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By using targeted merchandising, online retailers can dramatically increase the likelihood of increasing sales, all while pleasing their customers with products that have been preselected just for them.

YouTube is the second most trafficked search engine on the web; if you aren’t using this service for your business, you're missing out on reaching tons of potential customers.

Traffic is like oxygen for a website: it can't "live" if it doesn't get it, no matter how cool its features and graphics are. The simple truth is that you need visitors to get sales. Want to increase your sales by 20 percent this holiday season? You need 20 percent more web traffic to do so.

For an interesting look at the inner workings of the customer service industry, try Emily Yellin's "Your Call Is (not that) Important to Us."

Sure, you're entrenched in the holiday season by now, making sure your website is up to date with the most current inventory and that every one of your customers is happy and well served. But that doesn't mean it's time to rest on your laurels. In fact, the holiday season is a great time to test new web attributes and programs that may improve your shoppers' experiences, and ultimately bring you more sales.

Brands that buy rankings through paid search on engines powering retail websites experience better sales.

When integrated, search engine marketing (SEM) and online display advertising can deliver far greater results than the same campaigns planned in isolation.

At press time, the USPS filed its request with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) for an "exigent" price increase to take effect January 2, 2011. The USPS proposed an average price increase of 5.6 percent. Increases for catalogs range from 4 percent to 10 percent, depending on the characteristics of the mailing.

Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.), chairman of the Communications Subcommittee, said Tuesday that he will introduce an online privacy bill that will create standards for how consumer data is collected and used for marketing.

As temperatures across the US have skyrocketed this summer, searches for warm weather fashion products have also soared. In the last month, searches for warm weather apparel and footwear correspond with the rising temperatures.