What happens to your strategies when the social media, SEO and eCommerce worlds collide?

A little over a week ago, Digital Inspiration noticed that the Googlebot, the technology Google uses to scan web pages, can now recognize comments encased in Javascript platforms, like Facebook comments. The Head of Google’s Webspam team, Matt Cutts, confirmed this later in the week, tweeting: “Googlebot keeps getting smarter. Now has the ability to execute AJAX/JS to index some dynamic comments.” If anybody still doubts that Google is serious about this, the Google Webmaster Blog posted further literature on the matter.

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Before online shopping was completely ubiquitous, one of the most common sentiments passed around among eTailers was ‘Make the product feel as real to the user as possible. Give them an experience that is as close as possible to seeing and touching the real thing.’ This idea very much still holds true today, but when was the last time you gave it any thought? It’s kind of eCommerce 101 and in this fast pace world of social media, ad targeting and whatnot, who has time to think about user experience.

To speak in metaphors, you know your home has a floor and you walk on it everyday, but do you ever take the time to press your face against the wood and look at what’s really going on down there? Do you see the cracks, the patterns, the dust?

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Alright E-tailers, nine weeks until Christmas and it is “Gut Check” time and I’m not talking about the kind that shakes like a bowl full of jelly. As you approach what should be the busiest time of year for your ecommerce site, I want you to ask yourself what you are going to do over the next few weeks to ensure that this holiday season is better than last. It is easy to sit there and make excuses similar to those that most people make in February when their New Year’s Resolutions fail but remember that you own your site and you are ultimately responsible for the site’s success or failure. In an effort decrease the number of excuses[1] I have focused on tasks that will increase conversion rate and won’t cost[2] anything more than your time.

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For the last several years’ people have questioned how social media can really help businesses, whether it be lead generation or e-commerce. Nobody truly understood what it would mean or the impact it would have in the long term. But in 2011 it has been made clear that Google and Bing have started using social media as a part of their Search Engine Results Page (SERP) ranking algorithm. Google and Bing have relationships with Facebook where they are able to get data from Fan pages and therefor use that to help with their rankings. So now, more than ever, it’s important for companies to take into account how much time and energy they are putting into their social strategy as it directly effects their organic rankings.

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In my last blog post “3 Things You May Not Have Known about Google AdWords”, I briefly mentioned using Microsoft Excel to create a pivot table in order to find a good starting point for improving Quality Score. A lot of people reached out to me with questions so I decided it would make a great follow up blog.

Pay per Click (PPC) advertising can be time consuming, especially if you are managing multiple accounts. My goal is to help you optimize your accounts efficiently and effectively using available tools.

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I’ve reached the age where wedding bells are ringing—no, not for me!—but for my friends and colleagues. While I thoroughly enjoy reminiscing over free drinks with long lost friends and eating bite-sized gourmet goodies, there is one thing I always, always leave for the last minute: buying the wedding gift. Luckily, my generation has the Internet and I can have a wonderful gift of the couple’s choosing locked down and on its way to them in a matter of minutes. Online shopping, you’re so good to me.

This month’s Design 1, 2, 3 compares my friends’ registries at two different online eTailers: Macy’s and Crate & Barrel. At which site would you take the plunge with and make the purchase, and which site would you leave at the alter? Read Full Article