Social media watch: Why Google+ is worth the effort

August 31, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Last November, we recommended taking a wait and see approach when it came to establishing a brand presence on the social networking site Google+, which at the time had just launched business profile capabilities. Now, almost 10 months later, statistics show that Google+ still lags behind other social networks when it comes to active users. Although , Google+ trails not only Facebook, but also upstart Pinterest, which launched in May of 2011 but which is already the third-largest U.S. social media site by some counts.

But Google+’s slow start doesn’t mean merchants can ignore it. In fact, there’s a significant reason for all merchants to at least consider launching on Google+: the potential impact on search visibility. Google+ is intrinsically linked to Google’s dominant search engine, giving merchants with a Google+ presence a leg up. Factors include:

“+1”s impact natural and paid results. Similar to the “like” button on Facebook, the “+1” icon is for endorsing content or products via Google+. Shoppers can “+1” items on a merchants’ Web site, or can “+1” links directly from search results or paid search listings. Google’s search engine factors in those “+1”s in several ways:

  • For Google+ users who search via the Google+ interface, the Google Plus My World algorithm displays related business pages and posts and endorsements from individuals in their circles.  For example, this search for “jeans” displays not only recent posts from individuals, but related business pages in the right-hand column.

Google+ search results example

  • Google+ users who search via the main Google engine receive both paid and natural search results that factor in “+1”s from people in their circles, with annotations showing who endorsed which content. In this example from Google, a resort has been endorsed by one of the searcher’s Google+ connections.

Google+ search results example

  • Google uses +1 endorsements as part of its general algorithm to determine relevance for all searchers, as stated on (“Does +1 affect my site’s performance in search?”).

Google+ Direct Connect makes pages easy to find. Any user of Google’s search engine can simply type a brand name preceded by a “+” to be linked to that brand’s page on Google+ instantly. By comparison, users searching for Facebook and Twitter pages for brands must hunt through search results for the correct listing.

Google+ search example

 

While the exact impact on natural and paid search has yet to be well-documented, the marketing firm eConsultancy found that brands with a strong social media presence, including a page on Google, saw 42% more traffic from organic search than those without, and British fashion merchant Asos saw a 100% increase in visibility in natural search results in the past 12 months, during which time the brand launched a Google+ presence.

Neither finding proves a causal relationship, of course — and merchants should study their own analytics and user data to determine how much weight +1 endorsements are likely to carry with their target audience. But for merchants looking to step up their social activity and reap search benefits to boot, Google+ merits serious consideration.

Are you on Google+? If so, how is it helping your brand?

Filed under Connected Commerce, Search Engine Marketing, Social Commerce Tagged with Google+

Webinar recap: getting the mobile picture

August 28, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Last week’s webinar on optimizing mobile commerce was jam packed with strategies and advice for meeting shoppers’ expectations for the upcoming holiday season and beyond. One of the biggest takeaways: the importance of thinking visually for the mobile medium.

As stated in the webinar preview post, most mobile shoppers prefer to view brands’ full-fledged Web sites on their devices, rather than streamlined, text-based versions designed for small screens. That desire speaks volumes about shoppers’ preference for accessing bountiful product imaging as well as browsing alluring merchandising offers.

But perhaps more importantly, visually rich mobile sites stand brands in good stead with potentially the most lucrative of mobile audiences: tablet shoppers. The webinar revealed that  – a fivefold increase. Moreover, tablet owners form a potentially lucrative market; more than one in three consumers earning more than $75,000 per year owns a tablet, according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project.

Most importantly, the larger screen size makes mobile purchasing a more appealing prospect, as shoppers can more easily navigate products and cart and checkout screens than on a smartphone. As a result, – 3.2% of all web sales, compared with 1.5% for smartphones. And conversion rates are more than twice as high on tablets than on smartphones. Merchants should cater to tablet users’ abilities to use gesture-based interactions, such as taps, swipes and zoom, to view rich visuals.

Statistics on smartphone and tablet commerce from Forrester Research

To incorporate more visuals into their mobile commerce offerings, merchants should not only offer multiple images on the product page; they should also use pictures to convey the brand story throughout the mobile site. Just a few ways to beef up the visuals:

Navigation.  Gone are the days when navigating a mobile site meant layers of text-driven menus. Use images or icons in the lineup of product categories to help shoppers scan and locate the relevant section, as Cabela’s does with the start page for browsing products by category.

Mobile example from Cabela's

Home and gateway page promotions. Devise a design that includes space for spotlighting products and offers with a primary large image. And maximize screen real estate with “swish merchandising” — swipeable scrolling features such as the “Best Sellers” promotion on HSN’s “Home Décor” gateway page, which elevates a group of bestselling products to prominence.

Mobile example from HSN

Index pages and search results. Give shoppers the option to view product listings in an image-rich format that puts pictures front and center and fits more items on each screenful. Athleta’s “images only” option eliminates price and product name from listings, allowing shoppers to scroll through items quickly and tap for more information when desired.

Mobile example from Athleta
Mobile example from Athleta

Download the webinar replay or the accompanying whitepaper for more strategies and statistics about mobile commerce. What tactics are you using to create a rich mobile experience?

Filed under Connected Commerce, Mobile Commerce Tagged with Business Optimization, Tablets

Webinar preview: optimizing mobile for the holidays and beyond

August 21, 2012 by 1 Comment

As we noted at the beginning of this year, mobile should be a top priority for merchants of every stripe. After all, the rise of mobile technology has revolutionized shopping; thanks to the ubiquity of mobile devices, shoppers now expect a seamless experience from site to store and in between, with mobile bridging touchpoints as well as functioning as its own stand-alone shopping destination. Mobile users will make $10 billion of purchases on their phones this year, according to industry researcher Forrester — 3% of all online spending — and that revenue figure is set to more than triple by 2016. And beyond those who actually make purchases on mobile devices, there are still more consumers whose shopping journey begins on a mobile device and ends with a purchase elsewhere. According to research from Google, , while 37% have gone on to make purchases via their computer Web browser and 32% finalize the sale in physical stores .

The numbers suggest catering to mobile shoppers is a must — but it’s also a steep challenge. Consumers prefer a rich shopping experience, even on their mobile devices; when asked by Forrester how they preferred to interact with brands on the go, – not a pared-down mobile version. Especially for small and medium-sized merchants, the prospect of meeting this expectation for a full-fledged shopping experience for mobile devices alongside the full eCommerce site is especially daunting.

Data about mobile shopping from Forrester Research

But now is the time for merchants to rise to the challenge — especially with the holiday season looming on the horizon, when shoppers will research intensively and cross channels freely to complete purchases. The good news is that merchants already have a roadmap for mobile optimization: they can apply proven best practice from their years of eCommerce success to the mobile environment to focus and prioritize their efforts.

This approach doesn’t mean that merchants can simply port over their eCommerce site to a smaller-screen format — but it does mean that tried and true principles of usability, credibility and cross-channel service still apply in the mobile world. By adapting these concepts to the mobile medium, merchants can create effective, relevant mobile offerings that connect with customers and win sales.Four guideposts to start with:

  • Know your audience to choose the right platforms and build the unique mobile features that will resonate best with your potential customers
  • Offer multiple pathways to purchase so shoppers can discover relevant products and content
  • Earn customer trust by addressing privacy and security concerns
  • Bridge touchpoints with features that link shoppers across the brand

Tune in to tomorrow’s webinar to explore each of these topics in-depth — and meantime, let us know: what best practices have you successfully implemented for mobile?

Filed under Connected Commerce, Mobile Commerce Tagged with Business Optimization

Target researchers to combat cart abandonment

August 15, 2012 by Leave a Comment

We all know that shipping costs are a huge contributor to cart abandonment.But many shoppers also abandon carts because they simply don’t intend to buy in the first place, according to recent data from online measurement firm ComScore.

As presented below in an infographic by local shopping services provider Milo, shipping costs take second place to research as the top reasons shoppers abandon carts, with 57% of consumers saying they place items in the cart even when they’re just just window shopping and 56% saying they use the cart to save items for later.

Research on abandoned shopping carts from ComScore in an infographic by Milo

Concerns about shipping expenses round out the top five reasons shoppers abandon carts, so clearly merchants should still fine-tune their shipping policies, spotlight delivery timelines and offer free shipping discounts during the upcoming holiday season. But the data suggests merchants should also cater to the research-oriented shopper who may not buy on an initial visit — but could be convinced to finalize the sale soon online or in a store. To do so, consider a two-pronged approach: assist research behaviors while at the same time highlighting incentives to buy immediately. Try these tactics:

Streamline the wish list. The fact that shoppers are using the cart, rather than the wish list, to save items for later suggests that wish list features are too much of a hassle to use. Merchants almost always require shoppers to register for an account before setting up a wish list — but technically, there’s no reason to do so; items could be saved to a wish list the same way items remain in the cart for a set amount of time between visits. Apparel merchant Abercrombie & Fitch allows shoppers to save items to a wish list with comments, to email the list to a friend and to share it socially — all without forced account creation.

Wish list example from Abercrombine & Fitch

Spotlight research-oriented cart features. If toying with wish list functionality isn’t feasible, then consider making explicit to shoppers the fact that their items will be saved in the cart using a “save for later” link. Similarly, consider offering a printer-friendly version of the cart contents so that shoppers can take the list with them to physical store locations. Manufacturer Dell allows shoppers who have stepped through the process of customizing a computer’s components to save the information, explicitly stating that unsaved carts will expire in 30 minutes, as well as to print the cart or email it for future reference.

Shopping cart example from Dell

Highlight urgency. If an item in the shopper’s cart is sought-after and going fast, flag it to give them incentive to buy now. Similarly, if items need to be ordered soon for delivery in time for a key date or because they require special handling, spotlight the message in the cart so shoppers are aware of the contingencies and can act immediately.

Incorporate free shipping messaging. Free shipping is the top incentive merchants can offer to spur purchase completion, so let shoppers know what it would take for them to get it. Use a banner at the top of the cart content to message current shipping promotions or, if your technology allows it, display exactly how much more shoppers need to add to their carts to qualify for the discount. Backcountry.com displays a free shipping offer, how much more the shopper needs to add to the cart to qualify — and even spotlights recently viewed items to spur an extra cart addition.

Cart example from Backcountry.com



What cart tactics have worked for you to spur purchasing — whether on the spot or on subsequent visits?

Filed under Acquire, Convert & Retain Tagged with Cart abandonment

A tool for turning “showrooming” to your advantage

August 8, 2012 by Leave a Comment

QR codes are just about everywhere these days. According to the Multichannel Merchant Outlook 2012-2013: eCommerce survey and report, t compared with last year. Fully 47% of merchants are using QR codes now, compared with just 8% a year ago — a more than four-fold increase.

The survey revealed that the majority of participants used QR codes in direct postal mail pieces, perhaps as a means of qualifying for summer price breaks on offer from the U.S. Postal Service for mailers that include QR codes. Printed catalogs were the top means for sharing QR codes, used by 63.2% of those survey respondents using QR codes.

Data on QR code usage from MultiChannel Merchant

But although it may not buy them a price break at the postage meter, another use for QR codes is just as vital, not to mention potentially profitable. For merchants with physical store locations, QR codes can help combat “showrooming,” — the practice of using bricks-and-mortar outlets to see, touch and try products before using mobile devices to seek the lowest price online, often from a different brand.

While “showrooming” behavior is believed to hurt bricks-and-mortar merchants, the ability to access online information that complements the in-store experience can be a boon to shoppers, and has the potential to help drive in-store sales. In fact, new data from Deloitte suggests that consumers’ in-store mobile activities are contributing to, not taking away from, in-store sales: smartphone shoppers are 14% more likely to convert and make a purchase in the store than non-smartphone users, according to the study.

QR codes are a powerful way way merchants can swing in-store research behavior in their favor. Because they lead to a specific piece of content, QR codes can help merchants direct shoppers well beyond basic product research to in-depth information that supports the purchase decision.

As we pointed out early this year, it’s crucial to consider QR codes as part of a larger mobile strategy; if you don’t have the basics of mobile commerce in place, it’s probably better to tackle them first before leaping to offer QR codes throughout stores. But if your mobile house is in order, QR codes could be a worthwhile addition to the arsenal, especially with the holiday season coming up. Consider using QR codes to:

Spotlight expert advice and how-tos. Content that demonstrates how items on store shelves can be put to use helps motivate purchasing. The Gap used a QR code to link in-store shoppers to styling advice for a new line of trousers, along with customer reviews.

QR code example from Gap

Link to buying guides and product comparisons. Help shoppers faced with an array of products sort through the options by using a QR code to link to detailed comparisons and recommendations. For the coming holiday season, adapt gift guides to the mobile format and make them available to store shoppers via QR code.

Offer exclusive in-store deals. As an incentive to purchase immediately in stores, consider offering discounts via QR code. To keep the discount offer from breaking your budget, limit it to selected products or set the coupon code to expire within a short time frame — such as within the hour.

Create affinity with the brand and other customers. QR codes can connect in-store shoppers with the community of brand followers, thereby demonstrating how the products on offer fit with shoppers’ lifestyles. Outdoor retaler REI invites in-store shoppers to see how other members of its loyalty club are spending their annual dividend through a QR code displayed in-store — thereby showcasing the brand’s community as well as its selection of products.

QR code example from REI
Are you planning QR campaigns for the coming holiday season? How are you using QR codes in-store to help drive purchases?

Filed under Connected Commerce, Mobile Commerce Tagged with QR codes

Webinar recap: The language of search

August 2, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Last week’s webinar took a deep dive into the topic of on-site search — the crucial feature that drives one third of eCommerce revenue, according to the MarketLive Performance Index. As discussed in our prior post, most merchants recognize the need for improvement with on-site search to boost relevance and generate even more sales using this potentially versatile tool.

While the webinar covered a range of topics, from determining whether faceted search is right for you to best practices for mobile search, there was an overarching theme — the importance of context and language. The on-site search tool shouldn’t merely generate a page of product listings as a results set; rather, on-site search should orient users to how the results set was generated, guide them to options for narrowing or expanding the range of products they view, and even suggest non-product content as an alternative. In particular, on-site search should:

Prominently place spelling corrections. Users now expect search mechanisms to assist them with alternatives for commonly-misspelled terms, and account for errors from shoppers using tablets and smartphones that rely on tapping rather than typing – such as hitting letters adjacent to the intended target. Spell out the alternatives clearly in prominent type, as Helzberg Jewelers does with its spelling correction feature. Shoppers can click any of the alternate terms or browse top probable matches.

On-site search example from Helzberg

If an automatic redirect is used, explain it. Whenever the on-site search tool overrides the usual functionality, shoppers should be alerted to that fact with a prominent flag. For example, if shoppers enter a term that returns just one match, then many search tools are set to link directly to that product rather than displaying a nearly empty results page — but a special flag should appear so shoppers know why they landed there. Similarly, if a term exactly matches a product category, it’s fine to link directly to that category — but give shoppers the option to see items in a search results set instead, as Sears does with its food processor page. The message highlighted in yellow lets shoppers know they’ve been redirected, with the option to view result without the redirect.

On-site search example from Sears

Maximize the communicative value of facets. We’ve all been on sites whose faceted search tools complicate, rather than simplify, the product discovery process. To avoid overwhelming shoppers, it’s crucial to fine-tune faceted search so the tool communicates effectively and efficiently. Merchants should:

  • Use data to create a usable set of facets. Study existing internal search logs to determine which product attributes shoppers already search for, and what keyword terms they use – don’t assume insider industry terms are commonly used by consumers.
  • Display the number of product matches for each attribute, so shoppers don’t have to select each to see how many results are available.  This addition is especially important in the mobile environment, where shoppers receiving a large results set will invariably rely on facets to zero in quickly on the right products. Outdoor retailer REI’s mobile search returns the same full results set as on the eCommerce site — but gives shoppers drop-down options along with the number of matches for each for a quick shortcut to a more manageable list of products.

mobile on-site search example from REI

Highlight the availability of non-product content. Customer service content such as shipping information, buying guides and lifestyle content should all be searchable — and the on-site search results page should offer clearly-labeled links to that content alongside the products that match a shopper’s keyword terms. Online jeweler Blue Nile uses the heading “Education and Guidance Results” to set off its rich content from the results set — easing access for shoppers who need more information before selecting products.

on-site search example from Blue Nile

Download the Webinar replay and whitepaper for more on-site search strategies. Meantime, how have you tweaked your on-site search presentation and functionality to better orient shoppers?

Filed under Acquire, Convert & Retain, Client Innovations, Mobile Commerce Tagged with Business Optimization, On-site search

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