Web Shop Manager News

We may begin to see the sun peaking through the recession clouds, but we are not of its shadow quite yet.  However, the quickest companies to rebound will be those that are willing to invest in the technologies that allow them to increase market share.  And where has the market turned?  The Internet.    

“When the recovery fully takes hold, the growth will be driven by the web, and retailers that want to survive and grow need to fish where the fish are. Merchants with worn-out old systems won’t be the ones getting the business online. The ones that will are making a sound investment in better e-commerce technology now.” Kasey Lobaugh, retail analyst and principal with Deloitte Consulting LLP

Solutions for a Newbie or an eCommerce Veteran

As business owners we need to ask ourselves what our customers want and need.  Listening to our market, Web Design Solutions developed an ideal solution, Web Shop Manager™ (WSM™).

Recently, an article was published in Internet Retailer entitled “Internet Retailer Survey: E-retailers are ready to buy new technology, and they have long shopping lists.”  Reading this article reminded us just how big the need is for an all-encompassing eCommerce platform.  We provide many of the mentioned features in the article as part of our standard product offering, and we couple all of that with custom web design. 

Built in response to our clients ever evolving needs, WSM™ offers a feature packed arsenal including – but not limited to:

Automatic SEO - WSM™ optimizes every page of content for you by generating your Google XML sitemap, URL list and robots.txt file every night. 

Target Marketing - Using customer statistics gathered by WSM™’s Content Management System (CMS), site owners can pinpoint exactly what customers are interested in, in order to develop highly targeted marketing campaigns.  Imagine knowing exactly which customers would be most likely to take advantage of an offer and exclusively providing them with an enticing coupon code. 

Robust Content Management System - The WSM™ CMS is every bit as powerful as it is easy to use.  From first time eCommerce site owners to veterans, there is something for everyone.  There are a myriad of features, but here are just a few that are included in your WSM™ site: 

• Resources and Links
• Dealer Locator
• Event Calendar
• FAQ Pages
• Photo Gallery
• Blog/ News
• User-Generated Content  
• Customer Ratings and Reviews

WSM™ for an Ever Evolving Marketplace

Web design and eCommerce platforms have come a long way from their inception years ago.  Web Design Solutions/ Web Shop Manager™ are continually adding more features and modules to provide flexible technology for our discerning clients.    

eCommerce platforms may vary in size and prices, but as far as we are concerned WSM™ provides the best answer for those that require customized web design with an incredible CMS.  

We all know there should be 26 hours in the day.  Could that be a Christmas gift?  No? Yeah, that’s what I thought.  We only have so much time in a day to dedicate to each task.  The best solution is to make every move we make and every article we write worth it.  By focusing you available time and efforts you can increase your ROI significantly.

You wouldn’t buy a new Ferrari and then leave it out in the winter would you?!  No, you would take the time to nurture your investment.  Here are some ideas for making the most of your web presence.   

1. Go Local – Claim your location and add photos, business hours, and as much pertinent information as you can.

• Head to getlisted.org to check your current status. 

• Claim your business: Google’s Local Business Page, Yahoo!, Bing, Yellowpages.com and Yelp: all of which are FREE. 

2. Revisit your copy – Better Content = more traffic = more conversions = More Money!

• Whether it’s PPC (pay per click ad campaigns) or site pages, visit and refine your pages, being sure to utilize keyword research.  This will keep the content fresh and you are certain to find a few glaring typos you didn’t see the first time around.    

• Mega important to take advantage of Meta Descriptions, and Meta Keywords.  Web Shop Manager’s Content Management System (CMS) makes it incredibly easy to input this information.  You could have this done for all your site pages in a morning’s work.

3. Leverage your Web Presence – Want a group of participating, link sharing, interactive people that understand your brand and don’t mind promoting it?  If you are interested in more information on this subject, be sure to read "How to Cultivate and Retain an Active User Base for your eCommerce Blog".

• Start with a core group of people you enjoy interacting with, start reading their blog, and leave thoughtful comments.  Find them on Twitter, StumbleUpon where ever you both are, and connect. 

4. If you post it they will come… - This isn’t true!  Sure organic traffic is bound to happen from keyword rich blog posts.  But don’t leave it all up to Google!  They are busy!  Do your own promoting.  Use every social network you have to cross promote.

• LinkedIn – Update your status bar with a link to your newest article.  If you belong to groups, find the ones that would benefit from your post and add a link to their news feed.

• Facebook Fan Page – Set up your page so it automatically updates with your RSS feed.  Of course this can be done manually too.

• Twitter – Tweet a shortened link to your newest blog post.  Use Hashtags (#) to specify keywords if they don’t appear in your tweet else where.  This will help people that use the search feature find you.  For instance:

“Great deals on outdoor equipment! #kayaks #canoes #camping"

Oh, and do use invitations for people to connect with you, frequently, in your email signatures, business cards, print collateral, etc.  With that being said you should connect with Web Shop Manager if you haven’t done so already:

Emily Dunn, Brown Bag Agency

How can you know where you are going when you don’t know where you are starting from?  There are many great (free) tools to use when evaluating and benchmarking the effectiveness of your website and blog.  Then, you can take that information to develop the direction of your blog and website.

Not knowing how you are doing is a detriment to the work you have already done.  Please consider the following tools when evaluating your site:

1. Websitegrader.com- This site offers a myriad of helpful information including glaring omissions, competition comparisons, and Google Page Rank (PR).  PR is important because it is Google’s way of determining where your site will appear on the search page.  This number is determined by a number of things including search engine optimization (SEO) and the quality and quantity of inbound links (aka backlinks).  Thankfully, WSM http://webshopmanager.com/ has built in SEO optimization tools that will help with your relevance. 

2. Google Analytics- Google Analytics is a traffic analysis tool that allows you to measure statistics including top landing pages, top keywords used to find your site, and top content on your blog.  Use this in conjunction with Web Shop Manager’s built in statistics feature.  If you find that a specific keyword is resulting in high traffic levels, use that idea to spin off a blog post series.  For more ideas on how to generate content read "How do I Develop Innovative Content for my eCommerce Blog?". 

3. Alexa.com – Use Alexa.com to see which company is the most popular in your category, or check out your competitors reach, pageviews, top key words, and the demographics of site visitors.  You can use these stats to your advantage and improve your market share.  Knowledge is your friend when it comes to your competition. 

Use these tools on a regular basis to evaluate your efforts in a similar way that you run sales reports.  Finding weaknesses and areas you can improve will be a huge asset to your traffic levels and will result in more conversions. 

Next month I’ll be exploring Social Media Optimization and how to make every move count including things you aren’t doing but should. 

Emily Dunn

Brown Bag Agency

We’ve covered a lot of ground in the last 6 posts in our series “Developing an eCommerce Blog”.  Now seems to be the perfect time to provide 5 tips that will help take your blog to the next level.  So here they are in no particular order:

1. Use Coupons to Capture Holiday Shoppers – You know you love clicking and clipping coupons, and now there is a study to prove that everyone else does too.  Harris Interactive recently released a Consumer Coupon Behavior study that found:

“30% of online adults will not make a purchase at an online store if they can’t find a coupon for that store”

“22% of online adults will go to a different store to make that purchase”

Use this to your advantage and post special discounts to coupon sites like:

• Retail Me Not
• Coupons.com

If you would like more ideas on monetizing your eCommerce blog, please refer to a previous post in this series entitled "3 Areas to Consider when Monetizing your eCommerce Blog"

2. Use contests to grow readership, and ignite some buzz – Use contests and giveaways to start a commenting and site visit frenzy.  This is the perfect way to not only feature your products but to get your name out there.  Write an insightful post, ask a question and randomly select a commenter to receive a prize.  It doesn’t have to be a huge item, we as human beings just like free stuff. 

Or, ask visitors to sign up for your RSS feed, and shoot you an email letting you know.  They could then be entered for a chance to win something.  Think of using the Interactive Survey in a module in a similar way to gain insightful information and names for a drawing.

This tactic can also be used to grow your Twitter followers.  For instance, you could give your 100^th follower a $25 gift certificate for your store. 

3. Always be human – Remember, photos not logos make you seem like a real human. This is especially true for Twitter accounts.  Be you (real human) blogging for the company.  Also, be sure to take advantage of Web Shop Manager’s Live Chat Module.  Having a personality is a good thing.  Use your own unique spin and writing style to create deeper relationships through your chats.     

4. Exchange Links with Other Bloggers - If you want someone to notice you, reference them or their company in a blog post and then email the link to the post that mentions them.  Use restraint when reaching out, and make sure the content you are offering adds something of value.  Make sure the link you send is to relevant blog post and not just a link to your homepage.    

The best way to get noticed is to frequent interesting sites, and leave thoughtful comments.  Eventually, they will return the favor. 

5. Be the expert – Take your area of expertise and run with it.  No one could know more about your niche, so use that knowledge not only to sell your products or services, but to put you at the forefront of your category.  Use your blog as a platform to convey your enthusiasm to earn credibility and watch your sales increase. 

I encourage you to challenge yourself to take your blog to the next level now that you have the fundamentals down.  Just don’t drive yourself batty trying them all at once.  Have any of these worked for you in the past?  Please leave your success stories below with a link to your blog (opportunity here for a shameless plug-take it!).   

Next month we’ll explore how to evaluate your online effectiveness.  After all, if you don’t know how your site is doing, how can you improve?  If you are looking for a real treat, make sure you sign up for Web Shop Manager’s RSS feed. 

Have a safe and Happy Halloween!

Emily Dunn, Brown Bag Agency

Social media seems to be a term that is on everyone’s lips lately, but is it just hype or a viable channel for marketing and relationship building?  The answer is…both.  There are aspects of social media (this does not just mean Twitter) that connect real people, and in turn connect those real people to your product or services.

It is important to know the various types of social media available to you and how to use them effectively.  Try incorporating some of these technologies in your 2010 marketing plan to deepen your relationships that you have been building through your blog.  If you are still wondering how to obtain an active user base I would like to suggest you take a look at “How to Cultivate and Retain an Active User Base for your eCommerce Blog”, which is part of a larger series on “Developing an eCommerce Blog”.     

Before heading blindly into the wilds of social media, define your goals, such as driving traffic to your site, or gaining fans for giveaways, all of which can lead to increased sales.  Having a clear motive will help direct your social media plan of action.

Here is just a sampling of popular social media platforms along with some suggestions for use as they relate to eCommerce blogs. 

Twitter -You are limited to 140 characters including punctuation, spacing, and links to get your message across.  Use every character purposely and keep in mind you are representing your company with every word you choose.  Only plug your company, or a new blog post about every 10 tweets. 

• Real Conversations – find a group you want to connect with, and who are potential evangelists for your service or product, interact with them, retweet (basically a forward for Twitter), and genuinely take interest in what they’re up to, and who they are.
• Trade Links for Stumbles – if one of the people you follow posts an interesting tweet or link to a blog post use StumbleUpon to review it.  Let the person you follow know and hopefully they will return the favor.  This will drive traffic to your site from StumbleUpon.
• Connect with Common Interest Groups – Find people by utilizing the search feature (searches in real time) to form a group that is personal just for your brand.  For instance, if you sell Bronco parts search Broncos and see who is tweeting.

Facebook - Yeah, your grandma, aunts, cousins are all using it to stay in touch and although the updates can be annoying there are Facebook Profile/Fan pages that are not only free, but further a brands image by allowing ‘fans’ and a place to post relative content without clogging up your site, or wasting bandwidth.  They also allow a platform for brand personality through YouTube clips, or RSS feeds.  This is probably the most automated social media option represented here.

• Be Consistent – It doesn’t matter if people choose to look at your invite to a trunk show on your Facebook Profile/Fan Page or your website, but the information must be the same.  Use the same logos, maps, etc to maintain a consistent image.
• Link Love – Use your eCommerce site to link to your Facebook page, and use your Facebook page to link back to your site.
• Keep it Fresh – Link your blog RSS directly to your Facebook Page so that it consistently stays fresh with no additional maintenance. 

LinkedIn - Use LinkedIn as your gateway to find other professionals that can use your knowledge and expertise.

• Join Groups/ Start Groups – These can be professional groups, alumni, etc and upload blog posts you have written that correlate to the interest group for greater exposure.
• Update your Status – Be sure to update your status line at least once a week to remain in front of your contacts, and draw more people to your blog.

These are only three options to consider in a sea of ever evolving mediums.  The best way to stay afloat is to set aside a specific amount of time, say 30 minutes a day, and give it a 30 day trial period to see if it is a good fit for your product and reaching your customers.  If it isn’t a good fit (or enjoyable), discontinue use and look to another avenue. 

Next month I will be sharing some advanced tricks and treats that I have discovered about blogging and share them with you.  If you haven’t signed up for Web Shop Manager’s RSS feed be sure to do so. 

Emily Dunn

Brown Bag Agency