Internet Retailer

When it comes to online marketing, conversion rates are key. With that in mind, Jeff Schueler, president of Usability Sciences Corp., a Dallas-based Web usability company, offered seven tips to improve conversion on your e-commerce site in a session at the Internet Retailer conference, held earlier this month in Chicago: 1. Encourage account creation. “People inherently don’t like to register,” Schueler said, “so integrate account creation into the shopping cart process, but do it after the customer has paid.” This accomplishes two things: First, the customer doesn’t feel pressured to register in order to buy something from you, and second, you’ll already have the customer’s

Once you start a Web site redesign, the results often can be surprising. Geoffrey Robinson, vice president of e-commerce for auto parts cataloger J.C. Whitney revealed several surprises that followed his company’s Web site redesign during a session at last week’s Internet Retailer conference in Chicago. * Men don’t read! When Robinson and his team at J.C. Whitney added more text-based product information to site search results, they found that predominately male audience didn’t click on the category links listed as text, but rather skipped to the bottom of the page where specific product images related to the search were featured. Unfortunately, these product links

When planning a Web site redesign, a definitive plan can make the process easier. Debbie Hess, Internet marketing director for multititle gift and apparel cataloger Norm Thompson Outfitters, shared her step-by-step plan for Norm Thompson’s recent multi-site redesign process during a session at the Internet Retailer conference held last week in Chicago. 1. Seek first to understand. Because of the many areas of an e-commerce site that can be affected by a redesign, it’s important to know how your current Web site works in explicit detail, Hess said. Before the company’s recent redesign, Hess consulted internal stakeholders familiar with the inner workings of the site,

Twenty-six percent of e-merchants offer tiered commission increases as rewards to online affiliate partners that drive traffic to their sites, according to a recent report from affiliate network LinkShare and shared with attendees at last week’s Internet Retailer conference in Chicago. Other affiliate incentives revealed by the study include the following: * Special access to marketing materials, such as data feeds and pay-per-click keywords: offered by 25 percent of online merchants; * VIP commissions, offered right away to large affiliates that can drive highly qualified traffic: 25 percent; * Contests rewarding top affiliates per month or per quarter: 22 percent; and * Special bonuses

MARCH March 6 - Loyalty by the Numbers: Financial Planning & Measuring Return on Investment. Webinar. (212) 790-1500, www.the-dma.org/events March 6-8 - Direct Marketing Institute. Hilton Chicago and Towers, Chicago. (212) 790-1500, www.the-dma.org/events March 7 - Law of Direct Marketing. DMA Seminar Center, New York. (212) 790-1500, www.the-dma.org/events March 7-8 - Kansas City DMA: New Marketing Revolution. Overland Park, Kan. (816) 561-5323, www.kcdma.org March 8-9 - PMA's Annual Conference 2006. Hyatt Regency Chicago, Chicago. (212) 420-1100, www.pmalink.org March 13-14 - Data-Driven Marketing. DMA Seminar Center, New York. (212) 790-1500, www.the-dma.org/events March 20-21 - Basics of Direct Marketing. Millennium Hotel Minneapolis, Minneapolis. (212) 790-1500,