Rochester, NY

Rochester, New York

On November 8, 1803, a one-hundred acre (ca. 40 ha) tract of land in Western New York along the Genesee River was purchased by Colonel Nathaniel Rochester, Major Charles Carroll, and Colonel William Fitzhugh, all of Hagerstown, Maryland. The site was chosen because of three cataracts on the Genesee, offering great potential for water power. Beginning in 1811, and with a population of fifteen, the three founders surveyed the land and laid out streets and tracts. In 1817, the Brown brothers (of Brown's Race) and other landowners joined their lands with the Hundred Acre Tract to form the Village of Rochesterville.

Aqueduct of the Erie Canal as it was built in 1842, replacing the original construction from 1823. In the 1920s, the Broad Street Bridge was erected on top of it.
Aqueduct of the Erie Canal as it was built in 1842, replacing the original construction from 1823. In the 1920s, the Broad Street Bridge was erected on top of it.

By 1821, Rochesterville was the seat of Monroe County. In 1823, Rochesterville consisted of 1,012 acres (4 km²) and 2,500 residents, and the Village of Rochesterville became known as Rochester. Also in 1823, the Erie Canal aqueduct over the Genesee River was completed, and the Erie Canal east to the Hudson River was opened. Later, after the advent of railroads, the presence of the canal in the center city became bothersome, and it was re-routed south of Rochester. By 1830, Rochester's population was 9,200 and in 1834, it was re-chartered as a city.

Rochester was first known as "The Young Lion of the West", and then as the "Flour City". By 1838, Rochester was the largest flour-producing city. Having doubled its population in only ten years, Rochester became known as America's first "boomtown."

In 1847, Frederick Douglass founded the abolitonist newspaper The North Star in Rochester. Douglass, a former slave and an antislavery speaker and writer, gained a circulation of over 4,000 readers in the United States, Europe, and the Caribbean. The North Star served as an important forum for abolitionist views.

In the early 20th century, Rochester also became a center of the garment industry, particularly in men's fashions. It was the home of such well-known enterprises as Fashion Park and Hickey-Freeman. In addition, it was home to the pioneer automobile company Cunningham, produced by carriage maker James Cunningham and Sons.[6]

The population reached 62,386 in 1870, 162,608 in 1900, and 295,750 in 1920. By 1950, population of the city had reached an all-time high of 332,488, and had declined to 219,773 by 2000.

[edit] Geography and climate

High Falls during the summer
High Falls during the summer

Rochester is located at 43°9′56″N, 77°36′41″W (43.165496, -77.611504).[7] The city is east of Buffalo, west of Syracuse and sits on the southern shore of Lake Ontario. The Genesee River bisects the city.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 37.1 square miles (96.1 km²), of which, 35.8 square miles (92.8 km²) of it is land and 1.3 square miles (3.3 km²) of it (3.42%) is water.

Rochester's geography comes from the ice sheets during the Pleistocene epoch. The retreating ice sheets reached a standstill at what is now the southern border of the city, melting at the same rate as they were advancing, depositing sediment along the southern edge of the ice mass. This created a line of hills, including (from west to east) Mt. Hope, the hills of Highland Park, Pinnacle Hill, and Cobb's Hill. Because the sediment of these hills was deposited into a proglacial lake they are stratified and classified as a "kame delta." A brief retreat and readvance of the ice sheet onto the delta piled unstratified (moraine) material there, creating a rare hybrid structure called a "kame moraine."

The ice sheets also left behind Lake Ontario (one of the five fresh-water Great Lakes), the Genesee River with its waterfalls and gorges, Irondequoit Bay, Sodus Bay, Braddock's Bay, Mendon Ponds, numerous local streams and ponds, the Ridge, and the nearby Finger Lakes.

According to the City of Rochester, the city has 537 miles (864 km) of public streets, 585 miles (941 km) of water mains, 44 vehicular and eight pedestrian bridges, 11 public libraries, two police stations (one for the east side, one for the west), and 16 fire stations. The principal source of the city's water is Hemlock Lake, which, with its watershed, is wholly owned by the city. Other water sources are Canadice Lake and Lake Ontario. The 30-year annual average snowfall is 95.0 inches (2.4 m). The mean July temperature is 71.3 °F (21.8 °C), and the mean February temperature is 23.6 °F (−4.7 °C).

Rochester lies in the Humid continental climate zone, and has four distinct seasons, although its often cold and snowy winters may garner the most attention. Autumn features brilliant foliage colors, and summer sees warm comfortable temperatures that usually stay in the low to mid 80s. Precipitation is plentiful year round.

Monthly Normal and Record High and Low Temperatures
MonthJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Record high74°F (23°C)73° (23°)84° (29°)93° (34°)94° (34°)100° (38°)98° (37°)99° (37°)99° (37°)91° (33°)81° (27°)72° (22°)
Normal high31° (-0°)33° (1°)43° (6°)55° (13°)68° (20°)77° (25°)81° (27°)79° (26°)71° (22°)60° (15°)47° (8°)36° (2°)
Normal low17° (-9°)17° (-8°)25° (-4°)35° (2°)46° (8°)55° (13°)60° (16°)59° (15°)51° (11°)41° (5°)33° (0°)23° (-5°)
Record low-17° (-27°)-19° (-28°)-7° (-22°)13° (-11°)26° (-3°)35° (2°)42° (6°)36° (2°)28° (-2°)20° (-7°)5° (-15°)-16° (-27°)
Precipitation2.3 in. (5.9 cm.)2 (5.2)2.6 (6.6)2.8 (7)2.8 (7.2)3.4 (8.5)2.9 (7.4)3.5 (9)3.5 (8.8)2.6 (6.6)2.8 (7.2)2.7 (6.9)
Source: USTravelWeather.com [3]

[edit] Demographics

As of the census[8] of 2000, there were 219,773 people, 88,999 households, and 47,169 families residing in the city. The population density was 6,132.9 people per square mile (2,368.3/km²). There were 99,789 housing units at an average density of 2,784.7/sq mi (1,075.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 48.30% White, 38.55% African American, 0.47% Native American, 2.25% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 6.58% from other races, and 3.81% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 12.75% of the population. Ancestries include: German (10.9%), Italian (10.0%), Irish (9.6%), English (5.8%), and Polish (2.7%)[4]

Rochester has the largest deaf population per capita in the United States.[9] Rochester is home to world-renowned programs for the deaf, at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (part of the Rochester Institute of Technology) and at the University of Rochester.

There were 88,999 households out of which 30.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 25.1% were married couples living together, 23.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 47.0% were non-families. 37.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 3.19.

The city population was spread out with 28.1% under the age of 18, 11.6% from 18 to 24, 32.2% from 25 to 44, 18.1% from 45 to 64, and 10.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 91.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.3 males.

The median income for a city household was $27,123, and the median family income was $31,257. Males had a median income of $30,521, versus $25,139 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,588. About 23.4% of families and 25.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 37.5% of those under age 18 and 15.4% of those age 65 or over.

Rochester Population[10]
184018501860187018801890190019101920193019401950196019701980199020002004
20,19136,40348,20462,38689,366133,896162,608218,149295,750328,132324,975332,488318,611296,233241,741231,636219,773212,481

[edit] Economy

The Rochester area is home to a number of international businesses, including Fortune 1000 companies Eastman Kodak, Constellation Brands, and Paychex, as well as several national and regional companies. Because of the high prevalence of imaging and optical science among the industry and the universities, Rochester is known as the world capital of imaging. The Institute of Optics of the University of Rochester is ranked number one in the country[citation needed], and the Rochester Institute of Technology has one of the best imaging science departments in the country[citation needed]. In 2005, the University of Rochester became the largest employer in the Rochester area, surpassing Kodak.[citation needed]

The Gannett newspaper company and Western Union were both founded in the Rochester area by Frank Gannett and Hiram Sibley respectively.

[edit] Food and beverage

A white hot garbage plate.
A white hot garbage plate.

One food product that Rochester is proud to call its own is the famous "white hot," made by the local Zweigle's company, which can be found at numerous area restaurants and hot dog stands. The white hot is essentially a German weisswurst.

Another local specialty is the "garbage plate," first served at Nick Tahou Hots. Fitting with its impact on the world of hot dogs and burgers, Rochester was home to French's Mustard, whose eponymous address is 1 Mustard Street.

Rochester is also home to Wet Planet Beverages, producer of Jolt Cola and other premium beverage products. High Falls Brewing Company, maker of the Genesee brands of beers and JW Dundee's brand (Honey Brown) also calls Rochester home. Arbor Mist wines are also produced in nearby Canandaigua, NY by owner Constellation Brands.

National frozen food manufacturer Birds Eye is headquartered in suburban Rochester. Heluva Good Cheeses and Seneca Foods are headquartered in nearby Wayne County. The Ragú brand of pasta sauce was originally produced in Rochester, and the Francesco Rinaldi brand of pasta sauce is currently manufactured in Rochester.

Other local franchises include: Bill Gray's (a hamburger/hotdog joint that lays claim to having "The World's Greatest Cheeseburger"), Country Sweet (known for their chicken wings and unique BBQ sauce), Boss Sauce, which was born from the famous restaurant Eddie's Chicken Coop( is known as a "tantalizing sweet, spicy-hot gourmet after-sauce), Tom Wahl's, Dibella's, Great Northern Pizza Kitchen, Zebb's, Don's Original, and Abbott's Frozen Custard. Dinosaur Bar-b-que, which originated in Syracuse, also operates their second ever franchise downtown in an old Lehigh Valley Railroad station on the Genesee River.

The Rochester area is the birthplace of the Wegmans Grocery store chain, which now has locations throughout the Northeast and Northern Virginia. In 2005, Wegmans was rated the #1 best company in America to work for by Fortune Magazine; it has been ranked the best grocery store in America by Consumer Reports and Food Network.
  • Internet Marketing   ( 3 Articles )

    Internet Marketing - Increasing Web Traffic and Beyond

    There is only one goal to keep in mind when using the Internet to market your business: make money.

    On the surface, that statement may sound a little shallow. Yes, there are more iimportant things in life than money, but we're talking business here...and eventually (or hopefully sooner)...you need to make some dough. And, while you may have more specific objectives in mind, such as building brand awareness, increasing subscribershiip, reaching and helping more people, or just becoming famous...these are all just forms of "currency." Let's just keep it simple and assume you're reading this because you want your business to make more money.

    OK, so how do you do that? The answer probably has not changed since the dawn of time: sales and marketing.

    Using Your Website to Drive Online and Offline Sales

    If you're over 30, you may have noticed that the world has changed a lot over the years. People are using computers in one form or another to do pretty much everything. Here's a few recent statistics and trends to get you thinking about the power and potentiall of marketing your business using the Internet:

    1. Over 210 Million people use the Internet in the United States alone - 70% of the total population. That's pretty much everybody once you exclude infants, the incarcerated, and other population groups. (1)
    2. Over 80% of Internet traffic comes from search engines such as Google, Yahoo, MSN, or Ask.com. That's almost 170 million people out there actively looking for your product or service. (2)
    3. 63% of people searching for products purchase them offline (e.g. come into your store or call you on the phone). In other words, search engines aren't just for online businesses. (3)
    4. Businesses that use the Internet grow 46% faster than businesses that don't. (4)
    5. There is no other form of marketing or sales with a higher return on investment (ROI) than Internet Marketing (search engine optimization, pay per click, e-mail). (5) (6)
    6. It is no longer necessary to have your ads make the sale. Traditional and expensive advertising methods such as TV commercials, radio ads, print ads, and direct mail are now being used to drive audiences to the advertiser's website. Why? Because for most products and services, a website is the preferred and most effective way to convert prospects to customers. Just our own obersvation. If you don't believe us, look at how less descriptive ads are these days and how often they tell you to visit their website for more information.



    Internet Marketing Services - More than Just a #1 Ranking

    We provide comprehensive Internet Marketing services to allow you to leverage the power and potential of the web to reach millions of people and increase your business.

    While we do focus heavily on search engine optimization, our goal is to help your company to be more profitable. A top search engine ranking does not make that a reality. You want more qualified traffic. You want to convert more of that traffic to actual business, you want more leads and more sales. You need a strategy to accomplish these objectives while also providing your company the best return on its investment. If your company is making money, do you really care where your web and foot traffic come from (other than for analytical purposes to continue to improve your marketing campagin)?

    Like we said, you need a strategy. We offer the following solutions:

    • Internet marketing strategy, research, and planning
    • Search engine marketing and optimization
    • Online advertising solutions - pay per click ads
    • Effective web design to increase business
    • e-Commerce solutions
    • Web Analytics
    • Expert business and marketing consultants
  • Web Design   ( 2 Articles )

    Web Design - Attracting and Keeping Customers

    Your website gives your customers and prospects a good look at how you do business. Your website may be the first thing a potential customer will see, or it may be the last thing they look at when choosing to do business with you. Will they like what they see?

    Because more and more sales are being driven to the web, website design is critical to attracting and keeping customers. As such, our approach to website design is based on two key principles:

    1. Customers make decisions based on emotion but use logic and reason to rationalize their decisions.
    2. Customers want to do business with someone they trust, who they find unique, and who has a product or service with an overt benefit.

     

    Your Website's Success in Three Seconds or Less

    You never get a second chance to make a first impression.

    In less than three seconds, a visitor to your website will make a decision about the value of your organization based upon their emotional reaction to what they see.

    If they stick around, their first impression will be reinforced or changed based on how easy your site is to use and how responsive your site is to their needs.

    Confusing navigation, poorly-written content, overwhelming or unattractive visual design, or long download times will create "distrust" and prompt visitors to your website to find another company to meet their needs.

    If your brand, your unique value, and your product offering is not clearly stated, visitors to your website will move on to other alternatives. Let's face it - why should the customer have to work to figure out how you can sell them something?

     

    Customer-centric Web Design

    Our team has years of experience working with organizations to create customer-centric designs. Using proven marketing methodology, design techniques, and understanding what your target audience wants, we can design your website to capture the emotional interest of visitors, while making sure your site also has the "left-brained" content necessary to help visitors solidify their decisions.

    Our job is to not only to help you make a great first impression but to provide your organization with a powerful marketing tool to build trust and loyalty among your customers. By working with your organization to understand your business goals and customer needs, we develop website and marketing solutions to meet the needs of your customers and appeal to new visitors.

  • Search Engine Optimization   ( 4 Articles )

    Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

    Simply put, SEO is a process in which a website is designed (or redesigned) and restructured to rank highly on the major search engines, such as Google, Yahoo!, MSN, and Ask.

    However, in reality, Search Engine Optimization is a lot more complex. It consists of:
    • keyword popularity research
    • making a website clear and easy to use
    • market and competitive analysis
    • suggestive and effective copywriting
    • increasing external links to your website
    • analyzing your visitor's behavior and measuring your website's success.

    Successful SEO campaigns require a solid understanding of website technology and the search engines themselves, but search engine optimization is far from being a technical practice. A good SEO consultant should understand design methodologies, communications, your business, your market, and your customer. SEO is also a delicate balancing act between cost and benefit, between risk and reward.

     

    The SEO Process

    Just like companies, no two SEO campaigns are exactly alike. As such, TechMark Consulting will customize an SEO campaign to meet your specific needs.

    However, we do employ many basic processes for most of our SEO clients and have listed below the step-by-step processes we find to be the most critical to help you increase your web business.

    Website Review
    We prepare a simple but important analysis of your current website and your web server technology, how it is designed, coded, and structured. This analysis serves as a baseline report to be used during the pre-client process and let you know if there are any major hurdles to overcome before beginning an SEO Campaign. We review the report with you and your personnel (typically your marketing team and web managers).

    Initial Consultation
    A face-to-face meeting or conference call will allow us to help you determine the specific goals of your website, define your target market, and set up measurable goals that will define the success of an SEO campaign. A list of competitors and an initial list of target keywords will be discussed.

    Keyword Research
    Keyword research is the most critical phase. If you don't target the right keywords, your campaign will not target the right customer or get the right response. With your approval, we will fine tune your list of keywords, relying on our own techniques and customized keyword research software to determine the most relevant and effective keywords for your organization. We strive to dig up keywords that are used most often but have less competition.

    Site Structure and Architecture Analysis
    A deeper analysis of your site's architecture and design structure is performed. We will suggest changes to anything that may prevent search engines from indexing the pages on your website or otherwise hurt your rankings. Items include navigation, site maps, folder and naming conventions, duplicate content issues.

    Web Copy Analysis
    After reviewing the site, we may recommend copy changes to your web pages to more effectively target your most powerful keywords. A "picture may be worth a thousand words," but on the Internet copy is king. Written content is what sells.

    If desired, we can edit existing pages or write new pages. Not only do we optimize your copy for targeted keywords, we also make sure to write appealing and suggestive copy designed to prompt your web visitors to take action.

    Code and Design Changes
    Unique code and design changes are made to ensure your targeted keywords are used effectively in your image ALT tags, META tags, TITLE tags, etc. Special care is provided to ensure your keywords are targeted for each page and not just repeated generically throughout your site.

    Website Submission
    After your site is tested and ready to go, we will use a combination of software and manual submission techniques to submit your website and individual pages to over 50 search engines, including Google, Yahoo!, MSN, and Ask.com.

    Analysis and Reporting
    Using advanced web analytics, your website traffic and success goals (conversion statistics) can be measured. Once the search engines have crawled and indexed your site, you will begin to see results. Visits to your site and visitor activity can be tracked. Reports can show you a wealth of information and provide you statistics that will illustrate your return on investment. Our expert web analysts can then educate you to help you understand the correlation between certain statistics and your internet marketing results. Analytics provides insight into your visitors demographics and behavior and your website's performance and can be used to


    Ongoing SEO Maintenance - Monthly Service

    Successful search engine optimization requires constant tracking, maintenance, and a proactive approach to marketing. For an SEO campaign to be successful, we recommend and provide the following additional monthly services.

    Web Analytics
    If we have access to your server logs, or if you allow us to provide web analytics for you with our system, you will receive a variety of monthly reports designed to track and analyze some of the following metrics: increases in traffic, keywords used to find your website, geographic location, which keywords are most successful at converting visitors into buyers (or taking some other desirable action), your most popular content, what search engines and sites are referring traffic to your website, and more.

    The web analytics reports come with a one hour consultation with a search marketing and web analysis expert. Customized reports are available.

    Search Engine Rankings Tracking
    For each of your targeted keywords, we will provide a monthly report that shows how well each keyword ranks on the four major search engines - Google, Yahoo!, MSN, and Ask.com. This report will also track your competition on each keyword and show you what pages are visible in the search engines. This report will be analyzed over time to ensure that your site is improving or maintaining its search engine rankings. When search engines change their algorithms, or if one of your key pages drops significantly in rank, we will be able to spot this quickly and provide corrective action.

    Keyword Research
    The web analytics report and search engine rankings report will help track keyword popularity and the effectiveness of your target keywords. Over time, new keywords will be discovered, new keywords will be created in the marketplace, and many of your existing keywords may increase or decrease in popularity. Continual research of your keywords and target market can help you stay one step ahead of the competition and make sure your site maintains a high rank in the search engines.


    Additional Internet Marketing and Search Marketing Services

    Natural SEO (organic search engine optimization) can be complemented by all of the following services:

    • Link Building
    • Pay-Per-Click Advertising
    • Copywriting - white papers, articles, and content creation or revisions to existing website
    • Public Relations (PR)
    • E-Mail Campaigns and E-Mail Newsletters
    • Partner and Affiliate Program Strategies
  • Pay Per Click Advertising   ( 3 Articles )

    Pay Per Click Ad Management (PPC)

    What is PPC?

    PPC stands for Pay Per Click. It is a form of online advertising where you bid on keywords. In a typical scenario, when people search the Internet using one of the keywords you bid on, your ad will show up at the top of the search engine rankings above the organic search engine listings.

    A lot of people hear the words "online" and "advertising" and run for the hills. Advertising is too expensive, right? And, online advertising??? Forget about it. You tried that once and didn't see any results. Hang on. If you're interested in a very low cost way to increase your revenue and online visibility instantly, you'll want to keep reading.

     

    Why PPC is different from other types of advertising

    Pay Per Click ads are different from other types of advertising for a couple of reasons.

    First, it is keyword based, so your ads will only be displayed to an audience that is actively searching for whatever products and services your keywords are targeting.

    Second, you only pay for your ads when someone actually clicks on them and goes to your website.

    Unlike traditional advertising, you're not paying a fortune to blast your ad out to thousands or millions of people through print, TV, or radio, hoping enough of the right people are reading or listening.

    Keyword advertising allows you to zero in on your target market, increasing the likelihood that your message will be received by a thirsty crowd and that your ads will be successful. While, paying "per click" means that you don't have to pay to advertise to people who aren't interested.

     

    How Much Does PPC Cost?

    Let's review.

    1. you can get your ad on top of the search engine listings,
    2. your ad will only show up to people looking for what you have to offer,
    3. and you don't have to pay unless they are interested enough in your ad to click on it and visit your website.

    Sounds expensive doesn't it? It's not. In fact, it is so inexpensive that you can get started right away at just pennies a click.

    Hold on, before you get too excited...there's a catch. You knew it sounded to good to be true!

     

    The Anatomy of a Successful PPC Campaign

    It takes a few things to run a successful ad campaign; however the least of these is money. To run a successful pay per click campaign, considerable research, setup, maintenance, and performance measurement are required. It's a lot of work and takes some expertise.

    If you don't properly set up and manage your PPC campaign, you'll probably lose money. If you tried a PPC campaign on your own already and didn't see results, you probably didn't have the knowledge or time required to make it work. That's where we come in.

    Here's what we do:

    • Research and select the best keywords for your business based on popularity, competition, your target audience, and estimated bid price of each keyword
    • Size up the competition and determine the best possible bid amounts for each keyword, so you can get the most clicks for the best value
    • Write highly target, effective, and optimized online ads to get the browser's attention and drive traffic to your site
    • Set up your account, creating ad groups to display the right ads to the right people and allow you to track the results and measure everything
    • Build compelling landing pages (the pages that your ads will take the visitor to) that prompt visitors with proven call-to-action statements
    • Measure your click through rates (how many people clicked through to your site), your conversion rate (how many visitors became buyers), and a host of other information to improve your ROI
    • Continually monitor your bids, changing them automatically to give you the highest possible ranking at the lowest possible price

    Does PPC Work?

    Absolutely! We have taken over campaigns for clients and doubled their leads while at the same time, cut their ad costs in half. We have implemented campaigns for other clients that return over 10 times what they spend every month on PPC ads and our services combined. While we can't promise such astounding results for every client, we can promise that PPC ads do work...if they're done right.

    Additionally, PPC advertising gives you incredible insight into your market, what keywords work for you, what ads work best, and what your customers are responding to on your website. It is the perfect companion to a natural search engine optimization campaign and a very inexpensive way to build brand recognition.

     

    100% Measurable

    Best of all, PPC advertising is 100% measurable, meaning you can track, analyze, and measure the results of your advertising efforts. No more spraying ads around and hoping the phone rings more often.

     

    Get Started

    If you're ready to start an effective, low cost advertising program or simply need more information, contact us. A Certified Online Advertising Professional will be more than happy to speak with you.

  • E-Commerce Solutions   ( 4 Articles )

    Complete e-Commerce Solutions for Small Business

    If you are selling or plan to sell products, services, or subscriptions online, you have or want to have an e-Commerce business.

    We provide comprehensive e-Commerce solutions to small businesses with big ambitions, specializing in robust shopping cart applications with heavy emphasis on marketing and branding capabilities. Our shopping carts and installations can be integrated into your existing business, or we can consult with you to help you structure your e-Business to help automate back end processing. We also do offer all-in-one hosted e-Commerce services for customers who need a simple means to sell products online.


    Helping you find the right e-Commerce solution (and a primer in online transactions)


    In addition to having a product or service to sell in the first place, there are several technology components that are needed to sell directly from your own website:

    • A secure website (you probably already figured that one out by now)
    • Shopping cart software to collect customer, order, and payment information
    • A merchant account to accept credit cards (or even debit cards and checks)
    • A payment authorization gateway account to authorize payments and send them to your merchant account
    • A bank account (again...you probably already knew this one)

    How online transactions work in a nutshell

    1. A customer visits your website and decides to purchase something.
    2. The customer selects the items they want to purchase, adding them to the shopping cart.
    3. When the customer is finished, they checkout by adding their personal and payment information (this is still your shopping cart) and then submits the information to be processed.
    4. On submission, your website's shopping cart software transmits the order information to the payment authorization gateway.
    5. The payment authorization gateway authorizes the transaction (accepts or rejects it).
    6. If the the information (personal info, form and amount of payment) is authorized, an authorization code is then sent to your merchant account. If it is rejected, then the customer stays on your website, where they can validate or enter a different payment method or account (item #3)t.
    7. The merchant account attempts to reconcile the transaction by sending a request for funds to the customer's bank or credit card company and transferring the money into your bank account. If the request is denied, then the customer goes back to #3.
    8. Once reconciliation takes place, the merchant account sends notice back to your payment authorization gateway that the transaction has been completed and you will be paid by the customer's bank or credit card.
    9. The payment authorization gateway stores the information for you and sends confirmation to you and your customer.
    10. The money is transferred from the customer's account to your account.
    The processing phase of an online transaction takes place in items 4 through 9. Incredibly, this takes only a few seconds!


    Your options - Hosted e-Commerce Solutions versus having your own Shopping Cart

    There are basically two ways to go about starting your e-Commerce business.

    1. You can sign up and pay for a monthly service where all the components mentioned above (even the website) are included.
    2. You can purchase your own shopping cart software for your website and sign up for the other components separately. Gateways and merchant accounts typically charge monthly and transaction fees.
    Common Advantages and Disadvantages of a Hosted Online Merchant Solution
    Advantages

    • An all-in-one solution that is usually pretty easy to set up
    • Usually provides templates to create a site if you don't have one
    • Provides a web-based interface to manage products
    • The technology is hosted, managed, and supported by another vendor (i.e. not your responsibility)
    • An inexpensive solution in the short term (inexpensive doesn't mean the best or most profitable)
    Disadvantages
    • If you have a website, the transaction portion takes place on the vendor's website, so the transaction is not transparent to the customer.
    • The templates provided may not be sufficient and may not be compatible with your brand or look and feel of your website.
    • The solution may not provide the level of flexibility or customization your product or service needs to be sold effectively.
    • The solution may not provide important marketing capabilities such as contact management, search engine friendly pages, site analytics, or cross-selling capabilities

    Common Advantages and Disadvantages of Owning a Shopping Cart
    Advantages

    • Good shopping cart software is very robust, offering excellent marketing capabilities to increase sales, foster repeat business, and help you get found in search engines.
    • Good shopping cart software is powerful, flexible, and allows for easy product management, shipping, and inventory control.
    • Seamlessly integrates into existing website design and order processing is completely transparent to the customer.
    • You own the shopping cart software, so you can customize it if needed.
    • You can receive and manage extensive website analytics to measure traffic, customer behavior, and conversions.
    • Shopping cart software is usually a one-time purchase, so the longer you're in business, the lower your total cost of ownership.
    • Can manage wholesalers, affiliates, and channel sales.
    Disadvantages
    • You own it; it's your responsibility. However, the software vendor should provide support for their product.
    • Although not usually very difficult or expensive, shopping cart software needs to be installed and integrated into your website and set up to work with your payment gateway.
    • You have separate software, gateway, and merchant accounts to manage...although this can be a good thing if you choose to change software or hosted solutions because you won't have to get new gateway or merchant accounts.
    • It costs more up front.
    • You will need to provide a secure website using an encrypted SSL certificate. This could be an added expense if you otherwise do not need one.

    Recommendation: While there are many large e-Commerce sites who do use managed hosted solutions, if you are serious about marketing, brand, and control - get your own shopping cart software and have it set up professionally. If you are a smaller retailer with minimal needs, a hosted solution may be best for you.
  • Web Hosting   ( 3 Articles )

    Web Hosting Information and Resources

    Do we offer hosting for your website?

    No. However, we do offer some valuable information and referrals to help you out. We encourage you take just a couple of minutes to review our information before selecting a web host.

    • If you know all about web hosting and are looking for a reliable web hosting provider, take a look at our web hosting reviews page. If you want someone to work with locally or host your site locally, contact us, and we can also provide you a referral to a local web hosting provider.
    • If you haven't identified what type of hosting plan you need yet, we have some tips on choosing the right web hosting plan for your business.

    • If you are used to services like GoDaddy.com, we have an affiliate website that is managed, hosted, and serviced by GoDaddy. We sell domain names and just about everything else you'd need for your website or blog through it...including web hosting. Our prices are usually always lower than GoDaddy, and we offer this cost-savings opportunity as a courtesy to our customers (and if you have read this far...to you as well). It is especially great for registering, transferring, and managing domains. Our customers who have used it for hosting, e-mail, e-mail marketing, file and photo storage, and SSL certificates have found that it is highly reliable, easy to use, and very inexpensive. It isn't for everybody, but if you need an inexpensive and reliable hosting option and like to do it yourself, you should at least see all the services offered. Just be sure to follow the directions on that site and use the support on that site. We don't manage it. We just offer it to you as an option.

    Does it matter where you host your website?

    Yes.     There is probably no other industry where a product varies in quality and price from company to company than web hosting. Some hosting "providers" are no more than some guy sitting at home reselling you another company's poor service. Other hosts are known "spam domains" and have been blacklisted. Most all of them provide very poor support and performance. The small amount of money paid in hosting fees can have one of the biggest impacts on your business if you're not careful. Lucky for you, we've compiled some good information here and have offered some recommendations as well. P.S. if you do take our recommendations and find a problem, please contact us. The last thing we want to do is give you bad advice. And, if you find our advice helpful, please link to us or pass along our URL to a friend or colleague.

    Can you host your own website?

    Yes, if you are either crazy or plan on staffing a data center and never having a good night's sleep again. If you take away only one piece of information from this website and never come back again, it should be: don't host your own website!