Is E-Commerce Overtaking Brick-and-Mortar Sales?
In the wake of all the news about Amazon’s growth yesterday, it makes sense to ask ourselves this question. Should physical store locations be shaking in their boots as everyone moves online? Tim Begany, on Investopedia, believes so. In an article posted this morning, he imagines a sales world where transactions are made only through our wireless and Ethernet connections. With examples like Blockbuster and Borders, it’s easy to see how online sales could quickly overtake the physical store experience. But, we believe he left one crucial thought: not all industries are equal. Sometimes, you need to try on your hiking boots. There’s no reason to shake in them yet.
Read Begany’s thoughts at financialedge.investopedia.com.
Return to English Basics: What to Ask Yourself When Merchandising Content
It’s possible that in some English class somewhere in the past, you heard of the “Who, What, Where, When, and Why (and possibly How)” questions. Well, it’s never too late for a refresher course. When it comes to content merchandising, these questions are essential, but not always just in the copy. Russell Morling on the Coast Digital blog encourages us to ponder these questions before producing content. Specifically, why are you creating the content, what type of content do you need, who are you talking to, and where can you talk to them?
Read the article at coastdigital.co.uk.
Search-Retargeted Customers: A Better Use of SEO Time
To quote from the Joanna Lord’s article on SEOMoz, “What the hell is search retargeting?” A simple answer: Directing paid advertising at customers who have already purchased from your site. A more complicated answer would include ninjas, binoculars, and your brand name, and frankly, we prefer the simple definition. Why bother retargeting customers? Let me (or actually, Lord) offer facts in answer: Retargeted customers are 70 percent more likely to purchase again and they generally spend 50 percent more. If you are still skeptical, just think of all the SEO time it will save you. Now. What does this have to do with content merchandising? Not much; paid search is completely outside our sphere. But, spheres overlap, and paid search for keywords you are struggling with may have positive results.
Read the article at seomoz.org.
Google Goes from Organizing the Web to Writing It
Once upon a time, Google decided to organize all the pages so Internet users could find them. Now, it wants to write them. MG Siegler, on TechCrunch, reports that the search engine is offering a service that will comb your code and optimize it for speed. Currently, the service (Page Speed Service) is open to a handful of sites, and later it will be available for purchase. Since Google uses site speed as one of the determining factors in page rank, this development will certainly be one to watch.
Read about the service at techcrunch.com.
