404

Page not found

The page you requested cannot be found on the server

Basically its an invite to the user to hit the back button and disappear from the website, also its a potential sale lost.

On the high street if a product is sold out its place on the shelf is soon filled by something else, so why not on the web.

Simply revamp the 404 page to say something like:

We are sorry but the product you are looking for is currently not available,

however here are some similar items.

Then list a few items from the same category, this will make your site more sticky and improve the chances of converting the visitor to being a customer.

The potential of 404 pages is limitless, you could add a search box, a full list of departments, brands, ranges etc etc.

Take a look at your site statistics how many 404’s are you generating?

What if just 1% of them was converted to a sale?

Further to my recent spring clean of Internet Marketing Blogs I have now fixed the RSS as the handful of people who have subscribed can testify.

Better still for those who prefer your communication to land in the inbox I’ve added the facility to get the Latest News by Email.

Sorry for the shortness of the post just thought it may interest some of you, if not no worries.

PS: anyone at the A4U Glasgow Roadshow on Wednesday who fancies a chat over a beer, just give me a shout

Yesterday Affiliate Future launched their voucher manager you can read more about it here Our new Voucher Code system is live

Tools like this make life easier for all affiliates not just ones with specific voucher code sites, even though I do run a voucher site myself (all be it very lazily) I also operate in several niches and the Affiliate Future Voucher Manager will come in handy for finding codes to use in those specific areas, a quick glance at the voucher directory tells me that 6 codes are available for fashion (some which i never knew about), Clothing 2, Footwear 1, Lingerie 1 and Outdoor Clothing 2, these warrant further investigation as content fillers for my fashion blog, drilling down further into the subcategories reveals the merchant, the offer and the link url, if you have joined said merchant, if not you get the join programme button.

Early days yet and I’ve not had a chance to play properly with the Affiliate Future Voucher Manager, but its arrived and it will be useful.

Amazon have just published a nice little tutorial on their blog about creating RSS feeds for affiliate use check it out here Create Associate RSS Feeds!

• Basically you navigate to one of the categories in the Amazon Tutorial such best selling childrens books http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/bestsellers/books/69/ref=pd_ts_b_nav
• replace gp with rss
• replace everything after the category name and number with ?tag=YourAssociateID-21
• you should now have a url in this format http://www.amazon.co.uk/rss/bestsellers/books/69?tag=affiliate-marketing-21

Here is a page I knocked up yesterday using Amazon RSS on my golf site Top 10 Golf Books - Live Updates.

I integrated the Amazon RSS into the Wordpress page using the feedList Plugin not perfect as it messes up a bit in css but it does the job, If anyone knows of a better RSS Wordpress Plugin please give me a shout.

House of Fraser have just launched their affiliate program on the Commission Junction network, to celebrate they have a great affiliate competition.

The competition is open to all UK affiliates and the prize is a £500 shopping spree with the assistance of a personal stylist at House of Fraser.

Chris Bishop, Online Acquisition Manager, will personally whisk the winning affiliate to the House Of Fraser flagship store on London’s Oxford Street.

To enter, affiliates need to answer the following questions by 31^st July, 2008.

1. When was House of Fraser’s transactional website launched?
2. Based on House of Fraser’s launch 5% net commission, how much would the sale of a Hugo Boss, formal single-breasted stretch wool suit earn an affiliate?
3. Which famous female singer currently has her luxury bed linen and bedroom collection stocked on the House of Fraser site?
4. How much would an affiliate pay for the Prada 80ml eau de parfum deluxe?

Email your entries to affiliates@hof.co.uk with your answers, name, address and contact details plus a link to a fully-working website (the details of the latter can be kept confidential if preferred) and the blog you noticed the competition on (this is important as the blogger who refers the winner also gets a prize). Open to all UK based affiliates. Terms & Conditions apply, see below*.

About House of Fraser

House of Fraser has long been one of the best known names on the UK high street. They are the acknowledged home to many of the world’s most famous brands, from Chanel and Estée Lauder to Prada and Max Mara. With enviable locations across the country, House of Fraser has presented customers with an unrivalled national department store offer for more than 100 years.

The acquisition of the company by the Highland consortium in November 2006 marked the beginning of an exciting new chapter in its history and invested significantly in its stores and external brand marketing - with one of the world’s top supermodels Yasmin Le Bon currently the face of House of Fraser advertising campaign.

Relevant URLS:

- House of Fraser
- Commission Junction UK
- House of Fraser’s Commission Junction publisher sign up page.

Contacts

Commission Junction

Katie Harrod - Account Director kharrod@cj.com Tel: 020 8785 5433

Cath Caporn - Account Manager ccaporn@cj.com Tel: 020 8785 5423

Roger Lee - Account Executive rlee@cj.com Tel: 020 8785 5463

House of Fraser

Chris Bishop - Online Acquisition Manager chrisbishop@hof.co.uk IM: cpbishop@hotmail.com Tel: 020 7003 4102

*Promotion T&Cs

Offer terms and conditions

• An entry into the competition constitutes acceptance of these terms and conditions.
• The competition is open to all UK based affiliates over the age of 18.
• One entry per affiliate, company or household.
• Correct competition answers and prerequisite information detailed must be verified to enter the prize draw where one winner will be selected at random. The judging will be independently supervised and the judge’s decision is final.
• Competition closes 11.59pm on 31^st July 2008.
• The prize consists of £500 shopping spree with House of Fraser gift vouchers and personal stylist at House of Fraser, Oxford Street. Travel to and from the store and any additional expenses are not included.
• The prize must be taken no later than 31^st October 2008.
• Prize is non-negotiable, non-transferable and non-refundable. There is no cash alternative.
• The winner will be notified within 1 week after the closing date by e-mail.
• House of Fraser reserves the right to reclaim the prize awarded if affiliates are found to be tampering with or abusing any aspect of this promotion, as determined by House of Fraser. In such instances, House of Fraser will terminate the affiliates’ eligibility to participate in the promotion. House of Fraser reserves the right to cancel, reclaim or refuse this promotion at its own discretion.
• House of Fraser cannot accept responsibility for illegible, incomplete, delayed or lost entries.
• Employees of House of Fraser (Stores) Ltd, their families, agencies, or anyone connected with the competition are not eligible to enter. The name and county of the winner will be made available upon written request to the following address: £500 Affiliate Shopping Experience, eCommerce, House of Fraser, 27 Baker Street, London W1U 8AH.
• Promoter: House of Fraser (Stores) Ltd, registered office: Granite House, 31 Stockwell Street, Glasgow G1 4RZ Company Number: 10677 Registered in Scotland.