New data shows relative importance of different social channels on volume and quality of Ecommerce site visits

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Recommended link: E-commerce Monetate 2013 Quarterly report

We're alerting you to this regular research from Monetate since it gives potentially useful benchmark data for Ecommerce marketers to compare themselves against. It also highlights trends such as the impact on Ecommerce sites of increasing mobile usage and the influence of social media which we focus on in this alert.

The data is based 500 million visits amongst their clients who include Ecommerce brands such as Best Buy, Frontier Airlines, Aeropostale, The Sports Authority, and PETCO.

The focus of the Q1 2013 Ecommerce Quarterly report is social media, VP of Marketing Blair Lyon explains:

'We focused this EQ on social commerce since the data show that companies have not yet cracked the code in leveraging social media to drive e-commerce traffic. We know that social…

Affiliate Marketing can be so rewarding, but you need to avoid these common mistakes

Having worked with lots of programmes during my time in affiliate marketing, I thought I would outline some of the common mistakes I see and how they can be corrected. In the new Smart Insights Affiliate Marketing strategy guide I go into the details of how to get these key communications factors right.

1. You don’t communicate with your affiliates

I start with communication, because it's obvious, important, but often not done well. Communicate effectively with your affiliate base doesn’t mean just sending an email now and again, but actually asking for feedback from them as well. Communication should be a two way street where you encourage feedback and ideas from your affiliate base. Take the time to find out what they need from you and the…

Which sites work best? Lead generating focused sites foster growth, but branding focused sites have their place

Lead generating vs branding websites: Which is right for you? With the web well past the 20-year mark and it's presence continuing to dominate, companies and organisations must continue to upgrade their online presence in order to survive.

Among professional services firms, the need for better websites is often tied to business development and presents the challenge of how to best support those efforts. The answer increasingly lies in one of two areas: the lead generating website and the more basic 'branding' website.

How much does your website facilitate sales?

A first step for deciding the type of website is to evaluate how sales are made. Are they mostly referral-based, or do they rely on repeat customers? What role does the website play and when do prospects visit most?

For some companies, the answers point to existing relationships…

If User Experience (UX) is a no brainer then why isn't it higher on the agenda?

There are many tools and resources available to help us ensure that the user experience is improved; whether its enhanced through  user testing, eyetracking research or third-party experience evaluation tools.

Vitamin's Talent's Infographic reminds us of the powerful impact of getting this right since:

97% of websites fail at the UX due to a poor customer experience.86% of users give up as they feel companies don't care.Developers spend 50% of their time fixing issues which could be avoided.

We also included this as an example of a full page interactive infographic.

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Examples of how Facebook covers can be now used more for promotion

Did you know that companies can now use marketing messages and promotions on their Facebook page cover? This gives opportunities for front cover pages to become more engaging using offers and call to actions to fit in with their social media goals. Looking to promote an event, run a competition, poll or coupon promotion? You can now promote it through your timeline cover alongside apps like Shortstack or other social media campaign tools). Remember though, that you should check the Facebook Page guidelines. So we decided to review some Facebook timeline covers to showcase the different ways you can enhance your company page. Please share your views and other examples with us. Next is an engaging page. They use their timeline to showcase their latest range of clothes, with competitions and very visual showcase…

How to benchmark your LinkedIn 'marketing funnel'

For B2B companies now realising the phenomenal lead generation opportunities offered by LinkedIn, a bigger question now looms;

 “How do I optimise my presence to make it efficient and effective”

LinkedIn success requires an investment of time and resources

Jan Vermeiren’s Four steps to getting more from LinkedIn reveals the intensity of activity required to harness the valuable opportunities on this business network. Reading through his Ebook, you can see the detail and granularity required to achieve success. It becomes clear that, as you adopt these best practices, LinkedIn requires attention. You can't just dip in and out. Like all social media, you need to devote constant and focused attention if you are going to succeed in creating value. Recommended Guide: Smarter LinkedIn…

An interview with Matt Lawson of ao.com on their ecommerce strategy

Matt Lawson is Head of Conversion at ao.com.

In this interview he describes how they have  grown their business through keeping the web experience focused on the customer through constant feedback, review and testing. Today ao.com are the UK's largest online kitchen retailer with over 4000 large appliances ready for Next Day Delivery.

Their About page is one of the best we've seen for showcasing the proposition and integrating customer feedback and social networking. Taking such care with the About page may not be essential for established high-street retailers, but is important for online pureplays and startups. We also like the way their masthead below the navigation showcases their proposition.

Not that ao.com can be called a startup…

An example showing how to set up an AB test on Wordpress

What is A/B testing?

You'll probably be aware of the approach, I'm sure. A/B testing, also called split testing, involves your site serving  one of several versions of a page to show to a site visitor. The aim is to usually find a better approach to converting your visitors. [caption id="attachment_344" align="aligncenter" width="300"] What is A/B Testing?[/caption]

Why do you need it?

Put simply, how do you know if the changes you made to a page are working better than the earlier version unless you can compare them side by side? A/B testing allows you to make changes from a position of intelligence - knowing the impact of the changes you make allows you to learn what works and what doesn't, and make sure that you repeat the successes and not the failures.

A/B testing in WordPress

My…

Interview with Paul Cotton from K2uno on Tealeaf solutions

We recently interviewed Paul Cotton, Managing Director of K2uno who are an advanced Business partner of IBM, specialising in applying Tealeaf CEM solutions to optimise the customer experience. One of their solutions is aimed at improving online customer experiences, by providing companies with real-time video information on customer interaction and user journeys; increasing conversion rates, customer retention and ROI for many of its clients. Find out more from Paul's interview, how this type of approach is helping companies and his tips on improving the customer experiences.

Q. How can a solution such as Tealeaf improve online customer experiences.

Tealeaf improves online experience in a number of ways. Almost anyone who has transacted online can recite stories of frustration, where they weren’t able to do what they set out to do. Page errors, navigation issues, slow responses and payment failure are just a…

Merchants Double Google Shopping Traffic between Q4 2012 and Q1 2013

May 2013 Update - continued growth in Google Shopping Traffic in the US

Each quarter, CPC Strategy rates the top comparison shopping engines including Google Shopping, based on seller metrics such as traffic and revenue. Contrary to the traditional seasonal trend of increased volume on Google Shopping during Q4, followed by a decrease in volume for Q1, Google Shopping traffic has not slowed into Q1 2013. Instead... Google Product Listing Ads flipped the typical seasonal trend on its head for Q1 2013, with an increase in traffic which nearly doubled from Q4 to Q1.  Merchants double up on Google Shopping Traffic Between Q4 2012 And Q1 2013 This continues a trend from Q3 to Q4 where we saw an 87% increase in traffic which was to be expected given the progression of the new program in conjunction…