Product Marketing vs. Merchandising: Part One

Quick, where's the nearest place to purchase a new pressure cooker for my lamb shanks? Actually, that's a trick question. The answer is one click in front of you (open a new tab, and voilà, pressure cooker!). Or, possibly, it's in your pocket in the form of a smartphone. The way we use technology these days, it seems that the mall is tip-toeing around behind us (and occasionally jumping in front to beg us to buy). Futurist Nita Rollins, from Resource...read more >>

Facebook, Twitter, and Myspace Demand a “More Relevant Google”

It has been an eventful year in the world of Google Search. Nearly a full year has passed since the initial launch of Panda last February, which added a ranking factor to the Google algorithm that could ostensibly pull websites with stronger content and branding to the top of search results. The dust has barely settled from that shift, but (as we reported a couple of weeks ago) Google has made yet another adjustment to their search engine: making...read more >>

Younger Generations Look to Social Media for Customer Service

Even though social media has been talked about and puzzled over for a fair few years, it seems the jury is still out on how marketers can best use sites like Facebook and Twitter to advance their brands and products. The imminent rise of F-commerce and the power of "liking" and "sharing" are undeniable, if still somewhat vague, and statistics are beginning to roll in that will guide us when it comes to determining social media strategies. One clear...read more >>

Interview With Optify’s Anthony Joseph: Facebook vs. Amazon

Social media is becoming increasingly important for Google search rankings. With a possible Facebook IPO looming in the near future, some are predicting that 2012 could be the year that Facebook gives Amazon a run for its money as an e-commerce platform. This is just one of the conclusions of a recent forecast by the SEO and social media marketing experts at Optify. In an effort to figure out what this all means for content merchandisers and companies...read more >>

Finding Your Audience Beyond Demographics

I think we're all guilty of occasionally writing for a target demographic instead of for real human beings. James Chartrand has a great article on Copyblogger in which he talks about the importance of knowing your audience when writing persuasive copy. The biggest problem is that we see people of a specific demographic in an entirely different way than the people themselves do. We see a collection of statistics about ages and genders while they see...read more >>

The Social Consumer and Writing with a Purpose

We've talked about F-commerce and whether it will swallow e-commerce whole or flop out onto dry land to die. One of the most relevant questions running through this debate is: Who is the social consumer? Lauren Drell, on Mashable, posted an intriguing infographic that tackles this question. The graphic separates consumers into high sharers and low sharers, and looks at who they are and their circles of influence. Of surprising note, the infographic...read more >>

Remember ROPO?, Guidelines for M-Commerce, and Google Product Feeds

Econsultancy has provided a valuable analysis of a GSI Commerce survey about the ROPO effect (research online, purchase offline), specifically related to fashion retail. Well over half of fashion shoppers have researched purchases online. What are the most important factors to consumers? Filtering by color, price, and other features, and high-quality product images that provide multiple ways to view a product. Also of note: 54% of shoppers that...read more >>

Twitter Wants to E-Commerce, England Shops Online (A Lot!), Where Does Your Traffic Come From?

E-Commerce on Twitter? Really? Can Twitter really generate revenue in an e-commerce way? Well, Dick Costolo, Twitter's chief executive, is saying it can. The New York Times Business Blog ran a small piece about Mr. Costolo's announcement at the recent Fortune Brainstorm Tech Conference in Aspen. How exactly can Twitter make it work? Ina Steiner of EcommerceBytes Blog is curious about the details: "With a limit of 140 characters and no shopping cart,...read more >>

For SEO, Social Media is Still Just a Cherry on Top

There's no questioning social media's crazed popularity as a pastime, and more recently, the phenomenon has proven to be a valuable marketing/SEO utility. However, Cyrus Shepard at SEOmoz did some excellent experimenting in an attempt to gauge Google+ and Twitter's actual bearing on search engine results. The findings were valuable and many, but the takeaway seemed to be that traditional SEO techniques (content creation, keyword analysis) still constitute...read more >>

Engine of Change: Cruising the Ever-Evolving SEO Highway

Back in January, Brian Goffman at SearchEngineWatch.com put forth several predictions regarding SEO and social media in the coming year. Commendably, one of his prophecies recently came true in a major way, with Google's new +1 feature incorporating what people "like" in the virtual world into search engine results. Goffman is careful to remind that sticking to the "durable elements of SEO," such as quality content, will remain essential to your...read more >>