Capitalization problems in SERP’s
Inspired by a story on Search Engine Land theorizing that Google Checkout has been hijacked I feel inspired to share my opinion on what is happening (since something similar is currently happening to Sewell).Here is a screenshot:
My theory is that there is some more Google title weirdness going on, possibly linked to anchor text, but definitely not a sign that google checkout has been hijacked (which is the same theory that SEL eventually comes to after speaking with a representative for Google).
A collective sigh of relief
OK, maybe we won’t be competing with Google in SEO afterall…I didn’t really think they would do it but it’s nice to see how quickly they are responding to criticism.
Associated Content pulls Text Link Ads
Tim Armstrong, VP of Advertising for Google, is apparently a co-founder of Associated Content, a huge content network that has historically dabbled in link renting (clarification: renting links to other companies on their network of sites).I wondered when Matt Cutts flamed the whole SEO community for link renting what AC would do - I mean, here you have a senior Google exec practicing the very thing that an outspoken engineer rails on.Well, I noticed today that Associated Content is no longer renting links selling links through Text Link Ads - coincidence? I doubt it.
Google doing SEO!?
Apparently when Google acquired Doubleclick last week they included Performics, an SEO company.Google doesn’t plan to get rid of Performics - so they are now officially competing with all other SEO’s to help people rank on… ummmm… their search engine.Nice one, Google.
Jen’s trip to France
My wife is in France until next week. She’s having a lot of fun - I’ll have to go back with her some day.
Inventory Factoring for Internet Retailers
Depending on the size of your internet retail company you may or may not have access to large amounts of capital. Surprisingly even some large retailers deal with occassional cash flow issues.In general solving cash flow problems isn’t too hard - most retailers will lighten up on inventory and push their customers to drop-shipped products. If you can negotiate net 30 terms with your drop-ship suppliers and the majority of the orders you process use credit cards then you have approximately a 25 day float - you just need to ensure that your drop ship margins (which are typically much lower than stocked margins) can support your day-to-day expenses.If you sell products to large corporations or the government, however, a cash flow crisis may mean turning down a lucrative order. If you are sourcing products internationally (read: China) terms probably are not an option. Most large corporations or government entities, however, will demand terms. Suddenly you find yourself on the bad side of the float.Enter inventory factoring - a popular finance tool offered by most banks. Basically they will look at your accounts receivable (in this case the purchase order from your large customer) and cover the material cost for the order for 30-60 days. The financial cost is quite high (typically about 1.5%/month or 18% APR compounded monthly), but it could mean the difference between closing the sale and having to turn down a large order. Also, when you prove that you are capable of filling these large orders you are much more likely to be a supplier of choice to these coveted customers.By offering your customer net 30 (typically the minimum they will demand) and securing a 60 day term on the factoring, you are incurring an additional expense of 3% in order to fill the order without tying up any of your existing capital. Work with your manufacturer on getting the lead-time down to within a few weeks and your customer should receive their shipment (by boat) within 30 days guaranteeing that you will never have to tie up existing capital filling the order.As far as the 3% finance fee goes - get into the habit of building it in to your quote and charge a 2% late fee. This will cover an additional month of financing in the even that the customer is slow on payment.
VentureBeat Hacked?
Could just be a little glitch but all I’m getting at Venture Beat right now is a wordpress database connection error. I’ve fried more than my fair share of wordpress sites (mostly just my friends’, fortunately - hahhaha) but still…
See the new Sewell Direct
It’s been a long time coming but we are finally showing off the new version of Sewell Direct. The main reason for the switch is to improve functionality on the backend (ie, stuff you don’t see), but at the same time we also updated the aesthetics.I like the new site a lot - see the old Sewell here until we’ve worked out all of the bugs and publish the new site to the default url. If you have any specific tips or questions feel free to email me or leave a comment.