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Analyzing Traffic – Visitors V. Hits

A key component to every web site is traffic analysis. When analyzing traffic, it is important to understand the difference between hits and visitors…and why both are important. Be One With The Log To analyze traffic to a site, you should be looking at your server logs. Server logs come in very raw data, but most hosting companies have interpreting programs that summarize the information into readable form. From these programs, you should be able to analyze who is sending you traffic, the number of hits and visitors among other information. Hits v. Visitors – The Game Is On… Many people, myself included, are lazy when it comes to discussing traffic results. We tend to use “hits” as a catch phrase for traffic hitting a web site. This isn’t entirely true. Traffic should always be analyzed in two categories, hits and visitors. A “visitor” is a click from someplace on the net to your site. In your server logs, a visitor will be credited with visiting the site one time
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Alas! In E-commerce Taxland

In trying to comply with tax laws for your e-business, you may find yourself falling down the rabbit-hole, going through the looking glass, and attending a Mad Tea-Party. Common sense, logic, and fairness never did apply fully to the field of taxation but this is especially true of e-commerce transactions. 1. Canada Customs Welcomes You to Canada! Since I`m located in Canada, let`s start here. Canada has what you might call a national sales tax or a value added tax (VAT). This Goods and Services Tax (G.S.T.) of seven percent is applicable to many Canadian transactions. Not only is it critical to determine whether a taxable sale was made in Canada or not, but also where in Canada. If it was made (or deemed to be made) in any of the Harmonized Sales Tax (H.S.T.) provinces (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland and Labrador), a higher, fifteen percent H.S.T. rate applies. This is because those provinces have allowed Canada to collect their provincial sales tax

Acupuncture Versus Western Medicine

When one thinks of acupuncture, what are some of the images that typically come to mind? Instantly, though, a picture of a black kettle pot with a bunch of concoctions and needles should come to mind. On the other hand, acupuncture therapy does not have to concoct such awful images in one's head. However, if you have ever thought about the possibility that acupuncture may be able to replace Western medicine you are sorely mistaken. On the other hand, there are some important distinctions between the two fundamental ideas of medicine, and in this article the idea of acupuncture will go head to head in an effort to compete against Western medicine. Science Versus Intuition The basic idea behind Western medicine is the knowledge and science behind every treatment that we can see. Acupuncture, though, is not considered one of those treatments. Consider for a moment all the monumental effects that taking one prescription medication can have on the body. Many advocates of Weste

Accepting payment at your ecommerce website

To have an online store, the easiest way is to find some open source ecommerce script. For example oscommerce or zen-cart shopping cart. Get these script setup on your web hosting. To accept payment online, its either customer pay through your website, or route customer to payment gateway website and make payment. Selecting which one, will depend on your needs and budget. Having third party merchant is easiest and lowest cost. You could sign up with 2checkout payment processing or paypal or verisign payment processing. And route customer to the link provided by them. Customer will make payment at those provider webpage, and once its done, customer will return back to your website. Be sure to pick only those famous third party merchant provider, don’t trust those that you found online and offering incredible low cost and no fees solution. Who knows, you will never get your money at the ends. Either you can find a web hosting provider that offers merchant account as wel

Accepting Credit Cards on your Website

If you are building an online shop, you will need to address the question of taking payments for orders. You can, of course, request that a check payment be sent to you in the mail. Most shopping basket software allows you to select this option when you are setting it up. If you already have an offline, bricks and mortar business, you may simply wish to accept credit card payments over the phone.  However, there are some basic problems with these solutions and it all comes down to the way people shop on the internet. Customers expect to be able to add items to their basket and proceed to the checkout to pay. If they then find they must telephone you or print out and send their order, they may simply abandon their order and hop over to another website. Shopping online is all about convenience and if you are unable to provide this, you may be losing customers without even being aware of it.  So, what are your options and what is it all going to cost? Well, the good news is you

Abandonment - Why Visitors Don’t Turn Into Customers

Every good Internet business understands the value of conversions versus hits received. Far too often, businesses become fixated on the hits they are receiving instead of monitoring their hit to sale conversion rate. This misguided focus is the road to ruin because it fails to take in the issue of abandonment. Abandonment “Abandonment” is one of those terms that has a unique meaning when applied to the Internet. The term refers to reasons why a user abandons a site before taking the action the site owner desires, typically purchasing a product or making an inquiry. There are a number of beautiful sites on the Internet with unique innovations. Unfortunately, these sites rarely turn a profit or unnecessarily limit their profit potential. Site owners must focus on only one thing when building a site – converting visitors to customers. To avoid abandonment issues, you should focus on the following: 1. The site should always load as quickly as possible to accommodate visit

A Marketing Conundrum

Ignoring the problem or getting bent out of shape over it isn’t going to make it go away. I am referring to the sad state of affairs of modern day popular culture and just how far from authenticity we have sunk in our search for meaning in life. Much of the world is entering what is being called the 'Bread and Circuses' phase of declining empire. A phase preoccupied with credit binging, fiat money and spectacle.  The Romans went through a similar period of decay, Nero fiddling while Rome burned.  Then as now, there are many narrowly focused people out there in the world with money to spend who only want to be entertained. They care not a hoot for dignity, synergy or edified social discourse. Reading, the News Hour, National Public Radio, debates...how boring. Glamour, glitter and action, that’s where it’s at. Seeking diversion in fun and games is a sign of the times, and noble or not, the astute marketer can realize that there is a lot of money to be made catering to the