Traffick.com Comments
One part of the Long Tail conversation that seems to be overlooked is the work involved. Just because you can do more business by carrying millions of products doesn't mean you can do it well. And if you can't do it well, you may be creating a LOT more work for yourself with little benefit.
One long tail tactic that could lead to an interesting play is site-specific search. Yes, there are tools that do this today, but VERY few sites do this well today. It's much easier to sell someone something if they can find it (even if they can't spell it, don't know exactly what it's called, etc.).
Funny you should bring up The Long Tail. I just finished crafting an article offering Tail tips for SEOs. Let me know what you think. =)
Ed, you make a very good point. Site search is an important aspect of making the long tail work for an ecommerce business *without* very much extra work at all, as long as you deploy something reasonably effective.
I count site search as in the relatively elementary category of "removing basic barriers" that can drive down conversion rates. I'm sure Jakob Nielsen would agree that many businesses online continue to cry out for even a "two-sigma" quality assurance process as far as their usability/navigability goes. "I couldn't find what I was looking for" is a pretty nasty reason to lose a visitor who has taken the trouble to actually visit your site.
Small businesses with two employees or less, I excuse. Content sites run as a hobby on popular off-the-shelf publishing platforms, I excuse. Everyone else: you're leaving money on the table! 
Commenting by HaloScan
