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Oct 2, 2013 | 2 minute read

Ecommerce Links: September 2013

written by Linda Bustos

It's the beginning of another month, time to recap of some of the major happenings affecting marketers in September:

Google turned 15 and announced its latest update, Hummingbird, Google's biggest search algorithm change since 2010's Caffeine. Hummingbird is more than simply an update, it's a major change to how Google recognizes search intent and delivers results, a change akin to ripping and replacing the engine of a car. The big deal about Hummingbird is its shift to more natural language processing to support conversational search queries (like "where can I find an ice cold latte at 3am in Brooklyn").

The other big Google news is its decision to make all keyword referral data private, so expect your "Not Provided" problem to get even bigger. Despite the headache this provides to SEOs, data analysts and marketers everywhere, Dave Chaffey offers some workarounds for understanding keyword intent when most (or all) of your keyword referrals are "Not Provided." If you use Adobe Analytics (i.e. Omniture), make sure you read this post on how it will affect your reports. And hear what SEO experts have to say about it.

iO7 is here, and it has its perils and pluses for app developers. From a web design perspective, make sure you read Mobify's guidelines for iOS7 design to understand how edge swipe, navigation and screen real estate are affected by this update.

News out of the way, check out some of my favorite posts from last month:

  • Econsultancy offers some tips to get ahead of the game regarding WC3's rollout of a new digital data standard that aims to simplify the process of rolling out new marketing, analytics and personalisation technologies, coming later this year.
  • When it comes to mobile commerce, perceived load time can spike abandonment. Find out what nasty thing many sites are guilty of that can affect your mobile bounce rate.
  • Setting a pricing strategy is half the battle, the next part is making your prices look like a great value. KISSmetrics offers advice on how to position pricey products as total steals.