FastPivot kicks off 10th anniversary year-long celebration with store upgrade promo
Posted on October 19, 2007
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In the beginning, Al Gore created the Internet. On the third day Jerry Yang and David Filo saw that it was good and started Yahoo! And while everyone else was resting on the seventh day, Matt Ledford and Keith Enloe founded the company now known as FastPivot. Nothing’s been the same since.
Since 1997, we’ve launched hundreds of online stores on the Yahoo! Stores platform. While almost everything about FastPivot (including our name!) and online store development has changed over the last 10 years, the values that drive our business haven’t.
- We believe that strong relationships are the secret to a successful site.
- We take innovation seriously—one step at a time.
- We know your site is more than a store—it’s also your business, livelihood, and passion.
But don’t think we’re all mission statement and no fun.
Starting this month, FastPivot kicks off a year-long celebration of its 10th year on the .com roller coaster we call online retail. (We’ve got lots of plans in the works—so stay tuned.) To get this birthday party started—and with an eye on the calendar—we invite you to consider our “Ready or Not, Here Come the Holidays!” promotion.
Ask yourself…
- Ready to add key viral marketing features like email-a-friend?
- Know you’ve got to do something about that cold Yahoo! shopping cart?
- Got an opinion? Want a blog?
- Need an interactive merchandising feature that keeps shoppers shopping?
We’re offering some of our most effective online retailing solutions—at over 10% off our normal prices. If you act before November 1, our stuff can be on your site before Turkey Day! No matter what else goes on sale this holiday season, it won’t get better than this. Read more about our “Ready-Set-Sell” holiday promo here!
Yahoo! Stores Introducing Cross-Sell and Keyword Enhancements for the Holidays
Posted on October 19, 2007
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We know that the Yahoo! Store Blog is everyone’s top reading priority. But in case you’re a few posts behind, Yahoo! got merchants everywhere to take a breather from their pre-holiday panic attacks by announcing two key enhancements to the Yahoo! Stores platform in the areas of merchandising and SEO.
In his September 25 post, Jimmy Duvall outlines the benefits of these upgrades, specifically:
- New automated cross-sell ability on both your product pages and your shopping cart! Even better, shopper behavior on your site feeds the cross-sell engine—so the products automatically displayed as cross-sell recommendations will be relevant to their interests. (Big Brother IS watching!)
- New keyword tool that ranks converting keywords for you! Not only will you see what terms convert…but exactly what terms specifically convert what products. (No such thing as TMI in this case.)
All good news to be sure…but, it’s hard not to feel behind before you get started when thinking about what Yahoo!’s announcement means to your store this close to Christmas. Before you get overwhelmed thinking about ANOTHER thing to add to your holiday prep to-do list, we suggest:
- Shopping your site TODAY. Start with your most popular products and click through the purchase process from beginning to end, looking for where, how, and when to introduce cross-sell displays. Group your products into 3-5 item collections. Then consider presenting 2-4 item cross-sell displays that present the other associated collection items when an individual product is displayed.
- Getting your head around your SEO analytics ASAP. With search replacing traditional ads, holiday season competition will be cutthroat for good organic and paid search placement. If you’re the type to get behind in your SEO work, this calm before the storm that starts November 1 is the perfect time to make sure you know where you stand.
We also suggest reading our Oct. 8 blog post for more thoughts on S*H*O*P*P*I*N*G* your site in prep for the holidays. Still have questions? Contact FastPivot today to schedule a 20 minute call to learn more how Yahoo! cross-selling and SEO review can help you convert more shoppers this holiday season.
Holiday HomeStretch: Get Ready by S*H*O*P*P*I*N*G* Your Site
Posted on October 8, 2007
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Cool mornings and early sunsets say it loud and clear: fall is here.
For the internet retailer, October is the time to plan how to “drive” the thoughts of consumers from traffic jams, packed malls and out-of-stock merchandise to the quiet, stress-free comforts of their personal computers, at home and surrounded by the sounds of Christmas music near a crackling fireplace with the scent of cinnamon in the air.
By the way, the official countdown is on… 56 working days until Christmas. And only 34 days until November 23, the Friday after Thanksgiving…the day when offline and online wallets open…and stay that way until December 24.
It’s tempting to consider a site rebuild, but how practical is that idea—especially if you expect to be done before November 23?
However, focusing on improving a few key areas can make a major difference to your online presence. Taking just a few hours with your site now can mean a major difference to your conversion rates in November and December.
So, spend an hour on your site with this list before your potential customers run through it with theirs. Let’s go S*H*O*P*P*I*N*G*!
- Survey-ask, then listen. Have you talked to your customers lately? Do you know what they want? Do you carry it? Where else have they gone and why did they choose you? How did they find you?
- Home-where it all starts-literally. Does your home page say who you are? Does it have an area that draws your eye? Is it easy to know where to go to find products? Is everything up to date?
- Orders- the bottom line. Is your order fulfillment ready for the rush? Is the add-to-cart process clear? Do your customers trust your site enough to push the “checkout” button? Do they know shipping rates, taxes and final cost before they enter their payment method?
- Product- what pays the bills. Do you have enough product in inventory? Have you planned any sales or specials? Are they tagged properly for search engines? Can you easily manage your product in data sheets?
- Presentation- consistency, consistency, consistency. How well does your site flow from section page to detail page? Are your product displays creative, innovative, fresh? Can you find what you’re looking for? Can you find it fast? Is finding products fun? Does your shopping cart feel like your site?
- Inspection- verified confidence. Do all your links work? Do any non-secure warnings pop-up? Can you find a product, place it in your cart and checkout without being misdirected or confused?
- Numbers- the story behind the pictures. Are you really clear about what your analytic package tells you? Do you have an analytics package to help you make sense of this holiday’s data in January? Quick—what’s your most viewed page, average order size, and average number of pages viewed.
- GYM- not just for humans anymore. What’s your site’s rank on Google, Yahoo! and MSN searches? What’s your plan for improving or maintaining that ranking?
Make an improvements list and rank by order of importance—focusing first on what’s directly in the shopper’s way—your home page, your products, and the order process. Next we suggest surveys and going to the GYM.
Still not sure where to start? Want to know how fast and quick a site “pick-me-up” could be? Contact FastPivot for information about our holiday site upgrade services-available until Nov. 1 (Note: Offer available to existing Yahoo! Stores only.)
About Fastpivot
- Since 1997, FastPivot.com (formerly Ydesigns.com) has offered complete ecommerce website development and strategic marketing for companies of all sizes - from start-up ventures to established entities. For more info, please visit FastPivot.com
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