The Search Monitor (“TSM”), an online monitoring service that tracks competitive advertising activity on paid and organic search, blogs, forums, news, and web sites, announces its release of a new affiliate tracking software that identifies affiliate marketers who are sponsoring paid search results pages.

This powerful new tool is the first and only way for internet marketers to gain insight into the scope, strength, and breadth of their competitor’s affiliate programs. The Search Monitor is able to identify affiliates who deploy direct linking tactics and affiliates who manage and operate individual web sites.

Uses for this new tool include:

Measurement of the reach and strength of competitors’ affiliate programs on paid search.
Policing affiliates for compliance with affiliate program terms of use.
Identification of competitor’s affiliates for potential recruitment opportunities.
“Affiliate programs are a smart way to gain maximum exposure on paid search,” says Troy Lerner of The Booyah Agency. “By using affiliate programs as a tactic in our arsenal, our clients can own more page real estate on SERPs. We like the new reports from The Search Monitor because it gives us incredible insight as to where our affiliate efforts are strong and where we need to focus more time. Our clients love it because it enables them to build strength in numbers, while at the same time protecting their brands from misuse by affiliate marketers.”

“We are excited to bring this information about the affiliate channel to internet advertisers and their agencies,” says Lori Weiman, CEO of The Search Monitor. “We are a strong supporter of affiliate marketing as a powerful way to optimize online advertising in a controlled and deliberate way”

The Search Monitor offers important information that can only be gained by careful 24×7 automated monitoring, and surfaces the information in 3 easy to use reporting sections:

Competitor Monitor gives insights into competitive bidding strategies, competitor market share and visibility, ranking on sponsored search, ad copy strategies, and promotions like free shipping, trials, or sales.
Trademark Monitor eases the tasks associated with reputation management by auto-detecting advertisers sponsoring branded keywords, use of trademarks and slogans in ad copy and display urls, and negative, positive, and neutral brand buzz on blogs, news, and web sites.
Affiliate Monitor simplifies oversight of affiliate programs by auto-identification of affiliates using sponsored search to detect violations of rank requirements, keyword restrictions, ad copy requirements or restrictions, and landing page copy requirements or restrictions.
Search engine marketing has become a critical component for advertisers. According to the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO), North American advertisers spent $12.2 billion on SEM in 2007 and that figure is estimated to more than double to reach $25.2 billion by 2011. The Search Monitor was developed to provide the tools necessary to optimize the sizable investments being made in this medium and to protect brands from competitive threats.

About The Search Monitor
The Search Monitor is comprised of a team of SEM enthusiasts who uncovered a need in the market for external automated monitoring of competitive activities on paid and organic search, shopping engines, web sites, blogs, social media, and press coverage. Automated monitoring is important for reputation management as it greatly reduces the number of hours and effort required to manage affiliates and competitors infringing on brands and misrepresenting products across the web. Further, automated monitoring reveals competitive marketing strategies that enable advertisers to benchmark their own performance, optimize ad budgets, detect successful ad copy combinations, and receive advance awareness of special offers like free shipping and sales dominating their verticals. The Search Monitor is offered as a web based subscription service. To learn more please visit www.thesearchmonitor.com.

About The Booyah Agency
Based in Colorado, The Booyah Agency is a full-service Online Marketing & Advertising team packaged in a boutique firm. Armed with a funny name, these former big-agency veterans drive strategy and deliver results more quickly and affordably than the big guys. We’re experts in fundamentals and best practices with a passion for discovering the newest techniques that keep our clients ahead. Clients include Mapquest, Vitamin Shoppe, Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Gaiam, Tower Records and Little Tikes.

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The Search Monitor, an online monitoring service that tracks competitive advertising activity on paid search, blogs, forums, news, and web sites, announces its release of geo-targeted monitoring. TSM now monitors 17 countries, 6 languages, and most major regions, states, and cities in each market.

Pittsburgh, PA September 9, 2008 – The Search Monitor (www.thesearchmonitor.com) (“TSM”), an online monitoring service that tracks competitive advertising activity on paid search, blogs, forums, news, and web sites, announces its release of geo-targeted monitoring. TSM now monitors 17 countries, 6 languages, and most major regions, states, and cities in each market.

Geo-targeted monitoring enables companies to watch their competition and affiliates, and to manage their reputation and brand use locally. With this launch, interactive agencies, marketers, affiliate managers, and compliance teams are able to monitor paid search, blogs, forums, news, and web sites around the world from a local point of view in countries including: USA, UK, Canada, Australia, Argentina, Chile, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg, Mexico, Spain, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and many others. Monitoring can be conducted in English or in the language native to each country.

By gaining visibility into global search markets, companies will be able to overcome a key challenge in analyzing activity in their extended markets. Prior to the geo-targeting capabilities of TSM, an agency with clients worldwide could not effectively monitor locally targeted ads because its visibility was limited to its home base. TSM’s new capabilities provide the insights needed at the local level to protect brands and optimize search campaigns on locally.

The Search Monitor offers important information that can only be gained by careful 24×7 automated monitoring, and surfaces the information in 3 easy to use reporting sections:

1.    Competitor Monitor gives insights into competitive bidding strategies, competitor market share and visibility, ranking on sponsored search, ad copy strategies, and promotions like free shipping, trials, or sales.

2.    Trademark Monitor eases the tasks associated with reputation management by auto-detecting advertisers sponsoring branded keywords, use of trademarks and slogans in ad copy and display urls, and negative, positive, and neutral brand buzz on blogs, news, and web sites.

3.    Affiliate Monitor simplifies oversight of affiliate programs by auto-identification of affiliates using sponsored search to detect violations of rank requirements, keyword restrictions, ad copy requirements or restrictions, and landing page copy requirements or restrictions.

Search engine marketing has become a critical component for advertisers. According to the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO), North American advertisers spent $12.2 billion on SEM in 2007 and that figure is estimated to more than double to reach $25.2 billion by 2011. The Search Monitor was developed to provide the tools necessary to optimize the sizable investments being made in this medium and to protect brands from competitive threats.

“Monitoring both globally and locally is critical in benchmarking competitor advertising strategies and for watching affiliate activities online,” says Shaun Martinec, a TSM founder. “Many affiliates will carefully craft their campaigns at the local level in order to take advantage of better priced keywords or to avoid merchant detection when they are not in compliance with affiliate program terms. We find that major brand marketers are often outbid by competitors and affiliates on top terms at the local level.”

About The Search Monitor

The Search Monitor is comprised of a team of SEM enthusiasts who uncovered a need in the market for external automated monitoring of competitive activities on paid search, web sites, blogs, social media, and press coverage. Automated monitoring greatly reduces the number of hours and effort required to manage affiliates and competitors infringing on brands and misrepresenting products across the web. Further, automated monitoring reveals competitive marketing strategies that enable advertisers to benchmark their own performance, optimize ad budgets, detect successful ad copy combinations, and receive advance awareness of special offers like free shipping and sales dominating their verticals. The Search Monitor is offered as a web based subscription service. To learn more please visit www.thesearchmonitor.com .

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Neutraubling, 06. Juni 2008 – Das neue Partnerprogramm für den Online-Backup-Service „SteadyBackup“ von NTT Europe Online, einem der führenden Anbieter von Hosting Services in Europa, vergütet sowohl einfache Klicks als auch Verkaufsabschlüsse. Interessierte Website-Betreiber können sich ab sofort für das Partnerprogramm über das Netzwerk Webgains anmelden: www.webgains.de/signup.html?programid=1333 . Es locken Provisionen von bis zu 200 Prozent des ersten Monatsbetrages.

Steadybackup – Online Backup der Extraklasse

SteadyBackup ist ein vollautomatischer Service, der Daten von PCs und Notebooks absolut sicher gegen Verlust schützt. Der SteadyBackup Manager überträgt die Dateien über eine sichere und verschlüsselte Internetverbindung in das NTT Europe Online Hochsicherheits-Rechenzentrum. Von dort aus können diese dann direkt online wieder hergestellt werden – zum Beispiel im Falle einer versehentlichen Löschung auf dem eigenen Rechner.

Clicks und Sales – ein gutes Geschäft für Affiliate Partner

„Online-Backup-Services gehört die Zukunft. Wir beteiligen unsere Affiliates an diesem Wachstumsmarkt durch hohe Provisionen für Klicks und Sales“, so Kai Morasch, SME Channel Marketing Manager bei NTT Europe Online. So löst jeder Besucher, der über die individuell codierten Links geführt wird, automatisch eine Gutschrift von 0,10 EUR auf dem Konto des Affiliates aus. Entscheidet sich der Besucher danach auch für ein SteadyBackup-Paket, verdient der Website-Betreiber zusätzlich 200 Prozent des jeweiligen ersten Monatsbetrags als Provision. Der Affiliate darf mit einer Provision auch dann rechnen, wenn sich der Besucher erst Wochen oder Monate später entscheidet: Erst nach 120 Tagen verfällt der Anspruch.

Anmeldung bei Webgains

Für höchste Professionalität und Sicherheit bei Umsetzung und Abwicklung sorgt NTT Europe Online durch die Partnerschaft mit Webgains, einem der führenden internationalen Affiliate-Netzwerke: Das Webgains-System bietet modernste Funktionalitäten, umfassende Transaktionsdatenverwaltung und ein ausgeklügeltes Reporting. Die Technologie verfolgt und protokolliert auf effiziente Weise kommerzielle Transaktionen zwischen Merchants und Affiliates und gibt beiden die Möglichkeit, ihre Werbekampagnen und Medieninhalte nahtlos und effizient zu managen. Zudem stellt Webgains eine automatische wöchentliche Zahlung der Provisionen an die Affiliates sicher.

Interessenten können sich online detailliert informieren und anmelden unter www.webgains.de/signup.html?programid=1333

Über NTT Europe Online

NTT Europe Online ist eines der größten weltweit agierenden Webhosting-Unternehmen und bietet Geschäftskunden die gesamte Bandbreite an Internet-Services, wie Managed Hosting, Sicherheitsmanagement, Applikationsmanagement sowie weltweite Netzwerkdienstleistungen für die Auslieferung von Media- bzw. Webinhalten (Content Delivery Network Services), an. Mit maßgeschneiderten Lösungen unterstützt NTT Europe Online die geschäftskritischen E-Business-Aktivitäten von Unternehmen jeder Größenordnung – vom Global Player bis hin zu kleinen und mittelständischen Firmen. NTT Europe Online operiert auf Basis einer extrem zuverlässigen, voll skalierbaren, globalen IT-Infrastruktur inklusive eigenem Tier-1 IP-Netzwerk, dem NTT Communications Global IP Network.
NTT Europe Online ist ein hundertprozentiges Tochterunternehmen von NTT Communications, dem internationalen Dienstleister der NTT Group (Nippon Telegraph & Telecom), dem größten Telekommunikationsunternehmen der Welt.

Weitere Informationen zu NTT Europe Online sind zu finden unter web-hosting.ntteuropeonline.de.

Über Webgains

Webgains ist eines der führenden internationalen Affiliate-Netzwerke.
Seinen mehr als 750 Merchants und 35.000 Websites in Großbritannien, Deutschland, Frankreich, Dänemark, Schweden und den Niederlanden bietet Webgains State-of-the-Art Funktionalitäten, einfache Handhabung und eine hohe Vertrauenswürdigkeit durch Technik und Support. Namhafte Unternehmen aus den unterschiedlichsten Branchen setzen auf Webgains. Kunden sind unter anderem Quelle, Nuon, Otto, Zooplus und GE Money Bank. Webgains wurde 2000 in Großbritannien von Robert Glasgow und Peter Dunham mit der Vision gegründet, alle Funktionalitäten entsprechend modernster Anforderungen und Methoden des Affiliate-Marketings auf Webgains zu vereinen.

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Integration Adds Multichannel Order Management Features to Popular Shopping Cart Software

Mission Viejo, CA February 20, 2008 — Early Impact, developer of the ProductCart line of shopping cart software, and Stone Edge Technologies, developer of the Order Manager software for centralized order processing, today announced the integration of the two products, which will allow ProductCart users to license the Order Manager to streamline their order management, especially when handling multiple online storefronts and sales channels.

ProductCart e-commerce software is used by thousands of Internet stores to create and manage professional online storefronts. It combines hundreds of sophisticated features with remarkable ease of use and supports dozens of payment gateways, as well as shipping and marketing systems.

The integration between the two systems will allow Stone Edge customers to take advantage of ProductCart’s unique e-commerce features, such as its Build to Order system for selling complex, customizable products and services over the Internet.

The Stone Edge Order Manager provides a single interface for effective order processing in a multichannel environment, where a company’s Web, mail order, and retail businesses are managed in one shared system. The Order Manager is an ideal solution for managing orders and inventory across multiple, ProductCart-powered e-commerce storefronts, while retaining the branding of each individual store.

“Many ProductCart users take orders over the phone, have a retail location, or run multiple online stores with our shopping cart software. They were looking for a robust solution to consolidate order processing in one place.” said Massimo Arrigoni, CEO of Early Impact. “The integration with the Stone Edge Order Manager addresses this need, helping store managers save time and money while becoming more efficient.”

“With just a few clicks, merchants using ProductCart can now import new orders into the Order Manager, where they have easy access to all the features they need to effectively process and fulfill orders,” said Barney Stone, president of Stone Edge Technologies. “And there is real-time inventory synchronization too: if you sell the last unit of a product in your retail store, or re-stock a sold-out product, those inventory adjustments can be reflected immediately in your ProductCart-powered store.”

ProductCart is available starting at $695 per storefront. The Stone Edge Order Manager is available starting at $1500, which includes one shopping cart license, five workstation licenses, and an extended support contract for the first year.

About Early Impact, Inc.
Early Impact develops e-commerce software for small businesses. Its ProductCart line of shopping cart software is used by thousands of Internet stores around the world. Hundreds of Web design companies have chosen it as their e-commerce system of choice for building online storefronts for their customers. Early Impact is a privately owned California corporation, headquartered in Mission Viejo, CA. For more information about the integration between Early Impact’s e-commerce software and the Stone Edge Order Manager, please visit www.earlyimpact.com/productcart/stoneEdge

About Stone Edge Technologies, Inc.
Stone Edge Technologies is a privately owned developer of affordable e-commerce software for small businesses. Barney Stone, a pioneer of database software for desktop computers, founded the company in 1983. Stone Edge began shipping its flagship Order Manager in 2000. Today more than 2,000 Web merchants use the Stone Edge Order Manager to help streamline their businesses. For more information about Stone Edge and its Order Manager software, please visit www.stoneedge.com

Sources: PRWEB/stoneedge.com

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Software Deal of the Day offers one software application for sale every day at a significantly discounted price.

Boston, MA January 23, 2008 — Software Deal of the Day offers one software application for sale every day at a significantly discounted price.

Software Deal of the Day is a new site that offers software applications at a significantly reduced price for only twenty-four hours. Each day a new software deal is available. If you cannot resist a great deal then Software-DOD.com is for you!

Software-DOD.com features popular software titles. The software discounts range from 10-90% off of list prices, and the software is only available at that price for twenty-four hours! Software-DOD.com also contains second chance offers. The second chance offers are still discounted and designed for those that miss the deal of the day offer, but the second chance offer is not as deeply discounted as the deal of the day offer.

Many of the software applications on the Software-DOD.com website even have trial versions available, which allows website visitors to try the software prior to making a purchase decision.

Interested visitors can preview the applications that will be available on the Software-DOD website for the coming week. Additionally, deals are easy to monitor because RSS feeds are available that contain the daily specials, the second chance offers, and a preview of applications that will be featured on the Software-DOD.com website.

Other webmasters and publishers can also syndicate the Software Deal of the Day offers, and integrate the discount offers into their own websites. Software-DOD.com provides the tools to make the integration process painless for webmasters. The offers will dynamically update each night as the new offers become available. Providing such great software deals are sure to endear webmasters to their website visitors.

Software developers interested in this new distribution channel are encouraged to submit their software applications for consideration. With economic concerns looming individuals and businesses alike are tightening their spending. Software Deal of the Day is a win for every everyone. Additional details available at www.software-dod.com

Software-DOD.com is owned by NotePage, Inc. an independent software development company in Massachusetts. For more information contact, NotePage, Inc. at PO Box 296, Hanover, MA 02339. Phone: 781-829-0500. Fax: 781-582-1869. E-mail: sales @ notepage.net. Internet: www.notepage.net.

About NotePage, Inc.
NotePage, Inc. is a Hanover, Massachusetts company specializing in communication software solutions. They market (1) FeedForAll, a windows desktop RSS feed and podcast editing tool (2) FeedForAll Mac, a Mac desktop RSS feed and podcast creation tool (3) rss2html.php a script for converting RSS feeds to html web pages. (4) RSS Scripts Directory, a directory of PHP scripts for managing RSS feeds and podcasts (5) PageGate, a network paging and SMS gateway that allows for text or SMS messages to be sent via a number of interfaces, and (6) NotePager Pro, a desktop application that sends messages to pagers, cellular phones, and PIMs.

Provided by gh consulting – gordian hense

William S. Samuels IV, President of Telesales Services, an acknowledged Telesales and Telemarketing industry leader gives his insight into the eight things you need to know before you outsource your call center needs. Bill consults organization of all sizes in all industries – from Fortune 500 pharmaceutical and medical companies, to federal government to two-person startups, and even Dancing with the Stars! Bill works with over 100 call centers to find you the right solution, so you can be confident in his ability to evaluate a call center.

Rochester, NY January 16, 2008 — William S. Samuels IV, President of Telesales Services, an acknowledged Telesales and Telemarketing industry leader gives his insight into the four things you need to know before you outsource your call center needs.

Do You Know These 4 Items to Consider Before Outsourcing Your Call Center?
William Samuels, IV
President
Telesales Services

I. Is Call Center Outsourcing Right For You?
Call Center Outsourcing is the use of a Telesales or Telemarketing vendor to handle an inbound or outbound call center project that normally draws on internal resources. Using outside resources allows you to concentrate, cost effectively, on your core competencies.

Outsourced Call Centers Offer:
• Skilled Telemarketing professionals
• Improved market coverage
• Faster ramp-up, launch, and roll-out of campaigns
• Experience with programs similar to yours
• Rapid response to market conditions
• Account management expertise
• Enhanced reporting capabilities
• Market testing capabilities
• Remote call monitoring

The Benefits of Outsourcing Call Center Services
• Increased Sales and profits
• Reduced costs per sale
• Maximum phone productivity
• Increased number of appointments
• Increased customer base
• Increased lead generation
• Higher number of qualified leads
• Higher number of closed sales
• Better customer retention
• More immediate feedback
• Better results through test marketing
• Increased local, regional, or national market share

II. The Telesales and Telemarketing Proposal Process
The proposal process can be a complex and challenging task. Key items need to be identified and addressed in the proposal. The proposal then needs to be evaluated. It is recommended that you use a weighted average assessment model. The following steps will help guide you through the process.

Proposal Items
•Qualifications – Request background information on the company
•Capabilities – Describe your technology requirements
•Capacity – Define your requirements to reach your goals
•Geography – Indicate if location is a factor
•Experience – Request like-kind or same industry sector experience
•Staff – Establish guidelines for the required skill sets
•Financial – Request pricing for setup, training, programming account management and miscellaneous fees along with payment terms.

III. The Site Visit and Assessment
The site visit is a critical phase of the call center selection process. A number of factors need to be considered while doing the assessment.
1. How is the chemistry?
2. How is the interaction between your staff and theirs?
3. Do they seem attentive to your needs?
4. Is the corporate culture similar to yours, which may allow for a smoother transition through the ramp-up and rollout phases?
5. Does the employee morale seem positive?
6. How is the interaction between employees? Are they working as a team?
7. How is the training handled?
8. Do they have a training facility?
9. Are training modules available for inspection?
10. How is the coaching handled for motivational and formative feedback?
11. What is the ratio of supervisors to agents?
12. Request a demo for a monitoring session.
13. Request a demo on the process of developing and rolling out a campaign.
14. How is the program developed?
15. How is the initiative implemented?
16. How is the initiative executed?
17. How are the results reported?
18. How is the quality control maintained throughout the process?

IV. Weighted Average Assessment
Create a weighted average assessment table based on the proposal items in Step I. Assign a weight from 1-5 (5 being the best). Score each vendor on how they perform on that factor. Then multiply that score by the weight for their weighted score. Add up the weighted scores for their final score. The vendor with the highest score wins.

This method allows the items from the proposal to be weighted based on their value to the company. This method should facilitate the decision making process. I wish you much success with your call center outsourcing initiative.

About Telesales Services
In 1997, Telesales Services, LLC launched a call center consulting and call center locator service that was enthusiastically received by clients – they help you find the best course of action for your telemarketing and telesales needs. After 10 years of offering call center solutions and thousands of clients later Telesales Services continues to lead the industry by:
•Constantly monitoring industry trends
•Staying current in all aspects of relevant technology
•Perfecting our ability to size up an opportunity for any client, large or small
•Maintaining a base of contacts that lets us create an ideal solution for any situation
•Offering the fastest turnaround possible: less than 24 hours with a benchmark of 10 minutes
•Representing 100 Call Centers, including what the industry refers to as its award winning “Top 50 Call Centers” — connecting our clients to only the most recognized and effective providers
•Saving our clients the immense amount of time required to identify the right call center.

All fees associated with the Telesales Services offering are covered by the call center.

Learn more about Telesales Services and contact them by visiting Telesales Services.

Website: www.telesalesservices.com

Provided by gh consulting – gordian hense

See, Click and Transform: Latest Version of Bling! It Grants Individuals and Small Businesses Operating Mac Systems the Confidence and Credibility to Compete on the Global Market and Raise Sales, Click-Through-Rates and Sell Stagnant Inventory

San Francisco, CA January 16, 2008 — Vertus, the graphics and imaging software division of Heligon, a technology business specializing in image data interpretation, today unveiled the Macintosh-compatible version of Bling! It, its recently released deep-graphic image-editing tool that quickly and easily transforms product shots to create maximum online sales impact. Since its initial launch, Bling! It users, even those without any prior image editing experience, have found that the software helps raise the achieved sales price of their products and increases the click-through-rate over standard thumbnail images. By giving product images a “shot-in-the-studio” look and feel, Bling! It creates images which attract more attention from buyers, helping sellers achieve higher prices for their products and move previously stagnant inventory. The software is available for live demonstrations throughout Macworld Expo 2008, January 15-18, in the Vertus booth #W-4231.

By combining complex technology with easy-to-use tools, Bling! It empowers any user to strengthen and embellish product images thanks to capabilities previously available only to seasoned image editing professionals. With Bling! It, Mac users can unlock their creative potential without having to master complex and intimidating image editing programs such as Photoshop. With just a few clicks and the guidance of Bling! It’s intuitive balloon tips, users can seamlessly replace a standard image background with a more appealing backdrop and add features such as drop shadowing, highlight effects and logos. The sheer speed realized with Bling! It enables even the novice user to produce product images up to four times faster than with any previously available solutions.

“Bling! It enables anyone to create high quality product shots capable of competing with studio-shot professional product images. We’ve received numerous comments from customers that have “Blinged” their product shots, that they have realized as much as a 20% increase in their achieved product price,” said James Carr-Jones, president and CEO of Vertus. “With businesses of all sizes and industries offering products through e-commerce outlets, the entrepreneur that makes the best impression online ultimately generates the most sales. Bling! It enables even the most casual seller to optimize potential revenue and increase profits by making products truly stand out from the ever-growing crowd without the need to master Photoshop or other complicated imaging programs.”

For anyone interested in generating supplemental income online or through auction sites like eBay or Amazon, Bling! It provides the ability to create professional quality product shots that rival or surpass the competition. From the occasional eBay user to the small business looking to improve its website images and compete with larger rivals, Bling! It can improve product images making them standout from the competition, often helping to sell previously stagnant inventory.

“I recently downloaded the software and have been working on my images non-stop since then,” said eBay India Power Seller Runa Laila, who operates the eBay store Hypnosis, which specializes in Indian clothing and jewelry. “In a rather short period of time, I am already seeing some of my items which were stuck with me for quite a long time getting sold off immediately upon uploading some beautiful photos recreated with the help of Bling! It.”

Bling! It Features

Bling! It identifies and traces the key edges within an image to extract the product from its background, making this once complicated task as easy as painting by numbers. Users can select from a variety of professional backgrounds available in the Bling! It library or customize one, optimize the shot with a few clicks on the easy-to-use tools menu, and the new professional product image is complete. Bling! It also automatically optimizes an image size, resolution and data weight (kilobytes), for an e-commerce site or preset online auction sites.

With Bling! It’s “Paint Away Viewer” feature, users see their product shot evolving in real-time. As the product is extracted and set into the new background, users are able to visualize the final image as it is created. The “Paint Away Viewer” also shows real-time edits, as users employ various image optimization tools available with Bling! It. With these tools, users can:
― Sharpen product appearance without hiding a product’s characteristic imperfections
― Add drop shadows to provide a depth-of-field to the image
― Use the “Highlight Brush” to lift the image highlights to create a “shot-in-the-studio” feel
― Enhance product resolution independently from the background to make the product really stand out
― Embed a logo to make product shots even more professional
― Adjust the edge blending between the product and the background to preserve the warm feeling of a sweater or the furry softness of a teddy bear
― Customize the position, size and rotation of the product relative to the new background with the easy-to-use handling points
― Optimize the final image for use on various preset e-commerce sites such as eBay or Amazon

Bling! It was created as a cost effective alternative for the online seller and small business. With a suggested retail price of $49.95, the software is affordable for even the most casual user.

Bling! It can be purchased at Bling! It Homepage.

System Requirements

Previously available for PC use only, the latest version of Bling! It is now available for the Macintosh operating systems. Minimum requirements are:
― PowerPC® G4 or G5 or Intel® processor
― Mac OS X v.10.3.9, or 10.4.9 or later
― 512MB of RAM
― 250MB of available hard-disk space

About Vertus
Vertus is the graphics and imaging software division of Heligon, a technology business specializing in image data interpretation. Heligon’s groundbreaking technology uses complex algorithms to mimic the way the eye and brain perform visual processing so that
complex shapes and colors can be recognized within images. Heligon licenses its technology to market leaders in industries including design and graphics, printing and video. More information on Vertus can be found at: Vertus Homepage.

Website: www.blingit.us

Provided by gh consulting – gordian hense

Revolutionary new rapid payment processing lets businesses get their money the very next day, improving cash flow

Thousand Oaks, CA January 15, 2008 — Paymentmax announced a new feature that lets business owners charge a customer’s credit card, then have access to the funds the very next day. This is a major advancement over traditional credit card processing services that take 2 to 5 days before funds become available to the merchant.

“The length of time that it takes for credit card funds to land in a merchant’s bank account has always been a big issue with businesses,” said Tony Shap, President of Paymentmax. “A business can have all kinds of sales on the books, but still have to wait a week to get their money. That can cause cash flow problems. Paymentmax’s new Next Day processing solves that problem,” Shap said.

Paymentmax’s Next Day processing is being made available to the Internet’s millions of online businesses that need to accept credit cards. Paymentmax serves as a single source for capturing and processing of receivables. “In the past, your sales were captured by one provider, then your funds were processes by two or three others. Not only did everybody get a slice of your sale, but every service had to work together and long delays were frequent. Paymentmax speeds up the entire process to a single day with one of the lowest costs in the industry,” Shap said.

Paymentmax delivers businesses credit and debit card funds directly into the merchant’s existing bank account the next day — or in as little as 12 hours. “We constantly strive to offer the best quality solutions in the industry while keeping our prices well below average. Business owners are constantly telling us Paymantmax gets the job done far faster and costs them far less,” Shap said.

About Paymentmax Processing

Paymentmax Processing is a Thousand Oaks provider of merchant accounts Powered by First Data® Corporation. Paymentmax offers a comprehensive line of payment processing solutions for business. Their most popular services are credit card, debit card, contactless payments, and check acceptance.

Paymentmax provides merchant services across the United States for all types of businesses including retail, restaurant, service delivery, wireless, mail-order, telephone-order, and Internet merchants. See the Paymentmax web site at www.paymentmax.com .

Provided by gh consulting – gordian hense

Axios faculty affiliate, Professor James Anderson of the Kellogg School of Management, launches his new book, Value Merchants: Demonstrating and Documenting Superior Value in Business Markets. Based on the results of his latest research on crafting winning value propositions and managing customer value, Dr. Anderson defines the best practices in business to business (B2B) marketing.

Chicago, IL January 14, 2008 — Axios Partners, Inc. today announced its faculty affiliate, Professor James Anderson of the Kellogg School of Management, has launched his new book, Value Merchants: Demonstrating and Documenting Superior Value in Business Markets. Dr. Anderson is considered the world’s leading authority on Business-to-Business (B2B) marketing having already written the best selling B2B marketing textbook and numerous Harvard Business Review articles. On Tuesday, January 15, Dr. Anderson will be hosting a book launch in conjunction with the Kellogg Alumni Association on the Kellogg campus in downtown Chicago.

Based on the results of Dr. Anderson’s latest research on crafting winning value propositions and managing customer value, Value Merchants defines B2B marketing best practices and provides expert guidance to managers who are facing disappointing sales growth and increasing price pressures. “To gain a fair return on the value their offerings deliver, firms must be able to persuasively demonstrate and document the value they provide customers relative to the next best alternative for those customers,” says Dr. Anderson. In Value Merchants, he describes his groundbreaking customer value assessment methodology to provide an understanding of customer requirements and preferences, and what it is worth in monetary terms to fulfill them.

“Dr. Anderson’s approach to customer value management has created dramatic results for our clients. For example, we’ve seen clients increase margins by 25% or achieve 85% penetration in new markets by demonstrating and documenting their superior value,” says Eric Berggren, Managing Director. To reflect the success that its clients have had with Dr. Anderson’s and other cutting edge methods, Axios has redesigned its website: www.AxiosPartnersInc.com. Copies of Dr. Anderson’s book, as well as other publications highlighting best practices in marketing, can be obtained through the Axios website: www.AxiosPartnersInc.com/ideastools.html .

About Axios Partners, Inc.

Axios leads clients to innovate and manage their customer value for revenue and profit growth. Drawing on a network of expert resources, Axios combines highly skilled and experienced consultants with the cutting edge methods to address each client’s unique challenges. Axios has developed and implemented highly effective differentiation strategies for clients across a variety of industries, such as financial services, high-tech, energy, health care, telecommunications and industrial products. Axios client results have been highlighted in Fortune, Harvard Business Review and numerous other publications.

For more information, please visit: www.AxiosPartnersInc.com.

Invesp, a marketing consulting boutique that offers conversion optimization services, announced that its clients had an average conversion rate of 11.12 percent in 2007, which translates into an increase of up to 321 percent in online revenue.

Detroit, MI January 14, 2008 — Most large online companies have reported a soar in their sales. Companies with significant web presences such as Amazon, Bestbuy and Motorola were able to drive hundreds of thousands of visitors to their sites and as a result reported double digit growth in sales. Other e-commerce sites do not have such brand awareness and are not enjoying the same revenue growth. Most of these sites are turning to conversion optimization companies to help them boost sales. Invesp, a marketing consulting boutique, announced that its clients had an average conversion rate of 11.12 percent in 2007 reporting an increase of up to 321 percent in online revenue.

The fact is that at the heart of every ecommerce website is someone whose job is to increase revenue. As there is an increased pressure on online retailers to generate more sales, these sites are trying to figure out ways to convert more of their traffic into actual consumers, which is why it is crucial to focus on conversion rates. Data tracked by Invesp Consulting, a marketing optimization company, indicates that online conversion rates have been on a steady decline for the last 6 years. Fireclick index, which provides an objective comparison of key metrics across a variety of segments, reported that ecommerce website reported an average conversion rate of 6 percent in the year 2000, but by 2007, most ecommerce sites are reporting an average less than 2 percent.

Surprisingly, these rates have not always been this low. Ecommerce sites used to experience more sales because of limited competition. They were not required to be optimized nor designed with users in mind. But with the boom in e-retailing sites, competition is fierce. Sites are turning to conversion optimization methods with one goal in mind: trying to figure out the best way to increase online conversions.

And companies should be concerned with conversions since there are more users than ever online. Users are picky, if the site does not capture their attention because of the lack of optimization and focus, they will click out within seconds. That translates into hundreds of dollars in lost sales.

For an ecommerce site driving 50,000 visitors a day, a 2 percent conversion rate may suffice. But, conversion rate doesn’t have to stop at that low number. Ayat Shukairy, a managing partner at Invesp Consulting (www.invesp.com), says, “if you’ve already invested hundreds of thousands into your online platform, you are getting tens of thousands of visitors to your site every day. Increasing your website conversion rate can mean getting 1,000 orders instead of 500 orders. Our clients are reporting an average of 11 percent conversion rate. That translates into 321 percent increase in revenue. If companies do not fix the problem with their website, then they are simply leaving money on the table for competitors to take.”

But there is hope for ecommerce sites; an online presence has a lot to offer. Increasing online Conversion rate via conversion optimization consulting is the solution for sites ready to see improvements. Optimized sites report tremendous increases in their conversion rates.

Online marketing and selling has always been a challenge because of the anonymity of the customer. However, with great online marketing tools and analytics, this data is no longer inaccessible. Ayat Shukairy adds: “Understanding your online visitor/customer is the first hurdle ecommerce companies must overcome in order to see a jump in conversion rates in sales. Once the customer is tacit, the process to improving rates and getting more from your online ROI begins.”

An upcoming company in the conversion optimization space, Invesp has a unique and successful methodology in terms of increasing conversion rate. The approach has been developed as a result of years of experience within the industry and the collaboration of a unique team of experts. They have developed a framework that will assist ecommerce sites to see their customers from a different perspective. Once the consumer is understood and accounted for, the site is built upon that knowledge which will lead to higher conversion rates.

Khalid Hajsaleh, CEO at Invesp, concurs: “Many companies try to solve the problem of low conversion rates by testing thousands of variations of your pages and determining what works best. That is an expensive and in many times an ineffective way to solve the problem. Our approach involves starting from the ground up. We understand your market, develop personas, develop the page, and then test a few calculated variations. This method has proven to get better results.”

Invesp consulting is an online marketing and conversion optimization company that offers a variety of conversion services including landing page optimization (www.invesp.com/marketing-services/landing-page-creation-optimization.html) and full conversion services (www.invesp.com/marketing-services/conversion-services.html). For more information contact Mie El-Bohy at (248) 562-7583 or via e-mail at email protected from spam bots.