WSI Retail Buzz

Google recently opened a brand new social network called Google+.  Google+ allows you to manage your contacts in circles, provides a wall which allows only you to post and something called Hangouts, a group video calling service.

In a report by Alistair Barr from Reuters posted Wed Aug 3, 2011, Google's new social network has attracted 25 million users, making it the fastest website to achieve that audience size (according to data released on Tuesday by comScore).

Google+ launched in late June and had 25 million unique visitors as of July 24 and is growing at a rate of roughly one million visitors a day, comScore noted in a presentation.

This is quite impressive given it took Facebook about three years to attract 25 million visitors and Twitter took just over 2.5 years, according to comScore. A separate survey found that two-third's of Web developers believe Google+ could eventually rival Facebook in importance, with Google's portfolio of mature online services helping to offset Facebook's social-graph advantage.

While the data show Google's latest attempt at breaking into social networking has started strongly, it may or may not mean the project is successful over the long haul. MySpace grew to 25 million unique visitors in less than two years -- faster than Facebook or Twitter. However, it's lost a lot of visitors in the past year, comScore data show.

Canada specifically accounts for approximately 1 million visitors to Google+.

Digitization, as defined by the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, refers to the act of converting data or images to digital form. From a marketing perspective, it’s simply converting or moving your offline marketing (physical) to online marketing (digital). 

As new technologies emerge, people embrace the change which translates into behavioural change. Today, people consume well over 50% of their media online. Interestingly enough:

•    Consumers spend more time online than TV
•    Consumers rely heavily on the internet to research their purchases
•    Less than half of researchers are committed to a brand before starting their search
•    The internet is equally important as family or friends in making a purchasing decision

Businesses have begun to react and become more digitized. Yet amazingly, on average, retail advertisers still only spend 20% of their marketing budget online.  Yikes .....

Email remains the most popular online activity for Canadians with Search and Social Networking second and third respectively. Search advertising continues to grow and dominates total online advertising with a 42% spending share. The internet continues to take a larger share of marketing budgets and is predicted to maintain double digit increases over the next several years. Are you shifting your ad spend to where the majority of your customers are hanging out? If not, you may not be communicating with the largest group of your target audience.

Digitization of media and local search optimization video.

Retail ecommerce in Canada is late blooming compared with the US. But over the next few years, it will start to realize its potential. In 2010, consumers in Canada spent CAD16.5 billion ($16.0 billion) on domestic and foreign sites for products and services (including travel). By 2015, online spending will nearly double, reaching CAD30.9 billion ($30.0 billion). Shoppers are increasingly comfortable buying high-consideration goods online, such as home electronics and apparel. The allure of group buying is also introducing more consumers to ecommerce.

Still, there are major obstacles curbing interest in online buying, including limited product selection, reservations about buying products sight unseen and high shipping costs. The lack of market participation has caused several prominent store-based retailers to shy away from ecommerce. But some internet pure plays and specialty retailers are succeeding by offering superior customer service, multichannel convenience and unique products.

The aggressive entry of US web retailers into Canadian ecommerce may also accelerate market growth. Major store-based retailers are under pressure to launch viable ecommerce businesses or risk losing market share. US retailers, who give shoppers greater product selection, are also introducing those in Canada to ecommerce. Some of the pure plays and specialty retailers believe the opportunity to acquire new customers can benefit all retailers.

Leading the horse to water AND making it want to drink!
 
When designing an online interface, whether it is a website, a landing page, an ad or an email newsletter, the primary objective is to get users to take positive action, i.e. to convert.
Conversion Architecture is the wireframe or blueprint that determines the form and function, look and feel, visual content and copy of any online interface. From an Internet marketing perspective, it is based on the fact that a user (viewer / visitor / reader) has a need that must be fulfilled. If your website, landing page, email piece or pay-per-click ad fulfills that need quickly, efficiently and offers the user a good experience, you are closer to conversion, closer to closing, closer to improved business performance.
The Internet marketing landscape is changing at the speed of thought! Traffic building strategies like link exchange and pay-per-click (PPC) advertising are no longer enough because more traffic does not mean more profits or more business. Search engine optimization (SEO) which involves tools, techniques and technologies to improve your online search rankings has evolved into conversion rate optimization (CRO). The bottom line is, if you are aren't converting, your target audience is going to the competition. They still have a need that must be fulfilled, remember?

This week, Google has begun rolling out a game-changing update to how it delivers local search results. According to the official Google blog, Place Search will alter the way search engine results pages display information when the search engine detects you are searching for local information.

This updates reinforces that both organic SEO and a solid local listing on Google places are important in helping your business get found online.

Also, according to ReachCast GM Alex Hawkinson, place search will add some complexity to the process of getting found in this new format. “For example, the new Place Search mini-pages make extensive use of rich snippets, a structured data format that enables web pages to be marked up with semantic information (e.g. reviews).”

For more insights into the new Google place search, check out the resources below:

• New Google Place Search Will Shake Up Local SEO
• New Place Search Shows Google’s Commitment To Local
• Google Launches Smart Search for Places

To see a video of some highlights of this new update and how it may impact SEO, check out the video below:

This is often overlooked, but surprisingly important to your user’s experience of your site. In this post we will discuss why opening links in a new window is not recommended, and also when it is acceptable to do so.

Why it’s bad to open links in a new window

• It removes ability to use the “back” button on your browser
• The window might appear in front of the original window, meaning the user might not know where the other screen has gone to.
• Users have the ability to control how to open new links, unless you force it to open in a new window, removing the user’s control.

Removes the back button

When a user is browsing the internet they will follow links to take them from one webpage to another. Buttons in your browser allow you to go back to a previous screen, allowing you a quick and easy “undo” option if you’ve clicked the wrong link or have navigated to a page you don’t want to look at. If they have clicked a link that forces them to view the resulting page in a new window then they will be presented with a new browser window (or tab) where the back button will be greyed out. If the user didn’t realize that a new window had loaded they might be clicking the back button unsuccessfully.

Confuses the user

We’re all busy people and we just want things to work. Opening many different browser windows can be frustrating, as you might have to flick back through all your open windows to find the page you were just looking at. To add more confusion, browsers with tabs (Firefox, Chrome and the latest versions of Internet Explorer) can have multiple tabs open, but a link opening in a new window will show a brand new window, with its own tabs – so not only do you have to switch between tabs, you also have to switch between windows. Make things as easy as possible for your users!

Removes control from the user

Forcing the link to open in a new window removes the choice a user has to open the link how they like. Users normally have the choice to either click the link normally, or choose to open in a new window or tab.

Forcing an option removes the user’s choice. This is unfair to the user because this might not be what they want to do.

Usability professional Jakob Nielsen says this about links:
“Links are the Web’s basic building blocks, and users’ ability to understand them and to use various browser features correctly is key to enhancing their on-line skills.
“Links that don’t behave as expected undermine users’ understanding of their own system. A link should be a simple hypertext reference that replaces the current page with new content. Users hate unwarranted pop-up windows. When they want the destination to appear in a new page, they can use their browser’s “open in new window” command – assuming, of course, that the link is not a piece of code that interferes with the browser’s standard behavior.
“Users deserve to control their own destiny. Computers that behave consistently empower people by letting them use their own tools and wield them accurately.”

When it’s okay to open in a new window

There is always an exception however, when links should automatically open in a new window.

Imagine a big long form page where you have to fill in your details. You start typing your name and contact details, and filling out many more options that the form asks you, and then you reach an option that you don’t understand and there’s a link saying “Click here for help”. If you click this link it will take you to the next page and when you press the “back” button, you’ll have to fill in all the options on the form again – starting from scratch. But if the “Click here for help” link forced the new page into a new window (or popup), it means that the data you entered into the forum won’t be lost.

Registering Your Brand and Trademarks

When your company launched your website, you had to register a branded domain name (ie: ABCCompany.com). It is equally important to register your brand and any trademarks you have on the social portals - even if you are not yet active in the social space.

People are registering for usernames and social media accounts every day. It is vital that you protect your brand and trademarks by creating company branded accounts on all social media portals even if you are not utilizing these portals yet. This way, when you are ready to embark on your social media strategy, you can be confident that no one else is using your brand name. Also, if you have any trademarks, it would be a good idea to register and protect those as well.

Some companies have failed to reserve their brands, and as a result, other users have gone ahead and registered accounts using their brand names.  For example, Microsoft does not own http://www.youtube.com/Microsoft,  a channel that has almost 20,000 views. Also, http://www.youtube.com/McDonalds  doesn't belong to McDonald's, but to a company that is using the channel to promote their own line of burgers.

Defining Your Social Presence Look and Feel

Your company likely has a branding policy, which outlines corporate branding standards, and a style guide, which defines your corporate colors and fonts. In all of your marketing materials, you likely follow these guides to keep your company’s look and feel consistent. So why should your social presence be any different?

Your social media presence should be treated like any other marketing endeavor. It should consist of the same look and feel as your company website and marketing materials. This way, when visitors migrate from your website to your corporate blog, Twitter page or YouTube channel, they  won’t feel like they’ve landed on a totally different page. A consistent look and feel for your social pages will give visitors a consistent experience with your brand.

With pinched budgets, it's all about ROI

Email marketing’s popularity is attributable to its low cost, high ROI (Return-On-Investment) and focus
on customer retention. While the economic crisis will force retailers to cut back on many important
marketing and technology initiatives, email programs will survive relatively unscathed.
Odds are your marketing budget has felt the negative impact of growing concerns over the worldwide
economy. Small businesses and large corporations alike have been forced to erase entire sections of
their 2010 marketing “wish list” in response to a bleak economic forecast that has many marketers
evaluating the cost-effectiveness and ROI of previously ironclad marketing vehicles.
Amid the turmoil, Email marketing has remained a staple due to its cost-effectiveness and flexibility. At a
fraction of a penny per message, the value of an email campaign compared to an expensive direct mail
communication is substantial. However, getting the most from your email marketing campaigns during
tough economic times may require a different approach than what you’ve done before.
 
It is not surprising to see how advertisers continue adding to the budget for marketing activities that are
generating the greatest ROI, like searches and email marketing.
According to eMarketer, at the beginning of 2010 year, 14% of the online marketing budget is destined
for email marketing. What is more surprising, is that advertisers are giving more importance to their
email marketing campaigns than on investing in social networks, even though it is a rising trend. In the
current economy, on which marketing budgets plummet, email marketing can be as important as a
wood plank to someone stranded at sea.

Typically in any recession, there is tremendous pressure on marketers to do more with less. According to
MarketingSherpa, 24 percent of B2B and 34 percent of B2C marketers reported budget cuts this year.
Not surprising given its remarkably high return on investment, email marketing increases during tough
economic times.
Also, in email’s favor is its measurability. Marketers can quickly and effectively measure who is
responding to messages, which promotions work best and so much more.

Search Engines and Social Media Channels Compete
...but finding common ground can help customer engagement and conversion

  With increased awareness about search engine optimization (SEO) and easier access to information, business owners are more willing to invest in making their websites rank higher on search engines. Simultaneously, the explosive growth of social media is spurring businesses to consider making social media an integral part of their overall marketing efforts. This does pose somewhat of a dilemma because the objective of search engines and social media channels is quite the opposite of each other.

While search engines aim to help consumers find the information they are looking for and direct them specifically to the most relevant (top ranking) websites, social channels facilitate online conversations on third-party forums like Facebook, Twitter, Mashable and so on. Savvy Internet marketers have realized that instead of making the difficult choice of one over the other, it is wise to find common ground between search and social and rake in the benefits of both.

The biggest advantage of social media is that it generates consumer-speak - honest feedback about a product, service or brand. Social media users are already on a heightened level of "engagement" when they are discussing a product, service or issue. If your company launches a social media campaign, you can look for the prominent and frequently appearing keywords that users include in their social conversations. Using these keywords on your website can yield good results because they are likely to be relevant search terms that prospective customers will use when searching for your product or service on Google, Yahoo!, etc. You could be losing potential opportunities if you ran a social media campaign without a solid SEO strategy in place to support it. Your business needs the collaborative impact of search and social marketing.

Users Search, and then Socialize to Validate their Findings
...relevant content can boost your visibility across both platforms  

Internet users are growing more demanding - they want relevant information, easily and quickly. They are no longer content with surfing and searching for information on search engines. They also now look to confirm their online findings by interacting with other folks using social media. For instance, the latest interactive multimedia game may show up on the first page of search engines but the person searching will most likely proceed to blogs, forums and Twitter type of channels to hear what people are saying about the game.

As a company, you can take the critical step to ensure that the information you provide about your business or brand is put across in a user-friendly and relevant manner - not just on your website but also via blog articles, blog posts, Tweets, a Facebook page, perhaps even a video presentation on YouTube. If "content is king" was true in the past, it just got further reinforced!

The important thing to remember is that while you may know best about your business, you may not always figure out the best way to communicate it to your target audience. Your best bet is to employ the services of a professional web copywriter or Internet marketing consultant who offers expert help with search marketing content. Compelling, persuasive copy with clear calls to action can effect higher conversions from your search marketing and social media campaigns. Content that drives results can mean the difference between whether your audience surfs your online space or turfs it.

Your WSI Retail Group Consultant is trained in both, search and social media marketing and can help you discover that critical common ground between these two advanced Internet marketing fields. Contact us at www.wsiretailgroup.com to set up a free, no obligation consultation.