Our guide to selling more online

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There are over 50 tips in the document for boosting the conversion rate and revenue of your website.

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Image credit: Deniz Kumral

Spotify Labs release Spotify on Blackberry

Spotify Labs have released an early version of Spotify for Blackberry, more info here.

Exciting - I was missing listening to music on the move ever since I got a Blackberry three months ago.

On my Blackberry 8900 I’m getting the following error though… :(

This application requires the following modules, which are not installed:
net_rim_media_actions
 net_rim_bb_browser_field2_api

Makes me miss my iPhone… no Spotify on the go yet.

p.s. apparently you need min OS 5 on Blackberry to run it, the 8900 comes with 4.

Image credit: tecca.com

5 Tips on How to Make your E-Commerce Buttons Stand Out

“Add to Cart” and “Buy Now” buttons are the first step in a customer committing to buy. You need to entice customers to click the button, so make sure they are effective. Here are some tips:

1. Words, Language and Urgency. Effective words and language will make a huge impact with website visitors. Make the words direct, simple and short. Preferably use familiar phrases such as “Buy Now”, “Add to Cart” or “Add to Basket”. Some may include the price, such as “Buy Now for $9.99 only!” for extra pull. If your website runs in different languages, make sure to that the texts on the buttons will change according to the chosen language.
   Use phrases to instill urgency, “Buy Now” and similar phrases can be powerful especially if used in conjunction with a store promotion.
2. Placement. An effective button should be placed clearly from any clutter to make it stand out and get more clicks. Make sure you have enough white space around the button and surrounding elements.
3. Font, Size and Color. To ensure that visitors can notice the buttons, it is important to consider color. Make the button obvious, but not so garish that is conflicts with the site’s colour scheme. For font types, generally you should use Sans Serif typefaces, such as Arial, Helvetica or Tahoma, as they have good spacing between letters and they are easier to read on screen. You may opt for bold font style or in capital letters.
4. Prioritize. If there is a secondary option and therefore two buttons under one product (for example, “Read More” “Add to Cart”), ensure that “Add to Cart” button has priority. How? There are a lot of ways, but the most common are the button’s color and size. Make the “Read More” button in less bright or smaller, while the Add the Cart’s color should be bold and large.
5. Icons and Images. Icons such as for shopping carts are good visual cues and are widely understood. Use unique buttons that have intuitive icons, and have them follow your site’s branding to create a stronger impression.

2012 Online Marketing Trend Predictions

Here are five 2012 marketing trend predictions according to Econsultancy.com.

1. Online marketing will begin to drive in-store retailing. Technology such as Google Wallet and near field communications will allow brands to track the impact of online activity on in-store sales. Google’s paid search for mobile enables brands to serve relevant ads to consumers while they are in the store vicinity, as well as providing directions to the store.

2. Online marketing will be driven by smart multichannel attribution. Many predicted that by 2011, brands would be able to have a complete, single view of their customers. Thanks to improved analytics technology such as Google Funnel, an evolution of Google Analytics, this will soon become a reality.

3. Google may entirely dominate the search market. The current search market share of Google is 90% plus it owns 98% of the mobile search market globally. With over 100 innovations from Google in the past year, Google continues to grow and become a dominant influence on consumers. With 90% current market share (98% for mobile), next year they could well and truly leave Bing and Yahoo! behind.

4. Brands will invest more in getting to know their customers. With the 2012 economy prediction looking gloomy, the demand for discounts is expected to increase again. Some brands will be looking for a stronger promotional strategy. Some clever brands are going beyond offering discounts by offering deeper understanding of their customers’s drive to buy in order to gain loyalty from the customer and maintain a good relationship with them.

5.Facebook won’t master social commerce. Facebook hasn’t been successful in social commerce so far, with Facebook Deals closing only four months after launch. Brands should consider Facebook as a social medium to understand and communicate with customers and to build brand reputation, not as a direct selling tool.