Watch the Network Solutions Parody Video #GoGranny

You can say what you want. I think this one knocked it out of the park.

Watch the Network Solutions Parody Video #GoGranny.

Product Import Field List

I don't know why the following isn't available publicly somewhere.

Please verify that you have the fields below in the following order in your CSV document. Also, be sure to check your documents for any of the restrictions listed.

Field	Column Req.	Value Req.	Specifications
Product ID	Always	No	The productID column must be included in your import file, but may be left blank unless you want to update a product's name. (Leave blank if you are creating a new product)
Name	Always	Yes	Max: 150 characters   For variation products, put the desired master/parent product name first and then list your variation group and the option for that group using a semicolon (;) to separate those and pipe (|) to separate the product and each option. (ie. Variation Master| Size| Large; Color| Red;)
Short Description		No	Max: 255 characters
Long Description		No
Part Number		No	Max: 50 characters
Quantity In Stock		No	Min: -9,999,999  Max: 99,999,999
Unlimited Stock		No	TRUE or FALSE (defaults to FALSE)  Automatically included on exports if Quantity in Stock is selected.
Reorder Level		No	Min: 0  Max: 99,999
License Option		No	TRUE or FALSE (defaults to FALSE)  Only applies to E-Products
Download Limit		No	Min: 0  Max: 99,999  Only applies to E-Products
Instructions		No	Only applies to E-Products
License Keys		No	Only applies to E-Products.  Separate individual keys using semicolons (;).
Store Cost		No	Min: 0.00  Max: 999,999.99
Customer Price	New Products	Yes	Min: 0.00  Max: 999,999.99
MSRP		No	Min: 0.00  Max: 999,999.99
Handling Cost		No	Min: 0.00  Max: 999,999.99
Minimum Order Quantity		No	Min: 1   Max: 99,999
Maximum Order Quantity		No	Min: 0 or min. order qty. Max: 99,999
Weight Major		No	Min: 0  Max: 99,999 (For example, for a 3 lbs. 6 oz. product the Weight Major is 3)
Weight Minor		No	Min: 0  Max: 15 (For example, for a 3 lbs. 6 oz. product the Weight Minor is 6)
Length		No	Length of the product (used in dimensional weighting)
Width		No	Width of the product (used in dimensional weighting)
Height		No	Height of the product (used in dimensional weighting)
Manufacturer Part Number		No	Max: 50 characters
Manufacturer Name		No	Max: 150 characters
Categories	New Products	Yes	Min: 1 category. Use tildes (~) to select subcategories and semicolons (;) to separate categories. (ex. Category 1 ~ Sub category;Category2)
Warehouse		No	Enter the name of an existing warehouse or one you would like to create and it will be assigned to this product
Category Special		No	TRUE or FALSE (defaults to FALSE)
Homepage Special		No	TRUE or FALSE (defaults to FALSE)
Shipping Option	New Products	No	S - Shippable, F - Elligible for free shipping, N - Shipping not required. Note: all new Gift Certificates and E-Products are set to 'N' since they cannot be shipped. Regular products are defaulted to 'S'.
Tax Free		No	TRUE or FALSE (defaults to FALSE)
Product Type		No	S - Standard Product, G - Gift Certificate, E - E-Product. Note: all new E-Products will import as disabled. You will need to enable them once you have uploaded an associated file. (Defaults to 'S')
Related Products		No	Enter the name of existing product(s). The product must exist in the database currently or in your import sheet, and each product must be separated semicolon (;) (ie. Product1; Product2;)
Page Layout		No	Enter the name of an existing page layout to use.
Product URL		No	Should include "http://" and your domain name, followed by the Product Page Name. (For Example: http://networksolutions.com/product.aspx)
Thumbnail Path		No	Path to an image on your site that already exists (For example, /images/product.jpg)
Medium Image Path		No	Path to an image on your site that already exists (For example, /images/product.jpg)
Large Image Path		No	Path to an image on your site that already exists (For example, /images/product.jpg)
Meta Title		No
Meta Description		No
Meta Keywords		No
Sort Order		No
Enable		No	TRUE or FALSE (defaults to FALSE)
Purchasable		No	TRUE or FALSE (defaults to TRUE)
Price Message		No
Shipping Message		No
In Stock Message		No
Out Of Stock Message		No
Variations		No	Use tildes (~) to separate variation groups, pipes (|) to delimit group names from options and (;) to separate options. (ex Size| Large; Medium; Small; ~ Color| Red; Blue;)
Attributes		No	Format: Name=Value with semi-colons (;) as separators. For multi-value attributes, values should be separated by comma (,). Any name or value containing any character other than letters and numbers must be quoted. Examples: "ISBN-13"=2381739274901; Color=Red, Blue, Green; (multiple values) "Bin-Location"="1289-48", 121, "Back Left"; (multiple values) Author="Smith, Jones, et all" (Single Value)
Errors		No	This holds the errors, if any, that are returned after importing. This field is not required. but will be added to the error report if there are any errors are encountered.
Delete		No	TRUE or FALSE (defaults to FALSE. Set to True if you would like to delete this product)

An Overview of Ecommerce (An Infographic)

I just posted a quick note about infographics and a link to one I saw on Digg about the history of the internet. But on the source site, I also saw this additional graphic that gives a very detailed overview of ecommerce.

[Source: OnlineMBA.com]

Be sure to check that out.

My Time At MonsterCommerce

My First Week At MonsterCommerce
Originally uploaded by ArcoJedi

I was looking through old pics and found this picture of me from what I assume to be my first week at what was then called MonsterCommerce. This was likely early in 2003. I've had one other job briefly, but for the past 6 years I'd been sitting at a very similar desk helping e-commerce clients and growing with and nurturing the technical support department.

At the time of this picture, I'm not yet 27-years-old and the company has about 20 employees that on average were younger than me --at least by a small margin. Our department of new technical support reps was a group of 4 or 5 guys in a small set of cubicles in a basement office. We had utilitarian carpeting on the walls and mismatched dividers.

So much has changed since then that I'd need at least ten pages to tell the whole story. This has been the best job I've had so far in my life. In summary, the company was acquired by Network Solutions in 2006 and became the Belleville office for the leading domain registrar. This purchase was a huge boon to everyone involved; NetSol got the e-commerce, web design and marketing teams that they needed, and MC's leadership got an influx of cash, tools and resources to greatly expand what they did so well and to hire tons more people.

As of September of 2009, I am no longer employed with Network Solutions. This is much to my regret considering the knowledge I've gained and the memorable times spent with numerous coworkers and what I hope will be lifelong friends. Though the separation and new personal direction will be to my benefit in the long run, I will miss the team. I could go into more detail about the separation and the reasons for it, but it would be impolite and unnecessary to hash it out here.

The question remains about what to do with this blog. Clearly the trademarked name of MonsterCommerce is owned by Network Solutions so the URL of monstercommerce.blogspot.com might need to be relinquished. But I see no real reason to do so. Regardless, the blog content is for the most part all mine, so perhaps my own "rebrand" is in order. I could reorganize this into my "Web Developer / E-commerce" blog. Or, incomplete as it is, I could just lock and freeze it as a testament and history of my time and leave it alone for all time.

Just in case someone at NetSol sees this and does want the URL, feel free to let me know but keep one thing in mind. According to my stats I've received an average of less than one (1) lonely visitor per day for the better part of the last year. And since none of the links to the NetSol owned pages that you see have been (or will be) modified, it's not like anyone is getting lost or confused. I'd still honestly recommend Network Solutions E-commerce to anyone who asked.

I'll probably write more about this at my personal blog at some point, but I wanted to update this blog page before the year ended. Thanks for visiting and please check back once a new direction (for me and this blog) has been chosen!

Online Marketing services from Network Solutions

This post is part four of four content articles to help you learn how to market your website. Some of the product names and details of the process are now outdated, but the outline should be good enough to give you a good impression.

Let Network Solutions help you drive traffic to your Web Site. Try one of our Online Marketing products today!

Top 10 Search Results (SEO)

Top 10 positioning in search engines is the most effective form of online marketing. Our experts will optimize your Web site and develop keywords based on the number of listings you desire.

Included with all Top 10 Search Result Packages

• Industry/Keyword Research
• Optimization of Targeted Landing Pages
• Coordinate Optimization Strategy
• Link Verification
• Optimized Content Creation
• Cross-links throughout Web Site
• Optimized Navigational Structure
• Homepage Optimization
• Site Submission
• 3 Positioning Reports/Review

Site Optimization Phases

Phase 1: Selection of Services

You are welcome to browse through our site in order to learn more about our services. Our SEO specialists would also be happy to speak with you on the phone regarding an SEO strategy for your site. Once you are ready for optimization to begin on your site, you may choose a service using our online sign-up forms. You may want to include a Link Building Package and/or Pay-Per-Click (PPC) management services when you sign up. An order confirmation email will be sent to you within two business days of your online order. It will include some special search engine friendly techniques that you can work on while the optimization is in production.

Phase 2: Keyword Analysis

We begin with your suggestions and then review your site to compile a list of keywords to begin with. Our SEO developers will then perform keyword research based on traffic and competition. At that point, you may approve, reject or suggest additional keyword research. (We will go up to 3 rounds to allow you to choose the best ones for your business.) Once a final list is approved, it will be provided to you, and the promotion will move on to the next phase.

It should be noted that you are encouraged to perform an intellectual property review or analysis of keyword phrases. MonsterCommerce and Network Solutions will conduct no review of any third party rights to recommended keyword phrases.

Phase 3: Site Analysis

At this phase in the process, your site will be fully analyzed by our SEO developers. An HTML validation will be performed on your site's home page, ensuring that all of the code is in working order for the search engines to be able to easily spider through all of your homepage text. Minor adjustments may be made at this point in order to increase "spiderability."

We will also scan through your site's links to find any broken links or images and check your site's server status for problems or errors that could create problems when the search engine spiders attempt to crawl through your site. Our back end analysis helps to ensure optimal search engine rankings as sites with improper coding and/or server errors can become obstacles to higher rankings.

Phase 4: Text Writing

During this phase, text will be created using your finalized keyword list (from Phase 2). The text will be written by one of our professional writers/editors and uploaded into optimized pages for you.

Phase 5: Submission and Report

Many important things happen during the Submission and Report phase. Your site will be submitted to major search engines and directories. A site map will be created for your site, linking to your newly optimized pages, and we will make changes to your homepage code and text. We will also run an initial ranking report on your site to determine where your site might already be indexed in the major search engines.

Phase 6: Completion

The completion phase lasts some time. Initially, when the changes to your site have been made and the submission and reporting phase is complete, we will send you a completion email that will contain your ranking report and additional tips for keeping your site search engine friendly and optimized. A second ranking report will be provided to you three months from the completion date and again at five months to help you track your site's progress to the tops of the search engines.

Summary:

• We perform keyword research to develop a list of keyword phrases that have a high amount of search traffic but won't be so competitive that your site doesn't have a chance to reach the first page of search results.
• Our research is geared toward finding targeted keyword phrases that people search for when they are ready to buy.
• We optimize your site in order to position your listings on the first page of the search results in the major search engines.
• Top-ten placement is important. This process can be much faster when combined with a link program.
• Many of our clients are currently seeing top ten rankings at just two and half months after the promotion has been complete.
• This is a long-term promotional solution for your site.

Pay Per Click (PPC) - PerformanceClicks™

Pay Per Click is an advertising model in which the advertisers only pay for each click to their Web site. The ads are served on the web, based on a defined set of keywords or themes relating to the advertiser's business.

Network Solutions® delivers the promise of Pay Per Click with PerformanceClicks™ package. Paid search advertising on search engines is a fantastic way to drive visitors to your Web site. Let Network Solutions create and manage your online advertising.

• Clicks to your Web site
• Targeted traffic from the Yahoo!® network
• No hidden costs - you pay a set fee each month
• Expert search analysts to manage and develop your customized keyword campaigns
• Regular reporting to show you the effectiveness of your campaigns
• Upgrades at any time

The setup fee includes the time the PPC Analyst spends with the initial keyword research, ad copywriting, and the actual launching of the campaign through Yahoo!®. Setup fee is billed at the time of purchase with the first month's package fee.

PerformanceClicks™ may benefit your site greatly if you have one of the following types of sites: mortgage broker or company, lawyers and doctors, real estate or rentals business, debt consolidation, business to business or e-commerce site with high-ticket items.

Search Engine Visibility (SEV)

Search engines have become the primary vehicle for finding information on the Internet. So, if you're serious about your business, it's time to get serious about search. Search Engine Visibility automates the search engine submission process, and provides insight into search engine optimization to help you achieve better rankings in the top search engines.

What You Get

In order to be noticed in search engines it's important for you to have tools and services available to assist you in optimizing your Web site. Our services include expert analysis of your site for factors that together increase the chances that your site will be indexed by the search engines. We will provide a 60 minute personalized tutorial recommending search engine optimization techniques that will help you to increase your rankings based on the analysis of your site. The tools available to you for use in optimizing your site will include:

• Link Popularity Tool
• Meta-tag Generator
• Search Results Ranking
• Keyword Suggestion Tool
• HTML Analysis
• Web site Uptime

We will also provide setup and configuration of reports run to analyze the number of visitors to your Web site. The in-depth Web site visitor and traffic analysis includes:

• Page Views
• Unique Visitors
• Referrers
• Visitor Detail
• Search Engine Referrals
• Search Engine Keywords

Lastly, your search engine visibility product will include automatic monthly submissions of your site to national and local search engines and directories.

Benefits

By committing to use the Search Engine Visibility tools and implementing our experts' personalized recommendations you will gain increased exposure online with a very minimal investment. By taking advantage of our services you will also get your most recent Website content indexed by search engines with configurable, automatic monthly re-submissions.

The optimization tools mentioned above will provide many benefits to you moving forward in your Web site optimization. The keyword tool allows you to easily identify the most valuable search terms or phrases appropriate to your site. You will be able to find out how many other sites link to your Web site by using the Link Popularity tool and also find out how your competitors are ranking for similar keywords so that strategies can be developed to improve search engine rankings.

Customized reports are also provided outlining search engine optimization problems as well as Web site statistics. The search engine optimization report will identify any problems in the Web site code or performance and the statistical report can be run to monitor the performance of the site as well as report the number and identity of the visitors that are accessing your site.

Some of the products and services listed in this article have changed slightly since they were initially published. However, if you follow the link provided in the header, an account manager will be able to discuss your options and get you the best possible solution.