eCommerce and

So we have finally started utilizing Twitter so feel free to follow us to keep up to date on our latest activities.

This week’s eCommerce review:

• According to a post by Bruce Temkin, as we add functionality to our websites we may be decreasing the ease of navigation, and according to his numbers it looks like there is plenty of room for improvement.


• To niche or not to niche, that is a great question, especially if your competition is trying to dominate you via SERPs!  Search Engine Land takes a look at microsites in relation so SERP’s.


• Tools every Google Analytics professional should have.


• Avinash, well known analytics guru, goes over the basics of daily, weekly, and monthly unique visitors.  The summary of the lesson is to pretty much forget those metrics, and instead look at absolute unique visitors over a given time period.  Gotta love simplicity.


• As someone who feels the need to justify reasoning, I can completely identify with this post from Future Now, On a Scale From 1 to 5 Surveys Stink. Here’s Why!
  

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Unless you have been hiding under a rock all week you know that the big buzz this week has been the visit of Pope Benedict XVI.  In the world of eCommerce the buzz has been about other things, which I have provided for you below.

P.S. Congratulations to the Los Angeles Lakers for taking the number one seed in the West.  I am of course rooting for them, but on top of that, if they win it, fellow blogger Matt owes me dinner at one of our favorite sushi places!

• Think you are an SEO guru?  Put your money where you mouth is and take the SEO quiz put out by SEOmoz.  (As a caveat, I haven’t taken it yet, but plan to this weekend) 
• Check out 22 Great Web Analytics Videos according to blogger Rich Page. 
• Internet retailers please get your products from legitimate suppliers, stealing is illegal. 
• Yahoo is being sued for $1 Million, the charge is click fraud. 
• It looks like eBay’s changes may be paying off for them.
  

While a large part of our focus this week has been on the new website I managed to squeeze in some time to catch up on eCommerce.

• A local University is getting some attention for their focus on internet retailing.  The Sloan Center for Internet Retailing at the University of California Riverside has developed the eLab for blogging on their recent findings.
• Retailers are turning to online video to provide the in-store experience online.
• Search Engine Guide has provided a list of 28 Resources for Paid Search Strategies, to help marketers diversify their strategies between bid management and measurement.
• Avinash Kaushik, author of Web Analytics An Hour A Day, recommended 4Q this week as the best free online survey.
• Tiger Direct no longer? 

Google has just updated their Conversion University help section.  ConversionUniversity.com is now available in all 25 Google Analytics supported languages. From help on optimizing your AdWords ROI to Google Website Optimizer testing strategies, Conversion University's mission is to offer tips and best practices designed to help you improve your online results. One of my biggest frustrations with Google Analytics has been its limited amount of documentation and support, just try to add some of the advanced Google analytics code for Google checkout, Live Person or switch tracking code versions, and you'll soon realize that it is a much harder task then you would have at first realized.  It is certainly good to see new documentation and resources getting some attention. If someone is looking for a fully supported analytics solution Google does still offer Urchin Web Analytics Software for purchase which is available through their partners. I did run through most of the topics present and found the Google Conversion University YouTube playlist especially helpful and interesting.