The Google Shopping Feed Spec Is Changing Today

Google is changing their Shopping Feed Specification today (15th September). If you run Google Shopping ads, you should check that you don't need to make any changes, and acquaint yourself with the new format.

What is changing?

• The main changes that may affect you are to the Google Product Taxonomy. Various products have been reclassified or the categories have been simplified. For example you no longer need to add a subcategory for many clothing types like trousers, shorts and shoes.
• Google Product Categories can now be submitted as numbers, rather than long text strings. e.g. "Animals & Pet Supplies>Pet Supplies>Bird Supplies>Bird Cages>Stands". This should make it easier to update your feed in future.
• Improved ID accuracy - GTIN numbers and ID Attributes (probably your item SKU) will be tightened up so you will need to make sure that you aren't using invalid character types.

You can read Google's summary of changes here: https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/6231410

What do I need to do?

Many feeds won't be affected by the changes to the GTIN and ID attributes. The changes to the Google Product Categories are a great opportunity to improve the accuracy of your feed, and so improve your Google Shopping performance.

You can download the Google Product Category Taxonomy here to check whether your products need updating.

Shopping Feeds can be complicated and frustrating to get right. If you need a hand, or have any questions, just send us an email and we'd be happy to check your feed for you.

New Site Launched - 7stripe.com

MoneySpyder are pleased to announce the launch of 7stripe. A new player in the ecigarette market, their focus is providing high quality cigalikes which have a realistic flavour and provide a satisfying alternative to real cigaretttes.

The site comes with all the key elements needed for growing a brand. It has the usual ecommerce functionality: best practice checkout, responsive mobile template, and SEO ready page designs. It also has built-in blog functionality and an advance promotions engine.

If you're looking for a new platform, or you want to know how to make the most out of your current platform by removing key conversion blockers, get in touch with us on info@moneyspyder.co.uk.

Best Ecommerce Articles From Around The Web this December

It's nearly time to put your feet up and enjoy a holiday. And what better way to relax than with some light holiday reading? With that in mind, why not take a look at our collection of 'top predictions for 2015' articles:

1. Web Design Trends - UX, tiled navigation and flat design will dominate. Full list here.
2. SEO trends for 2015: What does the future hold? - how to stay on top of Google next year. Read here.
3. 5 eCommerce tech trend predictions for 2015 - Stay ahead of technological advancement here.
4. The Expert View - 19 of the biggest names in eCommerce share their predictions for next year here.  
   
    ...and for some light Christmas relief...

      5.  Customer journey from search to checkout: Christmas Jumper Special here.  

Need to know more? Visit our website here or send us an email to discuss your ecommerce needs.

Turn Last Posting Day Into Your Biggest Christmas Move

It's December and Christmas is practically upon us. The next few weeks provide a huge opportunity for almost all retailers to end the year on a high.

• Tip 1 - Is your last posting date prominent all over your website? Many of your customers - from emails, PPC, SEO, referral - will land on product pages and category pages. Having the last posting dates on your delivery details page, or your home page isn't enough. 

MoneySpyder's clients all experienced growth on last year in November sales and there's a good feeling about December. Aside from making sure your servers don't overload and your warehouse printer is full of paper, there is still plenty you can do to make sure you get the most out of December.

• Tip 2 - Update your PPC ad copy, email campaigns, and social media with your last posting dates - Don't let anyone miss out on buying from you because they didn't know when the last posting date was.

One key demographic to target are the panic buyers and for them, the most important thing to communicate is your final posting date. 

• Tip 3 - Up-Sell your postage options - Can you offer guaranteed delivery after everybody else? Can you offer Saturday delivery? Use all your delivery options to your advantage. Running a last minute offer on express delivery may be the difference between an online sale, or your customer going elsewhere.

If you need some ideas to maximise your marketing efforts in the run up to Christmas, or if you need an extra hand to help with your email marketing, PR, or PPC get in touch now.

3 Ways to Increase your Online Store Profits with Single Click Purchase

Moneyspyder use SagePay for many of our ecommerce platform clients. Here's some information on exciting product improvements that are coming up, from Katy Wilson at Sagepay.

‘Single-click’ checkouts use tokenisation to convert sensitive shopper card data into an encrypted series of digits (the ‘token’). This token is recalled on subsequent purchases – removing the need for the shopper to re-enter their card details.Using tokenised payments to obtain a ‘single-click’ checkout means that the process is slick and seamless for your customers. It is particularly beneficial when it comes to the steadily increasing numbers of shoppers browsing and buying through mobile and tablet channels.

• Encourage repeat payments: Our Payments Landscape Report 2014 showed that 41% of successful businesses are offering tokenised payments and have seen a related boost in conversions. Single Click checkouts also help you capture loyal customer data that you could use for more targeted marketing.

• Be mobile ready: Although you may have optimised your site for mobile browsers, or even have a mobile app, you may not have considered the payment process. Using a single-click checkout means that customers browsing on their mobile or tablet don’t need to fiddle around entering long card numbers – they can simply click and buy.

• Secure your profits: Our survey reports tokenised payments have saved businesses an average of £6,010.43 off their PCI regulation costs. Large businesses are seeing the biggest impact, with overall savings of upwards of £8,000. The secure technology that Sage Pay provides for ‘single-click’ purchases also has the added bonus of dramatically reducing the cost of PCI Compliance for merchants.

To find out how you can offer Single Click purchases to your customers and increase your sales this Xmas season, simply request a call back today! To speak to someone at Sage Pay about how they could help your business, call 0845 485 6069 or get in touch with us at info@moneyspyder.co.uk