|
|
Posted by Kevin Friday, March 12, 2010
 So… this is awkward…
It seems that the folks at Volusion have once again introduced a tool for their platform that we’d already developed. Now don’t get us wrong. What’s good for Volusion is good for us, so we’re always thrilled at their continuing efforts to improve what is already the best shopping platform in the marketplace.
But…
We do feel compelled to point out one thing: we totally did it first. Sure, we already mentioned that, but our ego compels us to say it again. We introduced iVoloo (our iPhone-friendly Volusion store) two years ago and we updated it pretty dramatically just last month. All of this was completed independent of Volusion and as a direct result of needs expressed by our customers. Now, in the big scheme of things, does being first really matter?
Well… yes.
While we don’t yet know all the details about Volusion’s mCommerce, one thing is sure: we did it first. First is important because it means that we are capable of creating solutions before anyone else even has the opportunity to publicly recognize the need. First is important because it means that we’re nimble and responsive. First is important because every Volusion merchant who’s been using iVoloo, didn’t have to wait, nor will any new iVoloo customers have to wait for Volusion’s mCommerce beta to be complete.
This may sound like sour grapes (and that may be at least a little bit true), but, believe it or not, we have a great relationship with Volusion. We like Volusion. What’s important for us is that the Volusion community understand that we specialize in the development of custom solutions for all of their eCommerce (or mCommerce) needs. We look beyond Volusion’s limitations to see its possibilities… then we turn those possibilities into reality.
We’ll continue to develop tools and applications to expand on Volusion’s (already expansive) capabilities. Heck… we just introduced a more robust version of RapidCart, even though Volusion already has a soft-add-to-cart feature, just because we wanted to make a better one. We fully expect that someday Volusion will somehow match RapidCart, but by then, we’ll have moved on to another need, a new goal, because that’s what we do. We make the world a better place using every tool at our disposal, like Stephen Hawking or the A-Team.
Posted by Kevin Friday, March 12, 2010
 Fanboys and Early Adopters rejoice! The frenzy has begun. As of this morning, Apple has begun accepting preorders for the most anticipated product since their last most anticipated product.
We know there are doubters.
We know there are haters.
We don’t care.
You just don’t know what Apple means to us. When we’re together, it’s magical. You could never understand the special, secret love we share.
Go get one, but remember… you’re in line behind us.
Posted by Kevin Thursday, March 11, 2010
 … okay. We know that Volusion just added soft-add-to-cart to their Winter ‘09 release, but give us just a moment to tell you why we’re sure you’re going to want RapidCart 2.0 instead.
Where to begin? … well, how about product options? RapidCart can handle multiple options with images. You like alternate product pics? You’ve got ‘em. You want to include all of your pricing info and product description copy? Check. But wait… there’s more! How would you like your soft-add-to-cart pop-in window to be styled to match the look and feel of your site? We’ve got you covered. Custom design is included in the RapidCart 2.0 implementation.
Of course, for many people, the Volusion soft-add-to-cart will be just fine, but for those who want to take their site to the next level, there’s RapidCart 2.0: custom development quality with an out-of-the-box price. Learn more and see RapidCart in action here.
Posted by Kevin Wednesday, March 10, 2010
 We’re currently designing a new Volusion site for BTTF.net – an entire site devoted to products, props and memorabilia related to the Back to the Future films (their current site can be found here). The new design is, frankly, totally rad, but we’re not gonna show you just yet, because if there’s anything we like more than good design, it’s teasing total strangers. We’ll post about it when it launches, but in the meantime, what we are willing to show you is our own, personal collection of pins from the 80’s (with a little 70’s and 90’s thrown in for good measure).
We’ll start this dorkfest with the button on the left, presented to any hardcore nerds willing to sit through all three BTTF films in one sitting (on the occasion of the release of BTTF III). We are just that type of nerd.
Hit the jump to see the rest of the collection…
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Kevin Tuesday, March 9, 2010
An all-too-often overlooked feature of Analytics is the Map Overlay, located under the Visitors section. To the untrained observer, this tool simply shows you the regional breakdown of where your traffic to your site comes from around the globe, but with a little bit of refinement, you can use it to visually compare how users in different cities, states, and countries interact with your web marketing efforts, and understand how it impacts your bottom line.
While working with one of our clients from our home state of Michigan, we made great use of the Map Overlay to demonstrate a better way to target their PPC efforts. Their brand is strong, drawing customers and users from all over the world to their locations. Through the power of the Map Overlay, we were able to visualize where the site’s international traffic was coming from, and then combined it with their e-commerce reporting to see which countries converted the best.
Now, you don’t have to be a geography whiz to see that the Midwest made the strongest showing, with the Mitten State leading the pack, but this begs the question: if we’re getting most of our sales at home, how can we best reach out to our hometown crowd? We then segmented the e-commerce data for Michigan to see which traffic sources produced what revenue at what conversion rate. Our findings: Michigan residents were much more likely to convert from offline marketing efforts and organic searches; the company’s PPC efforts in the state were not drawing in the desired high-potential visitors they were in states like Illinois and Wisconsin.
Because of this analysis, we were able to re-target the client’s PPC efforts (and budget) away from Michigan to other more valuable states, and focus more of their SEO efforts on keywords that Michigan residents were converting on. Of course, this is just a single, isolated example of the depth of Map View’s utility and it bears noting that there are little gems just like this scattered throughout Google Analytics. We’ll offer tips and tricks as time goes on, but here’s one you can take with you right now: get Google Analytics on your darn site immediately. (We understand that this is more of an imperative than either a tip or trick, but you should listen and obey. You’ll thank us later)
Posted by Kevin Monday, March 8, 2010
 You know what has nothing at all to do with eCommerce? Ironman 2.
You know who gives a crap? Not us.
Check out the sweeeeeet new trailer here.
Posted by Kevin Friday, March 5, 2010
 We’ve spoken a bit here in the blog about the impact that mobile commerce (mCommerce) has been having on eCommerce and commerce in general. The importance of capturing the mobile consumer is, at this point, undeniable. Study after study after study show that you ignore the mobile consumer at your own peril. But, you’re a big, grown-up businessperson and you want to see something that relates more directly to you and your store. We understand that and we want to help.
Now, we assume you’re running Google Analytics on your site. If not, you need to start there. After all, it’s free and damn near indispensable as you plan your marketing efforts (we can help, if you like). Not only that, but you can use it to determine the relative impact of iPhone users on your bottom line by tweaking the filters a bit. Here’s how:
1) Log in to your Google Analytics account
2) Navigate to the dashboard and click the “All Visits” dropdown in the top right next to “Advanced Segments”
3) Uncheck “All Visits” and scroll down to check “Visits from iPhones”
At this point, the page will reload and you’ll be able to navigate through all of the categories and sections to gather all of your iPhone-related statistics.
According to ABI Research, mobile sales are expected to break the $1 billion mark this year, after showing steady and dramatic gains over the last three years. If that isn’t enough to convince you, there’s plenty more statistics to be had here.
So, if after following the steps listed above, you find that you’re getting a decent amount of iPhone traffic, but few conversions, you may want to consider optimizing your Volusion store for the platform using our own iVoloo. Simply stated: usability = conversions.
Posted by Kevin Friday, March 5, 2010
 We admit it. We’re jumping the gun a bit on this one because it’s so damn good-looking…
Some time in the near future, Model Roundup (here’s a link to their old site) will be launching their new Volusion site. Normally we wait until the big switch to bring a new design to your attention, but this one is just dying to see the light of day and we couldn’t resist. It’s also a nice opportunity for you to see a bit of before and after, in case you’re ever wondering about the merit of good design when it comes to branding and credibility.
We’ll probably post about this one again when it actually launches, because we can’t get enough of it, but for now, you can just Revell* in this sneak peek.
*That’s not a misspelling… trust us. The model nerds are cracking up at that.
Posted by Kevin Thursday, March 4, 2010
 In our never-ending quest to share our Volusion-related knowledge with the world, we offer this latest entry into our growing knowledge base: Migration from FTP Published Blogger Blog to a Hosted Blogger Blog on Volusion.
Despite its blatant overuse of the word “blog” (and variations thereof), we’re entirely sure that many of you will find this little tutorial quite useful. Especially for those of you who like to blog with the blogger and blog bloggingly, blog, blog and bloggle with the bloggest blog in bloggly bloggington. Blog? Blog blog.
Posted by Kevin Wednesday, March 3, 2010
 We’re always happy to be tweeted. Thanks Office Furniture Concepts!
|
|
