Friday, December 14, 2007

November 2007 StoresOnline Merchant Newsletter

Greetings from Robert Schow, VP of Customer Relations

Last month we went over different ways you can use various promotional strategies to help accommodate your customers during this Holiday Season. This month we will be touching on a few different ways you can use major search engines to help you accomplish your marketing goals.

Thought for the Month
This month will be the beginning of the busiest shopping time of the Year! This is a great time to gear up on your marketing skills and start driving in the traffic.

We will be discussing the 3 major search engines.

Google
Google offers a variety of marketing techniques and tools to suit your budget. One tool that we highly recommend is Google AdWords. There are 3 things you can accomplish with this

  1. Your target will be reached. You can advertise to people who search on Google. This way your AdWords campaign can target new audiences.

  2. You will have greater control. You would be able to edit your ad and adjust it to your budget until you get the results that you want. You can also restrict it to specific languages and geographic locations.

  3. You get measurable value. You do not have a binding contract that will hold you to a minimum spending requirement and/or time commitment. And with the cost-per-click option, you're only charged if people click on your ads. This means every dollar of your budget goes toward bringing new prospects to your website.

Yahoo
Yahoo also offers a variety of marketing products.

  1. Yahoo! Local - Local Listings are a great way to promote your business to customers looking for information in Yahoo! Local. Unlike Local Sponsored Search, which uses a pay-per-click payment model, Local Listings have 3 listing options; Basic (Free), Enhanced (Fee) and Featured (Fee). Visit http://listings.local.yahoo.com for more information.

  2. Yahoo! Search Submit - This enables you to submit up to 5 URLs per domain for inclusion in non-sponsored search results on Yahoo! and other portals such as AltaVista and AllTheWeb. Visit https://siteexplorer.search.yahoo.com/submit for more information.

  3. Yahoo! Search Marketing Product Submit - This will allow you to promote your products prominently in Yahoo! Shopping and appear in highly relevant areas across Yahoo!, giving you access to millions of motivated buyers. Pay for your performance Inclusion in Yahoo! Product Search and buyer's guide pages is based on a cost-per-click price that varies by product category. You pay only for leads directly to your site. Quickly and easily update product information and monitor performance. Visit http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com/shopsb/index.php for more information.

MSN Live
We have negotiated directly with Microsoft on your behalf to get you a $50 advertising credit with Microsoft's adCenter. When you establish an advertising account with them with a low $5.00 activation fee, you will receive a $50 advertising credit which goes towards clicks.

Go to startadcenter.com/storesonline and use promo code STORES07 during the setup process to receive your $50 credit. It's an awesome opportunity to spend just a little bit of money and gain valuable traffic. As you do, you will be better able to make the adjustments to your site and your marketing to maximize its effectiveness.


New Software Features

Custom Price Labels and Add to Cart text: This will allow you to customize the text used for your Add to Cart buttons and price labels. To access the custom labels ares, go to the Products tab and click on Price sets. Double click on your standard Price Set and the click the Labels tab.

Inventory Search/Pagination: Your inventory screen will have the ability to search by name or SKU. This will help with time out problems and will also benefit merchants that have thousands of products in inventory.

New Design: Check out the new design called Big Sky by going to the Site tab located in the Store Builder.

Allow Multiple Variation Ordering: This feature allows customers to buy quantities of multiple variations at once. For example, if you sell a product that comes in Small, Medium and Large, using this feature will add a quantity box next to each size. Now your customer can enter a separate quantity for each size and then click Add to Cart one time saving several back and forth clicks. To enable this feature on a specific product, you will need to be sure that the variation is being displayed as a list and then check the options box that says "Allow Multiple Variation Ordering"

DOBA Pro Memberships: The StoresOnlinePro platform now supports Doba Pro memberships. If you are a Doba Pro member, you will now be able to view products from all of the suppliers that you have access to.


Featured Merchant

"I finally got to the point where I wanted a change in my life. We wanted a business that would kind of express our passions...I love to photograph butterflies up close, you know, full frame. Now I can go do that just for fun without the stress of having to earn a living with my pictures."



Our customer service and programming departments are committed to providing the best possible service to our merchants by listening and responding to their needs. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for our customer service department, you may visit us at http://www.myquickresponse.com/ for 24/7 Customer Support Live Chat. You may also call 801-434-8582.

As always, we are grateful to have you on board as a merchant with StoresOnline!

Robert Schow
VP of Customer Relations
StoresOnline, Inc.






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