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April 22 , 2008 |
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12 Step Program for Comparison Shopping Engine Management
by Rick Backus & Chip Arndt
 Miami, FL (April 22, 2008) – We are proud to co-author this month’s newsletter with our friends at CPC Strategy. CPC Strategy is based out of San Diego, California and is a full service Comparison Shopping Management Solution. The team at CPC Strategy works directly with online merchants to develop data feed optimization strategies that fit their business model.
When online merchants don’t have the time or personnel available to implement marketing feed strategies on their own using Web-based tools by MerchantAdvantage, we recommend online merchants like CPC Strategy, who execute day-to-day management of comparison shopping engines and marketing campaigns to maximize ROI.
MerchantAdvantage and CPC Strategy speak with hundreds of online merchants everyday who understand the value of using comparison shopping engines (“CSEs”), but remain frustrated with the technical requirements to manage data feeds and struggle to realize higher return on investment when managing marketing channels available to them cost-effectively.
We hope that the following inside tips and our “12 Step Program” help online merchants:
- Understand better how to use CSE marketing campaigns efficiently
- Reduce the cost of working with CSEs, and
- Improve CSE ROI
So let’s get started and get some inside tips from industry experts at CPC Strategy, with comments from MerchantAdvantage.
1. Admit that you may have a Comparison Shopping Management Problem
Your sales are too low, your costs are too high, you're spending too much time on managing, optimizing, feeding and re-feeding data feeds, and overall performance using CSEs has fallen below expectations.
The very first step to recovery is admitting that you have a problem, only then can we help to restructure your thinking for optimal CSE performance --so say it with us, "Hi, I'm ____, and I have a Comparison Shopping Management Problem." There that wasn’t too bad, now was it?
2. Focus more time and energy on Comparison Shopping Management
Just admitting that you have a problem doesn't mean that it's going to fix itself. We have always said that just feeding your product catalog data to a CSE does not necessarily lead to sales.
As CSEs have become more sophisticated in their approach to marketing products on their sites to potential customers, so too do they require that online merchants feed data with more precision so that the CSE can better market and present products.
CSEs are valuable sales channels that are effective only when online merchants take the time and focus required to maximize the marketing effect of each channel. Each CSE requires attention to their individual taxonomy and optimization requirements in order to:
a. maximize the marketing power of a CSE representing your products to potential customers and
b. differentiate you from your competition also using the CSE.
3. Login daily to check your progress on the CSEs
Most CSEs are not like those rotisserie grills that you see advertised on late night TV, in which you can simply "set it and forget it."
Conditions can change on a weekly, if not on a daily basis on CSEs as they compete against other CSEs for market share. It is especially important to check your product catalog feeds when you first start using a CSE. Be sure then to come back daily to check that the data feed is optimized and working properly, that your products are being listed in the areas on the CSE that you want them to be listed, and that you are comfortable with your ad spend and associated click to sales ratios using the CSE.
[Special Note: Even with the free CSEs, such as Google Shopping, MSN Live Search and theFind.com, an online merchant needs to check that the data that is being marketed mirrors the most updated data on their storefront.]
4. Perform A/B testing – please click here for definition
Basically, A/B testing is the process of seeing whether your marketing decisions are working within a particular CSE and/or across several CSEs.
CPC Strategy and MerchantAdvantage clients always have to ask and remind themselves whether they:
- Should alter product titles and descriptions?
- Should implement a price floor and/or price ceiling as they relate to a “category of products” or “individual products”?
- Should list all or only some inventory and vary those listings according to each CSE?
Data Feed Management is more art than science. Different merchants, even those in the same industry, yield different results --so experimentation, or as MerchantAdvantage likes to say: ‘“Test, test, and test’ again!”, is a must.
Without A/B testing you'll never truly know what the right marketing mix is for your products using a particular CSE or across many CSEs.
5. Submit your feeds daily
Okay this one is simple! CSEs love a fresh feed that is formatted and optimized correctly; therefore, you should automate your feed delivery to send to the engines on a regular basis. Daily feed submission is recommended, but it should be done weekly, at a minimum.
6. Make sure your products are in the right categories
This one is intuitive and make sure you follow through on it, or else you are wasting your time with CSEs.
Imagine walking down the beverages section in a grocery store and finding an iPod for sale. Or being at a video store and in the comedy section you see a blender being offered. Sure, blenders can be funny, but it's probably not going to be the optimal place for it.
Comparison shopping categorization is exactly the same thing, and is highly pertinent for the majority of the engines. Placing products within their relevant categories allows consumers to more easily find what they're looking for, thereby increasing their chances of making a purchase.
7. Cut under-performing products and don't forget to bid
Cut products that have a negative ROI and increase bids on products that have a positive ROI. We know it sounds simple but most merchants don’t do it! Remember that working with a CSE is very, very similar to bidding on adwords with Yahoo! Search or Google Search, you can impact how high you get listed if you bid more, most of the time.
And the great news is that so few of your competitors take the time to understand the nuances of each CSE and how to work with them properly. That often times a $0.01 increase above the minimum bid can have a positive impact on your placement.
Conversely, we recommend that you do not fall into the trap of overbidding--bidding is just one of the multiple aspects that CSEs take into account when determining your placement.
For the CSEs that charge on a cost-per-click (CPC) basis, it's important to monitor which products are being sold at certain bid levels on a daily basis. Remember, that your most popular products will account for a disproportionately large percentage of your costs and may drag down ROI as customers click on these products more often, even when they don’t buy.
8. Take Advantage of the Free Shopping Engines
Google Shopping, MSN Live Search and theFind.com
"There's no such thing as a free lunch", as the old adage goes. However these three CSEs not only give you your cake, but let you eat it as well--provided that you send them the recipe of course. Unlike the pay CSEs, you can list as many products as you desire without any fear of costs being run up as a result.
Both MerchantAdvantage and CPC Strategy agree that at the very minimum every online merchant should work with these three free channels because:
- They are free and any lead that comes to the online merchant is a bonus
- Working your product catalog feed with these channels allows the online merchant to get used to CSEs and test how they can work best for you without costing you a dime, and
- Helps with general SEO search as it relates to your company
But, just because they are free does not mean that we recommend feeding your product catalog data and doing nothing. Similar to the pay CSEs, only strategic and thoughtful management of these free channels will lead to increased revenue and branding.
9. Send your products to Revenue Share Engines
Right in line after working with free shopping engines, all merchants should consider the benefits of working with certain shopping comparison sites that only charge you when a sale is made and is easy to work with. We recommend looking into JellyFish.com and myCoupons.com. They are easy to send a data feed to and the revenue share structure is fair and easy to understand.
Sharing is caring, and in the case of JellyFish.com and myCoupons.com, if your margins allow for it, both companies revenue share/cost per action business models are unique, cost-effective ways of driving qualified traffic to your site. JellyFish allows you to decide the margins related to each sale and myCoupons.com charges a flat fee coupon per each sale.
So, the online merchant does not pay unless a lead turns into a sale and when you manage the margins related to the sale properly, it'd be foolish to pass these marketing opportunities up.
[Special Note: We all know that eBay and Amazon also work in a revenue share fashion, but for eBay there are costs up front, such as listing fees charged prior to a sale, and for Amazon, it is not easy to feed and manage your data on a daily basis and the commissions they charge can run high. They are both excellent companies and should be looked into only after you get through this “12 Step Program” successfully].
10. If you cannot complete steps 1-9, Seek Help!
Take a deep breath. You can manage at least the free sites, mentioned above on your own. Each free site helps you walk through the steps to get your first feed to work properly and it is worth your time.
If you still feel that your work day is too short to be spent on optimizing/submitting data feeds then consider option 11 and 12 below to help you.
Running successful Comparison Shopping Campaigns to more than one CSE can easily become a full time job, and while we believe it is worth your time, identify if it's worth it to look outside for help.
In return you'll not only free up more time to focus on the more important aspects of your business, but you can also turn over some if not all of the responsibility of managing your product catalog data feeds to people who are up to date with the industry and can provide insights and knowledge immediately.
11. Use a tool like MerchantAdvantage
MerchantAdvantage works with hundreds of clients who understand the basics of working with CSEs and have allocated the time to manage marketing campaigns cost-effectively.
MerchantAdvantage’s Web-based tools take care of all of the technical aspects of feeding data to any marketing channel, or CSE, so an online merchant can focus on managing their feeds properly from the marketing side.
If this approach interests you then contact MerchantAdvantage at MerchantAdvantage.com or (800) 550-9466, for a free demonstration of how you can get started immediately working with and benefitting from marketing with any CSE, especially the free ones.
12. Use a service like CPC Strategy
If you don't have the time in the day, and don't want to train a new employee (or yourself) on the nuances of one CSE, let alone more than one CSE, it might be time to consider CPC Strategy – a full service solution.
MerchantAdvantage provides merchants with tools for data feed submission and CPC Strategy takes this one step further and executes the entire process for the online merchant. CPC Strategy understands that some merchants simply do not have the time, or even the basic technical knowledge, to fully optimize and efficiently manage their Comparison Shopping Marketing Campaigns.
CPC Strategy was formed by former employees of CSEs precisely to help online merchants build long term, successful, multi channel Comparison Shopping Marketing Campaigns.
For information about CPC Strategies service please visit http://www.cpcstrategy.com/merchant.html or give them a call at (619) 677-2453.
MerchantAdvantage Wrap Up:
There are many ways to market online and wirelessly cost effectively. No method is perfect, no marketing channel is perfect, but there are ample opportunities to work with CSEs, free CSEs, and transaction based marketing channels to increase sales and they should all be looked into today. Many online merchants don’t think they have the technical know-how, time, or money to experiment using these marketing channels but they do. Why? Simple. The ROI that can be gained using these channels is the most efficient, cost-effective, and easy to recognize with just a little time and effort. And with companies like CPC Strategy and MerchantAdvantage in the marketplace to make the process straight-forward, how can you not afford to look into increasing sales, leads, and branding using at least one online marketing channel. |
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Bid Goodbye to High Pay Per Click (PPC)
by Brett Bernstein, Tech Support
 Miami, FL (April 22, 2008)— As more and more sites support PPC bids, merchants are utilizing active bidding to lower PPC.
When bidding at Comparison Shopping Engines (CSEs), there are two options to define bids. Bid for Pay Per Click (PPC) on the data-feed, and Bid for PPC in the CSE Dashboard (back office). When editing in the CSE dashboard, you must login, find the screen that edits PPC, and edit each specific category or product each time you want to change your bids. An easier approach to modifying your bids is utilizing a data feed tool like Channel Management.
PPC Biding can be utilized to optimize your product appearance on the CSEs. If there is a high margin product or a product that needs to be moved, the bid can be adjusted to be high for higher ranking on the CSEs. If a product has a low margin, instead of pulling the product from the feed, the bid can be lowered and it will still appear on the CSE at a lower level in the search result. But what if there aren’t many products like yours in that category? If you bid low your product will appear on the top.
MerchantAdvantage clients [Click Here] to login to your back office and sign up for our upcoming Channel Management Educational Series Webinar on April 23, 2008 where we will explain PPC biding and answer questions you may have about PPC bidding. |
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Merchant of the Month: SleepWellBaby.com
 "Three years ago, Dr. Laurie Glusman, a Ph.D. psychologist and mother of three, began a small business out of her garage focused on sleep products for babies and children. In a short amount of time, however, it became clear that there was a greater need for high-quality sleep, rest, and relaxation products. The business has grown beyond its dreams and now resides in a warehouse instead of the garage it once called home.
A few short years ago, SleepWellBaby was reaching a few customers; today they are reaching millions. SleepWellBaby owes much of their success to their relationship with MerchantAdvantage. Merchant Advantage has increased their visibility through a unique channel management program. SleepWellBaby products are now found on shopping comparison websites such as Become.com, Amazon.com, Shopping.com, Pricerunner.com, JustMommies.com, Nextag.com, Shopping.com, and Shop.com, to name a few. MerchantAdvantage has allowed SleepWellBaby to increase their internet presence and provide sleep and relaxation aids to customers throughout the world.
Along with working to get the word out about these wonderful state of the art products, MerchantAdvantage offers wonderful technical support, which is very supportive and helpful, every step of the way."
Laurie Glusman, SleepWellBaby.com
Get Your Channel Management Fee Waived Plus Receive a Complimentary Companion Airline Ticket!
We're thrilled and inspired by all the Channel Management success stories you share with us. Now we want to turn the spotlight on you! Send us your best Channel Management success story and you could be selected as our Merchant of the Month.
If chosen, your company will be exclusively showcased in an edition of our monthly newsletter, eTail dTail.
Best of all, your monthly MerchantAdvantage fee will be waived in the month you are selected and you will receive a complimentary Companion Airline Ticket. Submit your Channel Management success story today to stories@merchantadvantage.com. We look forward to hearing from you!
(Note: MerchantAdvantage reserves the right to use any or all of your story, whether or not your article is selected as the winning entry.) |
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About MerchantAdvantage
MerchantAdvantage (www.MerchantaAdvantage.com) is an ecommerce software solutions company committed to championing and helping the small to midsized online ecommerce Merchant address complicated mobile and online e-commerce issues and take a systematic, controlled and proactive approach to online product marketing. MerchantAdvantage provides long-term, cost effective software tools that enable an online business to grow by reaching the widest audience possible via online, broadband, and wireless devices. MerchantAdvantage's applications are designed to thoroughly connect the online retailer to their marketplace partners in a seamless motion of communication allowing Merchants to take control of their ecommerce channels, marketing strategies, and IT solutions. These software tools specifically help ecommerce retailers bridge the gap created by non-standardized data feeds to various online market places, shopping comparison sites, and other online shopping destination sites.
MerchantAdvantage is changing the macrocosm of ecommerce by staying ahead of the curve in providing business solutions to the growing online retail marketplace: We're here because America's commerce future is online.
MerchantAdvantage, the premier software for on-line retailers looking for an efficient and cost-effective method to online product marketing introduces Channel Management with Chanalytics(sm) Professional and Lite. Channel Management products help online retailers save time and money while maximizing their return on investment and marketing budgets by allowing them to easily connect to shopping comparison sites an assess their performance. MerchantAdvantage is for online retailers wishing to better manage online marketing efforts and increase sales volume.
MerchantAdvantage – Take Control of Your Marketing Channels! |
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You have data feed management problems, we have data feed management solutions.
Maybe you're not happy with your current levels of ROI, maybe you don't have the time and resources to manage multiple campaigns, or maybe you just never want to submit another data feed for the rest of your life – regardless of the situation we can help.
We currently work with merchants of various industries, sizes, and needs, allowing us to easily create customizable solutions specifically for you.
Mention MerchantAdvantage and we'll waive your setup fees.
Contact us today at (619)677-2453 or email us: Contact@CPCstrategy.com
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Do you have any issues, concerns or interests you would like to share?
Email us at:
tip@etaildtail.com
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• Online Shopping Needs Improvement
by emarketer.com
A March 2008 Opinion Research Corporation survey found that the online shopping experience for US Internet users is being hindered by misrepresented items and lack of customer service.
Nearly nine out of 10 US consumers surveyed said they shopped online and within this group, the chief frustration, cited by 24%, was receiving an item that did not look like it did online.
The second most frustrating thing about shopping online, cited by 23% of respondents, was not being able to talk to someone regarding any purchasing questions or concerns.
In addition, 21% of consumers surveyed were unable to name an online retailer with the best shopping experience.
“This suggests that there is ample opportunity to create competitive differentiation and to establish best practice in the online shopping space,” said Linda Shea at Opinion Research Corporation.
“Failing to meet customers’ expectations at any point along the buying continuum—from login to receipt of item—can have an adverse impact on the customer’s perception of not only the store, but the brand as well.”
• Comparison Engines Upbeat Despite Slowdown
by e-consultancy.com
New research published by E-consultancy this week reveals that the comparison engines sector continues to flourish despite challenges presented by the economic downturn and the increased cost of buying search engine traffic.
The Comparison Engines Buyer’s Guide 2008 contains a detailed analysis of an increasingly competitive sector and profiles of 16 leading engines.
According to ChannelAdvisor, this channel now drives approximately 15% of total online sales and was therefore responsible for £7 billion in UK online sales during 2007.
As the industry approaches maturity, further growth will be driven through innovation in both technology and customer service, as comparison shopping engines (CSEs) compete for market share in an increasingly crowded marketplace.
The announcement that Yahoo! is considering selling Kelkoo, as well as Experian’s plans to review the future of PriceGrabber, has raised questions over profitability in the sector.
However, the leading CSEs such as Kelkoo, PriceRunner and Shopping.com are still optimistic about the prospects for the industry.
Bruce Fair, UK managing director at Kelkoo, said: “We believe that there may be some economic slowdown in 2008, which will impact consumer spending, but this will be mainly felt offline. There remains a steady channel shift of purchasers moving online, which should see strong growth in 2008."
Mattias Berg, UK MD at PriceRunner, added: “Retailers are continuing to invest in comparison engines because we provide a significant number of buyers who already have an interest in buying. Over the last few years, retailers have become much more sophisticated in measuring the partners that are most valuable to them, and who are also generating the best ROI, both of which are encouraging developments.”
In an attempt to reduce their over-reliance on search engine traffic, some comparison engines have sought to establish themselves as destination sites rather than hop-on, hop-off sites.
As merchants have become more concerned about an increasingly commoditised shopping culture, the leading comparison engines have shifted their focus away from just price to product comparison.
Established industry players such as Shopping.com and Shopzilla are also branching into new sectors and repositioning themselves as shopping portals to create long-term customer loyalty and build sustainable competitive advantage.
Differentiation is paramount, and a lucrative opportunity presents itself through integration of Web 2.0 technologies, including user-generated content, incorporating third party content and widgets, and social shopping.
Financial services price comparison sites in particular have continued to thrive, but the growing dominance of market leader Moneysupermarket.com has resulted in calls for greater regulation of the industry from financial service providers, and demands for transparency from consumers.
New entrants that are changing the traditional price comparison model include Twenga, Microsoft-owned Jellyfish, and local price comparison site Askthelocal.com. The growth of social shopping sites, including Crowdstorm, mydeco, and OSOYOU will also be significant.
Despite concerns over the lack of transparency and further scrutiny over the question of profitability, shopping comparison sites continue to prove popular with consumers and retailers alike.
The key challenge for CSEs will be building consumer confidence by increasing transparency and trust. Comparison engines need to place emphasis on creating long-term loyalty by optimising the customer experience and differentiating their sites from the increasing number of players in the market.
A breakfast briefing held by online channel management specialist ChannelAdvisor last month re-enforced our belief that the failure of many retailers to optimise effectively was also a barrier to the growth of this channel. Many retailers struggle to create feeds which can help them get maximum value from these sites.
• US Retail E-Commerce Resilient
by emarketer.com
US retail e-commerce sales will rise by 17% to $204 billion in 2008 according to the Shop.org study "The State of Retailing Online 2008," conducted by Forrester Research.
“What’s spearheading online retail sales growth is a tale of two shoppers that visit the Web for very different reasons,” said Sucharita Mulpuru, analyst at Forrester.
“The casual shopper goes online to look for the best price, leveraging the transparency of the Internet to save money. However, more affluent customers appreciate the convenience of shopping online and are not necessarily looking for the best deal. Retailers would be wise to recognize there are significant opportunities within both audiences and should market to them accordingly.”
Retailers often name paid search as the most effective way to reach new customers. It is no surprise then that 90% of retailers surveyed said they plan to use pay-for-performance search placement and 79% said they will make it a greater priority in 2008.
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"Technology should exist to aid us in our endeavors; We are here because you are online.sm"
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Michael Lambert, CEO |
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For information on how MerchantAdvantage may help your business grow, please contact us:
Chip Arndt
Executive Vice President
Business Development and Strategy
305.895.9466 x113
partnerships@merchantadvantage.com
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