Small Business Ecommerce Link Digest – May 23, 2008

Obviously, the focus here at thinks is helping you build your business using e-commerce and the internet. But long-time readers may have noticed a not-so-subtle shift lately into talking about search engine marketing (SEM), search engine optimization (SEO) and pay-per-click advertising (PPC). The reason is, today, these tactics dominate how customers find your business online. Want proof? Read on, dear friend.

• Two recent reports – Display Stumbles As Search Remains Strong and The URL Is Dead, Long Live Search – give a great overview of how customer behavior strongly favors search.
• So, how do you get more value from your search marketing? Linda Bustos provides an excellent 3-step process for PPC advertising success: PPC Split Testing: Reducing Risk When Testing New Ads Against Control, PPC Advertising: Are You Selling Yourself In Your Ads? and Testing PPC Ad Copy: Strategies for Split Testing.
• Successful search marketing techniques like these aren’t just the domain of the big guys. In fact, Jonathan Mendez gives an excellent case study of a big guy getting it way wrong in Macy’s Magical Online Disappearing Act. Maybe they should subscribe to this blog?
• Finally, Microsoft is trying to connect searching and shopping behavior. Danny Sullivan explains why they’re not succeeding at it. Better yet, the fine folks at GrokDotCom point out 3 Great (and Quick) Optimization Reads from Omniture that will help you succeed where Microsoft stumbles.

OK, so search is all well and good today. But, what’s next? The most likely outcome – certainly the most widely touted – is the shift to mobile search. I’m bullish on the growth of mobile search. And, apparently, I’m not the only one: the guys at Read/Write Web have a new Report titled The Mobile Web is the New Hangout that talks about where we’re going. And Search Engine Land talks about how NearbyNow plans to make local (product) search widely available.

Well, folks, that ought to be enough to keep you on your toes this long holiday weekend here in the States (and the early part of next week for those outside the US). Have a great weekend. We’ll see you right back here next week.

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