EcommerceBytes-Update, Number 288 - June 12, 2011 - ISSN 1528-6703 1 of 7 
From the Editor
By Ina Steiner
I'm headed to San Diego this week where I'll be joined by freelance writer Lissa McGrath to cover the Internet Retailer conference, which is expecting 7,000 attendees. The exhibit hall will feature 503 companies, a 21% increase over last year.
We'll bring you information about the latest ecommerce products and services and will nab some interviews while we're there. Keep an eye on the AuctionBytes Blog, the AuctionBytes Twitter feed, and of course our daily AuctionBytes Newsflash news stories.
If you rely on Google to help drive traffic to your product listings, you probably know the importance of keeping up with its new requirements for product feeds (formerly called Google base, now Google Merchant Center/Google Product Search). We conducted a quick poll published May 31 that showed many sellers are struggling to comply with these requirements.
On June 1, Google said it was listening to concerns from merchants and announced it was moving the deadline for requiring Shipping and Tax information from June 6 to September 1 and would also permit merchants to provide estimates for tax/shipping information.
Search engines such as Google like sites with content, and product reviews can also be a great Search Engine Optimization strategy. If you have your own ecommerce website, I recommend you read this article from Search Engine Land, "How To Get Free Unique Content With Product Reviews: 15,000+ Words In 12 Hours" about using product-review content to attract search-engine traffic.
And as if keeping up with Facebook wasn't enough of a chore, Google now has its own version of Facebook "Like" buttons called Plus One buttons (+1). You can see the Google Plus One buttons in action on AuctionBytes articles in between the Like and Tweet buttons.
If you are familiar with the MakerBot 3-dimensional printer, which was featured on The Colbert Report television program recently, then you might not be too surprised by the topic of Julia Wilkinson's article in today's issue. Julia takes a look at Shapeways, a service that lets you upload designs that are manufactured and sold on Shapeways Shops or even on marketplaces such as Etsy!
Greg Holden also writes about something you may not think about when you think of selling online - meat! We also take a look at a more traditional ecommerce entrepreneur in today's EveryPlaceISell merchant profile - Sharon Blanding of Sharon's Vintage Store sells vintage jewelry with a sprinkling of contemporary items thrown into the mix.
Many people, like Sharon and other sellers listed in the EveryPlaceISell.com merchant directory, got their start on eBay but branched out to other sites, becoming "multi-channel sellers." Industry forums are full of posts by online sellers who are struggling with how to reduce their dependence on eBay as it moves away from its small-seller roots.
AuctionBytes is publishing a book on multi-channel marketplace selling to address this need. Please help us out by taking a few minutes to tell us the best venues on which to sell various types of items based on your experience. Your responses will remain anonymous, but we will also give you an opportunity to provide your contact information if you would like to expand on your answer or request to be featured in the book.
Please take the survey here now, and thanks for reading!
About the author:
Ina Steiner is co-founder and Editor of EcommerceBytes and has been reporting on ecommerce since 1999. She's a widely cited authority on marketplace selling and is author of "Turn eBay Data Into Dollars" (McGraw-Hill 2006). Her blog was featured in the book, "Blogging Heroes" (Wiley 2008). Follow her on Twitter at @ecommercebytes and send news tips to ina@ecommercebytes.com.
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