Affiliate programs are a terrific way to make some money online without spending a lot of your own time or money developing products, building websites and doing customer service.

affiliate programs
Basically an affiliate is an independent contractor that becomes associated with affiliate programs that are offered by people that own various websites. One of the largest and best known affiliate programs is the one offered by Amazon.com.

The basic idea is that you use an encoded link to promote a website, such as Amazon, and when someone who visits the site because they clicked your link, you get a commission on anything they buy.

marketing search engine
Many different types of businesses offer affiliate programs because they are a great way for the business to reduce its cost of marketing and promotion. In addition to programs that are offered by individual web businesses, there are also large programs you can join which have many different companies that participate.

Two example of these large programs for affiliate marketers is Commission Junction and Clickbank. The advantage of working with this type of program is that you can manage all your links and commissions for many companies from just one central account.

Clickbank is well known and popular among affiliate marketers because it is one of the highest paying affiliate programs out there, with some of their clients paying up to 75% of the purchase price to the affiliate, which is a very generous percentage. For the most part the commissions paid by the affiliate companies of Commission Junction will pay from 3% to 20%, with most being in the middle of that range.

paid search
Once you become an affiliate marketer, your job is simply to promote the websites or the specific products that are offered from the businesses that provide the affiliate programs. One popular method of that affiliate marketers use to make quick sales is using pay per click advertising. Of course, this means you will need to invest some cash for the ads, but generally sales can be made fairly quickly.

However, part of that process requires some optimization services to be done in order to make the paid searches more effective and profitable. The trick here is to use marketing search engine to research the various keyword terms that would be related to the product, service or website you are an affiliate for, then choosing the best keyword that has the right balance of enough traffic but not too high a pay per click cost.

One of the best benefits about using affiliate programs to earn income online is that there is no risk to the affiliate and they are able to begin their affiliate marketing efforts with little or no money out of pocket.

accept online payments

The overwhelming majority of Internet patrons pay by credit card. That’s why Accepting Major Credit Cards through Web site is proven to grow orders consistently by extremely large margins compared to just offering the option of sending in a check or money order. There are many Advantages of Accepting Credit Card Payments On the Web.

Online orders increase greatly your profit per sale because they diminish the cost of using 800 numbers and live operators, and credit card spendors are less concerned with price than cash buyers which means, you can significantly boost your prices and lose almost no business.

accept charge cards

If you already accept credit cards by phone or mail, and you’re processing them off line, you know that it can take hours to batch the orders, process them the old fashioned way by hand, send confirmations to your customers, and enter their transaction information in your database platform. The secure server ordering process is software automated.

Whether you’re a pure on internet transactions or a brick and mortar entity looking to establish an on the web presence or even a small business, accepting charge cards has become necessary to achieve any level of success. Last year over 80% of consumers paid for their online purchases by credit card payments.

It’s an undeniable fact that businesses that do not agree to take major charge cards for their wares and/or services are likely to lose up to 90% of their impulse sales. For accepting major credit card payments through the net, one must install payment gateway software and unlike physical retailers one doesn’t need swipe machines.

With the right internet merchant account, your customer’s money is instantly and automatically directly deposited into your bank account, available within 24 48 hours. This means you can immediately reinvest your well deserved profits, raise your business, and maintain pace with the rapid growth of the internet marketplace. Even if you just use the money to pay your bills sooner, your life will be a lot not as taxing. With online credit card transaction processing, you’ll reap many more orders from customers buying on impulse.

accept credit cards on website

Apply with the right merchant services provider online and you’ll be on your way toward accepting major credit cards with your own Merchant Account and Free Software, generally within the same day. You do not want to waste your time with lengthy application processes, paperwork or excess documentation so it is important to apply with a merchant provider which specializes in ecommerce and internet businesses.

This processing is accomplished through the use of an internet merchant account. You will actually require two things to establish your online processing:

First, an internet merchant account, which is a bank account obtained through a reputable credit card processing company, specifically approved for website and online processing.

Second, what is known as an online payment gateway, to enable your website’s shopping cart to communicate with the credit card processing provider, to request and obtain authorizations on customers’ credit card transactions.

Online payment gateways act in real time and are secure. You will find that most online payment gateways on the market also offer a virtual terminal – this permits you to also manually process any orders you receive from phone, mail and even in person orders.

You should be sure to choose a provider that can set up both your online merchant account and your online payment gateway, so there will not be any compatibility issues that arise when your customers place their orders.

What documentation will you need to apply for your ecommerce merchant account? You will probably be asked for 3 documents: documentation to show you are the owner of the business (a registered business name license); a void check from your business checking account (if it is a sole proprietorship, you can submit a personal check that displays your name); and your articles of incorporation, if your business is an incorporated company.

As the owner of the business, you will have to sign the application form itself. If your business is a corporation, one of the its offers will sign the paperwork. A credit check will also be required. Most providers use a score of 600 on the credit check as the minimum score for approval. A score below 600 usually requires a co-signer or guarantor. If you have poor credit, there are a number of providers who will consider your application for an internet merchant account – although they will likely charge you higher rates for processing.

One of these support documents will be proof that you have established a checking account  for your internet business. The processor will use this account to deposit any sales generated through your internet merchant account, as well as to withdraw fees such as bank statement and online payment gateway fees.

Internet merchant bank account requirements:

If your internet business is set up as a sole proprietorship, you have the option of using a personal checking account or business checking account. If you use a personal checking account, the account must be in the name of the sole proprietor.

If your internet business is set up as a corporation, you will be required to set up a corporate checking account.

Most processors will not accept a “starter check” from your bank; they will require a check that has your information printed on it. However, if you are in a rush and you do not have time to wait for your new checks to arrive, most processors will accept a letter from your bank. The bank letter must confirm the name on the account, routing and account numbers, and must be signed by a bank representative and typed on bank letterhead.

Michael L. Rupkalvis
The Transaction Group

Over 200,000 merchants use AuthorizeNet as their online payment gateway.

Since Authorize Net is one of the most widely used gateways out there, most ecommerce shopping carts have taken steps to make sure their cart easily integrates with AuthorizeNet.

How do I integrate AuthorizeNet with my ecommerce shopping cart?

Go to the ecommerce or payment gateway section of your shopping cart. Your cart will probably ask for a API login ID and Transaction Key (or password). If your cart is asking for a password but not a transaction key, use the transaction key as the password.

How to obtain the API Login ID and Transaction Key?

If you have just set up a new AuthorizeNet account, you need to activate your account before you can obtain the API Login ID and Transaction Key.

- Login into Authorize Net
- Click on Settings Link (Account Section)
- Click on API Login ID/Transaction Key link (security settings section)
- Cut and paste both fields into your shopping cart and you should be ready for business!

Having problems with your current ecommerce shopping cart set up? Having an even bigger problem finding support?

Call us today & we will square you away!  888-383-8056

Michael L. Rupkalvis
The Transaction Group

In order to operate an internet merchant account for ecommerce websites, you actually need to set up two different accounts:

1. Online payment gateway
2. Internet merchant account

The shopping cart on your website utilizes the secure connection provided by the online payment gateway to connect to your internet merchant account. Internet merchant accounts authorize or decline the transaction and deposit funds into your business checking account.

Online payment gateway

It’s extremely important that you choose an online payment gateway that is compatible with your website/shopping cart. The last thing you want to do is set up an internet payment gateway only to find out your website/shopping cart doesn’t support it.

The Transaction Group uses AuthorizeNet because it’s one of the most widely used internet payment gateways out there. Most website and shopping cart providers are compatible with it. If you’re not sure, call your current website or shopping cart provider and ask them. Also, most have compatible online payment gateway information listed in the ecommerce services section of their website. If you’re still not sure, call us today at 888-383-8056 and we’ll help you find out.

For more information about how internet merchant account for e commerce websites work visit our AuthorizeNet Gateway page.

Internet merchant acount

This is an account established with a financial institution (merchant processor) that allows you to charge your customers credit cards for product sales or services. This is not a bank or checking account - the merchant processor deposits funds from credit card transactions directly into the merchant’s business checking account via ACH.

The Transaction Group can set up your internet merchant account for your ecommerce website, and your online payment gateway, efficiently and seamlessly, so you can focus on your tasks at hand. By waiving the monthly minimums, annual fee, and cancellation fees we offer an extremely affordable internet merchant account for e commerce websites.

Apply now by using our online merchant account application.

Or call us at 888-383-8056
Michael Rupkalvis
The Transaction Group

Merchants ask me all the time if they’ll be able to process debit cards with their internet merchant credit card account - the answer is yes.

Most people associate a debit card transaction with entering a four digit PIN code at point of sale and presently that’s not possible to do when buying online. Because of the lack of a “internet pinpad” a lot of new merchants are not sure when they sign up for a internet merchant account if they’ll be able to take debit cards or not.

Taking into consideration the popularity of debit cards these days this is a very important issue.

There are 2 types of debit card transactions

1.    Online debit transactions – not to be confused with using your debit card online, an online debit transaction occurs when the cardholder enters their 4 digit pin at point of sale. By entering the 4 digit pin the transaction is routed through the debit networks.

2.    Offline debit transactions- A debit card transaction is considered “offline” when the card is processed like a normal credit card without the 4 digit pin being entered at point of sale. This is how debit cards are processed when the merchant is not face to face with the cardholder via the internet or phone.

For more information about internet merchant credit card accounts, please visit our internet merchant accounts page . You can also learn more at our authorizenet gateway page.

Michael L. Rupkalvis
The Transaction Group

The first step occurs when the customer enters your online store and begins making a purchase, by adding items to the shopping cart.

During the next step, the information required to process the order is gathered from your customer via an online form. This includes credit card information, shipping data and product information.

The payment gateway now sends that order to the processing company. That company will double check the information you’ve sent, see which company the customer’s card is with, and then send a request for money.

This request is transmitted to the customer’s credit card company (issuer). Once they’ve validated the card and account, they’ll verify that the funds for the request are present. As long as everything is in order, this company sends information back to the processing company and lets them know that the funds are there to be transferred. If a problem occurs, then the card-owning company also lets your processing company know what it was.

In step five, the processing company relays information back to your shopping cart via the payment gateway to let it know whether or not the order can be completed. It also notifies the customer whether or not the order has gone through, and lets you know if you can ship your goods.

Despite the complexity of the process, all of the above takes place within a matter of seconds. Shortly afterward, the processing company starts a process called the “funds capture”, by which the money will be sent from the customer’s credit card account to your checking account (the one associated with your internet merchant account). When your bank account receives the funds, a settlement occurs. At this point, the transaction has finally been completed.

If you are interested in learning more about the process, I invite you to visit the AuthorizeNet page on our site.

Michael Rupkalvis
The Transaction Group

An internet merchant account is an important component of a functioning business website. Without a merchant account, your options to accept payment from your customers are extremely limited and will have an adverse effect on sales. However, selecting a service can be a headache. A quick search online turns up thousands of results for “merchant account.” With all that, how can you know which one to choose? Knowing how merchant accounts and online processing work can help you make an informed decision.

There are actually two components to accepting credit cards though your website. The first is the merchant account, which is really just an account with a bank or other financial institution. Most local banks don’t provide this service, due to the risk of credit card fraud. Because of this, it’s usually necessary to use a specialty provider of accounts for the Internet.

The second component you’ll need is a payment gateway. While the merchant account allows you to accept payments, the gateway is what actually transmits the customer’s order. It permits you to accept the customer’s actual billing information and do all the validation that’s required to avoid fraud.

To make sure things go smoothly, ask any prospective internet merchant account provider about compatibility between your shopping cart and the payment gateway. Not all of these are easily compatible, which can cause problems or delay. Also look for AVS, or Address Verification System, protection. This verifies the billing address with the owner of the credit card. You should also ensure that your prospective merchant account provider has adequate security precautions in place.

In the second part of this article, we’ll go through the process of what actually happens when a customer orders a product or service from your website.

Michael Rupkalvis

The Transaction Group