If you run an online store, converting visitors into customers is one of your top priorities. ElasticPath recently released a study in which they took a look at the checkout process tactics of the Web’s top 100 retailers. This article summarizing the report will give some helpful tips on how to tweak your checkout process to convert the most customers.

Manoj Thomas, TradeMark Media’s Design Technologist, reviews an article about driving users to the correct content by using the “scent of information.” A must-read for anyone involved in the creation of Web site content.

Technorati is the most popular and probably most recognized blog directory on the Internet. If you’re searching for a blog on a particular topic, you’re bound to find it here. Not only can you search for a blog on a certain topic, you can search blog posts and their related tags as well. The information from blogs sometimes rivals that of the big news agencies and the nice thing is that no topic is too small or too obscure. There’s definitely going to be something for everyone.

Some of my favorite blogs:

• www.austinist.com – great local austin news
• www.lifehacker.com – tips and tools on productivity and things to make life easier
• www.strobist.com – photography blog, renegade lighting techniques and more

Do the folks at Google Labs ever sleep? In an effort to make your life even easier, Google released its own 411 phone service called Google Voice Local Search. Unlike your mobile 411 service, this one’s free of charge. Just call 1-800-GOOG-411.