Frequently Asked Questions
We've collected all of our frequently asked questions on one page so that you can find what you're looking for
We've collected all of our frequently asked questions on one page so that you can find what you're looking for
This integration gives you the ability to manage your Volusion store and your Amazon orders without having to log in to multiple sites. Your Volusion store forms the central point from where you manage orders, product listings, shipping communications and inventory for your Amazon stores. From your Volusion store, you can publish your Amazon product catalog and receive orders back from Amazon.
If you're on a Pro, Premium or Custom plan, you'll have access to the Amazon integration. Mini and Plus customers will need to upgrade to Pro, Premium or Custom plans to use this feature. For information on how to set up your existing Volusion store see our Amazon Integration support page
Yes, you need to have an Amazon Professional Seller account in order to sell on Amazon. If you don't have an existing Amazon Professional Seller account, you'll need to contact Amazon directly.
Absolutely not. We're providing this exciting new feature completely free of charge to all Pro, Premium and Custom plans on the V13 platform of our software. If you're on a previous version, you'll need to upgrade to V13. You'll also need to have an Amazon Professional Seller account, so please check with Amazon for any additional pricing information from their side.
Please note that you'll need to contact Amazon to deactivate your Amazon account. Deactivating your Amazon integration from your Volusion store does not cancel your Amazon account. Your Amazon account can only be cancelled by Amazon, so you need to contact them directly.
CDN stands for content distribution network, which is a worldwide system of servers that all contain a copy of your site content. When a customer comes to your site and CDN is enabled, they'll access the site content via the server that is geographically closest to them. For example, a shopper in New York will receive your content from a server near New York, while a shopper in London will receive your content from a server near London.
This technology is possible thanks to our partnership with Akamai, a leading CDN provider that powers ecommerce giants like Apple, Staples, Land's End, QVC and Overstock.com. Volusion is providing you with this cutting-edge technology free of charge.
Akamai's content distribution network is made up of over 95,000 high speed servers spread out across 72 countries. Throughout the day, a copy of your website content is automatically published from Volusion's data center to all 95,000+ CDN servers. When an online shopper visits your store, your content will be delivered from the CDN server that is closest to their current location via the fastest, most reliable path.
The biggest benefit of using a CDN is improved load time for your site, which Volusion CDN can increase by up to 60%. Since a shopper's proximity to a server impacts load time, or site speed, having your site content copied across multiple servers around the world helps your pages load faster for customers.
Simply put, the faster your site speed, the better. This is true for a number of reasons, including:
All functions performed within your store's admin will be routed directly to our datacenter, which means that you'll continue to experience regular site performance within your admin. It's also important to note that your storefront will load at normal speeds while you're logged in as an admin. To see how your storefront performs using CDN, you'll need to first log out of your admin area.
Absolutely not. We're providing you this exciting new feature completely free of charge.
Right now! If you're on the latest software version, V13, you can enable this functionality by following the instructions provided in this Knowledge Base article. If you're on a previous version, you'll need to upgrade.
CDN comes automatically enabled on your store. To turn it off, please see this Knowledge Base article.
Volusion CDN is only available to stores using V13. If you're currently on a previous version, you'll need to upgrade to V13 to utilize this new feature.
Overall, Volusion CDN will benefit your search engine optimization efforts thanks to improvements in site speed, which Google states is a factor in page rankings. One thing to know is that the URL for each of your product images will change, which could have an impact on any SEO specific to your product images. Please note that all other SEO efforts/settings will remain completely unaffected.
No. The CDN has no impact on any analytics or sales data.
Yes, you can enable any of your stores that are on V13 of our software. Keep in mind that you'll need to individually enable CDN for each of your stores.
You'll initially submit a questionnaire to give us a better idea of which marketing efforts you're currently using. Additionally, a call after the analysis is included with the service. In many cases, you'll be responsible for making any suggested changes to your website or marketing programs. You can also hire Volusion to make and/or maintain those changes for you.
Anyone willing to seek professional advice and make the necessary changes to improve the performance of their site is a good candidate for this service. Those who benefit most from this service have an established website design, have been running various marketing campaigns, and are looking to make changes to the elements on their site.
It's impossible, given the time provided, to look at every page of your website. However, we identify the pages that usually have the greatest impact on your conversion rate. These include your homepage, company information pages, sample category and product pages, and the checkout process.
Results from the Conversion Consulting services are dependent on whether you implement the changes suggested. Implementing the suggested short-term recommendations is likely to result in the quickest results.
Volusion can't guarantee an increase in conversions from our Conversion Consulting services. Although we provide the best advice to effectively market your products and website, there are several outside elements that undeniably affect your bottom line. However, should you implement our recommendations, we feel confident that you'll see a positive impact on conversions.
In many cases, you can easily make the changes to your website and marketing campaigns. However, if you'd like us to run your paid search campaigns, provide SEO consulting, or create new landing pages for you, take a look at our ecommerce services. If you'd like us to make code alterations to your website, that service is an additional fee depending on the requested changes.
The whole Conversion Consulting process generally takes 4 weeks from the date of your purchase. This allows us enough time to understand your business and complete a detailed analysis of the effectiveness of your marketing efforts. Once the analysis is finalized, we consult with you on the best way to implement the recommended changes to achieve the results you're seeking.
Visa has very strict guidelines regarding the processing of credit cards. Processing your store's credit card orders offline violates the terms of most retail merchant account agreements and doesn't comply with PCI card security guidelines. Additionally, transactions that are manually keyed into your terminal are usually processed at a higher rate than swiped or online transactions.
Using a merchant account offers many advantages over PayPal. A merchant account provides your customers with a streamlined checkout process without any third-party intervention. Using a merchant account gives your store a more professional, established and credible appearance – boosting your conversion rate.
No. Due to credit card processing regulations, you can only have one storefront for each merchant account.
No. At this time, Volusion is unable to provide its credit card processing services to merchants outside of the United States. However, we do have partners that can process these applications. For more information, please call 1.800.646.3517 x101 .
Yes. At this time, our Merchant Services are limited to U.S. citizens only (those with Resident Alien status will not be approved).
Yes. During the application process, you'll be able to specify whether or not you'd like to apply to accept American Express.
Yes. Volusion Credit Card Processing will allow you to accept debit cards, in addition to standard bank-issued credit cards.
No. Volusion Credit Card Processing doesn't provide electronic check processing at this time. However, we do have partners that can process these applications. For more information, please call 1.800.646.3517 x101 .
No. Due to PCI/CISP compliance regulations, we are unable to provide you with a customer's full credit card number.
Discount rate is a percentage of each transaction that the merchant is charged by the provider for facilitating a credit card transaction. Interchange is the exchange of transactions between the credit card processing network and the issuing bank. Chargeback is a transaction that is returned to the merchant by the card-issuing bank, generally due to a disputed transaction. The merchant bank has the option of returning or "charge(ing) back" the merchant for this transaction.
Once the application is processed, you'll be contacted via email by a Volusion Credit Card Processing representative.
Once the account has been approved, our credit card processing experts will enable an option in your admin under "Nav menu promotions". You'll receive an email informing you that the seal has been activated. Then, you can use the HTML code across your site.
Our success to get applications processed is very high. If, for some reason, you're not approved, our merchant services experts will closely work with you to help meet approval of another provider.
Although we can't guarantee it, Volusion will work very diligently with our underwriting team to help get your application approved, regardless of your credit standing.
Yes. Volusion's credit team works with thousands of new businesses owners every year to become online merchants.
Please call us at 1.800.646.3517 x101 with any questions you may have.
The process is easy. Go to your admin and click on "Settings" and select "Payment." Then, enter the Volusion Credit Card Processing information you received into the Gateway Credentials. If you need any assistance during this process, you can chat live with Tech Support or contact one of our support consultants at 1.800.646.3517 x100 .
Generally, most merchants are able to accept credit cards within two to four business days.
It usually takes 2-3 days for the credit card companies to settle the transaction and make funds available for withdrawal.
Any changes to your merchant application will need to be completed by a Volusion Credit Card Processing representative. To submit a change, please email your request to [email protected] from the address you entered on your application.
If you're an online store owner using a Volusion merchant account and the Authorize.Net payment gateway, you can use this seal and text directly on your web site to prove to customers that your site is fully secure
You are visiting a secure site. www.XYZ.com is a Verified Volusion Merchant and is part of a protected network. This merchant is committed to providing you with the highest security standards in credit card processing by choosing a network where information is securely processed and stored.
About the platform
Volusion is PCI/CISP Certified, ensuring that transactions are securely collected, processed and stored. The company exceeded industry standards in solidifying hardware and hosting facilities and is approved on Visa's list of certified providers. For more information about the benefits of Volusion's secure credit card processing, please visit Volusion Payments.
Disclaimer: Merchant verification refers to the merchant's status as an active Volusion customer. Volusion does not guarantee, represent or warrant the performance of the merchant or that the merchant will securely or accurately process all of its transactions through the Volusion solution, or complies with applicable federal or state data protection laws.
Simply fill out the application form to begin the approval process. Applications are typically approved within 3-5 business days.
Using the Verified Volusion Merchant seal directly on your site provides customers with peace of mind that their information is securely collected, processed and stored. All points of the transaction are handled in one place. With Volusion, merchants are part of a protected network that is PCI/CISP Certified. The company's hardware and hosting facilities have exceeded industry standards to provide end customers with the most secure buying experience possible.
Most applications receive approval within 5-7 business days.
Yes. All websites using Volusion Credit Card Processing are required to have a SSL certificate with a minimum 256-bit encryption for all credit card information.
Yes. Facebook Store is intended for use on a Facebook Business Page as an additional promotional tool for your Volusion store.
Creating a Business Page is easy. To learn how to effectively do so, check out our Facebook for Ecommerce Guide.
Yes. Facebook Store is available completely free of charge for all hosting plans using version V13 of our software.
Yes. Products with options are fully compatible and can be displayed on your Social Store.
No, it does so much more! You can take full advantage of the social commerce revolution by using your Social Store to display your company's branding information, welcome messaging, Deal of the Day pages and Facebook Like button promotions.
Yes, due to security requirements from Facebook, you will need to have an SSL installed on your Volusion store. If you don't have an SSL, you can get one here.
Fraud Score is an informational tool that helps you gauge risk involved with orders before processing them by identifying traits and historical trends associated with suspicious behavior and fraudulent orders. After analysis, Fraud Score provides a numerical risk assessment and identifies areas of concern based on the criteria examined; all data fields are returned as 'failed' or 'passed'.
Fraud Score provides the information you need to make the best decisions for your business. It can help you reduce the number of chargebacks you pay each month, which saves you time and money involved in payment disputes. More importantly, you receive peace of mind in knowing the risks presented by each transaction you process.
Not a thing. The system performs its analysis based on data normally provided by your customers at checkout.
The only difference between the Basic, Standard and Deluxe plans is the number of transactions screened each month. It's best to choose your plan based on the number of projected monthly transactions.
It's simple. Go to http://my.volusion.com, log in, and select "View & Manage plan" on the left hand side of the page. Then, under "choose domain," choose the domain name of the storefront you'd like to upgrade and click the "Add" button next to Fraud Score. On the next page, select the level of service that suits your needs and click "Upgrade." The fraud feature will automatically be enabled in the "Orders" section of your admin area. The monthly cost will be added to your standard hosting fees. Please note that you must be a current Volusion store owner to use Fraud Score.
Upon signing up for Fraud Score, the amount will simply be added to your monthly bill. Your first charge will not be pro-rated based on the remaining days of that month. Please note that your plan's number of allotted transactions renews the first of each month.
For example, if you purchase the Standard plan, you'll be billed along with your store package (e.g. the 15th of each month) while your 2500 transaction allotment always begins the 1st of each month.
The service will simply stop assigning scores to these extra orders – you won't be charged extra. As soon as you reach the maximum number of transactions, the system will notify you to upgrade. If you need to upgrade your Fraud Score plan at any time, you can do so at http://my.volusion.com.
If your needs reach beyond 5,000 transactions a month, please contact a representative about a custom plan at 1.800.646.3517 x101
As soon as an order is placed, customer information is cross-checked in real time with a large database of thousands of online merchants and more than 100 million transactions. The system also screens more than 15 fields which include: proxy detection and risk assessment, IP address analysis, bank identification and address verification. After these criteria are checked, an overall risk score is generated to help gauge the legitimacy of the transaction.
The score displays next to the order total, on the order details page in your store's admin area.
There are three levels of risk: Minimal, Moderate and High. Minimal risk indicates that the system analysis identified few factors indicating illegitimate card use. The Moderate level indicates that some data points are potentially fraudulent. High risk means several criteria have been identified as fraudulent or suspicious. The Fraud Score scale ranges from 0 to 300 with 0 being the highest level of risk and 300 being the lowest level of risk.
Fraud Score is available on the Winter '09, Volusion 2011 and Volusion 2013 releases.
Yes – this service integrates with both PayPal and Google Wallet.
Yes. We recommend contacting your gateway to ensure that all settings are configured correctly. Different gateways have different methods of screening transactions, so it's a good idea to check before getting started.
You bet. Fraud Score works for any Volusion merchant, regardless of location.
Unfortunately no particular technology can make this guarantee. Although Fraud Score is a powerful informational tool that can help you gauge order risk, we can't guarantee the validity of this score. In other words, the decision to process the order is ultimately yours. To help frame your decision, Fraud Score provides a detailed explanation of each risk category with every score in the "Details" screen.
You can easily upgrade or downgrade your Fraud Score plan at any time. Just log in to http://my.volusion.com and select the plan you need. You can also cancel your plan here.
You can see the full terms and conditions for Fraud Score here.
Give our Volusion Credit Card Processing team a call at 1.800.646.3517 x101 . You can also send an email to [email protected].
There is no software to install! Volusion Live Chat is entirely Web-based. You can either use our Web Client or integrate with Google Talk. Reference our Knowledge Base article here for more detailed information.
Yes, our Live Chat software runs entirely in your Web browser and is independent from your operating system. It is compatible across PC, Mac and iPhone and Android mobile devices.
You can view our knowledge base article here or contact our award-winning support team.
An agent is defined as a user of an account. This is set up within the Live Chat software itself. For example, one agent could be Susie at [email protected] while another agent is Mike at [email protected]. Having different agent accounts is the only way your online store can have multiple users taking chats at once.
Absolutely. You can upload your own logo and use any 'Click to Chat' icon you would like.
If your Live Chat status is 'offline,' your customers will be prompted to send an email with their questions. Make sure the email address you provide upon setup is the one you want customer emails to be delivered to.
At this time, Volusion Payments is unavailable to merchants outside of the United States. The good news is that we have several partners that can help meet your payment needs. Simply contact us for more information and we’ll help get you started.
Yes. Volusion's credit team works with thousands of new businesses owners every year to become online merchants.
Most applications receive approval within 5-7 business days.
No. Due to credit card processing regulations, you can only have one storefront for each merchant account.
Yes, accepting debit cards is a built-in component of Volusion Payments. You can also easily indicate whether or not you’d like to accept American Express on your application.
Once the application is processed, you'll be contacted via email by a Volusion Credit Card Processing representative.
Yes. All websites using Volusion Credit Card Processing are required to have a SSL certificate with a minimum 128-bit encryption for all credit card information.
You have a number of options to accept payment from your customers, such as PayPal and dozens of leading payment gateways. Volusion also offers affordable and convenient credit card processing services to meet all of your payment needs.
Yes. Our 24x7 support team is always here to answer your questions. We also have personal Account Managers available for Premium plans.
No. If you don't have your domain name yet, you have 30 days from purchase to provide us with one for your store. If you already have your domain, simply enter it on the checkout page. "Volusion" will not appear in your domain name.
For security reasons, an SSL certificate is required to process credit card orders. For your convenience, we offer several high-security, affordable SSLs. While you don't have to purchase your SSL right now, you'll need one before you can accept any credit card payments through your site.
No. We don't believe in transaction fees. You worked hard for your profits – you should get to keep them.
Simply enter your credit or debit card information on the checkout page. Depending on the plan you select, your card will be charged monthly or annually for the amount of your store plan. You can change credit card information at any time.
Yes. You can change plans at any time by contacting our Account Services team.
Yes, as long as your old provider allows you to export data in a .csv file. If you purchase a Plus plan or above, you can import large quantities of data, in bulk, directly into your new Volusion store.
Yes. Your sensitive data is crucial, which is why we continuously invest to exceed industry security standards. Volusion has been named to VISA's list of PCI Certified providers for six years running.
Yes. When you purchase more than one store with us, you'll save 10% on each additional store. Simply enter "Please apply multi-store discount" in the order notes, and once our billing team verifies, we'll apply the discount to your order.
Annual plans allow you to save 10% off the monthly plan by making a single payment yearly. If you have a monthly plan, you can switch to an annual plan by purchasing your preferred annual plan. Your account will automatically be updated. If you would like to upgrade your annual plan or notify us that you won’t be renewing it, please call us at 1-888-997-0994.
Yes. We offer a free, 14-day trial of our shopping cart software, no commitment or credit card required. Simply sign up to get started.
Yes! The Volusion Channel Partner Programs is ideal for agencies, freelancers, or developers. The program is packed with resources to help you and your clients grow. Learn more.
No. We don't believe in transaction fees. You worked hard for your profits – you should get to keep them.
Yes. You can change plans at any time by contacting our Account Services team.
Yes. Our 24x7 support team is always here to answer your questions. We also have personal Account Managers available for Premium plans.
Simply enter your credit or debit card information on the checkout page. Each month, your card will be charged for the amount of your store plan. You can change credit card information at any time.
You have a number of options to accept payment from your customers, such as PayPal and dozens of leading payment gateways. Volusion also offers affordable and convenient credit card processing services to meet all of your payment needs.
Yes. When you purchase more than one store with us, you'll save 10% on each additional store. Simply enter "Please apply multi-store discount" in the order notes, and once our billing team verifies, we'll apply the discount to your order.
Yes. We offer a free, 14-day trial of our shopping cart software, no commitment or credit card required. Simply sign up to get started.
For security reasons, an SSL certificate is required to process credit card orders. For your convenience, we offer several high-security, affordable SSLs. While you don't have to purchase your SSL right now, you'll need one before you can accept any credit card payments through your site.
Yes, as long as your old provider allows you to export data in a .csv file. If you purchase a Plus plan or above, you can import large quantities of data, in bulk, directly into your new Volusion store.
No. If you don't have your domain name yet, you have 30 days from purchase to provide us with one for your store. If you already have your domain, simply enter it on the checkout page. "Volusion" will not appear in your domain name.
Yes. Your sensitive data is crucial, which is why we continuously invest to exceed industry security standards. Volusion has been named to VISA's list of PCI Certified providers for six years running.
Our Pay Per Click (PPC) management service leverages the years of experience our team has to help your company achieve its goals. Whether you're looking to boost sales, increase leads, or just generate high-quality traffic for your site our team of skilled professionals can help you succeed!
Our team places ads for your business on major search engines, which appear when shoppers search for the products or services your business offers. Traffic is targeted through the keywords we select and qualified through our creation of effective ad text for your business.
There is no guarantee on the number of conversions produced by clicks. There is, however, a correlation between effective PPC and added sales. Remember that there are many factors involved in producing sales (design, pricing, product descriptions, etc.). We'll get the traffic to your website, but it's ultimately up to you to finalize the sale.
Google Partners is a new program geared towards pay-per-click (PPC) agencies. The program has a lot of benefits for our team but essentially shows our Volusion store owners that Volusion is a Google Partner agency, specializing in PPC services. Being in this program allows Volusion to show up in the Google Partners search (where those looking for PPC services can find accredited companies) and instills confidence in tour store owners by showing multiple members of our team as PPC certified.
Our team has years of experience in search engine marketing research and analysis. This allows us to determine the most effective and relevant keywords for your site and to create engaging ad copy that makes shoppers want to browse your site and buy your products. In order to be successful, your campaign needs to be monitored regularly, which is something our team will do while you focus on building your business. We make sure that your ads are doing what they're supposed to- driving targeted traffic to your website.
The deliverables listed in our PPC plans are only for Volusion customers. Although we're able to offer our PPC services if you're using another ecommerce platform, we don't implement tracking parameters and snippets on such websites – in this case, you'll need to implement any code on your own.
Target audience. We will get to know your business and collaborate with you to identify your target audience so we can market your products to the right people.
Keyword research. Once we determine your target audience, we use a variety of professional tools and techniques to select keywords that deliver the most relevant traffic for the lowest cost.
Ad copy and landing pages. We write engaging ad copy and select relevant landing pages for each of your ads to give your traffic the best chance to convert into sales.
Implementation. Every campaign is different – our team will implement your campaigns with the right mix of settings to achieve your objectives.
Analysis. We continuously analyze campaign performance and perform regular optimization activities that help your campaign succeed.
All complexities aside, responsive design is an approach to web design that allows a website to optimally appear on a device, regardless of screen size. In other words, with responsive design, a website “responds” to a user’s environment, including device and screen size. Responsive design is proven to provide online shoppers with an improved user experience, which can lead to increased sales.
A site with responsive design is configured to adjust to a user’s screen or window size, whereas a mobile-optimized site has a layout that is specific to mobile devices. Both include a user-friendly display of products, categories and the checkout page.
To apply a responsive theme to your store, simply select the design of your choice within the template gallery of the Volusion admin and click the “Get It” or "Buy It" button to install. Then, go to the Saved Templates tab and click Activate to begin using your new responsive theme.
We have a number of free responsive designs for you to choose from and we’re working to continuously release new free and premium themes.
To learn more about our responsive themes, particularly if you’re an existing Volusion storeowner, please check out our Knowledge Base.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a collection of techniques and best practices aimed at improving a site's visibility in the organic search results to attract qualified traffic. For an ecommerce website, the prospect of being found through organic search is attractive due to the potential for targeted traffic and sales.
Organic (natural) search traffic refers to the unpaid traffic that naturally finds its way to a site through search engines. Most organic traffic originates from a search entered into a major search engine such as Google, Bing or Yahoo.
SEO can be generally categorized into two components, 1) on-page and 2) off-page optimization, each of which is critical to search engine success. On-page optimization involves developing your site's content for relevance to popular keywords, and ensuring that its code and content are correctly structured such that search engine spiders can index them.
Off-page optimization refers to the quality and quantity of links pointing to a page, which are used by search engines to help determine authority and relevance. Many aspects of off-page optimization are not directly controlled by the site owner, but building quality content that is valuable to users can help make a site more "link-worthy" and contribute to its off-page optimization.
Both on and off page optimization are necessary to achieve effective, long-term SEO success in most industries.
SEO involves building the content of a site for optimal search engine visibility to users entering relevant queries. SEO is a long term marketing activity and results take both expertise and time to achieve.
Pay-per-click (PPC) marketing utilizes paid advertisements on search engines and sites to attract qualified clicks to a website. Advertisers pay for each click generated through PPC campaigns, with the cost per click determined by a competitive bidding system. PPC allows you to target specific keywords and have your advertisement appear when those keywords are entered by users.
The time it takes to reach your SEO goals will depend on many external factors including the techniques used, keyword competitiveness, industry conditions and the age of the site.
With proper on-page optimization, a noticeable increase in visibility for targeted keywords takes place fairly quickly for most websites, but on-page optimization alone is not enough to realize the desired sizeable increase in traffic in most industries. As a hypothetical example, when a page appearing on the 10th page of the search results is optimized correctly for its target keywords, it may move up to the 3rd page of the results in searches for those keywords. While a significant improvement has taken place, most users are not going to click through to the 3rd page of results, so traffic may not increase significantly without off-page SEO work such as link building over a period of months.
Custom SEO packages are generally far more robust particularly in regards to off-page optimization, engagement, and link building, but most importantly, these plans are tailored to your website’s particular needs and SEO objectives.
Yes, with lots of time, expertise and patience. Learning the ins and outs of SEO, developing a strategy, and implementing/monitoring progress is a time-consuming feat that many business owners aren't interested in tackling. Our SEO services are offered for clients who want to spend time on other aspects of their businesses while letting experts handle their SEO campaigns.
It would be unethical for any SEO service provider to guarantee specific search engine results due to the uncontrollable variables that influence them. Any company that makes such a promise demonstrates a fundamental lack of understanding of SEO. The methods and practices we employ are both ethical and have a strong history of success.
Aside from a few items that require client approval, you can be as involved or hands-off as you would like. Some of our clients choose to be highly involved and enjoy providing content ideas and suggestions. Others prefer to concentrate on their day-to-day business and leave all SEO efforts to our team. We respect each store owner's personal time commitments. Regardless of your involvement level, our SEO team will always provide consistent reporting to ensure that you're informed on current developments.
A general rule for SEO is to optimize each page for about 3-5 primary keyword phrases. While there's no concrete rule, our team follows this general guideline in performing keyword research for each page. The total number of keywords depends on the number of pages being optimized.
Starter SEO Packages include keyword research and complete on-page optimization for a different set of pages each month. Optimizing pages of your site for popular keywords increases the chance that users will find those pages in related searches.
An Starter SEO Package is a great option for businesses looking for a quality SEO solution at a low monthly cost. It's also a cost efficient way to optimize a large quantity of pages over time when optimizing all pages at once isn't economically feasible.
Quality on-page optimization establishes a critical foundation for SEO success and is an essential online marketing activity for any ecommerce business. The Starter SEO packages exclude off-page optimization, another important component of Search Engine Optimization.
An effective SEO campaign can significantly increase organic traffic to your site, but it doesn't guarantee sales conversions. There are many external variables affecting conversions that are simply outside the control of your SEO expert, including demand, pricing and other market forces. That said, there are a few complementary practices that the SEO team recommends to all ecommerce clients: design and marketing.
All the SEO in the world cannot improve a shopper's reaction to a poorly designed website. The shopper should immediately "feel" your online store is legitimate and trustworthy. If they don't trust your site, they won't purchase a product nor will they come back to the store to browse in the future.
Likewise, SEO on its own does not make up a complete marketing strategy. Your online marketing strategy should also include complementary elements such as social media, PPC (pay per click) advertising, and shopping feeds. There's no exact recipe for success, but it's rare to find a successful company that doesn't actively market itself through multiple online channels.
One of the best ways to gauge your current SEO standing is to have an SEO audit completed for the site. We offer a comprehensive and affordable audit that contains both SEO analysis and specific recommendations designed to help you take the next step - whether it be performing SEO yourself or enlisting our SEO services. Learn more about the SEO Audit.
Because web pages are ranked individually, having each page optimized for keywords relevant to its content would be ideal. We focus on the most important landing pages because achieving SEO results for even a single page requires a lot of time and effort. Thus, optimizing an unlimited number of pages for a flat rate would be unfeasible.
Our Starter SEO Packages, which include on-page optimization of a set number of pages each month, allow you to continuously build optimized pages for a low monthly fee.
A product feed is a structured, automated text file that involves the technical specifications of a product, including condition, description, ID, sample image, price and other information.
While search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing continue to play an essential role in seeking information, CSEs are designed with customers' shopping needs in mind. Solely focusing on product merchandising, CSEs have eliminated the academic and informational aspects of general search results. Thus, they target serious shoppers looking to compare product features, prices and more to easily make purchases online.
Search engines such as Google also have shopping engine functionality. By submitting properly formatted product feeds to Google and Bing, your product lists have the opportunity to appear when a searcher designates they are looking for products. Also, product listings are integrated into the general search results, presenting even more opportunities for traffic. Feed formatting and submission to Google Shopping is included in each of our CSE Management plans.
When your e-commerce website achieves a leading presence on CSEs, you'll be displaying your products to online shoppers who are seriously interested in making a purchase. Also, CSEs redirect interested shoppers to your website where they can learn more about your business, products and services. In addition to quality traffic, you stand to gain desirable conversion rates and increased brand awareness.
Thanks to the Volusion software, you'll have a hands-off experience once you sign up with a CSE Management plan. However, we need your help to accurately list your product information because no one understands your offerings better than you.
Please make sure that the following fields are populated in your store backend: Product Name, Product Description, List Price, Product Code, Product Manufacturer, Vendor Part Number and that all products have a proper product landing page and product image. Each merchant should also ensure that their tax and shipping settings are set up in the Volusion store, as well. Please also note that product images should preferably be a minimum of 400x400 pixels to ensure optimal feed performance. We cannot guarantee the inclusion of all of your products in each shopping engine, but ensuring that your products meet these minimal requirements should increase the number of products that will be accepted in each CSE.
A Comparison Shopping Engine, also known as CSE, allows shoppers to see essential product information in an easy-to-understand grid format when they enter search queries for specific products. CSEs usually return price comparisons, sample images, brands, manufacturers and, in some cases, even consumer reviews and buying guides. CSE is gaining ground as it fine-tunes search results to cater to the needs of billions of online shoppers.
Utilization of CSEs typically benefits online merchants in a way that complements SEO and PPC efforts. Increasing exposure online using various channels gives a business more opportunities for traffic, brand awareness and sales. While SEO and PPC can be used to improve your site's visibility in organic search results and sponsored results to attract quality traffic, CSE Management service is tailored to e-commerce merchants to push their inventories to various online marketplaces and ultimately, serious shoppers.
Since their innovation in the late 1990s, CSEs have been revolving in quantity, quality and specialty. Shopping engines vary greatly in size, algorithm, product categories and how they charge merchants. Chances are your site could receive a huge ROI on one CSE but not as much on another, so the best approach is to test your products in different venues, and adjust your strategy according to performance.
Google, a paid CSE, is a good starting venue for small and medium-sized businesses because it brings a lot of traffic. Businesses with larger marketing budgets may benefit from adding other paid engines such as Bing Shopping, Nextag, Pricegrabber, etc. When you purchase a CSE Management plan that includes cost-per-click engines, we will make budgetary adjustments as needed to maximize performance.
Yes, but bear in mind that leveraging CSEs to push sales is a very involved job that requires solid technical understanding and lots of patience. Each Comparison Shopping Engine has its own set of policies on feed format and updating inventory. Additionally, they often change the rules and taxonomies. Our professional CSE management services will spare business owners the trouble of monitoring and making adjustments accordingly. Inventory spreadsheets, product feed optimization and technical troubleshooting - we take care of everything for you.
Google AdWords Conversion Tracking works within your Google AdWords account to let you see exactly which keyword from a specific ad group in a campaign resulted in a sale. Based on the number of sales and cost of clicks for a particular keyword, it will tell you what the cost per conversion is for that particular keyword. The data gathered through Google AdWords Conversion Tracking will help you to run a more effective Google AdWords campaign. (Please note: Google AdWords Conversion Tracking will not work on PPC accounts with Yahoo, MSN, or any other search network).
Google Analytics tracks traffic from all online sources, and provides even more robust data. This includes: reporting on pageviews, time on site, bounce rate, visitor demographics, visitor loyalty, referring sources, mobile use, ecommerce sales figures and much more. The data presented in Google Analytics will provide you with the critical information needed to help you position and manage your business more effectively.
The conversion rate in your Admin Area will show you which ROI tracking links have resulted in conversions. The limitation, however, is that the default report does not provide the specifics of which keyword led to that conversion. For example, if you have 200 keywords in your Google AdWords campaign, you have no way of knowing which of those keywords are costing you money and which are actually making you money. This is where Conversion Tracking steps in.
No form of conversion tracking can guarantee perfect accuracy, but a low level of error is considered acceptable so long as its effects are marginal in scope.
If you offer PayPal as a payment option on your site, your actual order totals may not match the orders being counted through your Google AdWords Conversion Tracking code. Orders submitted through PayPal and Google Wallet take customers away from your site to complete their purchase. This means that unless the customer clicks the link provided by those companies after their order is complete return to your site, it is impossible for the order to be counted via your Google AdWords Conversion Tracking code. The reason this happens is because only information collected on your Volusion OrderFinished.asp page is submitted to Google. Thus, any order information on a PayPal or Google Wallet "order completed" page will not be reported in your conversion tracking.
Both Google Analytics setup and Google AdWords Conversion Tracking setup services have a one-time implementation fee and do not include any ongoing support, maintenance or troubleshooting.
Once Google AdWords Conversion Tracking is set up it will take about one day for it to start reporting data. It's important to remember that only orders coming in when the customer clicked on your ad(s) after the conversion tracking was setup will be counted. For example, if we set up your conversion tracking on the 15th of the month, only customers that clicked on your ad after the 15th of the month and then bought will be reported in your Google AdWords Conversion Tracking statistics. Any customers that clicked on your ad prior to the 15th and then bought will not be counted (unless they also clicked on the ad after the 15th as well). This means that over time your conversion tracking will become more accurate after the first few weeks. (Note: you can see when a customer clicked on your ad by going into the order and looking at the referral history.)
The conversion rate reported in Google Analytics reflects the percentage of sales that resulted from all of your visitors, whereas the conversion rate reported in Google AdWords reflects the percentage of sales that resulted solely from the paid clicks generated through Google AdWords.
No, only one Google AdWords account may be linked to a Google Analytics account. If you previously linked your Google Analytics account to a Google AdWords account and now want to link that same Google Analytics account to a new Google AdWords account, you'll have to unlink the first Google AdWords account first.
Yes. Google AdWords Conversion Tracking installs a cookie on their computer that is valid for 30 days. Thus, as long as the customer makes a purchase from your site within 30 days of clicking your ad, their sale will be counted in your conversion total in Google AdWords. If you have a customer that clears their cookies before purchasing, that sale can no longer be counted. Conversion tracking of any sort requires that a cookie be present on customers' computers.
An SSL certificate is a tool that ensures the safe communication of sensitive data upon submission to a website, particularly personally identifying information and credit card numbers. The SSL certificate encrypts this information as it's transferred between internet sites.
SSL certificates encrypt information at the time payments are submitted so internet hackers can't read the information as it is flowing across the information superhighway. Once the data reaches the intended destination, it's then decrypted into original form for use.
If you're receiving payments directly from your online store, you need an SSL certificate. This essential tool is required for online transactions. In addition, customers receive reassurance from knowing that your website is secure, which increases conversions. If you're using the QuickBooks Web Connector, you'll also need to have an SSL certificate.
Volusion SSL certificates provide the same level of bit encryption as other major brand names at a much more affordable price. Also, by using a Volusion SSL, you'll have one point of contact regarding your hosting, support and store security.
The $10,000 warranty is intended to protect your customers. If we were to issue an SSL to a fraudulent site and an online shopper loses money due to fraud, the warranty amount reimburses the customer for lost funds.
After you purchase your store's SSL certificate, we'll have it installed within 3-5 business days.
Yes. Volusion can import all third-party SSL certificates, except for wildcard or multiple-domain/SAN certificates. Please note, there is a $99 fee involved in the transfer process, so most merchants elect to purchase a Volusion SSL certificate for $89
We have successfully released V13 to new customers and will soon begin upgrading current customers using V11. You'll be informed of when your upgrade will take place via multiple admin notifications. We believe these new features will provide your business with more opportunities to increase sales, so we're trying to get it out to you as quickly as possible before the holiday selling season.
Customers currently using V11 will be automatically upgraded, so there will be no manual work required on your part. You'll be informed via multiple admin notifications regarding when your upgrade will take place.
No. Only customers currently using V11 will be automatically upgraded to V13. If you're currently using an older version of the software, such as V5 or Winter '09 , you won't be impacted.
If you're using a version besides V11 (V5 or Winter '09) and would like to take advantage of the great new features in V13, you can do so by upgrading via my.volusion.com. Note that you'll first be upgraded to V11 and then be automatically upgraded to V13 on your scheduled upgrade date. We'll let you know when your upgrade to V13 will occur via multiple admin notifications.
As a current customer, you'll receive multiple admin notifications to alert you of when your upgrade is scheduled. Keep an eye out for more information.
No, there is no anticipated downtime. After the upgrade, you'll be prompted to log back in to your store.
If you'd like to see V13 in action before your upgrade, you can sign up for a demo of the software using the credentials provided in the email you received from us on August 14, 2013.
All customers currently using V11 will be automatically upgraded in the coming weeks. Opting out of the upgrade is not an option, but rest assured that it won't affect any of your current settings, data or your store design. Also, the interface is similar to what you're used to with V11, and there are no major changes in regards to how you manage your store. We think that you'll be pleased with the new upgrade and hope that V13 serves your business better than ever before.
At this time, Volusion Payments is unavailable to merchants outside of the United States. The good news is that we have several partners that can help meet your payment needs. Simply contact us for more information and we’ll help get you started.
Yes. Volusion's credit team works with thousands of new businesses owners every year to become online merchants.
Most applications receive approval within 5-7 business days.
No. Due to credit card processing regulations, you can only have one storefront for each merchant account.
Yes, accepting debit cards is a built-in component of Volusion Payments. You can also easily indicate whether or not you’d like to accept American Express on your application.
Once the application is processed, you'll be contacted via email by a Volusion Credit Card Processing representative.
Yes. All websites using Volusion Credit Card Processing are required to have a SSL certificate with a minimum 128-bit encryption for all credit card information.
Your SSL and Fraud Protection subscription will last one year from the purchase date. Your $50 credit will expire after six months.
Yes. In fact, Select is a great option for Volusion merchants with SSLs that are about to expire.
To purchase Volusion Select, go to the Volusion Select product page. Once you sign up, you will be emailed a one-time use coupon for a $50 discount on any theme, marketing or design service.