How can you accurately compare Host and Merchant account providers without regret!
by: ronnie@webjeb.com
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Word Count: 753
Do you know all the steps necessary to sell your product or service on the mother-of-all free-markets . the worldwide web?
Have you surveyed the service provider landscape for the required services you need such as selecting a Host Provider and a Merchant Account and Gateway provider?
Go ahead, search for “Host Providers” or “Web Hosting” and you will see over 2 Billion results returned, combined for MSN, Yahoo and Google! Wow!
Not to mention, Merchant Account Providers. If you require your business to approve credit cards through your web site you definitely will need a merchant account provider and a gateway solution. Go ahead, do another search for Merchant Accounts you will see an additional 20 Million or so responses combined for Yahoo, MSN and Google.
How can you sort out the good from the bad, who offers the best fit for your business and who provides the best total costs?
How do you compare these solution providers?
Well, if you have the time and energy you should:
1) Check the provider’s business standing.
• Check what the Better Business Bureau reports about the profile of the company.
• Also, check to see if the company publishes a business telephone number and a business address on their website.
• You may be shocked how many providers do not list a company telephone number nor a business address ! Why?
2) Get a sense just how popular the provider is.
• Visit Alexa.Com and Quantcast.Com. You can get a darn good opinion who drives the most traffic.
• Yes, there is some concern and debate just how accurate Alexa and Quantcast are but they are a good tool for relative measurements.
•The premise : The more traffic the more popular the site!
3) Compare the costs. Yep, you bet!
• However, you need to do a deep analysis on this topic. Don’t take granted the website catch-ads!
• Make sure you understand the setup fees, annual fees, monthly fees, contract and cancellation fees. These providers can be very creative with fees and bury them in the fine print , especially in the Merchant account realm!
• Be especially dubious of “lowest rates” and “will beat all other rates” declarations!
• Be extra careful when dealing with top tier providers such as Yahoo and GoDaddy. These are very dependable and reputable host account providers but they partner with select merchant account partners. The total cost for a merchant account with Yahoo/First Data and GoDaddy/Innovative Merchant Solutions can be quite expensive compared to third party companies. You are paying for a higher level of service and integration that you may not need!
4) Compare value. Compare what you get for the price you are willing to pay.
• For instance, when choosing a host provider you should check just how much you are paying based upon your disk space allocation and bandwidth allocation. You may be shocked at the relative costs. This can be a real eye-opener!
• Do a simple calculation and find the cost per Megabyte for disk space and the cost per Gigabyte for bandwidth. Use this number to compare. You will discover who offers the best value and which provider has a reputable entry level quote.
5) Check to see what features the provider offers for “free”!
• You want to ensure your business has scalability, the ability to grow with your selected provider. Isn’t it better to have a provider with a full menu of free services and applications that you can plug into your site at a moment’s notice?
6) Call them !!!
• Have a conversation with the representative of the service provider company. Use your intuition. If you feel uncomfortable or uneasy, simply try another solution provider.
• If you experience high pressure sales or aggressive tactics then simply look for another option.
•The Host provider and Merchant solutions market is a saturated and competitive market. Shop around, especially with merchant accounts. Typically, Merchant account providers will negotiate for your business.
• Be careful of long term contracts and cancellation fees.
Be a savvy consumer. The internet can be an intimidating and hostile environment with money pits everywhere. Do your homework!
About the Author
WebJeb is your answer for new internet business entrepreneurs searching for knowledge and education starting your business. My name is Ronnie Mack, owner of WebJeb.com,LLC. WebJeb.com provides ebusiness research, training, development, execution and sustaining services at one-stop web location. We provide 5 product areas for the internet entrepreneur - convenient ecommerce training tutorials - we guide you thru the maze of hosting and merchant account providers - we assemble a business execution plan for you - we have programs to sustain and grow your business - we provide expert services like custom web site design, SEO,Graphic design for your business collateral ( brochures, business cards etc ) The best thing .. our cost ... check us out http://www.webjeb.com
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