Best Ecommerce Articles from Around the Web - November Edition

Well, it's official - Amazon is predicting that online Christmas sales will peak at 6pm on 2nd December. Now that has been sorted out, here is a round up of some of the most useful articles and blog posts we've read this month.

So if you need a bit of inspiration to bump up your Christmas site conversion, or improve your content, look no further:

1.             7 Ecommerce Optimization Tips to Help You Achieve Record Breaking Holiday Sales - A good checklist for making the most of Christmas sales. Read here.

2.             What content marketers can learn from the 'Jerusalem' cookbook - An interesting article reiterating the importance of interesting content that looks great; tell a story, add quality images. Read here.

3.             Search: Not Provided: What Remains, Keyword Data Options, the Future - Everything you need to know about (not provided) keywords in Analytics and how to cope. Read here

4.             Future of retail is in ‘bricks and clicks’, says John Lewis - A good mobile site is the link between online and in-store purchase. More stats from John Lewis here.

5.             The 7 High-Converting Places to Add Email Sign-Up Forms to Build Your List - A comprehensive look at where to put your email sign-up forms. Read here.

If you need help with any of the above areas - site optimisation, content creation, Analytics, SEO or email marketing - take a look at our site to see what we do, or drop us an email.

Regards

The MoneySpyder team

Google Analytics Summit – the Key Announcements & What They Mean for You

The Google Analytics Partner Summit happened earlier this month. It’s an opportunity for Google Analytics Partners (like MoneySpyder) to meet together next door to the Google campus in Mountain View and get the inside scoop on developments for Google Analytics.

Here are the top three announcements that we think are going to make it easier for every business gain insight and add revenue in the coming months.

1. Migrating to Universal Analytics – Universal Analytics was last year’s big announcement but until now there hasn’t been a way to migrate all your data into the new version. Previously if you wanted to take advantage of Universal Analytics you had to do it without all your existing data.
2. Demographic Segmentation – Previously the demographic section of Google Analytics was limited to location and language. Now it is possible to segment your data by age, gender, and even interests. These insights comes from the data Google uses to target ads on the Google Display Network. You can see what Google thinks about you on your settings page. It's not always totally accurate, however, as we're not into 'Metals and Mining' or 'Maritime Transport' half as much as Google thinks we are.
3. Analytics Academy – Not only are there more how-to videos and tips in Analytics itself, Google have launched the Analytics Academy. The course lasts three weeks and is self taught via online videos and is a must for all newcomers to Analytics.

To get access to the additional features of Universal Analytics and demographic data you will have to make some changes to your tracking code. A simple way to update your code would be to install Google Tag Manager. Tag Manager allows you to make changes to your tracking codes without re-deploying your code or bothering your developers. Get in touch if you want more information on setting this up or any other Analytics quandaries. 

New Site Launched - Bodie and Fou

MoneySpyder are excited to announce the launch of www.bodieandfou.com on our ecommerce platform. Bodie and Fou are an award winning, designer home and fashion concept store.



The site comes with all the functionality needed to grow a multi-channel business. One key change that is already paying dividends is the addition of a best practice checkout. Since the site went live last month they've seen a 50% increase in conversion rate.

The back-end includes call centre software and automatically prints picking lists and postage labels to increase the speed of the warehouse operation.

Bodie and Fou integrates with Metapack to improve back-end operations. You can read our supplier review here.

Best Ecommerce Articles from Around the Web - July Edition

Just in case you were looking for some light weekend reading we thought we would share some of the most useful articles and blog posts we've read this month.

So if you need a bit of inspiration to bump up your site conversion, or to help you think smarter thoughts about your marketing strategy, look no further:

1. Ecommerce Customer Service Lessons From America - Great tips from the land of customer service. Read here.
2. 12 Useful Tips for Webform Optimisation - No list like this would be complete without something about making your checkout better. Read here.
3. See, Think, Do - A Content, Marketing, Measurement Business Framework  - Simplify how you think about your business by reading this complicated article. Read here.
4. 25 Mindblowing Email Marketing Stats - Use these numbers to improve your email campaigns. Read here.
5. Top 10 Retargeting Tips Guide - A simple checklist to make sure your retargeting is on the right track. Read here.

If you need help with any of the above areas - best practice design, online marketing strategy, retargeting or email marketing - take a look at our site to see what we do, or drop us an email.

Ecommerce Site Launch: Flamingo Gifts

MoneySpyder are pleased to announce the launch of the newest addition to our client list.

We have been helping Flamingo Gifts with their online marketing since March. Moving over to our platform means they can take full advantage of our online marketing capabilities as well as the improved warehouse and fulfilment functionality.

Design changes have been minimal so far - with the exception of a much slicker checkout and the removal of some conversion blockers - but we're planning to start adding new front-end features and designs in the coming months. We're confident that conversion rates and traffic volumes are going to improve greatly in the run up to Christmas.

Take a look at our site if you're looking for a more heavyweight ecommerce solution to capitalise on the Christmas peak, and beyond.

MoneySpyder Celebrates Seven Years!

The 1st July marked MoneySpyder's seventh birthday. It's been a great year for us.
Recent highlights have been speaking at Sheerluxe (see our summary slides here). Last month we launched our newest site Sentwithalovingkiss.co.uk and we've got more on the way this summer. We have also welcomed Chris Reeve, a new addition to our development team.

To find out more about working with us email info@moneyspyder.co.uk or give us a call on 0207 492 1929.

Is it too early to mention Christmas ecommerce?

Every year Christmas ecommerce advice gets published earlier and earlier. This year, to get ahead of the curve, we're starting now.

Christmas may seem like months away - and it is - but if you want to be ready for the Christmas peak now is the time to start work.

Here are our top long term projects to start working on now if you want to have a very merry Christmas:

1. Conversion Rate Optimisation

Don't wait until summer is over to start thinking about responsive mobile templates, abandoned basket auto-emails and conversion rate optimisation. Our ecommerce mentoring  programme aims to help businesses make meaningful and long-lasting improvements over a period of 3-6 months.

2. Ecommerce Platform Upgrades

A new website, or new functionality takes time to perfect. You don't want your site build to run over schedule and be testing new features halfway through November. If you think your current platform isn't the right one to take you through next Christmas take a look at our Ecommerce Platform brochure.

3. Christmas SEO

What keywords are you targeting this year? Now might be a good time to set up some category pages for wrapping paper or Christmas decorations. You don't necessarily have to link to them in your main navigation but it would be prudent to get them live and indexed by Google.

If you want to know more take a look at our ecommerce consulting pages or our ecommerce platform offering.

Best Ecommerce Articles from Around the Web - June Edition

Just in case you were looking for some light weekend reading we thought we would send you a round up of some of the most useful articles and blog posts we've read this week.

So if you need a bit of inspiration for your PR campaigns or need to brush up on your Analytics look no further:

1. How to Rank: 25 Step SEO Master Blueprint - A great practical guide to SEO. Read here.
2. How to Create A KPI Dashboard - An interesting case study which demonstrates the importance of tracking the right metrics. Read here.
3. Startup PR Tip: To Get Press, Don't Pitch Your Product - Are you a PR guru? If not, these tips will help you write better press releases. Read here.
4. 12 usability flaws that are spoiling the mobile web - Mobiles again. Have you got your responsive mobile site working yet? Get in touch with us, if not. Read this article here.
5. Obsess About Real Business Profitability - Avinash tells us why we're being stupid. Again. Read here.

If you need help with any of the above areas - Analytics, mobile sites, SEO, PR - take a look at our site to see what we do, or drop us an email.

Supplier Focus: Metapack - Better Fulfilment for Ecommerce Websites

Our ecommerce platform with a number of great suppliers. Metapack automatically selects which courier to use for different packages from a list of couriers that you select. It looks at the weight and size of the item being sent as well as where it's going and picks the best courier to send it.


This is great for getting the best deal and saving money on delivery but it is also great for a number of other reasons: our clients have seen a reduction in customer service calls, increased dispatch rates, and reduction of staff needed for their warehouse due to increased packing speed.

You could benefit from an improved warehouse operation in the following ways:

• Reduce incoming call centre calls - More satisfied customers means fewer calls.
• Increase dispatch rate and reduce overheads.
• Exponentially increase the number of orders processed per day.
• Reduce number of staff needed to pack.

See our Partners page for a full list of companies we recommend.

Get in touch for more information about how we can help you grow your ecommerce business.