Lead generation for eCommerce stores typically comes from coupons, contests and perhaps abandoned cart email collection.  However, remarkable content properly packaged can be an additional avenue for both traffic and lead generation. Remarkable content in blog articles and in downloadable guides will  serve your website well in both rising in the SERPs (Search Engine Ranking Page) and collecting new leads to nurture to purchase.

Step 1.  Write down 5 of the best questions customers or prospects have asked about your products.  These five questions will be your next five blog posts.  For example, a seller of fireglass pits may have been asked these questions:

• How is the ambiance of a fireglass pit versus a real fire?


• What is the best types of glass to use in a fireglass pit?


• Can you use fireglass pits indoors?


• How do convert wood burning pit into a fireglass pit?


• Are fireglass pits portable?  Can they be taken camping?

These questions that will generate organic search traffic to your store.  Chances are that if someone has asked you that question before, someone, somewhere around the world is going to Google that same question.  Write the question as the blog post title and use the content of the blog post to answer it  to drive traffic!

Step 2.  Adapt those five blog posts into a single document and save it as a PDF to be used as a downloadable guide.  Design a nice cover for this document using an image editing program such as Photoshop and make that the first page.  This will be a guide that you offer to visitors whom are interested in learning more about your product in a comprehensive manner.  A large percentage of first time visitors to your website will not purchase from you on their first visit.  They will likely be in research mode.  Don't let all of this traffic slip away!  Offer them a guide that they can download in exchange for an email address!

Step 3.  Create a call to action and landing page to promote your offer.  The call to action button linking to your landing page could be used on just about any of your website pages.  I recommend to place the call to action on your most trafficked pages including the home page, category/pages and blog posts.  The graph below details the conversion path a visitor would take to become a lead on your website and hopefully helps to illustrate the process



Congratulations!  You have now created your first set of traffic and lead generation content!

The steps I have detailed above will help you get started with traffic and lead generation content... but keep in mind that there are many additional and advanced ways to develop more!  Stay tuned to my eCommerce Blog, check out the Essential Ecommerce Blogs and read all of the articles from HubSpot for Lead Generation to learn more. Read More

I was recently reviewing The Facebook Commerce Index Whitepaper June 2011 from ChannelAdvisor.com, a SaaS eCommerce solution specializing in multi-channel commerce, and was inspired by the list of top 25 Facebook Fan pages by total fan numbers.  I used this as a starting point for a list of the 10 best pages that are utilizing engaging, innovative and compelling features such as:

• Great Welcome/Splash page


• Incentives to "Like" page


• Engaging Content and apps


• Interactive media


• Ways to purchase


• Innovative marketing

The list below was created on 8/2/11 and is targeting big brand stores - ya know - those that are established and well known.  The list is in no particular order.  Enjoy!

1. Vans - Most robust availability of really cool apps available I found across the big brands.  I especially like the ability to customize and purchase the shoes without leaving Facebook.  Very nice F-Commerce store.


2. Moosejaw - Everything from consistent branding to great content and fun contests is here.  Superb interactive catalogs coupled with Reasons to Like Moosejaw on Facebook section including "Tips on where you may have misplaced that cap to your shaving cream" make this page one of my favorites.  I've been looking for shaving cap for months!


3. Nba.com - Streamlined F-Commerce store has a nice interface and is easy to navigate.


4. Sears - Operation Rebuild and Heroes at Home campaigns give users a good reason to like Sears beyond the products that they sell.  Very good splash page that encourages "Likes" by advertising:  "Like Sears to learn how to support our military men and women."


5. Victoria Secret - VS is doing a lot right with over 14.5 million fans!  Clean and engaging splash pages coupled with contests and gift cards makes Victoria Secret the top "Liked" page of the entire list.


6. Walmart - The Everyday Hero splash page attempts to give a personal and emotional appeal to the store that has been putting local businesses out of work across the country.  It seems to be working with over 8 million fans.


7. Target - Engaging page complete with a Summer Fun Finder that suggests activities to do by spinning an interactive wheel.  Fun!


8. Nike - Excellent splash page making users "Like" Nike in order to access the Free Arena, a compilation of user generated videos.


9. Dolce Gabbana - Unified splash page encouraging fans to connect with their brand across entire digital world through iTunes style app design


10. Bloomingdales - Interactive registry makes it easy to shop for those lovebirds whom are tying the knot.

What are your favorite big brand eCommerce Facebook Pages? Read More

The American Debt ceiling debate is in full swing... politics aside, there is a lesson for marketers to learn here. Don't get caught up in high debt with ineffective PPC ads. Instead focus on these organic search and paid search strategies to minimize your debt and maximize your profits.

1. Invest for the Future: The absolute best way to avoid the reliance on expensive PPC ads to generate revenue is to invest in a blog that consistently publishes high quality, keyword rich content. A blog will act as an annuity that will allow your online store to continually generate targeted traffic while decreasing the dependance on PPC ads.

2. Listen to the People: It is not enough to just write a blog these days. You must engage with both your customers and prospective customers in social media to generate social shares of your website. Major search engines have put a lot of emphasis on social mentions. It has even been noted by SEOmoz, the most credible SEO experts in the industry, that social mentions affect organic search ranking results.

3. Bring in More Than You Spend: Make sure you are segmenting and even creating A/B test groups of your landing pages for all of your PPC campaigns. Ensure that you are not sending PPC traffic to your homepage but instead product or offer pages that will instead convert at higher conversion rates. This will net you a higher quality score which will decrease your overall PPC spend. Read More

I am currently reading Behind the Cloud by Marc Benioff, chairman and CEO of Salesforce.com, an excellent book detailing the history of the multi-billion dollar company that revolutionized SaaS (Software as a Service) into mainstream business. It is exciting and inspiring to read how Marc grew one of the most successful companies to date amidst the dotcom-bomb that engulfed so many online startups. Salesforce.com has transformed the way that millions of businesses operate by introducing an alternative from expensive and quickly outdated enterprise software with affordable and scalable cloud computing services.

One particular lesson I learned from Marc that I want to share today is on the importance of branding and the delivery of your company message. Marc eloquently writes,

"Whether or not you engage a PR firm, always ask yourself, 'What is my message?' Position yourself either as the leader or against the leader in your industry. Every experience you give a journalist or potential customer must explain why you are different and incorporate a clear call to action. This does not require a large team or a big budget; it just requires your time and focus."

This is a very important lesson that every business and online store owner should take note of. There are hundreds of thousands of online stores available to consumers today, how does yours stand out? What is your message and how are you delivering it to your customers and potential customers?

Salesforce.com differianted themselves with a branding message that implied the end of software. Bruce Campbell, now Chief Creative Officer at Salesforce.com, developed the No-Software logo below to illustrate this message. Believe it or not, the logo was ill received by almost everyone within the Salesforce.com organization and PR agency's working with them. But Marc stood by the logo because it delivered the most important rule in marketing - the necessity to differentiate your brand.

Read More

Michael Briggs, VP of Search Strategies at Website Publicity, recently delivered a fantastic webinar with HubSpot on Pumping Up Q4 Sales: Prepare Now for Holiday Sales and Don't Be Left In The Cold.  I found his webinar amazing and want to share some of his insights into keyword research and implementation with my own commentary.

Michael reminds us that it is important to begin researching holiday longtail keyword strategies and to implement a holiday themed keyword content strategy  to ensure quality search rankings come the busiest time of the year in November and December.  Every eCommerce store owner knows that the holiday season brings a spike in sales, but not all may realize that the holiday rush is becoming a bit shorter and a bit later with every passing year.  This means that every single one of your channels, especially search, should be properly optimized to ensure maximum holiday sales.  Start preparing your holiday longtail keyword research now by following these 4 steps.

1.  Analyze keywords that drove success last year.  Check both your organic and pay per click results to build a list of successful keywords that drove the most traffic and sales from the 2010 holiday season.  Rank the keywords that drove the most sales separately from those that drove the most traffic only.    Different strategies will be needed for each category.  Double down on the keywords that generated the most revenue with PPC and focus on improving both your ad copy and pricing for the keywords that only drove traffic.

2.  Build a list of holiday themed keywords.  Now that you have your list of top performing keywords, it is time to search for holiday themed keywords.  Google AdWord Keyword Tool is a great free tool to begin with.  Search for words like "gifts, Christmas gifts, gifts for mom/dad, cool gifts, ect." in association with your targeted keywords.  For example, a seller of fishing gear would want to build a list that includes keywords like "golf gifts, Christmas golf gifts, golf gifts for mom/dad, cool golf gifts, ect."  Be sure to build a large list of at least 100+ keywords.  This should be easy because of the holiday themed variations.




3.  Develop targeted SEO and PPC strategies.  Keyword strategies for pay per click and organic search will be different.  Eliminate non-relevant and currently successful keywords from your organic search strategy.  You are already ranking well for these keywords, so instead focus your SEO strategy on both new keywords and keywords that have low performing rankings.  Your pay per click efforts should target your entire list minus non-relevant keywords.  The result of your list should look something like this:




4.  Implement holiday themed keyword content.  Search engine optimization is made successful through great content utilizing keyword research.  Great content created  with keyword rich page title and content on the page coupled with social media engagement will be the most successful.  See the example below to model after.



SEO takes time to see results and PPC can be very expensive with and without optimized campaigns.  It is very important to have a holiday themed keyword strategy that you start implementing now to be see the results in November and December.  Happy selling! Read More

 Listed below are 10 of the best Ecommerce Shopping Cart Twitter accounts that I follow on @inboundcommerce.  These shopping cart providers go the extra mile by offering great eCommerce news and advice as well as amazing customer service and product updates.  Follow them all to stay updated with the latest trends, news and advice from the best world class shopping cart providers.

1. @3dcart - Official twitter of the award winning online shopping cart, 3dCart.


2. @volusion - Volusion shopping cart software powers the online success of 25,000+ storeowners. Grow your online business with Volusion - the trusted name in ecommerce.


3. @bigcommerce - Join the fastest growing SaaS e-commerce platform in the world!


4. @channeladvisor - Helping the world sell more online


5. @magento - Possibly the best eCommerce platform on the market...


6. @solidcactus - Your partner in eCommerce success


7. @pinnaclecart - Pinnacle Cart is an extremely powerful shopping cart and website builder application built from a marketing perspective


8. @ShopVisible - ShopVisible is an on-demand ecommerce solution provider that delivers tools and services designed to streamline and advance your online business.


9. @shopify - A fully hosted e-commerce shopping cart provider preferred by over 16,000 stores worldwide. Quickly and easily create a beautiful online store with Shopify.


10. @storenvy - Discover cool stuff from indie brands. Or open a free online store to sell your own! Tweets from @joncrawford & @janette.

Who are your favorite eCommerce shopping cart Twitter accounts to follow?  Do you really enjoy the services of any of the carts listed above?  Did I miss some of the best ones?  Please let me know if so in the comments below!

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Listed below are 10 of the best Ecommerce news and advice Twitter accounts that I follow on @inboundcommerce.  These accounts offer a steady stream of the best content on online shopping.  Follow them all to stay updated with the latest trends, news and advice from the world of eCommerce.

1.  @getelastic - #1 subscribed eCommerce blog.  Get Elastic Ecommerce Blog brought to you by Elastic Path Software
2.  @Econsultancy - Econsultancy publishes independent research, analysis and advice on digital marketing, social media, e-commerce, SEO, mobile and tech for businesses.
3.  @practicalecomm - Practical eCommerce is a resource that provides practical articles and advice to help smaller businesses succeed online.
4.  @eMarketer - The go-to authority on digital marketing, media and commerce, eMarketer offers intelligence essential to navigating today's competitive digital environment.
5.  @etail - The magazine, portal and conference for Europe's etailers.
6.  @ColderICE - Top rated eCommerce speaker, trainer writer & just a cool ass dude PERIOD
7.  @ecommerce - steady stream of eCommerce news, articles and advice
8.  @shoporg - The official Twitter site for Shop.org, a division of the National Retail Federation
9.  @thesavvyseller - Inbound Marketing Certified Professional / Social Media Strategist / Podcaster / Blogger / eBay Certified Business Consultant / eBay INK Social Media Seller
10.  @AuctionBytes - Ina Steiner is co-founder and editor of AuctionBytes.com and EcommerceBytes, the independent news source for online retailers.

Who are your favorite eCommerce Twitter accounts to follow for news and advice? Read More

None Read More

You can become an inbound marketing rockstar by being a creator, not a dreamer.

A creator writes blog posts and gets engaged in social media for inbound marketing. A creator has a great idea to generate more traffic and leads and then acts upon it. A creator sets inbound marketing goals and sticks to them. A creator lives, breathes and has an extreme passion for inbound marketing. A creator is a badass inbound marketing rockstar.

A dreamer thinks about doing inbound marketing. A dreamer marvels at their competition killing them in search rankings. A dreamer buys an expensive product but never uses it. Dreamers need to stop wishing upon inbound marketing and become rockstars by developing a passion that leads to creation.

Take the stage and become the inbound marketing rockstar you were born for. Some common steps to becoming a passionate inbound marketing rockstar creator include:

• Start a blog


• Write an eBook


• Make an infograph


• Organize a webinar series


• Network through social media


• Write meaningful comments on industry blogs


• Start a YouTube channel


• Conduct training classes


• and many more...

Go out there and do inbound marketing, do not idolize it and think about all the hard work it takes. If you want your business to succeed online, you are going to have to create content. And not just any content, rockstar quality content. Too many people, businesses and grandparents have figured out this whole concept of inbound marketing. It is up to you to rise above them and be a inbound marketing rockstar. Read More