The Nexternal Nexus - E-Commerce Ezine

Leveraging the Facebook "Like" Button in your Online Store

Nexternal Solutions, Inc. — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Until recently, Facebook activity was solely limited to its website. That changed the day it released the Like Button for the web. If you have ever used Facebook, you know that you can indicate approval by clicking the "Like" link found under every status update, photo or Facebook page. "Liking" a Facebook element adds a status line to your profile. For example, "Greg Smith likes The San Diego Zoo." It also includes a link back to that page which will often drive traffic from your Facebook friends.

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Affiliate Marketing – Pay for Results

Nexternal Solutions, Inc. — Tue, 18 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT

With all the different types of web marketing tools available: pay per click advertising, search engine optimization, bulk emailing, marketplace feeds, social networking, among many others, it’s no wonder that some of the old reliable efforts have become forgotten. This is especially true with affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketing can be an effective practice that is tailored to fit your budget, no matter how small or large. So why aren’t all online retailers taking advantage of such programs? For some, they might not even know this type of marketing exists, or the idea of a commission-based pricing model could be a turn off. For others, it could just be a matter of not knowing where to start. Either way, there are thousands of online merchants who are successfully using affiliate marketing to drive traffic to their sites and stores each day including the likes of Amazon.com. Because affiliate marketing is a two-way street, many of those same merchants are also generating supplemental revenue by driving visitors to other e-tailers’ sites and ‘getting credit’ for the resulting sales.

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Promoting Your Most Popular Products

Nexternal Solutions, Inc. — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Many online retailers make the assumption that every visitor to their site knows exactly what they are looking for. While this may be the case for people that search for specific products on a search engine and click through to their store, it is not true for everyone. Often a customer will make a purchase based on emotion or even because other people are buying the same product. Due to this fact, online stores should merchandise specific products on their own website. There are people that need to be told what they should consider buying!

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Establishing Ecommerce Policies

Nexternal Solutions, Inc. — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

When merchants create their first online store, they are often so fixated on uploading products and creating an aesthetically pleasing site that they forget to establish good policies. Although establishing policies doesn’t fall into the "fun" category, policies can protect the merchant and are a necessity. The following is a list of Policies that every merchant should have: Return Policy, Shipping Policy, Privacy Policy, and Security Policy. This article will discuss each policy in detail.

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YouTube Promoted Videos Get More Exposure

Nexternal Solutions, Inc. — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Google recently enhanced its YouTube Promoted Video capability. Merchants can now promote their own content in the related video section of an active YouTube page. At this time, most online retailers aren't taking advantage of YouTube Promoted Videos and may be missing out on a powerful marketing channel.

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To Chat or Not

Nexternal Solutions, Inc. — Wed, 8 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Like it or not, much of the communication in our society is quickly evolving into a series of short text messages. From SMS Text Messaging on Phones to Twitter posts that are 140 characters or less, people often want to relay a quick message without an involved conversation. Offering a Live Chat system on your web site is one way that customers can quickly communicate with your company or find out answers to questions without feeling like they are being sold. Surprisingly, many online merchants to this day still do not offer a live chat option on their site. This article will discuss some advantages of offering Live Chat as well as some best practices.

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A/B Testing with Google Website Optimizer

Nexternal Solutions, Inc. — Fri, 15 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Have you ever wondered how a design change to a webpage might affect conversion? If you are a serious online retailer, the answer is likely yes. Often times even small page modifications like simply changing the color of a button can have an immediate impact on your conversion rate. One of the greatest things about having a website is that almost everything can be measured scientifically. Although detailed measurement is possible, it’s not surprising that most people still take a fairly subjective approach to their websites. With the help of Google Website Optimizer, there really is no longer an excuse for “guessing” that certain changes will improve the key metrics of your site.

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Twitter It – Just a Little Bit

Nexternal Solutions, Inc. — Tue, 7 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Twitter has received a tremendous amount of press in the last few months. It’s no wonder as many high profile people are now tweeting, from the likes of Lance Armstrong to CEOs of major companies. What is Twitter? Twitter is a micro-blogging site that lets its users type 140 character updates. Twitter makes it very easy for other twitter users to connect with one another and read each other’s updates. As a retailer, should you be using Tweeting? If you believe in marketing and communicating with your customers, the answer is likely yes.

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A Killer Widget - AddThis

Nexternal Solutions, Inc. — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT

As an online retailer, you are continuously looking for new ways to drive more people to your online store. Aside from existing customers, the best type of customer is one that has heard about you from a friend. There is an excellent widget available by AddThis that makes it incredibly easy for your customers to share pages on your site with their friends. It also makes it easy to bookmark pages with such services as Google Bookmarks and Delicious. Amazingly, the widget provided by AddThis is free! Although it’s been largely adopted by the blogging community, retailers are now realizing that they can benefit from the same technology.

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Hollywood 101: Guide to Viral Video Creation

Nexternal Solutions, Inc. — Wed, 4 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT

All too often the words "video production" are associated with expertise only found in Hollywood, cumbersome equipment, large crews and, of course, immense sums of money. However, today’s technology allows everyone – from parents who want to make presentations of family home videos, to filmmakers shooting in conditions that only allow for small crews and rugged, portable equipment – to capture beautiful images and edit them into powerful visual media. The proliferation of video on the Internet, supported by websites such as Hulu, Vimeo, Daily Motion and the ever-popular YouTube, means that videos can reach wider client bases than ever before. Creating a great video for your company doesn’t always require hiring outside professionals or buying expensive equipment; with careful research, planning and budgeting, even the smallest businesses can update their website content without breaking the bank. This entry will give an outline for a common approach to video production, but keep in mind that every production – even those in Hollywood – takes on a life of their own. Allow for flexibility and, most of all, creativity and fun!

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Leveraging the Power of Video

Nexternal Solutions, Inc. — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Online video is growing at a staggering rate and it’s no wonder. After years of absorbing information through the television, the human mind eagerly accepts and processes video regardless of the means in which it is broadcast. Videos can be searched on sites like YouTube and made instantaneously available to the world at large. So, how can you as an online retailer leverage video to improve your online sales? If used properly it can be used to both improve merchandizing and also as a marketing channel.

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Finding Your Offline Location Online

Nexternal Solutions, Inc. — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Typically we focus The Nexternal Nexus on topics purely related to online retailers. Since many online retailers also sell in a brick and mortar store, we thought it appropriate to include a topic relating to merchants with a physical location.

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Google Base Prepares to Include Sales Tax and Shipping Rates

Nexternal Solutions, Inc. — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Google Base is a searchable online marketplace that consumers use to find and compare specific products. While this powerful tool is free and should be used by all who sell online, merchants need to be aware of changes that Google is instituting so that buyers are presented with a more complete picture of the true purchase cost. Although Google doesn't yet include sales tax and shipping costs in its results pages, it certainly looks as if they are going to include this information soon. Merchants need to modify their Google Base settings to prepare for this change.

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Tracking Campaign Success Using Google Analytics

Nexternal Solutions, Inc. — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Savvy marketers understand the importance of measuring success one campaign at a time. Someone may put together a great promotion, see a flood of orders and assume that they are a great marketer. The truth is that those orders are likely the sum of many different marketing channels. The single greatest thing about online marketing (as opposed to offline marketing) is that it is easy to measure results from every marketing effort. Google Analytics is a free analytics tool used by thousands of online retailers. However, many Google Analytics users don’t know that by simply appending some data to their marketing links, they can track visitors, transactions and revenue at the campaign level. This assumes, of course, that Google Analytics has been properly configured.

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Demystifying Online Merchant Accounts

Nexternal Solutions, Inc. — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT

If you have been selling online for quite some time, it might be time to take a closer look at your payment processing statement. If you can make sense of it, you are in the minority. Many processors issue complicated statements which can work to their advantage. After all, it’s hard to argue with something that you don’t fully understand. The purpose of this article is to help you make sense of your statement. When armed with knowledge, you’ll be better prepared to get the best rates.

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