A nice roundup of Google updates was posted at the end of 2013 on the e2m Solutions blog by Pratik Dholakiya:
11 Most Important Google Search Algorithm Updates/Changes in 2013 [INFOGRAPHIC]
See what Google defines as important ranking factors that you should pay attention to and what got devalued during the past year.
The Online Publishers Association (OPA) reported that 95 percent of its newspaper and magazine members have a paid subscription strategy, and are leveraging these paid models as part of their overall growth strategies and that “digital subscriptions are positively impacting revenue, attracting younger audiences, garnering valuable consumer data and enhancing ad sales”.
Once a controversial strategy, premium digital content is now becoming a proven success. If you are no longer willing to give out your content for free and have loyal audience that values it enough to pay for access, consider setting up a digital subscription system to further grow your business.
It’s a well known fact that PCI compliance is often a baffling puzzle for small merchants. But you need to know what to do in order to avoid non-compliance fees and costs of a security breach that is more likely to happen if you ignore PCI compliance.
Eric Geier takes a lot of confusion out of the picture with his short and clear article:
5 tips for easy PCI compliance
Unlike many other authors that do their best to help merchants navigate through the complicated world of PCI compliance, Eric talks not only about your online store but also about mobile card readers, proper office and brick and mortar store setup.
None of this stuff is very technical, and all of it will help to keep you on a good side of card brands who define PCI security standards.
Have further questions specific to your situation? Contact Dusk Owl, we are here to answer them.
The idea of social media being more effective than emails is now as persistent and wide-spread as that of Facebook or some other social network being better than a standalone web site. Both are equally incorrect, but I want to leave the latter for another post and bring to your attention a good article on why a mailing list is irreplaceable and how to build it the right way:
Why You Should Start Building Your Email List Right Away
It’s especially a good read for those of you who haven’t started building a mailing list yet. As simple and straightforward as the process may seem, there are certain practices to observe if you want to avoid problems down the road. Double opt-in is only one example of those.
Did you know that 57% of online shoppers abandon a site after waiting 3 seconds for page load and that 80% don’t return after that? Or that 79% of consumers trust online reviews for local business as much as a personal recommendation? Or that 29% of online shoppers will abandon checkout if asked to register?
These and other interesting findings about consumer behavior were collected from multiple sources and summarized nicely in an infographic by VoucherCloud. See how they affect your current ecommerce setup and future plans to adjust it.
(click the image to see the full size version)
If you use Pinterest for personal needs and also as a business it makes sense to put your business boards into a separate business accounts. That will help you focus on the right customers for your products or services and will also give you access to analytics which are not available for personal accounts.
The downside of this separation is that unlike Facebook or Google+ Pinterest does not provide an easy way to manage multiple accounts. But you can still make it work by using Pinterest “Who can pin?” feature. Create a business account, add it to the shared board, and that board will show on your business account. You can do it with multiple business accounts too if you have multiple businesses or distinctive branches within the same business.
Shopping search engine Pricegrabber have compiled the results of its Winter Holiday Shopping Survey into the insightful infographic that those of you who own online stores will appreciate.
(click the image to see the full size version)
If you chose PayPal to accept payments on your web site your customers do not need to have a PayPal account to be able to pay. All you need to do for that is choose the right type for your own PayPal account and configure it properly.
Here’s the entire process, short and simple:
1. If you are setting a new PayPal account, choose a Premium or Business one. The only difference between the two is that a Business account gives the ability to accept credit cards to more than one person.
If you already have a Personal Paypal account, either upgrade it or set up a new Premium or Business account.
In either case PayPal will ask if you want to verify your account. This step is not required, but the short note on your payment page about being verified gives your customers an extra reassurance that they are making a safe purchase.
2. In your PayPal account, click the account icon at the top right of the screen (next to the “Log Out” button) and choose Profile and settings from the drop-down menu.
3. On the next page, click My Selling Tools on the left, then under Selling online on the right find this item: Website preferences. Click the Update link next to it.
4. Scroll down to PayPal Account Optional and check the On button.
5. Click the Save button at the bottom of the page.
That’s it!
If you use Dropbox for your own purposes or while working with us on a project, be advised about a new scam email with a subject “Please Update Your Expired Dropbox Password.” If you open it, do not click on any links. The link will take you to a hacked web site that distributes malware.
Stay safe, go directly to Dropbox.com if you need to make any changes to your account.
Source: Dynamoo’s Blog
There is a great new artice by jill Whaleen at High Rankings dedicted on what modern SEO is really about. In Jill’s own words:
While it’s easy to say what SEO isn’t, it’s a lot harder to pin down exactly what SEO is these days. On the other hand, SEO is still the same thing I said it was when I first started writing about it over a decade ago — that is, making your website the best it can be both for people and search engines.
Still, that broad definition probably doesn’t mean much to many of you. You’re likely left wondering how exactly you should go about making your site the best it can be. So today I’ll explain how you can do just that.