We recently published a new article on understanding and maximizing local search, which is critical for the success of your business, whether you have a website or not.  Steps include registering your business and/or website on Google’s Local Business Center, Yahoo Local, and Bing’s Local Listing Center.  These 3 sites are becoming increasingly important as the search engines continue to make updates, and utilizing location in displaying search results.  They can recognize you IP address automatically and display local results.  The widespread growth of smart-phones means people will search for businesses on the go and nearest to them.

By now you shouldn’t have any excuse not to register your business through these main listing centers.  But if you haven’t done so yet, and want another reason to do so, this one is pretty cool.  Yesterday, Google announced improvements to their Street View feature used in Google Maps, which makes it easier to view Local Business Listings in Street View.  In the old version, when you search for a business on Google Maps and clicked on a result, a bubble would appear with more details.  One option would be to see the “Street View”.  All that would appear was the Street View image of that business, but without the bubble of information.  In the new version, it takes that bubble of information (the local business listing information), and displays it in Street View.  You can move around the street and still see the 3D marker and bring up the information whenever you want.

Google also shows in a video on their blog post that if someone finds a cafe in Street View, they can use the new feature to search for nearby pizza instead and easily learn the route to the nearest spot.  So you may not be a user’s initial search, but you could be the nearest place if they want what you have.  So be sure to keep your listings up-to-date and accurate.  Local listings are one of the easiest things an owner can do to increase business.

Yesterday Yahoo and Microsoft announced a major partnership between their respective search marketing departments.   This deal ended a long rumored courtship of Yahoo by Microsoft with several attempts of either partnership or out-right purchase by Microsoft.  In the simplest terms,

“Microsoft will now power Yahoo! search while Yahoo! will become the exclusive worldwide relationship sales force for both companies’ premium search advertisers.”

Bing will now power the core technologies behind Yahoo’s search engine, while Yahoo can continue to build upon Bing and control their own user experience.  The Bing engine itself will also be allowed to integrate Yahoo’s search technologies on it’s own site.  From the official press release, here are a few of the key terms:

• The term of the agreement is 10 years;
• Microsoft will acquire an exclusive 10 year license to Yahoo!’s core search technologies, and Microsoft will have the ability to integrate Yahoo! search technologies into its existing web search platforms;
• Microsoft’s Bing will be the exclusive algorithmic search and paid search platform for Yahoo! sites. Yahoo! will continue to use its technology and data in other areas of its business such as enhancing display advertising technology.
• Yahoo! will become the exclusive worldwide relationship sales force for both companies’ premium search advertisers. Self-serve advertising for both companies will be fulfilled by Microsoft’s AdCenter platform, and prices for all search ads will continue to be set by AdCenter’s automated auction process.

There were many more details announced at the press conference including some of the basic financial terms, so we suggest checking out the rest of the press release.  But in regards to the actual search engines, what does this mean for the small business owner running an ecommerce site?  How will this effect the ability of users to find your site?

Small Business Implications

There is no reason to panic right now about where your website traffic will be coming from.  The deal will take at around 24 month to complete the full global transition of Yahoo! Powered by Bing.  It will start with federal approval, which should take about 3-6 months.  Reports are that once it’s all complete, Bing will have about a 28% share of the market.   It’s still a far cry from Google’s market share, but two heads are always better than one, and the partnership should keep Google on their feet and push further innovation.  But this move definitely signals the end of Yahoo in the search business.   At one time Yahoo search was even powered by Google, but that partnership ended in 2004.

For your website, optimizing for Bing will become very important.  We have talked before about some tips for using Bing effectively for ecommerce.  Registering your local listings, using Webmaster Central, and/or advertising through AdCenter will become even more important within the next year.  SEOmoz also has a great post today about the impact of this deal on SEO.

It was a pretty big announcement yesterday (even if it’s all about the #2 spot in the search industry) and we will certainly see much more details and news about “Bingahoo” over the course of the next months.  If you want even more information, there are certainly enough coverage to go around: TechCrunch, Mashable, and Marketing Pilgrim.

Recently, Microsoft unveiled their new search engine – Bing.com.  Actually, they prefer to call Bing a “decision engine.”  It’s designed to help visitors weed through all the search overload that other engines give you, and help you make real decisions about what your searching for.  They have designed Bing with three goals in mind, to “deliver great results; deliver a more organized experience; and simplify tasks and provide insight, leading to faster, more confident decisions.”

Early indications show that most people are having positive experiences with Bing, and Microsoft is using an almost $100 million advertising campaign to promote it’s rebranded search engine as well.  So how can you, as an ecommerce professional, take advantage of this new source of visitors and potential sales?

First, test out Bing for yourself.  And don’t just do a one-time search for some random item like shoes or your name.  Instead, make it your default search engine for a while.  Get accustomed to some of the useful features like refined categories and related topics on the left-hand navigation plain.  Bing also does a great job with integrating shopping results and local retailers in your area.  The idea is to get used to how people will use it and hopefully find your website.

Next, make sure your website is listed using their Webmaster Central tools.  If you have a physical location for your business, get your information listed on their Local Listing Center.  And if you want even more exposure, directly upload your products for free with Product Upload.  Microsoft also has a pay-per-click program called adCenter, which they have also made improvements to.

Bing’s initial rise to #2 was probably from the hype and introduction, so only time will tell if they can sustain any growth.  They may not take down the all-powerful Google, but they could certainly lower it’s market share.  With a good redesign and early positive experiences, it looks like Microsoft has finally found a worthy competitor.

Google has been busy recently updating the ways it displays search results.  First they improved local search by matching your IP address with your search terms.  So now when you search for pizza, you’ll get all the results for pizza restaurants near your zip code.  Shortly after, Google added the option for mini-sitelinks to your website search results, even if your site doesn’t show up in the first position.

Yesterday, they made waves again by first expanding their Google  Search Options.  Now visitors will see a panel at the top called “Show Options”.  This will allow them to really customize what they are looking for and narrow down their search.  There are many different options that can be used together or in combination.

Google also announced two other new tools – Rich Snippets and Google Squared.  To learn more about these changes and other Google updates, visit the official Google Blog.

Yesterday, Google announced a new feature to its line of Webmaster Tools on their official blog.  Your site can now have one line of sitelinks, even if you are not in the first position.  Sitelinks are the links that appear underneath the main search result, which can take your visitor to deeper pages within your site.

Before, the use of sitelinks was only given to the top website in the search result.  Now your site can show these sitelinks, up to four links, right above the URL on the results page.  Webmasters can use this tool to generate more visibility for other pages within your site and more traffic.

To learn more about the benefits of this new feature head over to the Google Webmaster blog and read about the sitelinks.

“Green” Consumers want to know; is shopping online good for the environment?  If you’re trying to make environmentally responsible choices, you may have wondered whether you can shop online with a clear conscience. What is the net effect of shopping online and having items shipped right to your door? You already know that it is incredibly convenient, saving you time and money, especially when you factor in the astronomical price of fuel. But is shopping online really a good choice for the environment?

You might assume making a ten-minute trip to the store would use less fuel and energy than having the same product shipped hundreds of miles straight to your door.  I was surprised to find the opposite to be true, and to find out just how many ways eCommerce helps the environment!

Dr. Joseph Romm, Lead Author and Executive Director for The Center for Energy and Climate solutions reports, “Internet shopping uses less energy to get a package to your house. Shipping 10 pounds of packages by overnight air – the most energy-intensive delivery mode – uses 40 percent less fuel than driving round-trip to the mall. Ground shipping by truck uses just one tenth the energy of driving yourself.”

The energy efficiency and emissions control potential of online shopping is growing exponentially.  I cornered the delivery man in our office today to ask if there had been recent internal policy changes to improve fuel and energy efficiency.  I’m glad I asked!  He reported substantial changes in the way UPS manages deliveries. In addition to their recent policy of “No left turns”, which conserves fuel and controls emissions, UPS recently bought 500 alternative fuel vehicles. According to UPS, the switch to alternative fuel vehicles will save 176,000 gallons of fuel per year, which is roughly the equivalent to taking 100 UPS trucks off the road. Moreover, the trucks powered by compressed natural gas will reduce truck emissions by another 20 percent. Fedex quickly followed suit, announcing plans to replace 30,000 trucks with hybrids.  When the largest fleets in the country start competing for the title of “Greenest Carrier”, everyone wins!

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg, in terms of the potential impact of increased internet sales on the world’s economy.  According to Dr. Romm’s report:

• The Internet decreases our need for commercial building space. The resulting energy savings from operations and maintenance alone were estimated to save a total 53 billion kilowatt hours and 67 trillion BTUs worth of natural gas per year by the year 2007.

• The avoided construction would save the equivalent of 10 more power plants worth of energy, and another 40 million metric tons of greenhouse pollution.

The Internet saves million of tons of paper every year.  The American Forest & Paper Association reported paper production has experienced a steady decline since the year 2000, an average of .7% annually, according to an article published by Recycling Today Magazine.  Newsprint production is sliding even faster, decreasing by 28.7% since 2000.  For the first time, in February of 2008, the Whitehouse published it’s 3000+ page annual budget online, saving roughly 20 tons of paper, or 480 trees.

In the second quarter of 2008, the US Census Bureau reported 34.6 billion dollars in ecommerce sales, an increase of 8.9% over 2nd quarter of 2007.  Apparently, consumers agree, online shopping makes sense!

Ecommerce is reaching new heights of convenience and affordability.  Major retailers like Gap, JC Penney, and Target are focusing on internet sales, which are growing as fast as in-store sales are declining.  The Gap recently re-organized their website to include Old Navy and Banana Republic, one convenient shopping cart for all three stores.  JC Penney took bold steps, offering an improved rewards program and discounts to internet shoppers that compare with their in-store sales.  Target offers free shipping on orders over $50, and let’s face it, it’s easy to spend $50 at Target.

Check out a few of your favorite retailers online, chances are, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to see better sales and shipping deals than in the past, not to mention increased availability.  I used to hate clicking on a product only to read “Only available in stores.”  I’m happy to report the imminent demise of that particular caveat, I haven’t encountered it in months!

Affordable hosted shopping cart solutions like MightyMerchant’s ecommerce platform make it easier than ever for small business owners, local artisans, manufacturers, and tradesmen to market their unique products and services online. Vendors who couldn’t afford to open a brick-and-mortar store are able to reach a huge and ever expanding audience, on the internet.  This is a major step toward sustainability in local markets and toward helping small businesses and mom and pop shops thrive!

It’s never been easier or made more sense to “Go Green.” Energy, resource, and fuel conservation have quietly slipped into our collective social conscience.  Americans are going green in record numbers.  The good news is, going green saves green, and we all appreciate money in the bank.

Tags: environmental, ecommerce, shopping, green, business, shipping, conservation, economy

This post comes to you from Staci Schipporeit, co-owner and lead software developer at MightyMerchant. This is my first blog post, but I’m full of ideas and always reading so this will be the first of many!

Today’s issue of Ecommerce Notes from Practical Ecommerce announces that NetSuite received the 2008 CODiE Award for Best Ecommerce Software. My curiosity was piqued, to say the least. I frequently recommend to our customers that they subscribe to eCommerce Notes because the newsletter contains good content and ideas for online merchants. Will our customers who subscribe to the newsletter (or see the award in the countless other places you can find it online) click over to NetSuite and abandon us?

I clicked over to NetSuite and, my god, it does EVERYTHING. Part of their service is running an online store, but it does payroll and sales force management, too. My first question was, hmmm, how much does this cost? Since it got a CODiE award, it’s probably good software so that wasn’t my first question. I tried to find pricing information on the site, but couldn’t find it quickly. The most obvious options are “FREE Trial”, “Schedule a Demo” and “Contact Me”. Apparently, they want to know who you are before they divulge pricing. But, hey, this is the internet, so I popped over to Google and searched for “netsuite pricing“.

The first result was this blog post, which has a comment with a long list of the pricing as of March 08. If you’re interested in NetSuite, you’ll definitely want to take a look at the price list which is vast and certainly in a much higher bracket than the MightyMerchant services and platform. But the post topic and the comments that follow are what’s most interesting. The blog post is mainly about “churn” or customer turnover. It claims that based on filings with the SEC, in the past 5 years NetSuite has been losing more customers than it is gaining. A response from a NetSuite employee says in part that given the nature of the small merchants they serve, that’s to be expected.

So, what does this all have to do with MightyMerchant? Plenty. We have extremely low churn. The vast majority of web sites we develop are still online and still with us years later. Maybe 90%. I’m going to see if I can query our billing system to find out the exact number and if I can I’ll post it here. It’s clear that our product is serving the market we target quite well based on customer satisfaction and success. It’s clear that our pricing delivers the value that our customers expect. We’re growing slowly and have a much smaller customer base than NetSuite, but our customer base is quite stable. So, at least for today, I’m not worried about NetSuite. But, oh, how I’d love to get a CODiE award of our own!

Just five days ago the Google Analytics program announced a new analytics data sharing feature. If you haven’t heard of it already, you’ll see the message asking you to ‘accept’ next time you log into your analytics account.

What’s really going on here? Whether you champion this data sharing or run from it will probably depend on your opinion of Google in general: If you are interested in getting as much free information as possible, this could be a good thing while on the other hand this program will give more powerful site visitor and transactional information to Google and for many people this may be another reason to distrust Google Almighty.

Personally, I’m holding off on making a judgment call until I see more about how the program works and the benefits they say they will provide . . . There’s a long list of good things Google could do with access to this much transaction data but I have too many questions about how useful the data will actually be.

Data Sharing Options

Google is offering the option of sharing your analytics data three ways:

1) With Google products only

This is the most vague option, as Google says sharing information with other Google products (not third-party products) will enhance the services they offer “as they become available,” and of course only businesses that share data get access to the enhanced services. This sounds like Google wants your help improving their services without telling anyone what they’ll get in return.

2) Anonymously with Google products and benchmarking services

The benchmarking service allows customers to compare their data with other sites in their same or similar industry. The service also promises to let you compare your site’s data with unrelated industries. With some in-depth comparisons, you could determine if all sites in your industry are experiencing the same ups and downs in traffic and also provide insight into cross-promotional opportunities with other industries who may be booming while your traffic is flat. The data is not shared with competitors and is anonymized before being shared.

Truth be told, I’m not sure why Google feels like they need to ask permission to do this, as their Privacy Policy already seems like it gives them carte blanche to gather and share user data however they want.

One of the drawbacks I see is that only data from sites that agree to participate will contribute to benchmarks, so the data already seems skewed from the beginning. I have to question how valuable the data will be if only a handful of sites in any industry are participating.

3) No sharing at all

So Google is letting you share a little with some undefined return benefit to you, share a lot with a potential benefit for industry comparison which may or may not be valuable, or not share at all.

What do you all think about this? Does Google really need us to improve its services? Is the return for us worth it?

Tags: google, analytics, data, sharing,, ecommerce, analytics,, site, traffic, tracking

A Moment of Silence.

Netscape Navigator, the iconic browser which brought the web to the majority of Internet users, will not be updated anymore. Ah, Netscape, you were my guide when I first set out to explore this brave new world of the Internet. Its introduction as an easy-to-use way to navigate ushered in the new era of the age of commercial Internet, and the white N rising above the Earth became so familiar.

When it first launched in 1994, Netscape was designed to be user-friendly and became the most used Internet browser through the 90s. When Microsoft wanted a share of the popularity, they licensed the source code from Netscape’s developer and created Internet Explorer. Netscape continued to rise in popularity until Microsoft began offering Internet Explorer free with Windows 95 and later versions. Users switched wholesale, and Netscape’s profits and popularity continued to dwindle. It fared no better when it was bought by AOL in 1999.

AOL recently announced it would no longer issue updates for Netscape as of February 1, 2008, effectively killing the once-great browser. But, in an ironic twist, Netscape’s original developers created a new, better, more flexible browser the world knows today as Mozilla Firefox. Like the ashes from the phoenix, Firefox is now my browser of choice, and the one which makes my work easier thanks to its open source code and customizability. Kinda poetic isn’t it?

Read Netscape’s official announcement.

Tags: Netscape, Navigator, Browser, AOL, Discontinue