Category: E-Commerce

How Much Should I Spend on My Business’ Online Presence?

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The easy answer to this question is: “As much as necessary and as little as possible.” But, of course that’s the easy answer and in business, there are no easy answers. Some experts suggest that you allocate 15 to 20 percent of your company’s annual income for the best results, but that answer is also a little too facile.

You know that you’re going to spend something for your business’ online presence and you know that it’s probably going to more affordable than print ads, radio or TV commercials, or sending out actual mail. But what you really need to do before you spend a dime, is decide what you want to achieve, where you will find most of your customers, and what aspects of online advertising and communication will give you the biggest bang for the buck by generating leads and sales and directing people towards your company.

Generally, you will have several main choices for your online spending: a website, which requires building it, hosting it and maintaining it; search marketing, such as Search Engine Optimization (SEO), digital ads such as Google AdWords, pay per click (PPC) campaigns, etc.; a social media presence, such as Facebook, Twitter, and all the other various platforms; review site advertising such as Yelp and Foursquare; and email communication.

The most important of these is probably your website. There you have some choices. You can build it yourself using any number of off-the-shelf templates, such as WordPress, or you can pay to have one constructed for you. Your other basic costs will include a web domain, web hosting, a web developer (if your platform needs specific functionalities that are not available as plugins or extensions), and perhaps a social media manager (if you don’t have the time or the knowledge of how to manage the different channels). And remember: as the world becomes increasingly mobile-centered, it’s best to have a website that will display properly on smart phones and tablets.

Paying for SEO is another essential cost for many businesses. There are several models in play. You can pay a monthly retainer, which is a set fee each month in exchange for an agreed-upon array of services; or you can contract for services at fixed prices. Two other options are project-based pricing and hourly consulting.

Of course, you need to be on Facebook. It costs nothing, unless you wish to pay for boosting your content. The main expense is in labor. Facebook pages need to be updated constantly. In many companies, it’s a full-time job.

Sites like Yelp and Foursquare that offer customer reviews are also helpful tools for directing customers to your business through their advertising options. Most (non-PPC) advertising is priced on a CPM basis – essentially the cost per thousand impressions. You will have to do a lot of number-crunching to determine if this option will net you a decent return on your investment.

Finally, email marketing can be the centerpiece of any effort to stay in touch with existing customers, while reaching out and finding new ones. You can use it to promote new items and offer special discounts to loyal customers or to simply keep your customers informed. Blast email programs are relatively inexpensive, but you will need to pay a staff member to keep on top of everything.

Now, once you’ve done a lot of thinking, planning, and budgeting, you can re-ask yourself the question at the top of this post: “How Much Should I Spend on My Business’ Online Presence?” With all of your newly acquired knowledge, however, you will still likely wind up with the same answer: “As much as necessary and as little as possible.” Like we said, in business, there are no easy answers.

How Important are Mobile-Friendly Websites?

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Here’s the quick answer: VERY. By 2017, it is estimated that there will be 150 million mobile websites – that’s 149 million more than there were in 2007. With 4 billion mobile phones being used, world-wide, it won’t be long before many people’s first internet experience will be through a mobile device. If your business doesn’t maintain a mobile-friendly website, you are missing the opportunity to attract customers over their mobile phones.

Google has already recognized this shift when it recently rolled out of a major algorithm update that is designed to allow mobile-friendly websites to appear higher in mobile searches, while non-mobile sites will experience lower rankings. So if you want your site to rank high in Google, it is now imperative that it is optimized for mobile.

However, SEO ranking is not the only reason to have a mobile-friendly site. The fact is, that sometime in 2014, mobile usage overtook desktop usage for the first time, ever. If your business’ site is not mobile-friendly, you’re running the risk of losing over 50 percent of your visitors. So if you want to keep the traffic flowing, it pays to make the move to mobile.

Here’s another reason. Optimizing a website for mobile has been proven to boost engagement by almost twice the average traffic per user. Since the vast majority of people tend to move between devices when completing a task, offering them an engaging mobile experience increases the likelihood that they will re-visit your website on a desktop.

Also, research indicates that consumers are more likely to do business with an online retailer if it has a mobile-optimized site. And finally, many smart phone users employ GPS when they’re on the go. A mobile-friendly site that allows consumers to find nearby services and businesses while still in their cars can increase walk-in traffic substantially. Not only that, the use of bar codes on a mobile-friendly site can be used for instant discounts by those same walk-in customers.

To sum up: SEO, traffic, engagement, and sales are four good reasons why your website should be optimized for mobile as soon as possible. And remember, your competition is already making the move. If you don’t want to be left behind in this next technology wave, you need to make the transition, now.

Does My Company Need a Mobile App?

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There is only one way to answer the question: Does my company need a mobile app? And that is: It depends. It depends on a lot of things going on in your company and the type of business you’re in, so in order to answer the big question, you’re going to need to ask yourself a lot of lesser questions and keep probing until you have enough answers to get past the doubt.

Let’s start with some basic questions: Do you think that your business will benefit from having an app? Will the benefits outweigh the costs? What are your competitors doing and how will that impact your decision? These are not easy things to figure out, but perhaps using an analogy will help. Not too long ago, businesses didn’t have websites. If someone wanted to find your business they had the Yellow Pages and, if you could afford it, paid advertising in various media.

Today, you’d have a hard time finding a business that didn’t have a website. They’re just too valuable a tool for connecting with customers. Your business has a website and your competition does, too. Well, mobile activity is proceeding at a pace similar to the desktop/laptop activity of only a few years ago, and it may overtake it in the very near future. If you believe that most of your consumers will be on their smart phones most of the time, then you may well want to engage with them in that manner. And if your competition is already there, then you definitely need to consider having your own app, as well.

Today, the sectors that are most aggressively producing apps are restaurant and retail. Restaurant apps make it easy for users to find locations, review menus, place orders, and make reservations. Retail apps are very convenient when looking for a specific product or comparing prices. They are also used to find offer codes and coupons. And, of course, some companies, such as Uber, are totally dependent on their app. All these apps have specific purposes. So another crucial question you need to have a good answer to is: “What will your app do?” If you can’t readily explain your app’s purpose, you need to go back to square one.

Here’s another good question: “Is your current website ‘responsive,’ meaning does its layout adjust according to what device is being used to access it?” In the very recent past, most website interfaces were designed to work with a keyboard and a mouse on a large screen only; they didn’t work well on mobile platforms. But a responsive site can be accessed on a desktop or a smart phone and the interface will be optimized for each different device. If your business already has a website that’s mobile-friendly, an app might be superfluous; especially when you consider that apps have to be written and maintained for different platforms (iPhone, Android, Windows Phone, etc.), but responsive websites are all-inclusive.

Finally, here are a few more questions that you should consider that relate directly to the consumers you would be trying to engage with your mobile app: 1) “Will your app make life easier for them?” 2) “Will your app make life less expensive for them?” 3) “Will your app make life more fun for them?” Remember, there are already thousands and thousands of apps out there. The world is not screaming for another one – unless of course, it can answer all of the above questions, positively. Then there’s always enough room for one more good one.

This list of questions is by no means exhaustive. But they are the kind of business questions you need to start asking yourself before going to the expense of creating and maintaining an app that might not amount to much more than an icon on page five on someone’s smart phone. If, when all is said and done, you can undeniably ascertain that an app will benefit your company because you believe it will make more than it costs in the long run, and that if you don’t have one you will lose ground to your competition, than you can pretty much conclude that you need it. But ask the questions, first.

The New SEO Rules of Google

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SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the process of making a website rank as high as possible on a search engine, such as Google, Yahoo, or Bing. SEO is considered to be one of the most important elements of any digital marketing strategy because most contemporary consumers use a search engine in order to find goods and services over the web, and the higher a website ranks, i.e., the closer it is to the top of the first page that a person sees, the greater its chances are of attracting traffic.

And Google, in particular, has been the 800 pound gorilla in the room that has set the rules that companies must follow, in order for their websites to rank as high as they can.

But over the years, Google’s rules keep changing, so business owners need to keep abreast of the constantly shifting SEO landscape in order to know how to drive as much traffic as possible from search engines. This year, new rules give businesses an opportunity to fine-tune and re-evaluate their SEO efforts, or risk losing organic traffic, or even having their websites removed from search engine results, altogether, for not abiding by Google’s new guidelines.

Google’s biggest adjustment this year is its announcement that it will rank a site differently if it isn’t “mobile-friendly.” The rate of use of mobile devices has grown tremendously over the past few years. More and more people are now browsing websites on mobile devices, which means they need to have an experience that can be loaded clearly on them. This means that a business must either create a whole new mobile site with a separate domain for mobile users; or utilize “dynamic serving,” which is a technique that detects what device a site visitor is using and then redirects them at the server level; or employ “responsive design,” which determines the resolution of the screen on which a page is being viewed using media queries, then adjusts the size and layout of the page appropriately.

Long-form content will continue to matter strongly in 2015. The length of a post really does help when it comes to how well a website ranks. Most important, however, is that content be helpful, educational and/or entertaining, and provide verifiable value to users.

This year, content will need to be shared as much as possible on social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter, in order to increase the odds of getting natural links due to more exposure. A balanced, back-link profile will still be essential, as well; relevant, fresh, and authoritative links always help move a business up in search engine rankings. Also, according to Google, site speed will play a larger role, this year, in mobile and desktop rankings.

It’s not always easy to keep up with the changes in SEO best practices, but if a business wants to strengthen its brand in 2015, it would be wise to understand and adhere to Google’s newest rules.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zati-En69TY

Is e-commerce Right for my Business?

seo-618434__180According to the U.S. Census Bureau, retail e-commerce sales for 2014 were estimated at $304.9 billion, an increase of 15.4 percent over the previous year. They accounted for 6.5 percent of all total retail sales, up from 5.8 percent in 2013.

By anyone’s reckoning, that’s a lot of money, so it’s not unusual that many businesses are wondering whether e-commerce is the right way for them to go in order to increase their sales and beat the competition, especially since e-commerce – the sale of products and services over the internet – is the fastest growing segment of the American economy.

The beauty of e-commerce is that it allows even the smallest business to reach a national, or even a global, audience with its product or service at a minimal cost. Your customers can have access to information about your company 24/7, 365 days a year, and can buy from you at any time, day or night.

But before you consider whether or not you are primed and ready to become the next Amazon.com, you need to consider what it takes to become an e-commerce retailer.

First, you need to decide if you have the right type of product for e-commerce. The truth is that not everything can be readily sold over the internet, and many of the products that can and do, already are being offered by huge companies that essentially have cornered the market, making it difficult for a newcomer to gain any traction.

Second, if you do decide that your product is a good candidate for online selling, and that there is a potentially lucrative market out there for it, are you ready to make the effort into finding your customers? Because in order to do that, you’re going to have to create a winning website that can convince buyers that you are the go-to company for what they want or need.

Your online store will also need to be hosted and supported, either by yourself or by one of the growing number of e-commerce platforms, such as Shopify or Volusion. You also need to make sure that you continue to keep your website current with fresh content – your site ranking depends on it.

Then, you’re going to have to create a marketing strategy that maximizes your ability to reach your customers in the most cost-efficient way possible. That can include any or all of the following: SEO (Search Engine Optimization), PPC (Pay Per Click), social media, email, or video marketing.

You’re also going to have to figure out all of your logistics and fulfillment costs to see if they are less than your expected profits. Remember, shipping your product is not going to be free.

E-commerce can be an excellent choice for your business but you’ve got to take the time to learn how to do it properly. And that includes understanding not only its advantages but all of its potential pitfalls. So before you decide to launch into the world of online commerce, it makes sense to talk to an expert in the field. There are no shortcuts to success, but there are many roads that can take you there.

The Importance of Online Marketing in Today’s World

In order for a business to survive, it must have customers. In order to have customers it must sell a product or service that people want or need. Then it must find ways to reach out to those potential customers in order to convince them that their wants and needs can be satisfied by that particular business. In a competitive marketplace, where every business is reaching out to a finite universe of consumers, getting enough customers “in the door” not only requires excellence in the product or service being offered, but most certainly in the ways in which the business promotes itself and markets it product or service to the public.

In the advertising world, there are two broad categories of marketing, sometimes known as the shotgun approach and the rifle approach. The shotgun approach just puts the word out there to be seen or not be seen by a broad swath of potential buyers. Examples are billboards, newspapers, radio and TV. In contrast, the rifle approach concentrates a business’ marketing efforts on a more narrowly defined audience. Direct mail marketing and ads in niche publications are two examples.

In today’s advertising environment, online marketing – marketing that uses websites, emails, and social media platforms to communicate – manages to marry the best of both strategies. With a robust and compelling website, a business can literally advertise itself to the entire planet at minimal cost. Anyone searching for a product or service can see anyone else’s electronic billboard at any time of the day or night through the medium of the World Wide Web.

But online marketing also lends itself to a laser-like personalization of customer relationships. Businesses can track its website use in order to cultivate those who have visited it, and then use sophisticated email campaigns, as well as all the various social media platforms – Facebook, Twitter, etc. – to reach out to specific individuals who are most likely to become, and stay, customers.

In today’s world, having an online presence and utilizing the internet to its fullest capacity, is crucial if a business is going to be able to reach people where they are and how they now shop. Businesses cannot survive without customers, and for the foreseeable future, those customers will be knocking on their doors via a home computer, a laptop, a tablet, and/or a mobile phone.

Bit by Bitcoin, Cryptocurrencies Gain Ground

bitcoin2Bitcoin is gaining popularity very quickly in the online world. A number of large businesses have begun accepting it for online transactions, including Virgin Galactic, Lord & Taylor, Overstock, Newegg and Tiger Direct. Now Dish Network is getting into the Bitcoin game. Even companies like Amazon, PayPal, Ebay, and Apple are making moves that lead those in the know to think they are leaning towards adoption of the currency as well.

With all this positive publicity, Bitcoin proponents seem to be beating back the waves of negative press from early this year, including the collapse of Bitcoin giant Mt. Gox and the arrest of pioneer Charlie Shrem for money laundering. Issues remain, however, and it seems clear that many cheerleaders of Bitcoin, along with businesses considering early adoption, do not often truly understand what Bitcoin is and how it works, leaving the chance for users to be badly burned.

In this blog, we are going to explain in simple terms what Bitcoin is (and what it isn’t), how it works, cover a few of the issues inherent to the system, and hopefully leave you, the e-commerce business operator, with enough information to make an informed choice regarding accepting Bitcoin as part of your business strategy.

What Is Bitcoin and What Are Its Issues?

Bitcoin, simply put, is a “cryptocurrency.” While there are others (such as Dogecoin, Litecoin, and Peercoin), Bitcoin seems to have become the most common of these seemingly innumerable digital currencies on offer. Bitcoin is “mined” by computers. In simple terms, this means that users task their computers (at this point, usually specially-made, extremely powerful devices) to solving increasingly complex math problems, and are rewarded for doing so with currency.

Purchased or mined Bitcoin is stored in online “wallets”, encrypted accounts that record transactions in much the same way as a bank account. Coins are traded through public sites like Coinbase and Bitpay. Proponents of the technology claim that these encrypted wallets are anonymous, and hence so are transactions, making Bitcoin a favorite for shady deals around the worldwide. Unfortunately for those wishing anonymity, a growing amount of evidence is surfacing indicating Bitcoin is not quite as anonymous as many users think. For instance, if a wallet can be linked to a person, every transaction that person makes through the wallet can be tracked, since transactions are public.

It is also important to note that Bitcoin is basically unregulated, meaning that users have essentially no recourse if their wallets are hacked and the money stolen, transactions go badly, or computer crashes cause the loss of money (a very real possibility.) This also means your Bitcoin wallet cannot be insured in any way. In a very real way, it is the digital equivalent of having gold bars hidden in a hole in your backyard.

Bitcoin is also not a “real” currency. This means it is not backed by any bank or country,and hence, its price is subject to constant swings in value of extreme volatility. While some view this volatility as an opportunity for arbitrage in much the same way as day trading, price volatility makes pricing difficult for ecommerce businesses, and storing Bitcoin collected through sales can subject businesses to wild swings in the value of their Bitcoin portfolio. The nature of Bitcoin also makes it susceptible to price manipulation by individuals or cartels that control large amounts of it, and should any group control 51 percent of it (an event that is coming alarming close to reality), they gain almost unlimited power over price, as well as strange repercussions like the ability to spend the same coins over and over. Additionally, despite the fact that Bitcoin is not an official currency of the United States or any other country, the IRS has ruled that Bitcoin earnings are taxable and must be declared on tax forms, so if you’re looking to hide or shield your earnings from the government, you are doing so at considerable risk. We suggest consulting a tax professional in this regard.

Bitcoin volatility, Jan- July 2014.
Bitcoin volatility, Jan- July 2014.

Should All This Scare Me Off Bitcoin?

Maybe, maybe not. Bitcoin does have some powerful advantages, or else it wouldn’t be so popular. For one thing, it is almost an instant transaction (at most, within 10 minutes.) When a user hits “buy”, the money is moved almost instantly. Online payments such as e-checks can take days to go through, and even sites like Paypal often charge fairly steep fees for their use. Almost all businesses also know the drain that is merchant fees, and the haunting nightmare of chargebacks. Bitcoin, in addition to being instant, is free to use. This could save your business thousands of dollars.

Bitcoin also helps avoid the hassle of doing business overseas, dealing with foreign exchange and the reticence of sites like Paypal to allow users in many countries to use their services. These people also often have trouble with using banks or other financial institutions for online business. Bitcoin is a potential way around these issues. Another advantage of being an early adopter of Bitcoin is how popular it is: many users are using it as their primary way to pay for online transactions. In the world of e-commerce, the physical location of your business is nearly irrelevant, so being the first or one of the first in your particular niche to accept Bitcoin can set your business apart from others, attracting customers that may simply refuse to do business any other way and thus direct all their business to those companies that accommodate them. (It’s like taking Discover Card, if Discover Card was actually popular.)

While there will always be some risk, many of the issues around Bitcoin can be dealt with appropriately. For instance, while volatility cannot be controlled, regularly converting Bitcoins back to dollars or another currency of your choice can sidestep some of the risk. Additionally, Bitcoin earnings can be reported to the government in a legitimate way, avoiding tax issues. Again, consult a professional. Good online security can help prevent hacks and thefts of Bitcoins, in much the same way good physical security thwarts robberies of brick-and-mortar stores.

I’m Sold! How Do I Start Accepting Bitcoin?

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If accepting Bitcoin seems to be right for your business and you need help integrating it into your e-commerce site, or if you would like a custom e-commerce site built for your business and taking Bitcoin is a requirement, here at The Click Experts we can help. We have the skills and knowledge it takes to integrate Bitcoin (and other online payment methods such as PayPal and Amazon Payments) into your site, increasing the payment options available to potential customers and attracting more business. What’s more, we do these things the right way, not the easy way, minimizing risk to your business and your finances. We offer free quotes, so contact us today to see what we can do for your business.

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