Patrick Kulp says, “Video ads on Facebook are right around the corner.Facebook will be giving video publishers an extra push to publish video directly onto its platform as it shores up its massive video platform, it announced on Wednesday.SEE ALSO: Think Facebook is a media powerhouse? Just wait til its video player takes overThe social network is starting to run ads between videos for a small group of publishers including Fox Sports, the NBA and Funny or Die. Those companies will receive 55% share of ad revenues that run against their videos — the same split offered by YouTube.Facebook... [...]

Tucker SchreiberTucker SchreiberTucker Schreiber says, “Keeping your online store on trend can be the difference between staying relevant and losing sales.This applies not only to the products that you’re selling, but how you present them.In this post, we’ll take a look at three design trends you can leverage to keep your online store looking fresh!A Bit About Design TrendsSome designers think “trend” is a dirty word, but it’s really just a way to identify interesting patterns in the collective style habits of our culture.By definition, a trend is... [...]

Peter Sheldon says, “Twenty months have passed since Forrester last published our Wave evaluation of the leading B2B commerce suite vendors. During that time much has changed. B2B eCommerce transactions in the US have grown 40% from $559b in 2013 to reach an estimated $780b by the end of 2015. Furthermore, 74% of B2B buyers now research and 30% now buy at least one-half of their work purchases online. Manufacturers, distributors and wholesalers alike are investing heavily in next generation enterprise B2B commerce technology to ensure they are delivering world-class online buying experiences... [...]

Morgan Jacobson says, “An inspiring call-to-action is equal parts design and psychology. Prompting the desired response is never easy, especially as consumers become savvy to the tricks and tactics that online retailers use. The last thing you want is for your CTAs to be labeled “click-bait,” but you have to get buyers to convert somehow, right?We’ve shared a lot of tips over the years for creating compelling CTAs. While some of the components may change a little over time, the basic requirements remain. An image of the product or service, some compelling copy, and a button that stands... [...]

Graham Charlton says, “The features you need to add to product pages will vary according to the type ofecommerce site.Some of the things on this list are essentials for any online retailer, while others are dependent on the sector and target market.This checklist contains some of the more common elements that customers are looking for on ecommerce product pages, as well as some more advanced features that can enhance the experience.Your product pages should contain the essentials listed below, and most of the others. I haven’t listed product reviews as essential, but I’d say... [...]

Richard Lazazzera says, “As an online store owner, you’re always on the lookout for new ways to drive traffic, but how many times have you invested time, energy and money into a new method of driving traffic only to receive low conversions or maybe even none at all?Facebook Ads, Google Adwords, SEO, blogging, social media and guest posting are all great methods to drive traffic, unfortunately, most of the time they don’t work as expected. There are lots of possible reasons for this, however, many times it’s because you have a leaky bucket. A website that leaks visitors as fast... [...]

Richard Lazazzera says, “It all started with a challenge – build an ecommerce business from scratch and see how many sales we could generate in three days.For many entrepreneurs, building their first business can be intimidating. There’s seemingly hundreds of steps, choices and paths to get to the finish line of just launching your business, let alone generating traffic and sales.Most of the time though, the whole process of building and launching an online store gets overthought and leads to paralysis by analysis. The truth is, building an ecommerce business can be simple—if you... [...]

David Bowen says, “No marketing strategy is effective anymore without good content.It’s the cornerstone of engaging with customers on social media channels, ranking in search and your vehicle to demonstrate your brand and values as a business.With 73% of marketers having stated that they planned to increase their budget spend on content marketing in 2015, it’s abundantly clear that good content has become a major ecommerce marketing priority“.How well are you combining content and commerce?‘Econsultancy’ Blog [...]

Charlie Keegan says, “Social proof is sometimes misunderstood. Not in the fact that people aren’t sure what it is—most know that reviews count as social proof—but in the fact that many don’t realize just how extensive the possibilities for presenting social proof are. That’s why we gathered together some of our favorites, so we can show you the many different ways you can convince buyers that the whole world loves your products.ModClothWe can’t have a best-of list without ModCloth, can we? Yes, ModCloth provides social proof in several different ways, including reviews and... [...]

Pete Whitmarsh says, “Much has been written about the pros and cons of Google Shopping Campaigns, but are you missing out by not using the campaign priority setting? Since Google launched Shopping Ads in 2014, many articles have been written with tips and tricks for getting the most out of them.However the campaign priority setting remains an often-overlooked feature and even when mentioned, its full potential is rarely appreciated.To recap, different Shopping campaigns within an account can be set with high, low or medium priority. If two campaigns have overlapping product targets,... [...]