Pine tree fell in the back yard and nearly took my deck out this weekend. Luckily it broke at it’s half way point.
Too Close For Comfort
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Google Adwords Displaying Special Offers
I was searching for this domain name creator tool that is really awesome but has one of those goofy web 2.0 names that I can never remember. I think it sounds or looks like panda or pantera or panera or something. Anyway, I happened to come across a new Adwords feature by accident and not through the 500 SEO/SEM blogs I follow. Possibly this has been discussed somewhere and I just missed it. It has been a busy week.
It appears that certain advertisers are being given the option to insert a special offer or coupon into their text ads. As you can see below, this really makes that lower #3 position stand out. Of special interest in my own line of work is the way this particular advertiser is using the feature to encourage customers to call to take advantage of the offer.
Once the offer is clicked, you get the details:
I assume this being offered as an ad extension to select Adwords users. I can see this drastically improving click-through in that less expensive #3 position. You can bet I will be getting in touch with my Adwords reps on Monday to get the details. By the way, I finally found that domain name generator I was looking for. It’s called Panabee and you should check it out.
Don’t Force It
Well, this is the first post in a while and I thought I would at least post something so that google would know that this blog was still alive.
A few months ago, I made a commitment to myself to post 3 times a week, no matter what. Well, I soon found that quantity does not equal quality and while my search engine traffic and twitter follows spiked, I just did not feel that drive that is necessary to really write engaging posts. I also have found it difficult to comment on developments in the SEO world after dealing with the real world ramifications for 9 hours a day.
So my new promise is not to force it. This may mean blogging on a wider range of topics and maybe more things in my personal life. Also, probably more posts made from my iPhone, like this one. So please excuse the typos.
Until next time.
Is Free Shipping Really Free?
According to a recent ComScore report, 61% of consumers are at least ‘somewhat likely’ to cancel their entire purchase if free shipping is not offered. This fact is certainly not lost on ecommerce retailers as illustrated by the 10% increase in free shipping transactions over the last 2 years.
So how are online retailers able to offer free shipping and remain profitable? What does free shipping really cost?
Pass On the Cost
A recent survey of global retailers and importers by Capital Business Credit, showed that just over 1/3 of manufacturers were absorbing that added logistics cost brought on by the increasing price of oil. The other 2/3′s were passing that cost on to distributors and retailers who in turn are passing all or part of the cost to the consumer. This applies mainly to international imports but the ratio may be similar on the domestic side as well.
Minimum Purchase Requirements
A very common tactic is to require a minimum purchase requirement. This encourages customers to buy more to reach whatever threshold is set and reduces the overhead required to process multiple, smaller orders. In addition, accessories or other items with a higher margins are often added to pad the shopping cart and meet the free shipping threshold.
Free Shipping Holidays
Many of the transactions included in the ComScore survey are from the busy holiday season when retailers run free shipping promotions to drive volume. The increased volume means that they can afford a little extra overhead for the free shipping without having to raise prices.
Using Existing Distribution Channels
Many of the big box retailers offer customers a chance to pick up the product at the store and avoid shipping cost. This is especially popular with big ticket items like televisions or furniture. For companies that can handle the logistics, it is an obvious win. They make the customer happy and at the same time do not have extra product in the supply chain or on the shelves. Another important fact to consider is that while eCommerce is growing at a faster rate than traditional retail it still makes up less than 9% of total retail. This means the Wal-Marts and Best Buys can absorb online cost or raise in-store prices to stay competitive with pure eCommerce businesses like Amazon.
Subscriptions
This one is pretty new and I am only familiar with one successful example – Amazon Prime. You pay for a recurring fee for a premium membership and receive free 2-day shipping on any orders that are fulfilled by Amazon. At $79 a year, it certainly could pay for itself quickly. I imagine the math works out in Amazons favor though since you are incentivized to purchase through them rather than elsewhere.
Keep these point in mind next time you take advantage of ‘free’ shipping.
Screw SEO, Give Me Some of That Rapture Traffic
Need traffic to your site? Just pick a date using a bunch of random bible quotes and some numerology and BAM! 350k visits.
You know how I know the Familyradio nut jobs really believed the world would end? No ads anywhere. They missed a big opportunity to monetize all that rapture traffic. They could have used those adsense clicks to finance more billboards.
Just for giggles, the before and after. I was really hoping to see a new page that said something like “Hey, it did happen but none of us made the cut either”.
Before
After
More Living Social Goodness
Groupon may be the reigning king of the daily deal but Living Social is shaping up to be the in-bred hillbilly cousin with a learning disability. Here is my latest LS find courtesy of my lovely wife who subscribes so that I don’t have to – Shotguns, Booze, and BBQ. Suck it Groupon!
Luckily, the beer tastin’ is after the shootin’, so they say. This deal is from Aviator Brewing which is a few blocks from my home. Still waiting for the drinkin’ and flyin’ coupon.
Worst Living Social Offer Ever
This is just so bad I had to share. My wife got this email offer through Living Social and forwarded to me for a laugh. Not that I have anything against Yogi, I mean I do loves stealing pic-a-nic baskets, but this is probably the worst attempt at marketing a resort property I have seen in awhile.
So, come on down and see a golf cart parade kids! Is this really the best you could do to represent your Yogi themed resort property? Where is the pic of the 300 ft water slide or the other awesome stuff listed? I am not sure if the Living Social people put this together or the marketing people for the resort, but this email does not make me want to stay at Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Camp Resort. And what is up with the prices? $88 for two nights of tent camping? Apparently there are enough suckers out there though, 119 people have already signed up. Kind of makes me think that people are at the point where they will consider buying anything that comes through the Groupon or Living Social pipeline.
I’m not sure what type of parent books these kind of themed vacations with their kids, but I know I am not the type. Aside from the blatant consumerism, it seems kind of lazy. It’s like people just do not want to make the effort to make a regular vacation interesting so they go somewhere were it is done for them. Then again, maybe I’m just being my typical overly cynical self. I just know that there are better things going on in the Blue Ridge Mountains than watching Yogi lead a golf cart parade.
AdWords Offering Phone Support?
I was digging around the AdWords Help section and noticed a nice little blue square in the upper right with the number of my AdWords team. I assume this only applies if you have your own AdWords Support Team but I am curious if anyone else has noticed this. I think it is a nice touch and gives me warm fuzzies knowing my AdWords team is monitoring my every move just a phone call away.
Youtube Founders Announce Purchase of Tap11
Chad Hurley and Steve Chen, co-founders of Youtube, announced their plans to add social media analytics firm Tap11 to their new start-up Avos. According to the Avos press release, this acquisition complements the recent purchase of Delicious.com from Yahoo and is part of their strategy to ”..create the world’s best platform for uses to save, share, and discover new content”. And yes, I left the typo (uses) from the original press release.
It will be interesting to see what they come up with and if they can compete with more established analytics services like Omniture that are already incorporating social media tracking in their suite of tools. Interestingly, Avos stated that their tool will be the “Omniture of the real-time web” which I take to mean that it will be bloated, slow, and difficult to use.
I am really curious to see what Google has in the wings for social analytics. I don’t see them just standing still as all of their competitors roll out new tools to track social.
Tiny Frog
Here is a tiny frog that I found hiding in the BBQ cover. It was kind enough to stay put while I ran inside and grabbed a quarter. Had to give the shot a sense of scale. And yes, I am the frog whisperer.
