The fourth quarter of 2006 will be the biggest retail quarter of the year. Jupiter Research reported that online retail sales totaled $81 billion in 2005 and will top $100 billion in 2006. So, what is up for the last quarter?
Happy Halloween - Consumer spending reached $3.29 billion in 2005. Hot items for this month are candy, costumes, make-up, accessories, decorations and novelty products. According to the National Retail Federation, Halloween is the sixth-largest consumer spending holiday.
Thank Heaven for November - Restaurant, food and entertainment items sell during November. Food, wine, cigar or chocolate of the month clubs are always popular. The Friday after Thanksgiving Day (Black Friday) is the busiest retail shopping days of the year, as people turn out in droves to hit the shopping mall and jumpstart their Christmas shopping.
The Monday following Thanksgiving (Black Monday) is one of the busiest online shopping days of the year, as savvy consumers avoid the crowds at the mall and enjoy the convenience of shopping from home. Thus begins the retail shopping rush with electronics, apparel, and items for children.
Remember Sweet December - According to Media Metrix, the first three weeks of December are the heaviest online shopping weeks of this quarter. With retail shopping already in full force since Black Friday, December 1-22 mark the last minute rush to get holiday items.
According to MSN shopping, popular holiday are jewelry, computers, televisions, home furnishings, housewares, clothing for men and women and accessories. Electronics, such as digital media players, playstations, and digital cameras, are also some of the top items purchased.
Tags: Q4 spending, holiday shopping, Black Friday, Black Monday, online shopping
eXlinks : eXponential site eXpansion
Blogetiq has purchased BlogMad and is currently in prelaunch mode for eXlinks. If you want more exposure to your website or blog, sign up for a service that is going to blow your minds and boost your traffic.
Why join? Some people are after traffic, some want readers and others are chasing backlinks to boost their rankings on search engines. No matter what your need or want is, eXlinks is going to sort that out for you. It is the site that is going to send a burst traffic to your site.
How does it work? Well we can not share that just yet, but we willl give you a small hint: it is based on referrals, so sign up now and invite your friends! We will be going live in the next few weeks and when it does it WILL blow you and your competitors out of the water. In fact, you may want to invite your competitors because eXlinks will be for everyone!
A complete explanation is coming soon, but we urge you to trust us when we say that this is going to happen fast and furious! Get in on it NOW!
Tags: eXlinks, eXponential site eXpansion,traffic builder, BlogMad, Blogetiq
MySpace Driving Traffic to Shopping and Classified Sectors
Hitwise recently announced that Google was the top U.S. search engine responsible for 14.93 percent of U.S. upstream visits to Shopping and Classifieds categories, while Yahoo! Search was the second most popular, accounting for 4.69 percent of upstream visits for the week ending August 26, 2006. The remaining Top Shopping and Classifieds websites were eBay, Amazon.com, Gateway, Walmart.com and Craigslist.
For the same time period ending August 26, 2006, social networking site MySpace.com accounted for 2.53 percent of all U.S. upstream visits to Shopping and Classifieds categories, up from 1.28 percent six months ago. In the past six months, the market share of visits to MySpace.com has increased 67 percent among all websites, and MySpace.com captured 4.88 percent of all U.S. visits for the week.
Bill Tancer, General Manager of Global Research at Hitwise, has this to say:
Tags: Hitwise, MySpace, shopping, classifieds
For the same time period ending August 26, 2006, social networking site MySpace.com accounted for 2.53 percent of all U.S. upstream visits to Shopping and Classifieds categories, up from 1.28 percent six months ago. In the past six months, the market share of visits to MySpace.com has increased 67 percent among all websites, and MySpace.com captured 4.88 percent of all U.S. visits for the week.
Bill Tancer, General Manager of Global Research at Hitwise, has this to say:
Search is a proven method of acquiring traffic and Google is the leader in driving online retail site traffic... with the growth of MySpace and others, online retailers should expand their focus beyond search to consider social networking sites as a source of additional traffic.Read the entire article here at Hitwise.
Tags: Hitwise, MySpace, shopping, classifieds
Local Search Drills Down to What You Need
We want to reach consumers who not only want to see our advertisements but also are looking to interact with our web site, purchase our product or service, download information, comment or question, or otherwise engage with us to mutual benefit.
Search Innovation Spotlight, by Bob Heyma, Chief Search Officer at Mediasmith (Friday 22, 2006) is helpful to advertisers looking to focus their marketing efforts in a smaller sphere. Mr. Heyma writes of the expansion of local search and the opportunity this provides to advertisers to reach the buyers in your neighborhood.
If you know of a local search in your area, please leave a comment and a link.
Tags: Search Engine Spotlight, local search
Search Innovation Spotlight, by Bob Heyma, Chief Search Officer at Mediasmith (Friday 22, 2006) is helpful to advertisers looking to focus their marketing efforts in a smaller sphere. Mr. Heyma writes of the expansion of local search and the opportunity this provides to advertisers to reach the buyers in your neighborhood.
- LocalLaunch, SEO/SEM firm has been acquired by RH Donnelly, the third largest U.S. yellow pages publisher.
- Yelp from the San Francisco Bay Area has established a presence in New York, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and Seattle markets.
- Angie's List, using a Consumer Reports type format and business model, began in the Southeast about ten years ago.
- Yokel, which competes with NearbyNow, ShopLocal, Become, CNET and Froogle in the local shopping sector has expanded into the San Francisco Bay area.
- Backfence launched service for cities in Maryland and Virginia and the Silicon Valley.
- DexOnline, owned by RH Donnelly, in i14-state region. Generated 2x searches as the next closest competitor.
If you know of a local search in your area, please leave a comment and a link.
Tags: Search Engine Spotlight, local search
Click and Comment Monday
Monday is Click & Comment Day. Please click my renter or a link on my blogroll. Comment on that blog and then click their renter or someone on their blogroll. Then you comment on that blog and click their renter or someone on their blogroll. Do this for as many blogs as you can. Sometimes the blogs go full circle, and you end up at the originating blog, then just look up a blog in the blogroll and start the cycle again.
Leave a comment here so that I know to visit your blog on C&C Mondays!
Tags: Click & Comment, click and comment Monday, visit blogs and leave comments
DIY Tools You Can Use
Trellian SEO Toolkit v2.0 - do it yourself Search Engine Optimization
TrellianSEO Toolkit
Keyword Discovery - keyword research tool
Keyword Research Tool
Competitive Intelligence - What are your competitors doing?
Trellian Competitive Intelligence
Please visit Uselss Advice from Useless Men for a totally useless, but definitely needed, belly laugh.
TrellianSEO Toolkit
Keyword Discovery - keyword research tool
Keyword Research Tool
Competitive Intelligence - What are your competitors doing?
Trellian Competitive Intelligence
Please visit Uselss Advice from Useless Men for a totally useless, but definitely needed, belly laugh.
Apogee : Affiliate management made easy
Affiliate Marketing is a method of driving online sales or leads, where company advertisers pay affiliate publishers on a Cost Per Sale (CPS) or Cost Per Lead (CPL) basis.
Apogee provides the expertise and services necessary to plan, implement, manage and optimize an affiliate marketing program that delivers results. Apogee has experience in affiliate tracking technology, website integration, publisher recruiting and conversion optimization.
Let Apogee handle the affiliate management, while you handle your business.
Tags: affilate management, affiliate program management, affiliate management services, Apogee
Apogee provides the expertise and services necessary to plan, implement, manage and optimize an affiliate marketing program that delivers results. Apogee has experience in affiliate tracking technology, website integration, publisher recruiting and conversion optimization.
Let Apogee handle the affiliate management, while you handle your business.Tags: affilate management, affiliate program management, affiliate management services, Apogee
Useless Advice from Useless Men
Success Blog this week is Useless Advice from Useless Men. Their are 5 useless men, 1 useless woman, 1 useless brother and 1 plain useless.
Please visit UAfUM and be prepared to laugh. Not chuckle, not polite titter, but a deep belly laugh. Here is what you should do:
Read Post #374 on UAfUM blog from one poor soul who is asking for advice about what to do when his wife falls asleep during sex. UAfUM replies:
Click for Your MDR* of Belly Laughs . . .
* minimum daily requirement has not been set by FDA
Please visit UAfUM and be prepared to laugh. Not chuckle, not polite titter, but a deep belly laugh. Here is what you should do:
Read Post #374 on UAfUM blog from one poor soul who is asking for advice about what to do when his wife falls asleep during sex. UAfUM replies:
. . . after you're done, place some handcuffs on the bed posts and an open jar of pickles on the bedside table. Then dress up like Dr. Frank-N-Furter from the Rocky Horror Picture Show and lay upside-down next to her. . . (click here to read more)
Click for Your MDR* of Belly Laughs . . .
* minimum daily requirement has not been set by FDA
Click and Comment Monday
Monday is Click & Comment Day. Please click my renter or a link on my blogroll. Comment on that blog and then click their renter or someone on their blogroll. Then you comment on that blog and click their renter or someone on their blogroll. Do this for as many blogs as you can. Sometimes the blogs go full circle, and you end up at the originating blog, then just look up a blog in the blogroll and start the cycle again.
Leave a comment here so that I know to visit your blog on C&C Mondays!
Tags: Click & Comment, click and comment Monday, visit blogs and leave comments
Grace Notes Needed
Well, while my husband and I were gone last week on a short vacation, my son (16) took my car keys and totalled my car. He does not have a license to drive, but he was not injured or taken to jail.
The problem is that I have no car, live outside the city where there is NO public transportation, and need a car to work as a teacher. For the time being, I am riding my scooter, but I cannot carry son to school or ride in the rain. It is a little difficult riding in skirt and pantyhose with my book bag, but we do what we have to do, right?
Have you ever noticed how just when things seem to be coming together in your life, everything falls apart again? Do you have a favorite saying or prayer that helps you put your life back in perspective?
Mine is below. Please share your favorite quote, bible verse or saying that lightens the load when you need it. I NEED IT! You may leave anonymous quotes here.
I think a hero is an ordinary individual who finds strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles--Christopher Reeve
The problem is that I have no car, live outside the city where there is NO public transportation, and need a car to work as a teacher. For the time being, I am riding my scooter, but I cannot carry son to school or ride in the rain. It is a little difficult riding in skirt and pantyhose with my book bag, but we do what we have to do, right?
Have you ever noticed how just when things seem to be coming together in your life, everything falls apart again? Do you have a favorite saying or prayer that helps you put your life back in perspective?
Mine is below. Please share your favorite quote, bible verse or saying that lightens the load when you need it. I NEED IT! You may leave anonymous quotes here.
I think a hero is an ordinary individual who finds strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles--Christopher Reeve
Success Blog : Drivin' Barefoot
The Success Blog of the week is Drivin' Barefoot. You know that commercial that says, "Characters Welcome"? Well, Ted is definitely a character.
I met Ted in the chat room at Blog Explosion. He was flirting with about five women and I told him to behave himself and signed my post--MOM. He left so he would not embarrass his mother any further. LOL.
After he was gone, the women were talking about Ted. One said she was his wife, then another and another. They really had me going. I thought they were kidding me, so I asked: "Are y'all Mormons?" "Yes," came the reply. Well, I tried to cover my chagrin by asking all types of questions about who sleeps where and when and how they divide chores and such.
That was the last time I visited the chat room on BE. However, I still read Ted's blog. You see, I like characters! Visit Drivin' Barefoot and tell him MOM sent you.
I met Ted in the chat room at Blog Explosion. He was flirting with about five women and I told him to behave himself and signed my post--MOM. He left so he would not embarrass his mother any further. LOL.
After he was gone, the women were talking about Ted. One said she was his wife, then another and another. They really had me going. I thought they were kidding me, so I asked: "Are y'all Mormons?" "Yes," came the reply. Well, I tried to cover my chagrin by asking all types of questions about who sleeps where and when and how they divide chores and such.
That was the last time I visited the chat room on BE. However, I still read Ted's blog. You see, I like characters! Visit Drivin' Barefoot and tell him MOM sent you.
Viral Video Advertising : Crusty Demons
Crusty Demons, a free-style moto-x game for Sony PlayStation2 and X-Box, has been causing quite a stir. In August, there was a tour where real moto riders were able to compete to become a Crusty Rider. There is a Crusty Club, Crusty Gallery, Crusty History, etc., on, you guessed it, Crusty.com.
Crusty Demons is about moto riders who are interrupted in the middle of a huge stunt by the devil. The devil says they are about to die, but can be saved if they give their soul to the devil. They agree and spend the rest of the game trying to recover their souls.
The real eye-opener has been the site, Crusty Demons Tattoo Parlour, created by New Media Maze. At this site you may choose your tattoo design and where on the woman's body you would like the tattoo to disaply. You may view and download tattoo or share with your friends.
I do not think I will be using my tatoo display as wall paper, but I thought it might get some clicks on Advertising for Success. What do you think?
Tags: Crusty Demons game, moto x rider, Crusty Demons Tattoo Parlour, viral video advertising
Crusty Demons is about moto riders who are interrupted in the middle of a huge stunt by the devil. The devil says they are about to die, but can be saved if they give their soul to the devil. They agree and spend the rest of the game trying to recover their souls.
The real eye-opener has been the site, Crusty Demons Tattoo Parlour, created by New Media Maze. At this site you may choose your tattoo design and where on the woman's body you would like the tattoo to disaply. You may view and download tattoo or share with your friends.I do not think I will be using my tatoo display as wall paper, but I thought it might get some clicks on Advertising for Success. What do you think?
Tags: Crusty Demons game, moto x rider, Crusty Demons Tattoo Parlour, viral video advertising
Excuse me, I have a fax coming in
SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) - Four prisoners in an El Salvador jail hid cellphones, a phone charger and spare chips in their bowels so they could coordinate crimes from their cells, prison officials said on Wednesday.
Evidently, reader brought the proximity of the Vonage keychain phone and the prisoners' story to the attention of AdRants.
Tags: anal cell phones, bowel friendly Vonage phone, three women in hot tub, fax coming in
Evidently, reader brought the proximity of the Vonage keychain phone and the prisoners' story to the attention of AdRants.
It's too bad the four prisoners weren't able to see this news story about how their anal activities were discovered which had an ad for Vonage's much slimmer, more bowel friendly keychain phone next to it. Of course, the keychain phone requires the use of a PC which we are certain is not bowel friendly.This all reminds me of an old joke. Three women sitting in a hot tub. Ring, ring. One woman pushes a button on her watch and talks for awhile. Second woman says, "that watch phone is so old school. I have an implant!" Second woman pushes on the bone beneath her ear and makes a phone call. The third woman, hopelessly technologically challenged, takes the opportunity to go to the bathroom. When she returns from the rest room, she is trailing a long piece of toilet paper. When the other two women bring it to her attention, she gasps, recovers and then says: " Oh, that! I have a fax coming in."
Tags: anal cell phones, bowel friendly Vonage phone, three women in hot tub, fax coming in
Dylan Cuts iPod & iTunes TV Spot
Even as a silhouette, Dylan is as identifiably unique as his music.
Bob Dylan is back! Modern Times, Bob Dylan's latest album, hit the top spot of the USA Billboard chart. He wrote an acclaimed and personal memoir Chronicles, Vol. 1 (2004), hosts a weekly radio show Theme Time Radio Hour with your Host Bob Dylan on XM, and appeared on camera for Martin Scorsese's documentary No Direction Home.
He also recorded a TV spot for iPod and iTunes! Very different from the dancers with iPod commercial. Very Dylan! At 65, he is the oldest artist to gain number one spot on the music charts. He joins the Stones, Eric Clapton and the Beach Boys as bands that do not know how to stop. Welcome back!
Click here to see Dylan's advertisement for iPod
Tags: Dylan, Modern Times, iTunes and iPod Ad, Bob Dylan, Number One Billboard
Success Blog : The Lost Girls
The Success Blog of the Week is The Lost Girls.
As many of us would like to do, but few have the courage to do, Amanda, Jen and Holly quit the rat race, said goodbye to family, friends and lovers and took off to find themselves while traveling around the world.
As they explain:
As many of us would like to do, but few have the courage to do, Amanda, Jen and Holly quit the rat race, said goodbye to family, friends and lovers and took off to find themselves while traveling around the world.
As they explain:
Like millions of young women in our generation, we were plagued with doubts and fears about the paths we were choosing . . . On our own, with no parents, advisers or a syllabus to guide us, you could say that we were a little, well, Lost. Okay, very Lost. So before making the ultimate choice of which way to go as (gulp) adults, we decided to take a major detour . . .Curently, The Lost Girls are visiting Peru. They plant to continue to Brazil, Kenya, South Africa, Turkey, India, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Australia, basically circumnavigating the world. Please visit The Lost Girls, read their latest adventure and comment, wishing them well as they journey to their future. Tell them CyberCelt sent you.
Click and Comment Monday
Monday is Click & Comment Day. Please click my renter or a link on my blogroll. Comment on that blog and then click their renter or someone on their blogroll. Then you comment on that blog and click their renter or someone on their blogroll. Do this for as many blogs as you can. Sometimes the blogs go full circle, and you end up at the originating blog, then just look up a blog in the blogroll and start the cycle again.
Tags: Click & Comment, click and comment Monday, visit blogs and leave comments
Happy Labor Day in the USA
Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.
We are going out of town for the weekend, so I will just leave you to relax and enjoy the long weekend.
Please visit my renter as they might be lonely. Thanks!
