I frequent many SEO and Web Marketing forums on a daily basis and every so often there is a debate about the SEO industry and ethics. After being involved in a number of these debts, it has become really obvious that the main problems are the facts that no two SEO companies are alike and there is no unified methodology. It's very hard to make statements about the industry as a whole because it's debatable what exactly 'SEO' is. Mix in the fact that most SEO companies keep their methodology and campaign strategies secret and we have a situation where every company is totally different with very different results.

Fact 1: There is no unified SEO methodology. SEO is actually defined by wikipedia as a process of improving traffic from SERPs to a site. Of course, HOW they do that is the real question and causes the debts.

Fact 2: The effectiveness of an SEO campaign depends on the site structure, site content, keywords, methodology used, and how popular the site is. A site can not just rank for any random keyword. SEO is also not voodoo. It is logic, problem solving, and Web marketing combined together. If your site provides no value to users, it probably will not rank.

Fact 3: Some 'SEOs' do search engine optimization and some do search engine manipulation. Of course, it is all marketed as SEO. Unethical optimization provides results at any cost and is always short term (usually ends in a banned domain name). Ethical optimization opens up the site to the search engines and provides long term benefits.

Fact 4: Most SEO companies get paid if or not your site gets any rankings. Unfortunately, this is the case with the industry. Most SEO companies implement A, B, and C and move on to the next client. Hopefully, the site rankings. If it does not, they always have more clients.

Fact 5: Most SEO companies use both ethical and unethical inbound linking strategies.To maximize profits, it is very common for SEO companies to buy bulk links from India, links on spam / scraper web sites, or sell large directory submission packages. It is also common for SEO companies to place huge amounts of the contract into inbound linking to make up for the poor quality of the site optimization.

I do not think it is fair to characterize the industry as a whole without figuring out what is wrong with it and how SEO companies can over it. So how exactly do we determine what is good and bad about the industry? I have now been involved with the Web for over 10 years and, specifically, with the SEO industry for almost 4 years and I've seen the inner workings of major SEO companies and worked with clients who had been burned by their previous SEO campaigns. Combined with numerous Web postings and forum discussions talking about the same basic problems, I've compiled a list of the most common issues.

Problem 1: Responsibility for Results

It's no secret that the vast majority of SEO companies take no responsibility for results. It is a fact that no SEO company can guarantee results (and if they do, they are lying to you). It is also a fact that the client is taking a risk by spending money with an SEO company that basically says 'We'll do what we can'. SEO companies simply guarantee they'll do the work to 'optimize' the site, but without full disclosure of their methodology, what exactly is the client paying for? No other industry sells a product with no guarantees and no specific list of work that will be completed. Of course, SEO work is basically the sales of information and keeping the specifics of a methodology is important, but the combination of confidentiality and no responsibility for results really makes SEO campaigns risky. So, how can an SEO company reduce the risk for the client and provide the best grade of service?

Answer 1: Incentive Based Pricing

The only real way to reduce the financial risk of the client is to share the risk. Through incentive-based pricing, the SEO company can charge a certain percentage of the total contract (say 70%) to cover their intellectual property and time while placing the rest of the contract price (remaining 30%) in incentives for success. Of course, incentives and their percentage of the contract would be totally relative depending on the campaign. This first step into sharing in the risk brings both reassurance to the client that the company believes in its methodology and places some of the financial burden of the campaign on the SEO company. At the moment, however, very few SEO companies are willing to share in the risk and charge the same price wherever the client gets top rankings or no rankings at all (or possibly lower rankings).

Problem 2: Unethical Optimization

Unfortunately, unethical (or blackhat) optimization is still very prominent on the Web. It's also unfortunate that 'SEO' has been mistakenly confused with 'Blackhat SEO'. This is still the biggest problem for SEO companies. Saying that all SEO companies in blackhat optimization is like saying everyone who emails is a spammer. Blackhat optimization is not optimization at all … it is search engine manipulation. Because there is so much money tied to top rankings, there will always be a market for unethical SEO and search engine spam. Until companies realize what is ethical and unethical and stop supporting those blackhat SEO companies, they will continue to thrive. This makes the industry as a whole look bad and does not reflect the ethics of good SEO companies. Blackhat provides fast, short term results, but is never a good option in the long run.

Answer 2: Ethical Optimization

There is no quick and easy solution to blackhat optimization's stain on the SEO industry. I would suggest that all marketing departments research optimization techniques and educate themselves on what techniques are unethical. No SEO company is going to say they do unethical optimization. It's also not a good idea to immediately trust a company or product based simply on their rankings. Unethical optimization DOES provide rankings … just not for the long run.

It would also be helpful if the major search engines would be more open and accessible to SEO companies. Currently, the major search engines and SEO companies do not deal with each other and have formed a sort of love-hate relationship. Because of this, many ethical SEOs have slowly moved into dark territory. Ethical optimization seeks to make sites more easily accessible to the engines and help to improve the engine's search results. The problem is that the search engines mainly clump all SEO companies together the same way as uninformed users do: search engine manipulation. This is just not the case. Search engines do not want to reveal what they consider unethical because it would basically be providing a list of holes in their algorithms that blackhat SEOs would be able to manipulate further, but a defined list of 'what not to do' would provide a definitive list for businesses looking for an SEO company.

Basic Rules of Ethical Optimization

Any campaign that does not hide by the following rules is dealing in unethical optimization techniques and should be avoided.

1.) What the user sees and what the search engine sees should be exactly the same. Do not hide anything.

2.) Your keywords (and the resulting optimization) should exactly reflect the content of the page.Keywords should always reflect what your site is about.

3.) Do not build out pages exclusively for search engines. The site should always cater to both audiences (users and search engines). Catering to only users is why optimization is necessary. Catering only to search engines is optimization gone too far into blackhat.

4.) Do not participate in manipulative inbound linking schemes like link farms, bulk links, triangle linking, or any other unethical manipulation of your Google PageRank or link authority. Inbound links should be relevant to the content of your site and you should always know who is linking to you and where your links come from.

Problem 3: Assembly Line / Software SEO

With the growth of the SEO industry has also come the automation of SEO. The absolute first thing any prospective SEO client should know is that all effective SEO campaigns are custom. There is no checklist of items that will work exactly the same on every site. If the SEO company claims there is, then they are not doing full optimization and the campaign is minimal. A good optimization campaign optimizes the site architecture, text content, and code of the site. Assembly line SEO does not take into consideration the unique needs / design of the site and may even deal in blackhat optimization. SEO software especially should be looked at closely. There are really only two things SEO software could do that would work for any site: doorway pages (showing engines one thing and users a different thing; which is unethical) or a system of pages build exclusively for search engines (often called info or information pages and linked in an out of the way part of the page). Doorway pages are 100% unethical and info pages are deep in the gray area. Neither of those two methods address the architecture of the site, proper keyword analysis, or effective text content. The following links are examples of automated SEO software freely available on the Web. All links contain 'nofollow' to prevent the sites from getting inbound link credit from our site. These sites are NOT recommended by TreeHouse SEM.

http://doorwaypagemaker.com/ – Doorway page system; UNETHICAL

http://www.doorway-wizard.com/ – Doorway page system; UNETHICAL

Answer 3: Custom Campaign and Assessment

'SEO Software' may be cheap and affordable, but you get what you pay for. Any campaign that is going to slap on additional pages are simply sell you links is NOT an effective SEO campaign. Any SEO effort that simply has you add a few 'optimized' pages to your site is not going to be optimal. If you wanted to convert a street car into a race car, you do not simply add racing strips to it. Do not think that dumping a few pages on your site targeted to some random keywords is the same as a real SEO campaign.

If your SEO company will not sit down and talk about the layout, architecture, and aim of your site, then it is not providing a top-end service. Remember that the vast majority of 'SEO software' either is for building doorway / landing pages or simply providing you with data about your site (data that is already free to everyone on the Web). Good SEO campaigns take into account both the user and the search engines … not one or the other. An SEO company should have a commanding understanding of user experience and search engine optimization and use these in combination to create a campaign that will provide the best ROI. The end goal should always be leads / sales. Bringing in piles of non-targeted traffic often leads to extremely high turn over rates and very low lead conversion.

Conclusion

Do your research. Find out what you want from an optimization campaign and then ask the right questions. Make sure that the sales representative you talk to know what they are selling. If they do not, they are definitely not the person to get information from. A lot of SEO companies use hard sale tactics and the reps are less than knowledgeable about what they are selling. Ask the following questions and see what they have to say.

1.) How do you assess keywords? If an SEO company simply optimizes for whatever keywords are sent to them by the client, the SEO campaign starts off on very shaky ground. Keyword analysis should be performed that takes into account the number of searches in all major search engines and the relative competition for those terms. The site should also be compared to the keywords to see if they support each other.

2.) Do you plan on building out pages specifically to house keywords? Landing pages and doorway pages are not effective long term SEO options. SEO companies like them because they do not have to touch the rest of the site and it's very easy to simply add band aids instead of performing surgery.

3.) Will my SEO campaign also help improve the user experience of the site? Proper architecture and usability goes hand in hand with SEO and helps increase ROI. You should want to bring in new traffic and convert it.

4.) Does my revenue model affect my keyword selection and the optimization as a whole? Any SEO company that does not optimize based on the target audience is NOT providing the most effective campaign. An ecommerce site marketing to comparative shoppers will want to optimize heavily for product names and model numbers. An online magazine wanting to bring in recurring traffic will want to optimize for article topics and specific themes. Local companies will want to optimize for geo-targeted keywords.

5.) I want to optimize my site, but do not want to change any of the existing content or layout … how would you go about this? Any SEO company that says they will simply add on landing pages or hide text is selling blackhat. This goes back to the earlier analogy. You are really saying that you have a car that you want to modify to be very fast, but do not want to modify the engine and the mechanic simply adds racking strips and charges you full price.

The payment options available through your eCommerce website are an integral part of your business. The provider that you choose impacts both your processes in terms of processing your cash-flow and the number of orders you have coming in. Fortunately for you, there are plenty of affordable options on the market, whether you're expanding to add a new payment option or you want to change from your current provider.

While the amount of choice open to SMEs in this aspect is great, it can make it difficult to choose the right eCommerce payment provider for you. We've got five key areas that you need to consider when you're looking for a new partnership.

Compatibility

Your payment system should seamlessly integrate with your website, providing a smooth process for every customer that places an order. As a result, how compatible the provider is should be at the top of your priority list. Choosing a payment provider that already has plugins available for your eCommerce platform can save time and effort.

Security

Do not underestimate the importance of security when choosing a payment provider. Firstly, it gives you guarantees that your sales are safe. Secondly, internet security remains a concern for online shoppers and choosing a provider that's trusted has a big impact on the decision to go through with an order. Choosing eCommerce payment providers that are well known, such as PayPal, Stripe or Worldpay, can make a difference.

Fees

Payment fees matter too. Choosing a provider that offers you a competitive rate means that you'll be able to grow you margins and price your items at a cost that's attractive to potential customers. Of course, you need to weigh up the cost with the service delivered to ensure you balance both sides.

Level of service

Do you want an eCommerce payment provider that acts as a simple payment gateway, such as SagePay, or one one that acts as a complete payment solution with a merchant account? Which is best for you will depend on the resources you have available in-house and the level of support you want. Typically smaller businesses benefit from having a complete payment solution in a single place, whole businesses with a high turnover can benefit from having a separate service.

Authorization and capture

If you're a business that has a delayed fulfillment process, it could be worth your while to investigate eCommerce payment providers that offer authorization and capture. It allows you to authorize funds to be available but delay the capture until a later time. It gives you more freedom and improved access to cash-flow.

The Bitcoin eCommerce "trick is basically where you accept" crypto "money in an ecommerce store (for real world goods). sold (COGS) out via an exchange, and keep the profits as "crypto".

The aim is to ride any price increases in the underlying "crypto" assets, which should amplify your profits. Obviously, this works the other way – in that it could also lead to a loss of profits due to a drop in the price of the "crypto" tokens you were paid. However, generally, if you play the game properly – you should be able to increase your profits quite substantially with this method.

This tutorial is going to briefly explain the various points about the way this works. To do so means that you have to ensure that you understand fully what you're doing, and how the process will grow …

Firstly, if you run an "eCommerce" store, you will need to accept payments.

With the plethora of services online today (including the likes of Stripe and PayPal), you have many ways to "receive" payments without the need for a traditional "merchant account".

One of the newer ways to do this is with a service called BitGo. This is a "payment receipts" system for "crypto" tokens. Basically, it allows businesses to accept "crypto" currency for their products or services, allowing users to take full advantage of the likes of Bitcoin, Ethereum etc without fearing any security issues (BitGo is heavily focused on security implementation).

This means that if you receive any money via "crypto" tokens, while their price will often be line with the various "fiat" treaties – they will typically be quite volatile. For this reason, it's often the case that many eCommerce store owners will simply "exchange" their "crypto" tokens for 100% fiat currency either at the end of the month, or after an order is received.

The "trick" employed by a large number of store owners is to actually keep their profits in the "crypto" ecosystem. This means they pay for everything else – including the likes of their COGS, warehousing and administrative costs – while retaining the pure profit in their exchange accounts.

By doing this, they have nothing to lose (and everything to gain) by letting their holdings ride the price waves of BTC and the other "crypto" tokens – multiplying their holdings faster than any savings account could ever do.

When you build an e-commerce business, one of the largest decisions you must make is to choose between a shopping cart and an order page. That's because the one you choose will impact your sales results. And if you choose the wrong one, you will lose customers and sales.

You can not make a sale until the customer submits the order. A persuasive landing page and compelling sales copy are vital to get the prospect to want to buy. But it is equally important to have a smooth order process that helps to close the sale.

Any point within this order process can cause would-be customers to not buy anything. For example, if they encounter a detour or something unexpected, they can quickly lose interest and not buy.

To close the sale, the order process must confirm the offer to keep them excited. Plus, make it fast and easy to complete the order form.

The Difference Between a Shopping Cart and Order Page
In online marketing, a shopping cart is part of e-commerce software that allows visitors to a website to select items to buy. It can be integrated with a small or large catalog of items, each with a unique price.

The shopping cart can allow customers to choose different features, such as size or color, plus the quantity. Then upon checkout, there is a form to collect the customer's name, address, plus billing and shipping information.

An order page contains a summary confirmation of the offer. Plus a form that collects the customer's name, address, plus billing and shipping information.

Depending on your software, both the shopping cart and order page can give a wide range of features. These may include integration with an online payment gateway, such as Paypal or Stripe. Plus, product quantity, shipping, real-time pricing calculation and data encryption upon order submission.

But while both can facilitate a sale, the order page has three big advantages in getting the prospective customer to buy. The following are 3 reasons why it trumps shopping carts for most types of products and services.

Order Page Advantage # 1: Speed ​​of Sale
Once you get a prospective customer to want to buy, you must do so as fast as possible. That's because doubt can quickly enter the consumer's mind that can cause them to hesitate to buy.

Perhaps the biggest difference between shopping cart and order page is the number of clicks and pages the consumer encounters. A shopping cart can require anywhere from one to upwards of 6 or more clicks that take the consumer to different pages to enter information. Pages may take time to load. The number of clicks and pages plus long amount of time it takes to complete the process are big reasons for why there are so many abandoned shopping carts.

Yet an order page has everything on one landing page. So the consumer can quickly follow the information, usually from top down, enter the information requested, and click just one button in the whole process to submit their order.

Order Page Advantage # 2: Persuasive Content
A shopping cart is bulky with respect to the layout and information displayed. Yet the information that is displayed is factual. The longer the consumer sees this, the more likely their emotional excitation about the product or service will wane.

Order pages on the other hand can start off with persuasive content that confirms the offer. So when the consumer is completing the order form, they are more likely to retain an emotional connection with buying the product or service. Emotion is what sells. The longer you can keep the consumer emotionally engaged with your product, the more likely you are to close the sale.

Order Page Advantage # 3: Personalization
Shopping carts are a one size fits all. Each consumer uses the same cart with the same content to select the specific products or services and quantities they want to buy. There is very little if anything that is personalized for each customer.

Order pages can be personalized for each customer based on information in their contact record or specific landing page they visited. Personalized content can increase sales conversion. So you can not only make the customer happy, but your wallet too.

In summary, shopping carts and order pages enable consumers to buy and merchants to earn sales. Yet order pages have 3 distinct advantages that can lead to higher sales conversion. They also take less time to close the sale and results in fewer contacts that abandonment the check out process.

Plus, they can boost sales conversion with persuasive content that keeps the consumer emotionally engaged with your product or service. And they can contain personalized content which further advances customer satisfaction and higher sales conversion.

Bitcoin is built on the notification that money is any object, or any sort of record, accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts in a given country or socio-economic grouping. Bitcoin uses cryptography, or mathematical equations, to control the creation and transfer of money, rather than relying on Governments and central banking authorities. Transfers for loans, sales, purchases or any other methods of payment can be processed by anyone, using a desktop, smart phone, tablet, or laptop. This is all possible without the need for a financial institution to act as an intermediary or recording agent.

Created in 2009, Bitcoin is a digital currency introduced as open source software by an MIT student named Satoshi Nakamoto. There is much speculation as to whether Satoshi is an actual person, or a collection of individuals using a pseudonym. Bitcoin are mined by a process termed mining, in which specialized computer hardware complete complex mathematic ratios and are rewarded with a block of bitcoins. This process takes about 10 minutes and the current block rewards 25 bitcoins. The block reward will be halved to 12.5 bitcoins in 2017 and again approximately every four years thereafter. By 2140 there will be roughly 21 million bitcoins in existence.

This week has shown a whirlwind of activity with business owners of all stripes getting on track with Bitcoin. From small businesses in New Orleans, to the Sacramento Kings of the NBA accepting Bitcoin for ticket sales and team paraphernalia, to casinos in Las Vegas, Bitcoin is popping up everywhere. Venture Capitalist Chris Dixon believes Bitcoin may reach $ 100,000 if it becomes the primary means of ecommerce ( Wired ). The CEO of a major online retailer was quoted as saying "Other retailers will not want to miss out, Bitcoin market is growing by 30% per month." This same retailer saw a 5% increase in sales the first day it accepted Bitcoin. Zynga Games, one of the largest online gaming companies, responsible for Farmville, Castleville, and a host of others also began accepting Bitcoin for in game financial transactions. After the five Big Banks said no to money from marijuana dispensaries and growers, Colorado's legal marijuana dispensary industry turned to Bitcoin ( ZeroHedge ). The IRS has also recently launched a campaign that allows taxes to be paid with Bitcoin. There has been Bitcoin ATM's popping up in cities such as Vancouver, Ottawa, and a Bratislava Slovakia shopping mall. Recently, the New York City Bitcoin ATM was put on hold until a public hearing under the jurisdiction of the New York State Department of Financial Services could be held.

After flirting with the $ 1,000 value just after the New Year, Bitcoin has been steadily trading at around $ 950 on the Mt. Gox exchange over the last fortnight and is being nicely supported by the 50 day moving average indicating Bitcoin is still decidedly bullish. This was surprising to most analysts who believed the regulatory news coming out of China, India, and Russia would burst Bitcoins bubble. However, Michael Robinson, with over 30 years of experience in market analysis, believes most analysts are wrong. He suggests that the strong correction we saw in early December, coupled with the consistent support of the 50 day moving average, indicates Bitcoin is an extremely healthy market, and should only continue to increase in value.

As a retailer of the Taser X26c and Taser M26c I am often asked what the differences between these 2 devices are. First, both devices are non-lethal devices that use stun technology to stop an attacker using Electro-Muscular Disruption (EMD) technology. In police studies Tasers have a higher incapacitation rate than a 9mm hand gun. You can actually shoot an attacker with a 9mm hand gun and the attacker can still lunge toward you and attack you. If you shoot an attacker with a Taser, the attacker will not be able to move.

Both the Taser X26c and Taser M26c shoots out 2 darts attached to 15 feet of wire. The police version of these units shoots out 25 feet. You would like it would be opposed for the consumer to be able to shoot further that the police version.

Taser M26c Specifications:

The Taser M26c comes with a repeatable cycle of 5 seconds with a laser light to help the user in hitting their target. The Taser M26c comes with 4 live cartridges, no holster, in 1 color (black with yellow stripes), requires eight (8) AA batters (not included), is 8.3 "in length, 6" in height and is 19.2 oz in weight . The Taser M26c comes with a storage case.

Taser X26c Specifications:

The Taser X26c comes with a repeatable cycle of 10 seconds with a laser light to help the user in hitting their target. The Taser X26c comes with 6 live cartridges, with a holster, available in 3 colors (black, clear and yellow), a Digital Power Magazine (for power), 7.3 "in length, 3.2" in height and is 7.2 oz in weight . The Taser X26c does not come with a storage case. The Taser X26c also comes with 1 hour training by an Officer and is downloadable Capable, Taser Cam capable, XDPM-Extended Grip Capable and 2nd Cartridge Holder. The Taser X26c is about double the price of a Taser M26c and is about the the size, making it more compact and easier to conceal.

Below is a comparison chart high lighting the differences:

FEATURE ————- TASER M26c ——————- TASER X26c

MSRP ———————- $ 499.99 ———————— $ 999.99

Energy Cycle ————- 5 seconds ——————— 10 seconds

Repeatable Cycle ——– Yes —————————– Yes

Back Up Stun Mode —— Yes —————————– Yes

Laser ———————- Yes ————————– — Yes

Light ———————– No ————————- —– 2 LED's

Liver Cartridges ————————————— 6

Holster ——————– Available ———————- Included

Color ———————- Black with Yellow Stripes — Black, Yellow, Clear

Target Includes ———- Yes —————————- Yes

Battery Type ————- 8 AA ————————— Digital Power Magazine (DPM)

Batteries Included ——- No —————————– Yes

Length ——————– 8.3 "————————— 7.3 "

Height ——————– 6 "————————— —- 3.2 "

Weight ——————- 19.2 oz ————————- 7.2 oz

Additional Features —– Storage Case —————– Includes 1 Hour Training by Officer

More Options ———— Download Capable- Download Capable TASER Cam Capable XDPM- Extended Grip 2nd Cartridge Holder

Irrespective of the business you own, providing the statement of charges to customers is a daily task. A bill – that comes in all sizes and forms. Sometimes handwritten, sometimes created on a word processor, and sometimes produced through a software. Invoice; as we know it, ensures that we receive payments for the services we provide. However, not everyone finds the invoice creation process fascinating. Quite often, it is a pain in the neck!

But in the era wherein everything from pin to piano is available on the internet; and customers are willing to pay any amount for anything that pleases their eye, would it be ideal to send invoices that take endless hours to create and look frail and dull? Search the market for modern accounting software and you will find several including NetSuite, QuickBooks and Odoo. But when it comes to finding the software that is advanced, works exceptionally and provides you with clear, crisp, and professional looking invoices, Odoo emerges to be a winner.

Right from startups to gigantic enterprises, several have embroidered the Odoo power. Whether one wishes to create an Odoo customized invoice or mirror invoices in multi-company setup, Odoo does it all! So, what are the ways in which it can help with Invoice Creation and Processing? Let's try to understand.

Make Accounting Easy

As a startup, you might think that your good old excel sheets will survive. But as and when your business grows, the need for modern accounting software will become imperative. Odoo has the potential to automate the accounting process and integrate the details into different departments.

For example, let us say you want to record your bank transactions and import the statements to your software. Odoo helps you do that with ease. Also, it provides you with a status overview so that you can keep a track of your paid, unpaid, and drafted invoices. You can also make use of Odoo invoice templates provided by different companies that enable you to customize the layout of your invoices.

Get Paid on Time

Delayed payments are like borrowed books. The intention is not to return it back. We just forget until reminded. And once we remember, begins the saga of reminding the clients about the pending payments. The question is – how many times would you be able to do that? And for how long?

With its "Automated Follow-Ups" feature, Odoo enables you to streamline billing reminders. Which means, no more follow-up emails or calls. Just set up the process and you are good to go. Also, you can accept payments through an array of payment gateways including PayPal, Stripe, Ingenico, Atos Worldline and Adyen.

A Shortcut to Quotation Management

Quotation management can become a prolonged process with the exchange of quotes taking place until both the parties finalize the amount. Using Odoo invoicing system, it is possible to do that in the matter of few minutes.

Also, it is possible for the Odoo store owner to convert the quotes into sales orders from the quotation screen. In case, you have specific requirements, you can also make use of a good quality Odoo Quotation Template available in the market. These templates are easily integrable with your systems and CRM apps so that you can undertake the sales process easily.

Concluding …

Odoo Invoicing systems have helped the business owners sell more efficiently. There are several new possibilities you can explore using Odoo invoicing. A little research into it is sure to help. You might not think of Odoo invoicing systems as a huge boon. But, let me put it this way; its addition to your business is sure to help you in coping with the delays and avoid payment related dilemmas!