Though Google says it doesn’t have “specific recommendations for building search engine friendly tablet-optimized websites, there are some tips for building websites that serve smartphone and tablet users well.” For starters, Google says to consider how smartphone and tablet users expect. With larger screens, tablets can offer users browsing experiences that can be as rich…
Groupon and its daily-deals cohorts set out to change the way small businesses advertised. Now they’re the ones seeking to change in the face of mounting evidence that its business model doesn’t quite work. Groupon and LivingSocial, both fresh off of bad financial reports, are trying to diversify their business and venture off into the…
FedEx is embracing social commerce a little bit more with its Ship to Friends Facebook app. The app enables U.S.-based users to prepare and pay for a FedEx shipment within leaving Facebook’s site. When the app is launched, users just have to click the “Start shipping” button. This will show the user a request for…
According to the most recent numbers from Nielsen, visitors to Facebook’s website spent 6:40:32 (hh:mm:ss) on the site in September. Back in March, visitors spent 7:09:23 on the social network. This probably isn’t a very troubling sign though, since the decline is probably attributable to the emergence of mobile usage. According to Facebook, it has…
If Groupon is counting on the holiday season to give its struggling business a boost, it’d better think again. According to a new study from Ipsos Public Affairs and Offers.com, daily deals are significantly less popular this year than they were last year. The study found that 71 percent of respondents say they shop online,…
By Paul Taylor, founder and CEO of Webmarketing123 Social media moves fast! It seems like we're only able to make it a few months before our newsfeeds are once again filled with complaints about Facebook's latest design overhaul. Twitter has been no exception to the rule. In just a few months, the platform boasts a…
This continues our series of profiles of local-commerce companies. The purpose of these Q&A profiles is to give merchants, marketers and others in the industry a look at what some deal platforms out there are doing. These profiles are also meant to offer different perspectives on the future of the local-commerce industry. This week we’re…
“Groupon Inc. is showing the risks of a young company shifting its business model — pivoting, to use techdom’s 2012 buzz word — and investors don’t like it.” As of around 11:15 a.m. EDT on Friday, GRPN is trading at $2.78, down 29.2 percent for the day and down 86.1 percent from its $20 IPO…
Instagram introduced Web-based profile pages this week. While the rollout is currently limited to select users and brands, others will see their profile pages in the coming weeks. At first glance, this doesn’t seem like anything significant just yet
The realm of small-business online marketing doesn’t have the kinds of proven consumer behavior that brick-and-mortar retail businesses do. Norms are still forming. But here’s what is known: 73 percent of inbound leads are not sales-ready, and marketers place too much emphasis on generating leads while losing sight of the real goal. They overlook the…
