The internet is full of niche markets. I'm not talking about all the different things being sold, i'm talking about all the b2b people and services who power everything being sold. Many sites hire 'experts' and 'strategists' who are as specialized as an F-16 pilot. In reality, most of these guys are making a boat load of money by being out-going and knowing just a little bit about something you know nothing about. To tell the truth, chances are your 12 year old daughter probably knows more about Facebook than half these 'experts'.

 These guys go from market to market as the fads change. Last week it was myspace and digg, this week Facebook and Twitter. I'd be willing to guess tomorrow will still be Facebook, but twitter will be as dead as the steak i had for dinner and something new and fresh and innovative will be around. 

These guys are fad-chasers. Just like ambulance chasers, they ride the wave until it's gone, then hop on the next one. Today they preach the joys of Facebook, tomorrow social shopping. 

The tough guys to find are the steady guys. The guys like myself who pride themselves on being versatile and full of a wide range of knowledge. I manage Adwords campaigns with 7% CTRs, a Facebook page with a post quality score of 18.5% (whatever that means though i'm seeing people online proud of 5%) and an e-commerce site that makes more than yours. I manage SEO campaigns, usability studies, and customer feedback surveys. I design system platforms and backend user interfaces to streamline business functions. All of this, I do better than the guy who can be hired in a niche market to teach you nothing but that one thing.

The secret to my success? Simple. My overview of the entire landscape makes me the general on the battlefield. However I'm no ordinary general. I've spent time in every area of combat possible. I've been in the trenches, I've flown the fighters and bombers, I've gone on the black ops, and I've driven the tanks. I've done it all and done it all well. 

This makes myself, and guys like myself, the threat your competition is scared you'll hire. It also makes me more valueable than any one guy because i don't focus on a little portion of your plan, i write your plan and focus on the entire thing. This is the secret to successful e-commerce, not one silver bullet, but an large plan that uses every avenue possible.

No, not the Blink 182 song (though I do own that CD), I'm talking all the little things on your web site that make a difference. These all make up the user experience. Individually, they won't help your sales but together, they collectively move the needle.

In e-commerce, there are three basic things to focus on:

• Content
• Price
• User Experience

 While content makes for 30% of most e-comm sites and price about 20%, the user experience is about half the battle. This is because the user will not shop on a site they don't understand or can't find anything on. Even more so, they won't shop on a site that does not look professional.

The user experience are all the things that the visitor "can't put their finger on." They are also the things that the visitor will say "hey that's cool" but wouldn't push them to make a decision. 

These things are small. They are how your image gallery works, how you recommend articles to read or other products the user might be interested in. This is the flow of your cart and how you search integrates into your product pages. This also includes how much ajax you use, if it's too much, and is it useful.

The bad part about the small things is it's hard to measure. Adding features such as a quickview, reworked search, and better design won't noticable move your needle. However, all of the them comined and constantly being improved upon will keep your needle moving in the right direction. Albiet slowly, but it'll move.

Remember, keeping up on the small things will improve sales. They may be small, but together they add up to a large section of what helps customers feel safe and comfortable ordering from you and coming back for more. 

I tend to not jump on bandwagons. I see opportunities, evaluate them, then decide whether they are worth the web space they are printed on. Others however are not so keen to this way of thinking.

10 years ago, there was an internet bubble, it burst, and the economy tanked. Today, we are at the exact same point we were then, except with web 2.0. Everybody who thought that web 1.0 would allow sites as milktherabbit.com to succeed are now of the thought that another social network or video site will succeed. Everyday I see that some no name company just recieved $50 million or so in "this" round of funding.... which says it's not the only round. People feel enough capital and enough MBA's in the room can create the best web site on earth. It's simple foolish. A room full of MBA's, PHD, and CEO's is twice as inept as the 20 year old who created Facebook or the 27 year old who created Myspace, or the 23 year olds who invented Google, or about the 21 year old who founded Microsoft. Why? Because the MBA's lack vision, passion, and determiniation. They only see $$$.

 It makes me laugh that people didn't learn the first time. What's Ironic is that the ideas are the exact same. Monenize something that's free because it's been proven to work with advertising. It was proven to work in the first bubble, just not for everyone. We had 5 years of smarts before today, now we have reverted to the past.

Most people who were around 10 years ago say we have come full circle. We are at the same point we were before the bubble burst last time. I don't see why the result should be any different. My dad once said to me "The definition of a crazy man is someone who does the exact same thing over and over again expecting a different result." I'm pretty sure venture capitalists have all gone crazy.