Internet Marketing Architects » SEO strategy

No Credit Card? No Problem Internet Retailers Allow Consumers To Shop Online With Cash

Chaosmap — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 21:54:41 +0000

In today’s economically depressed climate, many retailers are feeling the affects of limited consumer spending first hand. Online retailers, in particular, have been offering sales, special deals, and promotions in an effort to attract buyers, and are expected to increase their efforts as the 2009 holiday season approaches.

But what about those consumers who don’t have or use credit cards and/or debit cards? Believe it or not, there are quite a lot of them, about 72 million in fact, according to eBillme.com. Ebillme is trying to capitalize on this demographic by offering them the option to pay for their online purchases in cash.

How does this work?

Through the site’s “walk-in” payment option can purchase items online from 840 different ecommerce sites, and then pay for their purchases in cash at one of Ebillme’s payment locations. Once payment is confirmed, the merchant is notified, and the product is sent.

If this service catches on, more online retailers may have to rethink the types of payment options that they offer their customers, and expand these options accordingly.

While paying in cash for online purchases may allow customers to take advantage of special online deals, critics also point out that it may also be time-consuming and confusing for some “cash only” customers who are, according to eBillme CEO Marwan Forzley, primarily seniors or recent immigrants without access to banking.

More Small To Mid-Sized Businesses Finding Value In SEM

Chaosmap — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 14:12:58 +0000

Image via CrunchBase

As economic downturn and increased awareness of Internet marketing methods result in many larger companies turning to SEM techniques, statistics show that small to mid-sized businesses are also finding value in this type of marketing.

According to ClickThrough.com, businesses such as Brand Republic, and Fone Shop, have had success with the scaled back Internet marketing packages that many SEO/SEM firms have begun to offer their clients.

Since implementing SEM, Marketing director of Foneshop, David Hyett, says, “We’re doing at least 150 orders a day now.” Overall, Foneshop’s orders have increased 56% in the past year, with 50% of new customers finding the site via Google.

A recent study conducted by Microsoft adCenter, however found that 62% of all respondents are under investing in Internet marketing currently, a number that is expected to decrease dramatically within the coming year.

Back to Basics: What is Search Engine Marketing and Why Is It Important?

Chaosmap — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 20:48:13 +0000

Traffic is important, but even more critical factors are click-through and conversion. Traffic is great, but traffic alone on your site does not pay the bills.What makes the ROI in Search Marketing so powerful is when visitors to your site are encouraged through best practices to click through, or look deeper into the site. Remember that your site is like a virtual salesperson. It must attract visitors, engage them in conversation, answer objections, present solutions to their needs and finally close the deal.Last and even most critical is the ability to generate and improve upon Web site traffic conversions. In a conversion, a visitor agrees to take the next step, to sign up for a white paper or account and even to purchase something from the site. This is the close, and without it you simply have visitors rather than customers.A properly thought out and executed strategy will include all of the facets mentioned above. This comprehensive approach can lead to dramatic improvements in all of these areas.