Digital Marketing Blog

Reuters takes stake in blog syndicator

Reuters has given a boost to the blogosphere by investing in US-based aggregator Pluck and announcing plans to syndicate blog stories to its media clients.

by Richard Maven 14 November 2006 09:23am 0 comments

Lonelygirl15 makers eye ad revenues

The makers of lonelygirl15 – the fake teenage video diary which created a huge stir on YouTube this summer – have divulged plans to turn the venture into a real business.

by Richard Maven 13 November 2006 16:26pm 0 comments

Majestic Wine sees increase in online orders

Majestic Wines, the bulk wine retailer, has announced an increase of 43% in online sales but expressed concern about an upcoming EU ruling on tax duty on alcohol purchases via the web.

In its interim results for the 26 weeks ended 26 September, the company made a pre-tax profit of £6.5 million, a rise of 17%. Online sales were responsible for 6.4% of its UK retail sales.

by Graham Charlton 13 November 2006 15:06pm 0 comments

Christmas delivery concerns hold back online consumers

One of the biggest factors holding back consumers from doing their Christmas shopping online is concern about delivery times, according to a survey by shopping site GreasyPalm.co.uk.

The survey finds that concerns about delivery are likely to be hurting online sales this Christmas, with 55% of those surveyed citing delivery times as the major obstacle to doing their Christmas shopping online.

by Graham Charlton 13 November 2006 14:13pm 0 comments

Bill Gates says internet bubble is back

Speaking to journalists in Belgium last week, Bill Gates warned against the rush to new web-based software service, and compared this to the doomed 1990s internet bubble.

Google's deal to pay $1.65 billion in stock for YouTube, an online video company that has yet to turn a profit, has led some commentators to revive talk of an internet bubble.

We've always stopped short of calling it a bubble, for a number of reasons, but certain recent funding rounds are making us reconsider our stance...

by Graham Charlton 13 November 2006 13:44pm 0 comments

How to be PDQ on your PDA – Adaptex goes live

This week saw the official launch of Adaptex, the software from Keypoint Technologies that can help users of PDAs enter data and text much faster and easier. Communicating and buying via your PDA or smartphone whilst on the road can be a lot easier potentially.

by Chris Rourke 13 November 2006 12:46pm 1 comment

Usability and visibility problems affect online insurers

Foolproof's 2006 Online Shopping Survey into insurance predicts rapid growth in online purchasing of motor and home insurance policies, but points out that growth is hampered by poor usability.

The good news for online insurers is that consumers see the benefits of avoiding long phone calls for quotes and insuring online, but insurers are urged to make improvements, especially when it comes to usability.

by Graham Charlton 13 November 2006 11:35am 3 comments

Eight second rule for e-commerce websites now halved

Four seconds is the maximum length of time the average online shopper will wait for a web page to load before potentially abandoning a retail site.

In the research by Akamai, poor site performance ranked second only to high product prices and shipping costs as leading factors for dissatisfaction among online shoppers.

by Graham Charlton 13 November 2006 10:41am 3 comments

Microsoft in cool-envy, Zune to be a ‘dismal failure’ - BusinessWeek

In an article called ‘Zune: Falling Down On Cool’ BusinessWeek savages the forthcoming Microsoft device, predicting that “by this time next year, it will be considered a dismal failure”.

And the reason why it will fail? Because it isn’t cool, and neither is Microsoft, says BusinessWeek. It adds that attempting to become cool is the only reason that Microsoft is launching the Zune in the first place.

Authored by Arik Hesseldahl, the article states that “the Zune will be seen for what it is: a me-too product that is expressing Microsoft's envy at not being cool”.

Maybe so, but business isn’t really about ‘being cool’. 'Cool' helps with product marketing and customer aqcuisition, but product quality and lifespan are key to customer retention, recommendations, and repeat business.

by Chris Lake 10 November 2006 12:32pm 1 comment

Speed matters, according to Google

Marissa Mayer, Google's vice president for search products and user experience, has revealed an interesting experiment carried out by the search engine a few years ago.

The goal of the experiment was to determine the ideal number of results to display in response to a search query. Google surveyed its users, who decided 30 results on a page would be best, rather than 10 or 20.

by Graham Charlton 10 November 2006 10:56am 0 comments