Thursday 17 August 2017

Thursday 13 July 2017

The Best Ecommerce Articles from July

In case you need something to read on holiday, here are some great articles about what's happening in the world of ecommerce:
  • It can be hard to communicate with designers so that you get exactly what you want. This great article outlines how to write an effective design brief. From Quba, here.
  • From Ecommerce Masterplan, this great podcast interview gives great insight into growing a multimillion pound business. See here.
  • How are you innovating with your delivery options to compete with the biggest stores? Tesco is introducing one hour delivery. From Business Insider, here.
  • From Bloomberg Technology, Amazon is joining companies like Stitch Fix and Trunk Club and entering the subscription box market. An interesting view here of how the biggest retailer of them all is getting serious about clothing - here
  • The real trick to boosting conversion rates is to get your proposition right. This interesting article offers some thoughts on how to position your brand to drive more sales. From Econsultancy, here.

Wednesday 31 May 2017

Top Ecommerce Articles from May

With a Bank Holiday Weekend approaching we thought you might like a bit of light reading for when you get bored of ice creams, sunshine and BBQs.

Here's a selection of some of the best ecommerce articles and blogs from around the web.
  1. Google is changing their enhanced bid functionality, which may mean your cost per clicks could go up dramatically. Get the low down here: Enhanced CPC - The Latest Changes
  2. Great insights into the need for - and the how-to of - international SEO - International SEO 5 Ways to Scale Performance
  3. Can placing online orders ever be too easy? This article argues in favour of 'positive friction' - Why Increasingly Efficient UX Might Not Always Be A Good Thing
  4. Google Optimize - Google's simple new split test tool - is now available for everyone. Here's a fairly dense but useful article explaining how to decide what to test and how to test: Conversion Optimisation - Research First Then Test
  5. Does your current hosting solution mean you're leaving money on the table at Christmas? - 40% of Ecommerce Sites Crash During Seasonal Peaks
Need to know more? Visit our website here or send us an email to discuss your ecommerce needs. 

Friday 31 March 2017

Top Ecommerce Articles from March

We've been busy at Moneyspyder on some exciting new projects so we've slackened off on the email front in the last couple of months.

So, after a bit of a break since our last email we're back with a round up of the most interesting news and blogs from the world of ecommerce.
  1. If you're planning on moving your ecommerce site to a new agency, take a look at this good summary from Econsultancy of how to do it the right way - Nine Questions to Ask Your New Ecommerce Platform Supplier When Migrating
  2. How good are you at producing regular, high quality content as part of your SEO strategy? Here are some tips from Search Engine Watch to get you going - 7 Quick Ways To Use Content Marketing to Boost Search Ranking
  3. It's easy to forget that there's more to PPC than picking the right keywords. This article is a good reminder of the value of testing ad copy, and includes some good tips (From Search Engine Land) - Should You Bother Rewriting Your Ads
  4. This is a great (but long) blog from Avinash Kaushik on the value of presenting data in an intelligent way to drive action. Perfect for anyone who has to create reports or motivate their boss - It's Not The Ink, It's The Think - 6 Effective Data Visualization Rules
  5. From The Telegraph, MPs are debating the value of encouraging supermarkets to add 'Buy British' buttons. What do you think? Good idea or harebrained scheme? -Buy British Button Could Let Online Shoppers Filter Out Foreign Groceries 
Need to know more? Visit our website here or send us an email to discuss your ecommerce needs. 

Thursday 19 January 2017

How to Grow Your Ecommerce Business in 2017


It's that time of year when Ecommerce blogs and news sites take great pleasure in publishing their trend predictions for 2017. We've read them all, and re-read the ones from 2016 and have decided they're not very useful. 

Most trend list articles recommend new plugins and gimmicks that promise to make life easier and improve your bottom line (think drone delivery). The reality, however, is that ecommerce growth comes from a disciplined, multi-channel approach that isn't afraid to take risks and record the results.

Having said all that, here's our spin on the top trends for 2017, and for every year:

  • The Increasing Importance of Mobile (this is mentioned in every article, every year) - If you still don't have a mobile site and a mobile strategy then, quite frankly, you're mad. With over 50% of internet traffic now mobile, if you don't have a mobile friendly site you are closing yourself off to at least half of your potential customer base. 
  • Live Customer Engagement and Customer Services - Live Chat, phone lines where customers can talk to real people and humane refund and replace policies have been around forever, but as the ecommerce landscape gets more competitive, hugging your best customers will become more important.
  • Delivery and Returns - Again, a good delivery and return strategy has always been essential but, with the onward march of Amazon Prime, businesses have to think long and hard about how they can offer next day delivery at attractive prices, or risk losing out to the big players. 
  • Payments - Think back to how many times recently you have bought something from Amazon simply because it's easier when they have your card and address details already on file. What's more, as of 2016, phone and contactless payments are here to stay. When did you last talk to your payment solutions provider (PSP) with regards to one click payments?
  • Content - The mantra 'Content is King' wasn't invented last year, or the year before. It's been around for ages. But as competition for ecommerce eyeballs grows it becomes even more important to create content and create a solid brand that will make a compelling case for your products over anybody else's (eg. Amazon).
So, as always, success in ecommerce is about a strong proposition, a decent site and a disciplined approach to marketing and communication. Hard work, not gimmicks, will win the day in 2017.

If you want help reviewing your recent performance and identifying areas where you could create a step-change in results this year, do get in touch. We have over ten years experience helping ecommerce businesses grow, and we'd love to help you.