Matt Lawson says, “Click share is a key way to gauge the success of your Shopping campaigns. The metric shows you the percentage of total possible clicks you are receiving with your Shopping ads. If you aren’t reviewing this metric on a regular basis, 2017 is officially the time to start the habit. Incorporate click share into your daily optimizations Click share can be an incredibly useful metric because it delivers the type of insight that you’re used to receiving from average position in your Search campaigns. Shopping ads can take a lot of different forms, which means that we can’t... [...]

Dave Davies says, “We all know that the holidays are fast approaching. In just 10 short months, we’ll all be gathered around home and hearth; in just nine short months, the chaos of filling that home and hearth with a wide assortment of colorful boxes, trees or candles will begin. Regular readers will remember that last November, I published an article on last-minute SEO for the holidays. As a quick refresher, here’s what I advised might impact a site’s rankings with just weeks to make a difference: Making sure your Google My Business is present and accurate Optimizing your titles... [...]

Matt McGee says, “New data from the National Retail Federation (NRF) paints a rosy picture for holiday e-commerce. The organization estimates non-store sales of $122.9 billion in November and December, a 12.6 percent gain over 2015. And it’s significantly higher than the NRF’s predicted growth of 7-10 percent. The NRF’s numbers are in line with what others have reported. Adobe has pegged holiday e-commerce growth at 11 percent for the just-finished holidays. Slice, a retail analytics firm, estimated a 20 percent year-over-year gain in online holiday sales. Another common theme running... [...]

Greg Sterling says, “The final holiday online shopping tally is out. According to Adobe, total e-commerce sales (November 1 to December 31) hit $91.7 billion, representing growth of 11 percent year over year. Out of 61 shopping days in the period, all but five saw at least $1 billion in online revenue. Traffic to retailers was split evenly between the desktop and mobile but sales still heavily favored the PC. Mobile devices accounted for 31 percent of sales and the desktop generated 69 percent according to Adobe’s estimates. Simultaneously comScore released desktop commerce data for the... [...]

Zak Stambor says, “Shoppers clicking from smartphone search ads account for 30% of total online Orders stemming from search ads, according to an Adlucent analysis of 32 retailers’ Google Product Listing Ad and Extended Text Ad spending over the holidays. Retailers’ increased paid search ad spending paid off over the holidays, according to data from 32 of digital marketing agency Adlucent’s retail clients for the period of Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 24) to Christmas Day. Shoppers clicking from paid search ads spent 45% more year over year during that period, thanks in large part to retailers... [...]

Ginny Marvin says, “Amazon led the way among big retailers in increasing their digital holiday advertising spend, according to ad sales intelligence firm MediaRadar, which analyzed sales data from October and November 2016 and 2015. The e-commerce giant increased digital ad spend during the early holiday push by 224 percent year over year. Linear TV ad spend also rose — by 76 percent — while its print investment dropped 10 percent. “Most retailers are reducing print spend while focusing on other channels, like linear TV and digital,” said Todd Krizelman, CEO and co-founder of MediaRadar... [...]

Andrew Gazdecki says, “Any good marketer knows to keep an eye on the future to stay ahead of the curve on new trends, emerging marketing channels, and other fresh ideas to deliver brand messages. With 2016 in the rear-view mirror and 2017 flying down the pipeline, now is the time to start examining what the New Year is going to mean for marketing. Here are six marketing growth strategies to help your small business succeed in 2017. Marketing Growth Strategies for Small Businesses 1. Mobile-Centric is the Name of the Game Over the past couple years, we’ve seen mobile overtake desktop in... [...]

Annie Pilon says, “If you plan to run a business in 2017, you need an online marketing strategy. And if you plan to up your online marketing game in the new year, you might be able to benefit from some advice from members of our small business community. Here are some of their top tips for upping your online marketing game in 2017. Create Awesome Headlines That Convert When creating content for the new year, you need to make sure you have strong headlines. Those headlines can draw people’s attention and help you ultimately gain more customers. Here, Hassan Ud-deen shares tips on creating... [...]

Annie Pilon says, “After the holiday shopping season comes the season of holiday returns. So if your small business sold a lot of gift items over the past couple of months, you’re likely about to be inundated with customers looking to return or exchange at least some of those items. Whether you run a local retail store or an ecommerce business, it’s important that you’re prepared to handle those returns in a way that’s satisfactory for both your customers and your business. Here are 15 tips for handling holiday returns. Tips for Handling Holiday Returns Have a Clear Policy in Place The... [...]

SBT team says, “New year, new you. At least that’s what everyone’s saying. You jot down a bunch of resolutions. You close the year out with wonderful intentions. But, by the time January 15th hits, everything still looks the same. You look around, and nothing’s changed since December. Of course, this sends your mood off into a negative direction, and thus starts the vicious cycle of “maybe next year.” Start 2017 on the right foot with these 5 tips. How to Succeed in 2017 Pick one word for 2017 Running through a list of a dozen resolutions every month gets old. Eventually, you’ll... [...]