Knowing the types of merchant accounts that are available will help you find the right one for you. Don’t make the mistake of choosing the cheapest option - you may be sorry down the road.
A retail or “swiped” account often offers the lowest rates but if you don’t meet the particular requirements of the account, you could end up paying fees, surcharges and penalties.
There are 3 basic types of merchant accounts available:
Retail / Swiped
This type of account is meant to be used by “brick & mortar” retail businesses, where you can physically swipe the card through a card reader. This provides proof that the card was actually present during the transaction, which is why the rates are lower - there is less risk because the card is present.
A retail account is best for you if you are able to physically swipe the card in 90% or more of your transactions.
Retail / Keyed Entry
This type of account is meant to be used when the card is present but for whatever reason can’t be swiped. This could be the case if you are mobile, say a business that goes to customer’s houses where you don’t have a swipe machine.
In this case, you would get a manual imprint of the card but enter the information into the electronic terminal after the fact. The rates charges on this type of account are typically more than a swiped account.
Mail Order / Telephone / Internet
These accounts are meant for businesses who don’t normally see their customers in person. The card is not usually physically present and can’t be swiped or imprinted.
Because there is a higher level of risk involved, the rates and surcharges are normally highest for this type of account.
If you’re doing business online, however, this is likely the type of account you will need. If you use one of the other types for internet transactions, you could be leaving yourself open to penalties and even chargebacks so it’s not worth the risk to save a little on fees.
Internet accounts usually also require that you collect specific information from your customers. You typically need to get their name and billing address when they place an order, to verify that they are in fact the cardholder.
John Lenaghan writes about web hosting on windows and unix and other website hosting topics on the Hosting Report website. Find out more at http://www.hostingreport.org.
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One question which should concern all internet marketers is
— What are the search engines looking for? Search engines are
based on computer logic, which sees information in text or
numerical form, and has a hierarchical approach to font sizes,
typefaces, and repetition of words or phrases. This article will
give details about search engine preferences and explain how
website content can be constructed to cater to these preferences
to increase ranking on Google and other search engines.
Is Your Site a Template? Google Ranks these Sites Low If your
site is a template (mortgage, real estate, etc) and Google reads
many sites repeated in the same format on the web, this picky
search engine may kick your site from the top to the bottom of
the list.
Repetition of Industry Keywords Industry specific keywords can
be harvested from website statistics programs or constructed
from a strategic plan to draw the right traffic to a site. For
example, a realtor would want to repeat the words retirement,
relocation, and purchase a second home along with a geographic
location to draw long distance homebuyers to their site. By
repeating industry specific keywords, a company or organization
may increase site ranking in Google. Article writing on a given
topic is a very effective tool for placing repetitive keyword
text on a home page.
Page Title, Headline, Subhead, Bolded Text Choose your page
titles very carefully and be sure that they include your most
important keywords. Not only does this increase the relevance of
your page to the search engines, but it also looks better in the
search results. When your page title looks better in the search
results more searchers will choose your page from the list of
possibilities, the more searchers choose your page, the higher
it will rank. Be sure to use your keywords liberally in a
headline, in subheadings, in the first sentence of the page and
in bolded text. This will help your page rank well, while at the
same time reassuring the internet searcher that they have landed
on a page that is pertinent to what they are looking for.
Graphic Name Tags and Keywords If you were designing your web
pages just for the search engine spiders you would not use
graphics at all, but it is necessary to strike a balance between
making a page that is pleasing to look at vs. one that will
satisfy the search engines. Choose images for your page that
also relate to your keywords and make sure that your keywords
are in your image alt tag. Make your image alt text describes
what the image actually is. Look at your page with the images
turned off to be sure that all of your images have accurate,
useful and keyword-rich descriptions.
Link Text Link text is one of the most important ranking
criteria. If you want to see how powerful link text is, try a
Google search for “miserable failure”. You will find George
Bush’s official bio and Michael Moore’s home page at the top of
the list even though neither page contains the phrase or even
one of these words!
Keywords in Menu Items and other Internal Links Internal links
within a website direct users to your other pages. Keywords in
menu items and other internal links are critical because search
engines read them as another link. Don’t waste links on text
like “Click Here” or “This Page”, use your keywords instead.
Think of the link text as a vote to the search engines for what
your website is about. When you vote make sure to use your
keywords, if you won’t vote for your own pages then who will?
Inbound Links How many times is your website mentioned on the
web? This is another way search engines rank sites. Each time
your site is mentioned on the web, insert keywords to introduce
the site instead of “for more information” or “click here”.
Also, be aware that when inbound links are embedded on other
sites, your site rises in ranking - any link will help, but a
link with your keyword(s) is best. Article writing and
syndication on the web ensures that inbound links to your site
(contained in bios) are resident on many sites. Writing and
disseminating national press releases on the web is another way
to increase the number of inbound links. Links to the website
are repeated in the press release.
Outbound Links Placement of links with websites of prominence is
most important. This creates traffic. However, a savvy internet
marketer will choose placement of links on web pages
selectively, to increase company profits or an organization’s
visibility. Use outbound links that help an internet surfer find
even more information about your target keywords and you will
increase your website’s level of authority for your keywords.
Reciprocal Links The general consensus seems to be that
reciprocal links don’t really help your search engine ranking
and, in fact, can actually hurt your page rank if you are not
careful. Swap links with websites that are already ranked well
for your keywords and/or sites that will use your keywords in
their link text. This will generate quality traffic to your site
even if it does not have an effect on your page rank. Don’t link
to sites that have nothing to do with the subject of your
keywords and especially do not link to sites that are nothing
but a bunch of uncategorized links, links to these free-for-all
link farms can do more harm than good.
Planting Invisible or Tiny Text Behind Home Page Uploading
massive amounts of invisible keyword writing on the home page
was once a favored tool of web designers. It is no longer a good
idea to mask keywords on the page in any way. Search engines may
be fooled at first and your site may land on top of the list for
a while, but once filters are run to detect this, search engines
may semi-blacklist your site or remove it from results
completely. Avoid trying to trick the search engines and stick
to techniques that enhance your website’s usefulness and
relevance to its target audience. The rankings, the traffic and
the loyalty of your visitors will follow automatically.
Does your business have a presence on the Internet? Is it doing
well? Did you know that the most important factor effecting your
business on the internet is your web site? No matter how good
your product is, no matter how low your product is priced at,
success on the internet depends wholly on your website. If the
website is not professional looking, the chances of your success
are slim.
This article assumes that you are conversant with HTML and
includes a few tips on designing a professional looking website.
* The home page should load in the browser in less than 8
seconds at 56.6 Kbps connection. The customer never waits,
costing you precious business.
* Search Engines are the agents that bring traffic to your site;
about 80% of web traffic comes through search engines today. To
make your website friendly to search engines, make sure that
proper META tags are included in each of the pages. Before you
edit the site or make one, make sure that you understand how to
optimize the website.
* Choose your backgrounds and colors carefully. Dark colors and
interesting backgrounds take the focus away from the content.
Maintain the color and background theme throughout the site.
Colors have an effect on the mood of the visitor. Choose
carefully as per your requirements.
* Choose not to use animation on you site. Animation cause slow
loading speed and also look unprofessional.
* The home page should contain relevant information on what you
are offering. If the visitor cannot find the product or service
at the home page, you will lose him forever.
* Avoid using banners. If you need to use them, keep them
limited to 1 per page.
* Always display contact information on every page of your
website. Also keep the response times minimal, within 48 hours
to promote better relationships.
* Make sure all links and images are working properly on the
website. Check for grammar in the content. A professional
website should not have mistakes in it and should contain a logo
on each page. Make sure that a visitor can get from the start to
the end of his destination within 4 clicks.
* The navigation should be simple and easy. Keep all navigation
links together.
* Java and frames should be used sparingly, to speed up loading
times and to ensure search engine friendliness.
* Finally before uploading, check the site loading different
browsers. All browsers are not made equal.
* Keep your site up-to-date and change content every fortnight.
The regular visitors should have a reason to come back.
For more information and tips, visit
http://www.cobbwebdesign.com.
The Internet is the future, and a Website is your key to taking advantage of it. A Website not only showcases your products and services to the general public, but more importantly, introduces you to a whole new audience and potential market. So powerful is the Internet that a significant percentage of retail sales in the United States is now generated by e-commerce.
You, too, cash in on the trend by launching your very own Website. Depending on your computer skills and the time and money you are willing to spend, you can either build your Website yourself, or hire a Web developer to build it for you.
Doing it on your own is the best and cheapest option if you are highly computer-literate (or at least adept at learning new kinds of software fast), and if you have a lot of time to devote to your site. You should invest in user-friendly applications like Microsoft FrontPage, which enables you to easily design your site yourself. Not the creative type? Don’t worry - you can purchase pre-designed templates from hundreds of Websites offering them at a minimal cost.
The main benefit of building and maintaining your own Website is convenience and security. You can update your Website anytime at no cost, and also guard classified information that you don’t want others (like an external Web administrator) to see.
Unless you have a firm background in programming, though, you may not be able to build more complex Websites on your own. If you want to add more complicated functionalities such as e-commerce, special programs, or secure pages, you may need to enlist a professional.
Smaller businesses with limited cash to spend on Websites are finding an ally in freelance Web developers, who usually provide professional Website creation and maintenance services at lower-than-industry rates. Some freelancing sites allow ‘buyers’ like you to post a description of a project and then let freelancers bid on it. You can then choose the Web developer you like from among the bidders, and securely pay them when they have completed the work to your satisfaction.
Hiring a Web developer to build your Website is best if you are not computer-savvy and don’t have much time to devote to developing your own Website. This option might be a little pricier than the first, but the expertise and technologies that professionals bring into your Website can end up saving you money in the long run.
Build A Web Site provides detailed information on Build A Web Site, Build an Auction Web Site, Build an Ecommerce Web Site, Build a School Web Site and more. Build A Web Site is affiliated with Affordable Web Site Design Companies.
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