Apple rolled out iOS 15 on Sept. 20, 2021. The release provides users of iOS devices — iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch — the ability to load remote content privately, blocking the sender's ability to track opens. I've addressed iOS 15 twice.| Practical Ecommerce
Apple recently unveiled its iOS 15 software, which rolls out this fall. Most of the new features focus on privacy, data tracking, and user security. Two features, "Mail Privacy Protection" and "Hide My Email," will dramatically impact email marketing.| Practical Ecommerce
Andrew Bialecki launched Klaviyo in 2012 as a data repository for other businesses. Then a friend told him about Shopify. Fast forward to 2022 and Klaviyo is a global email-marketing juggernaut.| Practical Ecommerce
Many consumers prefer text messages to email. Moreover, SMS subscribers are "owned" media, the best kind of marketing.| Practical Ecommerce
Trading an ebook for a prospect's contact information is among the purest forms of content marketing. It's an effective way for B2B sellers to find their next customer. B2B companies supply the products that ecommerce and omnichannel sellers retail to the general public.| Practical Ecommerce
New consumer privacy laws in the U.S. and elsewhere apply to many forms of digital promotion, including email marketing. Thus it's worth reviewing the requirements of the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003, which sets rules for the use of commercial email to U.S.-based recipients.| Practical Ecommerce
The pandemic is prompting consumers to stay at home and buy online. It's a perfect opportunity for ecommerce companies to introduce a well-defined loyalty program. Also called rewards or points, loyalty programs help the business and its customers in three key ways.| Practical Ecommerce
Many online merchants have experienced traffic surges due to the pandemic. Converting the new traffic to immediate purchases can be challenging. The next best option is enticing visitors to subscribe to your email communications. In this post, I'll offer tips for converting new visitors into email subscribers.| Practical Ecommerce
Many ecommerce and omnichannel marketers treat text messaging as pared-down email campaigns. But text alone is a powerful way to drive sales. Nearly everyone, after all, grabs their mobile phone the moment a message arrives.| Practical Ecommerce
Text commerce is the process of obtaining payment and shipping info from shoppers upfront as well as permission to send offers. The model can solve multiple hurdles for merchants.| Practical Ecommerce
Text messaging can be among the most productive retail marketing channels, provided the workflows are automated and the performance is tracked. Entrepreneur Jordan West, the owner of an ecommerce marketing agency and an apparel company, uses text-message marketing to drive sales. He believes text messages are among his best marketing channels.| Practical Ecommerce
"AI Max for Search," Google Ads new campaign type, aims to understand searchers' intentions beyond keywords.| Practical Ecommerce
Five campaign settings can make or break performance and often require overriding Google's suggestions.| Practical Ecommerce
Anthony DelPizzo says Moby, an AI agent, can analyze a merchant's data and perform tasks, such as activate ads and compose email copy. The post Triple Whale’s Moby AI Gets Things Done appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.| Practical Ecommerce
This week: new tools for cross-border transactions, marketing, social commerce, AI shopping agents, AI-powered subscriptions, and order management platforms. The post New Ecommerce Tools: August 21, 2025 appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.| Practical Ecommerce
The perfect storm of zero-click searches and generative AI platforms prompts some marketers to double down on ranking opportunities. The post How AI Content Sleuths SEO Gaps appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.| Practical Ecommerce
The end of summer signals the beginning of fall and peak season planning for merchants. These recent titles can help start the process. The post New Books to Gear Up for Peak Season Selling appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.| Practical Ecommerce
AI crawlers are not as sophisticated as Google's and other traditional search engines. They require extra effort by web admins to access a page. The post Chrome Extensions for AI Bot Access appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.| Practical Ecommerce
For marketers, predictive attribution modeling answers "what should I do now?" The post Ad Attribution Gets a Crystal Ball appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.| Practical Ecommerce
Our podcast host, a successful, decade-long entrepreneur, shares his ideal product and niche. The post The Best Ecommerce Business Model appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.| Practical Ecommerce
A new attribution approach uses large sets of anonymized data to infer which channels and campaigns led to conversions. The post Privacy-Safe Attribution Avoids User Tracking appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.| Practical Ecommerce
This week's rundown of new products and services for merchants includes tools for automation, personalized marketing, localized payments, AI-powered search, logistics, agentic commerce, and more. The post New Ecommerce Tools: August 13, 2025 appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.| Practical Ecommerce
Optimizing for generative AI is different from traditional search engines. The distinction lies in the underlying technology. The post Is GEO the Same as SEO? appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.| Practical Ecommerce
Shoppers who ask AI for product recommendations bypass traditional review sites, potentially causing lost or unattributed traffic from affiliates. The post AI Shopping Tools Threaten Affiliates appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.| Practical Ecommerce
America's new GENIUS Act could lead to billions in annual savings for enterprise retailers that issue their own digital money. The post New Stablecoin Law May Slash Payment Fees appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.| Practical Ecommerce
Taylor Holiday, CEO of the agency Common Thread Collective, profits from acquisition marketing. He calls it "negative CAC." The post How to Achieve Negative CAC appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.| Practical Ecommerce
This week: AI-powered commerce platforms, embedded financial services, cross-border payment solutions, logistics optimization, marketplace incentives, and simplified transaction processes. The post New Ecommerce Tools: August 7, 2025 appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.| Practical Ecommerce
U.S. small business owners are increasingly optimistic, according to recent surveys from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Small Business Association. The post Charts: U.S. Small Business Trends Q3 2025 appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.| Practical Ecommerce
In a helpful reporting update, Google Ads now shows click and conversion data for each headline and description line of Responsive Search Ads.| Practical Ecommerce
Pricing should not be a mystery. Posting clear, understandable prices for the products that your online store sells should be an important part of the| Practical Ecommerce
Rich Communication Services enables relatively more message interactivity, such as buttons, carousels, and branding.| Practical Ecommerce
A print-on-demand t-shirt store attracts and retains customers with a five-step marketing framework.| Practical Ecommerce
Loyal, repeat shoppers convert easily, spend more, cost less to service, and help spread the word about good online shopping experiences. Earning long-term customers can significantly improve an ecommerce business. Loyal shoppers demonstrate conversion rates 5-to-9 times greater than f...| Practical Ecommerce
Robots.txt directives and JavaScript often prevent generative AI bots from accessing content. The post AI Crawler Optimization Tips appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.| Practical Ecommerce
September offers many content opportunities beyond Labor Day, such as our favorite, National Salami Day. The post 5 Content Marketing Ideas for September 2025 appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.| Practical Ecommerce
Generative AI agents can now help shoppers compare products, prices, and options, often in a single conversational step. The post Next Steps for AI Shopping appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.| Practical Ecommerce
John Melizanis's 3PL, ShipDudes, avoids per-item fees, believing they lead to unexpected, surprise charges. The post The No-Surprise 3PL Pricing Model appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.| Practical Ecommerce
Entrepreneurs with limited capital and no technical help require ecommerce platforms that work out of the box and grow with the business. The post 5 Ecommerce Platforms for Startups 2025 appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.| Practical Ecommerce
Trade uncertainties and rising costs are the leading concerns of manufacturers, according to recent surveys. The post Charts: U.S. Manufacturing Trends Q3 2025 appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.| Practical Ecommerce
This week's rundown of new products and services for merchants includes rollouts for cryptocurrencies, agent-based analytics, merchant financing, shopping assistants, reviews, and fraud prevention. The post New Ecommerce Tools: July 30, 2025 appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.| Practical Ecommerce
The veteran tech entrepreneur, mentor, and early-stage investor opens up on writing and his latest book, "Give First." The post Q&A: Brad Feld, Author, Mentor, Investor appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.| Practical Ecommerce
ChatGPT does not maintain an index of global websites, instead relying intially on Bing's index and now, apparently, on Google's. The post Google’s Index Now Powers ChatGPT appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.| Practical Ecommerce
Fast delivery, cross-border buying, small business growth, and AI shopping tools will drive a strong holiday season, or at least that's what I predict. The post 5 Predictions for 2025 Holiday Shopping appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.| Practical Ecommerce
To Nate Lagos, vice president of marketing for watch maker Original Grain, Facebook ads are megaphones to spread the word, not to acquire customers directly. The post Facebook ‘Megaphone’ Powers D2C Watch Brand appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.| Practical Ecommerce
Email senders with separate marketing and newsletter lists can unwittingly confuse Gmail, Yahoo Mail, and other webmail providers. The post Botched Unsubscribes Harm Email Delivery appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.| Practical Ecommerce
This week's installment includes tools for affiliate marketing, AI agents, marketplace platforms, ad networks, WordPress, and recurring payments. The post New Ecommerce Tools: July 23, 2025 appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.| Practical Ecommerce
A new survey from Boston Consulting Group reveals caution from leading investment firms. The post Charts: Outlook of U.S. Institutional Investors 2025 appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.| Practical Ecommerce
The most important Prime Day 2025 takeaway is not total revenue but rather shoppers' preferred device.| Practical Ecommerce
A/B tests can improve conversions on an ecommerce site. There are many testing platforms — search Google for "A/B tests." To run a test, identify a key| Practical Ecommerce
Email marketers understand the importance of deliverable addresses. Deliverability is critical for conversions, and it impacts a sender's reputation with| Practical Ecommerce
A timely email promotion is an easy and cost-efficient way to kick-start sales. But in the haste of a tight turnaround or deadline, it’s easy to make email composing mistakes, to miss crucial elements or even errors and typos. In this post, I'll offer a checklist of 15 items that every marketing email should have. Print it and use it for your email deployments.| Practical Ecommerce
The latest coronavirus, Covid-19, is profoundly altering society and business worldwide. We offer our perspective, tips, and guidance for ecommerce companies to weather the storm.| Practical Ecommerce
The recency, frequency, and monetary model lets ecommerce marketers identify and market to specific consumer groups based on their transactional behavior. Ecommerce merchants have many reasons to segment customers and prospects.| Practical Ecommerce
On-demand warehousing and fulfillment providers act as middlemen — a kind of Airbnb for logistics. Merchants search on a provider's platform for available warehouse space in the location they want. It's one way for ecommerce sellers to achieve faster delivery.| Practical Ecommerce
PetPlate makes and sells dog food via subscriptions, having launched in 2016. The company's in-house advertising exec describes acquisition tactics and more.| Practical Ecommerce
Press release distributors can generate links. The challenges include choosing the right service and optimizing the copy.| Practical Ecommerce
Google is not just a search engine. It's also a discovery engine. The difference is huge. Searchers have an idea of what they are looking for. They know what they need. But the discovery engine attempts to discern the interests of searchers regardless of their queries. In a sense, Google Discover informs searchers of what they need before they realize it.| Practical Ecommerce
Can ChatGPT generate code to auto-post a Google Doc into a Shopify blog?| Practical Ecommerce
Content marketing in August could target students, pet owners, readers, spa enthusiasts, and value shoppers.| Practical Ecommerce
Marketers are now tracking a brand's inclusion in ChatGPT responses.| Practical Ecommerce
Autocomplete suggestions are based on search volume and thus helpful for keyword research.| Practical Ecommerce
Combining multiple commerce systems for a unified view of customers and products seems compelling. Do the benefits justify the cost?| Practical Ecommerce
Kurt Elster launched his first Shopify store in 2011 and his "Unofficial Shopify Podcast" in 2014.| Practical Ecommerce
David Heinemeier Hansson, the creator of Ruby on Rails and a co-founder of Basecamp, strives for fewer meetings and less management.| Practical Ecommerce
Merchants who understand Liquid can unlock new store customizations without needing a developer.| Practical Ecommerce
The 2022 startup deploys AI models to provide virtual scenes and settings for existing photos.| Practical Ecommerce
Barry Hott recommends ugly ads, those that people won't skip over. First reactions to an ad largely determine its performance, he states.| Practical Ecommerce
Zack Stuck acquires and launches ecommerce companies. His top rule? Customers acquired from paid campaigns must be immediately profitable.| Practical Ecommerce
To Mehtab Bhogal, buying distressed companies is like salvaging a crashed car. "What are the parts worth?" he asks.| Practical Ecommerce
Hunter Durham's journey is a helpful case study on borrowing money, riding an ecommerce boom, and relying on a single client.| Practical Ecommerce
Busy owners and team members are supposed to take time off in the summer. Here are 10 books to help rest and rejuvenate.| Practical Ecommerce
Shakil Prasla is a lesson in resilience, having pivoted from ecommerce consumer brands to PPE gear to, now, real estate.| Practical Ecommerce
A drop in traffic usually stems from lower rankings. But what if rankings are unchanged?| Practical Ecommerce
Organic search optimization now requires knowing which queries trigger AI Overviews and the URLs those summaries reference. Neither metric — queries or links — is easily identified.| Practical Ecommerce
Michael Simpson purchased Discount Catholic Products in 2021. He runs the business with his wife, sister-in-law, and kids.| Practical Ecommerce
Brave Search hopes to serve privacy-minded consumers worried about tracking cookies and invasive advertising. On June 22, 2021, Brave Search entered public beta, meaning that anyone can type in queries on the new search engine and see the results.| Practical Ecommerce
Attributing sales to email marketing can be difficult. A typical customer journey involves multiple touchpoints, such as email, organic search, and social media. The better we understand the impact of each channel on conversions, the better we can optimize that channel for growth.| Practical Ecommerce
As early as September 2021, Apple's mobile email apps may hide a recipient's internet protocol address, making it difficult or impossible to measure open rates and track user behavior.| Practical Ecommerce
Google's "People also ask" section is a treasure trove of questions from potential customers. It's an optimization opportunity — for rankings in Google as well as conversions on an ecommerce site.| Practical Ecommerce
Featured snippets appear at the top of Google's organic search results. Optimizing for snippets is different than for standard listings. Here's how.| Practical Ecommerce
Consumers increasingly turn to ChatGPT and similar channels for product and brand recommendations.| Practical Ecommerce
Structured data markup from Schema.org is the de-facto industry standard — and increasingly important to Google. Here are tools for implementing, testing, and improving.| Practical Ecommerce
AEO is not new. But with the rise of generative AI, optimizing content to appear as sources or citations is crucial.| Practical Ecommerce
"Many entrepreneurs believe that selling their business will bring happiness, but that's rarely true," says Patrick Coddou.| Practical Ecommerce
Beardbrand owner Eric Bandholz explains how he brings in the right people at the right time.| Practical Ecommerce
Amid a downturn for many ecommerce businesses, entrepreneur Eric Bandholz offers tips for better profits.| Practical Ecommerce
Beardbrand founder Eric Bandholz says mission and purpose drive branding, not logos and design.| Practical Ecommerce
Our "Ecommerce Conversations" host, a seasoned entrepreneur, evaluates good and bad reasons to sell a business.| Practical Ecommerce
There are many metrics in Google Analytics. The bounce rate is among the most prominent, but it's also among the most misunderstood. In this post, I will| Practical Ecommerce
Ecommerce product recommendations are increasingly powered by machine learning. We explain three such models and suggest implementation tactics for small businesses.| Practical Ecommerce
Shoppers' actions on an ecommerce site create opportunities for automated, triggered emails. Such behavior-based email automation is a sure-fire tactic to drive revenue.| Practical Ecommerce
Most ecommerce businesses rely on email marketing as a low-cost sales driver. We’ve addressed a wide array of strategies for email, including improving opens, clicks, and conversions, mastering deliverability, optimizing by device, automation, spam, segmentation, and more.| Practical Ecommerce
Over time, SEO practitioners and content marketers will likely need artificial intelligence to keep up in the organic-search arms race. We explain in this must-read piece.| Practical Ecommerce
At this year's "Marketing Live" event, Google announced many updates to Ads. Most were AI-driven.| Practical Ecommerce
Automated bid strategies based on conversion values and target ROAS produces the most profits.| Practical Ecommerce
Full-funnel marketing introduces prospects to a brand and ultimately converts them to customers. Here's how to do it using Google Ads.| Practical Ecommerce
Ecommerce sites often have hundreds or thousands of product pages. Creating keyword-based ads in Google for each page is laborious and sometimes impractical. That's the purpose of dynamic search ads. Advertisers can tell Google which pages and themes to target on their sites, and Google will dynamically show ads for those targets from relevant search queries.| Practical Ecommerce
Broad match keyword types, once shunned by many advertisers, facilitate Google Ads' automation and machine learning.| Practical Ecommerce
Search results in 2024 are driven by users' intent. Keywords are often the best indicator.| Practical Ecommerce
