Web Marketing Tips: Tracking Direct Mailings

Get ready for another great lesson in unconventional marketing. It doesn’t matter what you sell, if you need help standing out from the crowd, you've come to the right place.

Direct mailing is still an important part of a small business marketing plan, but how can you track the results and measure success? Andrew Lock covers that and other affordable marketing strategies for small business entrepreneurs. Check it out below.

I was almost stuck in the massive snowstorm dubbed “Snowmageddon” that hit the East coast last week. In my time in New York City I noticed the demise of one of the most well-known landmarks in the middle of Times Square – can you guess what it is?

Postcard marketing is a valuable tool for advertising and promoting a product or service in almost any business. Our question relates to the subject of tracking the results from a postcard marketing campaign. Any ideas? See if you agree with my recommendations.

Go watch the "Help! My Business Sucks" webisode

Hillsboro Road Kroger has grand re-opening todayWeb Marketing Tips: Tracking Direct Mailings

Mobile Commerce Advantages for Retailers Emerging

Using mobile devices to access the Internet is fast-becoming a way of life in the U.S. More than 80 million U.S. mobile phone owners will access the Internet via their handset this year, according to research firm eMarketer.

That's almost 35 percent of all mobile phone users and almost 27 percent of the U.S. population. But online shopping on mobile devices is not necessarily following the same fast track growth curve.

According to the eMarketer's report, "Mobile Commerce: Ahead of Its Time," mobile phone users say they would make more purchases if the process were not so cumbersome, products were easier to find and their devices supported secure credit card transactions. Web-enabled mobile phone users are much more likely to use their devices to get weather forecasts, read news, find movie times and bank online than to buy products, according to eMarketer.

"We're at an early stage, but the market for mobile e-commerce is definitely accelerating," Jeffrey Grau, senior analyst at eMarketer and author of the report, told InternetNews.com .

Grau said mobile e-commerce is going through a similar stage of guarded acceptance among U.S. consumers that e-commerce on the broader Web did a decade or so ago. "People were concerned about credit card security back then, even more so than today, so that was a big barrier to overcome. On mobile there's that security concern, but also other issues, like the screens are so small you're not necessarily comfortable buying household goods or higher end items you can't see that well."

He notes that the advent of Apple's iPad, due out next month, and other tablet devices, will give e-tailors more screen real estate to display their wares.

For now, smartphones are best-suited for time-sensitive and location-oriented transactions, like ordering a pizza or making dinner or event reservations from your car. "Where you're buying a service or some relative commodity like pizza or flowers you don't have to see in a larger screen, these are good areas for mobile ecommerce," said Grau.

He also notes mobile technology is helping to facilitate these kinds of purchases. For example, a GPS in the mobile device helps the user find the nearest theater or store and provide other location-based services. Even when you're in a physical store, Web access on the mobile device offers plenty of price comparison and review options to help you make a purchase decision.

Grau said a lot of retailers made the mistake of trying to optimize their standard Web site for mobile. "They try to optimize, but a lot of those sites end up looking pretty crude and hard to use on a mobile screen," said Grau. "With a mobile application, like we've seen on the iPhone, you can really provide a much richer experience."

eMarketer is forecasting that by 2013, almost 50 percent of mobile phone subscribers in the U.S. will have Internet access.

David Needle is the West Coast bureau chief at InternetNews.com, the news service of Internet.com, the network for technology professionals.

TN 911 districts to get $25 millionMobile Commerce Advantages for Retailers Emerging

Web Marketing Tips: Tracking Direct Mailings

Get ready for another great lesson in unconventional marketing. It doesn’t matter what you sell, if you need help standing out from the crowd, you've come to the right place.

Direct mailing is still an important part of a small business marketing plan, but how can you track the results and measure success? Andrew Lock covers that and other affordable marketing strategies for small business entrepreneurs. Check it out below.

I was almost stuck in the massive snowstorm dubbed “Snowmageddon” that hit the East coast last week. In my time in New York City I noticed the demise of one of the most well-known landmarks in the middle of Times Square – can you guess what it is?

Postcard marketing is a valuable tool for advertising and promoting a product or service in almost any business. Our question relates to the subject of tracking the results from a postcard marketing campaign. Any ideas? See if you agree with my recommendations.

Go watch the "Help! My Business Sucks" webisode

Web Marketing Tips: Tracking Direct MailingsHillsboro Road Kroger has grand re-opening today

Mobile Commerce Advantages for Retailers Emerging

Using mobile devices to access the Internet is fast-becoming a way of life in the U.S. More than 80 million U.S. mobile phone owners will access the Internet via their handset this year, according to research firm eMarketer.

That's almost 35 percent of all mobile phone users and almost 27 percent of the U.S. population. But online shopping on mobile devices is not necessarily following the same fast track growth curve.

According to the eMarketer's report, "Mobile Commerce: Ahead of Its Time," mobile phone users say they would make more purchases if the process were not so cumbersome, products were easier to find and their devices supported secure credit card transactions. Web-enabled mobile phone users are much more likely to use their devices to get weather forecasts, read news, find movie times and bank online than to buy products, according to eMarketer.

"We're at an early stage, but the market for mobile e-commerce is definitely accelerating," Jeffrey Grau, senior analyst at eMarketer and author of the report, told InternetNews.com .

Grau said mobile e-commerce is going through a similar stage of guarded acceptance among U.S. consumers that e-commerce on the broader Web did a decade or so ago. "People were concerned about credit card security back then, even more so than today, so that was a big barrier to overcome. On mobile there's that security concern, but also other issues, like the screens are so small you're not necessarily comfortable buying household goods or higher end items you can't see that well."

He notes that the advent of Apple's iPad, due out next month, and other tablet devices, will give e-tailors more screen real estate to display their wares.

For now, smartphones are best-suited for time-sensitive and location-oriented transactions, like ordering a pizza or making dinner or event reservations from your car. "Where you're buying a service or some relative commodity like pizza or flowers you don't have to see in a larger screen, these are good areas for mobile ecommerce," said Grau.

He also notes mobile technology is helping to facilitate these kinds of purchases. For example, a GPS in the mobile device helps the user find the nearest theater or store and provide other location-based services. Even when you're in a physical store, Web access on the mobile device offers plenty of price comparison and review options to help you make a purchase decision.

Grau said a lot of retailers made the mistake of trying to optimize their standard Web site for mobile. "They try to optimize, but a lot of those sites end up looking pretty crude and hard to use on a mobile screen," said Grau. "With a mobile application, like we've seen on the iPhone, you can really provide a much richer experience."

eMarketer is forecasting that by 2013, almost 50 percent of mobile phone subscribers in the U.S. will have Internet access.

David Needle is the West Coast bureau chief at InternetNews.com, the news service of Internet.com, the network for technology professionals.

TN 911 districts to get $25 millionMobile Commerce Advantages for Retailers Emerging

Mobile Commerce Advantages for Retailers Emerging

Using mobile devices to access the Internet is fast-becoming a way of life in the U.S. More than 80 million U.S. mobile phone owners will access the Internet via their handset this year, according to research firm eMarketer.

That's almost 35 percent of all mobile phone users and almost 27 percent of the U.S. population. But online shopping on mobile devices is not necessarily following the same fast track growth curve.

According to the eMarketer's report, "Mobile Commerce: Ahead of Its Time," mobile phone users say they would make more purchases if the process were not so cumbersome, products were easier to find and their devices supported secure credit card transactions. Web-enabled mobile phone users are much more likely to use their devices to get weather forecasts, read news, find movie times and bank online than to buy products, according to eMarketer.

"We're at an early stage, but the market for mobile e-commerce is definitely accelerating," Jeffrey Grau, senior analyst at eMarketer and author of the report, told InternetNews.com .

Grau said mobile e-commerce is going through a similar stage of guarded acceptance among U.S. consumers that e-commerce on the broader Web did a decade or so ago. "People were concerned about credit card security back then, even more so than today, so that was a big barrier to overcome. On mobile there's that security concern, but also other issues, like the screens are so small you're not necessarily comfortable buying household goods or higher end items you can't see that well."

He notes that the advent of Apple's iPad, due out next month, and other tablet devices, will give e-tailors more screen real estate to display their wares.

For now, smartphones are best-suited for time-sensitive and location-oriented transactions, like ordering a pizza or making dinner or event reservations from your car. "Where you're buying a service or some relative commodity like pizza or flowers you don't have to see in a larger screen, these are good areas for mobile ecommerce," said Grau.

He also notes mobile technology is helping to facilitate these kinds of purchases. For example, a GPS in the mobile device helps the user find the nearest theater or store and provide other location-based services. Even when you're in a physical store, Web access on the mobile device offers plenty of price comparison and review options to help you make a purchase decision.

Grau said a lot of retailers made the mistake of trying to optimize their standard Web site for mobile. "They try to optimize, but a lot of those sites end up looking pretty crude and hard to use on a mobile screen," said Grau. "With a mobile application, like we've seen on the iPhone, you can really provide a much richer experience."

eMarketer is forecasting that by 2013, almost 50 percent of mobile phone subscribers in the U.S. will have Internet access.

David Needle is the West Coast bureau chief at InternetNews.com, the news service of Internet.com, the network for technology professionals.

Mobile Commerce Advantages for Retailers EmergingTN 911 districts to get $25 million

Don't Bail on Your Business Blog

Ecommerce marketing is critical to success, and a business blog drives traffic to your site. But what about studies that say blogs are out and FaceBook is in? SmallBusinessComputing.com looks at three reasons to keep your business blog.

A recent Pew Research Center survey found that interest in writing and commenting on blogs among younger generations is declining. Meanwhile, the survey notes that teens and young adults are increasingly attracted to social networks such as Facebook.

The ability to post quick, social-network status updates has “kind of sucked the life out of long-form blogging,” says Amanda Lenhart, a Pew senior researcher and the study’s lead author, as quoted by the Associated Press. 

Given that younger generations are sometimes seen as harbingers of emerging technology trends, you might wonder if it’s time to abandon your small business blog and just post updates to Facebook or to Twitter instead.

The answer can depend on your business goals and target audiences. But in general, small business blogs are still an effective way to attract and engage with customers. Here are three reasons why.

Read the complete small business blogs article

Nashville Business PeopleDon’t Bail on Your Business Blog

Web Marketing Tips: Tracking Direct Mailings

Get ready for another great lesson in unconventional marketing. It doesn’t matter what you sell, if you need help standing out from the crowd, you've come to the right place.

Direct mailing is still an important part of a small business marketing plan, but how can you track the results and measure success? Andrew Lock covers that and other affordable marketing strategies for small business entrepreneurs. Check it out below.

I was almost stuck in the massive snowstorm dubbed “Snowmageddon” that hit the East coast last week. In my time in New York City I noticed the demise of one of the most well-known landmarks in the middle of Times Square – can you guess what it is?

Postcard marketing is a valuable tool for advertising and promoting a product or service in almost any business. Our question relates to the subject of tracking the results from a postcard marketing campaign. Any ideas? See if you agree with my recommendations.

Go watch the "Help! My Business Sucks" webisode

Web Marketing Tips: Tracking Direct MailingsHillsboro Road Kroger has grand re-opening today

Need an eBay Alternative? Try This List.

When it comes to online selling, there is no denying that the industry giants, like eBay and Amazon are top notch.  Everyone knows that it's hard to beat eBay in terms of traffic, but many online sellers do look elsewhere — especially individuals and part-time sellers who use this as a way to boost an existing income.

This eBay alternatives list looks at 14 of the online marketplaces we've covered in the Ecommerce-Guide.com weekly online selling column over the years.

Atomic Mall
Listings:  fixed-price, make an offer, Web stores
Cost: final sale fees (range from 10 cents to 1 percent)

Blujay
Listings: classified ad
Cost: free

Bonanzle
Listings:  fixed-price, make an offer, Bonanzle Booths (similar to a Web shop)
Cost: final sale fee (ranges from 50 cents to $10)

BikerBids.com
Listings: auction, swap, Web stores
Cost: final sale fee (3 percent up to a maximum of $35)

CozyBug
Listings: garage sale, classifieds, swap
Cost: free

Craigslist
Listings: classified Ads
Cost: all ads except job postings, apartment rentals and adult services are free

Etsy
Listing: Web shop for handmade and vintage items
Cost: 20 cents per listing plus a final value fee of 3.5 percent

HiBidder 
Listings: auction, fixed-price, Web stores
Cost: final value fees (max $2.50)

Kijiji 
Listing: classified ads (local transactions)
Cost: free, some listing upgrades

MotoYard.com
Listings: auction
Category: motorcycles and power sports equipment

My Auction Planet
Listings: auction, fixed price, Web store
Cost: free to list, some listing features have fees

OnlineAuction.com(OLA) Listings: auction, Web store
Cost:  yearly membership fees

PlunderHere
Listings: auction, fixed-price, Web stores
Cost:  final value fees (max 5 percent), Verification fee $2.50

WeBidz Auctions
Listings: auction, fixed-price, Web stores
Cost: free basic listings, $5 verification fee, some paid listing options

Wensy
Listings: auction, fixed price, Web store
Cost:  free

Vangie Beal is a veteran online seller and frequent contributor to ECommerce-Guide.com. She is also managing editor of Webopedia.com. You can tweet with her online @AuroraGG.

Need an eBay Alternative? Try This List.Consumers cut back, but are marketers mindful?

Web Marketing Tips: Tracking Direct Mailings

Get ready for another great lesson in unconventional marketing. It doesn’t matter what you sell, if you need help standing out from the crowd, you've come to the right place.

Direct mailing is still an important part of a small business marketing plan, but how can you track the results and measure success? Andrew Lock covers that and other affordable marketing strategies for small business entrepreneurs. Check it out below.

I was almost stuck in the massive snowstorm dubbed “Snowmageddon” that hit the East coast last week. In my time in New York City I noticed the demise of one of the most well-known landmarks in the middle of Times Square – can you guess what it is?

Postcard marketing is a valuable tool for advertising and promoting a product or service in almost any business. Our question relates to the subject of tracking the results from a postcard marketing campaign. Any ideas? See if you agree with my recommendations.

Go watch the "Help! My Business Sucks" webisode

Hillsboro Road Kroger has grand re-opening todayWeb Marketing Tips: Tracking Direct Mailings

Holiday e-Commerce Showed Signs of Stability

While the sluggish economy continues to sap the Internet retail sector, the late stages of the holiday shopping season offered hopeful signs of recovery, according to data released today by online metrics firm comScore.

In 2009, overall e-commerce spending of $130 billion, excluding travel, was flat compared to the previous year, but sales in the final two months of the year saw a 4 percent increase.

"I'm interpreting that as being at the bottom of the troublesome times," comScore Chairman Gian Fulgoni said today in a presentation detailing the findings. "We can say that coming out of the fourth quarter we were seeing some modest growth."

Fulgoni's firm is predicting modest growth to continue in 2010, though he warned that several factors continue to dampen spending, such as the high unemployment rate, lower access to credit and an increase in the rate of consumer saving.

ComScore pulls its data from a global panel of about 2 million Internet users, split roughly evenly between U.S. and foreign participants. Each quarter the firm recaps the effects of the economy on the e-commerce sector, compiling data that is generally in line with the official quarterly figures that are later released by the Department of Commerce.

In the fourth quarter, the firm found that e-commerce accounted for 7.7 percent of overall spending in comparable categories, excluding goods like gas or groceries that aren't generally bought online. That figure was a marked increase from the fourth quarter of 2008, when online spending accounted for just 4.6 percent of overall sales.

This holiday season saw 10 percent more consumers shopping online than last year, though individuals on average spent 5 percent less, with the per-consumer spending tally dropping from $261 in 2008 to $250 last year.

"The continued growth in online buyers I think augurs well for e-commerce," Fulgoni said. Will online sales hit a billion dollars in a single day?

In addition to a rise in overall customers, the 2009 holidays put up some other impressive numbers, including the first day in history to see more than $900 million in online sales. That day, Dec. 15, a Tuesday, represented a 21 percent increase in spending over the same day in 2008, and invites the possibility that 2010 could see the first billion-dollar sales day.

But the modest signs of economic improvement weren't enjoyed equally across the online retail sector. The top 25 online retailers saw sales increase 11 percent over the holidays, while the rest of the pack saw an overall sales drop of 7 percent.

"The big are getting bigger," Fulgoni said. "I suspect that the smaller retailers just were not able to match the resources of their larger brethren."

Fulgoni noted that special offers played a substantial role in online shopping this year, with retailers offering considerably more deals than last year, though the discounts generally were of far lower percentages than in 2008 when the economy began its plunge and merchants were scrambling to unload excess inventory.

"No question in 2008 I think everyone was caught flat-footed," he said.

The largest of the large, Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Walmart.com (NYSE: WMT), together accounted for 13 percent of online holiday spending, up from 10 percent the previous year. Between those two, it's an uneven split, with Amazon hosting 85.7 million visitors in December, compared to the 54.2 million shoppers who visited Walmart's Web site.

ComScore's findings emphasized the increasing role social media sites like Facebook and Twitter are playing in shaping people's shopping habits. Twenty-eight percent of comScore's panel participants said that a social site had influenced their purchase decisions, with 7 percent saying they had become a fan of a business on Facebook, and 5 percent saying they follow a business on Twitter, many in the hopes of receiving coupons or learning of other promotions.

Fulgoni suggested that smaller retailers ramp up their presence on social sites, both as a way of connecting with a growing audience and for the inexpensive promotional mechanisms they offer.

Kenneth Corbin is an associate editor at InternetNews.com, the news service of Internet.com, the network for technology professionals.

Holiday e-Commerce Showed Signs of StabilityList of problem banks grows

Gmail Upgrades to Social Networking

Got Gmail? If so, Buzz, its newest feature, could be another weapon in your social network marketing arsenal, Datamation.com has the details.

Google took the wraps off a significant update to its Gmail service with Buzz, a new service it says brings more efficiency and security to the sea of tweets and other real-time feeds in which it says users are drowning.

"There's value there, but it's increasingly harder and harder to find the signal in the noise," Bradley Horowitz, a Google vice president of product management, said today during an event here at the Googleplex. "You used to be able to let the stream wash over you, but when you get up to 500 or 5,000 friends, it becomes very, very difficult."

Google's (NASDAQ: GOOG) solution is Buzz, a new feature in Gmail that’s also available in a mobile version and on Google's mobile home page. While the service has just launched today, Google says it will take several days to reach the millions of Gmail users.

Read the complete article

Tax Help: Ex-Kansas couple owes no state taxesGmail Upgrades to Social Networking

Don't Bail on Your Business Blog

Ecommerce marketing is critical to success, and a business blog drives traffic to your site. But what about studies that say blogs are out and FaceBook is in? SmallBusinessComputing.com looks at three reasons to keep your business blog.

A recent Pew Research Center survey found that interest in writing and commenting on blogs among younger generations is declining. Meanwhile, the survey notes that teens and young adults are increasingly attracted to social networks such as Facebook.

The ability to post quick, social-network status updates has “kind of sucked the life out of long-form blogging,” says Amanda Lenhart, a Pew senior researcher and the study’s lead author, as quoted by the Associated Press. 

Given that younger generations are sometimes seen as harbingers of emerging technology trends, you might wonder if it’s time to abandon your small business blog and just post updates to Facebook or to Twitter instead.

The answer can depend on your business goals and target audiences. But in general, small business blogs are still an effective way to attract and engage with customers. Here are three reasons why.

Read the complete small business blogs article

Don’t Bail on Your Business BlogNashville Business People

Need an eBay Alternative? Try This List.

When it comes to online selling, there is no denying that the industry giants, like eBay and Amazon are top notch.  Everyone knows that it's hard to beat eBay in terms of traffic, but many online sellers do look elsewhere — especially individuals and part-time sellers who use this as a way to boost an existing income.

This eBay alternatives list looks at 14 of the online marketplaces we've covered in the Ecommerce-Guide.com weekly online selling column over the years.

Atomic Mall
Listings:  fixed-price, make an offer, Web stores
Cost: final sale fees (range from 10 cents to 1 percent)

Blujay
Listings: classified ad
Cost: free

Bonanzle
Listings:  fixed-price, make an offer, Bonanzle Booths (similar to a Web shop)
Cost: final sale fee (ranges from 50 cents to $10)

BikerBids.com
Listings: auction, swap, Web stores
Cost: final sale fee (3 percent up to a maximum of $35)

CozyBug
Listings: garage sale, classifieds, swap
Cost: free

Craigslist
Listings: classified Ads
Cost: all ads except job postings, apartment rentals and adult services are free

Etsy
Listing: Web shop for handmade and vintage items
Cost: 20 cents per listing plus a final value fee of 3.5 percent

HiBidder 
Listings: auction, fixed-price, Web stores
Cost: final value fees (max $2.50)

Kijiji 
Listing: classified ads (local transactions)
Cost: free, some listing upgrades

MotoYard.com
Listings: auction
Category: motorcycles and power sports equipment

My Auction Planet
Listings: auction, fixed price, Web store
Cost: free to list, some listing features have fees

OnlineAuction.com(OLA) Listings: auction, Web store
Cost:  yearly membership fees

PlunderHere
Listings: auction, fixed-price, Web stores
Cost:  final value fees (max 5 percent), Verification fee $2.50

WeBidz Auctions
Listings: auction, fixed-price, Web stores
Cost: free basic listings, $5 verification fee, some paid listing options

Wensy
Listings: auction, fixed price, Web store
Cost:  free

Vangie Beal is a veteran online seller and frequent contributor to ECommerce-Guide.com. She is also managing editor of Webopedia.com. You can tweet with her online @AuroraGG.

Need an eBay Alternative? Try This List.Consumers cut back, but are marketers mindful?

Mobile Commerce Advantages for Retailers Emerging

Using mobile devices to access the Internet is fast-becoming a way of life in the U.S. More than 80 million U.S. mobile phone owners will access the Internet via their handset this year, according to research firm eMarketer.

That's almost 35 percent of all mobile phone users and almost 27 percent of the U.S. population. But online shopping on mobile devices is not necessarily following the same fast track growth curve.

According to the eMarketer's report, "Mobile Commerce: Ahead of Its Time," mobile phone users say they would make more purchases if the process were not so cumbersome, products were easier to find and their devices supported secure credit card transactions. Web-enabled mobile phone users are much more likely to use their devices to get weather forecasts, read news, find movie times and bank online than to buy products, according to eMarketer.

"We're at an early stage, but the market for mobile e-commerce is definitely accelerating," Jeffrey Grau, senior analyst at eMarketer and author of the report, told InternetNews.com .

Grau said mobile e-commerce is going through a similar stage of guarded acceptance among U.S. consumers that e-commerce on the broader Web did a decade or so ago. "People were concerned about credit card security back then, even more so than today, so that was a big barrier to overcome. On mobile there's that security concern, but also other issues, like the screens are so small you're not necessarily comfortable buying household goods or higher end items you can't see that well."

He notes that the advent of Apple's iPad, due out next month, and other tablet devices, will give e-tailors more screen real estate to display their wares.

For now, smartphones are best-suited for time-sensitive and location-oriented transactions, like ordering a pizza or making dinner or event reservations from your car. "Where you're buying a service or some relative commodity like pizza or flowers you don't have to see in a larger screen, these are good areas for mobile ecommerce," said Grau.

He also notes mobile technology is helping to facilitate these kinds of purchases. For example, a GPS in the mobile device helps the user find the nearest theater or store and provide other location-based services. Even when you're in a physical store, Web access on the mobile device offers plenty of price comparison and review options to help you make a purchase decision.

Grau said a lot of retailers made the mistake of trying to optimize their standard Web site for mobile. "They try to optimize, but a lot of those sites end up looking pretty crude and hard to use on a mobile screen," said Grau. "With a mobile application, like we've seen on the iPhone, you can really provide a much richer experience."

eMarketer is forecasting that by 2013, almost 50 percent of mobile phone subscribers in the U.S. will have Internet access.

David Needle is the West Coast bureau chief at InternetNews.com, the news service of Internet.com, the network for technology professionals.

TN 911 districts to get $25 millionMobile Commerce Advantages for Retailers Emerging

eBay's 'Garden' Grows New Features

In the rush to compete, tech companies sometimes ship faulty or not-ready-for-primetime products and services. Cynics will argue that buyers are too often unpaid beta testers for these faulty products. No company wants the bad publicity that comes with a failed design (Toyota anyone?), and certainly it's hard to test for every use case scenario.

Public beta testing and other programs designed to give customers early looks at products have been around for years and benefit both the producer and the consumer, with Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) among the most aggressive companies via its Google Labs.

Now eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) is the latest to offer its own twist. Garden by eBay is a new site that lets users test and interact with new features the online auction site has under development. The site is also designed to solicit feedback and new ideas for products and features users want to see eBay add.

The first "seed" to sprout from eBay's Garden is "streamlined search" which, as the name implies, is designed to make it simpler to browse and view search results. With streamlined search users can compare auction and Buy It Now listings side-by-side, refine their searches with fewer clicks, get an at-a-glance view of an item's name, price and format and view same-screen pop-up windows for item detail, the company said.

eBay said it expects to improve streamlined search based on user feedback before releasing it as a standard part of eBay. Anything that helps users better navigate the millions of items at the world's biggest online site is bound to be welcome.

"The new Garden by eBay represents a new collaborative conversation with the eBay community -- a chance to listen to their thoughts on upcoming features, and to bring them closer to our own innovation process," Christopher Payne, eBay's vice president of search, said in a statement. "And by seeding the Garden with streamlined search, we're asking for the community's input on improving one of the most important areas of eBay.com."

Diamond Ring Designer, launched earlier, is now also "growing" in the Garden. eBay is encouraging users to test and provide feedback for the design-your-own-custom-ring site.

David Needle is the West Coast bureau chief at InternetNews.com, the news service of Internet.com, the network for technology professionals.

eBay’s ‘Garden’ Grows New FeaturesConsumers cut back, but are marketers mindful?

Don't Bail on Your Business Blog

Ecommerce marketing is critical to success, and a business blog drives traffic to your site. But what about studies that say blogs are out and FaceBook is in? SmallBusinessComputing.com looks at three reasons to keep your business blog.

A recent Pew Research Center survey found that interest in writing and commenting on blogs among younger generations is declining. Meanwhile, the survey notes that teens and young adults are increasingly attracted to social networks such as Facebook.

The ability to post quick, social-network status updates has “kind of sucked the life out of long-form blogging,” says Amanda Lenhart, a Pew senior researcher and the study’s lead author, as quoted by the Associated Press. 

Given that younger generations are sometimes seen as harbingers of emerging technology trends, you might wonder if it’s time to abandon your small business blog and just post updates to Facebook or to Twitter instead.

The answer can depend on your business goals and target audiences. But in general, small business blogs are still an effective way to attract and engage with customers. Here are three reasons why.

Read the complete small business blogs article

Facebook is now friends with AOLDon’t Bail on Your Business Blog

Holiday e-Commerce Showed Signs of Stability

While the sluggish economy continues to sap the Internet retail sector, the late stages of the holiday shopping season offered hopeful signs of recovery, according to data released today by online metrics firm comScore.

In 2009, overall e-commerce spending of $130 billion, excluding travel, was flat compared to the previous year, but sales in the final two months of the year saw a 4 percent increase.

"I'm interpreting that as being at the bottom of the troublesome times," comScore Chairman Gian Fulgoni said today in a presentation detailing the findings. "We can say that coming out of the fourth quarter we were seeing some modest growth."

Fulgoni's firm is predicting modest growth to continue in 2010, though he warned that several factors continue to dampen spending, such as the high unemployment rate, lower access to credit and an increase in the rate of consumer saving.

ComScore pulls its data from a global panel of about 2 million Internet users, split roughly evenly between U.S. and foreign participants. Each quarter the firm recaps the effects of the economy on the e-commerce sector, compiling data that is generally in line with the official quarterly figures that are later released by the Department of Commerce.

In the fourth quarter, the firm found that e-commerce accounted for 7.7 percent of overall spending in comparable categories, excluding goods like gas or groceries that aren't generally bought online. That figure was a marked increase from the fourth quarter of 2008, when online spending accounted for just 4.6 percent of overall sales.

This holiday season saw 10 percent more consumers shopping online than last year, though individuals on average spent 5 percent less, with the per-consumer spending tally dropping from $261 in 2008 to $250 last year.

"The continued growth in online buyers I think augurs well for e-commerce," Fulgoni said. Will online sales hit a billion dollars in a single day?

In addition to a rise in overall customers, the 2009 holidays put up some other impressive numbers, including the first day in history to see more than $900 million in online sales. That day, Dec. 15, a Tuesday, represented a 21 percent increase in spending over the same day in 2008, and invites the possibility that 2010 could see the first billion-dollar sales day.

But the modest signs of economic improvement weren't enjoyed equally across the online retail sector. The top 25 online retailers saw sales increase 11 percent over the holidays, while the rest of the pack saw an overall sales drop of 7 percent.

"The big are getting bigger," Fulgoni said. "I suspect that the smaller retailers just were not able to match the resources of their larger brethren."

Fulgoni noted that special offers played a substantial role in online shopping this year, with retailers offering considerably more deals than last year, though the discounts generally were of far lower percentages than in 2008 when the economy began its plunge and merchants were scrambling to unload excess inventory.

"No question in 2008 I think everyone was caught flat-footed," he said.

The largest of the large, Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Walmart.com (NYSE: WMT), together accounted for 13 percent of online holiday spending, up from 10 percent the previous year. Between those two, it's an uneven split, with Amazon hosting 85.7 million visitors in December, compared to the 54.2 million shoppers who visited Walmart's Web site.

ComScore's findings emphasized the increasing role social media sites like Facebook and Twitter are playing in shaping people's shopping habits. Twenty-eight percent of comScore's panel participants said that a social site had influenced their purchase decisions, with 7 percent saying they had become a fan of a business on Facebook, and 5 percent saying they follow a business on Twitter, many in the hopes of receiving coupons or learning of other promotions.

Fulgoni suggested that smaller retailers ramp up their presence on social sites, both as a way of connecting with a growing audience and for the inexpensive promotional mechanisms they offer.

Kenneth Corbin is an associate editor at InternetNews.com, the news service of Internet.com, the network for technology professionals.

Dell sees signs of optimismHoliday e-Commerce Showed Signs of Stability

eBay's 'Garden' Grows New Features

In the rush to compete, tech companies sometimes ship faulty or not-ready-for-primetime products and services. Cynics will argue that buyers are too often unpaid beta testers for these faulty products. No company wants the bad publicity that comes with a failed design (Toyota anyone?), and certainly it's hard to test for every use case scenario.

Public beta testing and other programs designed to give customers early looks at products have been around for years and benefit both the producer and the consumer, with Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) among the most aggressive companies via its Google Labs.

Now eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) is the latest to offer its own twist. Garden by eBay is a new site that lets users test and interact with new features the online auction site has under development. The site is also designed to solicit feedback and new ideas for products and features users want to see eBay add.

The first "seed" to sprout from eBay's Garden is "streamlined search" which, as the name implies, is designed to make it simpler to browse and view search results. With streamlined search users can compare auction and Buy It Now listings side-by-side, refine their searches with fewer clicks, get an at-a-glance view of an item's name, price and format and view same-screen pop-up windows for item detail, the company said.

eBay said it expects to improve streamlined search based on user feedback before releasing it as a standard part of eBay. Anything that helps users better navigate the millions of items at the world's biggest online site is bound to be welcome.

"The new Garden by eBay represents a new collaborative conversation with the eBay community -- a chance to listen to their thoughts on upcoming features, and to bring them closer to our own innovation process," Christopher Payne, eBay's vice president of search, said in a statement. "And by seeding the Garden with streamlined search, we're asking for the community's input on improving one of the most important areas of eBay.com."

Diamond Ring Designer, launched earlier, is now also "growing" in the Garden. eBay is encouraging users to test and provide feedback for the design-your-own-custom-ring site.

David Needle is the West Coast bureau chief at InternetNews.com, the news service of Internet.com, the network for technology professionals.

Search narrows for land for new Franklin schooleBay’s ‘Garden’ Grows New Features

Gmail Upgrades to Social Networking

Got Gmail? If so, Buzz, its newest feature, could be another weapon in your social network marketing arsenal, Datamation.com has the details.

Google took the wraps off a significant update to its Gmail service with Buzz, a new service it says brings more efficiency and security to the sea of tweets and other real-time feeds in which it says users are drowning.

"There's value there, but it's increasingly harder and harder to find the signal in the noise," Bradley Horowitz, a Google vice president of product management, said today during an event here at the Googleplex. "You used to be able to let the stream wash over you, but when you get up to 500 or 5,000 friends, it becomes very, very difficult."

Google's (NASDAQ: GOOG) solution is Buzz, a new feature in Gmail that’s also available in a mobile version and on Google's mobile home page. While the service has just launched today, Google says it will take several days to reach the millions of Gmail users.

Read the complete article

Facebook is now friends with AOLGmail Upgrades to Social Networking

Need an eBay Alternative? Try This List.

When it comes to online selling, there is no denying that the industry giants, like eBay and Amazon are top notch.  Everyone knows that it's hard to beat eBay in terms of traffic, but many online sellers do look elsewhere — especially individuals and part-time sellers who use this as a way to boost an existing income.

This eBay alternatives list looks at 14 of the online marketplaces we've covered in the Ecommerce-Guide.com weekly online selling column over the years.

Atomic Mall
Listings:  fixed-price, make an offer, Web stores
Cost: final sale fees (range from 10 cents to 1 percent)

Blujay
Listings: classified ad
Cost: free

Bonanzle
Listings:  fixed-price, make an offer, Bonanzle Booths (similar to a Web shop)
Cost: final sale fee (ranges from 50 cents to $10)

BikerBids.com
Listings: auction, swap, Web stores
Cost: final sale fee (3 percent up to a maximum of $35)

CozyBug
Listings: garage sale, classifieds, swap
Cost: free

Craigslist
Listings: classified Ads
Cost: all ads except job postings, apartment rentals and adult services are free

Etsy
Listing: Web shop for handmade and vintage items
Cost: 20 cents per listing plus a final value fee of 3.5 percent

HiBidder 
Listings: auction, fixed-price, Web stores
Cost: final value fees (max $2.50)

Kijiji 
Listing: classified ads (local transactions)
Cost: free, some listing upgrades

MotoYard.com
Listings: auction
Category: motorcycles and power sports equipment

My Auction Planet
Listings: auction, fixed price, Web store
Cost: free to list, some listing features have fees

OnlineAuction.com(OLA) Listings: auction, Web store
Cost:  yearly membership fees

PlunderHere
Listings: auction, fixed-price, Web stores
Cost:  final value fees (max 5 percent), Verification fee $2.50

WeBidz Auctions
Listings: auction, fixed-price, Web stores
Cost: free basic listings, $5 verification fee, some paid listing options

Wensy
Listings: auction, fixed price, Web store
Cost:  free

Vangie Beal is a veteran online seller and frequent contributor to ECommerce-Guide.com. She is also managing editor of Webopedia.com. You can tweet with her online @AuroraGG.

Walgreen buys Duane ReadeNeed an eBay Alternative? Try This List.

Web Marketing Tips: Tracking Direct Mailings

Get ready for another great lesson in unconventional marketing. It doesn’t matter what you sell, if you need help standing out from the crowd, you've come to the right place.

Direct mailing is still an important part of a small business marketing plan, but how can you track the results and measure success? Andrew Lock covers that and other affordable marketing strategies for small business entrepreneurs. Check it out below.

I was almost stuck in the massive snowstorm dubbed “Snowmageddon” that hit the East coast last week. In my time in New York City I noticed the demise of one of the most well-known landmarks in the middle of Times Square – can you guess what it is?

Postcard marketing is a valuable tool for advertising and promoting a product or service in almost any business. Our question relates to the subject of tracking the results from a postcard marketing campaign. Any ideas? See if you agree with my recommendations.

Go watch the "Help! My Business Sucks" webisode

Web Marketing Tips: Tracking Direct MailingsNashville People in Business

Mobile Commerce Advantages for Retailers Emerging

Using mobile devices to access the Internet is fast-becoming a way of life in the U.S. More than 80 million U.S. mobile phone owners will access the Internet via their handset this year, according to research firm eMarketer.

That's almost 35 percent of all mobile phone users and almost 27 percent of the U.S. population. But online shopping on mobile devices is not necessarily following the same fast track growth curve.

According to the eMarketer's report, "Mobile Commerce: Ahead of Its Time," mobile phone users say they would make more purchases if the process were not so cumbersome, products were easier to find and their devices supported secure credit card transactions. Web-enabled mobile phone users are much more likely to use their devices to get weather forecasts, read news, find movie times and bank online than to buy products, according to eMarketer.

"We're at an early stage, but the market for mobile e-commerce is definitely accelerating," Jeffrey Grau, senior analyst at eMarketer and author of the report, told InternetNews.com .

Grau said mobile e-commerce is going through a similar stage of guarded acceptance among U.S. consumers that e-commerce on the broader Web did a decade or so ago. "People were concerned about credit card security back then, even more so than today, so that was a big barrier to overcome. On mobile there's that security concern, but also other issues, like the screens are so small you're not necessarily comfortable buying household goods or higher end items you can't see that well."

He notes that the advent of Apple's iPad, due out next month, and other tablet devices, will give e-tailors more screen real estate to display their wares.

For now, smartphones are best-suited for time-sensitive and location-oriented transactions, like ordering a pizza or making dinner or event reservations from your car. "Where you're buying a service or some relative commodity like pizza or flowers you don't have to see in a larger screen, these are good areas for mobile ecommerce," said Grau.

He also notes mobile technology is helping to facilitate these kinds of purchases. For example, a GPS in the mobile device helps the user find the nearest theater or store and provide other location-based services. Even when you're in a physical store, Web access on the mobile device offers plenty of price comparison and review options to help you make a purchase decision.

Grau said a lot of retailers made the mistake of trying to optimize their standard Web site for mobile. "They try to optimize, but a lot of those sites end up looking pretty crude and hard to use on a mobile screen," said Grau. "With a mobile application, like we've seen on the iPhone, you can really provide a much richer experience."

eMarketer is forecasting that by 2013, almost 50 percent of mobile phone subscribers in the U.S. will have Internet access.

David Needle is the West Coast bureau chief at InternetNews.com, the news service of Internet.com, the network for technology professionals.

Nashville Business CalendarMobile Commerce Advantages for Retailers Emerging

Super Bowl Ads' Best and Worst Online Performances

Call it a good measure of analytics with some subjective rankings in the mix. Web performance company Gomez has released its first post-Super Bowl rankings of which advertisers' sites did the best job in the 18 hours following the big game.

Gomez's first Big Game Advertiser Benchmark took a look at how the game's ads impacted their advertisers' Web sites, with an eye to understanding whether they suffered from poor post-game site availability and performance that could have undermined their spots' effectiveness.

The top winner was Mars Snickers, while Hyundai's Sonata site ranked the lowest in Web site speed and availability.

Surprisingly, high-profile Internet domain registrar GoDaddy.com finished just behind Hyundai in 62nd and 63rd place for two of its commercials that explicitly invited viewers to visit its site to view more provocative versions of its cheesy story line with race car driver Danica Patrick. Search giant Google came in fourth place for its first Super Bowl ad campaign.

Gomez based its selection of the best ads on the rankings of USA Today and Time magazine, which analyzed gametime commercials based on popular preference via focus group and expert opinion, respectively. Gomez then used its own analytics to rank the companies behind the commercials based on the speed and availability of each brand's campaign Web site in the 18 hours following the game.

In addition to claiming the top ranking in Gomez's analysis, Snickers also topped USA Today 's Ad Meter list -- a finding that marks its effort as one of the most effective of the game.

While GoDaddy's performance was middle of the road, it was its editorial ranking that really hurt it in combined effectiveness, Matt Poepsel, vice president of performance strategies at Gomez, told InternetNews.com . Meanwhile, "Hyundai wasn't bad on the editorial side but they were hurt by performance. It all has to work to be effective."

Following the Super Bowl, GoDaddy issued a statement saying its commercials were responsible for the biggest spikes in Internet traffic during the Super Bowl according to Web content delivery provider Akamai, whose network handled most of the content by Super Bowl advertisers.

Earlier this week, Gomez issued the results of a survey by Equation Research it sponsored of 1,500 consumers who use the Web at peak times for such popular online activities as holiday shopping, booking summer travel and executing stock trades during shifts in the financial markets. Seventy-eight percent of the consumers polled said they'd switched to a competitor's Web site because they encountered slowdowns, errors and transaction problems during peak traffic times.

David Needle is the West Coast bureau chief at InternetNews.com, the news service of Internet.com, the network for technology professionals.

Super Bowl Ads’ Best and Worst Online PerformancesTN giants toss ads into big ring

Holiday e-Commerce Showed Signs of Stability

While the sluggish economy continues to sap the Internet retail sector, the late stages of the holiday shopping season offered hopeful signs of recovery, according to data released today by online metrics firm comScore.

In 2009, overall e-commerce spending of $130 billion, excluding travel, was flat compared to the previous year, but sales in the final two months of the year saw a 4 percent increase.

"I'm interpreting that as being at the bottom of the troublesome times," comScore Chairman Gian Fulgoni said today in a presentation detailing the findings. "We can say that coming out of the fourth quarter we were seeing some modest growth."

Fulgoni's firm is predicting modest growth to continue in 2010, though he warned that several factors continue to dampen spending, such as the high unemployment rate, lower access to credit and an increase in the rate of consumer saving.

ComScore pulls its data from a global panel of about 2 million Internet users, split roughly evenly between U.S. and foreign participants. Each quarter the firm recaps the effects of the economy on the e-commerce sector, compiling data that is generally in line with the official quarterly figures that are later released by the Department of Commerce.

In the fourth quarter, the firm found that e-commerce accounted for 7.7 percent of overall spending in comparable categories, excluding goods like gas or groceries that aren't generally bought online. That figure was a marked increase from the fourth quarter of 2008, when online spending accounted for just 4.6 percent of overall sales.

This holiday season saw 10 percent more consumers shopping online than last year, though individuals on average spent 5 percent less, with the per-consumer spending tally dropping from $261 in 2008 to $250 last year.

"The continued growth in online buyers I think augurs well for e-commerce," Fulgoni said. Will online sales hit a billion dollars in a single day?

In addition to a rise in overall customers, the 2009 holidays put up some other impressive numbers, including the first day in history to see more than $900 million in online sales. That day, Dec. 15, a Tuesday, represented a 21 percent increase in spending over the same day in 2008, and invites the possibility that 2010 could see the first billion-dollar sales day.

But the modest signs of economic improvement weren't enjoyed equally across the online retail sector. The top 25 online retailers saw sales increase 11 percent over the holidays, while the rest of the pack saw an overall sales drop of 7 percent.

"The big are getting bigger," Fulgoni said. "I suspect that the smaller retailers just were not able to match the resources of their larger brethren."

Fulgoni noted that special offers played a substantial role in online shopping this year, with retailers offering considerably more deals than last year, though the discounts generally were of far lower percentages than in 2008 when the economy began its plunge and merchants were scrambling to unload excess inventory.

"No question in 2008 I think everyone was caught flat-footed," he said.

The largest of the large, Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Walmart.com (NYSE: WMT), together accounted for 13 percent of online holiday spending, up from 10 percent the previous year. Between those two, it's an uneven split, with Amazon hosting 85.7 million visitors in December, compared to the 54.2 million shoppers who visited Walmart's Web site.

ComScore's findings emphasized the increasing role social media sites like Facebook and Twitter are playing in shaping people's shopping habits. Twenty-eight percent of comScore's panel participants said that a social site had influenced their purchase decisions, with 7 percent saying they had become a fan of a business on Facebook, and 5 percent saying they follow a business on Twitter, many in the hopes of receiving coupons or learning of other promotions.

Fulgoni suggested that smaller retailers ramp up their presence on social sites, both as a way of connecting with a growing audience and for the inexpensive promotional mechanisms they offer.

Kenneth Corbin is an associate editor at InternetNews.com, the news service of Internet.com, the network for technology professionals.

Holiday e-Commerce Showed Signs of StabilityDell sees signs of optimism

eBay's 'Garden' Grows New Features

In the rush to compete, tech companies sometimes ship faulty or not-ready-for-primetime products and services. Cynics will argue that buyers are too often unpaid beta testers for these faulty products. No company wants the bad publicity that comes with a failed design (Toyota anyone?), and certainly it's hard to test for every use case scenario.

Public beta testing and other programs designed to give customers early looks at products have been around for years and benefit both the producer and the consumer, with Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) among the most aggressive companies via its Google Labs.

Now eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) is the latest to offer its own twist. Garden by eBay is a new site that lets users test and interact with new features the online auction site has under development. The site is also designed to solicit feedback and new ideas for products and features users want to see eBay add.

The first "seed" to sprout from eBay's Garden is "streamlined search" which, as the name implies, is designed to make it simpler to browse and view search results. With streamlined search users can compare auction and Buy It Now listings side-by-side, refine their searches with fewer clicks, get an at-a-glance view of an item's name, price and format and view same-screen pop-up windows for item detail, the company said.

eBay said it expects to improve streamlined search based on user feedback before releasing it as a standard part of eBay. Anything that helps users better navigate the millions of items at the world's biggest online site is bound to be welcome.

"The new Garden by eBay represents a new collaborative conversation with the eBay community -- a chance to listen to their thoughts on upcoming features, and to bring them closer to our own innovation process," Christopher Payne, eBay's vice president of search, said in a statement. "And by seeding the Garden with streamlined search, we're asking for the community's input on improving one of the most important areas of eBay.com."

Diamond Ring Designer, launched earlier, is now also "growing" in the Garden. eBay is encouraging users to test and provide feedback for the design-your-own-custom-ring site.

David Needle is the West Coast bureau chief at InternetNews.com, the news service of Internet.com, the network for technology professionals.

Search narrows for land for new Franklin schooleBay’s ‘Garden’ Grows New Features

Gmail Upgrades to Social Networking

Got Gmail? If so, Buzz, its newest feature, could be another weapon in your social network marketing arsenal, Datamation.com has the details.

Google took the wraps off a significant update to its Gmail service with Buzz, a new service it says brings more efficiency and security to the sea of tweets and other real-time feeds in which it says users are drowning.

"There's value there, but it's increasingly harder and harder to find the signal in the noise," Bradley Horowitz, a Google vice president of product management, said today during an event here at the Googleplex. "You used to be able to let the stream wash over you, but when you get up to 500 or 5,000 friends, it becomes very, very difficult."

Google's (NASDAQ: GOOG) solution is Buzz, a new feature in Gmail that’s also available in a mobile version and on Google's mobile home page. While the service has just launched today, Google says it will take several days to reach the millions of Gmail users.

Read the complete article

Gmail Upgrades to Social NetworkingFacebook is now friends with AOL

Need an eBay Alternative? Try This List.

When it comes to online selling, there is no denying that the industry giants, like eBay and Amazon are top notch.  Everyone knows that it's hard to beat eBay in terms of traffic, but many online sellers do look elsewhere — especially individuals and part-time sellers who use this as a way to boost an existing income.

This eBay alternatives list looks at 14 of the online marketplaces we've covered in the Ecommerce-Guide.com weekly online selling column over the years.

Atomic Mall
Listings:  fixed-price, make an offer, Web stores
Cost: final sale fees (range from 10 cents to 1 percent)

Blujay
Listings: classified ad
Cost: free

Bonanzle
Listings:  fixed-price, make an offer, Bonanzle Booths (similar to a Web shop)
Cost: final sale fee (ranges from 50 cents to $10)

BikerBids.com
Listings: auction, swap, Web stores
Cost: final sale fee (3 percent up to a maximum of $35)

CozyBug
Listings: garage sale, classifieds, swap
Cost: free

Craigslist
Listings: classified Ads
Cost: all ads except job postings, apartment rentals and adult services are free

Etsy
Listing: Web shop for handmade and vintage items
Cost: 20 cents per listing plus a final value fee of 3.5 percent

HiBidder 
Listings: auction, fixed-price, Web stores
Cost: final value fees (max $2.50)

Kijiji 
Listing: classified ads (local transactions)
Cost: free, some listing upgrades

MotoYard.com
Listings: auction
Category: motorcycles and power sports equipment

My Auction Planet
Listings: auction, fixed price, Web store
Cost: free to list, some listing features have fees

OnlineAuction.com(OLA) Listings: auction, Web store
Cost:  yearly membership fees

PlunderHere
Listings: auction, fixed-price, Web stores
Cost:  final value fees (max 5 percent), Verification fee $2.50

WeBidz Auctions
Listings: auction, fixed-price, Web stores
Cost: free basic listings, $5 verification fee, some paid listing options

Wensy
Listings: auction, fixed price, Web store
Cost:  free

Vangie Beal is a veteran online seller and frequent contributor to ECommerce-Guide.com. She is also managing editor of Webopedia.com. You can tweet with her online @AuroraGG.

Walgreen buys Duane ReadeNeed an eBay Alternative? Try This List.

Don't Bail on Your Business Blog

Ecommerce marketing is critical to success, and a business blog drives traffic to your site. But what about studies that say blogs are out and FaceBook is in? SmallBusinessComputing.com looks at three reasons to keep your business blog.

A recent Pew Research Center survey found that interest in writing and commenting on blogs among younger generations is declining. Meanwhile, the survey notes that teens and young adults are increasingly attracted to social networks such as Facebook.

The ability to post quick, social-network status updates has “kind of sucked the life out of long-form blogging,” says Amanda Lenhart, a Pew senior researcher and the study’s lead author, as quoted by the Associated Press. 

Given that younger generations are sometimes seen as harbingers of emerging technology trends, you might wonder if it’s time to abandon your small business blog and just post updates to Facebook or to Twitter instead.

The answer can depend on your business goals and target audiences. But in general, small business blogs are still an effective way to attract and engage with customers. Here are three reasons why.

Read the complete small business blogs article

Facebook is now friends with AOLDon’t Bail on Your Business Blog

Web Marketing Tips: Tracking Direct Mailings

Get ready for another great lesson in unconventional marketing. It doesn’t matter what you sell, if you need help standing out from the crowd, you've come to the right place.

Direct mailing is still an important part of a small business marketing plan, but how can you track the results and measure success? Andrew Lock covers that and other affordable marketing strategies for small business entrepreneurs. Check it out below.

I was almost stuck in the massive snowstorm dubbed “Snowmageddon” that hit the East coast last week. In my time in New York City I noticed the demise of one of the most well-known landmarks in the middle of Times Square – can you guess what it is?

Postcard marketing is a valuable tool for advertising and promoting a product or service in almost any business. Our question relates to the subject of tracking the results from a postcard marketing campaign. Any ideas? See if you agree with my recommendations.

Go watch the "Help! My Business Sucks" webisode

Nashville People in BusinessWeb Marketing Tips: Tracking Direct Mailings

Super Bowl Ads' Best and Worst Online Performances

Call it a good measure of analytics with some subjective rankings in the mix. Web performance company Gomez has released its first post-Super Bowl rankings of which advertisers' sites did the best job in the 18 hours following the big game.

Gomez's first Big Game Advertiser Benchmark took a look at how the game's ads impacted their advertisers' Web sites, with an eye to understanding whether they suffered from poor post-game site availability and performance that could have undermined their spots' effectiveness.

The top winner was Mars Snickers, while Hyundai's Sonata site ranked the lowest in Web site speed and availability.

Surprisingly, high-profile Internet domain registrar GoDaddy.com finished just behind Hyundai in 62nd and 63rd place for two of its commercials that explicitly invited viewers to visit its site to view more provocative versions of its cheesy story line with race car driver Danica Patrick. Search giant Google came in fourth place for its first Super Bowl ad campaign.

Gomez based its selection of the best ads on the rankings of USA Today and Time magazine, which analyzed gametime commercials based on popular preference via focus group and expert opinion, respectively. Gomez then used its own analytics to rank the companies behind the commercials based on the speed and availability of each brand's campaign Web site in the 18 hours following the game.

In addition to claiming the top ranking in Gomez's analysis, Snickers also topped USA Today 's Ad Meter list -- a finding that marks its effort as one of the most effective of the game.

While GoDaddy's performance was middle of the road, it was its editorial ranking that really hurt it in combined effectiveness, Matt Poepsel, vice president of performance strategies at Gomez, told InternetNews.com . Meanwhile, "Hyundai wasn't bad on the editorial side but they were hurt by performance. It all has to work to be effective."

Following the Super Bowl, GoDaddy issued a statement saying its commercials were responsible for the biggest spikes in Internet traffic during the Super Bowl according to Web content delivery provider Akamai, whose network handled most of the content by Super Bowl advertisers.

Earlier this week, Gomez issued the results of a survey by Equation Research it sponsored of 1,500 consumers who use the Web at peak times for such popular online activities as holiday shopping, booking summer travel and executing stock trades during shifts in the financial markets. Seventy-eight percent of the consumers polled said they'd switched to a competitor's Web site because they encountered slowdowns, errors and transaction problems during peak traffic times.

David Needle is the West Coast bureau chief at InternetNews.com, the news service of Internet.com, the network for technology professionals.

Super Bowl Ads’ Best and Worst Online PerformancesTN giants toss ads into big ring

eBay's 'Garden' Grows New Features

In the rush to compete, tech companies sometimes ship faulty or not-ready-for-primetime products and services. Cynics will argue that buyers are too often unpaid beta testers for these faulty products. No company wants the bad publicity that comes with a failed design (Toyota anyone?), and certainly it's hard to test for every use case scenario.

Public beta testing and other programs designed to give customers early looks at products have been around for years and benefit both the producer and the consumer, with Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) among the most aggressive companies via its Google Labs.

Now eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) is the latest to offer its own twist. Garden by eBay is a new site that lets users test and interact with new features the online auction site has under development. The site is also designed to solicit feedback and new ideas for products and features users want to see eBay add.

The first "seed" to sprout from eBay's Garden is "streamlined search" which, as the name implies, is designed to make it simpler to browse and view search results. With streamlined search users can compare auction and Buy It Now listings side-by-side, refine their searches with fewer clicks, get an at-a-glance view of an item's name, price and format and view same-screen pop-up windows for item detail, the company said.

eBay said it expects to improve streamlined search based on user feedback before releasing it as a standard part of eBay. Anything that helps users better navigate the millions of items at the world's biggest online site is bound to be welcome.

"The new Garden by eBay represents a new collaborative conversation with the eBay community -- a chance to listen to their thoughts on upcoming features, and to bring them closer to our own innovation process," Christopher Payne, eBay's vice president of search, said in a statement. "And by seeding the Garden with streamlined search, we're asking for the community's input on improving one of the most important areas of eBay.com."

Diamond Ring Designer, launched earlier, is now also "growing" in the Garden. eBay is encouraging users to test and provide feedback for the design-your-own-custom-ring site.

David Needle is the West Coast bureau chief at InternetNews.com, the news service of Internet.com, the network for technology professionals.

Search narrows for land for new Franklin schooleBay’s ‘Garden’ Grows New Features

Need an eBay Alternative? Try This List.

When it comes to online selling, there is no denying that the industry giants, like eBay and Amazon are top notch.  Everyone knows that it's hard to beat eBay in terms of traffic, but many online sellers do look elsewhere — especially individuals and part-time sellers who use this as a way to boost an existing income.

This eBay alternatives list looks at 14 of the online marketplaces we've covered in the Ecommerce-Guide.com weekly online selling column over the years.

Atomic Mall
Listings:  fixed-price, make an offer, Web stores
Cost: final sale fees (range from 10 cents to 1 percent)

Blujay
Listings: classified ad
Cost: free

Bonanzle
Listings:  fixed-price, make an offer, Bonanzle Booths (similar to a Web shop)
Cost: final sale fee (ranges from 50 cents to $10)

BikerBids.com
Listings: auction, swap, Web stores
Cost: final sale fee (3 percent up to a maximum of $35)

CozyBug
Listings: garage sale, classifieds, swap
Cost: free

Craigslist
Listings: classified Ads
Cost: all ads except job postings, apartment rentals and adult services are free

Etsy
Listing: Web shop for handmade and vintage items
Cost: 20 cents per listing plus a final value fee of 3.5 percent

HiBidder 
Listings: auction, fixed-price, Web stores
Cost: final value fees (max $2.50)

Kijiji 
Listing: classified ads (local transactions)
Cost: free, some listing upgrades

MotoYard.com
Listings: auction
Category: motorcycles and power sports equipment

My Auction Planet
Listings: auction, fixed price, Web store
Cost: free to list, some listing features have fees

OnlineAuction.com(OLA) Listings: auction, Web store
Cost:  yearly membership fees

PlunderHere
Listings: auction, fixed-price, Web stores
Cost:  final value fees (max 5 percent), Verification fee $2.50

WeBidz Auctions
Listings: auction, fixed-price, Web stores
Cost: free basic listings, $5 verification fee, some paid listing options

Wensy
Listings: auction, fixed price, Web store
Cost:  free

Vangie Beal is a veteran online seller and frequent contributor to ECommerce-Guide.com. She is also managing editor of Webopedia.com. You can tweet with her online @AuroraGG.

Need an eBay Alternative? Try This List.Walgreen buys Duane Reade

Gmail Upgrades to Social Networking

Got Gmail? If so, Buzz, its newest feature, could be another weapon in your social network marketing arsenal, Datamation.com has the details.

Google took the wraps off a significant update to its Gmail service with Buzz, a new service it says brings more efficiency and security to the sea of tweets and other real-time feeds in which it says users are drowning.

"There's value there, but it's increasingly harder and harder to find the signal in the noise," Bradley Horowitz, a Google vice president of product management, said today during an event here at the Googleplex. "You used to be able to let the stream wash over you, but when you get up to 500 or 5,000 friends, it becomes very, very difficult."

Google's (NASDAQ: GOOG) solution is Buzz, a new feature in Gmail that’s also available in a mobile version and on Google's mobile home page. While the service has just launched today, Google says it will take several days to reach the millions of Gmail users.

Read the complete article

Gmail Upgrades to Social NetworkingFacebook is now friends with AOL

Don't Bail on Your Business Blog

Ecommerce marketing is critical to success, and a business blog drives traffic to your site. But what about studies that say blogs are out and FaceBook is in? SmallBusinessComputing.com looks at three reasons to keep your business blog.

A recent Pew Research Center survey found that interest in writing and commenting on blogs among younger generations is declining. Meanwhile, the survey notes that teens and young adults are increasingly attracted to social networks such as Facebook.

The ability to post quick, social-network status updates has “kind of sucked the life out of long-form blogging,” says Amanda Lenhart, a Pew senior researcher and the study’s lead author, as quoted by the Associated Press. 

Given that younger generations are sometimes seen as harbingers of emerging technology trends, you might wonder if it’s time to abandon your small business blog and just post updates to Facebook or to Twitter instead.

The answer can depend on your business goals and target audiences. But in general, small business blogs are still an effective way to attract and engage with customers. Here are three reasons why.

Read the complete small business blogs article

Don’t Bail on Your Business BlogFacebook is now friends with AOL

Holiday e-Commerce Showed Signs of Stability

While the sluggish economy continues to sap the Internet retail sector, the late stages of the holiday shopping season offered hopeful signs of recovery, according to data released today by online metrics firm comScore.

In 2009, overall e-commerce spending of $130 billion, excluding travel, was flat compared to the previous year, but sales in the final two months of the year saw a 4 percent increase.

"I'm interpreting that as being at the bottom of the troublesome times," comScore Chairman Gian Fulgoni said today in a presentation detailing the findings. "We can say that coming out of the fourth quarter we were seeing some modest growth."

Fulgoni's firm is predicting modest growth to continue in 2010, though he warned that several factors continue to dampen spending, such as the high unemployment rate, lower access to credit and an increase in the rate of consumer saving.

ComScore pulls its data from a global panel of about 2 million Internet users, split roughly evenly between U.S. and foreign participants. Each quarter the firm recaps the effects of the economy on the e-commerce sector, compiling data that is generally in line with the official quarterly figures that are later released by the Department of Commerce.

In the fourth quarter, the firm found that e-commerce accounted for 7.7 percent of overall spending in comparable categories, excluding goods like gas or groceries that aren't generally bought online. That figure was a marked increase from the fourth quarter of 2008, when online spending accounted for just 4.6 percent of overall sales.

This holiday season saw 10 percent more consumers shopping online than last year, though individuals on average spent 5 percent less, with the per-consumer spending tally dropping from $261 in 2008 to $250 last year.

"The continued growth in online buyers I think augurs well for e-commerce," Fulgoni said. Will online sales hit a billion dollars in a single day?

In addition to a rise in overall customers, the 2009 holidays put up some other impressive numbers, including the first day in history to see more than $900 million in online sales. That day, Dec. 15, a Tuesday, represented a 21 percent increase in spending over the same day in 2008, and invites the possibility that 2010 could see the first billion-dollar sales day.

But the modest signs of economic improvement weren't enjoyed equally across the online retail sector. The top 25 online retailers saw sales increase 11 percent over the holidays, while the rest of the pack saw an overall sales drop of 7 percent.

"The big are getting bigger," Fulgoni said. "I suspect that the smaller retailers just were not able to match the resources of their larger brethren."

Fulgoni noted that special offers played a substantial role in online shopping this year, with retailers offering considerably more deals than last year, though the discounts generally were of far lower percentages than in 2008 when the economy began its plunge and merchants were scrambling to unload excess inventory.

"No question in 2008 I think everyone was caught flat-footed," he said.

The largest of the large, Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Walmart.com (NYSE: WMT), together accounted for 13 percent of online holiday spending, up from 10 percent the previous year. Between those two, it's an uneven split, with Amazon hosting 85.7 million visitors in December, compared to the 54.2 million shoppers who visited Walmart's Web site.

ComScore's findings emphasized the increasing role social media sites like Facebook and Twitter are playing in shaping people's shopping habits. Twenty-eight percent of comScore's panel participants said that a social site had influenced their purchase decisions, with 7 percent saying they had become a fan of a business on Facebook, and 5 percent saying they follow a business on Twitter, many in the hopes of receiving coupons or learning of other promotions.

Fulgoni suggested that smaller retailers ramp up their presence on social sites, both as a way of connecting with a growing audience and for the inexpensive promotional mechanisms they offer.

Kenneth Corbin is an associate editor at InternetNews.com, the news service of Internet.com, the network for technology professionals.

Holiday e-Commerce Showed Signs of StabilityDell sees signs of optimism

Web Marketing Tips: Tracking Direct Mailings

Get ready for another great lesson in unconventional marketing. It doesn’t matter what you sell, if you need help standing out from the crowd, you've come to the right place.

Direct mailing is still an important part of a small business marketing plan, but how can you track the results and measure success? Andrew Lock covers that and other affordable marketing strategies for small business entrepreneurs. Check it out below.

I was almost stuck in the massive snowstorm dubbed “Snowmageddon” that hit the East coast last week. In my time in New York City I noticed the demise of one of the most well-known landmarks in the middle of Times Square – can you guess what it is?

Postcard marketing is a valuable tool for advertising and promoting a product or service in almost any business. Our question relates to the subject of tracking the results from a postcard marketing campaign. Any ideas? See if you agree with my recommendations.

Go watch the "Help! My Business Sucks" webisode

Nashville People in BusinessWeb Marketing Tips: Tracking Direct Mailings

Mobile Commerce Advantages for Retailers Emerging

Using mobile devices to access the Internet is fast-becoming a way of life in the U.S. More than 80 million U.S. mobile phone owners will access the Internet via their handset this year, according to research firm eMarketer.

That's almost 35 percent of all mobile phone users and almost 27 percent of the U.S. population. But online shopping on mobile devices is not necessarily following the same fast track growth curve.

According to the eMarketer's report, "Mobile Commerce: Ahead of Its Time," mobile phone users say they would make more purchases if the process were not so cumbersome, products were easier to find and their devices supported secure credit card transactions. Web-enabled mobile phone users are much more likely to use their devices to get weather forecasts, read news, find movie times and bank online than to buy products, according to eMarketer.

"We're at an early stage, but the market for mobile e-commerce is definitely accelerating," Jeffrey Grau, senior analyst at eMarketer and author of the report, told InternetNews.com .

Grau said mobile e-commerce is going through a similar stage of guarded acceptance among U.S. consumers that e-commerce on the broader Web did a decade or so ago. "People were concerned about credit card security back then, even more so than today, so that was a big barrier to overcome. On mobile there's that security concern, but also other issues, like the screens are so small you're not necessarily comfortable buying household goods or higher end items you can't see that well."

He notes that the advent of Apple's iPad, due out next month, and other tablet devices, will give e-tailors more screen real estate to display their wares.

For now, smartphones are best-suited for time-sensitive and location-oriented transactions, like ordering a pizza or making dinner or event reservations from your car. "Where you're buying a service or some relative commodity like pizza or flowers you don't have to see in a larger screen, these are good areas for mobile ecommerce," said Grau.

He also notes mobile technology is helping to facilitate these kinds of purchases. For example, a GPS in the mobile device helps the user find the nearest theater or store and provide other location-based services. Even when you're in a physical store, Web access on the mobile device offers plenty of price comparison and review options to help you make a purchase decision.

Grau said a lot of retailers made the mistake of trying to optimize their standard Web site for mobile. "They try to optimize, but a lot of those sites end up looking pretty crude and hard to use on a mobile screen," said Grau. "With a mobile application, like we've seen on the iPhone, you can really provide a much richer experience."

eMarketer is forecasting that by 2013, almost 50 percent of mobile phone subscribers in the U.S. will have Internet access.

David Needle is the West Coast bureau chief at InternetNews.com, the news service of Internet.com, the network for technology professionals.

Nashville Business CalendarHoliday e-Commerce Showed Signs of Stability

Don't Bail on Your Business Blog

Ecommerce marketing is critical to success, and a business blog drives traffic to your site. But what about studies that say blogs are out and FaceBook is in? SmallBusinessComputing.com looks at three reasons to keep your business blog.

A recent Pew Research Center survey found that interest in writing and commenting on blogs among younger generations is declining. Meanwhile, the survey notes that teens and young adults are increasingly attracted to social networks such as Facebook.

The ability to post quick, social-network status updates has “kind of sucked the life out of long-form blogging,” says Amanda Lenhart, a Pew senior researcher and the study’s lead author, as quoted by the Associated Press. 

Given that younger generations are sometimes seen as harbingers of emerging technology trends, you might wonder if it’s time to abandon your small business blog and just post updates to Facebook or to Twitter instead.

The answer can depend on your business goals and target audiences. But in general, small business blogs are still an effective way to attract and engage with customers. Here are three reasons why.

Read the complete small business blogs article

Facebook is now friends with AOLDon’t Bail on Your Business Blog

Gmail Upgrades to Social Networking

Got Gmail? If so, Buzz, its newest feature, could be another weapon in your social network marketing arsenal, Datamation.com has the details.

Google took the wraps off a significant update to its Gmail service with Buzz, a new service it says brings more efficiency and security to the sea of tweets and other real-time feeds in which it says users are drowning.

"There's value there, but it's increasingly harder and harder to find the signal in the noise," Bradley Horowitz, a Google vice president of product management, said today during an event here at the Googleplex. "You used to be able to let the stream wash over you, but when you get up to 500 or 5,000 friends, it becomes very, very difficult."

Google's (NASDAQ: GOOG) solution is Buzz, a new feature in Gmail that’s also available in a mobile version and on Google's mobile home page. While the service has just launched today, Google says it will take several days to reach the millions of Gmail users.

Read the complete article

Facebook is now friends with AOLGmail Upgrades to Social Networking

eBay's 'Garden' Grows New Features

In the rush to compete, tech companies sometimes ship faulty or not-ready-for-primetime products and services. Cynics will argue that buyers are too often unpaid beta testers for these faulty products. No company wants the bad publicity that comes with a failed design (Toyota anyone?), and certainly it's hard to test for every use case scenario.

Public beta testing and other programs designed to give customers early looks at products have been around for years and benefit both the producer and the consumer, with Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) among the most aggressive companies via its Google Labs.

Now eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) is the latest to offer its own twist. Garden by eBay is a new site that lets users test and interact with new features the online auction site has under development. The site is also designed to solicit feedback and new ideas for products and features users want to see eBay add.

The first "seed" to sprout from eBay's Garden is "streamlined search" which, as the name implies, is designed to make it simpler to browse and view search results. With streamlined search users can compare auction and Buy It Now listings side-by-side, refine their searches with fewer clicks, get an at-a-glance view of an item's name, price and format and view same-screen pop-up windows for item detail, the company said.

eBay said it expects to improve streamlined search based on user feedback before releasing it as a standard part of eBay. Anything that helps users better navigate the millions of items at the world's biggest online site is bound to be welcome.

"The new Garden by eBay represents a new collaborative conversation with the eBay community -- a chance to listen to their thoughts on upcoming features, and to bring them closer to our own innovation process," Christopher Payne, eBay's vice president of search, said in a statement. "And by seeding the Garden with streamlined search, we're asking for the community's input on improving one of the most important areas of eBay.com."

Diamond Ring Designer, launched earlier, is now also "growing" in the Garden. eBay is encouraging users to test and provide feedback for the design-your-own-custom-ring site.

David Needle is the West Coast bureau chief at InternetNews.com, the news service of Internet.com, the network for technology professionals.

Search narrows for land for new Franklin schooleBay’s ‘Garden’ Grows New Features