The Only Marketing Blog You'll Need to Read
- Google Introduces Google Gadget Ventures - 2007-06-27 23:04:34-04
Ever wanted to develop your own useful and fully functional Google gadget but could not push through with your ideas due to time and financial constraints? Google just answered your dilemma with the launch of Google Gadget Ventures, a pilot program that would distribute grants and seed investments to developers and users of Google [...]
- FreshBooks Launches Open API - 2007-06-28 04:29:54-04
Online invoicing service FreshBooks has launched an open API. Freshbooks sees the new API allowing application designers, businesses, services companies, and users to integrate FreshBooks’ billing platform into a new category of products, features, and solutions for enhancing and streamlining productivity, workflow, sales, CRM, project management, and invoicing. Possible uses of the API includi...
- Pownce: Against All Odds, Pownce Blew Us Away - 2007-06-28 05:45:20-04
Described as a mishmash of existing services (Twitter, chat, file sharing) that has only attracted attention because its founder was behind Digg, things didn’t look good for Pownce. We expected the worst: but like the iPhone, Pownce miraculously lives up to the hype. Don’t judge it before you test it. I have a [...]
- Pilgrim's Picks for June 28 - 2007-06-28 09:15:05-04
Ah, yes. Pilgrim’s Picks for when you find a news story that you can’t quite figure out how to expand it to 300 words. Here’s the “almost made it†list for this morning: Mashable is impressed with Digg co-founder’s new project Pownce. It’s a mixture of Twitter, chat and file sharing. An invite would be [...]
- SEO Articles & SEO Podcasts - 2007-06-28 09:47:45-04
Some of you in the audience already know that I've been asked to write a continuing series about Search Marketing for InformIT.com, however, if you don't now you have been given the link. :-) I really like the folks over there, Dustin, in particular is a great person to work with to flush out ideas. My first article was Ten...
- Often-Asked iPhone Questions - 2007-06-28 11:15:34-04
With its new iPhone, Apple pulled off two masterful feats: creating the machine and creating the buzz around it. That machine, and that buzz, have inspired a lot of questions. Just how much of a phone, an iPod and an Internet machine is this thing? Here are the answers to the most frequently asked iPhone questions. Consider [...]
- It's Summer Time -- Happy Travels - 2007-06-28 12:00:46-04
Summer is in full swing, and it's getting harder and harder to focus on work. My mind constantly wanders off to possible destinations for my next vacation. I'm thinking a two-week European getaway -- Barcelona for the architecture, Provence and French Riviera for some great food and relaxation by the beach and finally London for some shopping and Broadway shows. It's getting easier than ever...
- Corporate Innovation and Hacking - 2007-06-28 13:12:32-04
In Clayton Christensen's Innovation Brain, Jena McGregor of BusinessWeek talks to Clayton 10 years after the publication of The Innovator's Dilemma (an excellent book, BTW) and elicits some insightful answers. I'd like to highlight two of them. 1. On the topic of why it is dangerous to mistakenly equate "disruptive" ideas with those that are "new" or "bold", he says: Because it causes them t...
- Referrals 2.0 launches to all AdSense publishers - 2007-06-28 14:23:00-04
This past March, we launched a referrals beta to test the feature and iron out some wrinkles. Now that we've finished our testing, we're pleased to announce that referrals 2.0 will soon be available to all AdSense publishers in referrals-supported languages.While some of you may already be familiar with referrals for Google products, this launch will greatly expand the inventory and functionali...
- It's a click & drag situation - 2007-06-28 15:17:00-04
Posted by Ryan Sturgell and Barry Brumitt, Software Engineers, Google MapsCan you imagine going back to clicking arrows and waiting for the screen to refresh just to move the map left/right/up/down? It'd be as big a bummer as going back to 8-track tapes. Today, we're taking another big step forward with driving directions in Google Maps: now you can click & drag to change destinations along you...
- Under the Radar: Tracking Early Stage Innovation - 2007-06-28 16:41:15-04
I just saw Robert Scoble sitting outside of the Palo Alto Apple Store in a PodTech beanbag, he’s going to spend over 30 hours there with his son Patrick for the iPhone. Other PodTech media was there as well as CNN and other large media networks. I’m here at Under the Radar at Microsoft [...]
- A Trade-Off on iPhone Data Speed - 2007-06-28 19:40:37-04
Apple and AT&T defended a decision not to use a faster but more limited network for the phone’s wireless Internet connection.
- State of the Art: Often-Asked iPhone Questions - 2007-06-28 20:32:32-04
Just how much of a phone, an iPod and an Internet machine is this thing?
- Matt Cutts : Google bowling exists - 2007-06-28 23:34:17-04
Matt Cutts, a senior software engineer for Google, says that piling links onto a competitor's site to reduce its search rank isn't impossible, but it's extremely difficult." read more
- YouTube Carries More Traffic Than Next 64 Video Sites Combined - 2007-06-28 23:43:06-04
- MySpace Likely To Open Platform To 3rd Party Developers - 2007-06-29 04:13:51-04
MySpace founder Chris DeWolfe has indicated that MySpace will likely open its platform to 3rd party developers, according to a report at FT.com The move will see MySpace following in the footsteps of Facebook; Facebook’s wildly popular F8 release has seen in excess of 1000 additional applications made available to Facebook users and has driven enormous [...]
- Perception is Reality… At Least That's What it Seems Like - 2007-06-29 06:41:46-04
Let's play a simple game. Tell me what this picture is.
Most of you probably thought of a candlestick or two faces, well? Well, which one is correct? Both are and that's because we believe what our eyes tell us.
You'd think if you've seen one checkout process, you've seen them all. How different can putting your name, address, and payment info be? We all like variety in our lives, but shouldn't this be one of the simplest things? Still, every time I'm ready to checkout, I get thrown a curve-ball and yet another reason to leave the site.
As I scroll down the page, there are forms and fields I've never seen before. How long is this process? Why are you asking me this question?
The perception of time and length of the checkout process plays a major role with how visitors view usability. Ask anyone who's purchased online, and they'll tell you, just keep it simple, stupid! Yet e-tailers never fail to make it an experience you WANT to forget.
If e-commerce sites want their visitors to turn into satisfied paying customers, listen up:
• Be transparent from the beginning.
Even before your visitors get into the checkout process they should have some simple questions answered. These questions include when the item will ship, what are the shipping and handling fees and what are your return, privacy and security policies. This will prevent shopping cart abandonment and resentment when they have to fill out several forms just to get all these simple questions answered.• Get right to the point.
Keep it as simple and intuitive as possible. Name, address, and payment info. What else do you really need to know? Don't distract visitors with colorful flash or crazy questions that make them wonder what any of this has to do with them purchasing right now.• Don't make me scroll.
If you can limit the amount of scrolling on a checkout page, do it. The more you make a visitor scroll, the longer they perceive the process to be. If the scroll bar looks like it will go on forever it makes them feel filling out the form will too. Shorter forms that are stacked all onto one page seem more time-consuming than slightly longer forms over multiple pages. Remind customers with a "breadcrumb" page indicator of which step they're at in the checkout process and how many more steps until they can go back to watching TV. Why does it need to be more than 3? Keep them focused on the task at hand.• So where do I pay?
Get them in, get them out. Customers who enter the checkout process WANT to give you their money. So, Get the Cash! Clearly show them what they need to do and how to do it. Make each step intuitive, provide assurances at each step, and offer more than one payment option upfront. This is the last place you want them to take a second guess.If visitors perceive something to be a negative, it probably is. You work hard to get visitors to close. Don't make it any harder when they want to give you their money. Play nice and you'll have the most popular checkout on the block.
checkout process, Customer Experience, EcommerceDo you know which sells best? Learn more about our latest ebook
- The iPhone Wait Is Over — or Just Beginning? - 2007-06-29 08:27:14-04
The iPhone goes on sale today at 6 p.m. local time at Apple and AT&T stores. Just as the iPod didn’t invest the MP3 player, but significantly improved the overall user experience, the iPhone looks poised to do the same thing in mobile. Here are reviews and coverage from the past 24 or so hours. David [...]
- Yahoo Adds New Features To Panama (Search Marketing Console) - 2007-06-29 08:43:35-04
The Yahoo Search Marketing Blog announced new features they added to the Panama (Yahoo Search Marketing) advertisers console. The largest feature is a method of moving or copying keywords from one ad group to another ad group. On the Ad Group page under your Campaigns tab, you’ll now see “Move†and “Copy†buttons. As the names imply, these let you move your keywords from one ad group to anoth...
- "Negative SEO," Harming Your Competitors With SEO - 2007-06-29 10:14:38-04
The Saboteurs Of Search from Forbes has been getting some buzz from around the search industry. In short, the article interviews two SEOs about how they can potentially use "negative SEO" tactics to harm a site in Google. The other day, I reported at the Search Engine Roundtable Companies Offer to Damage Your Competitors Search Engine Rankings. So this Forbes article is pretty timely, in tha...
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