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Why was the payment declined?Adrian Singer, June 10 |
Driving traffic is key, but how do you reduce payment decline rates?
SoftwareProjects Shopping Cart now offers 5 reports to help you trouble-shoot the reasons for declined payments early on, so that you can resolve any issues right away.
1. Payment Decline-rate Trends
Decline rates typically hover around 10%, however they do vary by industry. Monitor your decline-rate trend regularly.
2. Declines by Credit-card Type
A simple misconfiguration with your merchant account provider, can easily cause all American Express or Discover payments to get rejected.
3. Declines by Error Code
Are you getting too many AVS (Address Verification Service) declines? It may be time to review your AVS settings
4. Declines by Country
Helpful in detecting fraud attempts.
5. Declines by Affiliate
Find the affiliates that are generating the highest percentage of declines.
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In addition to these reports, you can always view and download a complete list of all payment declines under 'Order Manager' - 'Register'
SoftwareProjects Shopping Cart now offers 5 reports to help you trouble-shoot the reasons for declined payments early on, so that you can resolve any issues right away.
1. Payment Decline-rate Trends
Decline rates typically hover around 10%, however they do vary by industry. Monitor your decline-rate trend regularly.
2. Declines by Credit-card Type
A simple misconfiguration with your merchant account provider, can easily cause all American Express or Discover payments to get rejected.
3. Declines by Error Code
Are you getting too many AVS (Address Verification Service) declines? It may be time to review your AVS settings
4. Declines by Country
Helpful in detecting fraud attempts.
5. Declines by Affiliate
Find the affiliates that are generating the highest percentage of declines.
-
In addition to these reports, you can always view and download a complete list of all payment declines under 'Order Manager' - 'Register'
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How to create a ShareASale Deep LinkAdrian Singer, June 8 |
ShareASale (SAS) Affiliate Network, lets you redirect the end-user to any page on the merchant domain.
Unfortunately there is no built-in user-interface, but it's pretty easy to set it up.
Login to SAS, click 'Get Links' and get the link for the merchant you're looking to promote.
The link is going to start with http://www.shareasale.com/r.cfm
All you have to do is add ?urllink=MYURL at the end of the link, replacing MYURL with the destination link.
No need to include http:// in the destination link and make sure you urlencode it.
Sample valid SAS link, with custom url redirect:
Unfortunately there is no built-in user-interface, but it's pretty easy to set it up.
Login to SAS, click 'Get Links' and get the link for the merchant you're looking to promote.
The link is going to start with http://www.shareasale.com/r.cfm
All you have to do is add ?urllink=MYURL at the end of the link, replacing MYURL with the destination link.
No need to include http:// in the destination link and make sure you urlencode it.
Sample valid SAS link, with custom url redirect:
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How to create a Commission Junction Deep LinkAdrian Singer, June 8 |
The Commission Junction (CJ) Affiliate Network, makes it easy to create product deep-links, allowing you to link to an individual page within a merchant's domain.
When logged in to your CJ account, click on 'Get Links', 'By Relationship', then select the advertiser from the link and click on 'Get HTML'
In the screen that opens up, by default CJ populates the Destination URL with the one provided by the advertiser. You can change that to any URL you want (as long as it's on the advertiser's domain)
If you're building the link programatically, you can use this format:
Replace PID with the publisher ID (usually starts with 2)
Replace AID with the ad ID (usually starts with 1, a longer number)
Replace MYURL with the URL you want to redirect the end-user to (be sure to URLEncode it)
View 3 Comment(s)
When logged in to your CJ account, click on 'Get Links', 'By Relationship', then select the advertiser from the link and click on 'Get HTML'
In the screen that opens up, by default CJ populates the Destination URL with the one provided by the advertiser. You can change that to any URL you want (as long as it's on the advertiser's domain)
If you're building the link programatically, you can use this format:
Replace PID with the publisher ID (usually starts with 2)
Replace AID with the ad ID (usually starts with 1, a longer number)
Replace MYURL with the URL you want to redirect the end-user to (be sure to URLEncode it)
View 3 Comment(s)
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How to: Prevent Direct Access to upsell pagesDawn Rossi, May 28 |
Our information-marketing clients sales-process typically follows these steps:
Page 1: Opt-in page
Page 2: Sales letter
Page 3: Checkout form
Page 4: Upsells 1,2,3 etc.
Page 5: Thank you page
How do you prevent users from directly accessing anything but page 1?
You could use cookies or session variables, but the easiest way to block users from directly accessing any "pages in the middle", is to validate using the HTTP_REFERER string (what url the user came from).
If the user is directly hitting pages 2 to 5, or arriving there from any third party sites, the HTTP_REFERER string will not match your domain. You can then redirect the user back to Page 1 and force following the process as it was intended.
The code below does the trick:
$referring_host = parse_url($_SERVER['HTTP_REFERER']);
$referring_host = $referring_host['host'];
if (Strcasecmp($referring_host,$_SERVER['HTTP_HOST'])!=0)
{
// We got here from a different domain (or bookmark)
// Redirect to page 1
Header("Location: page1");
die;
}
If you're using the SoftwareProjects Shopping Cart, the above can be implemented with a single call to do_blockdirectlinking
Example:
// Include SPI shopping cart
require_once("spicart.php");
// Block direct access to this page
do_blockdirectlinking();
Page 1: Opt-in page
Page 2: Sales letter
Page 3: Checkout form
Page 4: Upsells 1,2,3 etc.
Page 5: Thank you page
How do you prevent users from directly accessing anything but page 1?
You could use cookies or session variables, but the easiest way to block users from directly accessing any "pages in the middle", is to validate using the HTTP_REFERER string (what url the user came from).
If the user is directly hitting pages 2 to 5, or arriving there from any third party sites, the HTTP_REFERER string will not match your domain. You can then redirect the user back to Page 1 and force following the process as it was intended.
The code below does the trick:
$referring_host = parse_url($_SERVER['HTTP_REFERER']);
$referring_host = $referring_host['host'];
if (Strcasecmp($referring_host,$_SERVER['HTTP_HOST'])!=0)
{
// We got here from a different domain (or bookmark)
// Redirect to page 1
Header("Location: page1");
die;
}
If you're using the SoftwareProjects Shopping Cart, the above can be implemented with a single call to do_blockdirectlinking
Example:
// Include SPI shopping cart
require_once("spicart.php");
// Block direct access to this page
do_blockdirectlinking();
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Integrating with the Pepperjam Network (@pjamnetwork)Dawn Rossi, February 27 |
Pepperjam Network (PJN) is a performance marketing affiliate network, focusing on consumer offers.
PJN offers an easy-to-use RESTful interface, available via simple HTTP GET calls, that allows you to download your stats and transactions in real time.
The SID report includes offer name, SID, EPC, impressions, clicks, commission and creative ID. I wish the date field would have included time as well (for hourly optimizations). On the other hand, it's great that they are including impressions and clicks data (no other network provides this info).
The script below connects to PJN and downloads the SID conversions report:
// EDIT
$loginid ='LOGINID';
$password ='PASSWORD';
$startDate=date("Y-m-d");
$endDate =date("Y-m-d");
// End EDIT
$host = "https://webservices.pepperjamnetwork.com/".
"?target=reports.transaction&startDate=$startDate&endDate=$endDate".
"&username=$loginid&password=$password&format=csv";
// initialize
$ch = curl_init();
// set url and curl options
curl_setopt($ch,CURLOPT_URL, $host);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER,1);
// execute
$hits = curl_exec($ch);
// close
curl_close($ch);
// Debug
print_r($hits);
PJN offers an easy-to-use RESTful interface, available via simple HTTP GET calls, that allows you to download your stats and transactions in real time.
The SID report includes offer name, SID, EPC, impressions, clicks, commission and creative ID. I wish the date field would have included time as well (for hourly optimizations). On the other hand, it's great that they are including impressions and clicks data (no other network provides this info).
The script below connects to PJN and downloads the SID conversions report:
// EDIT
$loginid ='LOGINID';
$password ='PASSWORD';
$startDate=date("Y-m-d");
$endDate =date("Y-m-d");
// End EDIT
$host = "https://webservices.pepperjamnetwork.com/".
"?target=reports.transaction&startDate=$startDate&endDate=$endDate".
"&username=$loginid&password=$password&format=csv";
// initialize
$ch = curl_init();
// set url and curl options
curl_setopt($ch,CURLOPT_URL, $host);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER,1);
// execute
$hits = curl_exec($ch);
// close
curl_close($ch);
// Debug
print_r($hits);
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How to download Azoogle conversions reportMike Peters, January 29 |
AzoogleAds is a performance marketing affiliate network, focusing on consumer offers.
Azoogle offers a great SOAP API that allows you to download your stats and access information about new offers as soon as they become available.
The script below connects to AzoogleAds and downloads the conversions report:
include ("nusoap.php");
// EDIT
$loginid ='YOUR_LOGIN';
$password ='YOUR_PASSWORD';
$affid ='YOUR_AFFILIATEID';
// End EDIT
$date=date("Y-m-d");
$login_info = array
(
"AZOOGLE" => array ( 'login' => "$loginid", 'password' => "$password", 'ID' => "$affid"), // confirmed
);
$params = $login_info['AZOOGLE'];
$host = "https://home.azoogleads.com/soap/azads2_server.php";
$soapclient = new soapclientNusoap($host,true);
if (!($hash = $soapclient->call('authenticate',
array (
"affil_id" => $params['ID'],
"login" => $params['login'],
"passhash" => $params['password'],
)
)))
{
die('no connection to Azoogle');
}
// Download report
$hits = $soapclient->call('getSubHits',
array (
"login_hash" => $hash,
"affiliate_id" => $params['ID'],
"offer_id" => ALL,
"start_date" => $date,
"end_date" => $date,
"traffic_type_id" => "",
"sales_only" => true
)
);
// Debug
print_r($hits);
Azoogle offers a great SOAP API that allows you to download your stats and access information about new offers as soon as they become available.
The script below connects to AzoogleAds and downloads the conversions report:
include ("nusoap.php");
// EDIT
$loginid ='YOUR_LOGIN';
$password ='YOUR_PASSWORD';
$affid ='YOUR_AFFILIATEID';
// End EDIT
$date=date("Y-m-d");
$login_info = array
(
"AZOOGLE" => array ( 'login' => "$loginid", 'password' => "$password", 'ID' => "$affid"), // confirmed
);
$params = $login_info['AZOOGLE'];
$host = "https://home.azoogleads.com/soap/azads2_server.php";
$soapclient = new soapclientNusoap($host,true);
if (!($hash = $soapclient->call('authenticate',
array (
"affil_id" => $params['ID'],
"login" => $params['login'],
"passhash" => $params['password'],
)
)))
{
die('no connection to Azoogle');
}
// Download report
$hits = $soapclient->call('getSubHits',
array (
"login_hash" => $hash,
"affiliate_id" => $params['ID'],
"offer_id" => ALL,
"start_date" => $date,
"end_date" => $date,
"traffic_type_id" => "",
"sales_only" => true
)
);
// Debug
print_r($hits);
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Dealing with Shopping Cart AbandonmentAdrian Singer, January 6 |
Shopping Cart Abandonment is a serious problem!
What is "shopping cart abandonment"?
Shopping cart abandonment is when a visitor initiates your checkout process but leaves before completing their purchase.
Why is it important?
Industry publications report a 70% average shopping cart abandonment rate for the majority of retailers. Since, on average, websites convert visitors-to-sales at a rate of 1% to 2% then 98% to 99% of the visitors to your website leave without purchasing!
These percentages identify an enormous improvement opportunity for online businesses.
How to Reduce Shopping Cart Abandonment
The five things you could do right away, to reduce the percentage of customers who abandon their order are:
1. Stick to a one-page-checkout
2. If information is missing or filled out incorrectly during checkout, give a meaningful error message that's obvious to see. It should clearly tell visitors what needs to be corrected. The tone should be the system was unable to understand what was entered, not the visitor made a foolish mistake.
3. Credibility. Show them you're a real entity. People's concerns start to flare up during checkout. Let them know you're a real company by giving full contact info, your photo, BBB & Guarantee during the checkout process.
4. Clearly identify what your visitor should click next to complete the step
5. Provide purchase options and payment plans
How to recover abandoned orders
Since we understand the importance of shopping cart abandonment, we wanted to make it easy for you to recover those lost sales.
SPI developed a system that allows you to easily download and follow-up with prospects who abandoned their orders. Our experience shows, in many cases those orders can be recovered.
The SPI shopping cart is one of the only systems that provides you with easy built-in access to all information regarding abandoned orders.
Be sure you setup a process to follow-up with all abandoned orders on a daily basis. You'll be surprised how many you can salvage.
-
To access abandoned orders:
1. Login to your SoftwareProjects account and click on the 'Customer Manager'.
2. Click on 'Abandoned' to view all prospects who abandoned their orders.
3. Select a date range and then click the Export button at the bottom of the page to download all information into an Excel spreadsheet.
You can also setup a daily report and have all abandoned orders emailed to you automatically.
View 1 Comment(s)
What is "shopping cart abandonment"?
Shopping cart abandonment is when a visitor initiates your checkout process but leaves before completing their purchase.
Why is it important?
Industry publications report a 70% average shopping cart abandonment rate for the majority of retailers. Since, on average, websites convert visitors-to-sales at a rate of 1% to 2% then 98% to 99% of the visitors to your website leave without purchasing!
These percentages identify an enormous improvement opportunity for online businesses.
How to Reduce Shopping Cart Abandonment
The five things you could do right away, to reduce the percentage of customers who abandon their order are:
1. Stick to a one-page-checkout
2. If information is missing or filled out incorrectly during checkout, give a meaningful error message that's obvious to see. It should clearly tell visitors what needs to be corrected. The tone should be the system was unable to understand what was entered, not the visitor made a foolish mistake.
3. Credibility. Show them you're a real entity. People's concerns start to flare up during checkout. Let them know you're a real company by giving full contact info, your photo, BBB & Guarantee during the checkout process.
4. Clearly identify what your visitor should click next to complete the step
5. Provide purchase options and payment plans
How to recover abandoned orders
Since we understand the importance of shopping cart abandonment, we wanted to make it easy for you to recover those lost sales.
SPI developed a system that allows you to easily download and follow-up with prospects who abandoned their orders. Our experience shows, in many cases those orders can be recovered.
The SPI shopping cart is one of the only systems that provides you with easy built-in access to all information regarding abandoned orders.
Be sure you setup a process to follow-up with all abandoned orders on a daily basis. You'll be surprised how many you can salvage.
-
To access abandoned orders:
1. Login to your SoftwareProjects account and click on the 'Customer Manager'.
2. Click on 'Abandoned' to view all prospects who abandoned their orders.
3. Select a date range and then click the Export button at the bottom of the page to download all information into an Excel spreadsheet.
You can also setup a daily report and have all abandoned orders emailed to you automatically.
View 1 Comment(s)
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