Coalition Technologies is proud to be one of the select BigCommerce design and development partners. Its a great fit for both companies and we love working with the powerful BigCommerce shopping cart.

Why is it that BigCommerce and Coalition make for such a great partnership?

First and foremost is our emphasis on powerful marketing strategies. BigCommerce has continuously invested in its shopping cart’s ability to reach customers and consumers through SEO, PPC, email marketing and other web strategies that provide valuable revenue to you. Both of our companies understand that a pretty website only goes so far. If that website isn’t able to reach new customers and convince them that your service or product is right for them, then its really not doing what it should be. Coalition supplements the BigCommerce suite of SEO tools by providing advanced consulting, marketing, and development techniques that push you to the top of your industry.

Secondly, both of our companies understand that great web design isn’t just about the looks of the site. Steve Jobs said, “Design isn’t how it looks. Its how it works.” Your ecommerce site should be easy for you to manage, easy for your clients to navigate, and should intuitively drive the sales and buying processes along. After significant comparison testing, Coalition can attest to the ease of use of the BigCommerce admin area. Hands down, its an easier interface for anyone to navigate and learn. We would know- we’re experienced developers on over a dozen different ecommerce shopping carts, including Shopify, Volusion, and Magento Go. But those three don’t measure up to the simple, natural process of running your BigCommerce store. And our developers are able to effectively support you by ensuring that your customers have the same ease of use on the front end of your store, with clear navigation processes, strong calls to action, and featured trust elements.

In the end, we’re confident that BigCommerce is a great platform for most businesses, startups, and individuals. And we look forward to the chance to help you realize your custom design, marketing objectives, and sales goals! Call us today, if you have more questions on BigCommerce, its features, and for more insight on our ecommerce development background.

We deal with a lot of incoming calls from businesses who are trying to acclimate to the trends that the web follows. Social media integrations, with Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn (for B2B sales/marketing), and mobile optimization is the other.

Some recent data published by the head of Google’s Android development shows that the winner is clear cut. According to Andy Rubin, over 700,000 NEW Android devices are activated daily. How does that measure up to the iPhone or a major Apple launch? The iPhone 4s had a similar number of activations over its debut weekend. That’s right, the biggest launch of 2011 for Apple (aside from the iPad), matches the daily clip of Android. Rubin was also careful to clarify that these are new activations and not resold phones (which Steve Jobs had criticized Google for including in their quote before).

That amounts to a whopping 42.7% of market share for mobile devices, compared to 27.1% for Apple. And at the current rate of activations, it wouldn’t be shocking to see Android pick up more market share. As major phone carriers work to have the next exciting Android launch on a monthly basis, and Apple struggles to provide meaningful upgrades once a year, it wouldn’t be a shock if Apple’s mobile devices begin to fade, much like Blackberry and RIM have over the last decade. I know that this is probably blasphemous to say, but we’ve seen this happen before- Blackberry was the first to the pile, the innovator and the Goliath at the same time. But they became set in methodologies that limited their growth and that weren’t responsive enough to end users. As a result, they’ve faded to a distant 3rd. Apple will need to find a way to make its launches more meaningful (better features and more advances in hardware and software), more frequent (did we really need to wait so long for Siri?), and more accessible.

In the meantime, those 700,000 users added daily mean that Android devices are becoming more prominent in the mobile marketplace and that OS and platform is the one to optimize for.

Coalition is excited to launch ANOTHER BigCommerce website this week.

This client was a previous BigCommerce store but had a very drab, text heavy website that left customers uninspired, and ultimately contributed to high bounce rates, low time on site, and low conversion rates. We’re all about improving those numbers so we went to work on a new design that improved on key areas of visual and user experience that are known to improve each of those important metrics.

LA Project Manager William Stinson teamed up with designers Hiren Patel and Cliff Wong to get the look and feel just right, while maintaining the marketability of the site for client. Achieving a balance between design and sales is an important factor when picking your website design company, regardless of how capable the platform you’re working on.

William did a great job- notice the prominently placed contact form at upper left (a known ‘hotspot’ for the web users’ eye focus) and the simpler navigation and text processes. Cliff and Hiren helped take those key elements and added in a well laid out primary content zone with livelier colors and a more personable appeal that is aimed at BirkMeds’ diverse demographics.

I know the client was very pleased with the results and we’re ecstatic to see another great site set sail.

Check out these before and after shots:

ARGH!

I’ve been hammering my head against the wall for the last two days, working with a client to recover Analytics access after they set up a Google Apps account. They’re working on getting Adwords up and running (Google’s moneymaker) but don’t get the Analytics reporting that they want since the account access was screwed up by changing their domain services over to the Goog.

We’ve contacted Google Apps support, tried around a half dozen different suggestions that they had to no avail, and have contacted Google Analytics support (who don’t really exist by the way) and tried the one suggestion they’ve prompted in two days to no avail.

Yeesh.

I thought we were talking to the biggest organization on earth, the one that was pushing the ‘cloud’ as a way to free yourself of the restraints that localized software/hardware set ups put on you. Instead, I feel like I’m talking to three fully separate companies that have no concept of how to get anything done inside the other one’s territory.

To me, this doesn’t seem like that complicated of a process.

We have analytics installed on the client’s site. Why not take the unique tracking identifiers that are associated with that installation and use them to transfer Analytics admin access to the new organizational Apps account. The client has already confirmed ownership of the site- how hard can this be? I own the site, but not the Analytics?

Come on Google. If you really want to have the right to claim be all, end all, in the search market and websphere, then you really need to figure this type of stuff out early and without much customer frustration.

I’ll be much more cautious about recommending Google Apps to anyone after seeing how poorly this has gone.

Another quite beautiful BigCommerce website is going live this week- www.Invisi-Sole.com.

Coalition was really pleased to have the chance to work with such a great product and management team. Whenever we get the opportunity to work with a company that has a clear design and brand, and the management team is willing to interactively work with our designers as we customize and tailor the visuals so that they meet best practices for conversions and usability, we know we’re going to love the results.

Invisi-sole is a pretty brilliant product in and of itself- using a small applicator, you can selectively place an invisible comfort layer on your shoes. In demonstrations and testimonials I’ve seen, they’ve been used on the straps of high heels, on sneakers, and on dress shoes. There really doesn’t seem to be a limit to how they can be used. And best of all, everyone loves the comfort afterwards.

Invisi-sole is in a market that typically is not too web savvy and gets text heavy in an effort to deliver information. But, with Coalition’s help, Invisi-sole is able to take that information, deliver it in a user friendly format, and avoid bogging down their clients with a bland website that makes their unique product, look like another also ran. We’re confident that this site and company will see a great deal of success online for two reasons: 1- the product is brilliant and works remarkably. 2- the ecommerce site is developed by Coalition Technologies.

One of the important things that an ecommerce website designer needs to address is usability and conversion optimization. We spend a lot of time talking about how well we market our clients’ sites to get them the traffic from search engines that is the lifeblood of most ecommerce businesses. But once the traffic is there, and once the the visitors are where you are, what good is your site?

In the above video, Joel Gross, our company’s founder and an expert at all things SEO, works with Hiren Patel, our lead web designer, to demonstrate Google Website Optimizer.

Google Website Optimizer is a powerful A-B testing tool that essentially allows a web design and marketing firm like ours to examine what is driving user behavior on the site. We can look at how different calls to action influence the user to either buy or not buy, how they respond to a particular visual design or navigation process, etc. It does this by sending a statistically significant amount of traffic, in equal volumes, to two different iterations or versions of a page. It then follows or tracks that user as they make decisions or take action on the page. It then reports the data back to the management team (us and the client) and allows us to gauge what it is that the user was motivated by.

We then take that education, improve the site and begin a new round of A-B testing designed at moving the needle even further in the direction that we want it to go. Its a great tool, and one that every SEO and ecommerce website design company should be using to ensure that your company is getting the best bang for their buck.

Call us now if you’re interested in having your site design improved and tested for conversion optimization.

Because of our unique skill set, Coalition Technologies has an ability to be especially effective for brands that depend on their web presence most. Many of those companies use ecommerce websites to make an impact with their consumers and with their retailer or distribution partners. But navigating the murky waters of ecommerce can be difficult and requires someone dedicated to determining the best outcome for you. For most of our clients, its almost impossible to dedicate enough time and energy to this process on their own. So they turned to us, as expert consultants in ecommerce developments, we can support the design, build, and marketing of their shopping cart sites.

Coalition Technologies is especially unique in one specific way- many ecommerce designers specialize in only one shopping cart. They can either build Magento, or they can build Shopify. Or perhaps they are good with BigCommerce but not with Volusion. Ultimately, they’re so specialized, they’re incapable of providing an unbiased and industry knowledgeable opinion about which shopping cart is right for the client. Coalition, however, is a development partner with 7 of the top 10 ecommerce platforms (based on # of deployed stores). Our development partnerships are with BigCommerce, Magento, Magento Go, Shopify, Volusion, OSCommerce, and ZenCart.

And to top that off, we have specialists in each platform. Rather then trying to be average at each, we aspire to be excellent at all. Whether you’re looking for an enterprise class site with every feature imaginable and significant automation, or for a first ecommerce site for a growing brand, we can help

Google released another major 2011 algorithm update earlier fall and we’ve been monitoring its results on both our client sites as well as others.

There are a few things that we’ve gleaned so far on this latest algorithm change that we feel are valuable enough to share, not only with our clients but with the WWW.

1. We’ve been preaching this for a long time, but SEO is way more then just link building and keyword targeting. SEO companies that sell on those two action items alone (‘You get 500 links a month for $1000 in our Silver package’) are outdated and outclassed. They’ll never be able to achieve long term results in competitive industries, without putting a significant risk of manual action by Google coming into play. One of our clients received an offer today for ‘blog posts’ for $.10 each. What the SEO company meant to say was that they were offering low quality forum links for $.10 each. I explained the dangers of engaging in such practices and covered some of the intricacies of the way algorithms evaluate links. When looking for an SEO company, look for one that talks about a lot of Google’s algorithm factors AND how users experience your website. Ultimately the two go hand in hand.
2. Newness is relevant. Google has long been heading towards a direction where the recency of your content and updates influence the value of your site. Although the Freshness update will likely be tweaked further to somewhat mitigate the affect, Google will continue to favor sites that are regularly updating their contents and materials to be more relevant and ‘fresh’ for their users. Many of our clients that are either engaging us for content creation or are working on this leg of their marketing themselves are seeing great returns in competitive searches because of this adjustment. We see this as a big opportunity for smaller companies, individuals, and startups to pursue- posting regularly with great content is a chance for you to get your name out where a bigger brand is not.

If you have questions on other components of Google’s algorithms, or would like help with monitoring, managing, and creating an SEO campaign, please contact us. We’re located conveniently in Marina Del Rey, Los Angeles, CA and in the Seattle area in Washington state.

There is always a battle when creating website designs between visual appeal and the need to motivate consumers. Its funny that as a Los Angeles web designer, we see many clients, agencies, and institutions favor the former (visuals) rather then the latter (sales).

Undoubtedly, there are some companies and brand (and individuals) that need a website design that is truly visually oriented. Typically, these organizations or people are massive (world renowned), manufacturers, or reliant on  their own fame to make them successful. For 99% (We are the 99%- Occupy Websites) of people in need of a website, they are looking to sell a product or a service. But because of the emphasis on visuals, they’re often led down a path to websites that don’t actually sell.

What are some examples of the sites that can get away with all visuals?

1. Nike. Nike’s brand name is known the world over. The swoosh is more recognizable than nearly any other symbol (American flag, Coke, Mcdonald’s, etc). Nike is distributed through thousands of other retailers and distribution networks to billions of consumers. Nike can get away with not really pushing sales and conversions through its websites because of this. There are already thousands of people willing to sell Nike’s product that get to worry about it. Nike just needs to appear cutting edge, pro sports endorsed, and appealing to the new generation (really the only people who haven’t heard of Nike are probably under 5).
2. Kim Kardashian. By no means is she Nike. But Kim is all about selling herself. (Just look at the sham wedding for ratings deal). Anyone who can stoop that low to make a buck, is probably more interested in getting a particular personal image out. While she does rep (I was trying to think of another term for people who sell themselves for money here, but drew a blank) a dozen different line of products, she’s ultimately all about selling herself. Her website simply needs to pass off a particular image and glamour to its visitors without huge emphasis on the conversion or sales process.

Who can’t?

1. Almost every other business, individual, or organization. IF you’re not on Nike’s level then you need to be looking to find a way to incorporate conversion optimization with the creation of your site designs. Find a way to get calls to action, clear sales channels, and easy usability set up on your site. How can you drive people to your products faster? What are your strongest features and benefits for your consumers? Where can you place those? Can you make the Buy Now or Call Now button bigger and brighter?

We’re not joking about this either. For most companies, especially in this economy, if it doesn’t sell it smells. Forget for a moment your lofty branding ideals and firstly focus on your consumer sales process. THEN look at designs. Walk away from the Flash splash page and the cool sound effects and animations. Sell, sell, sell. So few websites are designed to sell, and in this economy that simply doesn’t make sense.

If you’re looking to hire a web designer in Los Angeles, or a web design team in Seattle, or anywhere for that matter, and you want to make sure your site is going to sell for you, give us a call. We specialize in creating beautiful, conversion optimized (closers), and easy to market websites.

Coalition has never been one to avoid patting itself on its back, especially when our hardwork has paid off for our clients. One of our Magento ecommerce store clients, that has engaged us for web design, conversion optimization, and search engine optimization has seen some big returns.

What do those returns look like?

Derived from Google Analytics (not our own imaginary scoring systems), this particular client has seen an 40% increase in traffic over the last 3 months, not related to their brand name. Prior to starting with Coalition Technologies, their site’s top 10 traffic drivers were all related to their brand name or branded products. Now? While the brand traffic has remained static, they are now seeing 5 of their top 10 traffic generators come from competitive industry terms.

Typically the client sees a seasonal drop in sales across the boards (through physical distributors and online). This year, they’re seeing an increase. The number of sales are up, the average value of sales are up, their cost per conversion is down, etc.

We always are pleased to see that our clients aren’t just receiving increased traffic and ranking from our efforts. We want to see revenues and sales increase in conjunction with the work that we do. We’re very pleased to say that is happening for our client.

Please call us or contact us if you’re interested in finding out what an SEO team with web development certification on a number of different ecommerce platforms can do for you.