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Archive for the ‘e-commerce’ Category

Google is set to release an updated version of its Keyword Tool which will combine features of the Keyword Tool (primarily for AdWords users) with features of the Search-based Keyword Tool (which is based on actual Google search queries) to create one of the most comprehensive and valuable keyword research tool on the Web today. It might just be the greatest keyword tool of all time.

The new Keyword Tool offers flexible search options, enabling users to search by any combination of keyword, website/URL, and category and receive a single set of results. Users will also be able to filter result by word or keyword match type, and even view statistics for mobile search and use data filter based on local search, as well as search and ad share. It might just be the greatest keyword tool of all time.

Google also added some new features based on user feedback including the ability to remove duplicate keywords (which appear with an “Already in Ad Group” message) and the ability to add negative keywords automatically to your account from your keyword idea list.

The depth and value the upcoming tool provides kind of makes me wonder about the viability of commercial keyword research services. If Google dominates the search and ad space, what do the others know that Google doesn’t? Do you even need to consider using alternative providers? Is Google’s upcoming keyword tool the greatest keyword tool of all time? Share your comments

In today’s e-commerce environment, merchants have a lot more options beyond selling their products and services through their own online storefronts. Platform provider ShopVisible has just introduced a set of seamless integrations that connects retailers to major marketplaces such as Amazon, eBay, Buy.com, Overstock and Craigslist.

Merchants using the ShopVisible e-commerce platform can manage their entire product catalogs at a granular level across these diverse channels through one management console. The platform provides a direct, two-way interaction where products can be selectively pushed to specific online marketplaces and comparison shopping engines, and orders are all managed and organized in a single user interface.

ShopVisible also enables retailers to automate the entire product approval process for all retail channels. Integrations are among the ShopVisible platform’s best features, connecting online retailers with valuable marketplaces, software packages and third-party applications that simplify the selling process. Merchants may visit the site to order a free demo of ShopVisible’s on-demand e-commerce solution.

PayPal has launched a mobile payment service for e-commerce merchants, and retail giants Buy.com and Nike are among the first to utilise the new system. Mobile Express Checkout is designed to provide a seamless payment experience for consumers shopping from their iPhones and Android devices, and PayPal says the service will be available to all online retailers by the fall.

In a company blog announcing the launch, PayPal indicated that its mobile transactions have risen from $25 million in 2008 to $141 million in 2009, and it projects around $500 million in mobile transactions this year. As an industry, experts have predicted the mobile payment business to exceed $633 billion by 2014.

Shoppers need only enter their PayPal account logins when using Mobile Express Checkout, expediting the payment process by eliminating the need for reentering shipping or billing information.

Some 44% of Londoners have been victims of bank card fraud and 42% have had their identity stolen, according to an Infosecurity Europe survey.

Tidal Wave of Identity Theft sweeps the UK

Researchers said the average amount stolen was £1,448 per victim, and 37% did not get their money back from the bank. Those who lost smaller amounts were less likely to get their money back than those who lost larger amounts, the survey of 1,000 London commuters found. Most people (91%) who lost more than £5,000 were refunded, compared with only 41% of people who lost less than £100. Some 60% blamed retailers for making them vulnerable to fraud, while only 12% blamed the banks, and 28% said it was their own fault. More than a quarter (27%) said their details had been stolen through websites or e-mail, while a fifth said they lost their details during face-to-face transactions.

Being duped over the phone was the third most likely place to have details stolen with 15% of details being stolen this way. Other ways that details were taken included cashpoint machines, online banking and letters being intercepted in the post. Most of the affected (58%) were targeted in the UK, but 42% said the fraud happened to them while they were overseas.

More than half of respondents that were subject to fraud or ID theft said their credit rating was worse as a result, 37% said they had stopped online banking, and 34% said they had stopped shopping online.

In this article we address some basic questions around autoresponders and email marketing software:

• What is an autoresponder?
• Should I be using an autoresponder service?
• How to get the most out of an autoresponder and email marketing software?
• Which autoresponder service should I use?

What is an Autoresponder?

An autoresponder is a software that can be used to send emails to people automatically. It can also respond to an email that is sent to it. This allows individuals and businesses to react to emails and questions without human intervention. A simple example of an autoresponder is when you go on vacation from work and you set up an automatic response letting people know you will be out of the office. Autoresponders are often used as a marketing tool for online businesses. With autoresponders you compose some pre-written emails that you want sent out to your customers (e.g. instructions after they have purchased a product, news about upcoming product releases and so on). You can specify when you want these emails sent out and to who, even if you are away from your computer the emails are always delivered. Autoresponders are an easy and efficient way to get information to your customers.

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