Ecommerce Links: December 2011

Well it's the end of the month and the end of the year -- so Happy New Year to you from all of us at Elastic Path, wishing you peace, joy, love and sales for 2012. To wrap up the year, here are some fab ecommerce blog posts from around the Web from December.

Before we begin, a quick heads up. I'll be speaking in San Francisco in March at the Conversion Conference and Affiliate Management Days. The agendas are up, would be great to see you there, and expect some blog coverage from some of the sessions as well.

Now, on to the links!

• Speaking of affiliate management, here's a great tip from Econsultancy, how to use Google image search for affiliate recruitment.

• We're all bummed about the changes to Google referral data for Google Account users. But don't fret, The Rimm-Kaufman Group and Econsultancy have some ideas how you can "steal" some of that data back.

• While we're solving problems, how about 3 creative solutions for tackling the EU cookie privacy directive? Smart Insights has some smart ideas such as cookie free analytics, a cookie audit toolkit and cookie privacy software.

• Do those annoying popover sign up requests work or do they push visitors away? They could double your sign up rate -- if done correctly. Mark Brownlow has some practical advice for PFO - popover form optimization.

• Heading into 2012, how about applying some of these 40 Facebook marketing tips from 2011?

• One of Google's major changes this year was its Panda update, and part of that tweak was how "freshness" influences rankings. SEOmoz demystifies this concept with Freshness Factor: 10 Illustrations on How Fresh Content Can Influence Rankings.

• HOW TO: Guide to Performing Website Audits delivers what you think it does ;)

• Learn How To Increase Your Conversions From These 5 Consumer Psychology Studies. 'Nuff said!

• If you missed my interview with Justin Foster of Video-Commerce.org, check out the transcript here > A Multi-Channel Video Commerce Perspective.

• How to Create a Unique Selling Point for Your Home Page contains very useful visuals of what makes a good and not that good USP. Hint: it's not just the words, but also the design that matters!

See you in 2012!