Google

In September, Google made changes to its sitelinks search box, and some merchants are unhappy with the change. They say it's another way for Google to increase the money it makes from advertising. Google explains that with its sitelinks search box, people can reach the site owner's content more quickly from search results. For instance, if you want to find a video on Youtube, you might go to Google.com, enter a search for Youtube, click on the link, and then conduct the search on Youtube. The sitelinks search box removes that extra step. 

Brands must ensure product and review information is easily accessible to those curious consumers at the moment of purchase. As consumers' purchase behaviors continue to evolve with new channels, more brands are looking to increase visibility of their products through the syndication of product reviews to retail sites and search engines. Here are the three most important reasons brands should maximize their reach through review syndication:

Responsive commerce has become one of this year's hottest buzzwords as retailers aim to optimize their online sites for mobile shoppers. However, understanding just what this design strategy is, knowing whether or when to implement it, and justifying the expense to key decision makers all remain key challenges for many companies. Here then is a crash course in responsive commerce and why it might be time to consider whether it can provide your customers with the seamless shopping experiences they've come to expect across devices.

"Hi, I'm planning to launch an e-commerce site for women's apparel. The price point for the merchandise is between $150 and $500. I know the hardest part is going to be getting the website discovered. Could you give some advice on how to do that?" 
- Dina Agam, Entrepreneur

Using compelling content, smart retailers like The Home Depot, e.l.f. Cosmetics, Kidrobot and REI are giving consumers unique and memorable shopping experiences that create powerful brand loyalty and convince them to buy. Here's how they do it:
 

Customers are driven by the need for instant gratification more than ever, expecting boundless product options at their fingertips and 24-hour (or less) delivery models. To compete with bellwethers like Amazon.com and even Google, companies are exchanging traditional distribution strategies for something more flexible, focusing less on labor and production and more on inventory and proximity to consumer marketplaces. Retailers and distributors, however, cannot make these adjustments in isolation. In order to successfully transform their sales and operations, organizations must modify their back-office tax and accounting practices accordingly.

Amazon dot buy forward slash … what? Our minds are spinning with the possible creative uses Amazon.com might get out of its latest purchase — the entire top-level domain name .buy, which recently sold for a cool $4.59 million to the online retail giant. Other top-level domain bidders included Google, Uniregistry, Nu Dot Co, Donuts, and Minds+Machines. Only two bidders, however, offered to spend more than $1.5 million for .buy. Google also missed out on the other two domain names offered as part of ICANN's latest "auction of last resort." 

LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA ended a longstanding dispute with Google, agreeing to work with the world's largest search engine to help prevent vendors from advertising counterfeit goods online. LVMH had accused Google of violating its trademark rights by selling protected words as keywords that then link users to websites selling counterfeit items when they search under the French company's brands. Google in 2010 allowed the practice, following a European Union court ruling, bringing the company's policy in Europe in line with company rules in about 190 countries. 

Despite the benefits of a long-tail strategy, numerous challenges exist due to the number of data-related issues that can arise. Therefore, before embarking on a long tail-driven strategy or deciding on whether to create a private marketplace, it's important that retailers pay attention to the most common information challenges:

A U.S. judge on Tuesday approved a settlement between federal antitrust authorities and eBay over allegations that eBay agreed to refrain from soliciting a rival company's employees. Under the deal, announced earlier this year, eBay said it wouldn't make deals with other technology companies about poaching each others' employees. U.S. District Judge Edward Davila approved eBay's agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice in a brief order. Hiring in Silicon Valley has been increasingly scrutinized. Six companies, including Apple and Google, settled with federal authorities in 2010 over nonsolicitation deals, without paying money.