

October 22, 2009

From DM News:

"E-Mail Basics Meet New Tricks"

Paying close attention to data, cleaning lists constantly, and taking advantage of increasingly sophisticated list segmentation tools are crucial...

http://www.dmnews.com

 

October 21, 2009

From MarketingProfs.com:

"Three Strategies for Inspired Holiday Email in Tough Times"

Issue post-holiday rewards for holiday-period purchases.  This strategy prevents erosion of holiday-sales margins while igniting post-holiday sales during typically slow periods...

http://www.marketingprofs.com

 

October 21, 2009

From CBC News:

"Online Advertising Regaining Momentum"

Besides the Internet's lower prices, the web's tracking technologies make it easy to measure whether a search ad campaign is yielding adequate sales to justify the expense.  If their online spending isn't paying off, advertisers typically can pull the plug more quickly than in print and broadcast, which often require financial commitments that last several months...

http://www.cbc.ca

 

October 20, 2009

From eMarketer:

"Low Growth, High Value for Local Online Ads"

In 2009, local online ad spending is predicted to reach $14.2 billion, up 12% over 2008...

http://www.emarketer.com

 

October 20, 2009

From ClickZ.com:

"Local Online Media Planning Options"

Building a robust local media plan can be more challenging to source, can take more time, and requires considerable strategic thinking...

http://www.clickz.com

 

October 19, 2009

From ClickZ.com:

"Three Ways to Socialize Your E-mail Communications"

Because e-mail is a critical communications tool for many marketers, extend its reach and relevance by creating social media friendly content and adding sharing tools...

http://www.clickz.com

 

October 16, 2009

From eMarketer:

"Web Coupons a Hit for the Affluent"

More than one-half of US Internet users with household incomes of at least $100,000 reported using online coupons.  By contrast, only 30% of users with incomes under $25,000 used coupons they found on the Web...

http://www.emarketer.com

 

October 15, 2009

From DM News:

"How to Make Your E-Mail More Social"

Make sure your brand's voice, messaging and rules for engagement are consistent across all communications, whether it's e-mail, text or tweet...

http://www.dmnews.com

 

October 14, 2009

From eMarketer:

"Understanding Consumer Preferences"

Consumers choose e-mail at a rate of three-to-one over any other channel for marketing communications...

http://www.emarketer.com

 

October 13, 2009

From Search Engine Watch:

"Saturating Your Message in Search Marketing"

Make sure to write your page titles and meta descriptions like ad copy.  As you craft your message, do the query yourself and see what you can write that will make your placement stand out from the competition...

http://searchenginewatch.com

 

October 12, 2009

From eMarketer:

"The Difference Being a Mom Makes"

When asked what they would like to see in marketing e-mails, 45% of moms want information relevant to their lifestyle.  Women without children are much pickier - 35% did not want any information at all, while 30% were interested in messages pertaining to their lifestyle...

http://www.emarketer.com

 

October 12, 2009

From MarketingProfs.com:

"Try an Event-Driven Email"

Event-driven campaigns can add variety and interest to your usual item-driven offers...

http://www.marketingprofs.com

 

October 12, 2009

From ClickZ.com:

"Eleven Lessons Mobile Marketers Can Learn from Search"

The mobile ad market is set to jump from $160 million in 2008 to as much as $3.1 billion in 2013...

http://www.clickz.com

 

October 9, 2009

From ClickZ.com:

"Strategy Challenges for Effective Online Marketers"

To answer the question Why do customers buy?, you must approach the problem as the customer sees it...

http://www.clickz.com

 

October 9, 2009

From MarketingProfs.com:

"Death by Email:  A Quick How-To"

Four ways to destroy an email marketing program...

http://www.marketingprofs.com

 

October 9, 2009

From MarketingProfs.com:

"Improving Campaign Deliverability for PC and Mobile Users"

Mobile and PC users alike tend to be more interested and responsive to personalized, targeted emails as opposed to a general mass email.  Email marketers who segment their emails achieve an average email deliverability rate of 90.2%...

http://www.marketingprofs.com

 

October 8, 2009

From Marketing Charts:

"Q209 Email Open Rates Average 22%"

Consumer products, pharmaceutical, telecom, general retail, specialty retail and travel/hospitality all saw year-over-year increases in three of the major email metrics - deliverability, opens, and click-throughs...

http://www.marketingcharts.com

 

October 8, 2009

From MarketingVOX:

"Display-Ad Clickers Nosedive 50%"

Despite the precipitous decline in clicks, research has shown that online display ads generate significant lift in trademark search, online and offline sales, and brand-site visitation across all verticals, among those internet users who were exposed to the online ad campaigns - whether they clicked on the ad or not...

http://www.marketingvox.com

 

October 8, 2009

From DM News:

"Inside the Inbox:  What Are Your Customers Really Seeing?"

Use of the preview pane varies widely by e-mail client, with Outlook and Outlook Express users relying heavily on the preview pane while users of webmail clients are less reliant.  A scant 6% of messages are read in both the preview pane and fully open view...

http://www.dmnews.com

 

October 7, 2009

From DM News:

"Using Negative Keywords to Improve Paid Search Campaigns"

Properly used, negative keywords can increase conversion rates, reduce costs per click and improve keyword positioning...

http://www.dmnews.com

 

October 6, 2009

From DM News:

"It's Time to Get Social with Search Marketing"

Five tactics to consider in boosting the performance of your search campaigns...

http://www.dmnews.com

 

October 5, 2009

From ClickZ.com:

"Where Search Marketing Comes Up Short"

When consumers don't know what they're looking for, it's not a search experience.  It's a discovery opportunity...

http://www.clickz.com

 

October 5, 2009

From MarketingProfs.com:

"Top Five Approaches to Using Email-Campaign Metrics to Improve Marketing Performance"

To get the most holistic read on your email-marketing performance, you'll have to look beyond email, especially if offline conversion is the norm...

http://www.marketingprofs.com

 

October 2, 2009

From ClickZ.com:

"Relevance Signals for PPC Search"

By understanding relevance all the way through the search experience - from the moment the searcher starts filling out that search box till the time she leaves your site - you can put yourself in the shoes of both the search engine and the consumer...

http://www.clickz.com

 

October 2, 2009

From InternetRetailer.com:

"B2C E-Mail on Mobile Devices"

Nearly 10% of business-to-consumer e-mail is read on mobile devices...

http://www.internetretailer.com

 

October 1, 2009

From DM News:

"Holiday E-Mails Must Be Giving"

Almost 70% of holiday e-mails sent last year mentioned free shipping or discounted offers.  Free shipping coupled with a percentage-off discount saw the highest transaction rates...

http://www.dmnews.com

 

October 1, 2009

From the Yankee Group:

"Integrating Mobile Coupons Into the Retail Shopping Experience"

The mobile channel has proven increased redemption rates above 8 percent...

http://www.yankeegroup.com

 

October 1, 2009

From Search Engine Watch:

"Integrating PPC with Offline Marketing"

People who saw your offline ad may not remember specifics of your message, but will remember the brand.  Including a branded campaign in your PPC efforts will greatly increase the overall conversion rate...

http://searchenginewatch.com

 

 

About Customer

Service

 

October 30, 2009

From ClickZ.com:

"Optimizing Your Site for the Holiday Season"

While most companies have wish lists, not many have wish lists that are easy to share...

http://www.clickz.com

 

October 28, 2009

From DM News:

"Guide Customers through the Sale with Meaningful Content"

Sending an email offering customers how-to tips might not necessarily translate in to an immediate purchase, but it will build a longer term relationship that will no doubt contribute to conversion down the road...

http://www.dmnews.com

 

October 27, 2009

From InternetRetailer.com:

"Taking on the Big Dogs"

Bringing the e-commerce experience into stores, where shoppers can place online orders for items not available in the store, helps in competing against larger rivals by increasing selection without expanding in-store inventory...

http://www.internetretailer.com

 

October 26, 2009

From DM News:

"Layaway Returns to Retailers -

On the Web"

Online savings plans, also known as virtual Christmas Clubs, are picking up steam...

http://www.dmnews.com

 

October 23, 2009

From eMarketer:

"Local Searchers Head to Store More"

More than one-half of searchers made a purchase either in person, on the phone or over the Web after finding a local business...

http://www.emarketer.com

 

October 21, 2009

From DM News:

"Leave Online Cart Abandonment Behind"

One of the leading causes of cart abandonment is that shoppers want the products immediately.  Giving shoppers the ability to buy online or through a mobile device and then pick up in-store provides immediate product access and virtually eliminates defection...

http://www.dmnews.com

 

October 19, 2009

From InternetRetailer.com:

"Clear Signs for Shoppers Make for a Friendly Web Site Design"

Effective retail site navigation involves mastering the three primary types of navigation:  online product organization, product selection and page signage...

http://www.internetretailer.com

 

October 17, 2009

From MarketingProfs.com:

"Just Show Me What You Want"

Monitoring consumer searches before they buy and offering targeted help can boost a site's user-friendliness - and sales...

http://www.marketingprofs.com

 

October 15, 2009

From Search Engine Watch:

"Tips for Organizing Your Landing Page"

Do visitors know what their options are by visually inspecting the page?  Is your navigation prominent enough, consistent, and placed in a conventional location?

http://searchenginewatch.com

 

October 14, 2009

From InternetRetailer.com:

"Consumers Want More Live Online Help Options"

85% of consumers who regularly browse, research, and buy products and services online say that they want the option of live online help for situations such as finding more information about a product or service, learning the retailer's return policy or for assistance with completing an order...

http://www.internetretailer.com

 

October 13, 2009

From MarketingProfs.com:

"Your Website's Missing Ingredient"

There is no point in attracting more visitors to your site if your site has little of interest to say.  Even if your site is jam-packed with useful products, services, and solutions, readers will never invest the time necessary for you to make your case if your site doesn't connect with your audience...

http://www.marketingprofs.com

 

October 7, 2009

From ClickZ.com:

"Why a Good Unsubscribe Experience Is Important"

Lack of trust is one reason why subscribers click the spam button.  You reinforce this lack of trust when you hide or disguise your unsubscribe link...

http://www.clickz.com

 

October 1, 2009

From MarketingProfs.com:

"The Five Levels of Online Privacy and Tracking"

Make sure the level of information you ask customers to share directly relates to the value the customer will receive...

http://www.marketingprofs.com

About Webstore

Management

 

October 30, 2009

From Marketing Charts:

"Local Search Continues Shift to Online, Mobile Platforms"

Nearly two-thirds of consumers expect their search results to reveal businesses within 15 miles of their homes or places of work...

http://www.marketingcharts.com

 

October 29. 2009

From MarketingProfs.com:

"Transforming Customers Into a Community"

Changing individual customers into a community isn't simply a matter of semantics; it is a change in your attitude toward the people who frequent your business...

http://www.marketingprofs.com

 

October 28, 2009

From eMarketer:

"What's the Best Way to Improve Conversions?"

An organization is more than twice as likely to experience better conversion rates if there is an employee directly responsible for conversion...

http://www.emarketer.com

 

October 28, 2009

From E-Commerce Times:

"Top Nine Web 2.0 Drivers for

E-Commerce Success"

Offer question and answer tools in addition to customer reviews.  Customers can ask the shopping community or the merchant to address specific concerns about a product...

http://www.ecommercetimes.com

 

October 27, 2009

From MarketingProfs.com:

"Good Design Doesn't Just Happen"

Creating user personas and site search scenarios will help identify the trigger words that will catch your best prospects' eyes...

http://www.marketingprofs.com

 

October 27, 2009

From DM News:

"What You Should Know About M-Commerce"

If reaching a large audience is a key goal, companies should consider launching an m-commerce site, which is accessible by anyone with an Internet-enabled mobile device...

http://www.dmnews.com

 

October 26, 2009

From eMarketer:

"Retailers Get Ready for Social Shopping Experience"

Online shopping is more than just transactional...

http://www.emarketer.com

 

October 23, 2009

From Search Engine Watch:

"It's Not Too Late for 2009 Holiday-Focused SEO"

When adding content to a site in order to support holiday initiatives, the location of this content within the site hierarchy is crucial to rapid visibility within organic search...

http://searchenginewatch.com

 

October 23, 2009

From Marketing Charts:

"Half of '09 Holiday Shoppers to Buy Gifts on Web"

85% say the primary reason for shopping online is still time savings, but 40% and 38% of shoppers, respectively, also rate wish lists and reviews as increasingly important...

http://www.marketingcharts.com

 

October 22, 2009

From MarketingVOX:

"Web Retailers Cope with Shipping-Charge Rejection"

The move to remove shipping charges to stay competitive in online retail comes at a time when shipping companies are raising their rates for retailers...

http://www.marketingvox.com

 

October 22, 2009

From MarketingProfs.com:

"Web Usability Tools:

An Introduction"

Increase your website's conversion rates and improve your sales by conducting usability testing to find and fix the places where your customers are abandoning your site...

http://www.marketingprofs.com

 

October 21, 2009

From ClickZ.com:

"SEO Can't Fix Stupid"

Dynamic URLs remain the root cause of many organizations' underwhelming performance in the search engines...

http://www.clickz.com

 

October 20, 2009

From DM News:

"Online Copywriting"

On the Web, your reader wants the conclusion up front.  Every word has to hold their attention and move them toward whatever it is they're looking for.  Headlines have to be meaningful rather than clever...

http://www.dmnews.com

 

October 19, 2009

From Webmonkey:

"Debunking the Myth of the Page Fold in Web Design"

Don't be tempted to cram everything above the fold.  Good use of white space and imagery encourages exploration...

http://www.webmonkey.com

 

October 16, 2009

From MarketingProfs.com:

"Never Break the Chain"

When you redesign your site, remember the importance of maintaining established connections with other sites.  Ensure that once a page is created and publicly available it remains that way...

http://www.marketingprofs.com

 

October 16, 2009

From Search Engine Watch:

"Consumers Head Online for Local Business Information"

63 percent of local business searchers expect business results to be within 15 miles from their starting location, up from 52 percent in 2007...

http://searchenginewatch.com

 

October 16, 2009

From MarketingProfs.com:

"Don't Just Buy Media - Earn It!"

The first step to creating an earned-media strategy is to create content that people will want to pass along...

http://www.marketingprofs.com

 

October 15, 2009

From Retailer Daily:

"72% of Retailers Report Increased Web Sales in Q3"

Average web sales growth was 16%, representing an improvement from average web sales growth of 11.8% in Q2 2009 and 10.8% in Q1 2009...

http://www.retailerdaily.com

 

October 15, 2009

From Marketing Charts:

"Small Biz Chooses Search over SocNets"

Small businesses are poised to triple the amount of money they spend on their websites...

http://www.marketingcharts.com

 

October 14, 2009

From ClickZ.com:

"Personifying the People Who Will Buy From You"

Touch-point personas help you target your messages and offers, changing the way you present information...

http://www.clickz.com

 

October 14, 2009

From Search Engine Watch:

"Addressing the O in Search Engine Optimization"

Remember that not all conversion rates are treated equally.  You need volume and conversion rate.  Be sure to only look at keywords that have driven at least a minimum/baseline amount of traffic to the Web site...

http://searchenginewatch.com

 

October 13, 2009

From Marketing Charts:

"Longer Search Queries Increase 2%"

The continued trend toward increasing search-query length was first reported earlier this year, and could potentially be the result of growing sophistication in internet searching habits...

http://www.marketingcharts.com

 

October 12, 2009

From ClickZ.com:

"The How-To's of Digital Merchandising"

Digital merchandising has the same goals and purposes as traditional merchandising:  grouping, relating, and showcasing products to generate revenue...

http://www.clickz.com

 

October 9, 2009

From ClickZ.com:

"Mobile Web Audience Grows by One Third"

Although men continue to make up the majority of the mobile Web audience - accounting for a total of 53 percent of visits - growth among female users far outstripped that of males...

http://www.clickz.com

 

October 8, 2009

From InternetRetailer.com:

"Consumers Say Holiday Budgets Are Tight, But 85% Will Shop Online"

US online retail sales to account for 5% of total retail sales, or $156.1 billion, up from $141.3 billion a year ago...

http://www.internetretailer.com

 

October 7, 2009

From InternetRetailer.com:

"Web Shoppers Complaining More to Online Peers, Less to Retailers"

Online consumers are not having quite as many problems with web transactions as in the recent past, but when they do they are more likely to communicate about them via blogs and social networks, and less likely to complain to the company operating the web site...

http://www.internetretailer.com

 

October 6, 2009

From MarketingProfs.com:

"Expand Your Local Horizons"

Your business might have just one physical location, but it simply must be findable across the Web.  Seek out a wide range of search engines to grab the broadest local audience possible...

http://www.marketingprofs.com

 

October 6, 2009

From ClickZ.com:

"Understanding Your Audience Online"

Web analytics is just one piece of the puzzle in understanding your visitors and your audience in general, though it is the one with the loudest voice.  What this means is other equally important aspects are often overlooked or forgotten about...

http://www.clickz.com

 

October 6, 2009

From Search Engine Watch:

"How Keywords Help Determine Site Architecture"

Keyword research is a gem of the Internet age.  Never before has there been so much information available about the mindset of your potential customers...

http://searchenginewatch.com

 

October 5, 2009

From InternetRetailer.com:

"Last Year's Holiday Search Data Offers Insights for E-Retailers this Year"

In December 2008, 30% of all traffic to retailer web sites came from search...

http://www.internetretailer.com

 

October 2, 2009

From ClickZ.com:

"More Reasons Your Site Sucks"

One common problem with many sites is a lack of focus on home pages, with every element on the page screaming for attention.  While every promotion and every ad is important, they can't all be the most important thing on the page...

http://www.clickz.com

 

October 2, 2009

From E-Commerce Times:

"A Global Web Site Localization Primer"

Ten tips for localizing your web site for international e-commerce...

http://www.ecommercetimes.com

For the Archives Index, please click here

 

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