There are lots of shopping cart software providers out there (3d shopping cart, Agora shopping cart software, to name a few). But whether you are using a cheap shopping cart solution or one that costs a bomb (or greater alternative: you’re getting InstanteStore), a newbie online merchant might get lost in all the ecommerce jargon strewn across cyberspace. It appears that everyday new terms are being coined. Some terms remain but many more are forgotten just as easily as the were conjured. Here are 5 terms which have been here been with us for a while.

SEO

Search Engine Optimization or SEO is a method of driving quality traffic to a site without any financial outlay. This natural or organic method requires tweaking the site’s content, coding and HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) to raise its relevance to particular keywords and make it easier for search engines to index and subsequently increasing the site’s visibility on a search engine’s result’s page (SERP).

SEM

Search Engine Marketing or SEM is a method of advertising a site via the use of paid placements or paid inclusion. This form of internet marketing can raise your visibility in SERP’s much faster then SEO alone, but at a cost of course. Before engaging in an SEM program, make sure you carry out a viability study. Ensure the returns can justify the investment before you go out and spend your hard earned cash.

Hard Goods And Soft Goods

An online store may sell several goods that are generally divided into 2 categories – hard goods and soft goods. Hard goods are tangible items like books and MP3 players. Soft goods are products that exist electronically like MP3’s, software and ebooks – items that can be downloaded. The standout thing about soft goods is that you do not need to fret about packaging, shipping and inventory space. Literally every process involved in the sale and delivery of soft goods can be e-store proprietors who are already running more than one online store but do not intend to increase their manpower.

Internet Merchant Account

An internet merchant account facilitates the receiving of online payments, generally by credit card. If you have issues having an internet merchant account, you can consider the services of a merchant broker. A merchant broker would then charge a setup fee and provide the software and hardware necessary either by lease or sale, as necessary.

Conversion Rate

Conversion rate has nothing to do with religion. As an alternative it pertains to the percentage of visitors to an online store who are converted into buyers. Conversions do not happen automatically and depend on a few factors to help capture a visitor to buy from a certain store. The clever use of images, content and call to action phrases all play a part in this process of conversion. All content should be concise and to the point. In actual fact, everything on a online store should be geared to convert traffic, whether directly of indirectly. Web pages should be clear from clutter and all elements that could distract a visitor for the actual converting into a customer.

So before you sign up for a feature-rich yet low cost shopping cart solution like InstanteStore, be sure you brush up on your ecommerce jargon.