Instabill Merchant Account Experts Blog

Until Dan brought home a photo of Jason, himself, and Walid screaming at the top of the Stratosphere Tower. Instabill is a merchant service provider for high risk merchants, so their trip wouldn't have been complete without a high risk thrill ride!

Success for Instabill at the ETA 2012

Although there was no female eye candy at our ETA booth this year--Account Manager Stacy and Executive Assistant Nyah accompanied Jason last year in San Diego--the guys still found the expo successful. They brought home dozens of new partner applications and many new connections.

The Odd Couple

The ETA 2012 Annual Meeting and Expo wasn't the only conference going on at Mandalay Bay last week. The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries' held their 2012 ISRI Convention and Expo just next door. I'm sure one would think, "Hmm . . . recycling and electronic transactions. What an odd couple!" But not so much.

While Jason, Dan, and Walid spoke with new potential partners about Instabill's international merchant accounts, gambling merchant accounts, and fraud and risk mitigation services, the ISRI hosted seminars about doing business abroad, lessons in gambling (it is Vegas after all!), and fraud prevention.

Boys Just Want to Have Fun!

As much as we love Jason, Dan, and Walid, that picture of them on the Stratosphere Tower is absolutely priceless. We want to have a little fun of our own with a caption contest. In the comment field below, post what you think should be the caption for the photo--or maybe even a line or two of what you think was going on in their minds.

When customers make a purchase from your e-commerce store, a good rule of thumb is to send confirmation emails. Think about it: When you go to a store, you pay the cashier and immediately receive your goods and your receipt. These are physical reassurances that let you know your transaction is complete, and you can go home happy.

Confirmation Emails for Purchases

In the world of e-commerce, there are no immediate reassurances. Customers have to wait for their goods to come in the mail to know that their transaction is complete. Although you redirect your customers to a results page after a successfully completed transaction, this may not be enough to satisfy them. A confirmation email will give them the chance to look over their purchase one more time, and let them know that you've received their order request. Confirmation emails should include:

• A message thanking them for their purchase and letting them know that you've received their order request
• The order number and date
• An overview of the order, including the price for each individual item, taxes, and shipping costs
• Their payment method with the last four digits of the debit or credit card number
• Shipping and billing addresses
• Shipping method, estimated delivery date, and (if applicable) the tracking information
• Your contact information for any future questions they may have regarding their purchase

When creating your confirmation emails, keep the following tips in mind.

• Your customers may need to use their confirmation emails as a receipt for expense reimbursements or tax records.
• Make sure your customers do not mistake your email as spam.
• Use your company name as the sender's name so they recognize your email.
• Explain to your customers how they can modify their order before you ship it to them if they see an error on their confirmation email.
• Provide all necessary information they may need to contact your customer service department or if they want to track their order.
• Make sure your confirmation emails are easy to print, or include a link to a printer-friendly version.

Confirmation Emails for Shipped Orders

Another good rule of thumb is to send a second confirmation email once you've shipped their order. This email should remind the customer of their shipping method, the estimated arrival date, and a customs disclaimer.

As an e-commerce merchant, you have the opportunity to sell to people all over the world. International shipping means packages have to clear through customs--a process that can take up to several weeks to complete. Let your customers know that if their package has to clear through customs and that they should expect delays.

For more information about confirmation emails, read our blog post about online transaction receipts and how they can help you prevent chargebacks.

Search engine optimization (SEO) plays a key role in any successful website. Without SEO, searchers can have a hard time finding your site. As an e-commerce merchant, you rely on visitors finding your website when they're on the cyber prowl for goods or services. If it isn't already, SEO should be your best friend. Below are five hot tips to help your e-commerce website thrive.

1. Keywords

The first thing you need to do when operating an e-commerce website is research what keywords you want to use, and then determine what keywords you need to use. There are a couple of ways you can go about this. The first way is by visiting your direct competitors' websites and seeing what keywords they're using.

The second way is by using analytics tools--a technique you should definitely use. Tools like Google AdWords Traffic Estimator lets you see how many global monthly searches there are for specific keywords or phrases. It even allows you to compare keywords and phrases. For example, if you sell electronics on your e-commerce website, you can compare the keywords headphones, head phones, earphones, and ear phones to see what term gets more searches.

Once you have your list of keywords, use them. Properly. Avoid flooding your pages with keywords--no one likes overkill--and make sure you use them in ways that make sense. By this, I mean don't stick a keyword into a sentence just for the sake of having it on the page. Two great ways to use keywords are to include one or two of the most important ones in your META description attribute as well as in the page's title tag.

2. Content

One of the biggest challenges you may have running an e-commerce website is that hundreds of others stores and sites are selling the same exact items as you (unless you handcraft the products you're selling, of course). Your products may not be unique, but your content should be. Unique content will attract people and convert your website visitors into customers.

Make sure you're using important keywords in your product descriptions too. While it's great to use keywords in headings and subheadings, you should aim for using each keyword at least three times on the page. Some people even go so far as using each keyword three times within a span of 100 words.

When it comes to websites, search engines frown upon duplicate content. Each page on your e-commerce website should be different from one page to the next. But you know what search engines love? Fresh content! So make sure you're updating your content regularly for even better SEO.

3. URLs

When you're searching for something--anything, really--on the Internet, and you see a URL ending with ID=Product72310Category=922, will you know what's on the page? I sure don’t, and neither will search engines--based on the URL, that is. Now, if you see a URL that ends with ID=HeadphonesCategory=SurroundSound, will you know what's on the page? Absolutely! When writing a URL, make sure it is clear, descriptive, and includes one or two of the most important keywords for the page.

4. Interlinking

Internal linking, or interlinking, connects two pages on your website. Interlinking is great for SEO value--it tells search engines what links are really important on your site--but it's also great for getting visitors to click through your site. When interlinking, use descriptive anchor texts that will let your visitor know what they'll find on the page they're about to click on. The link should also relate to the page your visitor is currently viewing.

For instance, if your visitor is reading about surround sound headphones, you can write about how great the headphones sound when watching movies. You can write about how, with a portable DVD player, they can have their own movie theater wherever they go and link to your product page for a portable DVD player.

5. Product Reviews

A great tool that your e-commerce website has the upper hand on is product reviews. They create original content for your page, and also help build trust with your online customers. If you're having a hard time generating product reviews from your customers, consider offering incentives. A discount on the next purchase in exchange for a review will also generate a returning customer, and a free sample may entice your customer to buy the actual product after using the sample.

Share Your Hot SEO Tips!

How do you use keywords on your e-commerce website? What are some of your most frequently implemented SEO techniques? How do you get customers to leave product reviews on your site?

As an e-commerce merchant processing payments with Instabill, your number one question for us may have to do with your payout schedule. We understand how important it is for you to get paid in a timely manner, but from time to time, there are situations that may prevent a 100% settlement for a particular payout period, such as:

• Your weekly volume decreased more than 50% from one week to the next
• You processed less than $2,500 in one week
• Your chargebacks exceeded 2%
• You processed too many refunds

When you run into one of these situations, your acquiring bank may flag your merchant account, assess a fine, or penalize you for excessive chargebacks. However, we design our payout policies to help you anticipate and prevent this from happening.

When your weekly processing is inconsistent, your merchant account specialist tries to find out why so they can help you address the issue. Maybe you're experiencing technical difficulties that prevent you from processing, or maybe you're having a predictable sales decline during a certain part of the year. We want to know what's going on so that we can help your business and keep you processing.

There may be a time when your chargebacks are more than 2% in one week, and your acquiring bank will take an additional reserve amount from your funds. The bank does this to make sure you always have enough money in your reserve account to cover additional chargebacks and refunds. Remember that these withheld funds are STILL YOURS. After the six-month reserve period ends, you'll get these funds without further delay. We know this can be frustrating, but the policy is in place to protect your business as well as the acquiring bank's business. Learn about preventing chargebacks so you can avoid this altogether.

My best advice to you is to keep us informed of any potential problems you might anticipate with your processing. We certainly understand that running a business is never easy, and that unexpected setbacks sometimes arise. If you know in advance of a potential issue, call your merchant account specialist to discuss the difficulty. We are happy to work with you to prevent or minimize any inconvenience related to timely payouts.

If you're an international e-commerce merchant who sells to US consumers, it’s important to know about the shipping process. In fact, one of the most common reasons your customers call Instabill has to do with product shipping.

The most popular shipping option our merchants use is the United States Postal Service. Although merchants and customers are usually very happy with the Post Office's services, there are some factors to think about when you're estimating a delivery time.

Types of USPS Shipping

As a start-up e-commerce merchant, you may not realize it, but there are a handful of different USPS shipping methods. Below is a brief overview of the different types.

Express and Express International Shipping: According to the USPS, this method of shipping products usually takes three to five business days. Recipients have to sign for the package, which gives you the upper hand on fighting chargebacks when customers claim they didn't receive their goods.

There is an additional cost to use Express and Express International shipping with the USPS, but I highly recommend this method to merchants. After all, what's more important--paying for a cheaper, less secure form of shipping or losing your merchant account from having too many chargebacks?

Priority Mail Shipping: Priority Mail shipping with the USPS is a fast and affordable method for sending documents and packages. Although recipients don't have to sign for the package with this method of shipping, you'll still receive confirmation upon delivery.

First Class Shipping: For merchants shipping small packages, First Class shipping with the USPS offers the best value. You can combine this method of shipping with extra services, such as delivery confirmation and insurance. Although this usually has a longer delivery time, this is the most affordable way to ship your goods.

Registered Mail: The USPS offers this method of shipping as an additional feature for Priority Mail and First Class shipping options to merchants shipping to the US from a business outside the US. Registered Mail is a service that lets you register your package for additional protection and security once it reaches the US.

Factoring in Customs Delays

US e-commerce merchants shipping goods within their own country don't need to worry about customs delays, but international merchants shipping to the US do. Packages coming from outside of the US need to clear through customs before they can continue on their journey to the consumer. Unfortunately, the time it takes to clear through customs is hard to predict. It can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. When shipping to the United States, be sure to let your US consumers know to expect customs delays.

Keep Your Customers in the Know

In my years of working with Instabill, keeping the expected delivery date realistic goes a long way. If you let your customers know the shipping process, even if it takes longer than you expected, they'll be much happier that you were honest with them.