E-Commerce

Big box stores represented just 5.3 percent of Web sites displayed during holiday 2006 product searches on the three largest search engines, according to a recent report released by search marketing and optimization firm Internet-Engine. By comparison, independent e-commerce stores made up 32.3 percent of results, while manufacturer sites and comparison shopping sites pulled down about 21 percent each. Big box retailers did marginally better in some categories, while independent merchants fared significantly better in some cases. Select product search results follow below: Watches: 2.5 percent of results - big box retailers; 40.8 percent - independent merchants; 11.7 percent - manufacturers; and 34.2 percent

As you work to improve conversion rates across your online marketing programs in 2007, consider the following five steps for more effective search engine marketing ad copy, offered by search marketing firm MoreVisibility, in a recent whitepaper. 1. Use the paid keyword in the ad. In both Google AdWords and MSN AdCenter, if you include in your ad the search term your potential customer used to trigger your ad, the keyword will be bolded, which helps them stand out on the page, the whitepaper’s authors write. 2. Make a unique and immediate call to action. Your call to action should invite the searcher to

No doubt you collect e-mail addresses and other consumer information on your Web site. Perhaps you have a box on your homepage offering a free newsletter, or a special page that offers discounts if shoppers supply personal data. Regardless of the method you use to collect this information, you should send an immediate welcome message to these new names, note officials at Internet marketing firm Topica in a recent whitepaper. Following are Topica’s tips for maximizing the effectiveness of these Web prospects: 1. Gather the correct information up front. In an effort to acquire as many prospects as possible, many online merchants ask only

Problem: Organize.com sought to merchandise its site search results. Solution: It employed a site search software platform. Results: Online orders increased 60 percent in the first month. When Organize.com first employed an onsite search program in 1999, officials at the company believed the Yahoo! solution they implemented was state-of-the-art. Fast forward to the middle of 2005, and what was once a top-of-the-line technological breakthrough had become obsolete. Search results often were randomly displayed, and Organize.com was unable to track whether customers were using search to purchase. Organize.com wanted a solution that allowed its merchandisers to be able to decide which products were most relevant to customers’ searches,

There’s a very thin line that ties together the two catalogs produced out of 132 Robin Hill Road in Santa Barbara, Calif. Founded in 1994 as Surf to Summit, a B-to-B catalog of kayakin g equipment, the company in 2001 spun off After 5, a consumer catalog of quirky — often wacky — products for wine and martini parties. After 5 came to life after the company found that its customers were responding briskly to the cocktail party-related novelties that it first offered almost as an afterthought in Surf to Summit. But that’s where any similarities between the two catalogs end. Although the

Brick-and-mortar retail sales influenced by consumers’ online browsing and research are expected to increase by a compounded annual growth rate of 12 percent over the next five years, according to a recent report by JupiterResearch. Offline sales influenced by online research will reach 40 percent of all U.S. retail sales by 2011. Other data released by the survey: * U.S. online retail sales will plateau at 10 percent to 15 percent of total retail sales; * U.S. online retail sales will grow by 16 percent in 2007, reaching $116 billion; and * Online sales will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 11

The fastest way to higher profits from multichannel customers is not by increasing average order value, but by increasing conversion. This was the primary message delivered by Mark Giresi, executive vice president of retail operations for multi-branded apparel and accessories merchant Limited Brands, and Pat Conroy, vice chairman and national managing principal for consumer business practice at Deloitte & Touche during a session during last week’s National Retail Federation Conference in New York. Giresi pointed out that higher conversion should be a merchant’s focus since the average order value of a shopper that doesn’t purchase is $0. Speakers discussed several online consumer behavioral statistics and

Oneupweb in December 2006 conducted a study to determine trends relative to traffic, conversion rates and total sales among e-commerce sites during the holiday season. The resulting whitepaper, 2006 Holiday Online Retail Buying Trends: A Study of the Consumer Behavior Online during 2006 Holiday Season, offers up some useful information for 2007’s sales season. Based on its research, Oneupweb came up with five best practices for paid-search advertising: 1. Be ready by Halloween. 2. Back-to-school triggers testing. 3. Protect peak season opportunities, e.g., develop bid strategies with higher conversion rates in mind (to offset seasonally high keyword prices), and develop inventory strategies. 4.

As holiday sales results continue to roll in, now’s the time to start thinking about ways to improve your online preparedness for the 2007 holiday season. Search marketing firm Oneupweb offers four best practices based on data from the past holiday season in its recent whitepaper “2006 Holiday Online Retail Buying Trends”: 1. Be ready by Halloween. Consumers start thinking about the holidays in October, making this holiday a good milestone to keep in mind, the whitepapers’ authors note. During the final full week of October (23-29) in 2006, retail site traffic went up 14.2 percent, conversion rates grew 15.7 percent and sales rose

Online shoppers were slightly more satisfied with the 2006 holiday season than they were in 2005, according to the Top 40 Retail Satisfaction Index produced by customer satisfaction rating firm ForeSee Results. Average customer satisfaction rose one point, from 74 to 75, on a 100 point scale. The Index, which was compiled from a survey of more than 10,000 online holiday shoppers, provided experience ratings for the Top 40 retail Web sites defined by sales volume. The following catalogers and notable online merchants, as well as their customer satisfaction ratings, follow: * Amazon.com - 84 * L.L. Bean - 80 * QVC - 80