Hostway Newsletter | Hostway Web Solutions


ISSUE 61		NOVEMBER 2006

Dear Valued Customer,

It's November, and the holidays are just around the corner. But don't worry—it's not too late to get your website ready for the online shopping rush. This month's newsletter is full of quick and easy last-minute tips to tune-up your website just in time for the winter holidays.

Five Festive Ideas to Increase Holiday Sales
By Kathryn Jones

Online holiday shopping will reach record-high levels this year with 114 million users going online to browse for gifts, according to JupiterResearch's Online Retail Holiday Forecast 2006. The report stated that Web-based holiday retail sales will grow 18 percent with $32 billion spent solely online.

Here are five simple ways you can take advantage of the upcoming holiday shopping rush.

1. Place pay-per-click ads.
Reach potential buyers who are searching specifically for the products offered on your site through pay-per-click advertising. Your website can appear at the top of major search engine results pages if you bid on the right words.

Bidding on general keywords will attract more traffic to your site, but bidding on specific keywords will narrow those users from random browsers to potential buyers.

2. Optimize the content to be search engine friendly.
Check your Web logs often to see which terms visitors search for on your site and then name your Web pages and products appropriately. Make sure the text embedded in a link (the anchor text) matches user search terms. Test all of your links to make sure they work properly.

Relevance is key because content that isn't related to your products can confuse potential customers and give people the impression that you're deceptive. Consider writing descriptive paragraphs next to each photo or include a company background for a personal touch.

3. Add holiday graphics to your site.
Get into the holiday spirit. Shoppers appreciate the convenience of buying gifts online. Retail stores during the holidays can be a nightmare. Make their experience at your site fun and lighthearted by adding holiday-oriented images.

Another idea is to send your customers themed email newsletters full of gift ideas. This secures your relationship with current clients and lets them know you're thinking of them during the holidays.

4. Run special promotions.
Shoppers can't resist a good bargain. Discount items that aren't selling well. Offer a discount or promotion for several items if purchased together. Offer downloadable gift certificates or free shipping if buyers spend a certain amount of money. For last-minute shoppers, offer overnight delivery.

Promotions are an easy way to establish a good rapport and attract people back to your site next year. If you do offer a promotion, make sure you mention it on every page. The more people are reminded, the more likely they'll make use of it.

5. Offer multiple payment options.
This assures customers that you own a legitimate site and you place their convenience above your own. Some people are nervous about providing credit card numbers online. PayPal and Google allow people to use their credit cards without giving any personal information to business owners.

Another option is sending people an e-bill after they check out, detailing the order confirmation and shipping address where they can send a check or money order.

Make shipping information easy to access by posting a notice on your home page listing the last date an order can be made for holiday delivery. Save yourself the pain of customer complaints and returns by being honest about meeting set delivery dates.

Feature story provided by MidwestBusiness.com.

Hostway Partners with Google Checkout™

Hostway and Google have joined together to save you money and simplify the checkout process for your customers. Now you can integrate Google Checkout™ merchant accounts into your Merchant Manager store. You save money—for every $1 you spend on Google AdWords each month, you can process $10 in sales the following month for free through Google Checkout™. Plus, customers breeze through the checkout process using just a username and password.

New Welcome Kit Answers Your Questions

We are pleased to announce the recent launch of our fully updated Welcome Kit. It includes loads of information to help you manage and market your website. You'll find a Quick Start guide that walks you through the process of setting up your account, an explanation of key account features, answers to frequently asked questions, How-To Guides with easy tips for increasing your online business's success and more. Check out the new Welcome Kit now!

Design a Customized Landing Page for Your PPC Ads

No pay per click (PPC) campaign is compete without a great landing page that directly relates to the ad and tells customers exactly what they should do. Say you're advertising a holiday gift sale. Create a landing page with holiday graphics that showcases your products and contains a big “Buy Now” button. Your PPC ads will convert more visitors by linking to a customized landing page than simply linking to your home page.

Need to update your contact or billing information? Login to SiteControl now to update your account information, ensure continuous service and prevent any potential system delays.

“The 'Wisdom Behind the Scenes' is What Keeps Me a Hostway Faithful!”

Going through the process of developing a website, I understand how critical the provider of our hosting service is to our success. I equate it to “wisdom behind the scenes.” Trust me, it is an unbelievable comfort knowing that I do not have to worry (a “defensive” issue) about the functioning of my website. With that out of the way, I can concentrate on the “offensive” services Hostway provides… By simply inputting my password, Hostway provides me a wealth of traffic analysis. This offensive analysis gives me the ability to quickly determine what marketing strategies are working or not working. The “wisdom behind the scenes” is what keeps me a Hostway faithful!

Chris Flynn
www.tugnomore.com

The Hostway community is brimming with talented individuals running smart online businesses. We're proud of our customers, and we'd like to thank you for your business by featuring you in our next newsletter! We'd love to hear about your online achievements and share them with more than 100,000 of your Hostway peers. Just send your story and a link to your website to editor@hostway.com. We can't wait to hear from you!

Merchant Manager »

Hostway's Merchant Manager is a complete online store creation and management package. Included with all of our ecommerce Web hosting plans, it contains applications and templates to help you create your online store, catalog and graphic banners. You can even manage your search engine optimization from Merchant Manager's administrative control panel. When your store is finished, Merchant Manager lets customers sort products by quantity, date and type and captures their contact information. Merchant Manager integrates with merchant accounts from a variety of vendors including Google, Chase and PayPal.
Learn more about Merchant Manager.

PhotoshopSupport.com »

Web Design Tutorials—20% Off

Develop your Web design skills in the comfort of your home. PhotoshopSupport.com is now offering Hostway customers 20% off Total Training's video-based training software for Adobe Creative Suite, Photoshop, Flash, Dreamweaver and complete website design. Don't miss this special offer! Just follow the link and enter this special code: save20pss to receive your discount.