David Bowen says, “No marketing strategy is effective anymore without good content. It’s the cornerstone of engaging with customers on social media channels, ranking in search and your vehicle to demonstrate your brand and values as a business. With 73% of marketers having stated that they planned to increase their budget spend on content marketing in 2015, it’s abundantly clear that good content has become a major ecommerce marketing priority“. How well are you combining content and commerce? ‘Econsultancy’ Blog  [...]

Charlie Keegan says, “Social proof is sometimes misunderstood. Not in the fact that people aren’t sure what it is—most know that reviews count as social proof—but in the fact that many don’t realize just how extensive the possibilities for presenting social proof are. That’s why we gathered together some of our favorites, so we can show you the many different ways you can convince buyers that the whole world loves your products. ModCloth We can’t have a best-of list without ModCloth, can we? Yes, ModCloth provides social proof in several different ways, including reviews and... [...]

Pete Whitmarsh says, “Much has been written about the pros and cons of Google Shopping Campaigns, but are you missing out by not using the campaign priority setting?  Since Google launched Shopping Ads in 2014, many articles have been written with tips and tricks for getting the most out of them. However the campaign priority setting remains an often-overlooked feature and even when mentioned, its full potential is rarely appreciated. To recap, different Shopping campaigns within an account can be set with high, low or medium priority. If two campaigns have overlapping product targets,... [...]

Richard Lazazzera says, “As an online store owner, you’re always on the lookout for new ways to drive traffic, but how many times have you invested time, energy and money into a new method of driving traffic only to receive low conversions or maybe even none at all? Facebook Ads, Google Adwords, SEO, blogging, social media and guest posting are all great methods to drive traffic, unfortunately, most of the time they don’t work as expected. There are lots of possible reasons for this, however, many times it’s because you have a leaky bucket. A website that leaks visitors as fast... [...]

Chloe McKenna says, “Understanding what local customers really expect when purchasing from an ecommerce site is an essential factor for success when it comes to international expansion. Failing to properly localise a website to be in line with local conventions will not only impact how users perceive a brand and feel about using a website, but ultimately effect how likely they are to buy from it at all. Did you know that German customers expect a wide range of payment options to be available including bank transfer, direct debit and invoice for payment after they receive an order? Did you... [...]

Corey Ferreira says, “With the announcement of Twitter’s acquisition of Periscope, a lot of business owners and marketers have been scrambling to figure out the best way to use this new platform to grow their business. If you’re unfamiliar with Periscope, it’s an app (for iOS and Android) that allows you to live stream video to strangers and your Twitter followers from your phone or tablet. Viewers can comment and “heart” live streams as they watch, to interact with the broadcaster. Alternatively, Meerkat, another similar live streaming app for phones and tablets, has also taken... [...]

Laura Ramos says, “C’mon, admit it. How many times have you heard this?: “We generate a ton of leads for sales, and they barely follow-up on any of them.” “Leads? You call those leads? Send us better leads so we CAN follow-up…” Despite advances in marketing automation and an increased focus on accountability, the old sales-marketing divide is alive and well. Marketing technology and processes have yet to turn the sales and marketing boxing ring into a night of candlelit dinners. And similar tensions will likely persist since these teams have different... [...]

Ted Ammon says, “The push really is on for businesses to adopt mobile friendly websites, especially now that Google has announced the changes to its algorithm to penalize the unfriendly ones. This is great news for all shoppers who search and buy from their phones and tablets. The mobile commerce numbers are already staggering. Who’s Shopping on Mobile Devices? Mobile purchase now make up 34% of all ecommerce purchases, with 40% forecast by the end of this year. In the US, 53% of those sales take place on smartphones, with the rest on tablets. Only Japan sees more sales on smartphones... [...]

Adam Weiss says, “It’s no secret that global e-commerce is growing rapidly. Current e-commerce statistics state that 40 percent of worldwide Internet users have bought products online, which amounts to more than 1 billion online buyers and growing. This year, global e-commerce is expected to grow nearly 21 percent worldwide to $1.59 trillion, as online retailers continue to expand to new geographies. However,  the move to international commerce may be perceived as expensive and risky, and perhaps some feel the research involved and local knowledge necessary for success isn’t worth... [...]

Martin Beck says, “Remember the Facebook Buy button? Amid recent news of Pinterest and Google joining the e-commerce land rush, you could be excused for wondering what happened to the social network’s own in-stream commerce effort. That experiment, launched last July and limited to a small number of merchants, is still in beta. But starting today it will be tested with more merchants. E-commerce platformShopify announced that it is offering access to the Buy button to a bigger group of its U.S. clients. Shopify, which also is a partner in Pinterest’s Buyable Pins that are due later this... [...]