Make Money Online

Search Engine Optimization. Big words. Sounds Important. What is it? If you do a search in google for the web definition of search engine optimization, you get a lot of different results.

Some simply say that search engine optimization is the generic term for making sure your site is optimized to appear as one of the top ranking web sites on a search.

Others get more detailed with their definition and say search engine optimization is the term used to describe the marketing technique of preparing a web site to enhance its chances of being ranked in the top results of a search engine once a relevant search is undertaken.

A number of factors are important when optimizing a web site, including the content and structure of the web site’s copy and page layout, the HTML meta-tags and the submission process.

Is it important? That also depends on which definition you believe and who you ask that question to. If you ask someone who runs a business and charges for search engine optimization, they will tell you it is the most important thing you will ever do for your website.

At each SEO website, they will tell you they are the number 1 SEO company on the web, even though each of them has a completely different method of optimizing your website.

If you ask many self-appointed webmaster gurus in some of the webmaster forums, they will tell you the same thing, then each one will tell you a different way to do it and they will all disagree on the most important aspects of search engine optimization.

So the confusion continues for the average user and the SEO companies love it that way. If the consumer doesn’t understand what you are doing, you don’t really have to do very much and just say you are doing a lot. Most of them would never work on your website on a contingency payment plan, one based on actual results and performance. Some say money back guaranteed, but read the fine print.

A lot of these businesses are based on the fact that people who are new to the web and even some of those who have been online for awhile do not know what search engine optimization is. They know that with more and more people coming onto the web for the first time, their business is secure. They can continue to tell people that without their service the website will fail.

I’m not saying all search engine optimization companies are rip-offs. Some of them really do their best to get good rankings for their clients and know what they are doing. A lot of them still really believe that search engine optimization is the key to success on the web.

It isn’t. How’s that for a statement? I know a lot of web designers will disagree. I know a lot of SEO companies will disagree. But simply put, search engine optimization of your WebPages is not the most important thing you need to do to succeed on the web.

Let’s break down some of the things that are included in the phrase search engine optimization.

Metatags are one of the things these gurus tell you is important. Metatags are all but dead. Search engines, especially google, ignore metatags for the most part.

Having them in does not hurt you, but go do a search on any topic besides web design or search engine optimization, etc. and you’ll find that IF the websites at the top of the search results have metatags at all, they usually only have the description and keywords metatags.

Well they also have the title tag, which is sometimes referred to as a metatag, but it is actually the only metatag you need to have.

Keyword Optimization is something the gurus will tell you is very important. Some will tell you they know the exact percentage of text that should be your keywords. Yes, keywords are very important. Do they know what percentage the search engines will want to read for the best results? No.

When writing copy for your website, you must be conscious of the keywords you wish to promote. Don’t pick too many keywords and try to optimize each page of your website for twenty different things. If you do, it will not be relevant for any of them. That isn’t guru talk, that’s just plain old fashioned common sense.

Remember that search engines crawl web pages, not web sites. If you choose just one or two keywords per webpage that you wish that page to be optimized for, then you can optimize the page easily and write text the user will want to actually read.

Write your sales text the way you would with only the user in mind and with making sales in mind. Then go back and reread the page.

Find places where you can add in your keyword without destroying the flow you created when you wrote the text in the first place.

Now, do you need to hire an SEO company to do that? Do you know your product? Do you know how to sell your product? Then you need to write the text. If you do not wish to write the text, then hire a writer. You still don’t need a search engine optimization guru.

Some search engine optimization experts will tell you they can increase your link popularity. They use a variety of methods. They create websites where they put all of their clients website links so you will have links to your website. The search engines call these link farms and discount any value they may have had in the past.

Those methods, along with many others, are simply tricks that temporarily work. Alot of search engine optimization companies all keep up with the latest tricks and shortcuts. They may even get you some good results in the short-term. But what happens when the search engines catch onto the trick?

I’m glad you asked. They stop letting that trick or shortcut work. They may even penalize the websites that used it. They penalize you, the customer, not the search engine optimization guru who used the trick and charged you for it.

Whenever one of these companies tells you it has “inside information”, “ex-search engine company employees”, “guaranteed search engine placement”, guaranteed top 10 placement”, or “secret methods”, a red flag should go up in your mind right away.

If you start a business offline, like a restaurant or a store, you know that besides the money you will have to put up, you will also have to work to make it a success. It is no different when you start a business online. You have to work at it, if you want to be successful.

If search engine optimization is not the most important thing you can do to become successful, what is? Again, I’m glad you asked.

Promotion. Do not depend solely on being found by the search engines. Search engines are fickle creatures and what is today’s #1 can be tomorrow’s #100 just because they decided to change the way they give relevance to websites. Continually chasing this dream is a total waste of time.

There are other sources of traffic out there. Would you rather have 1000 hits from a search engine for one of your minor keywords or have 100 hits from someone who read an article you wrote and came to your website because they liked what you had
to say?

If you chose the thousand hits, you don’t get it yet. Out of that 1000 hits you might convert 2 of them into sales. Out of the 100, you may get as many as 20-25 people who want to buy from you. Conversion rate is more important than how many hits you get to your website.

Write articles about your website, about your products, about relevant topics to your products or services you wish to sell. Distribute or submit those articles to article submission websites that provide free content to webmasters.

You may write one article like the one I am writing now and have 100 webmasters want to use it as content for their website. That would mean there is suddenly 100 other websites on topics related to your product that now contain a link to your website. (see the footer below contains links to my website and is to be included when this article is reprinted.)

That increases your link popularity without the need for a company to optimize you. Just by submitting your article to several article submission websites, you increase your link popularity, but when those webmasters start to republish your articles, you will see a huge increase in your page rank and the quality of your traffic.

Some people write one article per month and others write one or more per day. It depends on you. How fast do you want your website to grow?

How much time do you have to invest? If you are not good at writing articles or do not have the time, hire a writer to ghost-write them for you with your byline and your links in
the footer.

So that we are clear. Search engine optimization is necessary, but by no means the most important thing you can do for your website to make it successful. I would not pay a lot of money for this service. Promoting your website IS the most important thing you can do. Articles are just one of the methods you can use to promote your website.

Advertising, buying links on relevant websites, posting in forums and blogs with related topics, putting your link in your signature line, are some of the other ways you can promote your website.

My Checklist:

1. Be conscious of the keywords you wish to target with each webpage you build. Write your text for the reader, then go back and add your keywords without destroying the flow of your text.

2. Make sure the website is easy to navigate and user-friendly. Don’t assume the customer knows the web site as well as you do. Make it simple. Make it easy to find the buy button!

3. Once the website is built, quit worrying about the newest search engine trick or optimization technique as some like to call it.

4. Search for blogs and forums with related topics and sign up for them and participate in discussions with your link in your signature line.

5. Write articles about related topics and submit them everywhere or buy a service like isnare.com that will do the submissions for you. If you cannot write the articles, hire someone to do it for you.

6. Don’t do link trades with websites that have less traffic than you do. Buy links on websites that have more traffic than you and are on a topic related to your products or services.

This article in no way claims to have listed all the ways you can use to promote your website. What I have done here is tried to explain to you what is or is not important to creating and maintaining a successful website. I hope this helps you.

Aussies and the world are logging on in record numbers, recent surveys conducted found that:

• Australians spent an average of $471 online in November (Nielson/NetRating)
• The number of Australian shoppers utilising the Internet has grown exponentially, almost doubling to 2.3 million in the past twelve months (news.com.au)
• 68% of Australians have a home Internet connection (Nielson/NetRating)
• Australians are spending 31 hrs a month online compared to just 10 hrs in 2003 (Nielson/NetRating)

Throughout the world consumer preferences are changing, online purchases are fast becoming the norm as potential customers are becoming computer savvy. Here are few more resounding global facts.

• 400 million passengers worldwide are now booking their flights over the internet (TheAge)
• The French spend nearly 50hrs a month online (Nielson/NetRating)
• Online consumers spent a whopping $22.3 billion in America 2005

With these kinds of figures we know that consumer loyalties are changing when it comes to purchasing goods. Consumer confidence is at all time high and we at thedeal would like to help you the consumer with your online purchasing.

We have put together a quick online shopping checklist which we hope will guide you safely through deciding which and where to purchase your products.

Online shopping checklist

1. Identifying info—do you know who you’re dealing with?
Has the website provided contact information, such as the physical address of the business, phone and fax numbers and, in the case of Australian businesses, an Australian Business Number (ABN)? This is important if something goes wrong, for example, if your package doesn’t arrive or your credit card is charged incorrectly.

2. Description of product—do you know what you’re buying?
Make sure the goods or services you are buying have been clearly described and they suit your need. Confirm this with the business (e.g. by email or phone).

3. Cost and currency—do you know how much you’re paying?
It is important that you know the final cost, especially if the business is going to charge your credit card. Clarify that delivery and handling costs have been included and check there are no ongoing fees.

Check if there any applicable taxes or import duties.

You should also clarify the currency—even an Australian company might list prices in US dollars.

4. Confirm the order—do you know if your order is correct?
Once you know the final cost it is useful to get confirmation of your order before agreeing to pay.

5. Applicable law—do you know which country&s laws will apply to the transaction?
This is particularly important if you are doing business with a website based in another country.

6. Privacy—do you know how any personal information you submit will be treated?
Many websites have privacy policies stating how they will deal with personal information. It’s important that you read these policies as your name could end up on mailing lists that receive unsolicited email from online marketers. In many countries, including Australia, there is now privacy legislation.

7. Payment mechanism—do you know what sort of online security the website has for processing your payment?
You need to satisfy yourself that any online payment by credit card is secure. Many online payment systems use secure sockets layer (SSL). The site should tell you that you are entering a secure online environment before you start to provide your credit card details. Usually an unbroken key or lock will appear in the bottom of your browser window to indicate you are sending information via a secure connection, or the web address will begin with https//:

8. Print out details—do you have printed copies of the terms of your agreement?
Make sure you print out any form you have filled in and keep copies of any email correspondence. It’s a good idea to print out pages from the website as a record of the offer you have accepted. This is important if the business denies having made promises to you. Remember, websites change regularly, and even disappear completely. You want to be able to prove the terms of your contract with the business.

9. Delivery—do you know how long it will take for the product to get to you and who to call if it doesn’t arrive?
You should clarify an expected delivery date so that you know when to start chasing it up if it hasn’t arrived.

10. Terms and conditions—do you know all the terms and conditions?
These will give you details of how the company deals with its customers. They need to be read carefully in case there are things you were unaware of, for instance, what happens if the chosen product is unavailable.

11. Refunds and warranties—do you know the business&s return, exchange, refund and warranty policies?
If you can’t find any policies on the website, contact the business via email or telephone and ask them to explain their procedures.

Australian businesses are bound by the Trade Practices Act and/or fair trading legislation. This means businesses have to replace a product or refund your money if that product is not of merchantable quality, or fit for any purpose that you’ve made known to the supplier. Goods must also match any description given by the trader (this could include matching a photograph of the goods).

For services, they should be rendered with due care and skill and be reasonably fit to achieve the purpose specified.

Remember that goods bought at auction are not covered by statutory warranty rights other than those relating to clear title, quiet possession and owning the goods outright.

12. Complaint handling and dispute resolution—will you have access to a complaints handling process or any external dispute resolution mechanisms?
Are you satisfied that, if you aren&t happy with some part of the purchase, the business will attempt to resolve any complaint you make in a fair and open manner? Many businesses have policies about internal complaint handling and external dispute resolution when that they can’t address any complaint you make directly to them—it’s worth checking this out before you make your purchase.

http://www.thedeal.net.au – Online Shopping Australia

With the advance of information technology in our lives and revolution of internet has changed conventional competition and marketing completely. Now product has to be marketed on internet equally forcefully to compete and remain in the market. Nearly all kind of products are ordered online and it is made sure that all transactions are secure.

Basically Internet is collection of websites. There are billions of websites and increasing the toll every second. So daily internet surfer cannot remember addresses of all websites. They can bookmark some websites but most of the time they have to search for new products, topics, and new happenings. And they go to search engines to check the relevant websites. As competition is already severe in all niches. Thus webmasters have to work hard to remain competent and relevant in the eyes of major search engines like Google to bring visitors and new customers for their niche keywords and to remain at top in their niche.

In this situation webmasters and internet marketers have to know the exact competition for their niche keywords and need to be aware of competition level and required work and search engine optimization necessary. As they know importance of search engine optimization to bring their site at competent place for their niche keywords so they need technical information about their competitor web pages. They need information of their competitor web pages like number of back links of domain (BLD), page rank of domain (PRD), back link to web page (BLP), page rank of web page (PRP) and most importantly information about all in anchor, title and text rank of their competitor web pages in Google.

Currently webmasters and internet marketers have to struggle a lot to determine competition for their niche keywords but a website Niche Watch has made their work very easy by providing free Keyword Competiton Checker Tool. Now webmasters and marketers have to enter their niche keyword and the tool provided by this website gives all technical information required to assess competition level for their niche keyword at one place in very comprehensive format.

Advertising and marketing has become one of the largest and most profitable careers around. Successful advertising gurus can command huge wages by working in the creative industry. Few people would choose to argue with earning money by the bucketful doing something as simple and enjoyable as creating advertising campaigns.

The invention of the Internet has blown apart the traditions and boundaries of many of the industries and business sectors, which have become established in the real world. One of these is that of advertising, the online market is vastly different to that of the standard tried and tested methods. In itself the advertising industry has been revolutionised and brought into the technological age. One of the products of this marketing revolution is the affiliate program.

The affiliate-marketing program runs along the same fundamental principles as that of the standard media marketing. However it does have some vastly different attributes to make it almost completely unique from the traditional associations of marketing. Apart from the obvious difference that it is an online campaign, affiliate marketing is a system based around commission and diversity.

The first major difference is the way in which advertisers are paid. Rather than forking out for a huge advertising campaign from the outset, the host website only pays an affiliate as and when they produce a new customer for them. This not only provides the website with a cost free outlay but also gives the affiliate the necessary incentive to go out and find new customers for the site. Without customers the affiliate doesn’t get paid, so it stands to reason that most are going to be working hard to secure valuable custom.

The second main difference is the way in which the advertising campaign is mounted. Rather than running campaigns through an advertising agency and standard media such as television, billboard and event sponsorship, it is done through a network of websites. These subsidiary websites agree to host the banners and other advertising materials, in exchange for their commission. This form of free advertising means that a company can easily spread it’s advertising to an unlimited number of people from countries all over the world, through it’s sheer variety and breadth of websites.

Most successful industries utilise affiliate marketing, often in line with traditional forms of advertising. Competitive markets such as that of online sports betting have used the affiliate marketing program to generate exceptional growth in businesses throughout the sector. Offering their clients a percentage of the money generated by a player throughout their lifetime on the site gives the affiliate a huge potential to earn significant money in the sports betting industry. Not only has the sports betting industry taken off as a result of it’s affiliate program, but so has that of it’s subsidiary marketing partner. The sports betting affiliate industry is one of the most popular and profitable for affiliates everywhere. The growth in the advertising sector has helped, both the sports betting and affiliate industries develop into successful bi-products of each other.

Internet affiliate marketing is one of the most efficient, most inexpensive and fastest methods to promote merchandise. With millions of folks acquiring access to the Internet day-after-day, there is a large opportunity for a merchant to present his merchandises and services to a broader market, thereby, increasing his profit.

As well, affiliate marketing is an fantabulous way to generate full-time revenue as a home-based affiliate marketer. For somebody who&s tired of going through with a laborious eight-hour work ordinary, affiliate marketing offers up a capital opportunity to earn big without exhausting himself dead—physically, mentally and emotionally.

In affiliate marketing, both companies are profited because as the merchant earns by each item sold, the marketer also takes in a commission.

If you’re curious in affiliate marketing only are finding out them hard to search affiliate programs, affiliates or merchants, you will be able to begin by checking out sites of several affiliate networks. Numerous affiliate programs on the Internet are being extended by an affiliate program network, which acts for a link between the merchants and single affiliates.

Among the most popular is LinkShare, it is through with it that merchants and affiliates meet. LinkShare maintains and manages affiliate marketing programs for a great number of merchants with various kinds of businesses, products and services. It as well has over 6,000 affiliate site members in its network. It acquires profits from the set-up fees, monthly account maintenance fees and commissions.

Joining networks like LinkShare can be of great assistance in building your online marketing business. Whether you’re a merchant or an affiliate marketer, you want to research considerably on your partners in order to decide the most beneficial for you.

LinkShare allows for the facility of acquiring access to a large network of advertisers (merchants) who offer their affiliate programs to publishers (affiliates) who are willing to promote their merchandises. In the equal fashion, it gives the merchants access to a large network of affiliates who are seeking for affiliate marketing opportunities.

LinkShare is particularly beneficial for an affiliate in deciding his partners because he can find his options all in one location. It would be more well-off for him to compare products, commission rates and other benefits given by the merchant. The merchant typically just waits for concerned affiliates to sign on in his affiliate marketing program but being in the network gains his chance to advertise his products to a greater market, therefore, increasing his potential to acquire large earnings.

To help you decide whether to use large affiliate networks such as LinkShare or not, let us try to look deeper into its positive and negative sides. The primary advantage of LinkShare to you as an affiliate is convenience.

As earlier mentioned, you find different pieces of information about your choices simultaneously all in a single location, so you save time and effort looking for affiliate programs or merchants.

It’s also easier to track your business partner’s performance through monthly reports and statements, as well as its sales and commission rates, so you know whether the affiliate program is still worth continuing. If you have signed up for several affiliate programs, you can check all your statistics for each merchandiser you are affiliated with by logging in just once.

LinkShare helps you manage and maintain all records of your visitors’ click-throughs and sales transaction. It takes care of your commissions and gives it to you monthly in lump sum. Especially when you have more than one merchant partner, it would be easier for you to manage your accounts and track your earnings when you are affiliated through a marketing program network.
Furthermore, every information you get is accurate and secured, so you are protected from all the risk you might encounter. Above all, you can enjoy LinkShare’s benefits for free. You just have to go to their site and register your website. Instantly, you get access to a great variety of affiliate programs available for you.

So, what’s on the negative side? Although, it is indeed helpful to join affiliate marketing networks such as LinkShare, there are some disadvantages, too.

For one, merchants offer lower commissions to affiliates who partner with them through the third party program network. This because they still have to pay for the use of service and the technology provided by LinkShare.

Direct partnership with the merchant cuts costs of advertising through the network and so the affiliate has bigger potential to earn more. Moreover, it is possible that your payment may be delayed for a month or more since program networks would pay you only after the advertiser or the merchant has paid them.

Do you require to use LinkShare or other networks? It depends, really. You&ll be able to opt for direct partnership with the merchant, but these selection is not practical all the time. There are a deal of merchandisers who provide their affiliate program only through affiliate program networks and so, you have no alternative other than joining the network to get into the affiliate marketing program.

So you’re confronted with “accept it or leave it” position. But LinkShare and additional program networks are not that negative. Subsequently , whether you join it or not, earning big would depend more on your promotional strategies and persistency.

With consumers purchasing billions of dollars of merchandise online each and every year, the Internet has become the key to financial security. The
e-commerce business has consistently thrived well above all other online enterprises, and continues to flourish. Because of this encouraging surge in activity, many individuals are now interested in becoming e-commerce merchants. To profit from your online business, you must first produce a unique website that will intrigue visitors and interest them in your items.

In reality, the e-commerce business is not much different than your average offline retail venture. Both vendors have products that he aims to sell, and each retailer must discover the appropriate avenue to market these items. Online shoppers crave the same things that traditional shoppers demand: a pleasant shopping experience, in-stock merchandise, and a courteous vendor. If you seek to please the customer, your e-commerce business shall prosper.

Almost every e-commerce website that is currently profiting has a clean, crisp layout, and effortless navigation. It is essential for you to have several categories featuring your products that are easy to browse. Clear, detailed images should also be readily available. Customers should have the opportunity to examine your products and compare them with others.

An ideal e-commerce store will have many WebPages. These pages will be organized into various categories, with searchable properties, and will use thumbnail pictures for faster loading time. Each picture should also have a detailed description of the product. The easier the site is to access, the more likely it is the visitor will purchase a product.

Website security has become a major issue in cyberspace. It is up to you as an e-commerce vendor to make each one of your customers feel at ease shopping at your online store. It is crucial for you to have Secure Socket Layering (SSL) on your online payment pages, so you have the capacity to handle encrypted transactions, such as credit card processing. Outwardly demonstrating to your customers that your website is secure will make them more comfortable shopping with you.

Customer service information should be an eminent characteristic on your
e-commerce website. It is essential that you have a Contact Us link on your site&s menu, and on every page of your website. This link should be directed to another page, which lists an e-mail address, phone number, and mailing address. Customers need to feel that they can contact you at any time if they have any questions or problems. It is also wise to have a Frequently Asked Questions section to your site, which provides answers to common queries.

With the e-commerce business leading the way in the web of money-making ventures, many are racing to join the masses. While building and eventually increasing sales to your e-commerce site may not come easily at first, in time, the rewards will be plentiful.

Dr. J. Elisha Burke
Copyright 2005 Burke Publications All Rights Reserved

Billions of people love to shop online – and why not? It’s convenient, safe and usually cheaper.

1. It Saves Money:
One can easily save up to 50% of money by shopping at online websites as they sell items at a discounted price compared to physical stores. Further, there are too many online websites offering same range of products and the competition amongst them usually benefits customer.

2. It Saves Your Time.
If you are a busy person and have little time for shopping, then online shopping is the best for you. Also, with online price comparison websites like Google product search (Froogle), Abebooks, E-bay et cetera, it has become very easy to compare prices offered by different shops.

3. It Saves Cost of Gas:
Online shopping also saves the sky rocketing cost of Gas. The cost in gas alone would cover most shipping costs.

4. Your Money is Safe:
Most of the online e commerce websites offer Google Checkout and Paypal as payment method. These are the most secure payment methods and it guarantees that your money is safe and that you will get the item you purchase. So, you can purchase items from less established e-commerce websites without any fear.

5. Ideal for Sending Gifts:
Online webstores do ship orders directly to the recipient of a gift and hence saving your time, postage and gas cost. Some websites also offer the service to send anonymous gifts so that the recipient just keeps guessing about the sender of gift! Some websites also offer the option of getting items gift wrapped for small amount of extra money.

6. You can Pre-order Items:
Items with high demand like Harry Potter series, go out of stock very quickly after they are released. Pre-ordering such items is another feature that most of the online stores offer. This way you can reserve a copy for yourself without being worried about the release date.

7. Items can be Returned
Mostly, all e-commerce websites offer the facility of returning items if found to be defective or in-compatible. However, these websites usually put a time limit by which items must be returned in order to get full refund. Hence it is advised that you read the returns policy of a website before purchasing the item and if the item received is defective, the matter should be brought to the notice of seller website immediately.

8. Gift Certificates
Online shops are the most appropriate place to buy gift certificates as these websites ship them to gift recipient for free and the recipient can but an item of their choice.

9. No Need to Carry Shopping Bags

With online shopping, you do not need to carry shopping bags and moving around from one shop to another and waiting in lines. Just order it online and the item will be delivered right at your door steps.

10. Rebates and Loyalty Bonuses

These days many websites are offering Loyalty Bonuses and Rebates to the loyal customers who keep coming back with their business. This adds to the savings you can make by shopping online.

All these points show the importance of online shopping, however, there are thousands and thousands of online e-commerce websites but only few are quality websites that offer huge discounts without compromising with the quality of service. Selecting right website is another important factor of online shopping and I will discuss about it in my next article.

Everyone is talking about online shopping. It’s easy and a lot less hassle than a trip to the mall. It puts unbelievable choice right at your fingertips. Despite the advantages, there are certain things you do and don’t do when it comes to your money and your safety. Street smarts are the rule online and off when it comes to safe shopping. Online that goes double.

Online shoppers, just like those in the physical world, know to be aware of the neighborhood where they are shopping. They know the reputations of the places where they do business. They watch their wallets, and they know to be aware of who might be scrutinizing them just a little too closely.

Do a little research. Anyone can build a website. If you encounter an unfamiliar company where you want to shop, find out who they are. Look for an address. Be wary of any company that does not list one. An address is no guarantee, but you can use it to check references with the Better Business Bureau, BBB. Their online site at http://bbb.org/ has nationwide listings.

Sometimes you may want more information than the BBB provides. In this case, after the BBB check, use your favorite search engine and try an “about search.” The difference in an “about search,” and just looking for the site, is that you already know where the site is; now you want to find out what people are saying about it. Generally, just putting “about” in front of the company name will get you started.

For a very small purchase, you might want to dispense with all this investigating. But do use a low limit credit card. That way if anything does go awry, it isn’t that far awry. Yes, we all know about the $50 liability limit, but the low limit card can be a hassle saver online.

You may choose not to use a debit card online at all. Many debit cards do not offer the same protections against fraud as credit card companies. You could be putting your whole bank account at risk.

While you are at it, be sure to check out the return policy and guarantee. Online and off, most good companies do accept returns, either by providing a cash refund or product exchange. Note, however, shipping costs are typically not refunded for online purchases.

Online Security:

After you’ve found exactly what you have been looking for, checked out the seller, and their return policy; the next thing you need to do is make sure the site is secure. Secure means your personal information is encrypted in transit to the seller’s server. This prevents unauthorized (hacker) access and possible misuse of your credit information.

Examine the URL in the address bar. If the site is encrypted you will see an “s” directly after the http – like https://… The whole site will not be encrypted, but the order page for the transaction should be.

Other things to look for – depending on your browser, you may see either an open or a closed padlock, or a whole or broken key. If the key is broken or the lock open, you should assume that the site is not encrypted.

Sometimes security issues get tricky. Suppose you personally know the owner, it is a solid local business, but there is no encryption system in place and they expect you to transmit your credit information online. With small businesses, this is most often a case of not knowing better, that does not, however, mean that you do not. In cases like this, look for a phone number and call in your order. If there is no phone number and no mailing address, you should seriously consider whether you want to risk an unsecured transaction.

Common sense is the rule online and off. Guard your personal information, including Social Security Number, bank account information and passwords. No reputable merchant has a need for your Social Security Number and it is not standard policy to ask for it when you buy your groceries for instance. Requiring this for a routine purchase should send up a red flag. You should immediately take your business elsewhere. Some will do whatever they can think of, in all kinds of official looking ways, to get you to provide private personal information. If you call, they may personally assure you that they do indeed need your bank account and password to sell you that CD. No way, just because it looks good, and they sound sincere, doesn’t mean that it is or they are, and you may not know there was ever a problem until you see your credit report.

The last big rule is to keep copies of everything. Print out the pages with the description and prices of items you order. Print out your credit card receipt. Most companies will email you a copy as well. Keep that too, and make sure it matches your online information.

And remember, online and off, if it looks too good to be true, it probably is. Don’t let the heat of the offer lull you into abandoning your good common sense. Of course, you could miss the deal of a lifetime, and that is exactly what the unscrupulous want you to think. Likely as not, online and off – if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Shopping the net is destined to change the way we do business, but it is still a new frontier, with many of the uncertainties that go with it. The only way to really be secure online is to develop your street smarts and sometimes, that may not be enough. It will certainly level the field though, and by keeping your cyber smarts well honed, you should be able to safely shop the net.

Copyright 2005 Regina Pickett Garson

If you are hesitating to read this article, you may surely miss some important information about domain name registration.
Several articles on this subject could be found on the net but the advantage of this write-up is that it’s simple and easy to understand. This article provides you with great info on domain name registration.

What is a domain name anyway?

Domain names are the familiar web addresses (i.e. somename.com) that web browsers use to locate a particular website. Domain names, in fact, are pointers to a particular IP (Internet Protocol) address (it is an address servers use to locate each other) and we use them for a simple reason. They are more descriptive and easier to remember than an IP addresses which are presented in just a bunch of numbers (i.e. 125.416.28.7)

The Registration process

If you want to purchase a domain name, first you need to find a registrar who will process the domain name registration.
Currently there are hundreds of registrars you can use. To see the full list of accredited domain name registrars visit the InterNIC website (www.internic.com/regist.html). When you go to a website of the registrar you selected you can use their domain name search tool to verify that the domain name you plan on buying has not been taken yet. If it is available you can proceed with the registration.

Now as you go ahead with the registration you have about 3 more steps to complete the purchase. The domain name registration process may slightly differ from registrar to registrar but the next 3 steps should be pretty much the same for most of them.

1. Decide how many years you want to register your domain name for?
2. Choose Public or Private registration?
3. Enter domain name contact information

Now let me go through the steps listed above in more detail.

1. When you are registering your domain name you can choose the time period of the ownership which is usually from 1 year to up to 10 years (of course you can extend it just before the domain is about to expire so you don’t loose it). Some registrars may even require minimum of 2 or more years for selected domain names.
So how many years should you register the domain name for? Well, it depends on what you are going to use the domain for. If it is for your business and you intend to be in business for at least the next five years, I would register it for five or more years. If you are not sure about the future of your website 1 or 2 years should be fine and then you can just extend the registration if your website is doing fine. Nowadays many registrars give you the option of having your domain name renewed automatically so you don’t have to worry about it. Using this option will allow you to avoid loosing your domain name just because you forgot to renew it.

2. Choosing public or private registration is another step you will go through, however, some domain registrars may not offer this option. Public registration is the one where you use your personal information in the domain name contact. This type of registering is more convenient but also less secure than the private one simply because your detailed contact is widely and easily accessible including your address, phone numbers and email address which would make you an easy target for email spammers and fraud.
Private registration is on the other hand giving you the security but at the same time it could cost you some extra money over some period of time. The way it works is basically that your registrar is registering your domain name on your behalf. So you are not directly the owner but you have the right to use it. In this case the domain name has the contact information of your registrar rather then yours. Any mail received to the address listed under your domain will be forwarded to you and here is where the extra expense comes in since most of the registrars will charge you extra for this service. If you are choosing private registration I would definitely recommend to closely read the service agreement before you proceed with the registration. You may save yourself some headaches.

3. The last step is fairly simple. If you have chosen private domain name registration you don’t have to worry about this step. In case of public registration all you need to do is to enter your detailed contact information. The ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) records 4 types of contacts for each domain name. 1.Owner’s contact 2.Administrator’s contact 3.Tech person’s contact 4.Billing person’s contact. You can just have the same contact information for all four unless you have other people managing different aspects of your domain name.

That’s all. Now you can just complete the checkout process. It may take up to 48 hours for the domain name registration to be finalized. Once the registration is complete you’ve got yourself a domain name. Of course there’s more than just a domain name registration you need to do in order to get your website online using the domain name you’ve just purchased. You need to build your site, find a web host, and publish your site to your web host’s servers but those topics are beyond the scope of this article.

Now that you have read this article, we hope that all your doubts regarding domain name registration must have been resolved.

Let me ask you a quick question. . .

How many times have you banged your fists into the table and shaken your head in disbelief because trying to get onto the Internet seems so frustrating?

If you have, it can feel like the world’s passing you by.

Your friends are &online&, your family&s &online&, heck even 5 year olds seem to have it mastered – and you – well you’re still trying to figure out how the whole thing just goes together.

Do any of these all too common problems drive you nuts:

Can’t connect to your ISP (Or Your Not Even Sure What That Is)
The modem won’t work (No matter what you try you just can’t get online)
You can’t send emails
You can’t receive emails
You’re worried about online viruses
And you’re to scared to buy online because of credit card fraud!

If that sounds like your experience with the Internet so far, or it sounds like the problems someone you know has and you want to help them then you’re in luck!

If you don’t know your ISP from your elbow, have no idea what the heck a &POP& server is and don’t want to to fuss over a &Firewall& . . . . but you simply want to get on with it and connect to the world-wide-web then our brand new video set called &The Internet Made Easy& is for you!

Why Video?

Quite simply, we’ve found it’s the fastest and easiest way for people to learn.

Video training is the closet thing you can have to expert one on one tuition (without the expense) and you can learn at your own pace.

Imagine, saving time by doing the weekly shopping online and the great things you could do with the hours you’ll save. . . Picking up a great bargain or deal on a new holiday or automobile that makes you the envy of your friends . . . Having access to all the information you need from health issues and sports results through to local events and global news . . . Whatever you need, it’s all online waiting for you.

Seriously… who wants to struggle with &How To& books that have been thrown together by rocket scientists for other rocket scientists to read – Or worse still, waste hours on premium rate telephone &Help Lines& where the person you speak to is probably on the other side of the world and seems to have less idea than you.

The answer is right in front of you . . . It’s simple, insert the disk into your PC choose from the menu which area you need help with and spend ten minutes listening and watching to exactly how it’s done.

In a less than an hour all your online problems can be solved.

Just take a look at some of the topics we include in &The Internet Made Easy&

Here’s A Quick Summary Of What’s Included:

Choosing which is the best Internet Service Provider For You.
How to protect yourself with FREE Anti-Virus Software.
How to send and receive emails with ease with Outlook Express
How to use Internet Explorer and find what you need FAST!
How to buy online safely and securely
How to download and save files to your PC (including ZIP and PDF files)
How to get organized and work with files and folders
How to back up your information to keep it safe
How to use RSS feeds and gather news and information easily.

It’s All About Being Safe – Being Sure – And Being Online

For your copy of this amazing software please visit http://www.internetmadeeasy.akashop.com

Author: Darren Mallory
AkaShop.com

Discover The Ultimate eCommerce Solution For Successful Online Trading

So what is it the complete solution to all of your online business problems? The solution is called an ecommerce shopping cart system. This highly popular online business instrument enables you to raise sales transactions of your online store very quickly and conveniently. Shopping cart is the vital element in an online ecommerce website. Shopping cart acts as a turnkey for your entire online business and turns your business into a thriving and highly profitable home based business.

Various web designers and developers are designing shopping cart to boost up the sales of almost all kinds of products. Many businessmen have put up their products online for sale. The medium of ecommerce or ebusiness is quite effective to promote any business.

Your website is the mode through you attract buyers to your site. So the ecommerce online shopping cart should contain all the features that can attract potential buyers to your site. An online buyer is always nervous about giving out his financial details online. It is very essential to assure your customer of the secured identity.

Many shopping carts provide the muti-payment modes to the customers. They can either opt for credit payment mode or by merchant account or via gateway such as Paypal or any other service provider. Merchant account is a bank account that allows you to manage credit card dealings. This allows you to maintain your customer&s personal information. You can add prices and product options in to your shopping cart.

Ecommerce has gained popularity, but customers will not buy products from sites if your site is not working properly. Your website must be user friendly and must make shopping easier for the customer.

There are some basic elements of a usable ecommerce online shopping cart. Site navigation must be very simple. Complex site navigation will confuse your customer and can scare them away. The links found in your website should be properly co-coordinated. Some times customers find the products they want to purchase through links in various sites.

Best ecommerce shopping cart are the ones that integrate the selling transactions of your online businesses. Each of the software manufacturer claims that their ecommerce shopping cart are the best in the software market.

An advanced ecommerce shopping cart should have the genuine features of an online store. It should enable the customers to purchase products without much hassle. The shopping cart software should support all the customer friendly programs. The online shop on the website displays the products with the price listings and the size listing along to make the shopping easier for a customer. Various modes of payment are optional to the customer. Thus the customer makes his pick with the help of shopping cart on the website only.

There are text, hyperlinks and images in an online store. They are to be managed strategically in the web pages to give an overall attractive structure to the site. Online visitors should attract customers via eye-catching designs. It should have the power of converting the visitors into buyers. The online store or marketing website should have an appearance that assures the customers that they will get the best service.

A good ecommerce shopping cart should have good functionality. It should perform the sales effectively. Some of the good ecommerce shopping cart gives the full technology support of shopping cart software. Any person with basic web knowledge can go in for establishing an online store or marketing website. Various ecommerce shopping cart providers even set online tutorials for the potential customers of shopping carts. The tutorials give the guidelines for establishing the online store in an easy way.

There are provisions to establish the web pages for the online shop in three dimensions with help of graphic interface. A good ecommerce shopping cart should be versatile. The user should be able to manage his business without hassle. The software manufacturer also provides the traffic volume enhancement systems and the sales measuring systems.

The number may seem grim for Web-based commerce. In 2004 in the Unites States alone, computer users logged in more than 207,000 Internet fraud reports to the U.S. Internet Crime Complaint Center. If you look hard at this number, you may be astounded, and a good bit frightened, by the implication. You may ask, “Is it really safe to buy and sell at an online site?”

Put simply, the answer is: yes. The Internet is an incredibly powerful tool for business, so you can’t pass it over just because of a few crooks and conmen—even if they do seem like they’re behind every pop-up window and banner ad. The truth is that you can create opportunity and make more money online than you could lose in fraud.

Better yet, you could lose absolutely nothing if you know the warning signs of fraud and the tricks to avoid danger during your Web-based business dealings.

Whether you’re looking to buy or sell goods online, the first—and the best—way to fight fraud is prevention. There are certain warning signs to watch for, which should set off a chorus of alarms and flashing red lights in your head. Don’t do business with this person! For buyers, these potential warning signs can be when a seller:

• asks you to pay through non-traceable avenues, such as Western Union or MoneyGram, or a third party, or via an overseas address. You should ask yourself—and the seller—why he or she won’t accept payment options that are traceable and convenient for you.

• posts an image on his auction or classified ad that’s obviously from an outside source. Sometimes these images may not even match the type of item, let alone the brand, that the ad features.

• sells a typically expensive item at cut-rate prices, which is a good indicator that it could be counterfeit.

• refuses to provide tracking numbers when you purchase an item. Tracking numbers are another way to trace a valid transaction.

• offers only excuses, instead of help, when your purchased item doesn’t arrive at your doorstep.

If you’re a seller, you ought to be wary of signs of a suspicious buyer, such as when a buyer:

• asks to pay only some of the fee, offering to the pay the rest sometime in the future. This is the old excuse from Popeye’s friend Wimpy, who always could be heard saying, “I’ll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.” Wimpy never paid Tuesday.

• sends you a cashier’s check for more money than the agreed price “by mistake.” In this scam, the buyer then asks you to repay him the difference by personal check, wire transfer, or money order—before you find out that the cashier’s check didn’t clear. Believe it or not, this scheme works because cashier’s checks can be cashed before they bounce.

• sends you a cashier’s check for the correct amount of money but then demands a refund, requesting that you repay with your own money. See the scheme above for how this trick works.

These warning signs, of course, are only for a handful of the frauds and scams out there. Conmen are good at what they do, trying to separate you from your money. That’s why it’s best to always follow these golden rules of online commerce whenever buying or selling on an Internet auction or classified site.

Keep your common sense. No matter how good a deal seems, or how much clients say they want to pay, always remember the old adage: “If it sounds too good to be true….”

Do your business locally. Try to buy and sell from your neighbors as much as possible. It’s safer, more convenient, and better for your local economy. What’s more, it saves you the trouble of dealing with foreign vendors and buyers. Though they may be legit, dealing with them can be complicated because of different legal systems and customs, which can make any conflict difficult.

Seal the deal with plastic. Paying for items with credit cards, and allowing your customers to charge for purchases, is a great all-around business decision. Under U.S. law, all plastic purchases are protected from fraud and allowed to be disputed in case of problems.

Meet at the middle man. Intermediary services are virtual middle men that protect both buyers and sellers from cyber shysters. Services like Escrow act as a holding pen for both payment and sale items until both the buyer and seller are content. Only then will Escrow finish a transaction.

Purchase with PayPal. As Escrow and credit cards do, PayPal guards against fraud for both buyers and sellers. It’s a secure and reliable way to transfer money over the Internet. No wonder PayPal is the most popular online money transfer service.

As you can see, the odds are actually in your favor when it comes to doing business on online classified or auction sites. The resource of the internet is far too valuable than to be taken away by a few crooks and conmen. It simply comes down to being smart, sensible, and observant whenever buying or selling on the Web. Then again, that’s what all good business is about, whether you’re doing it in a mall or on the information superhighway.

It is important to remember that eBay is a lot like a marketplace. There will always be a dodgy guy in the corner, selling things that most people wouldn’t touch. The trouble is that, on the Internet, these people can be a little harder to spot. Here are ten tips to help you keep an eye out for the rip-off merchants.

1. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is: This holds for everything in life, but especially for eBay. Things that seem too cheap are usually too cheap for a reason – it might be a complete scam, or the items might just be of extremely poor quality. Investigate before you go further.

2. Know the value of what you want to buy: There are people on eBay who regularly bid such high prices for used cameras that they might as well have gone out and bought them brand new. Check around for prices first.

3. Only bid on real things: eBay has plenty of people who are trying to sell all sorts of schemes and scams. It is never worth bidding for these, no matter how cheap they might be.

4. Don’t do anything outside eBay: Occasionally people will ask you to send them money outside eBay, to avoid the fees eBay charges sellers. Any money you send this way is entirely insecure – don’t do it.

5. Be careful where you send payment: People may hack into others’ accounts, and ask you to send payment to addresses that eBay has not confirmed as belonging to that account – you might send your money and receive nothing in return.

6. Look out for sellers who suddenly change what they sell: Sellers can look like they’ve made lots of transactions, when really they’ve never sold anything of worth. If they suddenly start selling $1,000 televisions, steer clear – the chances are they’re planning to run off with the money.

7. Beware the shill bidder: If someone who doesn’t seem to have bought anything before is constantly outbidding you on a certain item, be suspicious. It might be a seller ‘shill bidding’ to force up his item’s price.

8. Don’t use the seller’s escrow service: If an escrow service is recommended to you by a seller, it could well be owned and run by them – and they’re quite likely to keep your money and send you nothing.

9. Pay electronically: You are more likely to be able to recover any losses if you pay using a credit card instead of sending out cheques and money orders – these low-tech payment methods can’t be tracked as easily.

10. Buy from reputable sellers: Each seller has a number next to their name, which is their feedback rating. The higher this rating, the more you can trust them.

On that last point, feedback ratings are the most important way that buyers and sellers can protect themselves on eBay – and you, as a buyer, have a rating too! Now that you won’t get ripped off, the next email will be all about your rating, and what you can do to make sure people know that you’re not going to rip them off either.

As per 2005 statistics released, on line trade grew more by more than 22% over previous year. To accept credit cards for online trade, you need a merchant account. Getting a merchant account is not easy for all. It does involve a lot of money. To solve this issue, another fast emerging choice is use of third-party factoring services, also known as credit card processors. These processors process third party orders through their own merchant accounts. A good processor provides a secure environment for sale, ensure that supplier fulfills the obligations of trade and ensure payment for the sale to the trader.

The growth of criminal methods on the net to steal information and rob off wealth is growing at alarming rate. To help these issues, these processors provide very valuable service to newbie merchants who can not afford own merchant account and are quite instrumental in fraud prevention as well as to protect the consumer interest. A good credit card processor instills a strong sense of satisfaction among consumers to protect their interests and thus at a nominal cost boosts the revenue of on-line trader.

A good processor has to be very stringent as they are answerable to their own merchant account provider. Too many dissatisfied customers or traders can make them go out of business. I came across http://www.InternetMerchants.info, which very elaborately describes about various credit card processors. It would be a good idea to check from here.

One of such reputed and well established credit card processor is 2CheckOut (2CO), which is online distribution center for over 300,000 products and services. It provides a customizable transaction interface, multi-level customer service interaction, security features using SSL encryption network. One can get started immediately with no hassles of term contracts, additional equipment and can deal with any international suppliers, except for few prohibited products.

What does it cost?

Charges wise, it may not be cheapest one, but in terms of customers rating and appreciation, it definitely stands out. Initial set up charges include one time setup fees of $49. Besides, a commission of 5.5% per transaction and additional charges of $0.45 are levied. These transaction charges can go up on some classes of products. Charges for additional services are even higher. 2CheckOut supports 28 currencies for payment. For payments in local currency, if it is one of the supported currencies, wire option can be exercised at a cost of $5 per transfer. You can also choose to receive funds in US dollars at fees of $20 per transfer. These charges are definitely steep for small payments, but, 2CheckOut does give option to set a release level of payments and payments would be held till it reaches that level. Additionally, there are charges for stop payment of check and for charge backs.

However, being a processor with one of the lowest fraud rate, such steep rates also gel with market.

Payment to Suppliers

Generally all payments are made on 1st and 16th of the month, when all transactions that occur within 48 hours of this period will be processed, and payment remitted. However suppliers with sales volumes of over $1,000 a week qualify for weekly transfers.

Types of Products

A supplier is not allowed to sell certain types of goods as adult content, firearms, ammunition, tobacco products and multi-level marketing etc.

Protecting Consumer Interest

Protection of consumer interest is basically in own interest of a credit card processor to be able to stay in business. As the terms of agreement with 2CO, a supplier agrees to readdress all the customers complaints addressed to him directly or through 2CO, to the satisfaction of customer, proficiently and harmoniously.

To protect interests of sellers, it reserves the right to impose limits on purchase of products by specific buyers for any reason, in its sole discretion, as it may deem fit.

Payments on an account are made after 2CO&s verification processes it also holds money from suppliers account to protect buyer’s interest. Generally a 5% of the gross sales are kept as reserve for at least 90 days would be held and in some cases the Reserve is retained at a higher rate for period exceeding 90 days.

It has a provision for refund and charge back too. Either 2CO or supplier may ask for reversal of transaction leading to refund and return the funds to a customer&s account. Credit card issuing bank may dispute the validity of transaction through the given credit card either on its own volition or on instruction of its clients and initiate reversal of funds transferred. This is called charge back. In such cases, where supplier feels victimized, he may opt to initiate a dispute and seek assistance of 2CO. 2CO would assist by way of providing any documentation that supplier may need and would charge a fee of $14 for each such dispute that supplier decides to contest.

2CO service has been rated as wonderful by most users. The only suggestions for improvement would be more in depth sales reports and the ability to have custom form fields on. It has reputation of being a company that enables businesses to receive funds from businesses and consumers internationally with zero fraud and at a much lower cost than traditional wire payments.

In fact if you are a victim of such credit card processor, you must immediately take steps, which have been very lucidly at http://www.InternetMerchants.info/complainant-guide.html. Do follow them; I am sure these would come handy.

Introduction

This article describes the use of Digital Certificates as a mechanism for strongly authenticating users to web sites where identity information is required. Before the advent of digital certificates the only option for authenticating users to a site was to assign a username and password. Digital certificates on the other hand provide for much more robust access control and have a number of benefits over username and password.

Username and password authentication

Using username and password the process is generally as follows: each time a user wishes to access a web service the user navigates to the site and authenticate themselves to the application using unique username and password. This data is passed to the server (hopefully in an encrypted form), the application looks up the username and the password (or a representation of the password) in some form of access control list and provided the information matches the user is granted access.

This method has some obvious limitations:

* The username and password are passed over the web (encrypted or unencrypted) with the typical security concerns of interception.
* The systems administrator normally has unrestricted access to all usernames and passwords with associated security and liability concerns for the service provider (especially with confidential data)
* The user needs to remember as many usernames and passwords as are required by their applications leading to inevitable support issues to recover lost access data

Digital Certificate Authentication

The typical digital certificate web access process is:

The user navigates to the website. Before allowing access it checks the certificate against the access database. The user enters the password locally to confirming their access right to the certificate and is allowed to the website.

Benefits of certificates over username and password:

* General security is enhanced: the user needs both the certificate itself and the password to the certificate to gain access.
* The password is never passed over the web, not even during account set-up.
* At no stage do systems administrators have access to user passwords.
* The certificate can electronically sign data on the website with the benefit of non-repudiation.
* The user uses one digital identity with one password to access a range of applications (reduces passwords to remember).

Implementing Digital Certificates

All major web servers support client authentication via certificates. An SSL certificate on the web server (to support https) enables configuration of client authentication and only requires specification of the access rights for each directory served by the web server. Amend the web application to support client authentication by certificates. If any code was developed to handle user name and password, then the certificate credentials can be looked up in an access control list in just the same way. Client certificates are issued via a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) You can choose implement your own or use the services of a Managed Service Provider such as Diginus Ltd.

Wider Use

Once customers or employees have digital certificates, the same certificates can be used to digitally sign email, PDF and web forms and Microsoft Word documents. With a few small steps a corporate website can be transformed into the centre of a powerful web services infrastructure, with single sign on to multiple web applications, signed email and forms data exchange, all the time knowing exactly who is accessing the resources and data.

When you access the Internet through the world wide web it is extremely important that you safe guard your personal information.

There are literally thousands of people around the world that make a living exploiting the security loop holes by accessing your personal identity, passwords and bank accounts.

There are many more daily who are the victims of these crimes. You have a responsibility as a user of the Internet to take certain precautions to protect yourself from online crime.

Internet users who access bank accounts, e-currency accounts or any source of personal information online, should be aware of the following methods used by criminals to convince you to reveal your confidential information.

Here are some simple steps to help keep your information secure

1. Avoid being a victim of fradulent email requests for personal information

This method is called “Phishing” and is a popular way for criminals who are acting as legitimate businesses to steal your personal information. This is usually accomplished by sending you an email with a hyperlink to a fraudulent website made to look like the real one. Once you have entered your information the perpetrator will have access to your account, many times unknown to you.

One way to avoid falling victim to this sort of scam is to never provide any personal details in response to an email. Legitimate businesses will never ask you for your password by email. Be aware of suspicious emails from unknown individuals. Delete before opening anything that you think might be harmful.

2. Make sure you visit your bank, e-currency or financial website via your Internet browser with the correct website address.

3. You should take care to never follow any suspicious hyperlink, url, or open an unknown senders attachment.

If you inadvertently reply to a “Phishing” email or respond to what you think could be a fraudulent website, contact your associated financial institution immediately for advice. Do not delay in seeking help. Check your account for any unusual activity.

Ways to protect your computer

1. It is important to use only a trusted and secure computer to access your Internet banking account.
2. Using publicly shared computers, such as those at Internet cafes, is strongly discouraged.

3. It is recommended that you keep your computer up to date with current anti-virus protection, firewall and the latest patches.

4. Remember that after you install virus protection it is necessary to update the software so the protection remains current.

5. Avoid using the “remember my user name and password” feature when accessing sensitive financial information.

6. Make sure not to store your passwords and account information on your computer.

7. Use a different password for your bank than you would for your email address.

8. Do not use easy to guess passwords, or passwords that closely relate to you. Your birthdate, name or favorite pet make poor passwords.

9. Create passwords that have both numbers and letters.

10. If you use a wireless network it is important that you never leave your computer unattended.

11. Take extra precautions around wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) hotspots that provide free Internet connections. Coffee shops, Internet cafes, airports and libraries can pose significant security threats. Avoid conducting sensitive business in a Wi-Fi hotspot.

Sniffing and Evil Twinning are two methods devious criminals are using to steal confidential data. Sniffing is the act of using a program to search for certain information like passwords and credit card numbers over a Wi-Fi network. Evil twinning mirrors the setting of a Wi-Fi hotspot. When the unsuspecting person uses the evil twinning hotspot the hijacker uses sniffer technology to access anything the victim might be sending.

12. When accessing bank accounts online, confirm that your data is encrypted between the bank and your computer by looking for the padlock symbol on the bottom right hand corner of the browser window.

13. Close your Internet browser after logging out at the end of each online banking session.

14. Beware of any windows that ‘pop-up’ during an online banking session.

Most financial institutions have detailed information on their websites on how their customers can protect themselves from Online fraud attempts. Visit their website or contact them via email or telephone for information on how you can protect yourself from online criminals.

With an increase in consumers using the internet to shop and perform business transactions, ecommerce has become the future of the online community. It is estimated that shoppers are spending billions of dollars online each year, with a few stores even outselling their offline parallels. Benefitting completely from the ecommerce boom can be achievable. To keep consumers coming back, you need to create a unique ecommerce site, one that reaches beyond all levels of excellence.

When designing your ecommerce website, you should have a welcome or introduction on your home page. This statement should establish the advantages of your site, and assure those visiting that they should be comfortable doing business with you. State your purpose, express your beliefs, and let the consumer know why business done at your ecommmerce outlet is always secure.

A quality website has smooth navigation. Categories to scan through and obvious search boxes on the site are a must. Design a simple site with large, easy to read fonts and images that will load quickly. Be sure to have a page with specific questions regarding some of your common business policies such as shipping and returns. You may also want to have a link on your home page that leads visitors to a privacy policy. This policy will ensure customers that you will never supply a third party with information they have entrusted with you. It is nearly essential for all ecommerce shops to display this declaration somewhere on their site.

Just as when shopping offline, customers want checkout to be as fast and easy as possible when visiting your online store. If your online store is equipped with a secure server, make your customers aware. This will put them at ease and keep them coming back. Your checkout or Òshopping cartÓ needs to be just one click away so the customer can be in and out in a minimal amount of steps. In this day and age, it is advisable to offer a variety of payment selections such as PayPal and other online payment sources, credit and debit cards, online checks, and money orders. Include a contact telephone number for customer support so the customer has assurance that they will have assistance if there is a problem with the order.

Organize a special section of your ecommerce website dedicated completely to special discounts and current sales. If you have an extraordinary amount of sales items, create a separate webpage devoted to the ones that are most preferred, and have another page with a complete listing of all discounts. During the holiday season, have a certain portion of our website set aside for customers to purchase gift certificates.

Producing a profitable, reputable ecommerce website can be a simple task with a well constructed site plan, some time and patience. Taking full advantage of the ecommerce phenomenon, you can succeed in your business marketing dream.