Top 10 Things to do After Launching an E-Commerce Website
After launching your website, there are some things that you have to do to make it competitive, be searched online, and your visitors will learn about your website. It's not only for SEO purposes but making your website user friendly.
Create a xml sitemap
This is the first thing you should do because it will help your site get indexed by search engines. You can choose to link the sitemap directly to your website or use sitemap creation tools like Google Webmaster tools that will help her create a free sitemap for you.
Sign up with Google Analytics
Google Analytics is a perfect tool for small businesses, e-commerce or not. It is a completely free tool enough for most websites. All you need to do is sign up for a Gmail account and you'll have access to Google Analytics.
Sign up for Google Webmaster Tools and Bing Webmaster Central
Once you signed up for a Google Analytics account, Google Webmaster tools is only a click away. Google Webmaster tools has a lot of useful tools to setup your website, track backlinks, fix load errors, fix html errors, analyze important keywords, and many more.
You might also want to sign up for Bing Webmaster Central, Microsoft's version of Google Webmaster tools.
Setup Google Alerts
Google Alerts gets you alerted as soon as the terms you want notified are included in any web pages. This is a great tool to monitor mentions and in monitoring one of your most important keywords.
Submit your website to free niche directories
Every new site (e-commerce site or blog) should submit their website to free niche directories upon launch. DMOZ is one of the best free links you can receive. However, due to a large number of entries, it may take a while before your site can be included. Just be patient especially if you are a high quality site. But if you manage a micro-site or an affiliate site, expect that your site will get rejected. Try your luck somewhere else.
Submit a press release
Sending out a press release is another must. This will provide a simple introduction to your company so users will know you better. What is it that you sell? What makes your product unique? What type of company are you? These are just a few of the questions needed in a press release.
Press release is a bit expensive but there are popular PR sites that can distribute your press release for free.
Start a blog
Blogging is a great way to establish your authority in your industry, build an audience, create a network and build quality backlinks. You can start a free blog from popular blogging platforms like Tumblr, Blogger, and WordPress but you'll have full control over your posts if you host the blog yourself.
Create a social media account
Not every business needs a social media account but an e-commerce site requires one. Create social media accounts on the three popular social media: Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. You might also want to create a social media account on YouTube if you have videos to share, Scribd for sharing documents, and in Flickr for sharing videos.
Create a social bookmarking account
Social bookmarking is an easy way to gain traffic and backlinks. While it is not as authoritative as other sources, it is a great way to get your website indexed faster. It is a wonderful starting point for every e-commerce site. Reddit, Digg, Folkd, Slashdot, and StumbleUpon are some great social bookmarking sites.
Inform your contacts about your new site
This is another important aspect when launching your new e-commerce website but most people simply forgets how to take advantage of your existing database and spread the word out of your new business. Use social media, start your email marketing campaign, or even make a phone call.
Tips in Deciding Between On-Premise and Hosted CRM
So you already know what CRM can do for your business. But now, you are greeted with another problem, the deployment method. You already have the solution, all you need to do is pick between hosted Software-as-a-Service or on-premise to host yourself. It's a good idea to know what type of deployment method will fit you best before finding the best CRM solution for your e-commerce site.
Here are some tips to help you decide between hosted or on-premise CRM:
SaaS is perfect for:
E-commerce companies that do not have internal IT staff to support an on-premise software.
Companies who prefer a monthly software fee rather than spending a lot of investments on a CRM software.
Companies looking for a solution that is readily available whenever the business is ready for it.
What makes hosted CRM Better
With a hosted CRM, you have the option of upgrading your CRM deployment models when your needs shift. Hosted CRM is better for businesses that are just beginning to grow because the cost of upgrading the software will be lower compared to on-premise CRM systems.
Microsoft CRM online lets you access CRM using only a web browser or through Microsoft Outllok. This feature is very helpful to users who want to access their CRM software even when on the move.
Hosted Microsoft CRM integrates with Microsoft Outlook, Excel, and Word, and other Microsoft Office programs. It has the similar look and feel that we are used to so getting to know the program itself is very easy.
On-Premise is perfect for:
Companies with enough IT staff and hardware to support the system.
Companies who need a large number of customization to support their business. Excellent for large e-commerce businesses.
E-commerce who can afford for an upfront software and implementation cost.
Companies with data access needs that need two-way integrations with other applications.
What makes on-premise CRM better
Larger companies might not like hosted CRM because they don't have full control over their software. It is also more secured compared to SaaS because the company's information remains private or is being regulated as per Service Level Agreements. If you need to have direct control over updates, this is where on-premise CRM is better.
Additionally, for a more dynamic control over your database, on-premise CRM will give you the highest control over your client information. This is because the database remains private into your own server compared to SaaS where the database is on the public server.
Hosted or On-Premise for Small Businesses
Hosted CRM is a good choice for small businesses because you can run the software as quickly as your purchased it. You don't need an in-house IT staff with high levels of technical skills which will be very expensive if you hire one. No need for any extra payments because all you have to pay is a monthly service fee based on the number of users you have.
Hosted CRM is a great solution for e-commerce start-ups and to those who think that on-premise is just too overwhelming for their company at the moment.
There are a few drawbacks, however. Security and total control of the system is one of the problems with hosted CRM, so if you are concerned about this issue, better switch to on-premise CRM.
Choosing the right CRM is important to the success of your business. Pick a software that suits your needs and does not sacrifice quality and price.
Whether on-premise or SaaS, ACS is your only e-commerce software solution. ACS is a multi-store, multi-culture, and multi-channel e-commerce platform with more than 5,000 documented features and built-in integration to Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Microsoft SharePoint, and SAP. It is the only ecommerce software with the most flexible, and extensible enterprise business capabilities to date. Visit ACS to learn more.
Integgris has just released ACS 3.2. The new version has the following feature improvements, enhancements and bug fixes.
Features
The dropdown for Google type search is now sortable.
The search suggestions are in search results of other departments or manufacturer has the same keywords.
Search relevance are now added in the search and admin portal.
You can now turn off social networking on header, footer, or in any user control.
Loyalty program are now redeemed using gift card which is based on commissions.
You can now have customer group-driven payment methods and associated payment to customer group.
Enhancements
Added colors, look and feel to the admin portal header.
Navigation on storefront now uses tree-view to show them sub category and category in one control and the ability to jump into a single category in one click.
Change the multi-line instead of two different addresses to store to two different fields.
New dynamic version information on admin portal.
Fixes
Fixed the WCF error on Tax for Admin UI.
Fixed discounts calculation error during a quantity break.
For more information, please visit the extendrum forum. To learn more about ACS, please visit www.acommerceserver.com.
As what Donald Trump once said, "Know your stuff, and you will command respect". This statement will give you an idea on how to write an enticing killer product descriptions. Don't expect products to sell out of copied or plagiarized content, make one your own to sell your own products. These simple process will help you quickly master the art of copywriting e-commerce product descriptions.
Know your customers
Most product descriptions are fit to be made to conform with most type of customers. However, the knowing your target visitor is the key to getting a killer product description. For example, if your product is about mobile phones, focus on what do you think your visitors will be looking for in a mobile phone. Things like distinctive features, technology of the phone, and why it stands out from the rest will definitely entice customers into viewing more of your products.
When writing a description for foods, consider the ingredients that might have adverse effects to most of your visitors. For example, if your visitors are allergic to nuts, consider indicating that the food you are selling contains nuts.
Know what product descriptions are
Product descriptions and product reviews are completely different things. A product review is a customer's report about how they enjoyed the product and what are the features they liked about the product. A product description, on the other hand, is a professional report which explains about the product which highlights its benefits and help customers make a decision to buy the product.
List the biggest benefit of the product
When listing the benefit of the product to your customer, think of your target audience and its needs. Make sure that they understand the product's strengths,save its weaknesses for your product reviews. For example, if you are writing a product description about shoes, write what material it has, the type of support it can offer, and what specific type of shoe it is.
Incorporate search engine keywords or key phrases
Depending on your e-commerce site or what CMS you are using, product descriptions are about only 100 words long. Although it may look a bit short for key phrases, we recommend using at least one key phrase for your product descriptions. Use search phrases in the:
Headline if it isn't forced by CMS.
Product image caption.
Two to three product key phrases in your product description
Know the limits of your product descriptions
Typically a good product description is about 150 words long. But some CMS (Content Management Systems) have limited room to your copy field. Other CMS forces headlines to be pulled out of the information you've entered into your product descriptions. Knowing the limits of your e-commerce software, particularly your CMS will make the process of writing an enticing copy easier and faster.
Check the maximum word or character of your copy field.
If you run out of space, add a link for more information so the reader can further read down the page
Write your copy
Know that you've learned how to create one, its time to combine everything that you've learned to create a killer product description that sells.
Test, track, and tweak
If you're not satisfied with your work, then that's a good sign. There is always room for improvement. Gradually change some words or phrases in your statement and test it against your original version of the copy. If results are much better, then use the tweaked version.
How to Avoid Duplicate Content in E-Commerce Websites
If you have a business with a lot of products to display, you know how tedious it is to create content for each of your products. What most e-commerce websites do is copy the content from the original manufacturer's description then place it to theirs. It saves them the time but they are bound to be penalized by search engine for having a duplicate content.
Duplicate content is a term used by search engines to define a content that is substantially the same as the other content appearing in another website. It's Google's method to return the best possible return of the visitor's search query. If Google detects that the content is duplicate, it will determine which site is the most authoritative and would best match for that query. Other sites, on the other hand will be considered as a duplicate content; thus fall beneath search engine results.
Duplicate content can be anywhere from plagiarism, content scraping, or a copy and paste of some parts of text from one site to yours. It can hurt your search engine rankings and your website's reputation. However, there are ways to prevent this.
Write your own content
Publish only the content you own. This is one of the simplest method to avoid duplicate content but many fail to do it. But how do you write a content for so many products? If you have thousands of products in your inventory, this will take a lot of time. Since we have no other choice but to make our content, here are some tips:
Prioritize your key products
Don't try to rewrite everything, take a measured, and targeted approach by focusing first on the products that you know will be your bought frequently. Are you planning on setting offers for these products? What products sell best? Which are frequently searched by visitors? Which products do you need to move because of seasonal or stock changes? Write or rewrite a content for those first.
Use more than one type of content
Use a different approach for the content of your products. Since texts are boring, why not make it more interesting by using a video or maybe use only video to explain what the product or service does. Do you have customer reviews or comments? This will not only help you get a buzz, but also increase your customer's trust.
Offer something different
Take a look at what your competitor is doing to their business, then make plans to do it better. Present your product in ways that your customers will not just get informed, but also entertained. Think of ways on how you can present it differently than what your competitor do. Starting a contest or offering promotions is a good way to set a buzz.
Make a blog
Blogging can do wonders to your e-commerce website. From posting a featured buyer's guide, to spreading the news about your products, it can help you not only boost traffic but keep them informed. You can also use your blog to create a buyer's guide or tops product lists. Don't forget to add links to your products or add valuable resources to your posts.
The world wide web is currently evolving, which means there are means on how to create your own e-commerce site without the need to hire a web designer. In fact, anyone can craft a website by just dragging and dropping elements to a blank canvas. So, why hire a web designer? Wouldn't it be cheaper if you just do it yourself?
Let's face it, hiring a web designer will cost you about $60 to $120 per hour. This is a very expensive investment that is why most people stick to learning how to do it, than getting someone to do it for them. But will you let a mechanic do a plumber's job? Expertise is what we need when hiring a web designer. If you want to get the task done right and just as what you would expect, hire a professional web designer.
Think about your design
The first step in choosing a web designer is to identify the various aspects of the site you want to accomplish. Bear in mind that the best web design is about how you are able to convey the information to the public. If it is full of bells and whistles, don't expect to attract customers. Your goal is to not only want them to go to your site but also come back the second time.
Interactive sites - Although static websites are popular, it's never too late to experiment with new features. Interactive sites can be a search system which lets people search any keyword to look for products in your e-commerce store or an interactive game to keep people entertained.
News site - If you are in an industry where you need to keep people updated with the latest news and events, you might want to decide on using a news site to provide information to potential customers. Using such site demonstrates your willingness to be up to date, and informed in your chosen industry.
Informational site - these are static websites that provide answers to all questions and concerns about your e-commerce store, product, or service. Keep your users informed with customer testimonials, and feedback forms to solicit new customers.
Online transactions - these are static web pages that let you do so much more before asking the customer to buy a product or service.
Who are your audiences
Now that you have your design, its time to meet the needs of your target customers. To create the best possible site, think of the people who will actually visit your e-commerce site and be a customer.
Existing customers - These customers already have a purpose to be in your site, all you need to do is nourish them.
Prospects - These are people who came across your website from a search engine, magazine, or other sources that market your particular product or service. All you have to do is sell your product and establish your credibility to turn prospects into customers.
Customers of your competitors - Sometimes, existing customers of your competitors might want to try something new. This is where your site will come in. Make it certain that your site stands out from the crowd.
Kids - Depending on your e-commerce site, you might as well identify children as one of your valuable customers. This will also affect your site design.
Professionals - If your customer base is built on professionals of a specific field, your design should meet the needs of these professionals.
Sketch the design on paper
No matter how terrible you are at drawing, a simple sketch can help the designer to make an output similar to what you actually want. This is the best way to ensure that you and your designer are on the same track. Spend time together in working on a perfect design.
Pick the right company
Now that you have your design, you understand your target customers, and you have a design sketch, its time for the most important part of the process: getting the right company for the job.
Your best bet is through word-of-mouth. Ask your friends, colleagues who have websites and what company has created it. Ask about what they like about the design and if they have a good or bad experience with the designer. You might also want to ask how much did they pay for the site design.
If you don't know anyone who has a website, look online for professional web designers.
Price
This is the most important part in picking the right firm. The rule of the thumb in pricing is that when your site offers more interactivity, the higher its cost will be. To save on the cost, split your list between what is actually needed and what is only for decoration. Think of the things your site must have and focus on it.
Most site design are offered per project, but there are also hourly rates. My advice is to go to project-based work because you might not know how quickly they work. Per-page project is also a problem because this just means that the designer is not thinking of how long a page will be completed compared to other pages.
Optional: Sign them a contract
If you are going to spend thousands of dollars for your e-commerce site? Making a contract will ensure that everything will work well. A contract protects you from intellectual property ownership, and reminds the designer of the details, the milestones, and penalties for non-delivery of the project.
Getting this all down on paper will save a lot of confusions and problems down the road.
When you've found a great design, a website designer to turn your dreams into reality, and you've been working together as a team to develop a wonderful website, let everyone know about it. It will be a credit to the company and bring you new customers, thus more sales.
Wondering why your e-commerce site is not attracting customers? Integgris offers web design to help you convert visitors into customers. Visit Integgris website to find out more about this service.
What gets measured, gets managed. Following are 5 reasons to get serious about measuring how you’re doing on Tumblr.
1. Attracting New Customers – Once you learn who your current customers are, you are more able to figure out whom to target for messages about your brand.
2. Future Promotions – By figuring out who is visiting your site and purchasing from you, you will be able to set the right promotional message for your audience.
3. Quality Engagement – You will be able to engage with your audience and deliver quality content to those most interested. By being engaged with your customers, you’re able to deliver them exactly what they want.
4. Building Relationships – By knowing your customer, you’re able to build a long-term relationship and a customer preference for your brand.
5. Increased Sales – The data you collect from tracking customers will ultimately increase your store’s sales.
When starting small, you'll feel intimidated because you'll be facing larger companies. You don't have ad budgets as big as large e-commerce companies, nor the influence needed for customers to trust you. However, small businesses also have a decent space in online. So, don't get frightened by larger companies because if you know what you are doing, you'll have to be recognized online in no time.
Here are some tips on how to compete against larger e-commerce companies:
Design a better website
A beautifully designed website attract customers because it is easy on the eyes, easy to navigate, and is logically set up to provide optimum customer experience. Present your content in such a way customers want it - free from clutter. Invest in better in-page search engines to make it easier for customers to search for your products.
Know your customers
Since your business is small, you will likely have a smaller customer base. Be sure to know what your customers want in your business. Conduct a survey or ask them personally about what products they want to buy from you? Ask them what else they will be buying if you are selling. Keep yourself informed like how competitive your prices are, or how valuable your service to them is.
You can also use web analytics tool like Google Analytics to learn what your customers want in your site and what they did to get there.
Boost customer loyalty
Smaller retailers must focus on building customer loyalty to improve their retention and increase your chance against larger competitors. Make connections, offer discounts, or just be nice to your customers. Remember that it cheaper to resell to existing customers than acquire a new one.
Spread the word
Do you have a new product to sell? Items that are on stock? Or do you have discounted products or services? Then spread the word online. You may have the best discount in your market but if people don't know about it, how will they take advantage of your offer? Send out emails to your customers, tweet about it or update your Facebook status. You are not just creating a buzz, but also communicate to your customers thus develop stronger relationships with your customers.
Provide contact information
Provide phone number or offer any means of interaction so customers can contact you any time of the day. Provide office hours so they'll know when to contact you and stick to talking to them during these hours. Make yourself available to answer these questions and if there is a problem, try to solve these issues as fast as you can.
Add an "About Us" page in your website so shoppers will know that there are actual people managing their order and managing the store.
Watch your budget
You can't afford to be in crisis at the start of your business. Watch your margins and monitor your campaigns, staff costs, shipping costs, and remember to invest conservatively. Make sure to have a cash for your emergency funds and a decent cash to gather business opportunities.
Tumblr is a blogging platform similar to WordPress and Blogger. While WordPress has gained much popularity in the blogging industry and Blogger behind it, there are some reasons you need to use Tumblr for your e-commerce blog. Tumblr is a social blogging platform suited for creating blog posts, and multimedia content. It is known to get high quality page rank links, and has other SEO benefits useful for e-commerce start ups.
What is Tumblr?
Tumblr is a social blogging platform. People use it to share content like photos, videos, and even blog posts. It has the ability to re-blog content similar to Twitter's retweet that can be shared to many user profiles. Tumblr is popular enough for Google to note that a reblog is simply a method that Tumblr users are interacting with your content.
Here are some reasons you should consider Tumblr as your e-commerce blog
Easy to use
The Tumblr interface is a lot simpler and easier to use than most blogging platforms I know. The type of content is displayed by category. Photos, videos, texts, audios, and quotes are displayed conveniently in the dashboard, with just a click, you can immediately post any content.
Free
Tumblr is free and users can create blogs without any additional cost. Chances are, if you have Tumblr, your customers will follow your lead so they can share content from your blog.
Tumblr is a popular blogging platform
Tumblr is a growing social blogging platform. In fact it has grown adoption and averages at about 150 million users per month. Alexa even ranked Tumblr as the 18th most trafficed website in the United States.
Tumblr is for short forms of content
Tumblr is great for short forms of content like a short video, GIF images, quotes, and a few images. This is great for merchants who lack time and resources to write a long blog post.
Tumblr is focused on content consumption
Tumblr focuses around media consumption. You can re-blog a content, take a note of it, or make a comment. Although the comment system needs to be activated first via Disqus.
Frequent sharing
Most Tumblr users share content through the use of their blog. Tumblr has a unique feature called "re-blog" in which a post can be reposted and shared in Tumblr. If users have synced their Facebook and Twitter account, your content can spread across these platforms too.
Perfect for your e-commerce site
Tumblr is a perfect platform for e-commerce sites similar to what Pinterest can do. The most popular categories are fashion, food, vintage, arts and craft, and design. If your product falls under these categories consider using Tumblr as your blogging platform.
Tumblr is not just another social media platform. You can take advantage of its growing popularity to rank high in search engine rankings. One great feature I like about Tumblr is how you can reblog posts which has the possibility to spread across social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook. Although this is not for every e-commerce site. If your site targets younger demographics or falls under fashion, vintage, arts and crafts, or food, take advantage of this social blogging platform.
In these modern times, if you can't keep up with the pace, your ecommerce site will fall in days. If you are smart, your business should have already embraced technology to maximize the beneftis and reduce the costs. One of this technology is use Microsoft Dynamics CRM for a modernized e-commerce site.
Microsoft Dynamics CRM is a user-friendly, affordable Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software especially to those familiar with Microsoft Office. The suite is targeted ti small and medium businesses. Microsoft Dynamics CRM offers strong capabilities in sales force automation, data management, customer service, analytics, and marketing automation. If you are using Microsoft Dynamics CRM for your business, here are some of its benefits:
Customer contact activities like sales calls, and marketing visits are logged into the database. It protects the business from staff movements and allows the business to respond intelligently to customer concerns.
Marketing teams can manage and evaluate campaigns in quality leads and customer conversions.
Sales team can better track and manage leads and prospective clients and measurable performance and progress through the sales pipeline
The management can retrieve these metrics for better, strategic thinking.
Here are some of the plus points of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013:
Powerful reporting capabilities
Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 offers robust reporting tools You can select from a large list of pre-built reports, slice data in Excel pivot tables, or create custom reports using SQL Server Reporting Services. You can integrate Microsoft Dynamics CRM seamlessly to excel - open an excel file, and refresh the file directly without leaving the application.
Create data duplication rules
You can create multiple data duplication rules to help maintain the data quality and eliminating duplicated data.
Classic Microsoft Look-and-Feel
If you are a Microsoft Office user then you will be familiar with the look and feel of Microsoft Dynamics CRM.
Great online support
Microsoft's online resource center contains useful material to help get you started with and continue using Microsoft Dynamics CRM. The onlinei support contains a quick start guide, popular searches, training videos, FAQs, knowledgebase, forums, and a CRM team blog.
However, there are a few down sides:
Runs only in Internet Explorer
Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 is an online CRM that runs only in Internet Explorer. This means that users who are running either Linux or Mac or other browsers will not be able to access the CRM online.
No Social CRM Features
It is important to keep your ecommerce up to date with your contacts to keep them on the tabs. A better way to track it is to go to where your customers are at. While many CRM services have social CRM features, Microsoft chose to go classic. If you rely heavily on social media, this CRM is not meant for you.
Few third-party apps
You can find very few applications to integrate with Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013. There is only a few marketplace with not enough user ratings which limits your ability to find third party applications you require.
Microsoft Dynamics CRM not one of those full-featured CRM but it still has its positives. It's accessible from the browser, so no need to install any application, and integrates seamlessly with Microsoft Office.
As a small business, you should start using CRM right away if you want to stay connected to customers. New features of CRM software enable your business to stay connected using social media channels; thus an increased satisfaction and more sales.
1. Nimble
Nimble is a CRM that combines social media, and collaborative tools in to a single Software as a Service (SaaS) Solution. Nimble is built from the ground up with social media in mind. Nimble quotes their product as a "social relationship management" than a CRM.
Nimble has the following features:
Social search. Search social networks for relevant keywords and find the people who are interested in your products.
Automated social media integration. Identify contact's social profile in Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, connect, listen, and engage with them in just a few clicks.
Status updates. Post updates to any social network or send messages to anyone in the social networks.
Hootsuite Integration.
Unified inbox. Listen to all the relevant conversations happening in social networks and connect it from the unified inbox. You can also send messages to individual contacts within Nimble and/or across social media networks.
Nimble offers a free plan with limited features and will only last for 14 days. The premium plan is $15 per user per month.
2. GreenRope
GreenRope is a social CRM offering four core features: marketing, calendaring, contact management, and project management. Your social media campaigns can be managed from just a single interface.
Price starts at $399 per month, but if you are unsure if this is the right CRM for you, GreenRope offers a free 30-day trial.
3. Insightly
Insightly is a social CRM with built-in integration with LinkedIn and Twitter. Merchants can easily view their social data inside the dashboard. You can import contacts from your LinkedIn connections, and add LinkedIn profiles to existing contacts. Insightly also integrates with Google Apps, Google Drive, and Gmail.
Price starts at $20 per month but there is also a free plan that is only limited for up to 3 users and 2,500 contacts.
4. Batchbook
Batchbook is your CRM system that lets you manage contacts, address books, leads, trades, deals, etc. It is a bit different from other CRM because of their social media integration. Users can access LinkedIn Profiles, Twitter feeds, and can connect with Facebook to get information on contacts.
Batchbook can be integrated with HootSuite to enable these capabilities:
See histories by looking at Batchbook contact details in HootSuite
Take social post and contact details from Hootsuite.
Access contact details, communications, to-dos, and notes from Batchbook inside Hootsuite.
Price starts at $20 er month but Batchbook offers a 30-day free trial.
5. SocialText
SocialText helps in internal collaboration across organizations making it easy for them to share data and information with their colleagues in a secure intranet environment. SocialText makes it easy to bring the issue inside the company, get filtered to the right team, and be answered accurately then presented it back to the customer.
Price starts at $39 per user, per month. SocialText also offers a free 30-day trial.
ACS 3.2 is more than just social CRM. ACS is a .NET Ecommerce software solution with more than 5,000 features and built in integration to Microsoft Dynamics CRM, SharePoint, and SAP. For more information, please visit the www.acommerceserver.com
Speed, SEO and Quaity - E-Commerce Image Optimization Tips
Images are often overlooked in an e-commerce website but is the most important part in building a successful ecommerce business. A great image attracts users from buying to your site and an optimized image is good for reducing site load times which attracts search engines. In this post, I'll show we'll show you how to optimize your images for SEO, speed and quality.
Optimize for Speed
Page loading time is now one of the important factors that search engines will like you. A site that takes more than three seconds to load is not fast enough. In fact adding one second to your site loading speed can cause a decrease in traffic by about 5%. Here's how to optimize your image for speed:
Reduce image file size
The bigger the file is, the longer it will take to load. Use Photoshop to optimize images for the web, but if you don't have such tool, you can take advantage of online image compression software like Smush.it, TinyPNG, or FotoFlexer.
A good rule of the thumb is the keep the image file size below 70kb.
Trim unnecessary images in your site
Images that are completely unrelated to the products you are selling and does not add value to your website are called decorative images. It adds an aesthetic appeal to your site but if you have too many of these, it can slow you page's loading times. Take a look at these decorative images you have and if it does not add value to your visitors, remove it or use CSS.
Optimize for Better Search Engine Rankings
Now that you've optimized for speed, it's time for it to get noticed. These SEO image optimization tips will help your images get noticed fast.
Use image site maps
You can use the extension for your images on Google Sitemaps to give you more information about the images of your website. With this method, you are helping Google to find images to your website thus be displayed in search engine results.
Use descriptive file names
Pick a descriptive, and relevant image that you want it to rank for to help in search engine ranking. If you've been using Google to search for images, you may have observed that when you search for a specific keyword like "dog treats", file names with "dog treats" are displayed in the image search results.
Use Alt text
Alt text is not just a requirement for better accessibility but also a way for search engines to better understand images. To do that, simply include alt="your text" property to your image tag. Here's an example:
<img src="dog-treats.jpg" alt="Dog treats" />
Here are some simple rules when naming alt tags:
Describe the images in plain English
If you sell products, add the model number to your alt tag.
Don't stuff it with keywords.
Don't use it for your decorative images. You might get penalize for over optimizing keywords.
Optimize for Quality
Quality images and SEO doesn't mix well, because the more you lower the file size of your image, the lower its quality will be. These tips can keep quality and SEO balanced.
Use the right file type for the right image
JPEG is an old file type that is the common image type of the internet. What is great about JPG is that images are able to be compressed but still retain its quality. It's great for photos but not appropriate logos and images with few colors because it is using more than your image requires.
GIF is best for line drawings, pictures with solid colors, and animations. GIF has a very small file size optimized for the web. It supports transparency, can be animated, and image doesn't degrade when file size is reduced. However, GIF is only best for small images, if you enlarge a GIF, images will get pixelated.
PNG is the most popular image extension to date and is a great alternative to GIFs. It can support many colors and don't degrade overtime. However, PNGs are larger than JPG images. PNGs degrade in quality as you lower the file size unlike JPG.
Know how to use thumbnails
Thumbnails are the most crucial step in helping your visitors make a decision to purchase a product from your site. If your thumbnails are holding up your pages from loading, you could lose a potential customer.
Use thumbnail file sizes as small as possible. Remember that thumbnails will have huge effect with your page loading times.
You can use alt text to your thumbnails but don't duplicate it with the larger image version of the image. You can also leave out alt texts entirely so search engines will put priority in your large image more than your thumbnail image.
Host images in your own server
Content Delivery Networks (CDN) are very popular nowadays because it helps in increasing page load times and solves bandwidth issues. However, if you are placing your images in Content Delivery Networks, you are removing the image from your server and placing it on the domain of the CDN website. So, when someone links the image, they are linking it to the CDN website.
Only use CDN if your website has a lot of traffic, and you have a lot of customers. It helps solve bandwidth issues; thus makes your site load faster.
Test your progress
Assuming you have done the above image optimization tips, but how do you know if it worked? Simple. All you need to do is test it.
Test the number of product images per page. Site loading times is a common issue for hosted ecommerce sites. Try to reduce the number of images that is displayed per page or give customers the option to view your images in different ways.
Test how many products to have in your category page. Test the most optimal product list in your category pages to see what will work best for your customers.
Test the angles your customer prefer. Provide your customers with different angles of your product images to see what works best for them. A good idea to determine that is to provide a survey about what they think is the preferred angle when viewing product shots.
Marketing Strategies You Need to Stop Doing Right Now
If you think your marketing strategies never go out of date, think again. The internet is constantly changing which means the strategies you know that worked at some point in the past, will just be a waste of time today. Even worse, it can cause a decrease or penalty to your search engine rankings and even lower your site reputation.
Stay away from these practices if you don't want to negate the legitimate work you've done in your ecommerce website.
Traditional article marketing
Don't get me wrong about article marketing, because article marketing today can bring a lot of benefits to your site and your search engine rankings, you just need to know what is good and bad about article marketing. Traditional article marketing, is a popular article marketing process before that involves writing one article, then distributing it to hundreds of article submission sites through using an automated distribution service.
Google is getting better in detecting spammy, and low-value marketing techniques. This strategy might work for a while but in the long run, it will affect your website's SEO, you can also be penalized for publishing duplicate content.
If you want to contribute to an article directory, make it certain that you are not submitting it do spammy directory submission sites and hand pick only those that have strict article submission guidelines like EzineArticles and Buzzle.
Blog commenting
If you are writing with sense, giving genuine opinions on the topic, and being very reactive to every issues, then you are doing blog commenting the right way. But if you are using generic responses like "Great Post!", "I bookmarked your post..." or anything short of a few sentences then you are doing it wrong. It won't get you link juice either because blog comments are not followed by search engine bots.
Aggressive reciprocal linking
Putting your link on the home page of another website and putting their link in return is natural but aggressive reciprocal linking is so easy for search engines to detect. Make sure that the site you providing a reciprocal link actually makes sense to the site. A good form of reciprocal linking is through guest blog posts.
Hiring a cheap SEO company
In reality, SEO is the most expensive but very effective method to promote your site. It can drain your funds but the end result is very rewarding. That is why it is very tempting to hire a cheap SEO company that promises results with the cheapest price possible. However, these SEO firms uses spammy and short-termed tactics which might look promising because the results are quick but the truth is, their so-called tactics will haunt you down.
If you want to have an effective marketing strategy, hire an SEO company with a long track record in white-hat link building.
Print advertising
Print advertising might be tempting if you want to sell products online and reach your local market, however, it is very expensive, hard to track and difficult for the customer to take action. Invest your money to where your business belongs - online. Invest it in SEO, and online advertising campaigns like PPC.
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