Ecommerce Trends in 2012

Since its inception, ecommerce has made great strides and evolved into a full-fledged vertical. The year 2011 saw a surge in mobile commerce and social shopping as two of the most important factors in ecommerce. The year 2012 will be a year where some of the trends from 2011 will continue while a few new trends will also emerge.

Ecommerce Trends in 2012

1.       Mobile Ecommerce: Like in 2011, the upcoming year too will see a rise in mobile ecommerce and will be a prominent feature of ecommerce trends in 2012. Consumers are increasingly shopping using their mobile phones. In 2011, Paypal recorded a 516% increase in global mobile payment on Black Friday as compared to Black Friday mobile payments in 2010. In 2012, it is possible that mobile commerce could see a shift from mobile apps to mobile websites. Shoppers are increasingly switching to mobile websites to apps since they can access them instantly.

2.       Cross-channel experience: Today, consumers interact with multiple ecommerce touch points like mobile, social media and even retail that together complete the ecommerce experience. This trend of cross channel ecommerce interaction will continue in the coming year also. Consumers are increasingly redeeming online coupons in-store or indulge in terminal transactions inside a physical store. Cross-channel experience is yet another element that will establish and grow as an ecommerce trend in 2012.

3.       Social Media Shopping: Today, social media has become an integral part of not just ecommerce but the overall online strategy. As the number of users on Facebook and Twitter explodes, these have emerged as the most preferred platform where users share reviews and interact with their favorite brands. Although till now shopping on Facebook is still in a nascent phase, buying on Facebook will definitely see a significant rise and be one of the major ecommerce trends in 2012. Consumers are already showing a great amount of willingness in making a purchase on Facebook and this is bound to rise in the coming days. Also, another huge advantage of buying on Facebook, means that the brand and the product receives more “likes” and “shares”, thereby adding to viral marketing.

4.        Video Commerce: Video commerce is certainly going to be “the” thing and be one of the most talked about ecommerce trends for 2012. A pioneer in video commerce, visitors can buy merchandize online while watching TV shows or videos. By using specific apps, users just need to tag the name of the TV show to get access to the specific range of merchandize and buy. Apart from this, visitors browsing ecommerce portals and sites can even drag products displayed in videos and add them to their shopping cart while buying. 2012 is certainly going to be the age when websites and businesses move from simple product videos to interactive video powering video commerce.

Apart from these, group buying may also continue to be one of the ecommerce trends in 2012 that will still attract people to buy. However, considering the fluctuations observed by group buying giant Groupon, it is difficult to predict as to whether this trend will continue throughout. If you are looking for ecommerce solutions it is best time for you.

Internet Copywriting – Key Tips

Writing for the web is a challenge. People have a very short attention span while browsing online and copywriters must grab their attention within that time with their copy. If you are a copywriter who is looking to get established in the online world, there are some fundamental internet copywriting tips and tricks that you must understand in order to attract and retain maximum traffic.

Internet Copywriting Tips

1.       Crisp & concise: According to a research conducted about online user behavior, it is estimated that on an average people spend only a measly 56 seconds on any website. This shows that most users only scan your web pages and content. Thus, the job of an internet copywriter becomes all the more difficult.

The first internet copywriting tip is to not only write informative copy but also make it crisp, concise and clear. In case you are dealing with loads of information, break it in parts/points and give the right headings or titles to each point. This will help users to just glance and get a gist of the matter even without reading the entire content.

2.       Write short paragraphs: If you are unable to break the content into points, make sure that the content is divided into short paragraphs. Long paragraphs are a huge turn off in internet copywriting and can drive away visitors instantly. Writing short paragraphs presenting the ideas clearly are extremely important in internet copywriting.

3.       Don’t brag too much: This is one of the biggest mistakes that people commit in internet copywriting. In the process of promoting their business or company, they often end up writing copy that is either too self-centered or brags about your products or services. Visitors prefer to read content that is genuine and is not over-the-top. The best way to approach this is to write a copy that explains the benefits to the users.

4.       Write according to the target market: Every target market or target audience has unique tastes, preferences and lingo. Writers must tweak and modify their style while writing for specific target audiences. For e.g. the language used for promoting a designer apparel website will be different from the one based on insurance. Thus, internet copywriting demands writers to be flexible with their style and choice of words while addressing different types of market segments.

5.       Highlight the benefits: While writing a sales copy, most copywriters simply focus on the features of the product or service, but do not highlight the core benefits of these features to the users. Internet copywriting is all about explaining the user the benefit that each of the feature will provide.

6.       Keyword density: This is a factor that is exclusive to internet copywriting. Since search engines work on the basis of keywords, adding them to your content is absolutely critical. However, again most writers make the mistake of stuffing their articles with keywords. While writing articles for submissions, it is advisable to maintain the keyword density around 3-5 percent. 

These are some of the most essential internet copywriting tips that writers must bear in mind. It is only when you follow these tips to the core that your content will be user friendly and help you in acquiring and retaining visitors.

Advantages of Custom Website Design

As your website or your online presence becomes increasingly important in driving your business, making your website stand out is a challenge. To attract and engage people with your brand, having a custom website design is your best bet. Custom website design not only includes the visual appeal of your website but also includes the various features and interactive elements on the website.

Elements and Advantages

While implementing custom website design, the following elements must be included that serve offer some significant advantages:

1.       Exclusive Features: Features are the most important part of any custom website design. Visitors like websites that have some unique features. Thus, apart from regular information, businesses must look to incorporate features like special offers and discounts. Websites that offer free shipping, first purchase discounts or referral discounts, attract significantly more traffic than websites that do not offer any such features.

Advantage: These features are important to attract not just the new visitors but also the returning visitors. For any brand to grow, it is important to have a strong base of returning customers who are loyal to the brand and in turn become brand promoters.

2.       Look and Feel: Look and feel is another important element in custom website design. When a website has a great look and feel and is attractive, suits the domain of work and has an edge over the competitors, the website has a tremendous recall value.

Advantage: Visitors like to repeatedly visit websites that are attractive, which is the greatest advantage of having a website with a superb look and feel.

3.       Interactive Elements: As people move towards the Web 3.0 era, making websites interactive is the norm of the day. User generated content is the future and must play a vital role in custom website design. Providing features like ‘share’, ‘comment’, ‘participate’, ‘ask questions’, are some of the important ways in making the websites interactive.

Advantage: People like to talk to like-minded individuals and participate in discussions. This makes them feel more connected to the website and in turn with the business and the brand. The greatest advantage of this connect is the brand goes viral and within a short span of time gains significant popularity.

4.       Conversions: The most important objective of your website is to generate conversions i.e. earn maximum sales/leads/sign-ups etc. With custom website design, businesses can design customized conversion funnel pages so that more and more people convert.

Advantage: Customizing the conversion pages to simplify the conversion process and make them more user friendly help in enhancing the conversion percentage greatly.

Apart from these, the greatest advantage of custom website design is in creating an image of your company. Today, consumers start their research process online and a website is the first mode of interaction with a brand. If the website provides them a superior user experience, users immediately form a positive opinion about the company.

By customizing websites, businesses can focus on the most intricate details about showcasing their brand. If you are planning to customize your brand website, then it is better to deal with professional website design services or companies. Hiring them would help you get proper guidance in shaping not just your website but your overall online marketing strategy which is fundamental in your business success.

The Need for a Professional Website Design

In the Internet age, your website is the single most important tool in promoting and expanding your business. Thus, it goes without saying that your website must be absolutely perfect and offer maximum features to your target audience. If you are planning to design or revamp your business/company website the need for a professional website design is an absolute must if you want to get the desired results.

Reasons for opting for Professional Website Design

To make a modern interactive website that combines the latest design elements, you need to consult professional website design company. A team of web designers, developers, copywriters and marketers is essential to make and promote a website in the best possible way. You need a professional website design for:

1.       Quality design: For any website to succeed, it needs a professional website design. Having the right look and feel, making it interactive and providing great user experience is the essence of making a successful website. You need a professional website designer who can put all these things together. Users decide to proceed to browse and interact further only if they find the website easy to browse, visually appealing and informative.

2.       Web development: A slow loading site or poorly developed website is a huge turn off for visitors. If your website has a series of broken pages or full of functionality issues, chances are that your visitors will be gone, forever. Businesses need a professional website design company for developing quality websites and ecommerce platforms.

3.       Web content: In the web world, it is often said that ‘content is king’. Having the right content that is informative as well as interesting can be pretty challenging. For this hiring a professional copywriter can be the only way to get your content organized. If your users find poorly written content with grammatical errors, they will instantly leave your website never to return.

4.       Increasing conversions: The final aim of any website is to increase conversions, i.e. to either generate sales, leads or enquiries. For that, businesses must not just think of developing the website in such a way that visitors get engaged with the website. As visitors find ways of engaging or interacting with the website, the chance of converting into customers increases greatly. A professional website design service can help in incorporating interactive elements like videos, live chat and forums on the website to enhance user interaction and in turn web conversions

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These are some of the major reasons why companies need a professional website design service. Often companies make the mistake of developing their own website without any professional advice or help. This leads in making a website that is equivalent to a visiting card on the Internet. A static website that looks good but does not align with your business objectives is no good.

For businesses and companies to survive, they must rely on professional website design. A professional website design company can help you develop not just a futuristic website but a comprehensive online strategy.