Some of the USA’s largest media and marketing trade associations, along with support from the Council of Better Business Bureaus, have officially launched a self-regulatory program that will give Joe Surfer more control over his data in relation to online behavioral advertising; including an “opt-out” button which will be posted on participating sites. (more…)

Google has had keyboard navigation for search engine results pages for quite some time, but a new feature makes it even easier to use. (more…)

Bad news for online merchants using Fedex for shipping, but with a little bit of a silver lining. (more…)

Google has had a URL shortening application for some time, but it was used primarily in-house in association with some other Google services. The application is now to the public. (more…)

According to data from Statistics Canada, Canadians spent $15.1 billion on goods and services online in 2009, up substantially from $12.8 billion in 2007. (more…)

Google’s Suggest function is quite handy, but can also help scare off potential customers. It’s another reason online merchants need to observe ethical business practices and monitor their online reputation closely. (more…)

Online retailers and forecasters are somewhat optimistic about holiday sales this year. (more…)

I’m not a fan of social games like Farmville and such, but a lot of folks are into them in a big way. Soon online retailers will be able to tap into this demographic by offering bonus virtual goods with purchases and other consumer actions. (more…)

You can have the best web site in the world, the slickest shopping cart and a great marketing team – but if your call center isn’t up to scratch, it’s going to cost you big time. (more…)

According to a recent survey, 41% of Americans purchased a product in the past year because it was associated with a social or environmental cause. Cause marketing can be a very powerful tool if used correctly. (more…)