Posts Tagged ‘growth’
Tuesday, April 14th, 2009
By Robert Lockard
The Internet has changed the way we do a lot of things. Ecommerce is changing the way we shop for goods and services. Online marketing is proving more popular to advertisers than other forms of media, especially in the current recession.
For better or worse, the Internet is changing the news media, as well.
It’s not easy being in the news business. They work hard to analyze stories and write up accurate and up-to-date information, only to have their work quickly summarized and modified for blogs, sometimes with little credit to the original author. There are even a few bloggers who point out all of the misspellings and bad grammar in otherwise good articles.
Often, bloggers practice fair use of copyrighted content by using only a small portion of an article and building their own ideas off of it. I did that with the story on consumers touching products.
Whenever I include an image, which is the property of someone else, I make sure to give credit where credit is due. You might notice my attribution at the bottom of almost every blog entry. I’ve done that from the very beginning.
We appear to be in an age when people like to think of information as free. That can be a good thing, but it can also lead to a lack of credible information in the long term, as news writers lose incentives to generate well-researched stories in the first place.
What inspired me to write about this topic is an article in Ars Technica, called “The newspaper industry’s attack on Google misses the point.” Fascinating read, by the way. I recommend it.
I thought this was an important topic to spend time discussing here in the eHarbor Blog. I hope to keep share more positive stories soon on eHarbor, Inc. and its affiliates: Magellan Commerce, Real Estate Promoter and Submit Solution.
The photo of the dilapidated Dallas Times Herald sign is from Flickr, and it is the copyright of adonis paul hunter / ahptical.
Tags: blog, change, Ecommerce, economy, eHarbor, future, google, growth, internet, magellan commerce, marketing, Media, news, online, Real Estate Promoter, search engine, Submit Solution, web
Posted in Ecommerce, Media | 6 Comments »
Monday, April 6th, 2009
By Robert Lockard
I get to fulfill my promise in my last blog post by writing about some of the great things happening at eHarbor, Inc. I’m excited!
Magellan Commerce, an eHarbor affiliate that was formed in May 2008, launched a completely redesigned and improved version of its website on Friday, April 3, 2009. It is quite an improvement, as you can see from the before-and-after screenshots below.
Original version of the Magellan Commerce website
New version of the Magellan Commerce website
Magellan Commerce designs websites, corporate logos, business cards, letterheads and postcards and more for businesses and individuals. They also help companies top search engines with search engine optimization.
Remember the SEO series we finished a little while ago? The tactics we discussed in that series, such as simplifying URLs, optimizing images and improving anchor text, are among those Magellan Commerce uses for its clients.
I recommend checking out the redesigned Magellan Commerce website for yourself today! Feel free to also visit other eHarbor affiliates, like Real Estate Promoter, Submit Solution and Direct Home Find.
I look forward to sharing more positive ecommerce news like this soon.
Tags: affiliate, company, Direct Home Find, Ecommerce, eHarbor, growth, internet, magellan commerce, new, news, online, positive, Real Estate Promoter, redesign, search engine optimization, SEO, Submit Solution, update, website
Posted in Ecommerce, SEO, eHarbor | 7 Comments »
Wednesday, March 25th, 2009
By Robert Lockard
Going along with my last eHarbor blog entry on the increase in spending on search engine optimization, this blog entry is on the positive future of the ecommerce industry.
According to an article from eMarketer, entitled “eMarketer Revises E-Commerce Forecast,” total sales of products online in the United States, excluding travel, totaled $133.6 billion in 2008. That was a 4.6-percent increase from 2007, despite the economic downturn plaguing most industries.
In 2009, when most people are worried about serious contractions because of low demand from consumers, ecommerce sales are expected to hold steady, dipping just 0.4 percent to $133.1 billion.
Even better, total ecommerce spending will grow about 10 percent or more from 2010 to 2013, possibly reaching $203.5 billion in 2013. That is definitely worth celebrating.
As more companies jump into the world of SEO and strive to position themselves online, the ecommerce industry is going to keep expanding. Plus, with consumers looking for deals and convenience in a tight marketplace, many are turning to online sources for goods they used to purchase at malls or regular retail stores.
This is a great time to jump online. I recommend checking out eHarbor, Inc.’s affiliates for help in designing and optimizing your website. These affiliates include: Submit Solution, Magellan Commerce and Real Estate Promoter.
The photo of the dog in the car seat is from Flickr and it is the copyright of exfordy.
Tags: 2009, Ecommerce, economy, eHarbor, eMarketer, flickr, Fun, funny, future, growth, humor, internet, magellan commerce, marketing, news, positive, Real Estate Promoter, search engine optimization, SEO, Submit Solution, web
Posted in Ecommerce, SEO, eHarbor | 9 Comments »
Monday, March 23rd, 2009
By Robert Lockard
Great news! The ecommerce industry isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. It’s actually growing in strength, despite the recession. What a pleasant surprise!
According to an article in Practical Ecommerce, entitled “Chart of the Week: Search Engine Marketing to Increase,” marketers in the United States are expected to spend $14.1 billion on search engine marketing in 2009. That’s a 16-percent increase from 2008’s $12.2 billion. If it continues to grow at this rate, the amount spent on search engine marketing in the United States could reach $23 billion in 2013.
Search engine marketing is made up of paid-search advertising, contextual advertising, paid inclusion, and search engine optimization. We just finished a series on SEO strategies. I recommend reading those blog entries, if you’d like more information.
You might remember my blog entry on the success of eHarbor, Inc. not long ago. I’m pleased to note this is not just an isolated incident, but an industry-wide one. As the economy sours, businesses are turning more to the Internet for new customers, and getting high placement on search engines, like Google, MSN and Yahoo, is a great way to get their attention.
Be sure to check out eHarbor, Inc.’s affiliates for help in designing and optimizing your websites. These affiliates include: Submit Solution, Magellan Commerce and Real Estate Promoter.
The photo of the surprised kittens is from Flickr and it is the copyright of telachhe.
Tags: 2009, Ecommerce, economy, eHarbor, flickr, funny, future, google, growth, humor, magellan commerce, marketing, Media, msn, news, positive, Real Estate Promoter, search engine optimization, SEO, Submit Solution, web, yahoo
Posted in Ecommerce, SEO, eHarbor | 12 Comments »
Thursday, February 5th, 2009
By Robert Lockard
I love movies. I’ll probably share a lot of movies I enjoy and relate them to ecommerce and other online topics in the eHarbor blog. Today I’ll talk about “The Natural” (1984). I’ve read the book and seen the movie and I think the movie is much better than the book. Much of the book’s somber themes are in the movie, but there are also so many emotional highs and payoffs that I can’t help cheering on Roy Hobbs as he always swings for the fence. Despite his flaws, Roy is a good man who wants to be the best baseball player to ever swing a bat.
I bring up “The Natural” because in one scene, when Roy gets to bat in the major leagues for the first time, his coach jokingly tells him to “Knock the cover off the ball.” He takes his coach’s advice literally and actually hits the ball so hard that the cover comes completely off. That marvelous scene reminds me of something I heard at the 2009 eHarbor Kick-Off Meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2009. Excitement filled the air as all 50 employees filed into a large auditorium, and CEO Oliver Bigler laid out our plans for the new year. In his presentation, Bigler said that eHarbor’s slogan for 2009 is “Swinging for the fence.”
Just like Roy Hobbs.
What do we mean by “swinging for the fence”? In 2008, eHarbor launched two new services: Real Estate Investor and Magellan Commerce. It built new partnerships and dramatically increased its monthly revenue. In 2009, we’re going to do much more. Bigler said he expects the company’s revenue to grow 500 percent. Two new websites are already in the works, focusing on real estate and ecommerce. Plus, the company is going to launch redesigns of most of its current websites: Submit Solution, Real Estate Promoter, Real Estate Investor, Direct Home Find, and Magellan Commerce.
We enjoyed J Dawgs at the close of the meeting. Eating those hot dogs reminded me of baseball games, as well. If you’ve never tried one and you visit Provo, Utah, I would recommend them.
We’ll keep you informed about our goal to swing for the fence, and hopefully the field will be littered with baseball covers by the time the season is through.
Tags: 2009, book, company, Ecommerce, eHarbor, entrepreneur, future, growth, movie, oliver bigler, orem, positive, provo, slogan, utah
Posted in Ecommerce, Movies, eHarbor | 11 Comments »
