Mobile Commerce Made Simple with Paycloud

It comes as no surprise that the increasing daily use of smartphone applications (apps) and smartphone browsers has created a channel for your customers to browse, purchase and interact with products and services. As Portio Research Limited’s report, “Mobile Applications Futures 2010-2015,” forecasts, “The global mobile applications user base is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 37 percent between 2009 and 2015 to reach nearly 256 million by the end of 2015.” Embracing m-commerce could potentially market you to those... 

Web Wisdom: Competing in a Shifting Web Landscape

Every time you, your customers, your competitors’ customers or ANYONE goes to the search bar and looks for something and finds what they want, they are feeding a web crawler with crucial data. These web crawlers are hungry beasts, feasting on the ever-growing database of what searchers seek and how they find it. Every minute there is a new banquet table of worldwide and local data.  And in theory at least, the well fed web crawler returns to searchers the information that they seek, in the priority pattern that works for them (personalized search... 

OMguru’s Online Marketing Strategy

Online marketing involves more than banner ads and keyword copywriting, and without a strategy it is usually ineffective. Without the right tools, persuading customers to visit your ecommerce store to make a purchase presents similar challenges as faced by retailers enticing consumers to their storefront on Main Street: foot traffic is primarily left to luck and consumers are more aware of competitors (who have a strategy and the appropriate marketing tools). This is where a full service online marketing company such as OMguru can help. The first... 

Web Wisdom: Top Ten Signs of Poor SEO Technique

Independent retailers are at the mercy of the web designers and search engine optimization (SEO) consultants they hire. Why do I say this? As someone who has extensively studied SEO methods and attempts to stay up-to-date on how the Internet is changing, I must report that there is a lot of hot air posing as know how. Are you falling for this hot air and is it setting you back in your SEO efforts? Below are the top 10 warning signs indicating that you have fallen victim to out-of-date or poor SEO technique: 1) Your web designer presents you with... 

Web Wisdom: Localized Search Is Your Friend

A few years ago, just about when the worldwide recession was grabbing the headlines, the way search engines work changed in a way that handed independent retailers, or any business primarily selling local, a huge bonanza.  Your company has either been taking advantage of what is known as the “localized search algorithm” phenomenon, or you have been losing out on a potentially game-changing business opportunity.  The good news, it isn’t too late to get started. Here is how localized search algorithms work: I’m writing this article near... 

Web Wisdom: Personalized Search Algorithms

Every week I speak with a company president, VP of Marketing or some equivalent, who assures me that they have absolutely no need to focus on web marketing, “because we are already number one.” How do they know this? One thing is for certain, they aren’t using artificial intelligence tools for search engine optimization to receive accurate information on their company’s unique competitive position on the web.  Rather, they type their main keyword into Google, and consistently find themselves at the top of the page or very near it.  But... 

Effective Facebook Presence Result of Innovation and Interaction

There still remains a learning curve for many independent retailers when it comes to advertising via Facebook and other social media. And, although your marketing team may be a one man show, even the little guy can make a big name in its social network. Marketers, surveyed in a recent report from the World Federation of Advertisers, say their fan pages are about generating insight, advocacy, loyalty and engagement from fans. Rewards aren’t always immediate, and it takes time to see a return. The first step is creating an effective business page. Creating... 

Independent Retailers Invited to Join Ecommerce Community

The story of 31 year old entrepreneur, Alison Grappone, and her plan to promote local, independent businesses and nonprofits to newlyweds, is a tale of a concerned customer and citizen promoting the restoration and growth of Main Street USA. Store owners are also taking the challenge of increasing the awareness of independent retail and its effect on the community. According to the Northwest Earth Institute’s Choices for Sustainable Living, “A dollar spent at a locally owned store is usually spent 6 to 15 times before it leaves the community.”... 

Facebook Retailers Searching for Best Practices

Facebook’s purpose, first and foremost, is to operate as a social networking site, connecting friends and families, but businesses have a legitimate place on Facebook as well. With an unimaginable 600 million members and a more routinely visited website than Google, Facebook promises more than friend requests and fan bases, but also acts as a marketing tool for businesses looking to access the millions of eyes, wants, needs, and wallets, logging in on a daily basis. A recent Standard & Poor’s Equity Research study forecasted a positive... 

Smart Shopping with Smartphones

The only way to keep your small business growing is to keep up with the technological updates that are making your customers say, “WOW,” and open their wallets. Previously reported on IndependentRetailer.com, the increasingly adopted technology of mobile barcodes is being used by many marketers and retailers as a means to create and manage measurable 2D barcode campaigns, extending brand engagement to consumers’ smartphone enabled lifestyles. However, mobile barcodes aren’t the only smartphone technology benefiting independent retailers.... 

« Previous Page — Next Page »