IndieCommerce: Web Traffic Survey Results

The IndieCommunication newsletter of February 24 presents the results of last week’s survey on web traffic, information about the new IndieCommerce webinar schedule, an introduction to the new “Variable Price” feature, and more.

Where Do Your Website Visitors Come From?

Last week, IndieCommerce Director Phil Davies asked IndieCommerce users where they thought visitors to their websites were coming from. Here are the survey results based on booksellers’ responses:

According to Davies, interesting differences were revealed when booksellers’ answers were compared to where Google says IndieCommerce traffic comes from. According to Google Analytics, Google search is indeed the number one source of web traffic to most stores. Referrals are second, social media is third, e-mail marketing is fourth, paid search is fifth, and display advertising is sixth. Over the next few weeks, the IndieCommerce team will present different techniques for increasing traffic and sales through each of these channels.

IndieCommerce Webinars

Webinars will now be held on Tuesdays from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., Eastern Time, and will be repeated on Thursdays from 11:00 a.m. to noon, Eastern Time.

IndieCommerce will be rotating webinars on specific topics with open Q&A webinars. For example, one week webinars will focus on order fulfillment during both the Tuesday and Thursday training, and the next week IndieCommerce will conduct an open Q&A session. This will give participants time to take in what was discussed and to refer to the webinar recording and documents, and then come back with questions. Stores are welcome to ask questions on any topic during these open sessions or they can e-mail the IndieCommerce team at anytime.

For all webinar information, including dates, topics, and sign-up links, stores should visit the IndieCommerce Webinar page on BookWeb.org. 

Large Book Cover Image on the Product Page

IndieCommerce users now have the option to display a large book cover image on a book’s product page. This option has been added as a Store Preference and can be enabled from the Store Preferences page on users’ websites:

Store -> Configuration -> Account Information and Preferences -> Store Preferences

The layout of the product page depends on the theme, LSI data, and blocks added to the product page. Booksellers using the feature should confirm that the large cover image looks good on their site when enabled.

Tip: Removing blocks on the right navigation bar on the product pages might help. IndieCommerce users with any questions about this feature should contact IndieCommerce support.

Easy Access to the Store Pricing Tool

The IndieCommerce team has now made it easy to apply discounts and markups to books by ISBN: a Store Pricing tab has been added to the product page. This tab will take users to the Store Pricing Tool to add or edit the store pricing entry for the ISBN.

“Variable Price” Module, Great for Gift Cards

The IndieCommerce team has developed a new “Variable Price” feature that is now available to IndieCommerce sites. When added to a product, this feature will allow customers to choose what they want to pay. This gives stores the ability to offer customers gift cards of any denomination of their choice; at present denominations are fixed. The “Variable Price” feature can also be used for donations. This module will be enabled on IndieCommerce sites upon request. Users may submit their requests from the Store Features page on their websites:

Store -> Configuration -> Account Information and Preferences -> Store Features

Past IndieCommunication newsletters are available here.