cindy cenora

Why would it be a good idea to outsource to an SEO consultant? A skilled web designer can create an unforgettable page that can serve every need that you can dream of. However web designers may not necessarily have any skill with SEO. An SEO consultant will know how to get your page seen and seen often. Lets cover a few reasons why you may consider doing this.

One is that an SEO consultant devotes all of their energies and resources into learning their craft. Their skills are specifically used for website rankings. They can work with your design team from the ground up to make sure that your website not only makes maximum use of SEO techniques but also to save you time and therefore money in the long run by making sure it is done right the first time. This by itself will save you not only time but costly redesigning later.

Another reason is that you ant your web design team to focus their energies on designing the site. By bringing an SEO consultant in you can have two specialists concentrate on what they know how to do best. An SEO consultant is going to take their bag of tricks and essentially arm your website and engage in a battle of wits with the search engines and their ranking algorithms.

The web designer only needs to worry about overcoming technical problems. They focus on first making the site work and then making it work well. They will make site not only work for you but also to get it to work beyond what you originally needed it for.

The SEO consultant must continually improve their skills because they are not just getting your site ranked well today but continually get it ranked well. You need both of these specialists to work for you. Together they can give you what your need and more.

How to use search engine optimization to be found (rescued) on the Web.

A few years ago, my good friend Bill B. bought his first sailboat.

He called and told me: "Jon, today - I bought a new sailboat, and it's the happiest day of my life"! I grinned and told him: "I also understand that selling it will be your happiest day of your life". (Turned out I was right)

What does sailing have to do with SEO and this article?

The story continues: My buddy Bill did end up selling it a few years later (youll see why). I taught him how his boat could be found and sold via web search traffic to his website, which we set up together.

Today he has a thriving web business, and he has bought and sold many boats and accessories since those early years. He went full-time into the web business, and he understands the power of SEO and ranking high for key search terms.

What is the definition of SEO, and why is it important to your business?

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, or as defined by Google: Search Engine Optimizer. SEO is a subset of the umbrella term Search Engine Marketing (SEM).

Properly applied search engine optimization allows your site to be not only seen by the search engines, but when a search term (keywords, phrases) is entered, you can rank very high in the search engine results pages (SERPS). The results pages are typically a combination of natural (sometimes called organic) results, paid inclusions (directories) and pay-per-click (PPC) ads.

The wholly grail for online marketers centers around being found on the first page of Google, currently owning well over half of the market of all searches. If you further optimize in such a way that it brings *quality* traffic, that can be the ultimate return on investment (ROI), assuming you have a solid back office process. If you have optimized well for Google, you will rank good in the other majors (MSN, Yahoo) also.

Interestingly enough, Search Engine Optimization is not optimizing the search engines themselves, (SEO-ers can only make experienced and industry guesses) but rather optimizing the websites, content and related parts (links) so the users can find you easily. Its all about relevancy. Many folks hire professional consultants to perform SEO, and some attempt to do it themselves, which I will help you with during the months to come.

My sailing buddy was lost at sea.

That third weekend of his boat saga, he told his wife that a trip outside of the safe harbor and into somewhat un-chartered waters would be a fun and challenging experience, and he brought a friend along to assist.

Normally, he would have reviewed the weather forecast, map (lat/long), trip log, flares, emergency contact info and courses outlined, including both physical and radio contact points to coast guards and ports, but he neglected all this by making a stupid mistake: he did not fully prepare and made some bad assumptions.

It was a poor weekend to go out as well. A tranquil beginning, they were relaxing and enjoying the sea. However, the weather turned quickly into one of the fiercest storms and many hours later, they were missing at sea.

The coast guard and others were looking for them (SEO: visitors), his boat and crew had not prepared a strategy (SEO: competitive analysis, know your audience, know where you are (your value proposition), and what keywords to use) and this was a different route than anytime before (SEO: know who your link partners are that can help you get ranking/visibility/popularity via relevant links in your topical, themed community).

The next 24 hours at sea were not good, to say the least. Here they were, way off course, nobody could find them, and they had run out of options. By stroke of luck, one ship happened to cross their path almost 100 nautical miles off course. (SEO: Was this a random visitor?)

My friend and his associate were rescued, and what a big lesson it was. They learned that careful preparation, planning and execution, as well as adjusting for bad weather (SEO: competitive analysis, thoughtful planning) are cornerstones to a successful trip. This also means never giving up, (SEO: keep content fresh, adust, and monitor changes in the search engine algorithms), you can survive!

Summary:
SEO done right can enable you to be found (in the sea of billions of web pages), and ranked well. You should always provide relevant information that the users are looking for, and youll have a steady stream of visitors, 24x7x365.

Make sure to include solid search engine optimization strategy, tactics and operational context for a safer (relevant) trip on the World Wide Web.

SEO is one of the most powerful online marketing mediums there is, and the display of those query results are completely free, and doing it right will elevate your positions.

When it comes to online marking strategies, very few can beat search engine optimization (SEO). By optimizing your website for search engines, the amount of targeted, organic traffic it receives can increase significantly. Below you will find some SEO tips that will help you on your way to becoming a SEO guru.

Simply linking your page to a large number of other sites will not guarantee good search engine optimization, so be concerned with the quality of the link sites rather than the quantity. Make sure that the sites you link on your web page will give your customer the right impression of your own site by making them something that they would actually want to see.

Whenever you are adding META keyword tags to your website for efficient search engine optimization, you should try and use lower case letters for all your keywords and keyword phrases. This is preferred by most major search engines and it is a simple tip to ensure that your ranking remains at a high level.

Use categories to separate your site as it grows. This not only helps search engines direct people to the exact part of your site they are looking for, but it also helps established readers find their favorite content quickly and efficiently. Categorize your site with keywords to watch your site hits grow.

In order to help crawlers and spiders index your web site, you should create a site map. A site map is a list of all the pages that make up your site. By creating one, web spiders will be able to discover even the most obscure and hidden pages, as well as to receive other important information. This will increase your visibility on the internet.

An excellent tip for search engine optimization is to make a video sitemap for your site. A video sitemap will greatly assist you in attracting web crawlers to you. You should list the video sitemap in your Google Webmaster Central account in order to have the best chance of success.

Trading content or links is an amazing way to get more traffic to your website. It creates additional backlinks on other sites which are already in good standing on Google, plus it generates fresh content for your website through trading articles or blog posts. These two factors can help your page rank rise dramatically!

Add a blog to your website in order to maintain the freshness of your site's content and to target specific long-tail keywords, both of which will increase your page rank. You can also place short blurbs from blog posts on other areas of your site to refresh the content on pages that are not typically updated.

If you want to drive more traffic to your site using search engine optimization, you must change your keyword density when it is necessary. You should make keywords and phrases make up approximately three to five percent of all the text and links of any page. This is the most efficient way to get the most out of search engine optimization.

By implementing some of the ideas and advice given above, you could outrank your competition on search engine results pages (SERP) in the near future. The SEO tips given above could also save you valuable time and money, as you will not be wasting resources on SEO techniques which don't work.

Daron Babin-Daron is the CEO of Webmaster Radio. Daron has been teaching and lecturing on search engine optimization since 1997. Daron got his start in television by working for NBC, but eventually found his way into the world of search engine marketing and optimization. His goal from the very beginning has been to create tools that benefit the community. According to an interview with the Online Marketing Blog, Daron is currently developing a pod cast search engine. He also mentions that Yahoo is his favorite search engine, while Google comes in second on his list.

Matt Cutts-Matt Cutts is a software engineer for Google. He began working for Google in January 2000, and is currently the head of Googles Webspam team. Thanks to the popularity of his blog, Matt Cutts has become a celebrity within the search engine optimization community. With an Alexa ranking of 1,262 (at the time of writing), Matts blog is one of the busiest on the internet. Because Matt has become the unofficial ambassador/liason between Google and the search engine optimization community, he frequently attends search and web master conferences. No matter where he goes during these conferences, it is guaranteed that he will have a flock of SEOs following and watching his every move.

Rand Fishkin-Rand Fishkin is the owner of SEOmoz. SEOmoz specializes in providing companies around the world with search engine optimization services. SEOmoz is currently made up of nine different people, including Rebecca Kelley and Si Fishkin. At the end of 2006, Rand and SEOmoz made the decision to release their financial statements for the past year. According to these statements (which were only rough estimates), SEOmoz earned a total of $600,000 during 2006. At the end of the year, they had $64,000 in the bank. Only a year early, they had less than $4,000 in saved in the bank.

Many SEO are looking for the perfect SEO formula to make a perfect optimized page. This is a mistake because Google doesnt want a perfectly optimized page. They want a most relevant content. I am not going to give a talk about what everyone already known. You have to somehow make your SEO imperfect! Yes, imperfection is the true beauty of SEO.

If your page title and H header have the exactly the same words, and the majority of your inbound and outbound links have the same anchor texts, you are looking very suspicious, suspicious enough to not ranking well. Google is quite SEO-phobic. Even if you put the same word in different combinations in your alt tag 3 times, you would immediately fall. For example, if you put bookstore, online bookstore, and bookstore sale in 3 different image alt tags, you would see the immediate fall in competitive keywords in your next Google page cache because bookstore appeared 3 times. To reduce the risk of perfect SEO, you should mix things up a little bit and do thing imperfectly intentionally. You probably dont want to have more than 30% of your inbound links have the same anchor texts. If you already have most of your inbound links with the same text, you should build more links with different anchor texts and descriptions to dilute the perfection.

There are also some so-call poison words in your on-page link text, such as add url, links, link partnersThese would indicate of low quality content or related to spam. The search engines are more likely to de-weight it.

Another bad SEO practice is, somehow I think its too obvious, that people put the same word 3 times (or more) in the title. Thats not right, not for title, nor description, nor the bold text. For example, you dont do SEO Service SEO Company SEO Articles in the title. You would still see such kind of repeated words in search results, thats because they have strong back links. These sites have already been de-weighted silently by Google. If you have the keyword repeat more than 3 times, oh my god, you are sending Google a message that Yes, I am a Spammer. Catch me if you can. One time for a keyword is perfect, 2 times with different form, such as Online Bookstores in Bookstore Outlet is acceptable. Notice there is a singular and a plural version?

Do you submit your new website to Google, Yahoo and other search engines? I wouldnt do that. Not that its bad, just not worth it. As Google clearly saying in its official page that new website submissions would wait up to 6 weeks to be indexed. 6 weeks is quite a long time, and doesnt mean you would rank well after these 6 weeks. You still have a lot of optimization work needed to do after that. And some sites even dont link to sites with no PageRank. If you are not indexed, you dont get PageRank, then you dont get links from these sites. So, as soon as you brought a new domain, you build some content into it which doesnt need to be prefect. Then, you have to get your site indexed as soon as possible.

As you scout around for SEO services, you may wonder what sets one company's SEO services apart from another's. Companies which provide SEO services usually use different SEO philosophies, tools and methods for optimizing their clients' websites. These different approaches are usually termed as "hats" SEO services usually come in three different hats:

Black Hat SEO Services

Black Hat SEO is known as SEO spamming. From the second term itself, you may have an idea of what this kind of SEO service offers. Black Hat SEO is centered on creating sites that are targeted at manipulating or tricking search engines for better site ranking. Black Hat SEO relies heavily on automation to come up with large numbers of substandard pages and pulls links from other sites which are actually irrelevant. Consequently, this SEO approach usually gets poor or irrelevant search engine result pages or SERP quality. What is advantageous with Black Hat SEO is that it can get your site on the top of search engine rankings in a matter of a short span of time. However, this is not a wise SEO services strategy in terms of web design perspective. Worse, once search engines find out that your site maligns their results; your site may and will run the risk of getting banned or crashing on view. So if you want to get on top of search engine listings in a matter of days and are willing to take the risk of flouting some site behavior guidelines, Black Hat SEO services should do the trick for you.

White Hat SEO Services

For every black, there is always a white. The same is true for SEO services. White Hat SEO services, on the other hand, relies on the advantages of putting in relevant and quality content as well as effective marketing strategies to place sites on top of search engine rankings. SEO services providers that offer White Hat SEO will focus mostly on your site contents. White Hat SEO providers will help you come up with contents that will attract people, and not search engines into your site. You should know that content is a very important factor in SEO building (if not the most important). With good content, White Hat SEO services will be able to get you more inbound links from other relevant websites. White Hat SEO is definitly considered to be the better SEO tool. It will not put your site in the risk for getting blacklisted and does not violate any search engine SEO guidelines. Most importantly, visitors who check your site will most likely be converted easily with your great content.

Grey Hat SEO Services

Grey Hat SEO is mid-way between the two tools above and is all about the balance between risk and reward. There are actually a wide number of SEO services solutions categorized under this. Some Grey Hat SEO services may tend to use more dubious strategies and take even bigger risks to produce fast and high search engine rankings. While many Gray Hat SEO services methods obey search engine guidelines, others might put you at risk. If you opt for SEO services using Grey Hat, be sure about what you are exactly subjecting your online site to.

Which hat should you choose?

According to major search engines such as Google, White Hat is good SEO; Black Hat is bad SEO, while Grey Hat is for the most part, dicey. Those using Black Hat SEO services might tell you that White Hat is too ineffective and Grey Hat may be safe but not as effective. Those who prefer Grey Hat may claim that White Hat SEO Services is only effective only when no Grey or Black Hats are involved. White Hat SEO services providers may tell you that Black Hat SEO users are cheaters and those providing Grey Hat are quitters.

Through all these varying opinions, know that it is still up to you to choose the right type of SEO services that you want. It is your objectives and goals that will determine which type of hat you should wear. From my point of view White Hat is better and more cost effective if you are serious about your business... and serious businesses exclude: gambling, adult, and pharmacy sites.

Writing SEO articles does not have to be complicated. In fact, it is really quite simple, once you know why and how you should attack the process. To better understand how you should write your articles, from a business point of view, lets look at three important business concepts that should play a role in how you design your SEO articles.

Understand your niche and focus on it. With such fierce competition these days it is relatively pointless to try and compete with websites that are in the page rankings of five and up. Utilize key words in your SEO articles that will really benefit you over the younger, less experienced competition and do not purposely go head to head with the big guys.

Know your market and understand it well. Just because you have a good product idea does not mean that you have a market for it on the Internet. Some concepts are best done at physical locations and do not do well in the virtual marketplace. Doing your market research will save you time and money.

Familiarize yourself with what your visitors are looking for and give it to them. With so many websites fighting for clicks and ultimately sales, you have little time to impress your visitors. If you do not catch their attention right away, they will go somewhere else. When you begin to write your SEO articles, make sure that you look at it from a visitor's perspective.

Now that you are aware of what you should know before you start a SEO article campaign, what is the next step? Here is a simple outline of the SEO article writing process:

Once you have chosen your topic of choice, you should do thorough keyword research to ensure you will be able to accomplish what you have started out to do. Make a list of a minimum of 15-20 main keywords. Then create another list of related keywords. This way you can use the first list as a tool to create your main pages and the related keywords to create your internal pages and SEO articles. This will give you the greatest chance of success.

Put the pedal to the metal and just write it. Don't waste countless hours trying to be perfect on the first draft. In fact, don't even worry about placing all of your SEO keywords as you write. Get your thoughts out and critique later. You will be much more effective and efficient this way. Additionally, don't worry about titling your SEO articles until you are finished writing. Many times what you intended to write about will change during the process.

Once you have completed writing your SEO article, do a good editing job and then strategically place your keywords throughout the article. Make sure however, to keep it logical and easy to read. There is nothing worse than reading an article that makes absolutely no sense. Your customers will remember the negative experiences if you give it to them, so don't!

SEO articles are one of the most effective marketing tools you have for your Internet business. Take the time to get it right the first time around. If you plan to hire SEO article writers, make sure they will write to your standards and get the process rolling!

If you are a Webmaster looking to break in on the benefits derived from link building then you are not alone. Thousands of webmasters just like you, each day, are attempting to establish a strong link building net for myriad reasons. Why? What is it about link building that has got webmasters scouring the Internet looking for a way to establish links with other, similar websites? The reasons and vast benefits of link building are described below:

More Traffic to Your Website:

First, the biggest benefit from link building is, of course, and increase in your website traffic. When you agree to post a reciprocal link for another website with a similar theme, you will find that both you and the other website benefit from the transaction. For instance, if visitors stop into the website you link with and are looking for websites with a similar theme, the reciprocal link provided by the website you are linking with can bring traffic into your website. Clearly, the more links you have with various websites the better as it gets your website out there and noticed. In fact, you will find that as long as other websites exist you can benefit from reciprocal linking and traffic will be directed to your site from the links you have established.

A Higher Search Engine Ranking for Your Website:

Search engines determine the popularity of your site based on a number of factors, including how many links are directed to your website. The more links pointing to your website on the web, the higher your search engine ranking is. Thus, it really pays to establish a link building system in which you can create reciprocal links to other websites that share commonalities with your website as, not only do you improve your website traffic, but you also improve your search engine ranking.

An Increase in the Informative Nature of Your Website

If you are creating a website that you want to be informative for viewers, then you will definitely want to add links to your site. Adding links to your site suggests your familiarity with the other websites on the Internet that address the same topics as you do. Plus, for those individuals that are interested in your website and dont know where to look for similar websites, you afford them the convenience of easily finding such sitesa convenience that the visitor is sure to remember.

Linking Increases the Credibility of Your Website

If you apply and successfully place reciprocal links to other websites, the credibility of your site immediately increases. Why? Due to the fact that other, reputable websites are linking to you, your sites credibility increases because visitors realize that other webmasters deem you a credible source on the Internet. Finally, credibility goes a long way in many Internet communitiespeople will begin to revere you as an expert and you will be able to reap the rewards afforded to you through your increased popularity and web traffic.

Establish Connections within the Internet Community

By engaging in Link building, you can increase the number of people you reach. Link building, in and of itself, is a form of free advertisingfor every link you establish; you establish the possibility of reaching a new web audience. In essence, the more people you reach, the more traffic you are able to draw to your website. Plus, while you are meeting new people with similar interests, you can become a serious member of the Internet community. Finally, in becoming a member of the Internet community, you will also increase your credibility.

Suggest an Affiliation with other Websites

Even if you are not affiliated with a website, if such websites decide to link to you, you have created the suggestion that you are affiliated with such sites. Visitors will find that credible websites have supplied links to your website and they will believe that you have some kind of affiliation with the site linking to youan illusion yes, but a powerful one indeedone that increases your credibility on the Internet, as well as your ability to be recognized.

Submitting a site to relevant directories can help you get that link building campaign underway. There is no time like the present to get your link campaign startedthe sooner you start establishing links from other sites, the sooner you can reap all the benefits from link building.

SEO is considered the most important aspect of getting a higher page rank even today after Googles page rank upgrade has been introduced. Most web site owners/administrators either hire SEO experts or do it themselves. SEO has become so common that it seems that everyone from a content writer to a graphic designer knows how to work on SEO and how it can affect the overall ranking of your web site on Google or secondary search engines.

The first and foremost thing that you should look at while hiring an SEO expert is how well they have ranked their own website. There are many web site owners out there who would agree that they have fallen into the trap of big SEO promises at least once. Every SEO firm promises your website a good ranking on Google but how many of them can truly keep the promise is a different story. There are many websites whose targeted phrases are not even ranked forget about the ranking of the entire website or a web page.

So the thumb rule is check their website ranking before you choose to fall for their promise of SEO. There are some SEO firms who are new or dont have their website yet. For such firms, you can always check their past records and if you get any good references from other website owners/their previous clients then that will hold its weight.

One of the other things you need to do especially in the light of the matter that SEO firms seems to be coming up everywhere is research. Do background research of the individual, the firm and their previous clients and SEO deliveries.

The Promise

If your web site is new, is in a high competition market or industry and if the SEO firm tells you that they can get your website top Google rankings within 60 days, then you should not sign up with the firm. This is simply because either they have no idea whatsoever of SEO or they are saying it to lure you. To avoid wastage of money and time and to avoid the frustration later on, you should avoid such a firm completely.

A straight-forward or top of the line SEO firm will always provide you with realistic expectations that can span over many months and even years depending on your market, the competition and scope. If you have a new web site that is competing in a market with moderate competition then a good ranking in 6 months is sound promise but the same time frame will not be possible in a high competition market.

SEO services

It is necessary that you ask your SEO firm what all will be included in the SEO package before you sign the deal. It is not necessary for you to receive a complete breakdown of each SEO activity but a broad understanding is essential. A SEO firm should ideally inform you about the areas of your website that will be changed to enable SEO and how they will carry on with the process of link building.

Most of the top level or good SEO firms will live their promises and provide ample proof of what they are saying and what they are planning to do. Some of the top level SEO firms even provide a guarantee although not all of them do it. Not providing a written guarantee doesnt mean that a particular SEO firm is not good. The reputation of a SEO firm in the market is in itself a huge guarantee. So if you are signing up with a top level firm with a reputation to back it then you can be rest assured that they will back up what ever they promise to deliver in the SEO package and within the mentioned time frame.

There are time when you might end up being on the wrong track since it is not always easy to determine if your SEO company is as good as it claims to be. There are some SEO firms who have had a great record but off late their performances have gone down. So if you are not aware of their recent client feedbacks and if you go by their past client feedbacks then you might end up being on the losing side of the deal.

SEO is an important aspect but to deal with it better, you need to first get an understanding of what it really is and how it can actually help your web site. When you are informed enough, you will be able to take the right decision.

If you are curious about a telemarketing merchant account, you can find useful information from most merchant account providers. Some do not wish to support this type of marketing platform, but other merchant account service providers are willing to do so. You will need to make initial queries to find banks and financial institutions that can help you with this marketing strategy and then apply for a merchant account to provide the needed funding or technology.

Phoning potential customers to discuss your companys benefits can be time-consuming, which is why a telemarketing merchant account can come in handy. You can find a service provider, apply for the card or account, and turn over your telemarketing projects to an outsourcing firm, whether offshore or onshore. You dont have to worry about finding and keeping the right kind of staff. Your merchant services account will help you put this important task in the hands of professionals who can handle it competently for you.

When your application for a telemarketing merchant account is approved, you can soon be equipped with the means to expand your client base and grow your business. You can let others manage your telemarketing efforts in a highly trained, professional manner that will help to put your companys name before those in the community who may be interested in your services. Skilled telemarketers can conduct phone surveys, promote your products, set up appointments, register new clients, offer information about upcoming sales or available discounts, and provide a host of additional services that can help to make your company a name that is recognized and respected in the community. Telemarketers can relay information to customers or complaints back to management. They can serve a variety of communication functions in a way that will save time and money if you had to do this work yourself.

If you are not familiar with a telemarketing merchant account, now is the time to learn more from those who are doing this work or benefiting from it. Visit several Websites that promote telemarketing skills and merchant account services. Take notes, jot down questions, and compare the information you find to the business plan you are developing for your company. How do the fees fit with the company budget? Is company information too sensitive to put into the hands of a paid telemarketer? Can you depend on a hired telemarketing firm to represent your company the way you want it to be viewed by outsiders? Chances are you can find a telemarketing company to do things just as you wish, but you may need to do a little shopping and price comparison first.

Its not easy running a business today and trying to find money to pay for all the things that need to be done. Advertising and promoting your company is an important duty, because people cannot shop for your products if they dont know you exist or if they have a bad impression of your operations. Find out how a merchant account can help you find the trained personnel you need who can support your companys development via a telemarketing merchant account.

What is all the uproar about SEO optimization about? It's such a hassle to mess with that stuff. You should just go over right now and set up a pay-per-click account and get visitors to your website today. Is there a problem
with that?

The problem you run into here is you throw hours away searching and finding just the right keywords, studying how to set up your ads just right, figuring out how much you can pay per click for your advertising to pay off in sales and many other small details.

After all this you hopefully are making a little headway and you are happy with the way your advertising is going. All seems well in your internet business world.

Then boom! Like a bolt of lightning your world is shattered.

Many online marketers actually lived this story in real life when their bread and butter ad campaigns were blown out of the water overnight.

Many people woke up one morning and found that their low cost keywords exploded up to 10 times the cost and more. Pay-per-click gurus were scrambling to pick up the pieces. Some had to go back to the drawing board to rework their strategies or even scrapping their business altogether.

Webmasters who used SEO optimization on their website,and built their ranking over time to be listed in the free section of search engines did not notice a difference at all that fateful morning.

If you will spend some quality time when making your site and then advertise your site with articles, submitting to directories, etc., it will pay off huge for you when people are searching for information you can supply.

What do you need to do for your first step?

Study information on what engines look for on a homepage and secondary pages. It is really not that difficult. Take for instance meta tags. They just tell a search engine information that actual people visiting will not see.

Such as keywords, the words engines use match to someone's search. If you put cat as a keyword you would not show up if someone searched exotic vacations.

Seems like a no brainer, huh? Well, you would be amazed at how many webmasters do not even do this, they try to put as many keywords as possible to try to cover so many bases that they get completely off target trying to trick the engines.

A lot of things you do actually after you build your site. Such as writing articles ( hmmmm....), and linking to other websites that are in the same category.

You would really be shocked at the amount of people that don't take the little more time to build a site right for searches.

I look at many sites on the internet and really just can't believe it.

What does this mean now?

So never, ever use pay-per-click. Just work on your SEO optimization techniques, right? When first constructing your website that is the way I go. After I start to get good ranking in searches and feel I have my good copy on my sales letter then I can afford to pay for other types of marketing strategies.

1. Reciprocal links! Yes they still hold value as the SEs are constantly and will continue to change their algorithms.

2. Place your links on directories, education sites (google love them), sites not relevant (small percentage), same business relevance sites and exact same topic sites (as many as possible)

3. Vary the pr of sites where your link is placed.

4. Make sure you have both one way and reciprocal links, not just one or the other.

5. Keep you linking campaigns constant. Add roughly the same amount of links each month to keep the SEs happy.

6. Linking is a slow laborious job unless you have many months/years of experience actually doing it. therefore always outsource.

7. Do not use popular linking services, most are a rip off by a long mile.

8. If using sites like elance.com, do not pick the cheapest price! The whole point of outsourcing is so you dont have to worry about quality and the job being done properly.

The main thing is finding someone that will do the job right, is reliable and will do it at a good price.

If they do a great job, look after them.

9. Stipulate down to the last letter what your linking campaign must and must not include.

I would have to say that the few linking campaigns I purchased were unsatisfactory. I then did a fair amount of research and asking around until I found a company I was very happy with.

My last campaign was

100″ reciprocal links, same business area, minimum pr of 2″

Results

* Nearly all sites in my business field
* Very few link type sites, mostly decent content sites
* 10% in the exact same business field
* Pr of pages where my link was placed. pr 2 = 57, pr 3 = 37, pr 4 = 9 plus an extra 10 links.
* All links are permanent

Cost = US$400

So if your thinking about linking, I highly suggest you outsource!

SEO in 10 easy Tips
Having your site top-ranked for a hot keyword can effectively improve your traffic and therefore your profits as well. All you need to do is to optimise your content and create many links of different quality. But if you don't have any money to start off, its hard but it can be done.
You may also have the money it takes for reaching a top position, but are unsure if your money will be well spent or not. It may cost you a whole lot more than you thought in the beginning.
Wether you have the money or not, considering a self made budget SEO is a wise thing to do, because it's both free and educating. After a while, you will gradually improve your technique and you will become an SEO expert. Once you're there, you will be able to perform as good as a paid SEO but saving the money it takes to hire one.
Here's 10 free ways to improve your rankings
1. Directory submissions - The most effective way in getting lots of back links fast. Grab a good directory list and submit your link in every single directory. Make sure that you get a few new back links everyday to ensure long term success. The best way to do that is by viewing all new directory announcements in Digital Points forum Solicitations & Announcements section.
2. Article Submissions - Almost every single article directory on the web is free. Article directories are a good compliment to ordinary directories because it will bring you more diversity in your back link structure. Write a good article with more than 500 words and include a back link to your site and submit it to all major article directories. Hope fully, if your article is good, some webmaster will pick it and put it on their own sites, so you're not only getting back links from the article directories themselves, you are also getting free back links from real sites, which is very valuable in search engines like Google.
3. Wikipedia.org - A good source to collect incoming links. Do you have any content that is related to any wikipedia article? In that case, you can edit the wikipedia article and input your link on the link page. Make sure that the content you are linking meets up with the standard, otherwise, your link will be removed as fast as it came up.
4. Onpage SEO - Onpage optimisation was the most important SEO technique available before 2001. Today, it does not have the same decisive factor that it once had. It is however still very useful to do some basic onpage SEO. Make sure that your targeted keywords are included in the title, the headline and the footer. Make sure that you always provide some fresh content on the pages that you specifically want to optimise. Provide it at least with an RSS feed. But most important, make sure that the onpage SEO does not overshadow the content and make your site look less useful.
5. PRWeb.com - Post a press release once you release your site. It will help you a little bit in the rankings, but most importantly, if your Press release is good, you will get some natural links generated by PRWebs users.
6. Myspace.com - Myspace has recently become one of the hottest sites on the internet. It has also became one of the most effective places to market your site. Just make a profile for your site there, then try to get as many friends as possible. Post links to your sites on other profiles, post bulletins of your site and if it's cool enough, you will get some natural back links in return.
7. Ask for back links - Send out nice original emails to other webmasters that have similar sites. Write some sentences about what you think of their site or anything related to the subject of their site. When you get the reply, answer them, tell them something more and then ask for a reciprocal or a one-way link.
8. Forums - Forums are not only a great place to discuss things but also a good resource for generating back links, feedback and traffic. Put a link in your signature. Make a post about your site or even better, make a post about something and then make a related link to your site. Note, go for inactive forums, they tend to give more weight than the active ones and your link will be displayed over a longer time.
9. Make sattelite sites - Put up a site with some content on e.g. geocities.com and include a back link to your site somewhere, then submit the sattelite site to somewhere around 100 directories so it will be indexed in Google, and you got a high quality back link.
10. Also, SEO is an area where there are lots of paid alternatives that may help you in getting a good ranking. Some of these are paid article submission, paid onpage optimisation, paid directory submission paid link exchanges and paid links. If you are good on doing directory submissions but bad on onpage SEO, you can charge for making directory submissions for others and then hire someone to do onpage SEO for you.
More Tips and other interesting articles with great onlinetips can be found here.visit our other resources and Get free gospel song lyrics!!
Todd Gamble is a staff writer for onlinetips.

Off-page search engine optimization
The optimization of your web content is extremely important in ensuring that your site ranks well in search engines but at the same time search engine algorithms also take off-page factors into account in order to determine the relevance and importance of a web page.
The off-page seo elements include:
Backlinks to your website
Page Rank of the Pages Linking to your site
Link Exchange which your website is doing
Anchor text of the links to your website
Relevancy of the links
Directories where your site is listed
Traffic which your site is getting
Bookmark
The most important off-page elements are backlinks and Link Exchange which are the links to your website page that need to be relevent for achieving the best results. The more links you have to your page with related keywords, the better will its ranking be on Search Engines. off-page seo are those elements that are on other websites and have an impact (good or bad) on your sites.
Backlinks:
These are also known as inbound links and are links to pages in a site from other websites. Search engine algorithms are known to use these incoming links as a kind of voting system to determine the importance and relevance of a website.

A website should not only have many backlinks, but the backlinks should also be of high quality. The quality is determined by their topical relevance to a website and the importance and quality of the site the backlinks originate from.

For example, a book website might have backlinks that come from book review sites, publishing house sites, the sites of writers, book cafes and so on. Such links would all be very closely related to the actual content of the book website and accordingly considered important by search engines. Some of these linking sites may be very popular and well respected which would further enhance the value of the links. If, on the other hand, links originated from sites that are completely unrelated to the book site (for example a site filled with nothing but advertising banners or affiliate links), the backlinks would not add to the importance or relevance of the book site.
Optimize Your Domain Name
Search engines do weigh the fact that a domain name has relevant keywords in it. The number of years your domain has, and will be, registered for also has an effect on search engine rankings. If you have an older domain name, it is generally concluded that the website is not spam and will probably be around for years to come. It may be a good idea to acquire a domain name that been around for a few years and also contains one of your keywords.

Page Rank

Search engines assign each web page a Page Rank based on the number and quality of inbound links you have pointing to your website. In order to get your number up youll have to get other websites to link to you.


Here are some tips to obtain the best quality back links:

One-way links are better than reciprocal links. Reciprocal links are being de-valued because it is not natural linking its an arrangement between the webmasters. It may be a good idea to buy some one-way links to your website.

Get links from pages with a high Page Rank because some of that will pass through to your site, increasing your own sites Page Rank.

Get links from sites in a related industry or geographical location.

Make sure your keywords are included in the link from other sites. If your keyword is included in the anchor text, Search Engines will assume that your site relates to that particular keyword.

The off-page factors for making a website rank well in the search engines are probably even more important than the on-page factors. This is because the off-page factors are like a representative opinion of the rest of the websites on the Internet.

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Need To Improve Your SEO Then You Should Use These SEO Tips To Raise Site Traffic


You've done it! You've created a website and an online business, so it's time to refine its SEO. You probably have tons of questions on how to start and what to do, but fear not, this article will help you. Here are some tips that will help you get started with your SEO aspirations.

Search engine optimization focuses around keywords or keyword phrases but not on multiple ones at once. If your site appears to have 100 keywords the search engine will not understand and it will not directly link to your site and will cause it to have fewer hits. Try to focus on just one keyword and make that the main focus of your overall website, this will cause better rankings for you in the end.

Linking to lists is very popular for website owners and bloggers and can help your search engine optimization. You can find a lot of articles on the internet that are written as a top 10 list or top 100 list of tips or small facts. If possible, present well- written articles with relevant content composed as lists with numbers, not bullets, such as "10 ways to buy a new car."

Make sure to put lots of keywords throughout your site. The title and the page headers are by far the two most important spots to put these tags. Make sure they are appropriate and fitting to the site, but use lots of descriptive words people might use when trying to find what you have available.

A great tip for search engine optimization is to find out which keywords produce the most hits and then implement these keywords into your domain name. Using this strategy is a great way to move up on the search engine lists as domain names do play a part when selecting the order.

Do not spread yourself too thin. Use a limited amount of keywords throughout your entire website. Some search engines recommend no more than twenty. If you do more than this, you may end up not getting the searches you want, because the search engine recognizes you are overdoing it. Keep it simple!

Create links that revert back to your own site. Links are viewed by search engine bots as well, and with more links on your page that go back to your own site, you will find higher SERP results and greater traffic directed to your website and the pages that you have set up.

Place your keyword phrase in your title tag. On your web page, the title tag is one of, if not, the most important tag. Getting your keyword phrase into the beginning of the title will get the phrase into the search engines. This will also place your keyword phrase as the link in the search engine's index.

Now you should be much more prepared when it comes to SEO. If you thought that you were ready before, now you should be an expert! The tips in this article, provided you with advice to help you get started with SEO of your website.

Can a Merchant Services Account really help your company to grow? Dozens of satisfied business owners claim it can, and they eagerly support this type of service for use with many kinds of companies and enterprises. Basically, a merchant account will allow you to collect credit card payments from your customers in a variety of ways. Youve probably heard all about these from other company owners in your area, but if not, here is a basic rundown of what to expect.

Getting approved for a Merchant Services Account means that your company will be able to accept credit card payments. You can collect these in several interesting ways, depending on the nature of your business and your clientele. If you operate a retail shop or a restaurant, for example, you can set up a credit card processor onsite in the checkout area to receive payments from your customers. On the other hand, if you deliver home-baked goodies to customers at lunchtime in their business offices, you can take along a wireless unit to collect payments while making the delivery. All transactions can be concluded at the point of purchase, leaving your time free to do more valuable things than collect back checks or send out monthly statements.

A Merchant Services Account can help you set up a digital credit card payment program. For example, you can arrange for customers to call a toll-free number, listen to a menu of choices before pressing the telephone keypad number that corresponds with their reason for calling, and shop for products that are described briefly on the phone in a pre-recorded message. If they purchase anything, they can pay for it promptly with a credit card by punching in the requisite account numbers. Your customers will love the ease with which they can call your company, shop without coming into the store, and make payments without the exact amount of cash.

Opening a Merchant Services Account also can equip you with additional technology, like a pager, a wireless phone, or a debit and e-check processor. You can reduce the amount of help you will need from employees by relying more on technology to help you run your business. One of the most expansive credit card payment options is to set up a Website that represents your companys business. You can promote the latest products or sales, list prices, include links to related sites, and let customers make purchases that they can pay with a credit card right at the site that operates in real time. Your lender will coordinate the payment-processing program so that the amount paid by your customer will be deposited directly in your companys bank account.

There is no need to keep on doing business the old fashioned way when you can easily upgrade to an e-commerce structure. Costs are manageable, and benefits are noticeable in short order. Ask your banker, a colleague, or an Internet Website for details about how you can apply for benefits that will help your company become all it can be with a Merchant Services Account.

Merchant account services are the services that allow you to accept credit cards as payments, both online and off, and help you handle the credit card transaction processing. Without merchant accounts, your customers would have to pay with cash or check- and believe it or not, most customers will spend more if they can swipe their card and worry about the bill later.

The Cost of Accepting Credit Cards

Merchant accounts can be costly. There are numerous providers of merchant accounts that are reputable and offer good value for their service- but there are even more providers of merchant accounts that charge excessive fees and have hidden expenses that you were not aware of when agreeing to use their service to accept credit cards online.

Fees range from per transaction fees (usually a percentage or a few cents on each card processed) to monthly or annual maintenance fees that can range from a few dollars to a few hundred dollars.

Online Businesses Need Merchant Accounts

Online merchant accounts are crucial to having a successful online business venture. Consider it from the eyes of a customer: if you were on a website, looking to buy a widget, would you want to take the time to mail a check or money order, or do you plan on making a purchase right then with your debit or credit card? Most people dont want to take the time to write and mail a check or money order for an online purchase- not having the ability to accept credit or debit cards will severely hurt your business as an online merchant.

As the merchant, credit and debit cards make your life easier, as well. You get your money much faster than waiting for a customer to write and mail a check or money order; and you dont have to wait for the payment to clear the bank before you can mail out their purchase. Credit card payments offer you payment within a day or two of the customer putting in the card details.

Deciding if a Merchant Account is Worth the Fees

So are the fees that are paid for merchant accounts worth the value the accounts provide your business? It all depends on the type of business you are operating and the volume of sales you process on a given month, as well as the merchant account provider you choose to go with. Merchant account providers are not a one-size-fits-all solution for every business, and you really need to do a little research before selecting a provider. Consider the per transaction fee, the application fee, monthly maintenance fee, set up fee, and any annual membership charges you must pay. Do you have to purchase or lease any special equipment? Is the software for processing online credit card payments included in the service, or is that an additional fee?

Once you have that information for a few different merchant account providers, you can determine what you believe your credit card sales will be each month. This may be difficult to do, but make your best estimate based on your current level of sales and the idea that people typically spend more with a credit card than they do with cash.

Determine what fees youll pay on your estimated amount of sales each month, and see if it makes sense to pay for a merchant account. As mentioned previously, if your plan is to operate an online business- you really need a way to accept credit card payments online in order to become successful.

An account at any financial institution that permits acceptance of credit cards and transfers the amount directly to the bank account of your choice is called a Merchant Account. Credit cards are accepted through PC processing software, credit card terminal, through telephone or Internet virtual terminal.

There are plenty of institutions that work with the software, Internet option or any terminal of your choice. Though this sounds easy there could be a few problems like processing companies that are below the standard, overcharges, frozen funds, middleman surcharges. The right choice of merchant services can eliminate these problems to a certain extent. Application gee will be charged for almost all Merchant accounts and in case there is no fee charged, probably the difference will be compensated with sale of equipment or software or charging for transactions.

The transaction process though a bit complicated, takes only a few seconds. For processing a credit card transaction through Internet, the customer chooses the products from a Merchants website and then checks out with the items. He then opts to pay through credit card. The browser connects to the hosts server and provides the payment form. The credit card information is entered by the customer on the payment form that is totally confidential, and gives authorization to the transaction process by clicking on complete order button. The information is transferred to the secure server of the host through SSL encryption. Now the secure host server connects to the processing bank of the Merchant through a third party like Secure Payment Gateway who connects the processing bank through landline. This can also be done directly because some processors have their own secure payment gateway and do not need the service of a third party.

The processor cross verifies the validity of the card and its network like Master Card or Visa and confirmation of the fund availability. In case the transaction is approved, the processor is given a code for authorization or the code is given to Secure Payment Gateway by the processor. The Payment Gateway then converts the authorization into an encryption and transmits to the Merchant web server that then completes the order, The web server of the Merchant sends a confirmation to the customers browser. The due amount is then transferred from the bank of cardholder to the processing bank of the Merchant. The Merchants bank can then transfer the money to the local bank of the merchant within the next three days.

As an online business owner and proprietor, you probably know how important it is to be able to offer your customers the ability to pay for your merchandise or services with a credit card. The ability to offer that service to them can significantly increase your revenue and your customer base. These days, shopping online has become a quick and convenient way to buy merchandise, and more and more consumers are turning to the Internet to make all kinds of purchases, from minor to major. And the vast majority of these shoppers prefer to pay for their goods with their credit cards. By opening an internet merchant account, you will be able to provide a convenient service to your customers that will keep them coming back to your business, while potentially exploding your profits.

Basically, a merchant account is set up through a bank or an online merchant account provider for a retail or online organization in order to accept credit cards as payment from customers. Traditionally, merchant accounts were only offered by banks and providers to retail businesses that were located in a physical location. With the huge success and increase in online shopping over the past several years, merchant account providers have turned that way in order to provide services to online merchants. Most banks still do not provide online merchant accounts, due to the constant concern over credit card fraud. However, there are an ever-growing number of online merchant account providers that offer services specifically to those business owners that market their products on the Internet. Because there are so many providers out there, it is important that you research all aspects of merchant accounts, especially the costs, so that your profits stay in your pocket. It is also important to find a provider that offers services to make being a business owner easier and less stressful.

There are several types of costs associated with opening and maintaining an online merchant account. Not all of the fees are necessary, and not all providers charge them. One type of cost is the application fee. This charge is to cover the costs of processing your application, whether you open an account or not. Some merchant account providers will waive the fee if you open an account. Some providers do not charge this fee at all. Another type of common fee is the statement fee. This is a monthly can be as much as $25 per month, and is purportedly imposed by the account provider to cover costs. The discount rate is a fee that the merchant account provider earns from each of your sales, usually between 2 and 4 percent. The fixed transaction fee is also based on each sale, but the provider takes the same amount no matter the cost of the product purchased, usually .20-.30. There is usually a termination fee included in the account contract. Because some providers require a commitment period of 2 or 3 years, this fee can apply if you choose to cancel your account before then. Finally, there are miscellaneous fees that are imposed on your account as well. Often, these separate fees are levied if a customer requests a refund, and wants the amount credited back to their card. This can be $10-20. As you can see, there are many costs associated with an online merchant account. It is important to compare different providers in order to save yourself the money you have worked so hard to make. It's not a bad idea to use your current sales information to estimate the costs of your merchant account.

A relationship with a merchant account provider should be a long, trustworthy one. Your provider should provide you with an assortment of services that will make running your business easier. They should be able to accommodate several types of credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, Discover, etc.), as well as provide several payment alternatives, such as the popular PayPal. Your online merchant account provider should have a record of good service and customer satisfaction, as well as a reliable reputation. They should also have a reputation of excellent customer service providers. They should be able to help you with problems quickly and efficiently. A merchant account provider is a necessity if you want to make the most of your business by accepting credit card payment from customers. Your merchant account provider can make or break your business with its fees and service. That is why it is important to know all of the aspects of a merchant account, and choose your provider wisely.

Anyone who is in business these days is probably considering the benefits of an Internet merchant account. After all, applying for a merchant account is fast, easy, and usually inexpensive, although some underwriters charge for the privilege of submitting an online application. A merchant account offers the means of accepting credit card payments from your customers, and this is a benefit that many entrepreneurs are finding to be increasingly valuable. Research shows that more and more consumers prefer to use a credit card when they go shopping, whether at the mall or online, so it makes sense for a business owner to provide this payment option in addition to cash, check, or debit methods of payment.

You can apply for an Internet merchant account from many banks and other financial institutions or professional lenders. But you really need to work with one that is scrupulous and affordable. Check the Better Business Bureau about any company for which you have little information. Even though you cannot get a clear-cut business rating from the BBB, you will be able to find out if there are complaints lodged against the company and how these were resolved. You might also want to ask for a reference or check the companys Website for testimonials, although you may want to check these out, as well. When you settle on a company to work with, apply for the merchant account by following the guidelines. As with a personal credit account, you will probably get an answer within a few days. If approved, you can get busy setting up your Internet site to accept customers credit card payments.

The way an Internet merchant account works is that it provides you with a gateway to channel credit card payments from your Website through a processing system to be deposited into your specified account. The underwriter will collect transaction or percentage fees for this service, and you should negotiate these before applying for the merchant account. Once the service is in place, however, you should not expect any new fees to be added, although again, you need to clarify this with your account provider. Make sure your Internet site remains functionally interactive, and that any broken links or inoperative services are immediately repaired. Customers who find out-of-date information at your site are unlikely to return, and they may tell others about their negative perceptions, costing you additional customers.

Your Internet merchant account can escalate your profits and reduce costs because your site can function without constant human supervision or interaction. Of course, it is important to have a customer service representative available to respond to consumer problems, and sometimes the underwriter provides this service. Generally, your Website can operate without much help from you except periodic monitoring to be sure everything is working as it should.

Talk with your banker, colleagues, or associates about the advantages of a merchant account. Make a business plan to see how this service might fit in with future growth. Then consider applying for your companys Internet merchant account.

Internet Based Merchant Account - Is It Similar To The Merchant Credit Card Account?


An Internet merchant account is one of the absolute essentials in accepting payment for online transactions. The most important thing to remember about an Internet merchant account is that it is separate from a regular merchant credit card account.

Dont make the mistake of assuming that this service is included in your Internet merchant account with a bank. It is a separate? But necessary? Service. The merchants think the fee is part of the bank fee, but these process is separate from the banks.

Accepting credit card payments through your web site actually requires multiple components. Between a paying customer and your bank account, three layers exist:

Payment Gateway - This is the code that will transmit a customers order to and from an Internet merchant account provider. The payment gateway provides you the ability to accept customer billing information (credit card number, credit card type, expiration date, and payment amount) and the necessary validation steps that must be followed before the credit card is actually billed.

Internet Merchant Account - A Merchant Account is an account with a financial institution or bank, which enables you to accept credit card payments from your clients. The payment gateway actually transmits the billing information to the Internet merchant account provider. Unfortunately, most local banks do not provide Internet merchant account capability.The main reason why most local financial institutions or banks do not want to provide online merchant accounts is because transactions conducted over the Internet are totally different from face to face transactions where a signature is required to authorize the purchase. This makes online transactions prone to credit card fraud. Fraud protection should be one of your primary considerations when choosing an Internet merchant account provider.

Web Site - Regardless of which merchant provider and gateway service you choose, your web site will need to integrate with your service providers. Most providers include detailed web integration instructions. The ability to accept credit cards is essential to site success.

But setting up a traditional merchant account with Master Card, Visa, Discover and other plastic payment methods is pricey. There are set up fees, maintenance fees, gateway fees, and a percentage of each sale goes to the merchant account provider. This is typically too much for the small site owner to absorb.

An instant merchant account can provide you with the means to expand your business almost instantaneously. You first have to get accepted, of course, but then the skys the limit when you begin implementing ways to expand your client base and enhance sales receipts. There are few other business ventures that can so quickly and effectively help to promote your business to the outside world, impress your customers, and facilitate sales and payments. Here is how this easy process can improve your revenues.

1. Apply for an instant merchant account online or in person. You can stop by a local bank or another lending agency to find out if a merchant account is offered and if so, under which terms you may be eligible for it. If your local bank cant provide this service at a price you can afford, your next step is to do an Internet search for companies that offer the merchant account at reasonable rates. Many provide free application services, along with a low transaction rate or a percentage rate of your customers credit payments that wont break you. Scan each Website that offers a merchant account to find out all you can before applying. There may be a bevy of fees attached in addition to an application fee. These might include fees for membership, setup, monthly gateway, and printed statements, as well as others that may seem obscure until you know to ask about them. Fill out the application online or at your bank and submit it as directed. Within a week or less you will know whether you have the account, and you can start conducting mercantile business if approved.

2. Your instant merchant account will provide the means for getting equipment necessary to accept your clients credit card payments. You can buy or rent a desk model terminal, with printer if desired, for sales at your shop or store. Or you can get a wireless model for sales at other locations, like those associated with product delivery or service calls. You can even get set up for digital credit card services that will let your customers call a toll-free telephone number, key in the product codes of items they wish to purchase, and then finish by paying with a credit card as they key in the account number and expiration date. Human intervention is unnecessary, unless you wish to provide a customer service representative during regular business hours on an as needed or on-call basis.

3. This instant merchant account will let you even set up a Website for your business that will include a credit card payment option. Your customers will be able to browse product descriptions with or without photos, price lists, service options, and links to related sites. After selecting items to purchase they can pay by credit card in real time so you dont have to follow up with collection services or wait forever to get paid.

Get ready to move your business fast forward into the electronic age when you see how easy it is to sign up for an instant merchant account.

If you are interesting in learning more about merchant services, you will need to know something about setup merchant account details. This may seem like the hardest part of getting a merchant account, especially if you are uninvolved with many e-commerce or technological business systems. Here are some details that can help to give you a better idea of merchant account setup.

For setup merchant account information, you will want to contact the merchant account provider that you are thinking of working with. This could be your local banker, the one that manages your companys regular accounts at present. Or it might be another lender with a better merchant account deal that includes lower terms or more useful services. When you select the underwriter for your merchant account, find out which fees will apply. Some merchant account providers seem to charge for a host of things, including the application, setup, gateway, membership, and maintenance, among others. After applying to your account provider of choice and being approved for merchant services, an account representative can work with you to set up merchant account details that will soon have your business equipped for credit card payments.

At that point you can ask more detailed questions about setup merchant account services. For example, if there is a service fee for setup, will you need to pay it first, will it be billed, or will it be deducted from your first months sales? Find out who will install the credit card processing software program and whether you must pay for it. Perhaps it will pay for itself in a few months, saving you this initial start-up cost. It is important to find out whether a customer services representative will be standing by to answer customers questions and deal with problems that may arise at the Website. Up-to-date contact or email information is essential to reassure customers they can get help when needed. You will need to know if you must find and pay someone for backup of this type or if the merchant services provider will handle this for you.

Your setup merchant account fees should be minimal, but make sure you find out ahead of time what to expect so there are no unpleasant surprises when you can least afford them. After all, you dont want to go to the trouble and expense of opening a merchant services account only to find that you cannot afford to provide the necessary components to make it operational and customer-friendly. If possible, get a list of services and their prices before signing the contract on your merchant account.

The timeframe for setup merchant account operations should not be excessive. Most underwriters can have your Website ready to start accepting credit card payments within a few days. When they do, you will probably ask yourself why you waited so long to apply for this helpful tool. You also may be interested in getting a wireless credit card processor for travel-related sales and a pager to maintain office-to-employee communications. An e-check processor may be the logical next step.

The commercial sky is the proverbial limit when you inquire about setup merchant account options.

An online merchant account is an account that is known as a Payment Gateway. It is not a very difficult task to open an online merchant account.

A payment gateway is a software that your web developer or engineer will have to incorporate into your web site.

This is software that may or may not include a shopping cart, a system that allows visitors to your online merchant site to browse through your products and add them to a virtual cart, much like a shopping cart at a super mall.

The visitor will ultimately keep or remove items from the cart and pay for the remaining items through the payment gateway.

A payment gateway may or may not be linked to your merchant bank account. This depends on the type of online merchant solution you have chosen. You may have had the software created especially for your site; in this case the software will naturally accept all credit cards and will be linked to the major credit card processing companies such as VISA or MasterCard.

The software will also be linked to your merchant bank account. Customers can use this software to pay for services and products using credit cards, debit cards and bank transfers.

When someone uses a card or online banking to make a payment the user is connected to the bank that issues the card and the money is transferred to the bank within a matter of days. Nevertheless, you may go ahead and complete the transaction by delivering the product to the customer as the payment will definitely come through.

Online merchant solutions are a way of taking your business to your customers instead of waiting for them to come to you. The online payment systems are an added advantage as anyone will like to have convenience at their fingertips.

If you have a website for your business, one of the most important techniques for making that website successful is something called search engine optimization. Search engine optimization is the process of making sure search engines choose your website first. Read on for some tips on how to optimize your website.

Article directories are one of the most popular and well designed outlets for search engine optimization and should be utilized early and often. Find the right directories to place your submissions and keep on a related topic that will drive in traffic. Build up backlinks via the site and people will begin to take notice.

One way to make your site more useful to your customers and more comprehensible to search engines is to use SEO or search engine optimization. SEO is an economical method to aid in getting your site more page views by constructing pages which rank highly in search engines. It can take days for you to see results with SEO, even if you request a search engine to web crawl through you site, so don't get discouraged when optimizing.

Perform search engine optimization, or SEO, on your website. SEO will help you make your site attractive to search engine "crawlers" that analyze your website. The more relevant to your keywords the crawlers find your site, the higher you'll rank in the search engines, which means you'll get more new visitors and new customers.

To optimize your website's search results, you need to come up with strong keywords. Not only do you want to use your website's main point in a lot of text on your website. Make sure you also use strong tags and submit your website to many different search engines. You will get visitors as well, if you constantly keep content updated and relevant to the subject of your website.

Google and other search engines do not compile results from YouTube. So if you are posting videos on your website, make sure you also submit and link them to other quality sites such as Metacafe, AOL, MSN, and Yahoo, etc. Search engine optimization is about getting your information out to as many sites as possible, that means using a variety of different sites to do this.

Keep your site fresh and current. Adding fresh content regularly will act as a signal to the search engines that your site is not of the millions of sites which have been abandoned and litters the Internet. It also creates return visits. Both of these will help your SEO.

Copy that has a good number of links in it ranks higher than unlinked text. A good number is very subjective, so you just have to use your common sense to figure out whether the number of links you have looks reasonable or not. I would say that a valid comparison would be Wikipedia and the number of anchor tags they have on a page.

As you know from the beginning of this article, search engine optimization is one of the number one things a website needs to be successful. Appearing early on search engines is a great way to bring in new customers for free. Apply these techniques to your website, and watch your traffic soar!

What can a low rate merchant account do for your business? Plenty! A merchant account provides you with the support your company needs to conduct e-commerce, which is the trend that more entrepreneurs are following these days. After getting approved for a merchant account, you can set up your business to accept credit card payments by a variety of means, including a desk-top terminal, a wireless unit, digital phone payments, and an Internet credit card option. Why wait and worry over a customers check that may bounce when you can get a real time processor for credit card payments that will help to keep your company solvent? Moreover, accepting credit card payments can actually help your company to grow, since more customers are choosing to pay with credit cards nowadays. In a few short months, you profits could multiply while your expenses decrease if you follow a prudent business plan for incorporating e-commerce options.

One of the most important keys to achieving long-term success with a low rate merchant account is to find an underwriter that charges reasonable fees. Some shysters will try and take advantage of a nave new business owner who doesnt know how to evaluate merchant account terms. A novice might be so excited at the prospect of getting a merchant account that he or she will accept any terms, failing to keep in mind that like a personal credit card account, a merchant account is based on terms that can vary. It is always best to shop around for affordable rates that provide quality terms and service. Carefully check all the listed fees, and ask the company representative about any others that are not listed, such as whether an annual membership fee will be required next year, or if there are service fees that will be implemented when the account is activated. If you dont get clear answers, steer away from that company and look for another with clear-cut information.

A low-rate merchant account may charge monthly fees as low as a few cents for each credit card transaction or a low overall percentage rate for the account services. Find out what the actual fees will be and if these can change over the course of the coming year. Mention that your company operates on a tight budget and that you wish to remain a responsible business manager by seeing that all bills are promptly paid. Therefore, you cannot afford to be surprised by unexpected or new charges later. Most ethical banks or lenders will respect your honesty and provide up front information to help you make a decision about whether to apply for a merchant account with them. They might even point you to another lender with better terms that will fit with your companys size, income, and goals.

When you decide to apply for a low rate merchant account, be sure that you can afford the monthly payments and that the services you receive in return will help your clients pay their bills on time. Otherwise, you are wasting your time and your profits on the questionable benefits of a low rate merchant account.

As more businesses move their trade onto the Internet, they are finding it necessary to conduct their affairs through the aid of an Internet based merchant account. This type of account is similar to a personal credit card, but it is issued to businesses as a means of letting them accept credit card payments that are underwritten by a responsible lender, like a bank or another financial agent. A business that does not already operate on the Web can increase visibility in the cyber marketplace and enhance sales by building a Website to promote the company and by accepting credit card payments at the site.

However, to be able to process credit card payments, a company will need the support of an Internet based merchant account. This special account provides the business with the financial and technical means of facilitating credit card payments from its customers at any point on the globe where they have a computer and Internet access. When applying for a merchant account, the company needs to be able to prove it has a solid credit history, the ability to pay for support services in a timely and responsible manner, and the non-involvement in distasteful or unethical services. The company owner should scrutinize available merchant account vendors to find the best terms for his or her business. For example, some account providers charge a variety of fees that can quickly add up. A small or new business owner, or someone who is working from a home based business, may not be able to afford all the fees that can be charged with a merchant account, such as an application fee, membership fee, setup fee, gateway fee, and others. It is a good idea to carefully check the terms associated by a particular merchant account provider before signing on for an account.

When approved for an Internet based merchant account, you can quickly set to work arranging your Website and preparing to accept customers credit payments. An initial step is to make sure the site is attractive and functional. Arrange it with the help of a Web designer, if needed, to be sure it will be easily located by search engines and to hold visitors interest when they arrive at your site. You can use colorful images, interesting surveys, free articles, and other information in addition to posting data about your products and services. Change some of the information periodically, perhaps every week or month, to make sure only timely facts are included, or customers will soon lose interest and move on to another site that is updated more frequently. You can offer occasional discounts or sales items to make it worth the customers time to shop at your site, and to check back often. Paying by credit card is another bonus for those who want to purchase items quickly without the hassle of using a third-party payment system or mailing a check.

Dont let the competition outdistance you in the rush to enter the electronic age of business. Get a head start by applying for your Internet based merchant account.

A card merchant account can put your business on the road to financial success. If your company is not yet accepting credit card payments, you are missing out on the powerful potential of this income stream. Many business owners who started taking credit card payments claim that their income has doubled while overhead costs have diminished. When you become eligible to receive credit card payments, you are likely to experience an increase in sales volume and chase fewer dud checks. To facilitate credit card payment, however, you will need to apply for a merchant account.

Start by finding a lender you can trust. This may be a bank you already work with, one that perhaps got your business started or helped it to grow to where it is today. If so, there is a good chance that the lender will continue working with you in this key operative. But if you do not have such a lender or if the one you do have does not seem eager or suitable for underwriting your merchant account, you will have to find another reputable bank, credit union, or other financial institution to facilitate this account.

Your card merchant account can make or break your company, so it is wise to spend time finding the best possible lender for this purpose. Dont just grab the first deal to come along. Take time to shop the many available offers and compare terms before making a decision. All too often a new or small business owner will be dazzled by the array of benefits that suddenly become available through a merchant services card. Then, after implementing this account, expenses mount while income remains stable or falls and the company can experience a shortfall. Approximately 80% of small companies close their doors within two years. Dont become a casualty of this predictor. If you are approved for a merchant account, use it according to your business plan or company budget. Avoid investing large amounts into questionable activities. Start small by purchasing or leasing a basic credit card processor for your physical location. Or get a wireless unit for deliveries or remote destinations. You dont have to spend thousands of dollars to get started. Go it one step at a time until you see how your customers respond and what your potential growth is shaping up to be. At that point you can always add more services, like an e-check processor or a pager, if you find they are truly needed for continued growth.

After getting approval for your card merchant account, you usually can start accepting credit payments immediately. Make sure you understand the terms of your account, which often boils down to a per-transaction rate of perhaps 20 to 25 cents. Or you may be able to opt for a low-interest monthly fee that may or may not impose certain minimums. In other words, you will be charged a baseline amount for up to perhaps 1,000 credit transactions. If your company does not get that many, you still have to pay the baseline fee, but you will not have to pay more, even if you get 2,000 or 3,000 credit card transactions, although this can vary from one lender to another. Check with local or online lenders for more details on applying for a card merchant account.

For a number of e-Businesses, discovering the best way to accept payments is a frustrating task. As the Internet is an instant medium, it is highly recommended that a ecommerce website must accept credit/debit cards and online checks as modes of payment. In order to accept credit card transactions, you require setting up a merchant account with a merchant bank. As soon as you set up a merchant account, an online processor can provide you with the software or gateway you need to transact.

Selecting a suitable merchant account is considered to be one of the most tough business decisions you make as their existence has almost doubled and are now into more than hundreds. At the time of choosing a merchant account, you should be aware of the cost involved in setting up the account. Refer to the list below and dont forget to ask about each of these items before agreeing to an account.

Application Fee
The application fee is compulsory so an agent or bank can "research" you as a potential customer. Few firms are more likely to repay this fee if your application is not accepted while others won't. It is always advisable not to pay an application fee that will not be refunded in case you are rejected.

Minimum Account Billing
This fee requires you to do a least amount of business with a merchant bank. A majority of banks require a monthly minimum of at least 25 dollars in transaction fees. Anything less than 35 dollars minimum is satisfactory.

Statement Fee
In case there is a considerable minimum-billing need, then there should be no statement fee. Still, a number of banks charge this to cover administrative costs. If you are assessed a statement fee, it shouldn't exceed 10 dollars per month.

Charge back Fee
In case a customer is not satisfied with their purchase, can't get a refund, or is just looking for something free, you may be faced with a charge back attempt. Under this, the bank will return customers fund and debit your account for the full amount. Always make sure to ask about your bank's charge back policy. Most banks tend to be more loyal to cardholders than merchants so protect yourself by preventing charge back fees.

Transaction Fee
This fee, which is usually about 2-3 percent of the purchase, is assessed on every transaction. If a product costs US$100, the bank would receive US$2-3 for their services. While rates are relative to the nature of your business, anticipated volume and your credit history, you should never pay more than 3 percent.

Setup Fee
This covers administrative work necessary to establish your account. In case you're charged an installation or programming fee, there shouldn't be a setup fee. There is a considerable amount of work completed to create merchant accounts, so fees of US$50-500 should be expected.

At the time of approaching banks or an intermediary about a merchant account, always keep in mind the following tips:

1. Read the terms, conditions and anticipated charges carefully. Don't sign anything until your questions are answered to your satisfaction. Take time to understand exactly what you are getting and how much you are paying to get it.

2. Do you require a reserve account? It shouldn't be, but if you are a start-up Internet business, have poor to marginal credit, anticipate low volumes or run a "risk" business, it may be required.

3. How long before funds are available to you? Ideally it should not take more than 72 hours from the time an order or transaction is processed.

Given below are some of the options available with whom you can setup your merchant account.

Paypal: With a free PayPal account one can accept credit cards on your website immediately
Click bank: It offers distribution of digital products and has an instant affiliate network promoting your business.

North American Bancard: It is a full service payment solution provider of Credit, Debit, EBT, Check Conversion and Guarantee, Checks by Phone & Net.

As a business owner, you want to succeed. You undoubtedly want to increase your sales and make more money. The best way to do this is to offer your customers the ability to pay for merchandise with their credit cards. Whether you operate your business in a physical location or online-only, allowing customers the option of credit card payment is logical. You will increase sales because of the convenience of the payment options you offer. The vast majority of shoppers, online and in person, prefer to pay with their credit cards. Opening a merchant account is the way to give your customers more payment options. But it is important that you find out as much as you can about merchant accounts and merchant account providers.

A merchant account is set up through a bank or an online merchant account provider for a retail or online organization in order to accept credit cards as payment from customers. A merchant account is not a bank account. The merchant account provider's job is to place the money you earn from credit card sales into your bank account. It used to be that merchant accounts were only offered by banks and providers to retail businesses that were located in a physical location. But with online shopping gaining popularity over the past several years, merchant account providers have started providing accounts to online business owners as well. Even though most banks still do not provide online merchant accounts due to the constant concern over credit card fraud, there are an increasing amount of online merchant account providers that offer services especially to those merchants that market their products online. Because of the high number of merchant account providers out there, it is important that you research all aspects of them, what services they provide, and especially the costs they impose, so that you don't lose precious profits.

When looking into merchant accounts and providers, be aware that there are two types pf payment processing that they will offer. These are manual and real-time processing. Manual processing requires that the credit card number be delivered through a phone transaction, fax transaction, or an online order form. The order is processed manually by contacting the payment processing company (through an Internet connection) to verify the credit card number, or by using a point of sale machine to swipe the card at the time of purchase. This type of processing is more secure, less costly, and ideal for a low-volume merchant in a physical store location. Real-time processing is perfect for web-based merchants because the credit card is immediately processed at the time an order is placed. Pending verification and approval of the credit card, the customer receives notification (via e-mail) that his or her order is accepted and fund transfer is approved. This is the less secure of the two processing options.

There are costs associated with opening and sustaining a merchant account. Not all of the fees are necessary, and not all merchant account providers will charge them. One type of cost is the application fee, which covers the costs of processing your application, whether you open an account or not. A number of merchant account providers will waive the fee if you decide to open an account. And some merchant account providers do not charge this fee at all. There is often an annual fee associated with a merchant account as well. Merchant account providers charge this fee simply for holding an account with them. Another common fee is the statement fee, a monthly fee that can be as much as $25 per month, and is supposedly imposed by the account providers in order to cover their own costs. Yet another fee is the discount rate, which the merchant account provider earns from each of your sales, usually between 2 and 4 percent. The fixed transaction fee, like the discount fee, is also based on each sale, but the provider takes the same amount regardless of the cost of the product purchased, usually .20-.30. Usually, buried in the fine print of your agreement with your provider is a termination fee. Because some providers require a lengthy commitment period more than 2 years, this fee applies if you cancel your account early. There are also various miscellaneous fees that are levied on your account. Often, these charges are withdrawn if a customer requests a refund, and wants the amount credited back to their card. There are many costs associated with an online merchant account, and it can cut into your profits. It is important that you evaluate different the merchant account providers you are interested in so that you save yourself money down the line. You can also use your current sales information to guesstimate the costs of your merchant account.

More than likely, you will have a long relationship with your merchant account provider. Therefore, you should have the utmost trust and confidence in them. Your provider should offer various services that will give you options in making your business transactions run smoothly. They should be able to accommodate several brands of credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express, etc.), in addition to providing other payment alternatives, such as PayPal. They should have a record of impeccable service and reliability. They should also be first-rate customer service providers. Any problems should be handled discreetly and quickly. Despite the seeming necessity of having a merchant account provider, it can make or break your business with its fees and service. That is why it is important to know the ins and outs of a merchant account provider, and to choose one carefully.