I feel like it's been a while since I gave out any useful shopping cart software marketing tips therefore, today I will write a post related to article marketing. Article marketing is a legitimate, easy to do and low cost method   of obtaining buzz and back links for any eCommerce related website. The problem is many people just don't know how to go about obtaining and / or distributing articles. If done properly article marketing will help your online store gain immense exposure in cyberspace.

The first step in article marketing is getting hold of an article about a specific product or service eCommerce store owners offer. An example would be an e-commerce store selling shoes to the general public. In order to generate buzz about the shoes for sale a store owner would have to get an article written about a specific brand or collection of. Once a decision is made the hard part of article marketing is over because now all you need to do is write about it.

It's vital to write a well written and smooth flowing article; otherwise the article will be rejected. If writing is not something that excites you don't worry, have someone else write it for you. This could be done by placing an ad on http://www.elance.com or http://www.ifreelance.com  and in a short period of time (usually 6 - 24 hours) you will see a couple dozen bids by freelance writers competing on writing your article.

Once the article is written it's time to start milking it for all it's worth. In the next blog post I will provide several options in doing just that.

article marketing ecommerce shopping cart SEO shopping cart shopping cart software

There is no question that your php shopping cart software can make you or cost you thousands of dollars in your ecommerce business.  A quality shopping cart has certain criteria that allow you to know whether or not it is worth investing in.  While there are a number of features you want to look into when shopping around for software, there are certain things that are absolutely vital.

The first couple things you want to look into are almost guaranteed to exist in most php shopping cart software.  Whatever software you purchase, it should be able to quickly and easily calculate shipping and tax for your customers purchase.  Not only that, but it should also be able to calculate specialized shipping such as FedEx and UPS.  These are the little things that go unnoticed with shopping carts, but make a huge difference.

The next criterion to look for in good php shopping cart software is the amount of customer service it provides.  There are a number of responsibilities you have having an ecommerce business, and the more your shopping cart can do for you the better.  The kinds of customer service that should be provided include a confirmation e-mail and receipt delivery immediately after the customers purchase.

After identifying some of the basics, you want to dig deeper and look at features that can help your business sell more.  Take a look into the ad tracking feature with the various php shopping cart software.  Your shopping cart software should allow you to tell how many people clicked on a particular promotion and how many people bought.  By knowing such information you can better identify which ads are generating more traffic and sales.

After you get people to your website and you know what ads are working for you, you have to be able to control as much of your shopping cart as possible.  The more capable you are of customizing things from the software, the better.  This will allow you to customize where people are sent after purchasing an item, customize your follow-up thank you emails, and customize what the page looks like.

The last criteria your php shopping cart software should have is some sort of up-sale feature.  The initial sale is great, but it is the up-sale that will increase your income.  Whether it is an up-sale module that makes related products accessible as the customer is purchasing or simply redirecting the customer to a page with related items after they purchase, the more customers see related products the more inclined they will be to purchase more.

There are a number of criteria that should be met when you purchase a php shopping cart software.  Realistically, it is difficult to find the perfect software that offers a little bit of everything.  Therefore, focus on the basics and then find the features that will mean the most to you in your php shopping cart software.

The conclusion of  A Few Reasons Not To Use osCommerce For Shopping Cart Software I will give three additional reasons why e-commerce store owners should stay clear of osCommerce. 

Password protection
One of the most frustrating parts to osCommerce is that there is no inbuilt ways to password protect the administration area.  While this can easily be corrected by finding information of password protection on the oCommerce site, it is frustrating that this does not come with the default installation.

Attribute system
If your business relies a great deal on attributes, osCommerce is probably not the cart system for you.  osCommerce has many limitations to their attribute system including there being no SKU identifiers and no stock control.  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.

Large product catalogs
The last downfall worth mentioning of osCommerce is its limitations with large product catalogs.  When dealing with large product catalogs of over a hundred, modules for the input/management of data is required.  If the product catalog is even larger than a couple hundred, there are several other modifications that must be taken care of.

osCommerce is a decent open source based online shop, but there are several downfalls that should be considered prior to getting into it.  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 systems make up for.

As ecommerce shopping becomes increasingly popular, more and more people are looking for open source based online shops.  osCommerce was the first true open source shop to come about online, and it has definitely served its purpose since its creation.  However, with time there have been more open source shops develop that offers some aspects that osCommerce cannot.  Here are a few reasons why you may not want to use osCommerce.

Not template driven
One of the minor downfalls to osCommerce is that it is not template driven.  This will effect how quickly you can adjust how the site looks and it is not near as flexible in doing so if it were template driven.  To make up for it not being template driven, osCommerce does have style sheets that allow you to quickly change the header, footer, and left and right column files.

Slow customization
If you are looking to customize files and pages, it is almost necessary to have a developer of some sort.  With oscommerce, if you attempt to customize files without a developer, it is extremely time consuming.  You may want to consider spending a little extra money to higher a developer for you.

In the next post I will write a few more reasons why a person may not want to use osCommerce as their shopping cart software.

In the previous post  I wrote about some tips for Top Organic Ranking. Is this post I will provide three more essential tips. 

1. SEO Marketing is much easier if you know exactly who you are targeting.  By knowing the audience you are trying to attract, it will be much easier to write content and advertise accordingly.  You can also make your web pages more appealing by knowing the audience you are targeting.

2. Nobody wants to read dull text because it is unappealing.  In order to climb up in the search engines through search engine optimization, you must reward your readers with quality content.  If you can provide new and enticing content without sounding too formal, you are bound to climb up the search engines.  You want to write conversationally while still providing quality content.  The best way to do this is by being you and writing how you talk.

3. The last way to have success with SEO marketing is to give a clear and definitive role of action your visitors should take.  You can do this by saying something like "Click here to order now."  This is not giving them the option, but telling them what to do.

Search engine optimization is a great way to have success with your website.  There are several things that need to be done prior to building a website, but search engine optimization should definitely be in the back of your mind prior to designing your website.

Designing and marketing your website according to search engine optimization is highly recommended if you wish to have success.  SEO marketing is easily one of the best ways to generate a high traffic volume to your website, thus increasing your income.  Here are six tips to help you design and market your website according to search engine optimization.

1. Before creating content for your shopping cart software, you should select a few keywords that you want to target to the public that sum up your website.  Search engine optimization is all about targeting keywords that people are searching for.  As you place these specific keywords throughout all of your content, you will climb higher on the search engines.

2. The first paragraph of your website needs to stand out and draw in the readers.  By stating your main selling points and benefits, you are making your website and product sound more appealing.  There is no need to get into great detail right away just as long as you interest them enough to read on.

3. The best way to use search engine optimization is to make your business and products about the people.  Anyone can state how their product is going to benefit people, but your goal is to make a strong emotional connection with the people.  If you can tell them how they will benefit from your product as oppose to just what benefits they will get, you will have gone the extra mile.

Continuing from the previous post

Write professional content. If you can not do this yourself hire it out. There are people who make a full time living selling products by email. You can be one of them, but if your email marketing course is poorly written no one will pay attention to it and they will never buy anything from you.

Consider selling digital products. No matter what your product is you can add to it by selling digital products that can be downloaded instantly. eBooks are great for this because you find thousands of them that relate to the topic of your course. Another thing you can do is give away a brandable copy of an eBook for free.  Brandable means that it has your i.d. number in it for a product you sell. When people read the eBook you have a chance to make a sale. Make it a viral marketing tool by allowing people to give the eBook away for free as well.In summary you can use an email marketing course to make more money if you do it right. One thing you might do is subscribe to a few courses by email yourself. Create a swipe file and put any good ideas you see in it for future courses of you own.

Email marketing has been one of the greatest things to every happen to smart business owners. The number one reason people use the internet for is to send email. The second reason people go online is to find information. With a well thought out email marketing course you can do both. Let's take a look at how you can use an email marketing course for a more profitable business.

1. You will need an autoresponder. An autoresponder allows you to automate your follow-up by capturing name and email addresses and automatically sending them pre-written messages. You can Google search and find all kinds of autoresponders. Make sure you are getting one from a reputable company as this is the primary tool you will use.

2,. Your email marketing course should be stay on topic. Write about a problem your audience has and then over a series of messages solve their problem.

3. Keep your emails informational. One sales letter after another does not solve their problem, but asking and answering questions that they have will. Remember they are researching information and you are giving it to them.

4. Work in your products and services into the content of your messages naturally. This may even mean you do not mention a product or your website address until your signature at the bottom of the email. By doing it this way you are giving your potential customers a way to find you in a non threatening way.

Continuing from the previous post  What else can a shopping cart software do part 1 I will write a few more features a shopping cart can do for an eCommerce retailer. 

Quick calculations It can be tedious and easy to make a mistake with calculations as far as shipping and tax and what the final cost comes to.  This is another area that php shopping cart software can assist you in.  Almost all software comes with programs that can calculate shipping costs for customers based on parameters that you set.  Most software can also calculate taxes for each order immediately with the purchase.

Security measures One of the main reasons there are still people who are hesitant to shop online is because of the fear that their personal information is not secure.  Almost all ecommerce software comes with some sort of security measures to ensure customers that their information is safe.  Most programs allow customers to go through the shopping cart program without having to download cookies, which is one of the main concerns with releasing personal information.

Having php shopping cart software is extremely beneficial to your internet business, and for more reasons than just being a shopping cart.  Because of the load it takes off of you to design your webpage and calculate numerous tax and shipping costs, ecommerce software is worth looking into to enhance your business experience.

If you have an online business today, it is almost essential that you have some kind of shopping cart.  When you begin looking for php shopping cart software, you will quickly recognize that most software is much more than just a shopping cart.  Everything from security to marketing to quick calculations generally is included with ecommerce software.  Here are 5 things good software can help your internet business with.

Marketing - So you have an internet business and php shopping cart software, but what good is it if you don't have any customers?  A lot of ecommerce software is going to come with various marketing methods to help you generate a higher traffic volume.  One common marketing technique you will see is information on affiliate programs.  Some shopping carts are capable of producing incentives as well such as creating coupons and gift certificates

Customer recognition - It is crucial that you recognize previous customers so that you can potentially give them incentives and deals to come back again.  Many php shopping cart software programs have features that allow customers to see their previous purchases.  On top of this, the program will recognize the customer when they come back for a return visit.

Design - If you're a business person and not so much a web designer, you're in luck.  As the internet and technology continues to develop, it is becoming more common to see some ecommerce software come with wizards to help you build your webpage for you.  This way you can acquire a webpage without even knowing html.

In the next post I will discuss two additional things shopping cart software can do.