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MOM AND POP SHOPS WIELD INTERNET TO GAIN HOLIDAY INTERNET SALES EQUALITY: CommonName offers retailers tips to ensure strong Internet presence
San Diego, CA - December 16, 2003 - Small and medium-sized retail outlets can use the boom in online holiday shopping to level the playing field with major retail stores, according to CommonName, the world’s largest global keyword navigation and search network.
Forrester Research estimates that online sales for the holiday period starting from Thanksgiving will total $12.2 billion, 42 percent more than last year’s sales. According to eMarketer, an Internet research firm, 81 million Americans are expected to make online purchases in 2003. Much of the growth is being driven by search engines like Google and other sites like eBay and Amazon.com, which send shoppers to thousands of small online stores.
However, CommonName warns that retailers who do not maximize their Internet presence for the festive season, could be in danger of being overtaken by competitors with a stronger online strategy.
To help small- and medium-sized retailers make sure their Internet sales will be effective this winter, CommonName has listed five essential tactics vendors need to implement.
1. Invest in a high-impact Web site: A Web site is your front door for all online shoppers. Make it easy to find, simple to navigate and effortless to make a purchase. Use concise wording and images where necessary so customers can find what they need quickly.
2. Employ search engine optimization techniques: A great Web site is no good if it can’t be found on the Internet. Because many customers or prospects may not know the exact URL of your Web site, optimizing your search engine position is crucial. The aim here is that when a person types, for example, ‘Christmas tree lights’ in a search engine such as Google, your Web site will show up first in search results. More often than not, people don’t look beyond the first page.
3. Use pay-per-click search: Pay-per-click search results enable businesses to secure top ranking in many leading search engine results, deliver targeted advertising and pay only when someone clicks through to their sites. An excellent tool for mom and pop shops which want to keep costs to a minimum. Again, there are specialized companies who will work with you to set this up.
4. Create Internet keywords for your company, products and services: Internet Keywords are natural, everyday terms used to navigate to Web sites. If your customers might be confused by lengthy URLs and email addresses, keywords are the ideal solution. With keywords there are no technical idioms, just type a brand/product name or generic term into the address line of an enabled Internet browser, or your favorite search engine, and go directly to the site. If a retailer sells ‘Christmas tree lights’, then all they need to do is type ‘Christmas tree lights’ into the browser address bar and this leads customers directly to your Web site.
5. Make it easy for people to pay - securely: Shoppers want to be able to pay for products and services online quickly, easily and securely. Be sure to offer a simple, secure payment system that accepts major forms of payment, and check that your system offers fraud protection to protect against fraudulent transactions. Also, assuring the customer of his or her privacy is important - they will not purchase from your site if they are unsure how their personal details will be used.
"Large retail outlets should not assume that because they physically dominate malls and brand awareness that they will dominate holiday shopping online," said Yurong Lin, CEO of CommonName. "The Internet is the great equalizer for online selling. We find that most innovation in terms of Internet branding is undertaken by smaller, independent retailers who really use the Internet as an aggressive sales and marketing tool. Careful management of an Internet presence and being able to drive customers to your site makes the difference between a successful holiday sales period or a potentially flat one."
About CommonName
Founded in February 2000, CommonName is the largest global keyword navigation provider, with more than 30 million installed users. The company has been profitable since March 2002 and its user base is growing between 500,000 to 1 million users per month.
CommonName’s major product lines are CommonName Keywords and CommonName Search.
CommonName Keywords are everyday brand names or generic terms that can be used to navigate to Web sites instead of complex Web addresses. More than 50,000 business CommonName Keywords have been registered to date. Key benefits of CommonName Keywords for a business include brand protection, brand consistency, providing a convenient method for customers to locate them and drive traffic.
CommonName Search is a pay-per-click search engine. Results are displayed on partner sites and when users type a search term into their enabled browser address bar or CommonName Toolbar. Advertisers are charged for each customer that clicks through to their site. For more information on CommonName, please visit www.commonname.com.
For further details please contact-
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