Starting your own online business can be a very daunting experience. Not only are you starting a whole new process, but you are probably also looking for a reliable website provider that has the features you want and is a business that you can trust. This is a big step and you want to know all that you can before you take the plunge with any web service provider.

The World Wide Web is allowing people from all over the world to communicate, share ideas, sell items, entertain, and an assortment of many other functions. The potential of the Internet as a commerce center is clear, it will eventually be the major avenue for international and intercontinental business and commerce. With this in mind, it is important to avoid a scam that promises the exploitation of this opportunity without providing the tools to utilize such potential.

StoresOnline understands that you need information, not just superior website technology. StoresOnline offers innovative preview sessions and workshops around the world in an effort to educate new entrepreneurs who are looking to break into the world of ecommerce. Through these local training preview sessions, StoresOnline enlightens entrepreneurs to the potential for e-commerce and their own ability to tap into the enormous resource of revenue via the Internet. StoresOnline preview sessions give you the chance to ask the questions you have before you purchase.

StoresOnline encourages entrepreneurs and small business owners to study out their service providers. StoresOnline is dedicated to providing the entrepreneur with reliable website systems and customer service. If you are interested in starting your own online business, we suggest that you visit StoresOnlineExpress.com - StoresOnline Express is a powerful tool that allows merchants to take advantage of a professional website tool for only $199.

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How StoresOnline Helps StoresOnline Merchants

This is an actual StoresOnline Customer Service chat record that details how to upload an e-book to a StoresOnline Merchant’s site.  The information is not only informative, but illustrates how StoresOnline Customer Service Representatives diligently work to support our StoresOnline Merchants with their websites. The name of the StoresOnline Customer Service Representative and the StoresOnline Merchant have been changed.

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Find What You Are Looking For With Google

Custom Search

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StoresOnline Receives Certification of Excellence
in Service Operations from the SSPA

OREM, Utah – StoresOnline, Inc., a subsidiary of iMergent Inc., (AMEX: IIG), a leading provider of eCommerce software for small businesses and entrepreneurs, was awarded the Excellence in Service Operations certification by the Service & Support Professionals Association (SSPA).  By awarding this certification, the SSPA recognizes the company has met the highest industry standards for support operations.

“To achieve this certification, StoresOnline™ met or exceeded 290 best practices criteria developed by the SSPA and validated by 50 leading technology companies,” said Stephen Smith, executive director of SSPA.  “In addition, they passed a rigorous onsite audit conducted by service executives with more than 20 years experience. When customers see the SSPA Excellence in Service Operations logo, they can be confident that StoresOnline has the people, processes and technology in place necessary to provide quality support.”

Founded in 1989, SSPA has grown to become the largest and most influential industry trade group for technology service and support professionals. Its nearly 200 member companies represent tech support, field service and customer relations organizations around the globe.

"StoresOnline’s top priority is exceptional customer support as we provide e-commerce solutions for small businesses and entrepreneurs," said Robert Schow, vice president customer operations, StoresOnline. "In September 2007, we were awarded the SSPA's 2007 Star Award for Service Excellence in Consumer Support.  In November, 2007 StoresOnline's technical support organization engaged in the SSPA Organizational Development Program undergoing thorough audits and testing of our technical support operations, which we are proud to announce resulted in SSPA's prestigious Excellence in Service Operations certification.”

“We understand the impact that high quality service and support can have on our customers and our competitive position in the marketplace,” added Brandon Lewis, iMergent’s president and COO. “Over the past several years our goal has been to become the leading provider of eCommerce software solutions while maintaining our commitment to our customers.  Most recently, we expanded our product line by launching our StoresOnline Express platform. We are excited about how the market is receiving both our StoresOnline Express and StoresOnline Pro products as we continue to rollout StoresOnline Express and train our sales and support teams.” 

Don Danks, CEO of iMergent, said, “We continue our focus on providing best of breed products, services and support to the entrepreneur and small business markets. Everyone at iMergent is enthusiastic and energized about the prospects for the future of our company.”

Safe Harbor Statement
Statements made in this press release regarding iMergent and StoresOnline (i) meeting or exceeded 290 best practices criteria developed by the SSPA and validated by 50 leading technology companies, (ii) customers can be confident that it has the people, processes and technology in place necessary to provide quality support (iii) passing  a rigorous onsite audit conducted by service executives with more than 20 years experience, (iv) top priority being exceptional customer support and  providing e-commerce solutions for small businesses and entrepreneurs, (v) having undergone thorough audits and testing which resulted in  certification of excellence in service operations after the SSPA 2007 Service Excellence in Consumer Support Award, (vi) understanding the impact that high quality service and support can have on  customers and the  competitive position of the company in the marketplace, (vii) goal of becoming the leading provider of eCommerce software solutions while maintaining the commitment of excellent customer service to the customers of the company, (viii) market successfully receiving both  StoresOnline Express and StoresOnline Pro products while the company continues to rollout StoresOnline Express and train its sales and support teams, (ix) continuing its  focus on providing best of breed products, services and support to the entrepreneur and small business markets,  (x) that the company is energized about the prospects for the future,, and other statements that are not historical in nature constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Safe Harbor Provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are based on the current expectations and beliefs of the management of iMergent and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. For a more detailed discussion of risk factors that affect iMergent's operations, please refer to the company's Form 10-K for the year ended June 30, 2007 and its Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended September 30, 2007.  The company undertakes no obligation to update this forward-looking information, except as required by law.

About the SSPA
As the industry’s foremost professionals association, the Service & Support Professionals Association (SSPA) is a key resource for the information and best practices needed to make better business decisions. It brings together the best minds from across the industry spectrum – from established companies with successful track records to the pioneering newcomers with out-of-the-box ideas. The SSPA also partners with thought leaders such as J.D. Power and Associates and the Wharton School to create programs that benefit the industry. The SSPA is a member of a global network of associations that includes the Technology Professional Services Association (TPSA) and the Association for Services Management International (AFSMI). For more information, visit www.thesspa.com.

About iMergent
iMergent provides eCommerce solutions to entrepreneurs and small businesses enabling them to market and sell their business products or ideas via the Internet. Headquartered in Orem, Utah, the company sells its proprietary StoresOnline software and training services, which help users build successful Internet strategies to market products, accept online orders, analyze marketing performance, and manage pricing and customers. In addition to software, iMergent offers site development, web hosting and marketing products. iMergent typically reaches its target audience through a concentrated direct marketing effort to fill Preview Sessions, in which a StoresOnline expert reviews the product opportunities and costs. These sessions lead to a follow-up Workshop Conference, where product and technology experts train potential users on the software and encourage them to make purchases. iMergent, Inc. and StoresOnline are trademarks of iMergent, Inc.

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Is Your Online Business Leading
Your Customers In the Right Direction?

Have you ever wondered what you could do to help your online business customers find your products or services better on your website?  Google has given resources that talk about website “hot spots” which basically details the parts of a webpage that users eyes normal scan first.  This can be invaluable information to you as you decide where to place special offers or notices of new products or services.  A clean, user friendly website design is imperative. 

If you are hoping that your potential customers will spend time digging through your website to find what they want, you may be disappointed and most likely lose out on sales.  Online shoppers want the product or service they are looking for and they want it in one or two clicks.  We recommend that you read more about how to best use your website’s “real estate” in the StoresOnline Merchant Newsletter from March 2008.

A few key changes to the way your website is presented may be the difference that keeps your online visitors from clicking away from your website.  StoresOnline is proud to offer you another tip and wishes you the best in your online business endeavors!

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StoresOnline Internet Marketing Tips
Internet Marketing For a Recession

If for no other reason than I am a persistent observer of life I saw examples of recession marketing in the spring of 2008. In other articles I have shared some of the reasons for recession marketing and how this form of marketing is different. To bring this into perspective let me just say that when the economy is good you will find that advertising (marketing) appeals to your sense of personal taste and desires. When the economy is poor, marketing needs to center on quality and value.

One of the advertisements that vividly demonstrated that company marketers had a clear understanding that things needed to change was an advertisement for a family sized vehicle. This advertisement talked about a better-known competitor. They pointed out that their vehicle cost several thousand dollars less than the competition. Instead of pointing out the many things a person could buy with six thousand dollars this company had grocery carts filled with food and indicated the savings on their vehicle would provide food for a family for a year.

Another advertisement deals with the phone connections between people. In this case it was the difference between VoIP and other forms of connection. The phone company that uses VoIP demonstrated a multitude of features and a price that was about a fourth of the cost of other phone competition. They further demonstrated that the competition did not provide similar features in their basic package. What they were trying to do was point out that for 25% of the cost consumers could actually find greater value.

Marketing during an economic downturn is all about siding with the people who are keenly aware they need to reduce spending or need to derive the greatest long-term value from the product being purchased. This translates to your business website.

Can you think of ways to enhance the marketing aspect of your ecommerce site to reflect your understanding of tough times and the need for value? Subtle shifts in your marketing strategy can help align you with the mood of your potential customers.

Can you find freebies you can pass along to your customers? This could be a new networking opportunity for you as you work with other businesses to promote their non-competing products by providing value added free sample as part of your customer's orders.

The role of recession marketing shouldn't be viewed as an attempt to fool customers into thinking your products are superior, but to point out the things that give your product or service a value that is unique and unexpected in times of financial difficulty. Marketing is simply finding the best way to get your message out to prospects. What you may discover to be the best way today may not be the best way six months from now. You need to be flexible enough to move in a new direction when necessary.

You don't need to overplay desperate times. In fact there was absolutely nothing in the two examples above that indicated this was a response to the economy. There may not be a need to remind customers that things are bad. Simply point to the value and quality of what you offer, make the message easy to understand from a financial point of view and see if things don't improve in online sales.

Original Article by S. Lindsay

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StoresOnline Internet Marketing Tips
Increasing Your Sales With Internet Marketing Advertising

Internet marketing advertising has taken the advertising world by storm in the present era. Read on to find out what this means and how it can affect your profitability. As the name suggests, internet marketing advertising, is an all encompassing term that relates to the marketing and promotion of various products and services on the web. On the whole, this concept of advertising is a collection of strategies that include the use of various components like article submission, copywriting, online promotions, reciprocal linking and many more that together effectively promote the products and services of a business. Online marketers are continuously evolving new methods and incorporating the use of new strategies to increase their sales. Here are some of them.

Customer Definition
Defining a customer, means knowing your customers with regards, to gender, occupation, job profiles, income base, education, spending pattern, internet usage, the types of products and services used in the general course of events, amongst various other facets and features. This would help you understand your target audience in a better manner and thus your internet marketing advertising strategy can be successfully put in place.

The Choice of Target
The posting of your online advertisements have to be done keeping your target audience in mind. You must also pick your targets with regards to the website that you are going to use, carefully. You must not only be seen in many places, but you must also be seen in places which your intended audience is likely to visit. Internet marketing advertising is all about the reinforcement of a particular message. Hence, you must cross-promote your message to as many visitors as you can. The choice of a target in terms of website or other online avenues assumes paramount importance.

Budgetary Considerations
Your internet marketing advertising plan will be more effective if you have a fair idea of the kind of cost involved in the whole process. At times, people take this as the first step, but experts suggest that one must closely identify the targets, so as to prepare the budget plan effectively. A person, a company, or a business organization already have an ambiguous idea in their hands about the kind of money they can spend when it comes to advertising or marketing. This idea has to solidify so that you clearly define a spending limit for your online advertising campaign. This would also enable you to put in place a strategy and an end objective that confirms with the budget in mind.

Content is King
It's all very well to plan an internet marketing advertising campaign, but also of utmost importance is the content that you use in these advertisements. The best thing for you to do would be to pick some of the best products or services in your portfolio and market them aggressively. This way you can also pay a whole lot of time and attention, when it comes to the advertising content. Do remember that like in traditional forms of advertising, the customer needs to relate to your advertisement, even on the web. You cannot take him or her for granted. Putting some of these pointers in place with regards to internet marketing will definitely give a fillip to your sales. So give it a go!

Original Article by A. Lim

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StoresOnline Internet Marketing Tips
Affordable Aggressive Internet Marketing

The meaning of "aggressive internet marketing" is promotions and marketing that are above the expectations of any businessman. Undoubtedly, a business, especially home based business requires such aggressive internet marketing if it meant to succeed. We will examine the possibilities to make such aggressive internet marketing affordable. It is possible to avail of low cost aggressive marketing on the internet if you pay attention and being alert to what happens in the online marketing field.

Here are some ways to examine if a marketing plan actually takes advantage of the affordable aggressive marketing possibilities available online. Before joining a marketing plan, ask yourself the 5 following questions:

1. Can you have your website design for free? Well, even if you know the basics of website design, it is better to have that done by professional designers; some marketing websites offer that service for free or for very low price. Check out the possibilities, and don't take such service if it should cost you 50$ or more.

2. Do you want your web site to accommodate too many keywords? The keyword subject has to do with SEO. If you expect to improve your search engine rank for too many key phrases or keywords you may end up having low rank for all of them. It is much better to have more web pages with less content, each of them focused on different keywords, than try to have many keywords on one long web page.

3. Is your website compatible to search engines' requirements? Again, this subject as well has to do with SEO. You can find about 10 main search engines on the net, like Google, Yahoo, AOL, etc. You cannot market aggressively online, if your website does not meet the requirements of these search engines. Find information on SEO (you can find it online also for free) and make sure that your website is compatible with search engines.

4. Do you keep yourself informed of your competitors? Knowing your competitors is important for aggressive marketing both online and offline. The difference is that online you probably will have more competitors than in your neighborhood, but the good part is that online they're more easily accessible. Study your competitors to learn what your shortcomings are, and how can you overcome them. Study also what advantages you have over your competitors, so that you can emphasize these advantages in your advertising and promotion.

5. Is your marketing plan is efficient? Generally, you have to pay for most of marketing plans a monthly fee. While the monthly fee is unavoidable, you can make sure that you get the best deal for the money you're paying. A good marketing plan will give you for free technical support, the content for your website, link exchanges and updates. In addition it is also important to make sure that the program includes also standard SEO as well as keyword density and analysis of your competition.

If you can honestly give the right answer for each and every one of the above 5 questions, then you can be sure that you found the right aggressive marketing plan at a low cost.

Original Article by V. Funk

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StoresOnline Internet Marketing Tips
Internet Marketing Strategies

Man lives in hope. So do most Internet Marketers especially those new to Internet Marketing. Some of the strategies they adopt seldom yield the results and the success they are striving hard to achieve. As long as there is enthusiasm and hope that something, somewhere, sometime will click, these free easy and simple strategies will continue to be popular among them. What then are these strategies?

1. Traffic Exchange: One begins to wonder how successful these traffic exchanges are for marketing your products. There is no doubt that some surf and view the websites seriously but most members of these exchanges surf only to get credits so that their own website too would obtain exposure proportionate to the credits they had earned for surfing. These visitors are mere passers by doing some window shopping and not serious targeted visitors yet the newbies will spend hours clicking away.

2. Reciprocal Link Exchange: Some internet marketers agree to be your reciprocal link exchange partner but after a while resort to unethical practices, either (a) by removing your link from their link directory, or (b) by inserting a the rel="no follow" tag which tells search engines that this link is spam and it's not to be followed thus enjoying the advantage of a one way inbound link and traffic from your site while you lose a reciprocal link and traffic too. Similarly exchanging links with sites that have a higher PR. than yours but having no relevancy to your site is unproductive since search engines give credit only for linking with quality relevant sites. The traffic generated from those sites will be minimal and the whole exercise will be a waste of time.

3. Safe Lists: This is an "opt in" process where you cannot be accused of spamming. Here the internet marketing strategy is that in exchange for submitting your own ads. You have to agree to receive e-mails from the other members in the list, promoting their products. The problem here is that everyone is vying head over heels to promote his or her own product or services. There are only sellers and no buyers. The smart internet marketers have a separate e-mail especially for this purpose and delete all the thousands of e-mails they receive without even reading a single.
4. Free for All Pages: Advertising on “Free for All Pages” is again one of the free internet marketing strategies that attract many new internet marketers. There are different categories and thousands of ads are posted everyday by them with the hope that their ads will be read by the visitors and that they would click on the links and visit the respective websites. Unfortunately this seldom happens since almost everyone is an advertiser and furthermore these ads. Remain visible only for a few minutes and disappear from view as new ads are added; yet the temptation to post ads in FFA's continues.

5. Classifieds: There are thousands of free classifieds sites in the internet but only a few stands out with high traffic. These sites have several pages for each category of products and services to be advertised. The problem again is that every internet marketer is anxious to promote his business but only a small percentage really visits these sites exclusively to learn about products and make purchases.

Conclusion: Most internet marketers have at some stage implemented some or all of these internet marketing strategies especially when they were new to the internet or working with a low budget. These are time consuming strategies and the rewards do not compensate the effort put in.

Original Article by K. Siva

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StoresOnline Internet Marketing Tips
How You Can Increase Traffic to Your Internet Marketing Web Site

There is nothing as important as traffic when it comes to running an internet marketing web site. Certainly there are facets that make up a quality business. But it is traffic that drives your business and keeps it alive. So what can you do to increase the amount of traffic your internet marketing business generates? There are many things you can do and they will all improve your chances of success. The first thing you have to understand is consistency with marketing.

Promoting your site once a week is not going to get the job done, you have to be willing to dedicate two to three hours of your time strictly to marketing every day. Many people are not willing to do this and their results show this. Even when you have a developed site that receives a heavy traffic flow, you should still be marketing excessively. This is one area that really deserves your attention. While all traffic can be considered good, you want to narrow your efforts down to your target audience.

Your target audience includes people who are already interested in what you have to offer. It makes things far easier on you when it comes time to turning visitors into customers. Posting in forums and writing articles are great ways to generate traffic from your target audience without spending a penny. The reason for this is because both article directories and forums have specific categories. This allows you to post an article in a directory specified toward your niche, or talk to people in a forum related to your business.

There is no question that search engines dominate the internet. Therefore, you should make it a point to get your internet marketing web site as high as possible on the search engines for various keywords. Web sites such as Google AdWords and Wordtracker can help you identify which keywords are best for you. Then, determine which keywords are better for your site and for your target audience. When it comes to spreading the word about your web site, there is nothing like a back link.

A back link is somewhere where your web site link is placed on another site, giving people the opportunity to be directed back to your site. Writing articles and posting in forums are examples. But link trading is how you can generate a number of back links. Link trading consists of you exchanging your link for another company's. The agreement is you will place their link on your site somewhere for them placing your link on their site. Then, if someone is on their site there is the potential the visitor will leave their site and come to yours. Traffic can truly make or break your internet marketing business. While there are a number of important facets to a business, nothing is as important as traffic. If you have people coming to your site, you have the opportunity to make a sell. Following the tips in this article will ensure you that people are coming to your site.

Original Article by J. Chambers

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StoresOnline Entrepreneurs & Small Business Owners
Internet Marketing Online Business Success

What are you doing to succeed in your internet based business? Without sales, you will have no income so this is one area where your direct efforts affect the bottom line. The most important aspect of any business, whether online or not, is the effectiveness of your sales strategy. Internet marketing is a little different than regular sales marketing in that you have the potential to reach a vast number of people quickly with your product or service. However, the competition is also very high and you will need to make sure you use sound business strategies for an online business to bring customers in and keep them.

The things you will be working on are:
Determining your business focus.
Locating your potential customers.
Actively soliciting sales for your website.
Networking with other businesses or forums to increase traffic.
Listing your online business with online directories.
Evaluating how well your SEO and social networking campaign are going.
Checking out your competitors for useful strategies.
Changing strategies that aren't working and researching new ones.

Keeping track of financials and making sure you have good cash flow. Expanding your offerings and growing your business. Face it, you are now the CEO of your organization, however small or large it may be. It's up to you to be the spokesperson, the sales force, and the auditor of your company's progress. Whether your company succeeds or fails is directly related to your ability to juggle expenses and sales and to fulfill the demand without losing control of the business model.

PRICE
Now, you might think that good sales have everything to do with price. Actually, most people do not make a decision to buy based on price unless you are in a market where the product is already well known and indistinguishable from vendor to vendor. When marketing a service or product that is unique or better than average, you should price it accordingly.

POOR SALES
If you have too few sales, you obviously are not providing a service that customers find value in or your sales program is inadequate. You can modify the product or service or you can educate the customer. Discuss the benefits of your particular product or service. If you are selling the product and not the benefits, they will not be able to distinguish it from a variety of other similar products on the Internet. You have to show why your product directly benefits the consumer more than other products online.

UNEXPECTED HIGH DEMAND
If you suddenly get singled out by a news agency for some remarkable product or service you are offering, it can also spell problems if you haven't planned for that contingency. If you cannot fulfill all the orders that come to you or your site goes down because there are too many visitors, you will lose business and you will lose precious credibility. Without credibility on the Internet, you might as well be a person with a sandwich board standing on the corner of a busy intersection advertising a free car wash. Nobody believes you and you make a fool of yourself. You should plan for the contingency of unexpected high demand.

Original Article by L. Edward

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StoresOnline Entrepreneurs & Small Business Owners
Internet Marketing Advice Guide - Learning How to Follow A Budget

At first Learning how to follow a financial budget can be really very difficult. This could be a very big concern if you are use to freely spending money. The first step naturally is the setting up of your financial budget and also guidelines to help you stay within your set budget. You must be sure that every expense is accounted for. Remember to include entertainment money. Once your budget is well put together you are now ready to set up guidelines to help you keep on track with your financial budget.

One of the best strategies to keep you on target is to stop carrying cash. For most of us when shopping you see signs offering all sorts of internet marketing software $9.99, Are you strong enough to resist? It's just one ten dollars, but those dollars really add up quickly and before you realize it you have spent an easy three hundred dollars. By not carrying money you can help stop yourself from impulse buying. If you must carry cash, the best thing you can do is to only take what cash is absolutely necessary to spend. You need to give yourself an average of what your expenses will cost you, so you can only take that amount of cash with you. This will assist you in curbing your desire to buy excess goods and avoid you from getting knocked off track.

You should always go shopping with a list; this should help prevent you from unnecessary spending. Or create a list of supplies and commit to those items only. If you permit yourself to wander around a store you are leaving room for temptation and could end up buying things you don't need. It can be very difficult to stay on a financial budget when you are surrounded by items you desire.

If you plan on running a home business you should try to become a thrifty shopper. It could not hurt to look for and negotiate discounts. A few saved dollars per purchase here and there can really add up to a huge saving in the end. Searching in clearance sections in the stores is a fantastic way to find items that you may need plus save some money at the same time. You might be really surprised to see just how much items you can take home, and still have cash in your pocket.

Keeping yourself on a financial budget is about having self-control. It's resisting the overwhelming urge to purchase only what is needed. If you have a hard time in curbing your shopping habits, keep a companion, friend or family member with you when you go shopping. Make sure it is someone you trust to keep you away from all these sales and can help you avoid temptation. As long as you decrease the temptation for impulsive buying, make a shopping list and keep to only necessary items, this will defiantly prevent you from loosing track of your budget needs.

Original Article by A. Josiah

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StoresOnline Entrepreneurs & Small Business Owners
Staying Organized In Your Home Office

When working from home there is nothing more frustrating than not being able to find things when you need them. While most home business entrepreneurs see themselves as never having any time, you have to spend some of your time to organize things. If you can't daily, you should at least try for once a week, you should set aside some time to put things where it should be. Allot of people have a saying that there is a spot for everything and everything must be in its assigned place. Many individuals have to make the time to do jobs over, but never have the patience and time to do it correctly the first time.

For example if they cannot locate a file they will make a new one, which would take a whole lot more time than the six seconds it may take to put it in the correct place to start with. Just being able to locate the staples when your need to refill the stapler can save a few precious minutes you that would have spent going through all the desk drawers or storage bins, or even worse you might end up going to the stationary store to purchase more, this could have been avoided if you simply knew where you stored the staples in the first place. The amount of stationary supplies you store at home will all depend on the kind of business you're in as well as your financial budget.

Try not to let your desk turn into a storage area for all of your stationary supplies. You can probably use an old bookcase or dresser to keep all you stationary supplies, while only keeping a small amount on your desk drawers or desk top. When you store supplies in the designated storage area, try to ensure that they are properly tagged and can be easily identified. To keep the office running smoothly, try considering your desk as main point in the office. All the equipment that you frequently use should be within arm’s reach of your work station. If it is that you have to leave your desk to answer the telephone or to collect a fax, you are defiantly wasting precious minutes doing this. Documents that you are presently working on should be within easy reach, either in a filing cabinet close to your work station or in filing holder on your desk.

The best thing you can do is get all the files you plan to deal with on any particular work day and have them ready for work on at any given time during the course of the day. Files that you are not using should be filed away so that they can be found when you need them. While it can seem easier, try not to have your coffee pot near your desk, this is a very bad idea. One of the biggest reasons to avoid too much coffee is the damage caused by spills made by coffee at your work station. Everybody needs to take an occasional break from work, and having your coffee pot in another room can allow you an opportunity to stretch your legs. If you would like to know more on this topic check out the link below for "Dotcomology" the art of making money with your home business.

Original Article by A. Josiah

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StoresOnline Search Engine Optimization Tips
SEO - The Basics You Should Know

SEO is the acronym for search engine optimization. This title refers to the process of improve the page ranking of your web site through careful use of keywords, keyword placement and links to and from other web sites. What is it? SEO is a carefully created method of improving the probability of your web page appearing on the results page of a search engine query.

The nearer the top of the search engine results page your web site appears, the more likely that searchers will click on your web site link and go on to purchase the product or service you represent. You can perform search engine optimization yourself, or hire an expert to do it for you. There are approved ways to improve your standing and ways that can get you banned. It's important that you do the optimization correctly to avoid getting your web site shut down.

Who needs it?
Any small business owner with products or services advertised online should make the effort to optimize their web site so as to achieve the best results when the search engine spiders visit your site. There are SEO algorithms that are used that are generally proprietary and different search engines look for different components in order to determine the rank of the specific web page. Naturally, each web site owner wants to achieve the highest possible page ranking for the products or services that are displayed on the web site.

Getting your page ranking as near to the top of the search results as possible gives you more web browsers seeing your link.

How to get the best results
The best results for SEO is to determine the specific algorithm used by a particular search engine and write your web site to use the best possible mix of keywords, links, and placement so as to improve your ranking. Attention should be paid to using the keywords or keyword phrases correctly. Not only the number of times they are used, but in what context they are used. Even the placement of keywords on the page is important for best results. Another factor that is important is that of links to other web pages.

How does SERP apply?
SEO best results are returned on the SERP or Search Engine Results Page. When a searcher on the internet uses terms in a search engine query box, the search engine returns results on a page called the Search Engine Results Page. This can be a few links up to thousands of links, but few searchers look beyond the first page or two of results, since the results often are less relevant as you move further down the page. The ranking of your web page up toward the top of the list is what can increase your sales significantly.

Page rankings
Page rankings are the somewhat arbitrary number assigned to web pages based on the SEO results identified by the search engine spiders or robots. Each major search engine relies on a different algorithm for ranking, although there are similarities between the three major search engines, MSN, Yahoo, and Google. The goal of search engine optimization techniques is to have the web page appearing on the first page of search results for the specific query.

Original Article by A. Lim

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StoresOnline Search Engine Optimization Tips
Domain Names and SEO

Do domain names have an effect on search engine rankings? Yes they do. A domain name can have a positive effect on how a site ranks in the search engines. A domain name that contains targeted search terms can help a site to rank better for those terms. This is where getting a good domain name comes into play for SEO strategies and here is why.

Domain names with keywords in them don't affect rankings just by having the keywords there but that does have some effect on rankings. The main reason for the effect they can have is from inbound links. With domain names that have the targeted search terms in them it is usually much easier to get links to the site with the same keywords for anchor text. This is because people tend to link to a site with the site title or domain as the link title or anchor text of the link.

Also when submitting a site for inclusion in directories like DMOZ for example, it is usually the official title that is accepted for the title of the link in the directory. Having the keywords in the domain name means that there is a very good chance links any inbound links to the site will have those Keywords for the anchor text of the link. For a sample case study I will take a look at seo.com. The main search term that seo.com is targeting is the acronym of SEO.

If you search in Google for SEO, you will see that seo.com is currently ranked at #7. Doing some research into the inbound links of seo.com will show that many links are using SEO in the anchor text. The site ranks well partially because of the domain name but also because the domain name has made linking to seo.com with SEO in the anchor text natural for people linking to the site.

To help the internal pages of the site to rank better, be sure to also include targeted search terms in the names of those pages. Before creating the pages do some keyword research and find the best search terms that relate to the content of each internal page. Name the pages using those keywords. Using hyphens is acceptable with page names but keep the page names short.

Don't use too many keywords. Stick to the 2 or 3 most relevant keywords. So it is important to plan your SEO strategy right for the beginning. Do keyword research at the very beginning and find the most targeted search term you can. Get a domain name that includes that search term. However, when buying the domain name be sure to avoid using hyphens and making it very long. Hyphens make the domain look “spammy” and they are not as marketable. Long domains also are just not as marketable.

Following these SEO Strategies will help to boost the rankings of the site. Doing some keyword research first and then buying a keyword targeted domain name is one of the first steps in creating a site that is SEO friendly.

Original Article by D. Williams

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StoresOnline Search Engine Optimization Tips
Utilizing on Site and Off Site SEO

There are two distinct parts of search engine optimization, and if one neglects either component, they will never achieve high positions. On page optimization focuses on the website itself, such as design, content, and linking structure. Off page optimization is mainly comprised of link building, in which you develop links on other websites that point to yours. By utilizing a variety of SEO tactics, you can gain a better position than by following one simple strategy alone.

The purpose of SEO is to raise your website's rankings in search engine results for particular keywords and key phrases. Therefore, one of the fundamental rules for on page optimization is to include your targeted keyword/key phrase many times in the copy. Having a strong keyword density allows search engine robots to associate those words with your site. Giving identifying attributes to text, such as bold, italics, underline, or color, makes your site more relevant to that text. Other components of a website are actually more important than the site's main content. Domains that contain a targeted keyword get a lot of power automatically, as domain name is the strongest on-site factor in SEO.

The title, designated by the "title" tag, is the second most influential part a webmaster can control. It is essential that you include your most valued keyword or key phrases in the title. Finally, headers are tags that separate a web page into parts, and there are six sizes of headers, ranging from "h1" to "h6", with h1 being the biggest. You can get a reasonable head start by simply putting your keywords in to the domain, title, and header. However, because of this simplicity, many professionals also know to do this, leaving the real competition to exist in offsite optimization.

Many webmasters are intimidated at the prospect of having to build links. They believe that it is difficult to get other websites to link to you, and thus avoid the task all together. Link building is actually quite straightforward if you know what to do and where to go. Also, it is important to understand the fundamentals of linking so that you can maximize your efforts. All links are not created equal, as some are determined to be of a higher or lower quality by search engine bots. Relevant links from high PR websites are the most valuable and thus hardest to attain. A relevant link is one that comes from a site similar to yours; for example, if a sports website links to another sports website, the latter websites benefits more because the link comes from an identically themed page. The Page Rank, or PR, of the linking page is equally as important.

Page Rank is a system designed by Google, and it measures the strength of web pages based on the number of incoming links. Getting one link from a PR5 page is more valuable than ten links from PR1 pages, and if that link is relevant, it is all the more powerful. When it comes to link building, the saying quality over quantity holds true. There is a multitude of ways to create inbound links to your site. One of the most powerful is article marketing. With this technique, you write or buy articles about your niche, and submit them to article directories. Whenever you submit an article, you can include your website in the author byline, with whatever anchor text you want. Anchor text, or the title of a link, should be similar to one of your target keywords or key phrases. Another option is to join social bookmarking websites, and fill your user page with links to your site.

Original Article by D. Millions

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StoresOnline Search Engine Optimization Tips
Keyword Research And The SEO Long Tail Of Keywords

A core SEO principle involves understanding the SEO long tail of keywords and how to leverage its potential with your on page and off page strategy. When a search engine optimization specialist masters long tail keyword research he (or she) is enabling the website's ability to maximize search engine ranking potential. A long tail keyword strategy can be applied to both natural (organic) search rankings and pay per click (PPC) advertising. With long tail strategy the SEO specialist understands that even though the majority of searches are typically centered on a one, two or three word keyword search phrase that there is an extensive amount of value in the total combined search volumes of four and five keyword targeted phrases.

Why would your strategy focus around long tail keywords?
Keyword Strategy and the Long Tail:
If you knew the majority of searches where not occurring among four-word for five-word keyword phrases, then why target them? There are several reasons why this strategy might be adventurous, mainly because the barriers of ranking naturally for shorter keyword phrases are too high. This might be because the sites currently ranking well for the shorter keyword phrase are older (more established), have a significantly larger website, or have more links pointing to their site, some of which use the targeted keyword phrase as anchor text. Understanding that you may not rank for certain high traffic two or three keyword phrases the SEO professional must think more creativity.

The SEO professional must look to find "deeper," or long tail keywords. Typically the search volumes are much lower for long tail keywords, so it becomes a strategy of volume. If planned correctly ranking for the sum of long tail keywords will have a greater value than just ranking for one or two high traffic keywords.

Applying the Long Tail to Natural Search Keywords:
Keyword research uncovers the ability to find keyword phrases that might not appear obvious, but have search volumes significant enough for the SEO professional to target. It is important to remember that different stemming words and plurals can help create a vast combination of unique targeted keyword phrases. The additional for a descriptive adjective or geography can further help distinguish a SEO long tail keyword from a root keyword phrase.

Ranking for search engine optimization is more difficult than when geography is added into the mix. In the example of an SEO agency in Atlanta, GA the root keyword phrase search engine optimization is highly desirable, but not necessarily achievable.

In this example the agency might want to target a long tail phrase such as: - Atlanta SEO agency - Search engine optimization in Atlanta, GA - Georgia search engine optimization Applying the Long Tail to Pay Per Click Keywords: Long tail keywords is a presents a great PPC opportunity. If you have the capacity and organizational ability to manage the complexity of the campaign you'll be rewarded with less competition and a dramatically lower cost per click (CPC) for your long tail keywords.

If you feel your budget is inadequate for your PPC ad spends, looking to long tail keywords is a smart strategy to maximize your ability to reach the most amounts of potential online consumers with your budget. The more a SEO specialist can understand about the consumer, the better he is able to design content and online campaigns that will target and appeal to the consumer performing a search. Each keyword phrase is different and recognizing the connections between on page and off page strategy can help the SEO professional provide maximum value to the website's ability to communicate its message to the online community.

Original Article by K. Hanks

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StoresOnline Search Engine Optimization Tips
SEO For Local Markets

Many brick and mortar companies that are catering to their local clientele find it hard to SEO for local markets despite targeting the best keywords. Quite naturally this is not a surprising matter as many of them, although efficient in running their off line businesses, typically stumble over two critical blocks. Stumbling Blocks and SEO for Local Markets When local businesses set to do SEO for local markets, many of them invariably ignore the need to think rationally because they are advised by SEO experts to target the big three search engine users and sometimes get confused and tackle this feat on a global level resulting in global traffic.

The direct fall out of this step is exposing your business offers, products or services to the world at large only to dilute all other local online SEO efforts. If your product is not global you are in trouble. So here is the stumbling block number one.

1. Not using localized target keywords, however good they are, will leave your new websites way down the SERP's locally. Actual localized keywords you should be targeting in which will bring you a steady stream of natural traffic. The second block where you might probably stumble, especially if you are new to web and optimization is wrongfully assuming internet marketing techniques as something radically different and for removed from the earthly- worldly affairs that we all do by trial and errors over and again. The crux of the matter here is SEO for local markets is only a small part of larger marketing exercises, with certain twists, to get exposure with local locations. Here is the second stumbling point in SEO for local markets.

2. SEO for local markets is not a marketing technique but a sophisticated local technique of optimizing websites on a local basis. Obviously, the one who knows the pulse of the market is not the SEO expert but can contribute his knowledge to SEO expert.

So, What Is Actually SEO For Local Markets? Let me dash you through steps involved in SEO for local markets in short.

1. Localize your target keywords. This includes prefixing or suffixing local terms, names, and names of areas, cities or zip codes with target keywords. Example: "remodeling contractors Orange County", not "remodeling contractors".

2. Submit to local search engines (find one, if you don't know already), directories and web based yellow pages.

3. Display your mailing address with street address, zip code and complete. Once your site is indexed, these words gain prominence as a part of content.

4. Submit to local listing sections of Yahoo and DMOZ which is in addition to generalized listing.

5. Don't leave out general SEO techniques because you want to SEO for local markets which the power of link building which can be done globally as there might not be enough local sites to beat you competition.

6. Get on the local maps of Google, Yahoo, as this generally puts you on front of the local search engines.

7. Exchange links and banners with local businesses as the local traffic exchange will bring you new business. Avoid changing banners or links with competitors but exchange them with businesses that will complement you. Verify there traffic so it's an almost even exchange.

Dominating local SEO can be done fairly easy you just have to either hire a professional with a proven track record or take time to learn local SEO. The main concern is to be patent as it takes at least 3 months to start seeing results.

Original Article by M. Francis

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Customer Service Offered to StoresOnline Merchants

Below is another example of how the StoresOnline Customer Service Representative helps the StoresOnline Merchant resolve issues with email.

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StoresOnline Merchant Newsletter Blog

Have you ever wondered what you can do to promote your online business in your community around you? Robert Schow, StoresOnline VP of Customer Relations, gives tips about what you can start doing today in the February 2008 StoresOnline Newsletter. Here are a few highlights about how you can marketing your business offline:

"Most potential customers will only shop at places they already know about. If they do not know how to find you, they will not come to you to buy anything. You must find a way to tell potential customers where your business can be found.

1. Distribute a press release detailing the latest breakthrough in your business field...

2. Place an ad in your local yellow pages publication...

3. Send everyone in your zip code a postcard announcing a sale at your place of business...

4. Become the local expert in your business field by being interviewed on the radio...

5. Give a speech at the Chamber of Commerce....

Many business owners regard marketing only as a necessary evil. They would rather concentrate on their core business activities. But when they use these simple methods to harness the powerful secret to getting more customers, they can eliminate the pain of marketing."

Read more about what you can do to make the most of your online business by visiting the StoresOnline Newsletter Blog.

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StoresOnline Site Security Tip
Website Security Rules of Thumb

2006-2007 have both been years that online shopping has come into its own with online consumers spending a record $65.1 billion in merchandise via the web. More and more people are getting comfortable with online shopping and are engaging in online shopping, research and exploration of various membership and subscription sites.

Unfortunately, the chances of becoming a victim of Internet fraud also increases with every site where personal information is places. The Internet National Fraud Center Watch recently reported that the average loss due to fraud the first six months of 2006 was $2,579. This is compared to the $895 average for all of 2005. Complaints relating to general merchandise purchases (goods never received or misrepresented) accounted for 30% of Internet fraud complaints, and auction purchases (goods never received or misrepresented) topped the list at 44%.

One of the big scams in 2006-2007 is the investment scam. Investing has always been thought of as a good way to build a nest egg for retirement, but there are so many investment schemes offered via the Internet that you don't really know which one is correct for you. Further, there are so many schemes that, while they appear legitimate, are pure scams. If you take your time, do a lot of research prior to signing on to something and don't get taken in by the hype, you can make wise decisions and avoid losing your money to fraud.

Many e-commerce sites are trustworthy and have taken the necessary safety measures to shield you, but it still never hurts to proceed cautiously. If you decide to make an online purchase consider these simple steps:

1. Make all purchases with one credit card, preferably with a low credit limit. Avoid using an ATM or debit card because that's money taken directly from your account.

2. Be wary of unsolicited offers by sellers. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is. The Internet National Fraud Information Center Watch reported that email scams was up 22% in 2006.While the offer may seem legitimate, spammers and phishers like to use this tactic to side-step reputable sites that provide consumer protection for online purchases. They will send you to a site that looks just like the real thing. You put in your information and you are a victim in about 3 seconds.

If you get an email asking you to confirm our Paypal, eBay or bank account information, whatever you do, DON'T CLICK ON THE LINK IN THE EMAIL. Go to the site directly by typing in the site name, and see if there is anything related to the email. In 99.9% of the time, it is not. It's a fraud waiting to steal your personal information. You can also tell that the email is fake because it won't have your name in it.

3. Use only reputable e-commerce websites that list a street address and telephone number in case you need to contact them directly. If you look all over the website, and you can't find bona fide contact information, move cautiously. You wouldn't go into a store with no sign or street address, would you? Well, this is no different. If you can't find a number that connects to a human being and an address, keep on looking.

4. Read the website's privacy policy. Some websites may reserve the right to sell/give your information to a third party. Check the document to see if they allow an opportunity to "opt-out" of receiving special offers from third-party vendors or for permission to share your personal information. If you want your name sold to a ton of people you don't know, then don't take this extra precaution. If they do it, and there isn't a place to opt-out, move on. It's not worth the amount of spam you will receive.

5. In the lower right-hand corner of your browser should be a small lock icon which indicates that the site is secure. Also, do not provide your personal information if the website address doesn't start with "https" on that checkout page. This isn't on the whole site, but wherever you are putting your credit card must have these two things in place. If you can't find it or you see an unlocked lock icon, don't put your personal information and credit card information in there. While the company may be completely legitimate, it is not secure. On the web, you can't take that chance. Find an alternative way to shop with them if you really want to.

6. Choose only verified sellers. Check to see if the vendor is a verified member of a reputable third party such as the Better Business Bureau, VeriSign, or Guardian eCommerce. These third-party sites help to ensure online consumers will be protected when shopping or conducting e-commerce transactions. Shopping on the Internet can be both convenient and fun, if you take the proper precautions. Simply know the rules of the road and what you should be looking for on websites, and you should have no trouble. If you do, contact the Better Business Bureau.

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StoresOnline Internet Marketing Tip
Use Google Adsense to Make Money on Your Website

You're finally getting serious about internet marketing and you're wondering to yourself "what is the easiest and most efficient way to make income online?" Well, if you took a poll of people who make money online, I'm sure each person would have a different answer. There's many options to choose from including:

1. Selling items on eBay - Often sellers will buy items at wholesale or from a dropshipper and then re-sell them on eBay for a nice profit.

2. CPA Offers – Cost Per Action - This method is great for making money quickly by just having your visitor fill out a free offer.

3. Selling eBooks – eBooks are very easy to sell because there is no stock to keep. Often, you will keep 100% of every eBook that you sell

4. Selling tangible items – Sell any type of tangible item that you find at a fair, garage sale, or that you have created.

5. Selling services – Gifted at design or writing? Sell your service online for a nice rate! Or one of the most popular ways to make income online today, Google Adsense.

How exactly does Google Adsense work?
Every time you go to a webpage with advertisements on it, whether or not they are textual ads or banner advertisements, chances are they originated from Google Adsense. Google is basically the middle man between advertisers and webmasters. An advertiser will come to Google and say "I'd like to display my dog food advertisement on any webpage related to dogs and I'm willing to pay $.38 for each click you can get me." Now, webmasters flock in and display these advertisements while trying to gather as much traffic and clicks as possible. The clicks turn into money and everyone is happy.

The reason why Google Adsense is so popular is because of its ease of use and how quickly one can make money using it. There's virtually no restrictions as to who can display advertisements and the payments are always guaranteed. The way to really make money with Google Adsense is to pick a niche that pays a good amount per click for each keyword. For example, the niche "investments" or "lawyers" or "insurance" can pay multiple dollars per click while a word such as "cell phone adapter" could pay 40 cents or less per click.

By doing research before displaying adsense advertisements, you can save yourself not only a lot of time, but you can make a lot more money in the long run. Webmasters also make the mistake of not displaying their adsense advertisements in those most appropriate places on their websites. Often, webmasters will not place the advertisement in a place where it is most likely to get clicked by a lurking visitor – instead they will put it in the easiest place or at the bottom of their webpage. The average visitor will stay on a webpage for less than 15 seconds, so you need to be sure that anything on your webpage that is put their to make money is being put in front of the visitor quickly.