novusweb

Personal Geiger Counters

As the nuclear crisis in Japan continues to escalate, it is only natural to wonder what effect this will have on the United States. Japan recently raised the threat level of Fukushima to seven, which is officially the same as the 1986 Chernobyl incident. 

In the United States, the EPA constantly monitors our air quality, and so far only very low levels of radioactive materials have been detected. They even publish detailed reports on their website.

Nevertheless, people on the west coast are still concerned. In fact, personal geiger counters have now become a product of interest. These counters help identify when radioactive isotopes are nearby and at what density. If radiation is detected, an electric pulse is generated and a clicking sound from the geiger counter is produced. As increased levels of radiation are detected, the rate of clicks intensifies.

Geiger counters are for sale from various retail sources, including online. There is a lot of information regarding the current levels of radiation, and what levels are considered safe.

For the cautious individual, perhaps a personal geiger counter can provide some comfort.

Shortened URLs and SEO

As you post information on various social networking sites, you’ll notice that your referring URL links have been shortened. One of the more common shorteners is TinyURL.com.

Have you ever wondered if this generated URL effects your SEO efforts? It doesn’t contain the entire link, right? Well, actually, if they’re properly generated, they’re really 301 redirects.

Matt Cutts, of Google, gives a brief explanation regarding this very topic.

Needed Magento Book Now Available

Announcing New Book: Managing Multiple Stores with Magento

In creating e-commerce solutions for our clients and ourselves, we choose the platform or underlying technology based on the needs of the project, the types of products or services offered, and how the client will manage their etailing operations.

For our more complex projects, we have yet to find a platform that has more versatility and depth of features than Magento. It’s not ideal for every project we build, but for those with complex, multiple store configurations, Magento allows us to do things from an engineering, marketing and operations stand point little matched by other systems.

The biggest challenge with Magento has long been the lack of documentation. Even today, even the on-screen help when logged into Magento’s Administrative backend is incomplete.

That’s not to say there isn’t a lot of information about Magento. There are thousands of forum postings, hundreds of haphazardly arranged Wiki articles, and numerous blogs by Magento fans.

This means, of course, that if you want to find out how to do something in Magento, it often requires many, many Google searches, testing offered solutions (which many times fail due to posting errors or out-of-date versions), and hours of wasted energy.

We experienced this first-hand as we worked to understand, design and implement a complex multiple store strategy to support our growing family of BCUZ Stores. Like so many other Magento developers, we waded through hundreds of forum postings and blogs.

We bought several hardcover books, each purporting to teach the reader how to use Magento. None approached the concept of how to build and manage a multiple store Magento installation.

“Where there’s a void.”

After investing hours and hours of time and effort into really learning how Magento can be used to manage multiple stores and  businesses with the same installation, it seemed very logical take all we had learned and put it into a book others might find beneficial.

So, Bret did just that.

We’re proud to announce our latest book: “Managing Multiple Stores with Magento,” a step-by-step guide to planning, building and operating a complex Magento multiple store operation.

Through April 2, the price is also reduced from $24 to $19, a savings of 21%.

Niche Sites

At novusweb, we have been preaching the value of niche websites for some time now. If you narrow your offerings on a site, you make the products easier to find and promote.

With approximately 130 million websites, any competitive advantage you gain is of great value. Most people use search engines to find information, including products and services. So, why not make it easier to find your products or services?

Sites designed for a specific product line allow you to spend more time creating more valuable information. If you’re only managing a few products, you have the time to write more detailed and original product descriptions. Original product descriptions, laced with strategic keywords, are extremely valuable to your search engine optimization efforts. Google loves original content, so using copy supplied by manufacturers can actually reduce your rankings.

Niche product sites also give your site the perception of being an “expert destination” on the Web. By providing more in depth product descriptions and general information, you attract more discerning customers. Many customers look for sites that demonstrate a certain level of expertise within a product niche.

The following are some great niche site examples:

• BCUZ Telephones. Home, SOHO and small business telephone solutions.
• American Dictation. Digital dictation, transcription and speech recognition.
• Custom eGrips. Unique promotional products.
• Wash-Safe. Environmentally safe cleaning products.
• Tennis Net Wit. Original designed tennis wear for women.

New E-commerce Website

novusweb is proud to announce our newest Ecommerce Website: BCUZ Technology, offering thousands of great technology products perfect for your lifestyle.

Working with distributors who supply a vast array of product offerings, we designed a store specifically for those searching for technology related items for the home or office.

When designing the site, we at novusweb felt it was important to feature the products prominently on the homepage. The graphic slider can be easily updated to promote products and promotions. New and Featured products can also be rotated frequently, keeping the site up to date with current merchandise offerings.

With top-level navigation, visitors can quickly navigate to their desired category of products. It was crucial that we allow potential customers to easily find what they were looking for. And in case they don’t, our toll-free number is displayed on every page of the Website. 

As we continue to work with distributors, our product line will increase, so consider this the first of many BCUZ™ websites to come. 

Starting Your Business

We recently followed Kimberly Stansell’s, “Two Weeks to Start Up,” blog series posted on the Entrepreneur.com Website. In it, she detailed steps for taking your business from idea to startup. 

These are basically the same principles we have been teaching at Novusweb. In fact, we created the NovuStart ESP program specifically to step entrepreneurs through the development of their online presence. However, we take it one step further by providing our customers with a personal eCoach. An experienced ecommerce professional who mentors and supports you through the process of developing your online identity.

Like all ventures, you need a plan. But sometimes, you also need a poke. A friendly nudge in the right direction. We’re good at nudging, with the occasional poke.

Have you been planning an online venture “someday?” Now is really a great time to make a commitment to yourself and take that first step.

Social Media Marketing

“Only about 5% of online holiday shoppers report being primarily influenced to visit top retailer sites by social media.” This is according to a recent survey conducted by ForeSee Results, and outlined in their report “The ForeSee Results Report on Social Media Marketing.”

The research group surveyed almost 12,000 visitors to the Top 40 e-retail websites. The purpose of the study was to determine what most influenced a shopper’s visit to a retail website.

While a small percentage of shoppers were influenced by social media, those who came to the retail site through social channels were highly likely to purchase. If you currently use social media to promote your products, you might consider this finding. It could help you in determining what, if any, special promotions you offer to your Facebook friends.

According to the ForeSee report, “19% of website visitors came to the website primarily as a result of a promotional email and 8% visited as a result of search engine results.” These results suggest the importance of email marketing. Are you sending promotional offers to past customers? Are you asking your customers how they would like to be contacted?

Of the visitors surveyed for the ForeSee report, 64% preferred to hear about sales and promotions by email. Do your customers hear from you after the purchase? Do you offer special promotions for loyal customers? 

Another interesting trend revealed by the survey is the fact that the Facebook community continues to grow. In 2010, 56% admitted to using Facebook regularly, while in 2011, 66% of respondents reported to using this social media outlet. 

If you are an online retailer, communicating with your customers is vital. You need to find the most effective way to reach a potential buyer when they are ready to make a purchase. Don’t forget to ask how they would like to receive information. Then be consistent with your marketing efforts. Do you offer weekly deals? Monthly specials? Volume discounts? Keep your customers informed.

According to the ForeSee report, only 10% of customers don’t want to hear from you. Be sure to seize this marketing opportunity and develop a relationship with your customers.