Local Search Visibility at Network Solutions

Everybody's budget is tight these days and it might be tempting to tighten the purse strings when it comes to marketing. Here is an interesting bit of information I learned today.

According to Harris Interactive, 80 percent of Internet traffic begins at a search engine.

This makes sense, but it is under-emphasized when considering how to succeed online. Simply put, if your site is not in the search engines, you won't be found. With Google's Universal Search, the entry point for small business owners that want to compete locally has changed a bit and our products have changed to meet this need. Our Local Search Visibility service helps our clients get listed in the local directories more quickly. Visitors that use local search to find a site are much more likely to convert into a sale. And right now, there is a coupon code I can offer that will make it even easier to sign up. Use the code BCXXX02737 and the $20 set-up fee for the Local Search Visibility Plan will be waived.

More Information: Universal Search

• Official Google Blog: Universal search
• SearchEngineLand.com: Google Universal Search

Domain Name Registration Promotion ONLY $9.99

I was just thinking earlier today that I should start a post series on DEALS that can be found on our products and services. Honestly with everything going on and all the bad news you might here about the economy, you have to cut costs. Well, I've got the inside track and I wanted to make sure to pass along anything I might find that is an exceptional deal.

It's not like it's a big secret, but the company I work for does not sell the cheapest domain names on the market. What might get misunderstood along the way is that we have never attempted to do so. It took me a while to understand this distinction, but most other web services business lose money on the domain name transaction in the hope that the client will sign up for hosting and / or e-commerce and other services. Simply put, the cheap registrars commonly lose money on each renewal and registration. Though that saves the client money in the short term, it makes the registrar's business model harder to sustain when they are identified as a registrar only. We are not just a registrar and we are not normally a source for cheap domains. We are a service-based solution for small business owners who like to know they are dealing with someone who knows what they're doing and is going to be around for awhile.

So when a company working in that direction can still offer a semi-secret promotion on domain names for only $9.99, it should cause some heads to turn. Let me say that again a different way.

Register A New Domain Name With Network Solutions for only $9.99!

And that's not at that special price only when bundled with other products and services OR when you mention a special code word OR sign up for our newsletter. We normally give a free domain when you sign up for one year of service, but this goes one step further. It seemed super special to me, especially if you want to take advantage of the new free business profiles included with each domain.

If what you want is cheap, go pay for cheap and settle for cheap. But if you want a premiere provider and to get a discounted price at signup, reconsider Network Solutions. We are not, nor have we ever been out to swindle anyone. Instead we tell you exactly what you get and what you will pay for it. Our prices are usually higher because our services are better. We are striving forward. You will be pleasantly surprised.

Keep in mind that this site is not a company mouthpiece and I am not just passing something along to help us, but I want to help you. I talk to e-commerce merchants every day and I'm concerned about their well being and their bottom lines. Frankly some of them have more bravery and guts than I do. But more than that, I like to write about the internet and specific stuff related to e-commerce, not just my job. Please know that it won't always be about Network Solutions. But when there's a deal like this one, I cannot keep it to myself. The catch? It ends right before midnight on March 19^th, so you better hurry.

E-commerce / eCommerce / E-Commerce - Can We Get Some Consensus, Please?

If you check online for the definition of e-commerce, you will usually get something like the following:

E-commerce

Commerce that is transacted electronically, as over the Internet.

But the frustrating thing is that there is no official consensus within the industry on which exact spelling of this term we are supposed to use. Can we get some consistency here with the name? It is an entire industry in and of itself. I know that it is really in it's infancy as far as industries go and there is a lot tied up in the discussion (trademarks, domain names, claims to fame). But I personally type this word dozens of times a day. Prospective clients looking for our services are typing it into search engines. Can we all (coworkers and competitors alike) pick one of the plethora of options and hang our collective hat on it? I'm sure it hurts our credibility to have so many variations out there floating around.

"E-commerce"

This is my current favorite simply from habitual use. But perhaps it should be abolished based on redundancy and for consistency. The term stands for electronic commerce. For electronic mail, we don't dare use "e-mail" as that just looks silly.

"eCommerce"

This one is nice, but what happens when you have a time where you had to use a capital letter for the first character? "ECommerce"? I don't like that.

"Ecommerce"

For simplicity, this should be the winner. But for some reason I can't quite place, it is wrong too.

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I'm open to suggestions and convincing arguments for your favorite. The industry at large will decide some day, but we can certainly discuss the likely choices and steer it to our preference.

Video: E-commerce Websites for Small Businesses

More videos!

In this video, you'll learn how an experienced web services company can help you create a store, accept payments, manage your inventory and secure your transactions.

This is a good introductory / explanatory video, whereas the previous video was a good promotional video. I think that for a product that is as involved as ours, it helps to have a visual explanation and I like the cut out, white-board style used here. It's very reminiscent of the Common Craft show, which I'm a big fan of from their RSS in Plain English video.