Internet Business Blog

Caption: This picture has nothing to do with this post ;).

Spreading the Love

Here’s a list of products, blogs posts, and forum discussions that I find find worthy of some “link love”. It’s been awhile since I have done one of these posts and I’m incredibly busy re-vamping some client work today so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity!

CS Cart is my shopping cart solution of choice. I always recommend this product to clients, and they’re always happy with the end result.

Bloggers are uneasy this week because Technorati CEO David Sifry is stepping down. We all knew that Technorati was going through some rough times but this was totally unexpected and very unfortunate. Hopefully they are able to turn things around.

Myspace is a company run by tech bullies. It’s no big deal though, just switch to Facebook.

There was a man who had successfully filed a patent on taking bets over the internet (eh?) and Bodog couldn’t defend because they are offshore and not a US company. This guy was awarded default judgment of $50 million AND Bodog.com.

Sarah from BlueJar.com posts the Top 7 Signs That You Are a Web Stats Obsessed Whore!

Michael Gray posted his now infamous “google is evil“ MS Powerpoint presentation for those of us who couldn’t make the SES conference. The presentation was specifically centered around paid links and Gray nails it!

Here’s an excellent discussion about Internal Anchor Text.

Glen Allsopp analyzed StumbleUpon’s Top 50 Stumblers. You can tell that he spent a ton of time on this blog entry and the quality in doing so really shows. In fact, his entire blog is really good and I highly recommend it as a daily read.

Popularity: 56% [?]

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

There were many great conversations on the forums this week, unfortunately I was way too busy to really delve into most of them. I was able to save four however, and I’ve left my responses below each set of block quotes. If you have anything to add, don’t be shy!

1. Outsourcing PHP Scripting

Have just fired my fourth PHP programming firm. In all I have lost six figures due to programmer incompetence over the past few years. I’ve tried searching for a UK/US/CA firm and just can’t find one. How on earth do you find a good programming firm? Any help would be appreciated, I’m really losing money by the second at the moment!

My Take: I think that the original poster of this thread is finding his “talent” incorrectly. If he has hired and fired four programmers and losing six figures in the process he hasn’t been doing his homework. Take time, don’t rush into things, and don’t hire someone on the cheap. Good programmers are hard to find, mainly because (in my experience) they are all working! You probably won’t find what you’re looking for on forums, elance, or the like.

2. Value of a Commerce Site Face Lift?

I have worked in ecom for 8 years. Face lifts, are worth 1% additional sales at the best.

Minnapple’s quote above is solid gold. Thought I’d give it its own thread.

What results have you seen from commerce site Botox, cosmetic surgery? I’m referring purely to prettying-up a site.

My Take: My top performing Ecommerce site looked nice, but it wasn’t anything spectacular. As with all Ecommerce sites, your number one priority with design should navigation and usability. Your site can be pretty as hell, but if people can’t figure out how to add products to their cart, check out, create wish lists, and navigate around you’re not going to convert well. Many ugly commerce sites have functionality in mind - and that is why you hire a developer with real Ecommerce experience and not an “artist”.

3. Anyone Rent An Office To Be More Productive?

I am considering renting a small office in a building somewhere to get out of my house. My home office is great, but i find that I am becoming less productive gradually. When I actually drove to an office, i was extremely focused without any distractions.

It will be an unwarranted expense, but I am sure that my production and profits will increase quite a bit.

The added structure will be nice also…

Anyone?

My Take: I’ve thought about renting an office in the past, but found that the funding to do so would be spent more wisely in other areas (such as growing my businesses!). I have a medium sized home office now, but will have a large one on Sunday when we move into our new home. That is all the motivation in the world to progress right there. As long as you can work in a home environment, I say - why not?

4. Getting The “Big” Clients

I’ll start with a little background.

I’ve been doing web design for about 6 years now. The last year I’ve been doing it full time.
I usually have work, even if it’s not work I particularly want to do. My clients are usually small businesses or individuals, found via sites like Scriptlance. In order to have a steady stream of food, I’ve been charging far less than I should be!

I don’t like to sound big headed, but I’ve worked really hard at learning it! I’ve kept up with new advances, and I think my work has improved a lot over the years. I’d say (and here’s where I sound very arrogant!) that I’m better than a lot of designers out there, although there are some dreadful ones!

I keep in touch with a lot of other people in the same field, as I feel it helps. I was talking to 2 people in particular last week, and got a bit jealous! They’re both average designers - both still use tables, and one slices directly from ImageReady. They’re designs aren’t dreadful, but they’re a bit… clunky and out of date. I wouldn’t usually put someone down like that, everyone’s got a learn, but in my conversation with them I found they were both doing work for huge clients - one was CNN, the other MSN!

So, I put it to Sitepoint - what is it you need to do to get those clients?

Best wishes,
Richard

My Take: Richard, It’s all about networking. Networking and referrals are the lifeline of a business such as ours. Sure you can do other things to help bring in prospective clients such as SEO, linkbaiting, PPC campaigns - but nothing brings in new clients like honest, hard work and clients who are so happy with the results that they immediately refer all of their business associates to you.

Popularity: 11% [?]

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

I’ve decided to focus this week’s Friday Roundup on the big bad world of Ecommerce. There have been some great conversations this week that I think all Ecommerce store owners could benefit from, and here are my top 3:

1. Why do ecommerce websites increasingly require customers to register?
BouncyBunny: I’ve noticed that I am increasingly having to register with web sites when I make purchases online.

My Take: I’ve always hated forcing users to register for anything. In fact, it is the first thing that I’ll turn off. Many ecommerce sites force registration during checkout because then, in their terms of service and privacy policy, they have your email address. That or they just didn’t bother turning the option off.

2. eBay in Patent Dispute Over ‘buy it now’ Button
Engine: A small Virginia company in a patent fight with eBay Inc. asked a federal judge Tuesday to stop the online auction powerhouse from using its “Buy It Now” feature allowing shoppers to buy items at a fixed price.

My Take: This is a rediculious charge on an issue that has been taken too far. On that note, I also don’t understand how a “small Virginia company” will have the funding to take on eBay for any real length of time in court.

3. Top 100 Ecommerce Tips
Habtom: I am curious to see what people can come up with their own top 100 do or dont’s in ecommerce. I will start with 100 myself. #100 - Never leave unanswered emails for more than 48 hours, or your customer is gone.

My Take: I posted about this forum list earlier in the week but wanted to post it one more time in hopes that no one misses it. In fact, I’m in the process of compiling the list for easy viewing.

Popularity: 9% [?]

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!