Colorado Web Solutions

Sale on Yahoo Customer Registration

Posted on September 7th, 2012 by Brent Carey

Two years ago Yahoo launched their much anticipated Customer Registration module. It was a long overdue addition to Yahoo’s web store platform. Initially their registration module was viewed with mild skepticism as the account creation procedure was somewhat unique in that it used pre-existing social media or email login’s to create a user’s profile. At the time, many customer registration modules forced users to create unique user-names/passwords. Realizing that there was a growing consumer trend in which customers were being turned away by having to create unique registration logins, Yahoo took a different route. The Yahoo development team launched a registration module with some forward thinking giving customers the ability to checkout as a guest or – use their preexisting login details from Yahoo, AOL, Google or Facebook to create their account.

The response to the new Customer Registration module has been nothing short of stellar. Not only is the module solid in the back end functions it presents, customers are not being turned away at the point of registration. While Yahoo allows store owners to manually turn on their registration modules; if the store is designed using custom templates an authorized Yahoo developer like Colorado Web Solutions will be needed in order to give the feature a professional and integrated look. As much as possible, the registration should mimic the overall look and feel of the store and checkout.

The vast majority of Colorado Web Solutions client sites using the Registration module, have been delighted with their own customer’s response to this feature. While there are a lot of Yahoo stores already using this – there are still many in need of a developer integration. With that in mind, we’ve decided to offer a 20% discount on our Premier Customer Registration install for a limited time. For more detailed information on our various integration levels, please have a look at:
http://www.coloradowebsolutions.com/rtml-my-account.html

If you’re interested in the advantages gained by installing Customer Registration in your Yahoo store, please fill out the following form and we’ll be in touch shortly.

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Pagination for Yahoo Stores

Posted on August 14th, 2012 by Brent Carey

Colorado Web Solutions is often asked by Yahoo store owners what features will help take their web store to the next level. As every site presents its own unique complexities, that is somewhat of a difficult question to answer, at least in a general sense. What that next upgrade should or could be will depend on a multitude of factors. However, if a client’s site is very product-intensive one feature the client should always consider is Advanced Pagination.

It’s amazing how often we encounter client sites or just sites in general, that have a large number of products displayed on a Product Listing page and yet the site is not utilizing Pagination. Without Pagination, customers not only have a bewildering number of products to browse through, they also end up having less control over how the page content is displayed. While there is a current fad for allowing more scrolling in order to serve content/ads as the page is browsed, for many smaller web stores this type of technology is out of reach and wouldn’t necessarily translate to more sales.

Pagination can deliver a more positive experience for a user due to the page loading faster. Having ten or twenty products per page will decrease page rendering times as compared to a hundred or more products. The faster the load time, the better the experience. Having less products per page also means that much less information to digest. Again, less products to look at per page can make it easier for a customer to make a choice.

A good product listing page not only breaks down large numbers of products into manageable sections, but also gives the user options. Customers like having choices when it comes to surfing. Today’s shopper can quickly decipher a page’s pagination feature and sort by 10, 20, 50 items per page or by popularity, name, price and more. Some customers may be inclined to purchase by sorting via price, while others may want to shop by name. Giving people more browsing options can translate to additional sales. We feel that the benefits of Pagination, both aesthetically and functionally make this feature upgrade an important consideration for any Yahoo store.

For more information please see:

http://www.coloradowebsolutions.com/rtml-advanced-pagination.html

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Yahoo Store Product Reviews

Posted on August 1st, 2012 by Brent Carey

Product Reviews are a key feature for any Yahoo store. Here at Colorado Web Solutions, we’re big proponents of adding reviews.  A product review is a powerful tool that not only gives customers the ability to understand more about their possible purchase, but also demonstrates to your site’s visitors that your products/site are attracting other customers. Many studies have shown that there is a direct correlation between reviews and higher conversion rates.

Having reviews inside your Yahoo store will help do the following:

Educate customers – While a Product Description is essential in educating your customers about your product, reviews offer another tool in which to help people understand why they need to purchase what you’re offering.  Reviews offer the ability to provide customers with an unbiased opinion. Simply put, they help customers make a decision. Reviews, both good and bad add validity to a store.

Give customers a voice – In general, customers love to offer their opinions. If you give customers the ability to write up their opinions for all to see, they are in essence becoming part of your growing community. Having a community of buyers is essential to a site’s success. Remember, if no review is present on a product’s page, the customer may possibly look for a review on another site before purchasing. The more clicks away from the “Buy Now” means your chances drop for that conversion.

Increase your site’s SEO relevance – Reviews give real SEO value to a site. Content is king – and adding reviews to a product page instantly gives value. Having several reviews on product page will only add organic richness to the content. Each review is likely to contain valuable keywords. Each new review is a unique piece of content. Every time a review is posted it will add significantly to the overall organic value of the page.

Reviews are so important, there really isn’t any time to waste making them a part of your Yahoo store. The more reviews you have, the better the chance you’ll get that conversion. Think of it this way – the more people talking about your product, the more people will buy that product. If one person reviews your product – that’s one person’s opinion may sway your customer to buy. If one hundred people have reviewed that product, chances are the customer will be more inclined to make the purchase.

For more information please visit:
http://www.coloradowebsolutions.com/rtml-product-reviews.html

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Improved Yahoo Site Search

Posted on November 3rd, 2011 by Brent Carey

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.

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Segment Yahoo Store Customers with Customer Manager

Posted on June 29th, 2011 by Matt Sampson - Colorado Web Solutions

While many of our clients have already integrated Yahoo’s Customer Registration, we’ve been getting a lot of questions regarding the Customer Manager and how this can be used to more effectively manage your existing customer base. I thought it would be a good idea to briefly cover some of the major features and benefits available via the Customer Manager link found in Store Manager.

Yahoo! Store Customer Manager

Customer Manager at its most basic level is designed to generate reports that store owners can use to more effectively understand and target their customer base. The reports allow owners to sort and filter relevant customer information and past order data. Prior to this important release, there was not a way to access or use any of the customer information collected via the Customer Registration module. Now, store owners can filter customers into specific groups or segments, gaining a better understanding of who their customers are – which translates to better marketing strategies.

The filtering and sorting allows store owners to find out what products customers are buying and when. Owners can use this information to create unique “single-use” coupons designed as an advanced method of up-selling or cross-selling. Owners can use email marketing, showcasing new or sale items targeted to specific customers who have purchased similar items in the past. The filters are quite powerful and can be used to show order values, order histories, total number of orders and much more.

If used properly, the Customer Manager can be a powerful tool to understand your customer buying habits. If you’re currently using Customer Registration and you haven’t taken a look at the Customer Manager, we strongly suggest you take some time to review what this feature can do.

For more information on Customer Registration installs, please click here:
http://www.coloradowebsolutions.com/blog/general-news/yahoo-store-customer-registration-installation-starting-at-150/

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Add Sizzle to your Yahoo! Store this Summer

Posted on June 20th, 2011 by Matt Sampson - Colorado Web Solutions

Here at Colorado Web Solutions we offer quite a number of great features as part of our Standard Design packages. While the feature set we offer for our Standard packages covers the “basics” one should expect from a quality ecommerce site, there are several add-on features we offer that can really take your store to the next level. We often have current or new clients ask us what’s the latest feature that we’d recommend based on what other stores are adding. So, here is our “Summer Sizzle” add-on list for Yahoo Stores:

Java Rotational Banner

Many sites these days have some type of promotional banner on the homepage. Often the display will rotate every few seconds showing several banners in a relatively short span of time. A rotational banner serves to not only educate potential customers regarding products and promotions but also creates a visually appealing area on a homepage to further accentuate a sites aesthetic appearance. Here at CWS we prefer to use Java Script banners rather than Flash for this purpose. The reason is clients can then easily switch out for new banners without the need for continued developer involvement. Our Java banners are Variable based and quite easy to maintain.

http://www.coloradowebsolutions.com/rtml-home-flash-center.html

Cascading Menus

Cascading Menus, Fly-out Menus, Accordion Menus – are all names for the same feature. Rather then having the main categories listed on your homepage navigation and if clicked, the customer is taken to a sub-category page, a Cascading Menu allows for the sub-categories under a given Parent Category to be displayed directly on the homepage. This is achieved by hovering over a parent category and the sub-categories are then shown. There are many different options for how the “fly-out” can be displayed. If you’re interested in exploring how Cascading Menus can benefit your site, please speak with one of our Project Managers.

http://www.coloradowebsolutions.com/rtml-cascading-menus.html

Floating Cart

We’ll be honest – in the initial days after Yahoo released their Floating Cart, there were a few issues with the functionality and cross-browser compatibility concerning this feature. However, Yahoo has worked very hard at eliminating most of the bugs. We’re now comfortable installing this feature on clients’ sites – and it can be a tremendous feature for up-sells. The reason being, customers can add items to their cart – without actually going into the cart. Customers can continue to browse a stores product line or check the contents of their cart from any page!

http://www.coloradowebsolutions.com/rtml-floating-cart.html

Social Media Add-on

Social Media is all the rage and it’s likely that this vertical channel for sales will continue to increase and improve in the years ahead. To date the most popular of the social media links has been Facebook, Twitter and Blogs. While this will likely remain for the foreseeable future, there are other companies and services that will inevitably be added to the list. Yahoo offers their own version of a social media add-on which Colorado Web Solutions can add to any Yahoo store on the Merchant Solutions platform. For older stores, we’ve also come up with our own social media script that offers similar functionality to what Yahoo provides.

Contact us for pricing

Advanced Product Reviews

There is likely no better reason for customers to buy from a store – then other customer’s opinions. Having Product Reviews on a Product page can greatly increase conversions. Customers can review what others are saying about a product or even about a store’s service and if the review is positive, the chances are high the customer will purchase. Product Reviews can also greatly enhance the overall look and feel of a product page. Having Reviews, a well laid out Product Table and some form of Cross-sell, can really help round out the overall appearance of a product page, likely leading to more conversions!

There are certainly many more features that can add excitement to your store, however I feel the above features are probably the most sought after – at this time. As more features are created, refined or become popular, we’ll be sure to let you know!

http://www.coloradowebsolutions.com/rtml-product-reviews.html

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Holiday Prep Tip: Include a Coupon with your Shipments

Posted on October 12th, 2010 by Matt Sampson - Colorado Web Solutions

Greetings everyone! Last year we did a “Countdown to Cyber Monday” series for our Yahoo Store Merchants and while we plan to do the same thing this year, we also feel that there are some elements of preparation that can and should be done further ahead of time. Thus was born the Holiday Prep Tips. We hope you will find these articles useful and we always welcome your comments and thoughts.

This week, we are going to focus on your outgoing packages.

First of all, let’s look at what is in your box. I assume you at least have the product(s) and a packing slip of some kind. Have you customized your Yahoo Store packing slip? It’s not something you can do within your store, but you certainly can outside of it. Here’s an article I wrote a while back about customizing your packing slip if you’re interested.

Do you have anything else in your package? A company sticker? Generic Thank You note? How about Return Instructions? I know that all of these items take time and some require cash, but there is a simple thing you can do with very little effort that can bring huge returns. Coupons. If your store has repeat customers at all (some don’t!) then you should really consider taking this article to heart. It can do wonders for your holiday and post-holiday orders.

Assuming you have a product line that is allowed to be discounted to some extent, I would highly suggest adding a coupon to every single package you ship that is valid for a limited period of time (maybe one to two months) that provides the customer with some sort of “VIP Discount”. It could be for Free Shipping if you don’t typically offer that, or for a percentage discount or even for a specific product you may have too many of. The choice is up to you. We have seen the greatest success with a flat rate discount on their next order (10% to 15% is the sweet spot) or for Free Shipping if the store typically charges for shipping.

The coupons are really easy to create and print on your own. I would suggest trying to print at least four on a page so that you are not wasting paper and toner/ink. A program like Microsoft Word can create a two column and two row table for you to work with. If you are more advanced Photoshop and Fireworks are great tools too for coupon creation.

Why an I suggesting Coupons in your Shipments?

People LOVE coupons and rewards. Just look at a service like Groupon that actually has people sign up to receive ads and coupons daily in their email box. In a realistic setting, you’re not going to get a 100% return on your coupons, but for those customers you have that are considering another item that you might carry or have a holiday shopping list that includes items you sell, that coupon may just be the ticket to get them back into your site and keep them from ordering from a competitor. I would start immediately. Get your coupons in packages this week so that you can capture your customers again for the holidays. We’ve also seen a number of stores that have experienced a jump in sales during a traditionally slow January because of all of the coupons that went out over the holidays. Start using coupons in your packages and don’t stop.

A Few Tips on your Shipping Box Coupons

I’ve included an example of an old coupon we created about a decade ago for you to look at. Remember, this was just one of 4 on a page.

Include an Expiration and Make it Short: Adding an expiration date doesn’t mean you have to print new coupons every few week or months. While not quite as effective as a physical date, we typically suggest adding verbiage like “Valid for the next 45 Days” or something like that to avoid paper waste. Even though you may not actually have an expiration on the code in your Yahoo Store, you will at least have the ability to not honor coupons that are “expired” and invalid.

One Time Use or Multiple Times: Do you want to tell your customers that your coupon is a one time use coupon? We suggest this although once again, you will not be able to actually enforce the one time status if you use a global coupon code. At least you said it though!

Include your Domain Name: We would HIGHLY suggest adding your domain to anything you create. Once the coupon goes into a “coupon pile” your customers need to remember that it was your site offering the discount.

You can print on the front and back: Remember, if you want to you can print on both sides of the sheet to include more information or your logo, etc. Simply print the first batch of coupons, put them back in the printer upside down and run the second page.

I hope that you found this small tip helpful, we will continue to post new tips as we approach the holidays so be sure to subscribe to our blog, follow us on twitter or become a fan on facebook with the links below!

Have a great week everyone.

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Add International Shipping to your Yahoo! Store today

Posted on September 27th, 2010 by Matt Sampson - Colorado Web Solutions

Colorado Web Solutions is pleased to announce our newest partnership with Bongo International to provide International Shipping Services to Yahoo! Store Owners.

Colorado Web Solutions has partnered with Bongo, a leader in International Shipping and is now able to offer Yahoo store owners quick and easy access to international shipping services. Aside from a one time set up fee that we are offering up to 50% on, there is absolutely no cost to you as a merchant! We have also been able to negotiate a one year commitment for our clients vs the standard two year commitment normally required by Bongo.

If you are not familiar with how Bongo works, let me explain it to you. It’s quite amazing.

As a merchant you will sign up for the Bongo service and we will install the technology on your site for you. There is a $500 fee for this set up process. For the rest of the month and all of next month, we are offering a 50% discount on installation and set up bringing the total price down to only $250! This is the last fee you will have to pay for international shipping!

Once your website is set up and the code is installed, your international clients will have the option to join Bongo for their international shipping. Your customers will join Bongo and create an account directly on-top of your site so you will not be sending anyone away from your domain. International clients have the option to pay a per-use rate or they can sign up for a monthly membership and get substantial discounts on shipping.

After your international customer has created their account, Bongo will provide them with a US based shipping address and they will enter this address into your yahoo store. Once the order has been placed you will ship the item to the Bongo facility and they will take care of the rest for you!

You will never have to fill out another customs form or wonder if you are shipping to a “real address” ever again.

Speaking from experience when I used to manage a Yahoo Store, we were hesitant to start international shipping due to the fraud, customs and headache of offering the service. We did end up offering international shipping and it became a good portion of our business. If we had had access to a service like Bongo back then, it sure would have made life quite a bit easier.

My advice to you is: if you have considered offering international shipping from your yahoo store, I would highly suggest you give this service a good look.

If you would like to read more about International shipping for Yahoo Stores, please click this link to explore the service further.

If you would like us to have a bongo Representative contact you asap about International Shipping Options, please click this link to fill out our interest form.

Thanks so much everyone and have a great week.

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Free Webinar introducing Bing’s Free Shopping Engine

Posted on August 10th, 2010 by Matt Sampson - Colorado Web Solutions

Hello everyone! I just received some exciting news from our Partners at Go Data Feed regarding a new webinar they are hosting to introduce the new Bing Shopping Portal. Join GoDataFeed, our Shopping Feed Management partner, for a Free Webinar with guest speaker, Bruce Curling of Bing Shopping, to introduce Bing’s long-awaited Free Comparison Shopping Channel.

Get an overview of Bing Shopping’s new program, how to make the most out of your Bing Shopping feed campaign and gain valuable insight on how to:

· Drive Traffic to your Site for Free
· Expand your Reach to Bing’s 83 Million Unique Searchers
· Plan your Back-to-School and Holiday Shopping Channel Advertising Efforts

When: Tuesaday, August 17th, 1:00 pm Eastern Time

Reserve your Seat! Space is limited, so reserve your Webinar seat now at: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/625458065

If you would like to learn more about GoDataFeed, please click here!

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Pre-Holiday Price Drop on Yahoo! Store Design

Posted on July 7th, 2010 by Matt Sampson - Colorado Web Solutions

Colorado Web Solutions has started a couple of new promotions with our Yahoo store packages for July for merchants looking to have a fresh design in time for the holidays. If you sign up for a new store design this month you can save some serious cash!

Starter Yahoo Stores are as low as $999

During the entire month of July we are offering our Starter Yahoo Store Design Package for as low as $1099.00! The Starter design package is great for companies not looking to break the bank with their first store and it’s also a good choice for those Yahoo store owners that plan on modifying the stores on their own in the future.

Add as added bonus – Our clients that sign up for a paid Constant Contact account for their email management and use Capital Merchant Solutions for their order processing, will receive an additional $100 in savings on their designs. That brings the Starter store down to only $999!

Click Here for full details on our Starter Store Package.

Standard Stores are as low as $1999

Even better – During the entire month of July we are offering our most popular package, the Standard Yahoo Store Design Package for as low as $2099.00. That’s an instant savings of $900 on a design package that will deliver a custom coded, feature packed store! Our Standard package has many great features such as Cross Sell V2 integration, Animated Larger Image Pop-up’s, Custom Checkout and Newsletter sign ups.

Add as added bonus – Our clients that sign up for a paid Constant Contact account for their email management and use Capital Merchant Solutions for their order processing, will receive an additional $100 in savings on their designs. That brings the Standard store down to only $1999! That’s $1000 off our regular Yahoo Store design rates!

Click Here for full details on our Standard Store Package.

Now is a great time to start designing your new store. With an average turn around time of 6-8 weeks, if you start now your store will be ready prior to the holiday season!

Ready to get a quote for your store? Click here to get started!

Have a great week everyone.

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