US: Retail traffic still down

Not much good news is comes out of the retail industry lately, consumer confidence is at an all-time low and retailers have reported steep declines in revenue. The economic downturn also continues to impact overall visits to online retailers, which was down 7% for the week ending Feb. 21, 2009 as compared to the previous [...]

Total Search Marketing

It’s been a long held concept that natural search, aka SEO, is a top internet marketing tactic for acquiring better conversions, leads, and ROI. Now, eConsultancy has collected data and documented a study in the U.K. showing that natural search is the best tactic for generating online leads, concluding it is greatly underused despite the [...]

Places to leave your stamp offline?

Obviously you can purchase advertising space in newspapers, magazines, radio, television, etc. But lets face it, paying for ad space can get pricey, so let’s look at a few cheaper ways to brand your business away from the computer, because shockingly, some people still don’t spend their entire day on the Internet.
Stickers
Giving your customers free [...]

The Key to Retaining Sales Talent

Good salespeople are worth their weight in gold. That’s why it pays to reward them with a pair of golden handcuffs.
Your salespeople are one of your most valuable investments. You recruit them, train them and trust them with your valued customers. You depend on them to keep your business growing.
So what happens if they leave? [...]

Pursuing Venture Capital

Determine whether you’re a good candidate for institutional VC funding
Does your business qualify for institutional venture capital? Run through this diagnostic test to find out how suitable your business is for funding.
1.Are you a technology company? Technology is the stuff of gods for venture capitalists. With proprietary technology, a company can dominate a market [...]

6 Tips for Turning Shoppers Into Buyers

Learn to transform ‘I’m just looking’ into ‘I’ll take it.’
There’s nothing more painful for a new business owner than seeing a shopper walk in the door and walk out empty-handed. THE sale goes up in smoke as does the potential for turning that shopper into a repeat customer. It’s like having all the bases loaded [...]

Increase the size of link targets and hopefully clickthroughs

Increasing the size of link targets wherever possible makes it easier for all users to click on links. This is particularly true for users with motor impairments, who often have limited ability to aim at small link targets. There are a number of ways you can increase link targets:

Include images
Links sometimes have decorative images placed [...]

50+ Ways to Optimize Your Website for Christmas Conversions

The Christmas shopping season is upon us, and retailers both online and off are enjoying heavy sales. You need to get a piece of the pie, and optimizing your site is the best way to do it. Take these actions to turn your website into a Christmas cash cow.
Usability
The Christmas shopping crowd isn’t your average [...]

Dental Marketing – Attract the right patients

All dentists know that attracting regular customers is essential for the success of a dental practice. Effective dental marketing through mail and web marketing solutions allows you to build a soild client base and establish a firm presence in your area.
However, marketing is not something you want to blindly through money at. Ineffective marketing is a waste of money [...]

Have calls-to-action at the bottom of pages

Key calls-to-action (e.g. add to basket) are often placed towards the top of web pages. It’s also essential that the bottom of every page contains calls-to-action too. Otherwise users can reach the bottom of a page (having not selected any previous call-to-action) and won’t have anywhere to go. The types of calls-to-action you have at [...]