Now that local or “on-site” search capability has become more pervasive, the ability for online shoppers to locate desired products and services has increased manifold. Instead of spending time and effort browsing through a website, online shoppers can simply type in a few keywords and —abracadabra— the product or service they are seeking appears right in front of them! As a result, online shoppers have become increasingly dependant on local site search functionalities.

Given both the popularity of on-site search and the short time most visitors spend on a website, it is imperative for online merchants to provide better site search capabilities. In this article, we provide you with tips to improve overall site search experience of your visitors.

Improving the Site Search Experience

Today’s site search tools have moved much beyond a simple text box that search only through HTML Meta data. Site search functionalities have evolved to provide a visitor with accurate results and provide greater flexibility to define a search term.

Make Site Search Customizable

Online buyers have come to expect both simple (full text) and advanced search capabilities on ecommerce sites. An advanced search feature typically allows user to search based on specific criteria’s like price, weight, and manufacturer.

A well-crafted and comprehensive advanced search can be used to guide customers more effectively. For example, a visitor looking to buy a Toyota costing $10,000, should be able to select Toyota on the advanced search page and define a price range of $8-12K. The result of such well defined search would save a customer the ordeal of scrolling through a list of non-related products.

Make Site Search Relevant

Similarly, if a customer searching an online gift website for “rose flowers” is returned results related to “Sunflower cosmetics,” it’s very likely that visitor would leave the store with a bad impression about that entire online business. Thus, it is mandatory to build a relevant search capability that does not return irrelevant results.

Make Site Search Fast

Many shoppers consider site search as the fastest way to reach to the desired product. The last thing they want is to have the search results being displayed at a slow pace. Make sure that the site search engine is fast enough to process and retrieve any search results quickly, even incase of websites with large number of products.

Make Site Search Informative

Search results should provide precise information about a product and allow visitors to make buying decision without visiting the individual product page. Important information that should be displayed in search results are product name and its price.

Site Search Functionality Paramount for Web Merchants

If you’re currently looking for a ready-made ecommerce solution, make sure that you fully understand its search functionality, assuming it is available. Look for a shopping cart that provides powerful search settings, so that you can control the requirements for search results, as your business grows.

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Even with all the flaws that we will find in an Ajax based website, there are security measures that we could do to ensure security in our website.

Before we go to different security measures, let us first note one of the biggest problems in an Ajax based website and application: Source Code Availability. Some call it “Overly Granular Server API” referring to the API built from the server which provides little to nothing in terms of security.

Almost every hack that I have seen related to Ajax stems from this security flaw. In simple words, the biggest problem in Ajax is the availability of source code even to regular users.

Developers who follow this practice do this thinking that the code will eventually help regular users in browsing the website. Take for example an Ajax based shopping cart. Instead of having to go through different pages in security and setting up parameters, developers will just place everything in a single page. That exact page will hasten the process of regular user’s shopping. When this process is used, developers have achieved the purpose of the coding it that way.

However, they pay the price of showing the source code of the website. If they are hoping that no one will notice this and use it for bad intentions, they are definitely wrong. The source code is essentially the key to every hack in an Ajax based website. The easier hackers get their hands to the source code, the faster they could attack the system. A source code in an online store is a sitting duck for hackers. They could easily bypass the admin and change the security settings and even the prices so they could easily shop online without any problem – or payment.

To counter this problem, we pose two different security measures:

The first security measure is the way we build our website. We go back to the shopping cart where the price is presented to the online shopper. Hackers could easily see the source code and change the parameters. Instead of presenting the price altogether, it’s always a better practice to divide the information in every page. With that practice you should be able to set specific parameters in every page. That way, every time a new page loads, it should be able to detect changes in any part of the system. Hackers would have to change everything in your website just to hack the price and before they could do that, you already detected the attacks and prevent them.

If ever you will be forced to place the entire transaction in a single page, you should opt for a secured coding practice. Our usual practice is to place comments within the code so that other developers will easily understand the process even though you are not there to explain. Doing that in the source code means suicide when it comes to security. Instead of placing comments right in the website, build another copy of the code with the comments. Although it does not provide that much of a protection, a comment-less web program can help with the website’s security.

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What does a virus have to do with marketing? Viral marketing describes any strategy that encourages individuals to pass on a marketing message to others, creating the potential for exponential growth in the message’s exposure and influence. Like viruses, such strategies take advantage of rapid multiplication to explode the message to thousands and then to millions.

Public health nurses offer sage advice at flu season: stay away from people who cough, wash your hands often, and don’t touch your eyes, nose, or mouth. Viruses only spread when they’re easy to transmit. Viral e-mail marketing works great on the Internet because instant communication has become so easy and inexpensive. Digital format make copying simple. From a marketing standpoint, you must simplify your marketing message so it can be transmitted easily and without degradation. Short is better. Remember the K.I.S.S. standard….Keep it Simple Stupid.  The shorter and easier to remember is always better than long and complicated.

Clever viral marketing plans take advantage of common human motivations. The desire to be cool and greed drives people. So does the hunger to be popular, loved, and understood. The resulting urge to communicate produces millions of websites and billions of e-mail messages.

Most people are social. Nerdy, basement-dwelling computer science grad students are the exception. Social scientists tell us that each person has a network of 8 to 12 people in their close network of friends, family, and associates. People on the Internet develop networks of relationships, too. They collect e-mail addresses and favorite website URLs. Affiliate programs exploit such networks, as do permission e-mail lists. Learn to place your message into existing communications between people, and you rapidly multiply its dispersion.

If you can design a marketing strategy that builds on common motivations and behaviors for its transmission, you have a winner.

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In the fight for attracting consumer preference, your domain name can become a very handy tool. Focused understanding of your consumer with a pinch of creativity, can help you in choosing the right domain name for your ecommerce store.

We believe the following domain name resources can give you out-of-the-box domain name ideas:

Easy to Remember & Easy to Spell:
Domain name should be lucid & your visitor should easily remember it. Use simple words that are spoken very often by your audiences. Choosing a domain name that is easy to remember may help in discounting the efforts spent by your prospects in coming back to your store.

Incorrect spelling can cost you dearly in ecommerce. In choosing a domain name, be careful about the spelling. Any mistake while typing your domain name may divert a visitor to your competitor web site. Choose a domain name that is short and easy to spell.

Single Name:
In case you require a domain name that comprises of more then one word, do not use space or any other divider, like hyphens or underscore, to differentiate the words. Visitors are more tempted to type a combination of words without using space or any other dividers.

Extension:
45% of total domain registrations have a “.COM” extension (Source: Verisign). Online shoppers are more likely to type .COM as domain name extension while shopping online. Hence, while choosing your domain name, look for dot COM extension.

However, the domain name may be given a priority over the domain extension. Highlight the entire domain name, with its extension, in branding your store, especially when you do not have a .COM extension in your domain name.

What Should a Domain Name Represent?
A major dilemma in choosing a domain name is the choice between business name, brand name and business expertise. We believe domain name choice depends on your business goals and the anticipated business future:

A) If your store specializes in one business category and does not plan to expand to other business categories, then your can use your specialization in the domain name. For example: if your ecommerce store would specialize in selling all kinds of sports shoes then you can use www.SportsShoesAtoZ.com as a domain name.
B) On the other hand, if you are planning to expand your business into other diverse business categories (say books, electronics), then it is advisable to create an attractive Brand Name for your store. Using proprietary name would allow you to sell diverse products in your ecommerce store.

In brief, your business strategy and goals should be kept in mind before choosing a domain name.

We hope, our domain name resources will help you in easing your domain name decision. In our domain name glossary page, you can find simple definitions of important domain name terms.

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Referrer logging is used to allow web servers and websites to identify where people are visiting them either for promotional or security purposes. You can find out which search engine they used to find your site and whether your customer has come from a ‘linked site’. It is basically the URL of the previous webpage from which your link was followed.

By default, most hosting accounts don’t include referrer logs but may be subscribedd for an extra monthly fee. If your web host does not provide a graphic report of your log files, you can still view the referrer logs for your website by logging into the host server using free or low-cost FTP software, like these:

FTP Explorer
LogMeIn
SmartFTP
FTP Voyager

The log file is available on your web server which can be download into your computer later. You can use a log analysis tool, like those mentioned below, to create a graphic report from your log files so that the files are easier to understand.

Abacre Advanced Log Analyzer
Referrer Soft
Log Analyzer

You can view the files using Word, Word Perfect, txt or WordPad files even if you don’t have the right tool. This information is very crucial to your business and marketing plans and is not advisable to neglect it.

In addition to identifying the search engine or linked site from where your visitor arrived, referrer logs can also tell you what keywords or keyword phrases your client used for searching.

As referrer information can sometimes violate privacy, some browsers allow the user to disable the sending of referrer information. Proxy and Firewall software can also filter out referrer information, to avoid leaking the location of private websites. This can result in other problems, as some servers block parts of their site to browsers that don’t send the right referrer information, in an attempt to prevent deep linking or unauthorized use of bandwidth. Some proxy software gives the top-level address of the target site itself as the referrer, which prevents these problems and still not divulging the user’s last visited site.

Since the referrer can easily be spoofed or faked, however, it is of limited use in this regard except on a casual basis.

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Introduction

One of the major concerns of information technology (IT) in the present historical moment is making the Web and web applications as efficient as possible. This insures a business’ competitive edge in this era where operating systems and applications are increasingly accessed and/or stored on the Internet. Web applications that can function on a variety of platforms or in a variety of contexts have been difficult to attain. Third-party protocols like Flash or Java’s “applets” have tried to bring more dynamism and user-friendly interactivity to web applications.
Other limitations of using web applications are the frustration and workflow interruptions that come from page-loading delays. However, the technologies encompassed in Ajax (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) try to enable web applications so they can function quickly and efficiently in a variety of contexts without this lag time.
This article will describe the major technological components of Ajax. A brief outline of these will set the stage for understanding how they work together to enact Ajax methods that make web applications so much more competent and interoperable. Finally, this article will discuss some of the major advantages in the Ajax approach.

Background

Ajax is a form of web development. Jesse James Garret coined the term in 2005. Ajax is not an object, but rather a practice- the working together of several pre-existing technologies. The following are the component technologies that comprise Ajax. XHTML (Extensible Hypertext Markup Language) and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets style web pages and standardize formats for consistent information-sharing over the web. The DOM (Document Object Model) is accessed with a client-side scripting language, like JavaScript.
This allows for information to be presented dynamically and in a manner that allows interaction. XMLHttpRequest objects enable asynchronous data exchange with web servers. XML (Extensible Markup Language) provides the format for transmitting data between server and client. The most important detail for formatting data in Ajax is server-side scripting. Server-side scripting allows user requests to be processed by running the script directly on the server to make dynamic and interactive HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) web pages. It is used to format and present the interface between a web page and a database.
However, Ajax is not a new thing. The technologies that make it up have been around for a while and offer tested and trusted solutions.

Uses

Ajax’s primary contribution to web pages is user-experience improvement. Web pages usually require several applications to function. This can make it seem like a cumbersome operation where users have to wait for the separate applications to refresh before interacting with the complete page. Decreasing user delay, which is a direct result of Ajax techniques, could make the Internet even more popular and pervasive than it already is.
Another advantage of Ajax is a decrease in bandwidth use. Bandwidth in web hosting refers to the amount of data that can be communicated between user and server/website. In Ajax, bandwidth is used only to accomplish specific demands without requiring that the page be re-loaded (which requires bandwidth, every time a request is made. Contents are loaded on demand and HTML is produced locally from the browser. Ajax also allows programmers to separate methods and formatting for specific information delivery functions on the Web.
Programmers can use whatever languages or formats work for their specific goal. For example, raw data, usually obtained in XML from a server-side database is separated from the format or structure of the webpage, which is usually structured in XHTML. This allows for dynamic handling of DOM. CSS use allows for the separating of style elements on the page, like fonts and picture placement. Ajax also separates the functionality of web pages by combining different elements in different ways. For example, JavaScript on the client-side browser is combined with XMLHttp to enable communication between client and server browsers. Then any server-side program or scripting language allows the programmer to quickly respond to client requests in a language and format they are familiar with.

Points of Interest

However, one of the major advantages of Ajax and, indeed, a major trend in other forms of computer programming, is that it is based on open standards. Open standards are supported by a variety of browsers and platforms, giving programmers the accessibility and flexibility to use what they need across browsers.

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Today we will take a look at a few AjaxControlToolkit tricks. If you have been working with ASP.NET long enough you know how important this function is to your Ajax based application. In fact, I have been looking online and most of the things I see related to the latest ASP.NET release are concerns regarding AjaxControlToolkit.

Without further ado – here they are:

Unlocking the language in CalendarExtender – CalendarExtender works only in English but that does not mean it will stay as it is. It is not that ASP.NET is biased for English-speaking users but since development is mainly in the English language, they might as well use it as their default.

But it could be unlocked and trick is surprisingly very easy. Look for the script called “EnableScriptGlobalization” and set it to “true”. That’s it! You just recompile the script and watch the calendar language change.

However, that solution is only good for changing the calendar. The header and the footer are still in English. Changing that is also relatively simple. The changes have to be done in the source code which is personally a little bit dangerous considering you have already tinkering with the underlying system.

Once you are there, look for this line: this._title.innerHTML = visibleDate.format(”MMMM, yyyy”);. The word you should look for is “format” and change it with “localeformat”. There are other date commands for header and footer and all you need to do is change it with “localeformat”.

Discarding Unnecessary Language DLL – this scenario happens when add a simple reference to AjaxControlToolkit.dll. That is a pretty simple action and should have no problem at all. However there is a problem which is really annoying. Along with the AjaxControlToolkit.dll, language directories get automatically piled up in the bin directory.

Even when you manually remove the directories, the subfolders go back once they are recompiled. Although that does not have any direct influence in the performance of the application, hundred of subfolders is very annoying.

The answer to this problem is to simple build another folder. Go to the Bin directory of your application and move the AjaxControlToolkit.dll along with its PDB to another folder. Just reference the folder using in your directory. There is a great chance the pesky subfolders will be removed since they do not have any references at all. But even if they will still exist, at least they are now located in a different folder.

Let the UpdatePanel do Force Full Page Postback – some will find this annoying but Force Full Page Postback can actually be useful in some situations. In a default situation, UpdatePanel can easily update some parts of the webpage.

Changing this format is very easy. The trick actually lies in the RegisterPostBackControl. By default, there is no additional information after this command or usually it should be controlled so that only parts of the webpage will be updated. But when you add (btnSearch); to the script, you will eventually have a Force Full Page Postback. All it needs is a simple change in one line and the function you need is right before your eyes.

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File and folder compression allows you to store more data on NTFS volumes, but it also adds some processor overhead to your machine. That’s because Windows has to decompress the compressed files and folders when you open them, and recompress them when you close them.

On Windows Vista and later, you can prevent users from compressing their files in a couple of ways. First, by running the command fsutil behavior set disablecompression 1 you can disable compression on all NTFS volumes on your machine, so by deploying this command using a logon script you can disable compression on targeted users’ computers.

And second, since all the above fsutil command does is to modify NtfsDisableCompression, a REG_DWORD value found under HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem, this means that you could also create a custom ADMX file to deploy this registry modification using Group Policy. For more information on how to create a custom ADMX file, see KB 918239

Note that if either method is used, the registry modification doesn’t take effect until after a reboot. In addition, any previously compressed files and folders remain compressed on the machine.

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When most people think of MySpace they believe it is merely a community for individuals to make friends or reconnect with old friends but MySpace can offer more to savvy Internet marketers who know how to network effectively on MySpace. Although MySpace is intended to be a noncommercial community and commercial websites are strictly prohibited there are some opportunities to advertise and stimulate sales through MySpace. This article will discuss the subject of advertising on MySpace, the terms of service on MySpace and how MySpace members can avoid being viewed as dreaded spammers by other members of the community or by MySpace administrators.

Advertising on Your MySpace

According to the MySpace mission statement, the community is meant to be a noncommercial one. However, this statement refers to the individuals’ pages created and maintained by members and not the website as a whole. In fact MySpace is a commercial website with banner advertisements running on many of the pages and other advertisements appearing in sidebars and other locations. These advertising opportunities are open to the public and anyone who is interested in advertising in these areas is urged to contact MySpace directly for more information. This type of advertising is worthwhile for business owners who have products or services which may appeal to the members of the community.

While advertising on individual websites on MySpace is prohibited by the terms of service there is sometimes room to market products one ones website without violating the terms of service. Although many visitors to MySpace have encountered websites which are blatant advertisements, this practice is not recommended because, if discovered by MySpace administrators, it may lead to the individual being banned from the community. However, consider an example where a link to an ecommerce website selling sunglasses is placed in answer to a question of, “What is your favorite type of sunglasses?” The link certainly provides a relevant answer to the question and does allow visitors to the website to learn more about the member. Determining whether or not this is advertising or not is a matter for MySpace to determine but it is likely they would not consider this advertising although those who follow the link might end up making a purchase.

MySpace Terms of Service

The terms of service provided by MySpace were created to offer members guidelines as to what types of actions are acceptable and what actions are prohibited. All members should read these terms of service before joining and should review the information periodically to ensure it has not changed significantly during the course of the membership. Members who have questions regarding the terms of service should contact MySpace directly for more detailed information or an explanation of the terms.

Avoiding the Spam Pitfalls on MySpace

We have already discussed how although commercial websites are prohibited on MySpace there are some advertising opportunities which still exist. MySpace reaches a large audience each day and this large audience might tempt some to try to advertise to all of these members and visitors at once. Unfortunately this sometimes can be construed as spam. Therefore, precautions should be taken to avoid actions which might be considered spam by other members or the MySpace administrators.

As an example of the potential for spam consider a MySpace member who is very excited about the cosmetics line they sell. This member might really believe in the products and think they are so wonderful that everyone should learn more about these products. However, if this user then begins systematically going through MySpace searching for all users who mention anything even remotely related to cosmetics and then places a comment on their website directing them to a link to more information about these cosmetics this would likely be considered to be spam. The member may think their actions are harmless but the members who receive these comments and the MySpace administrators may disagree.

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Since turning to the Internet for shopping and retail has set a new standard for ecommerce, the need to find relevant products in the most efficient manner is quickly becoming a competitive industry in itself. While e-commerce websites become increasingly dynamic and user-friendly, the need to search for and find a specific product can be overwhelming for the average consumer.

The customer’s dilemma of finding the right match amongst the vast catalogs of goods online is the basis of most ecommerce transactions. The savvy marketer’s top priority is not only overcoming this dilemma, but also implementing the right tools, and tracking and monitoring data effectively. Implementing a site search solution for an ecommerce-based website is the fastest and most intelligent way of selling on the web today.

#1: Site Search enables your customers to find relevant information, fast
Consumers are looking for ways to find relevant information, fast.

According to Internet Retailer Magazine, the conversion rate of visitors accessing site search is higher than those who use a standard search toolbar. Retailers that tag all items and products as they are uploaded onto the site are setting the stage for marked improvements in marketing and sales initiatives. Not only can the data retrieved be stored and sorted for market research, but consumers can access a variety of product categories and find relevant information with ease.

#2: Site Search allows your website to remain competitive
Website owners need to deploy cost-effective retail search solutions to remain competitive.

According to the Aberdeen Group, 46% of merchandising enterprises are struggling with implementing the right method of ecommerce search applications to suit their customers. And Jupiter Research reports that the key inhibitor for companies looking for search deployment strategies is cost; customer-facing search vendors such as Atomz Commerce (recently rebranded as WebSideStory Search), Endeca Technologies, EasyAsk, Fast Search & Transfer and Mercado can easily charge from $100,000 to $500,000 per package.

Marketers have applied various search engine techniques to retailer websites, and the results show how valuable the concept of Site Search truly is. With the launch of Web 2.0 technologies, companies such as Mercado and Celebros.com are providing site search solutions to offer a new dimension of search functionality. Tools that can track customer data, extract and categorize specific browsing habits, organize clicked results, and in turn, deliver relevant web pages and results are setting the standard in search merchandising, coined ‘Searchandising’ (Aberdeen Group Feb. 2007).

A 37Signals Research Report evaluated 25 top search sites in January 2005. Results and key findings of the ratings showed that leading online retailers such as Lands’ End, Drugstore.com, Amazon.com, and Wal-Mart were able to achieve high ratings because of their focus on accuracy and relevance sorting, and filtering results. Integrating site search and active ranking can help an online business reach specific targets and objectives. Brooks Brothers reported a 25% increase in sales after implementing a new analytics and site search solution. The automated shopping engine makes use of a Google sitemap feed. 4inkjets.com, an online retailer for printer ink and supplies, reported a conversion rate increase of almost 3.5% in sales after redesigning the website and implementing an innovative site search module.

#3: Site Search can provide your website a distinct competitive advantage
Learning how to cultivate and extract marketing data can give your e-commerce website a competitive advantage.

Consumers are looking for easier ways to find products and services they need, and Web 2.0-based search engines make use of tags and category rankings for a simple and efficient approach. Not only is it necessary for ecommerce marketers and online retail store operators to develop a systematic process for capturing consumer data, but understanding how to interpret and initiate the appropriate search tools is also becoming a competitive requirement. Staying ahead of site search trends can help differentiate a business from the competition in more ways than one. Key differences between a best-in-class site search and just a standard search engine include innovative web analytics applications, customized search results templates, and making use of custom dictionaries. Synonym mapping takes this one step further; by utilizing an effective module for mapping multiple languages, a comprehensive site search program can help provide exceptionally accurate results.

Cultivating this data involves streamlining the collection and interpretation process.

#4: With Site Search, it’s easy to generate value for the end user

Generating value for the end user is a high priority for any ecommerce website, and an efficient Product Catalog Site Search system can help develop attractiveness of the website, while increasing the value of the search experience with a few simple steps.

Have you ever wondered what consumers do when they first arrive at an ecommerce site? A staggering 43% go to the site’s internal search box and look for a product or a category (Source: MarketingSherpa and Guidester, Online Shopping Research Survey, Jan 2007).

Customers can quickly and easily search through the merchant product catalog to find results that match their criteria. Search results are displayed in an intuitive fashion to maximize click-through rates and conversions.

Strategic sales and marketing tools are the keys to success for ecommerce transactions on your website.

#5: Site Search integrated with product recommendations means increased sales for your website
Integration of product recommendations into Site Search is an attractive benefit to the consumer.

Product recommendations are a valuable tool for companies looking for increased sales, but without relevant data available, the process itself may lead to low customer interaction. When Amazon.com first introduced its product recommendations service to the shopping portal, thousands of online shoppers took part in this new stepping stone for shopping and customer service. Online retailers who simply upload catalogs or product lists are actually doing the customers a disservice; it can become tedious to flip through each page of a product list or catalog site, and this process itself can quickly lose the customer’s interest. However, effective product recommendations and related search results can only be possible with the appropriate software and programming in place.

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