New Magento Version Released, Updated SEO Features
Nov0
The open-source ecommerce solution, Magento has just released a new version in time for all those online Holiday stores(woot!!). You can download the update within the Connect Manager in the admin portion of Magneto. It includes:
- Google Base integration
- Scheduled DV logs cleaning options
- Google Website Optimizer Integration
and more, its pretty slick, i sound like an advertisement - but im not, its that great. Here is a fancy little video showcasing the Google Website Optimizer options within 1.1.7.
Full 1.1.7 Patch Notes here.
ICANN Approves .tel Domain Names
Nov0
Who is going to be picking up some of these new .tel domain names? And yes, the article below is from 2006 when the .tel started making it’s move, but the sales are finally going to be happening. Check below for the dates.
An Internet regulator has approved the creation of the .tel domain, the company that proposed the domain announced on Monday.
Telnic, which proposed .tel to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) in 2000, said the domain will give individuals and businesses a naming and navigation structure for Internet communications.
The idea is for people to use .tel as a way of communicating directly with the person or company behind a particular Web site, using technologies such as voice over Internet Protocol, e-mail or Short Message Service (SMS). Telnic used the examples of AdamSmith.tel or Hertz.tel.
“The .tel domain offers the first genuinely different use of domains since .com was first created. It will provide seamless integration of existing methods of communication, with emerging technologies like voice over IP,” Telnic’s chief executive, Khashayar Mahdavi, said in a statement.
“The days of needing to remember several telephone numbers, numerous VoIP or instant message identities and other points of contact for our social and professional networks are over. By leveraging innovative DNS (Domain Name System) technology, the .tel domain will allow anyone to publish and control, in real time, how they can be reached,” Mahdavi said.
Telnic, whose mission includes developing a text-based naming and navigation system for Internet communications, hopes to start awarding .tel addresses in 2007.
A similar initiative, called ENUM, already exists. It uses an architecture based on the Domain Name System to resolve telephone numbers to domain name addresses.
Last week ICANN rejected the adult-oriented .xxx domain, a move that was welcomed by adult industry insiders but criticized by the European Commission, which accused ICANN of bowing to pressure from the U.S. government.
Sunrise Registration (Trademark Holders Only)
Pre-booking available Now to December 3, 2008
Sunrise Registrations open December 3, 2008 & continues until February 2, 2009
Landrush Registration (Open to Everyone at a Premium Price)
Pre-booking available Now to February 3, 2009
Landrush registration opens February 3, 2009 & continues until March 24, 2009
General Registration (Open to Everyone at a Standard Price)
Pre-booking available Now to March 24, 2009
General registration opens March 24, 2009
source: CNET
My Experience With .info vs .com
Nov0
One of my biggest money making websites had been on a “.info” domain for over a year and was pulling a fair amount of money. I know that “.info” domains are the bottom of the barrel when it comes to quality and they are usually picked up by spammers for cheap. When I initially started the website I didn’t anticipate the amount of revenue I could generate with it and therefore didn’t want to spend the extra money on a “.com”. This was a big mistake!
A dot com domain costs anywhere from $6-10 per year, depending on what GoDaddy promo codes you can dig up, where a dot info domain runs you $1.99 per year. I was trying to save money but had I known that meager $4-8 for the year would have had me pulling in much more money I would have done it right the first time.
Earlier this month I decided it was time for this .info site to get a makeover and a new domain. It was starting to become cluttered with ads that didn’t need to be there, information that nobody clicked on and so forth, plus it was out of season and I wasn’t making a lot of money. First thing I did was secured a brand new .com domain for the website, making sure to use a good keyword. After that was secured, I got a different layout going and setup everything how I wanted. I did a few tests to make sure everything was going well and setup all the plugins and other stuff I needed. Everything was done, I switched the RSS subscribers over the new site, the twitter feed, all I needed to do was make a post on the old site letting people know that we’ve moved and then start updating the new site instead.
Keep in mind that I hadn’t been making much money on this site over the summer, it’s off season for this niche. As soon as I turned on the new site and started making posts there I was getting a ton more visitors than I normally had gotten. I was coming up way higher in SERPs and getting more click throughs which in turn was generating more revenue. I also had more people signing up as followers on twitter and subscribers to my RSS feed. I was certainly happy with the way things were looking.
It’s been about 13 days since I’ve launched the new look/domain and I’ve made more this month than I did all summer. I can’t put a finger on exactly what caused the massive change in visitors, but I’m pretty confident it has to do with the the SEO tactics I’ve implemented as well as the dot com domain. People seem to trust a .com more than a .info. The site is also not cluttered with ads anymore, although there are still a few minor issues I have to fix. Overall I’m amazed at the turnaround of the site over the past few weeks and it seems as though it’s not slowing down.
So my advice to you is if you’re going to start up a website and are debating between a .info and a .com due to the cheaper price, I would always go with the .com (.net if you absolutely have to). Just from my personal experience this month I can tell you that you will regret it if you go with the lesser of the two.
Website Magazine
Nov0
I recently signed up to receive a free subscription to Website Magazine which is dedicated to bringing you information on Website Success. I’m actually impressed with the first issue so far. This month it has a lot of good articles on how to manage your PPC campaigns as well as some alternatives to Adsense. If you’re just getting into this kind of internet marketing it’s a good place to start.
You can get your free subscription over at their websites http://www.websitemagazine.com unless you live outside of the US, then it’s $49/year, sorry guys. It’s definitely an interesting magazine and although you can find most of the information on other websites and forums, it’s nice to be able to have something physical that I can take into the bathroom to read instead of having to lug the laptop in there, which is kind of gross.
Getting In Bed With Open-Source E-Commerce
Nov0
So im at a unique crossroads in which I have the opportunity to not only create, design and manage two large online storefronts, but im not getting paid in anything other than equity for both, so naturally, I’m trying to keep my costs low. Enter Magento. A rock solid, open-source alternative to things like CS-Cart, osCommerce and more. Not only is Magento free, but its a breeze to install, configure and update. No wonder it won Sourceforge’s “Best New Product,” last year. It can be downloaded and uploaded straight to your ftp, and with a few tweaks, you can have a running storefront within minutes (minus the incredibly long ftp upload times).
Let me sum it up in one sentence for you, Magento is a pretty hot situation. Yes, I just called an open source, e-commerce solution a “hot situation.” It has EVERYTHING the big dogs have, countless shopping cart features, multiple shipping addresses per cart, all kinds of reporting, individual product ratings, suggestions, up-sales and cross-sales, its basically wonderful. It also is a breeze to customize when it comes to layout. There are several places to procure fancy themes and plugins, some cost money and some don’t, but when you are getting the expensive part of this set up for free, you can part with some green to make the site look fancy.
Time to go play with the wonder that is Magento, Ill post more impressions tomorrow after I’ve become a bit more savvy with it.