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  1. eCommerce, mobile shopping

    eCommerce Essentials: 11 Must Haves for Successful Online Stores

    Hopeful entrepreneurs start up thousands of new eCommerce businesses every day. Nine out of 10 of the online ventures will not survive the first year. What makes the difference between eCommerce success and failure? For anyone with an online business or considering one, here’s our list of the top 11 must haves and excerpts from the online ‘buzz’ about them. Also check out Mailchimp’s article on how to start an online store.

    1. A Niche Market

    “Most people who are just starting out make the mistake of looking for a product first, and a market second. To boost your chances of success, start with a market. The trick is to find a group of people who are searching for a solution to a problem, but not finding many results.” Entrepreneur.com

  2. Email

    Google Adopting More Strict Email Policy

    Google is about to update  their authentication policy that impacts people who use Gmail to send emails through a third-party service like email marketing services or website contact forms. Free email providers like Yahoo, AOL, and soon Google have adopted the strict DMARC  email authentication protocol to prevent spam.

  3. landing pages, websites, Raleigh NC

    How To Use Landing Pages to Generate Leads and Increase Sales

    If you’ve clicked an online ad, you’ve likely ended up on a landing page. These pages play an essential role in online marketing. If your small business site is not using them, you may be missing opportunities to increase leads or sales.

    Landing pages are generally stand-alone elements of a website that exist to generate leads or “click throughs.” A leads generation page asks visitors to provide contact information in exchange for an offer such as a free white paper, e-newsletter subscription or e-book. By collecting this information from visitors, the page produces a list of business leads. The purpose of a “click through” landing page is to educate and motivate visitors to respond positively to the page’s call to action – such as clicking a “buy now” button.

  4. mobile-friendly websites, Raleigh N.C.

    New Google Tool Tests Small Business Sites for Mobile-Friendliness

    Do mobile users find what they are looking for when they land on your business site? How quickly does your site load on mobile devices?

    Google wants you to know the answers to these questions and how to improve your results. The company has introduced a new, free tool created with small business owners in mind. “Test My Site with Google” analyzes a site’s performance across devices and provides specific fixes for less-than-optimal results. It’s easy to use and does not require technical knowledge to understand.

  5. pinterest marketing

    Take Another Look at Pinterest for Business

    There’s ‘buzz’ about Pinterest in the social media marketing world, and it is touting the platform as a good bet for business promotions. Here’s an example from a January 2016 post from Content Marketing Institute (CMI):

    “ …. Pinterest has virtually unlimited engagement potential. … it’s undeniable that Pinterest can help you connect with your customers, make more sales, get people excited about your business, and spread the word about your services around the web.”

    Their reasons for confidence in the platform might include some of these findings:

    • Fastest growing social network

    The New York Times “Bits” blog reported in September 2015 that Pinterest reached the milestone of 100,000 monthly active members. While that number is dwarfed by social counterparts Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, Pinterest’s 97 percent rate of growth far exceeded the others’ rates.

  6. eCommerce webites, raleigh, nc

    WooCommerce improves speed with “Dashing Dolphin” upgrade

    WooCommerce released its latest upgrade, version 2.5 – dubbed the “Dashing Dolphin,” in January.

    Here’s how the WooThemes product release announcement describes the new features:

    This latest version focuses on getting the store itself to run quickly and is aptly named Dashing Dolphin.

    We made several changes under the hood that improve the speed of your store.

    First, we improved how WooCommerce knows who is on the site and what they have in the cart, known as a session handler. … We’re now storing less temporary data in the database, which speeds up every page load.

    Several pages in the backend were improved, such as the tax settings screen. For store owners that collect taxes in a lot of regions, this screen will both save and load much faster.

  7. Social Media Marketing: Predictions for 2016

    The abundance of new social media platforms emerging practically overnight has given new meaning to the adage “Social media never sleeps.” Have you checked out Periscope (live streaming)? Blab (live personal “talk show” chat)? Yik Yak (anonymous local conversations/chat)?

    These are just a few of the new sites and apps seeking to tap into the ‘social’ scene — which the Pew Research Center found to include 65 percent of adults in the U.S. (October 2015).

    Meanwhile, established players in the field such as Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus are introducing new capabilities in order to remain in the game.

  8. internet marketing, Raleigh, N.C.

    7 Key Components of Strategic Internet Marketing

    Are your customers and prospects finding you online? Nine out of 10 consumers will research products and services online before making a purchase, phone call or reservation. And three out of five will complete their shopping online.

    Businesses are increasingly depending on their web presence for both marketing and sales. Those who are most successful have a strategic plan, identifying their target markets, specifying the online channels to reach them, setting goals, etc.

    Consistent with the ever-changing landscape of the internet, new tools and tactics for marketing and sales can seem to pop up overnight. For those operating a small business, it can be overwhelming to stay informed of the latest best practices. So we’ve compiled this list of key components for consideration in your 2016 internet marketing plan.

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