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The Metrics for Video Success

Many online stores have begun to include product videos aimed at boosting sales conversions, reducing shopping cart abandonment, and lowering product return rates. But not all product-related videos are the same, and merchants will need some metrics for measuring which videos are, in fact, helping the bottom line. The video trend makes good sense for ecommerce in general. For example, there is plenty of evidence that potential Internet shoppers are comfortable with online video. Late last year, comScore found that nearly 85 percent of U.S. Internet users had watched online video. But marketers should be careful. Product videos that do nothing more than show still images set to music could be off-putting. What's more, Forrester Researc...

Microsoft, Yahoo! Search-engine Partnership: Frequently Asked Questions

The agreement for Yahoo! to use Microsoft's Bing search platform has been approved by U.S. and European authorities. We wonder what this agreement means for ecommerce merchants. Greg Laptevsky, a Practical eCommerce contributor and a seasoned search marketing expert, provides some answers. Practical eCommerce: Please explain the newly formed partnership between Microsoft and Yahoo!. Greg Laptevsky: "Microsoft and Yahoo! announced in February that they received clearance from the U.S. and European regulatory authorities to move forward with a search integration deal. Here’s what we know so far: "This is a ten-year, search only (technology and traffic) deal; display businesses will remain separate. "Microsoft adCenter is going to be th...

The PEC Review: Chimpified Connects Two Powerful Platforms

There are thousands of ecommerce-related products and services that small- to mid-sized merchants can use to improve their businesses. But often the challenge to engaging these products and services is not funding, or even the products' capabilities. Instead, it is the difficulty associated with getting all of these diverse products or services to work together. I strongly believe that most small ecommerce businesses start for one of two reasons: (1) either the entrepreneur has web development skills and wants to use those skills to start an ecommerce business, or (2) the entrepreneur has marketing or product expertise and wants to sell online. In the latter case, the would-be merchant usually has to hire a developer, a web designer, o...

Ecommerce News Around the Web for March 5, 2010

"Ecommerce News Around the Web" is our weekly review of articles, blog posts and other news items that could interest ecommerce merchants. In this week's edition we are taking a slightly different tack and focusing on ecommerce and social media. Among other things, we have pulled together several articles that focus on creating a Facebook Fan Page that really works. Facebook Grows as Ecommerce Platform - EDL Consulting Since it achieved profitability in 2009, Facebook has begun a slow trajectory toward greater use of ecommerce. A deal with PayPal in February led to greater development of Facebook's virtual product sales, which in turn have led to the sale of consumer goods through brand fan pages. Procter & Gamble has become the ...

Cart of the Week: BV Commerce

There are more than 500 online shopping carts. And each week we feature one, interviewing both the cart's developer and a customer. "Cart of the Week" is not a review or an evaluation, but rather an opportunity to learn about a shopping cart from the people who build it and use it. This week, we'll hear from Marcus C. McConnell, founder and president of BV Software, the developers of the hosted BV Commerce shopping cart and a licensed ecommerce package called BV Commerce Toolkit. The company is based in Richmond, Va. and its ecommerce software currently has around 5,000 active users. We'll also hear from a BV Commerce customer, Charles Wolfinger, director of operations for eofficedirect.com, a site that sells office supplies. PeC: Ple...

Visual Search to Grow with Mobile Commerce

Visual search is a new technology that's likely to impact the mobile commerce space. It allows mobile users to snap pictures of just about anything on their devices and then search for relevant online content based on the photo itself. This technology is useful for mobile users who are on the go and seeking certain qualities in a product without knowing or caring about the brand name. For example, someone with an iPhone could see a shirt in a store and want to search for shirts with similar aesthetics. One person might describe a pattern in a shirt differently than another. Google Goggles Google is not the first to utilize mobile search, but it does provide Android users with access to the largest image database. Android users can u...

Order Fulfillment: "Kitting" Can Dramatically Slash Your Costs

The term “kitting” is order fulfillment jargon for preassembly of individual items into ready-to-ship kits instead of picking and packing those individual items as orders are received. If you ship similar orders in quantity, the savings potential of fulfillment kitting can be huge. A Real World Example Miles operates a web store specializing in nutraceuticals. He ships about 1,000 orders a week and offers a total of 25 different diet and health items. But 80 percent of his orders involve a popular three-for-the-price-of-two offer for his lead product. Prior to kitting, Miles had his fulfillment house pick and pack all orders as they arrived. The cost was $1.85 per order plus $.40 per item and, in the case of his buy-two-get-one-fre...

Quick Query: Restaurant Owner Uses Website to Facilitate Reservations, Promote Menu

Service-related businesses are finding new customers and new marketing opportunities online. This includes restaurants, which have increasingly embraced the web to promote menu offerings and dinner specials, and to facilitate reservations, provide directions and much more. A restaurant that has used its website to do all of this in an innovative way is manna, with a vegan-focused menu and located in the heart of London. Its owner is Roger Swallow and he spoke with us about it. Practical eCommerce: Why does your restaurant need a website? Roger Swallow: "How does a restaurant, or any business, exist without a website? We have been around for 43 years in the same location, and for people who don't know us, it's a perfect opportunit...

The PEC Review: RateVoice Offers Product Reviews with Social Twist

Adding product reviews to your ecommerce site will boost sales, drive additional traffic, and help you optimize your product catalog. In 2007, when PETCO added customer product reviews to its site, this purveyor of pet products enjoyed a 49 percent increase in sales conversions for its top rated products, according to a published report. What's more, shoppers that used the product reviews spent some 40 percent more than other customers. But not all customer review systems are the same. As a merchant, you want to choose a review solution that fits your business and your budget while providing the sorts of review features that increase sales, grow site traffic, and make the most of the products that you sell. RateVoice is a social produ...

Ten Google Services to Help Your Ecommerce Business

If you are an ecommerce merchant, your business likely cannot survive without search engine exposure through Google. But Google has over one hundred other services and products that have blossomed from its core web search tool. Just keeping up with the names of these products is challenging, let alone figuring out how you can utilize them to improve your bottom line. Let's take a look at the Google services most relevant to ecommerce site owners and some of the newer features that you can leverage for your business. Google Web Search Google's flagship search engine is still the go-to Internet entry point for much of civilization (with Facebook representing a worthy challenger). One of Google's more recent advances in search technology...

Tutorial: Sources for Free Stock Photography, Icons

Knowing where to find free stock photography and stock icons can be helpful when running an ecommerce website. In this video tutorial, I will review my top picks for websites providing free stock photography and stock icons. I will also briefly discuss the licensing that comes with stock content. [video] Stock.XCHNG Stock.XCHNG is a good source for free, high-resolution stock photography that can be used commercially. While a majority of the images available there allow for commercial use without attribution, it is always important to double-check the licensing associated with the image you plan to use. There are some images on Stock.XCHNG that require either permission or attribution. The site requires registration to download the i...

Chart of the Week: Google, Microsoft Gain Ground in Search Engine Market

At the end of January 2010, Google controlled 65.4 percent of the search-engine market, up 2.4 percent, from 63 percent, twelve months earlier, according to comScore, the web-tracking firm. Microsoft was the only other search engine that gained market share. Microsoft had a total of 11.3 percent of the market in January 2010, up from 8.5 percent in January 2009. Microsoft was losing share in the search engine market until it launched Bing in June 2009. In the following month, Microsoft increased share by .4 percent, according to comScore. Yahoo!, Ask Network, and AOL LLC Network each lost popularity in the last 12 months. Yahoo! was hit the hardest, dropping from 21 percent of the market in January 2009 to 17 percent by January of thi...

Ten Great Ecommerce Ideas for March 2010

Practical eCommerce asks industry insiders each month to share a great, innovative idea that could help an ecommerce company. Here’s what ten of them had to say for the March 2010 installment of "Great Ecommerce Ideas." "Add to Cart" vs. "Buy" "Use phrases like 'Add to Cart' on your buttons rather than phrases like 'Buy.' Consumers don’t like commitment. It is like saying 'Will you go on a date with me?' versus 'Will you marry me?' You are more likely to say yes to the date because less commitment is required." Stephanie Leffler CEO Juggle.com -- Watch PPC Metrics Weekly "If pay-per-click advertising (PPC) is part of your marketing strategy, establish a set of core performance indicators and pay attention to those metrics o...

Ecommerce News Around the Web for February 26, 2010

"Ecommerce News Around the Web" is our weekly review of articles, blog posts and other news items that could interest ecommerce merchants. Bing/Yahoo! Deal Signals Impending Change in Search - ZippyCart The Microsoft Bing/Yahoo! search deal has been given a green light from the U.S. Department of Justice and the European Commission. Most ecommerce sites focus on their attention on Google because it has consistently owned the search market for the past few years. With this merger-taking place, the landscape may change. Yahoo! Expands Relationship with Twitter - All Things Digital In an effort to enhance the appeal of its online properties via the use of popular social networking features, Yahoo! has announced plans to integrate Twi...

Cart of the Week: CoreCommerce

There are more than 500 online shopping carts. And each week we feature one, interviewing both the cart's developer and a customer. "Cart of the Week" is not a review or an evaluation, but rather an opportunity to learn about a shopping cart from the people who build it and use it. This week, we'll hear from Matt DeLong, president and CEO of CoreCommerce, developers of CoreCommerce shopping cart software. The company is based in Franklin Tenn., and its software has been used to create between 12,000 and 13,000 web stores, according to DeLong. We'll also hear from a CoreCommerce customer, Timothy J. Burns, owner of Minnesota Workwear, a site that sells industrial work apparel. PeC: Please provide some general background on the cart. ...

Mobile Commerce Appeals to Young Adults

While it is true mobile devices are generating more web traffic, merchants should be aware of the demographics of mobile users and the products they are buying. Surveys taken in early 2010 have similar results in the age breakdown of mobile users. One survey by Retrevo, a shopping comparison site for electronics, provides a useful cross-section of the mobile market. In addition to the usual price-by-price shopping comparison tool, Retrevo has other useful features. It implemented an SMS price comparison tool called RetrevoQ in November 2009. This allows users to text Retrevo for product information while they are in the store and considering a purchase. We spoke with Retrevo’s co-founder and vice president of marketing, Manish Ra...

Ask an Expert: Examples of Social Media Marketing Success?

"Ask an Expert" is an occasional feature where we ask ecommerce experts questions from online merchants. For this installment, we address a question about social media marketing. It comes from Theresa Fox, managing director of direct and digital initiatives at Sounds True, an online store that sells products and services to enable spiritual development. For the answer, we turn to Lawrence Cramer, CEO of Application Dynamics, founder of Cartweaver, and a specialist in ecommerce and social media strategies. If you’d like to submit a question, email Kate Monteith, staff writer, at kate@practicalecommerce.com and we'll at...

How to Remove a Web Page From Google

Editor’s Note: Bill Hartzer is a contributor to Practical eCommerce and manager of search engine optimization and social media marketing with VizionInteractive, a Dallas-based online marketing firm. Hartzer wrote the article, below, which first appeared in that company’s blog. This search engine optimization tip has to do with removing a page or a specific URL from the Google search engine. I’m not going to go into a great deal of explanation about why you would want to remove a page from Google. There are many reasons for doing that (which might include the fact that it’s a duplicate page or maybe even a page that has sensitive data on it that you don’t want given out to the whole entire world). But, what I am going to do is give you...

Quick Query: Covario's Stephan Spencer on Mobile Commerce

An increasing number of consumers access the Internet via mobile devices. This has looming implications for ecommerce merchants who must decide what platforms their customers will use in the future. Third party services can help owners migrate their sites to mobile devices and one of those is Mobile Site Optimizer from Covario, the SEO software and services company. Its creator is Stephan Spencer, Practical eCommerce's long-time SEO contributor. He joins us to discuss Mobile Site Optimizer and mobile strategy generally. Practical eCommerce: What is Mobile Site Optimizer? Stephan Spencer: "It's a new product from Covario. Its history comes from Netconcepts, which is my previous company that I founded and Covario acquired in Janua...

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