If you are looking for a shopping cart software platform, is it wise with the popularity of ecommerce shopping to use an open source based online shop?  osCommerce along with ZenCart are two open source providers that have been offering php based ecommerce systems online, and they are certainly robust offerings.  However, as time passes more open source shops develop new features that osCommerce for example can’t keep up with. 

Here are 5 reasons why you may want to consider an osCommerce alternative.

1. Not so simple customization
Customizing files and pages almost requires having a developer on staff.  With oscommerce, if you are not so experienced with html, then making changes is extremely time consuming.  It pays to spend more money on shopping cart solution that makes it easy for even a neophyte to make changes because time is money. 

2. Password management
One of the most frustrating issues in the past with osCommerce is password management in the administration area.  It can be improved with a bit of searching but by default it is a big pain in the butt.

3. Template torture
Unlike WebCart, osCommerce is not necessarily template driven.  This means that mass changes don’t happen so easily. You lose flexibility and though it does have style sheets that allow you to quickly change the header, footer, and left and right column files it is just not the same as having real control.

4. Smart Tags and Options
If your online catalog has its own specific permutations of product options then osCommerce is probably not the ecommerce cart system for you.  It is really important to have multiple product options and they just don’t make it so easy. Inventory management can be a real hectic affair. Some of the limitations can be modified and upgraded, but it is recommended that you select a different cart system if you depend on a quality reliable attribute system.

5. Large product catalogs
Another item worth mentioning of osCommerce is its limitations with large product catalogs.  When dealing with large product catalogs of over a hundred, extra modules for the input/management of data must be added.  If the product catalog is even larger than a couple hundred, there are several other modifications that must be taken care of that will require an even greater technical developer investment. With a product like WebCart you can have tens of thousands of products with no delay.

osCommerce and ZenCart are decent open source based online shops, but there are several downfalls that should be considered prior to getting into this type of environment.  Ecommerce shopping requires a very reliable shopping cart system and open source based system.  While osCommerce has some great things to offer, there are many things that it lacks that other ecommerce systems make up for.

Determining the most profitable keywords for an e-commerce based business is without question one of the best way to drive targeted traffic and increase conversion. Specifically as it relates to PPC marketing which can make or break an online business. Unfortunately, many small online businesses have no clue how to manage a PPC campaign which includes determining profitable keywords, determining profit and more importantly ROI. What often times ends up happening is that shopping cart software clients spend a enormous amount of money on general keywords obtain a decent amount of traffic, but have very poor conversions. In technical terms their CPA (cost per action) is extremely low.  Short of hiring an online marketing firm there are a few things small business owners can do to improve their current PPC problem, and the simple answer is determining the correct keywords.

There are a variety of simple and cost effective  methods to obtain profitable keywords for any industry.  Keyword research could be broken down in to three basic steps. Use online keyword tools,  spy on your competitors keywords and most importantly research what keywords a  potential customer would use to find your product. If you're not understanding how this works don't worry I will explain each step in a bit more detail.

Online Keyword Tools - This option is great for clients who have money to spend on a monthly subscription. Sites like Keyword Discover and Wordtracker provide great research results if used correctly, but might hit your pocket book where it hurts. In addition to these online research tools almost every PPC program offers a keyword discovery tool which is free of charge. Although not as thorough as the paid option they can be beneficial  in determining the amount of visitors to expect.

Spying on your eCommerce Competitors - Browsing competitor sites is a good way of determining what keywords might be useful for your own business. There are two things to look for First, look at the keywords in the meta tags, but be aware that these keywords are usually the general terms and not the profitable specific keywords you want to target. Secondly, examine your competitors pages and look for specific keyword terms in addition I like to run a keyword density report on a site. There are several free sites which will do this for you, but I highly recommend Seochat's keyword density tool this will give you a clear picture of specific keywords words to examine.

What Potential customers might search for - I purposely made this the last technique because it makes use of the top two straagies. Basically you want to pull out a notepad and start brain storming keyword variations which a search engine user would use if they wanted to find your company's product or service. It's a good idea to use the keywords you developed with the online keyword tools and spying on the competition to act as a starting point. Generally more specific keywords result in higher conversion and lower bid amounts.

The previous few posts I focused on different methods of increasing web traffic though accepting credit cards, organic search engine optimization and Pay Per Click marketing. Lately I have been receiving emails from readers and customers asking me to explain different internet terminology which I refer to in posts. Therefore, I have decided to create a couple of posts dedicated to eCommerce terminology in order to give new internet users an enhanced understanding of vital terms in cyber space as they relate to running an online store.

PPC Is an acronym for Pay Per Click Marketing. Essentially PPC is a method for online retailers and site owners to expose their product or services to search engine users without obtaining organic ranking   . The reason it's called pay per click is because the advertiser only pays for the ads which are clicked. In most search engines paid ads are separated from the organic listings and marked as such. If done properly PPC can be a very profitable source of traffic because it allows small companies to compete with the big boys.

SEO stands for search engine optimization which generally refers to optimizing any given website to meet specific search engine criteria. An example is following Google's webmaster guidelines (http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=35769) to optimize a site so that search engines find it friendly and valuable. In addition SEO can also include link building and other organic ways to increase organic search engine rankings.

SEO Shopping Cart is an eCommerce solution which encompasses seo principals within its design and structure. An example would be shopping cart software that is created in CSS has the ability to easily and or modify header tags, page content and content placement. Additions like adding alt tags, Meta keywords and descriptions would also be considered SEO shopping Cart software.

Over the next few posts I will add more definitions as they relate to future posts.

Evolving the marketing of an eCommerce store can seem like an expensive and troublesome task for many small online businesses.  Often times WebCart customers say "I am paying for a shopping cart software solution, what I can do with it to increase my current business?" There is a lot WebCart shopping cart software customers can do with their existing carts without spending a fortune on customization and marketing.

Analytics - Pay close attention to which products or services are receiving the most clicks. With WebCart's built in analytic tools discovering which pages receive the most hits is a snap. Additionally, pay close attention to which products are being sold the most.  With this data in hand I recommend putting the popular products up on the first page so they are in clear view to anyone coming to your site. The data collected from the page views I recommended adjusting and researching why the page received so many clicks, but not as many sales. Perhaps a competitor is selling the same product at a lower rate, or the product description, image or title is not clear.
 
Product Customization - It's no marketing secret that making your customers feel unique is a great way to increase sales. The same concept can be applied to your products.  For starters, it's a good idea to enable a wizard for online shoppers to use in order to find the perfect gift. Let me give you an example, using selling shoes online. An online visitor would first click the wizard, and a page would come up asking them what type of activity they are planning on using shoes for. It could be things like running, basketball cross training etc. The next screen could have a list of more specific questions like what color style or brands they want. The process would continue until the online visitor receives a custom recommendation based on their styles. This tool alone has been proven to increase conversation by leaps and bounds.

Many aspiring e-Commerce store owners will need to eventually use  a merchant service company in order to  enable the processing of credit cards.  A simple Google search for merchant services brings up about 21,000,000 results.  Many eCommerce newbie's ask , "what is the criteria for choosing a merchant service for my shopping cart software?"  There really is no one answer, and I highly recommend researching your shopping carts requirements as well as searching the internet for information about what an online store owner might need in a credit card processer. That being said, there are some universal features a majority of people should consider.

Global Customers - If a business plans to sell to an international marketplace it's important to obtain a merchant account which is capable of processing international credit cards.

Account Deposit Duration - It's a good idea to ask a credit card processing company how long it takes for the funds generated from credit card sales to be deposited in to the bank. My experience has varied over the years with some companies waiting upwards of 1 week while others taking only a couple of days.

eCommerce Security - Obviously security should be a top concern in setting up a store because the information which needs the most protection is the passing of credit card information from the client computer to the  credit card processing company. Always inquire on  the general security policy and ask if their system supports anything beyond the standard 128-bit digital certificate.  Additionally, a PCI-ompliant system  is a definite plus eCommerce owners should consider.

Fee Structure - Many credit card companies will try to entice you with low rates, and fail to mention any sort of transaction fee or charge back fees. Before you sign on the dotted line make sure you have a clear understanding of how much everything will cost you. Receiving a bill with charges and fees that were not expected is never a good  thing.

Fraud exposure Tools - Before an order comes though the web a shopping cart software owner's first line of defense is to have tools in place which will search for a number of variables, and detect red flags as they relate to potential fraud.  A company like Practice Pay Solutions offers a great software package for about 5.00 a month which is very little considering the consequences.

Fax / Email Confirmation - If an order is suspect or large it's generally a good practice to email the customer and politely ask them to fax or email a copy of their credit card. Although many thieves are now able to manufacture fake credit cards this method does add an additional layer of reassurance of the orders legitimacy.

Investigate Your Orders - All too often eCommerce store owners are so excited by large orders, that they neglect to analyze what the order really means. A great example would be an order for 10 identical notebook computers.  Perceptibly, this can be an order from a large company looking to purchase laptop computers, but it can also be a thief who is trying to capitalize on a stolen credit card.

Call Merchant Services - You know those terminal and processing fees you pay? Those fees allow your processing company to staff up on friendly customer service staff to help you. Therefore, it's important that business owners get what they pay for and use the merchant services bank to verify, inquire or simply ask for advice on questionable credit card orders.

Analyze The Bank Identification Numbers - The first 6 numbers of any credit card are the banks unique identification numbers.   The reason these numbers are important is because they can tell the merchant using them where the bank is located. To find the bank location visit All net tools and type in the 6 digits in to the Online Bin Database. If the country of the bank is different from the country where the product is supposed to be shipped to then a red flag should go off immediately. 

It goes without saying that CVV and address verification should be done, but these 4 tips will help your company root out any fraud that may slip through the cracks.