What is Google Base?

Google base is a shopping area of google, when you do a web search on any keyword, if there is a product that has been submitted to google then there is a good chance it will appear on the first page. Sometimes appears at the very top with the product name, cost and a comment. Occasionaly and no idea why, but the product may appear half way down or at the bottom of the search results page.

This is a guide to a new installation and configuration.

Instalation

1. Download http://www.iwebshop.co.uk/googlebasefeeder.zip and then Unzip and upload all files to your store directory (except .sql files)
2. Chmod feed directory to 777
3. Go to Admin->Tools->Install SQL Patches and install googlefroogle.sql by copying and pasting (do not upload);
4. Go to http://base.google.com and create/sign to your account. Follow the link on the right hand side of their website to create your FTP account.
5. Go to Admin->Configuration->Google Base Configuration and setup all parameters;
6. Register your bulk upload .xml file using the same name in your Google Base Configuration at base.google.com
7. Go to Admin->Tools>Google Base Feeder and follow instructions to create, view, and upload feed file.

If you have a zencart ecommerce store, and not using this addon, then you are loosing sales!

Iwebshop add this system to their professional shop service: http://www.iwebshop.co.uk/professional-shop-p-22.html

I have setup the demo stores for zen cart, cubecart, oscommerce and magento.

Feel free to test out the carts, adding / moving products/categories etc.

Zen Cart Zen cart is my favourite shopping cart. The benefits to it make it perfect for an online shop. Here is a list of features, which is in no ways complete but gives you a good idea of how customisable the cart is. Benefits of using Zen Cart: 1. Highly Customisable The beaty of zen cart is that is has many customisable options, mainly done through the shop admin panel. Just about everything I have ever been asked to change a shop is covered in the shop admin. From removing certain text and attributes to addons easily implemented to enhance the site.

2. Numerous Templates

Installing a template is very easy, its just a question of uploading files. Then activating the template in the shop admin panel. There is many sites out there offering free and cheap templates. Templates are also very easy to customise, so even if the one you like ‘isnt perfect’ it can be adjusted easily to your taste.

3. Addons Galore

Over at the zen cart forums and Download Section is a whole host of addons you can use for zen cart. They are simple to implement, usually requiring no or very few file edits and by using the shop admin you can run an sql file to make any database changes to accomodate the addon. Obviously you have to ensure that a backup is taken before installing a new addon, but in the main its a pretty easy installation. Also make sure the addon is compatible with your version. You will find the developers will update an addon frequently, in line with new versions of zen cart.

4. Helpful community Forums

Over at zen cart is their community forums, heaving with developers and shop owners discussing any issues. Great place to get the answers for any tweaks you want to make but just dont know how to do it.

5. Compatible with lots of payment services

You will find that zen cart is compatible with most payment systems and should have no problems finding an addon to connect your shop to the appropriate payment system. Includes paypal, nocheck, Protx…the list goes on.

6. Search engine Friendly cart

In my experience I have found zen cart excellent for making sure my shopping sites appear in search engines such as Google. Very easy for google to deep index your site. There is even a module to enhance your search engine friendliness, giving you the ability to have SEO friendly URLS. Instead of having a url such as http://iwebshop.co.uk/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=19 the SEO module will show the URL as http://iwebshop.co.uk/ecommerce-shops-c-19.html

Downside to using Zen Cart

To be perfectly honest I cant think of many reasons why you shouldnt use zen cart. Ive heard some people mention that they ‘dont like the look of zen cart’. But what they fail to see is that the cart is highly customisable and its up to the web designer to make it look good.

iwebshop specialises in setting up online shops. Whether you already have a high street shop or an ebay shop and want to venture into the online world of ecommerce then we can offer you the services to achieve just that.

First, you will want to check that people can find your order form easily and hassle-free. You can write a clear, concise paragraph to direct your prospects to your order form so that you can minimize the chances of them getting lost. You can also reduce the chances of losing prospects by putting a prominent link to your order page from every other page on your site.

Also, do you offer multiple payment options? Some people may feel comfortable paying via Paypal, some may only want to pay with their credit card and others might want to send a cheque. The more options you offer, the better your chances of covering your prospects’ desired payment method. After all, it wouldn’t make any sense to sell hard to a prospect only to find that they won’t be able to pay you when they want to.

On the other hand, you will want to prove that you are a credible merchant. Is your order form secured using encryption technology? You would want to look into SSL for this. You can also offer a money back guarantee so that people will feel confident about buying from you. How about after sales support? Who do they contact when they have problems after purchasing?

Alternatively, you can add customer testimonials, your contact information, address, and so on to boost your prospects’ confidence. Make them feel safe about buying something from you, a total stranger to them on the other end of the Internet.

As a conclusion, it would be very pitiful if you sold hard and sold well to a prospect and something goes wrong when he or she is ready to pay. Eliminate any chances of that to maximize your profits!

Article from http://www.selfseo.com/story-19637.php

Although prices for shopping carts used to be high, this in no longer the case. You can find outstanding value and other significant e-commerce benefits you would not think possible. There are now low cost shopping cart options that will meet your e-commerce needs.

Administration:

A very useful feature of using Zen Cart, is the ability edit your content and terms pages. Pages like your privacy policy or terms of trade. What’s more is you can do it in HTML. Even if you don’t know any HTML. Zen Cart also boasts a comprehensive selection of shipping and payment modules as standard. Installation and management is as easy as 1 – 2 – 3. Even for an internet novice. The layout settings in Zen Cart’s admin section allow you to spotlight listings as ’special offers’ or ‘featured products’. Both of these options can seriously increase your profitability.

Creating and managing your product attributes is a breeze with Zen Cart. With the click of a button you have the power to add, delete, move, link or copy your products anywhere in your site. Unlike lessor e-commerce scripts, Zen Cart allows you pick which details to show and where you want to show them on your product details page.

Some of the Benefits:

The ability of this e-commerce programme to run multiple special offer campaigns along side new and upcoming products really can increase your profits significantly. Another outstanding reason to use this shopping cart software are it’s customer retention tools. Some of these worth noting are the ability to send newsletters in either text or html and it’s gift certificate or voucher modules. For international businesses, Zen Cart also supports multiple languages, currencies and tax structures.

The built in Search Engine Optimization tools, which have an automatic Meta Tags builder. Mean that you can control how individual products get listed. You really can expect great search engine listings. Customizing Zen Cart to meet your individual needs is easier than you would expect. Visitors to your website will love how simple Zen Cart makes finding and getting to what they want to buy.

When you want to really create an opportunity, Zen Cart makes it easy to put in place global price reductions. Imagine the impact that will have. Special offers are always a good thing to get your customers spending.
Setting up quantity discounts to increase turnover is as painless as it gets. Click Click. Say you have more stock than you need, simply set-up individual items with special prices. By default your customers will see at a glance how much they are saving, making them more likely to buy.

One feature really makes Zen Cart stand out as the champion in its arena. Prices can be set, simply and quickly by your products attributes. If red is more expensive than green and small is cheaper than large, Zen Cart can deal with it. In fact, it is so good, it can deal with multiple attributes at the same time. That will make you life easier. Why not consider using the built in Customer Group Discounts facility to market your products to clubs or associations. Why waste your time contacting 20 individuals when you can contact one club secretary who has 30 members?

That’s how easy it is to improve or create profits with the Zen Cart shopping cart script. iwebshop are specialists in setting up ecommerce shopping sites, and offer extra services such as search engine optimisation to help you increase your traffic and potential sales.

Article Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?E-Commerce-101—Shopping-Carts-Made-Easy&id=295074