October 2020 Top 10: Our Most Popular Posts

Since 2005 we’ve published thousands of articles, webinars, and podcast episodes to, hopefully, help ecommerce merchants. What follows are the most popular articles that we published in October 2020. Articles from early in the month are more likely to make the list than later ones.

Google Ads Decreases Search Terms Visibility

In early September, Google Ads announced that the search terms report would disclose fewer user queries. The explanation from Google is to “maintain our standards of privacy and strengthen our protections around user data.” The search terms report allows you to see the actual queries from users. Read more…

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Introduction to Google Analytics 4

Google Analytics has come a long way since it launched in 2005. Version 4 is the latest iteration. It enables the blending of online and offline user activity into one reporting stream. Read more…

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Winners on Prime Day 2020? Non-Amazon Sites

Amazon’s delayed 2020 Prime Day event ran for two days — October 13 and 14 — as it did last year. While it does not release total revenue for Prime Day, Amazon touted in 2019 that Prime Day sales exceeded the prior year’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales combined. This year Amazon did not make such a claim. Read more…

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A Practical Guide to Starting an Ecommerce Business

There is no single formula for starting an ecommerce business. The process is pragmatic rather than theoretical. In this guide, I’m going to address how to start a successful ecommerce business. Each section may inspire you to take further action, such as reading an article, studying a book, or examining a tool. The sections are not steps to be done in order, but rather concepts to consider. Read more…

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Native Deodorant Founder on Scaling to $100 Million in 2 Years

Despite reaching a whopping $100 million in revenue in just two years, Moiz Ali, the founder of Native deodorant, says the initial version was less than stellar. “We had a pretty mediocre product,” Ali told me. “We understood that people were looking for [aluminum-free deodorant] and were willing to pay a higher price point for it.” Read more…

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The Wirecard Fiasco: Digital Payments Gone Wrong

What would you do if your credit card processor and merchant account provider were fraudulent? That’s the reality for many thousands of worldwide businesses that relied on Wirecard, the Germany-based financial technology firm that is now in bankruptcy proceedings, having committed, allegedly, sham practices for years. Read more…

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20 Free Courses to Advance Your Design Skills

Here is a list of free, online design courses. There are courses on design thinking, web design, graphic design, user experience design, logo design, color theory, and more. Some of the courses are multi-class programs, while others are short tutorials. Read more…

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8 Marketplaces for Themes, Templates, Plugins

Themes, templates, and plugins can simplify the creation and customization of a website. Here is a list of marketplaces to access themes, templates, and plugins. Several of these marketplaces also offer other digital assets, such as graphics, fonts, and videos to create and customize a website. Read more…

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SEO: 5 Tips to Convert Visitors to Buyers

Search engine optimization focuses on driving consumers to your site. But traffic alone doesn’t pay the bills. Success depends on converting those visitors to customers. Use these five tips to convert more searchers into buyers. Read more…

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5 Content Marketing Ideas for November 2020

The U.S. presidential election, family-oriented observances, blogging, and even entrepreneurship are all good topics for your business’s content marketing in November 2020. Content marketing is the act of creating or curating content, publishing that content, and promoting it with the aim of attracting, engaging, and retaining customers. Read more…