Yahoo! Store Blog by Colorado Web Solutions » Yahoo Store Client News

Improved Yahoo Site Search

Brent Carey — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 16:37:37 +0000

Yahoo recently launched a beta release of their new and improved Site Search. It has been a long time coming and everyone at Colorado Web Solutions is very excited this tool is now available to Yahoo merchants. As all Yahoo store owners know, Yahoo’s default search queries have needed improvement. This has changed with the release of a more advanced site search that allows customers to refine their search results based on a number of criteria. Here’s a few of the new features available:

Add items to the cart directly from the search results page
View search results using a grid or a list format
Choose the number of results shown per page
Refine search results using filters such as brand, price and category
Sort by relevance or price

Yahoo’s new site search also allows store owners to customize the search settings to some degree. Owners can choose to show the “Add to Cart”, hide non-orderable items and define how the filters appear on the results page.

If your Yahoo store is using default templates – you can simply enable the feature from the Site Search Settings Tool in Store Manager and then perform a full store publish. If your store is using Custom templates, you will need an authorized Yahoo developer to integrate the search within your custom template.

We feel this feature will greatly enhance your ability to convert customers from search queries. We are really excited Yahoo managed to launch this feature pre-holiday. There’s no doubt the new site search will enhance the overall experience of any Yahoo store.

CWS Client CoffeeCakes.com Celebrates 15 Years of Online Success

Matt Sampson - Colorado Web Solutions — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 22:50:08 +0000

Colorado Web Solutions is pleased to present this article from the PR wire today about our friends at CoffeeCakes.com and their 15 year anniversary selling online. That is quite an accomplishment and we celebrate with them! Enjoy the article.

CASTLE ROCK, Colo., Feb 03, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ —- This year marks the 15th anniversary of Colorado-based CoffeeCakes.com, one of the first Internet retailers to offer high-quality gourmet gift items online. To celebrate its fifteen year milestone, CoffeeCakes.com will offer select anniversary-priced coffeecakes for $15 throughout the remainder of 2010 as well as free shipping on any order within Colorado.

In 1995, CoffeeCakes.com started as an Internet cafe (the first of its kind in Colorado). Realizing that the Internet offered incredible opportunities in the marketplace, Sherry Comes, the company’s founder, decided to move her business exclusively online. Applying her many years of IT consulting expertise to her new entrepreneurial venture, Comes has grown her online store into the profitable entity it is today.

In the fifteen years since the company’s inception, Comes has experienced the usual challenges of running a small business while maintaining a full-time career. Over the years, the company has revamped its website for Search Engine Optimization, taken the functions of fulfillment, inventory and warehousing in-house, and streamlined its order management, inventory control, and shipping processes.

Since the early years, CoffeeCakes.com has greatly expanded its product line (which initially centered on coffeecakes) to include travel mugs, teapots, and items such as coffee presses and tea samplers. “In the fifteen years since I founded the company, I have seen a huge change in customer shopping patterns,” Comes said. “My customers are super-savvy Internet shoppers. They expect high-touch customer service and a broad and appealing range of products.”

For Valentine’s Day, the company is introducing its new line of “Chocolate Surprise Squares” and “Chocolate Bliss Gourmet” gift baskets that can be shipped anywhere within the US and Canada.

The company plans to launch a sister web site sometime in 2010 that will focus on an even wider range of gift items spanning children’s wear to home decor.

To place an order, visit www.CoffeeCakes.com or call 1-800-830-2696.

About CoffeeCakes.com

CoffeeCakes.com (www.coffeecakes.com) is a privately-held company that markets specialty food and gourmet gift items exclusively on the Internet. Founded in 1995, the company is headquartered in Castle Rock, Colorado. CoffeeCakes.com’s product line includes corporate gifts, specialty gift baskets, coffeecakes and other cakes, tea samplers, travel mugs and products to enhance the enjoyment of coffee and tea.

SOURCE CoffeeCakes.com

Matt Sampson | CEO | Colorado Web Solutions
http//www.ColoradoWebSolutions.com

CoffeeCakes.com Featured in Internet Retailer

Matt Sampson - Colorado Web Solutions — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 20:05:33 +0000

This article was published this week about Colorado Web Solutions’ (www.coloradowebsolutions.com) client CoffeeCakes.com. The article was published in Internet Retailer and can be found here.

CoffeeCakes.com reluctantly redesigns its site and boosts traffic 70%

After 14 years with its original site design, CoffeeCakes.com recently overhauled its site. The dramatic results have convinced the e-retailer not to wait so long for the next redesign.

As part of a session called “First Responder: What Your Site Needs Now” at The Internet Retailer Conference & Exhibition in Boston last week, Sherry Comes , founder and president of CoffeeCakes.com, said the fall 2008 redesign —the first major update for the site since it launched in 1995—produceed a 70% lift in traffic within the first few days of testing.

“We were reluctant to redesign the site because we were experiencing 30% year-over-year growth,” Comes said. “We knew it was time to change when we started to hear that our print marketing was far more professional and attractive than our web site. Also, SEO and SEM experts were telling us a major overhaul was critical to search engine success.”

Comes contracted the redesign to an outside firm that took its direction from the site’s business goals and needs, users’ goals and needs, regulatory issues, and technology and industry considerations. “All the work goes into having detailed requirements upfront,” Comes said.

The outcome was a search engine-optimized site that was less cluttered and easier to navigate, on which high-quality photos of the cakes took a starring role. Besides the increase in traffic, Comes says revenue has grown 9% since the redesign.

Based on those results, Comes advised e-retailers to redesign at least every two years, and says it’s critical to optimize for search engines and to make consumer navigation easy. “At CoffeeCakes.com, we know we have a great product and exceptional customer service, but that’s all meaningless if our customers and prospective customers can’t find our site or find it difficult to use,” she said.

CWS Client UsaBrideWeddings.com Featured

Matt Sampson - Colorado Web Solutions — Fri, 22 May 2009 18:13:23 +0000

Colorado Web Solutions is proud to present an article to you regarding one of our clients, UsaBrideWeddings.com.

Bridal Fashion News! USABride is the hidden jewel for wedding accessories

USABride, A Beverly, MA-based company that has been going strong for more than 13 years may be a bit overlooked in our area because it is on-line based. However, I must say, they have the best deals around, ladies! Gorgeous and affordable Couture wedding tiaras and headpieces, veils, jewelry, combs and pins, and sooooo much more! Some tiaras are even less than $50, and are designed with Swarovski Crystals, Austrian Rhinestones, and Freshwater Pearls!

The good news is, you don’t have to be hesitant about ordering online. Most items include free shipping and are returnable within 30 days if for any reason you are not satisfied! So go ahead! Shop online and support your local businesses!

Having trouble finding the perfect accessories? Need to choose the right veil? The USABride staff even gives Free Expert Advice!

About USABride

“Wedding stylist Nancy Jaeger is the expert behind USABrideWeddings.com’s exclusive designer tiaras, veils, jewelry and other wedding accessories. Through her 13-plus years in the wedding industry, she helps brides look their very best on their wedding day. USABride originated from Jaeger’s own experience as a bride going from shop to shop, only to find a very limited selection of tiaras and jewelry at outrageous prices.

Jaeger’s style is chic and sophisticated, yet affordable. She stays on top of all the hottest and latest fashion, style and beauty trends by attending all the major bridal shows around the country. If it is new and stylish, Jaeger makes sure that USABrideWeddings.com offers it!

“Coordinating your bridal gown with a headpiece or tiara, veil and jewelry is an extremely important and sometimes difficult. You want everything to look perfect — and we’re here to help! Myself and my helpful staff are here to assist you in any way we can. Call or E-mail today!”—Nancy Jaeger, Founder, USABride

Source: Boston Bridal Fashion Examiner: http://www.examiner.com

Story Link: http://www.examiner.com/x-9258-Boston-Bridal-Fashion-Examiner~y2009m5d22-Bridal-Fashion-News-USABride-is-the-hidden-jewel-for-wedding-accessories

CoffeeCakes.com Draws Critique from Entrepreneur

Matt Sampson - Colorado Web Solutions — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 11:27:28 +0000

Colorado Web Solutions re-designed CoffeeCakes.com in the Fall of 2008, and since then, the press and feedback has been phenominal for them. Their most recent feature came in the February 2009 Edition of Entrepreneur Magazine and again was very flattering.

Here is the text from that article:

Website Makeover

CoffeeCakes.com, Castle Rock, Colorado

coffeecakes.com
Founder: Sherry Comes, 44

Behind the makeover: Comes’ creative consultant had been bugging her for six years to redesign the website. “But we were growing at 30 percent per year,” Comes says. “I was afraid to touch it.” When a colleague told her that her print marketing was light-years ahead of her website, she decided it was time to take the plunge. With an upscale clientele that has more money than time, she purposely kept the design simple so the web page would load and function quickly. Website design was handled by independent creative director Tami Dickson and web design firm Colorado Web Solutions.

What the Experts Say

Xanders: The redesign is far better. The visceral effect of reducing clutter and increasing the experience is always good. The product is the hero in this case, as it should be.

Fisher: They did a great job of not losing an established identity in the website upgrade.
I don’t think a lack of interactive features is a negative for the site. Too often websites are over-designed with too many special effects and bells and whistles, so the usability suffers.

Post: Because this company is all about generating sales on the web, redesigning its website is a major brand evolution factor. The new look is appetizing and sends a strong message of trust from a friendly company.

Original Post in Feb 2009 Editiion of Entrepreneur (read it here)