Ecommerce & Web Marketing Research: October 21-31 2005

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October 31 2005

Ecommerce involvement increased by 16x from 97 - 03

New statistics released from the U.S. Census Bureau state that 40% of US adults used the Internet to view news, weather or sports information over 2003, up from just 7% six years earlier. 55% utilized e-mail or IM in 2003,  compared with 12%  in 1997. Ecommerce transactions grew incredibly during the same period; 32% of people made an online purchase during 2003 - only 2% of adults participated in online shopping during 1997.

October 28 2005

Microsoft sets zombie trap

Halloween's always a good time to catch a zombie I'm told. Microsoft has joined in on the fun, but focusing on computer zombies.

A zombie is a computer that has been compromised in order to take control of the system in some way, usually to act as a conduit for a DDOS (Distributed Denial Of Service) attack, or to be used for the purposes of spamming; i.e., a spam zombie. 

In Microsoft's experiment, they took a totally clean machine, compromised it with a popular malware application and then connected it to the Internet. Within a very short space of time, hundreds of other computers began connecting to it to instruct it to send out spam emails. In under three weeks, the MS's zombie machine received over 5 million requests to transmit 18 million spam emails, which promoted products and services for over 13,000 domains. The emails were never actually sent out. Needless to say, these attacks are being investigated further. 

Read more about Microsoft's zombie experiment

Learn more about how spam and viruses wind up in your inbox

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October 27 2005

Cautious consumers cutting online purchases?

Consumer Reports WebWatch, an organization that promotes consumer awareness of important issues on the Web has released some rather disturbing results of a recent survey of 1501 adult web users.

It appears that while consumer awareness of security related issues is on the rise, which is very good, the ramifications of that have modified online purchasing behavior - perhaps to a point that's not so good for ecommerce merchants. Or perhaps it's just raising the bar for all of us - a bar that will force those involved in online business to take the security of customer details more seriously.

Of those surveyed, 86% state they have modified their behavior online in at least one way as a result of security threats. Other key findings:

• 72% of those surveyed had used an online store
• 29% state that they have cut back on their online purchases a great deal.
• 30% have reduced their usage of the Internet by a large amount.
• 53% state they have ceased providing personal information on the Internet in many instances.
• 25% claim they have stopped purchasing online.
• 54 percent of online shoppers are now more likely to read privacy policies and agreements before making a purchase

Based on these figures, it would be fair to say that while ecommerce transactions may be growing overall through the sheer volume of people joining the Internet economy, at some point, they are becoming gun shy. Currently, that may not be a problem - but in rapidly maturing markets, I believe this could become quite an issue soon.

I was curious to learn more about the methodology used as these figures are somewhat of a shock - not the concern level so much - but the claimed reduction or cessation of purchases. The sample was drawn using standard list-assisted random digit dialing (RDD) methodology. The questionnaire was developed by Princeton Survey Research Associates International in conjunction with staff of the Consumer Union.

Read the more of the Consumer Reports WebWatch report (PDF 579kb)

Learn more about reassuring your visitors and developing a privacy policy

October 25 2005

Marketing execs interest in RSS ads growing

Yahoo Search Marketing hinted a couple of weeks ago that a service for RSS advertising is in the pipeline. Yahoo isn't alone, Google and the Washington Post are also experimenting with RSS ads. Kanoodle Inc. is the only network of note I'm aware of at this point in time that has formally introduced an advertising program for RSS feeds.

I expect like every other new advertising technology, the buzz and activity will soar to incredible levels in the near future and then it will seem as though *everyone* is offering, using or displaying RSS advertising. 

A couple of people have asked me if Taming the Beast.net will display ads in our RSS feeds.  I don't like closing the door on any revenue generation option, especially before it's had a chance in the market. Also, buying/displaying RSS ads is a great way of exploring the technology  to report the results to those who are interested.. so  yes; but I'll try to keep it as unobtrusive as possible - and wait for the bugs to be worked out first :)

Learn more about creating and submitting RSS feeds

October 23 2005

New article - Search engine monitoring tips

Adding fresh relevant content, updating existing pages, finding link partners and keeping an eye on rankings are the meat and potatos of search engine optimization. If you're already attending to these aspects, take things a step further and you may be amazed by the results. It's all about working with what you have rather than what's yet to be. Learn more in my article on search engine monitoring tips.

October 21 2005

Please, help the people of Pakistan

Off topic, but very important. It's been quite a year for natural disasters and while you may be all donated-out; please, if you can, spare a few dollars for the millions of people in Pakistan who are suffering terribly after the major earthquake there recently. Most major charities have appeals running.

The Pakistan disaster has received nowhere near the coverage of Katrina and the Tsunami and as a result, appeals are far short of their targets. Make no mistake, this is a disaster of massive proportions. I've seen figures of 79,000 dead, hundreds of thousands injured and millions requiring aid - many of those people in areas that are virtually inaccessible at present.

The web is a vehicle for instant knowledge... with knowledge comes responsibility. As humans, we have a responsibility to each other, to assist our fellow man wherever we can. The web has provided an easy means for us to assist our fellow man - please use the tool that serves us to serve others. Even if you can't afford to donate yourself, putting up a note on your site or a blurb in your newsletters is giving in a big way.

Shipping charges & shopping cart abandonment

According to a report on Internet Retailer quoting research from Forrester Research, well over 50% of consumers surveyed said that they abandon shopping cart sessions due to shipping charges. Close to 50% stated that the online purchase was abandoned due to a combination of unexpected charges - for example; shipping/handling and taxes, which made the purchase more costlier than anticipated.

41% of shopping cart abandonment was due to "window shopping", or there was an intention to return to the cart later.

Learn more about minimizing shopping cart abandonment

Shopping cart software Learn more about shopping carts or read our reviews of some the best shopping cart software around! Need to learn more about merchant accounts or payment processors? Try our ecommerce guides

100 oldest domain names

Just a bit of trivia. It won't increase your online sales or help with marketing in any way, but you'll either impress or bore people to death with this knowledge. What is the oldest currently registered domain? When was it originally registered? Go on, I know you can't resist - find out here.

Need some advice on selecting a domain name? Read my guide to choosing good domain names. The tips may help you increase your visibility and therefore, your sales.

Steve, chairs, MSN and Google.

"I have never, honestly, thrown a chair in my life," Microsoft's CEO said in a morning keynote at 
Gartner's Symposium/ITxpo in Orlando, Florida. 

I guess we can all sleep better now.

Steve is hero to me. Hate him or love him, you've got to admire a man who can inject so much passion into the word "developers" and has the ability to sweat from his elbows... if he could only bottle that enthusiasm and energy and sell it; I'd be standing in line to purchase.

Read more of Steve's thoughts on Google, MSN and Windows Vista.

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