Website Magazine has provided a superb look at several comparison shopping websites. I love Website Magazine and applaud them for their latest article on the subject. There are several progams for merchants and B2B and B2C consumers will love the ability to browse lots of products.

Here are the top one's as cited in their magazine this month:

TheFind
With nearly 8 million unique monthly visitors in July, TheFind is the fastest-growing site in the comparison shopping space. The company, which has exhibited 175-percent growth in the past year, claims that merchants submitting their products to the site saw between 2.3 and 2.7 average visits per visitor, compared to a 1.9 average from their closest competitor. TheFind is free for merchants to submit product listings, with an additional service called UpFront that has a $299 value but is being offered for a free trial.

NexTag
NexTag saw more than 15 million unique visitors in July, making it one of the most sought-out comparison shopping sites on the Web. NexTag charges CPC fees to merchants, sorting their fees by product category, but to list items is free. NexTag routinely gets criticized for its simple design, but it hasn’t managed to keep consumers from flocking to the site looking for bargains.

BizRate
BizRate is one of several comparison shopping sites owned and managed by online shopping network Shopzilla http://www.shopzilla.com but attracts more than 13 million unique monthly visitors on its own accord. Merchants sign up through Shopzilla Business Services, and will pay CPC fees which are initially taken out of a $50 fully refundable deposit.

Become.com
A relative newcomer to the comparison shopping field, Become.com had about 3.5 million unique monthly visitors in July and continues to grow. The site recently added a mobile shopping component that contains editorial reviews of each participating merchant’s mobile compliance, a valuable tool for retailers already on board with the mobile commerce movement. The Merchant Account Center provides information on how to sign up, including a rate card for itemized CPC fees for participating retailers.

Pronto.com
Pronto’s traffic numbers in July were close to 8 million unique monthly visitors, and the site prides itself on its social shopping focus. Merchants who enroll in the program will pay a CPC fee on leads sent to their sites from Pronto, which also includes an exclusive partnership with search engine Ask.com and a local search deal with Citysearch.

Best

Denice MacDonald

Online holiday retail sales will grow 8% this year to $44.7 billion, predicts Forrester Research Inc. That would represent a continued shift of shopping to the web, as the National Retail Federation has forecast total retail sales will decline 1% this holiday season.

So, before you go online to shop, check out these great 'coupon' websites that provide discounts and promo codes for top retailers like Old Navy, Target, Kohls and as well as computer giants such as Dell.   

RetailMeNot: Coupon Codes [Above]

FatWallet: Online Coupons 

DealCatcher: Free Online Coupons

MyCoupons.com: Grocery Coupons and Online Coupons

Deal of Day: Coupon Codes

The Bargainist: Coupons & Coupon Codes

Dealnews: Online Coupons 

Now - get out there and start shopping!

Best,

Denice MacDonald 

Some analysts predict e-commerce is well-poised for this upcoming holiday season. A recent survey by e-marketer acknowledged e-commerce’s 2008 advantage over brick–and–mortar stores. 

The E-commerce Silver Lining 

Free shipping and 'only available online' scenarios will likely create new opportunities for e-commerce sites to increase sales. Bargain hunting and comparison shopping are sure to increase, and both are easier to do online than in stores. While this is encouraging news, online marketers realize that competition for consumers in the e-commerce world is still quite expansive and diverse.

To be part of this positive trend, brand positioning through optimization becomes even more of a necessity. 

Where to Start 

Before focusing on driving traffic, online marketers need to consider whether or not their landing pages are ready for visitors. Focus optimization on these high–impact areas: 

Homepages

• Category Pages (example: review taxonomy and cross-relational/cross-sell items - if you like this, you might like this)
• Offer/product–specific pages (example: emphasize high end, seasonal, one of a kind) 

And within those areas, focus on specific page elements designed for high impact by holiday visitors to your site: 

Content

• Headlines and Subheads (eye grabbing copy that gets the visitors attention)
• Body Copy (emphasizing 'one of a kind' or other differentiator)
• Calls to Action (example: sale - today only)
• Testimonials (customer quotes that help sell the product) 

Graphics

• Product photos (thumb and enlarge)
• Buttons, calls to action (easy to read, actionable descriptors)
• Credibility indicators (badges, awards, security symbols)  

Forms

• Email opt–ins (make it easy for them to stay connected)
• Order forms (make it easy and intuitive) 

Lastly, and more importantly, emphasize the brand and value proposition for the organization now and beyond the holidays. 

Sources:

• Marketing Experiments
• E-marketer
• Internet Retailer

Related Blogs:

• Successful Online Shopping - What Can Your Site Guarantee? by Denice MacDonald
• Simple Rules for SEO Success by Denice MacDonald
• Web Forms: Get'm to Convert! by Denice MacDonald
• Testing for Search Optimization by Denice MacDonald

Best.

Denice MacDonald