OpenCart is an open source PHP-based online shopping cart system. A robust e-commerce solution for Internet merchants with the ability to create their own online business and participate in e-commerce at a minimal cost.

The Proniit Group (a.k.a Proniit Online Media and Marketing)  has released a web site that is dedicated to promoting the open source project, Open Cart, which is an online PHP based e-commerce shopping cart released under the GPL. The site was created to garner further development and both community support and commercial support. The site caters to anyone and does not necessarily restrict its’ users to be based in South Africa although commercial support will only be available here.

The site has deployed an open source standard using various technologies including WordPress, OpenID and the like for configuration thereof. There is a need for clean and open source software that can and will generate the sort of user experience that is expected throughout the world and this site offers it.

Open Cart is clean, neat and very user-friendly on both the end-user side and the administration side. Because it is written in PHP, it uses rather simple techniques that most developers will be comfortable applying. Open Cart is definitely the choice for The Proniit Group to make use of when implementing online stores for clients.

You can visit www.opencart.co.za to download, test or find support and technical information like installation guides and upgrade tutorials.

So far the whole project has been pleasing to work on and the new technology that we have found to create the store is really stunning and meets the high standards of design technology. It all really creates a finer air around the idea of Tom’s Hardware and we are pleased that our client is pleased!

Entire access of the backend has been made avaiable for the company and they seem to be using it pretty well.

That’s my update for now. Hope to have a lot more for you soon!

Search Engine Optimization

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the volume or quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via “natural” (“organic” or “algorithmic”) search results. Typically, the earlier a site appears in the search results list, the more visitors it will receive from the search engine. SEO may target different kinds of search, including image search, local search, and industry-specific vertical search engines. This gives a web site web presence.

As an Internet marketing strategy, SEO considers how search engines work and what people search for. Optimizing a website primarily involves editing its content and HTML coding to both increase its relevance to specific keywords and to remove barriers to the indexing activities of search engines.

The acronym “SEO” can also refer to “search engine optimizers,” a term adopted by an industry of consultants who carry out optimization projects on behalf of clients, and by employees who perform SEO services in-house. Search engine optimizers may offer SEO as a stand-alone service or as a part of a broader marketing campaign. Because effective SEO may require changes to the HTML source code of a site, SEO tactics may be incorporated into web site development and design. The term “search engine friendly” may be used to describe web site designs, menus, content management systems and shopping carts that are easy to optimize.

Another class of techniques, known as black hat SEO or Spamdexing, use methods such as link farms and keyword stuffing that degrade both the relevance of search results and the user-experience of search engines. Search engines look for sites that employ these techniques in order to remove them from their indices.

Search Engine Marketing

Search engine marketing, or SEM, is a form of Internet marketing that seeks to promote websites by increasing their visibility in search engine result pages (SERPs) through the use of paid placement, contextual advertising, and paid inclusion. The industry peak body Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO), also includes search engine optimization (SEO) within its reporting, but SEO is a separate discipline with most sources, including the New York Times defining SEM as ‘the practice of buying paid search listings’.

The explanations above have been taken from Wikipedia and clearly show the differences between one and the other. So, Search Engine Optimization is about increasing visibility to search engines and to generate traffic from search results and to increase the positioning of a web site in search engines, whereas, Search Engine Marketing involves paid listings in Search Engines such as Google’s Adwords, to ensure that you will come across highly in search results. I believe that Search Engine Optimization is more powerful and will be much more long lasting in continuing to generate quality traffic to a web site as long as quality content is kept a constant. There is no need to use paid listings although, budget permitting, it can be rather useful.

The wall paper was designed using The Gimp (GNU Image Manipulation Program) – our design software of choice. It is available for download in a resolution of 1600×1200 pixels in a .rar format. The Wall Paper was designed using the very basic built in functionality of The Gimp.

It’s plain and simple yet powerful. If by some shocking chance you do download and use this file please let us know in the comment filed below! Thanks!

There are many companies that claim to be able to provide services and skills that are imperative to internet marketing and development, however, we have found that there are very few that truly provide the essence of complete A-Z internet marketing.

Below is a concise and complete description of various internet marketing methods that was taken from – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_marketing

We constantly strive to provide more of these services to clients and make the very best of our knowledge available, accessible and profitable.

Internet marketing, also referred to as i-marketing, web marketing, online marketing, or eMarketing, is the marketing of products or services over the Internet.

The Internet has brought many unique benefits to marketing, one of which being lower costs for the distribution of information and media to a global audience. The interactive nature of Internet marketing, both in terms of providing instant response and eliciting responses, is a unique quality of the medium. Internet marketing is sometimes considered to have a broader scope because it not only refers to digital media such as the Internet, e-mail, and wireless media; however, Internet marketing also includes management of digital customer data and electronic customer relationship management (ECRM) systems.

Internet marketing ties together creative and technical aspects of the Internet, including design, development, advertising, and sale.

Internet marketing also refers to the placement of media along different stages of the customer engagement cycle through search engine marketing (SEM), search engine optimization (SEO), banner ads on specific websites, e-mail marketing, and Web 2.0 strategies. In 2008 The New York Times working with comScore published an initial estimate to quantify the user data collected by large Internet-based companies. Counting four types of interactions with company websites in addition to the hits from advertisements served from advertising networks, the authors found the potential for collecting data upward of 2,500 times on average per user per month.

Internet marketing has had a growing impact on the electoral process. In 2008 candidates for President heavily utilized Internet marketing strategies to reach constituents. During the 2007 primaries candidates added on averaged over 500 social network supporters per day to help spread their message. President Barack Obama raised over US$1 million in a single day during his extensive Democratic candidacy campaign, largely due to online donors.

Business models

Internet marketing is associated with several business models:

* e-commerce — goods are sold directly to consumers (B2C) or businesses (B2B),
* publishing — the sale of advertising,
* lead-based websites — an organization generates value by acquiring sales leads from its website, and
* affiliate marketing — A process in which a product or service developed by one person is sold by other active seller for a share of profits. The owner of the product normally provide some marketing material ( sales letter, affiliate link, tracking facility).

There are many other business models based on the specific needs of each person or business that launches an Internet marketing campaign.

One-to-one approach

The targeted user is typically browsing the Internet alone, so the marketing messages can reach them personally. This approach is used in search marketing, where the advertisements are based on search engine keywords entered by the user.

And now with the advent of Web 2.0 tools, many users can interconnect as “peers”

Appeal to specific interests

Internet marketing and geo marketing places an emphasis on marketing that appeals to a specific behaviour or interest, rather than reaching out to a broadly-defined demographic. “On- and Off-line” marketers typically segment their markets according to age group, gender, geography, and other general factors. Marketers have the luxury of targeting by activity and geolocation. For example, a kayak company can post advertisements on kayaking and canoing websites with the full knowledge that the audience has a related interest.

Internet marketing differs from magazine advertisements, where the goal is to appeal to the projected demographic of the periodical. Because the advertiser has knowledge of the target audience—people who engage in certain activities (e.g., uploading pictures, contributing to blogs)— the company does not rely on the expectation that a certain group of people will be interested in its new product or service.

Geo targeting

Geo targeting (in internet marketing) and geo marketing are the methods of determining the geolocation (the physical location) of a website visitor with geolocation software, and delivering different content to that visitor based on his or her location, such as country, region/state, city, metro code/zip code, organization, Internet Protocol (IP) address, ISP or other criteria.

Different content by choice

A typical example for different content by choice in geo targeting is the FedEx website at FedEx.com where users have the choice to select their country location first and are then presented with different site or article content depending on their selection.

Automated different content

With automated different content in internet marketing and geomarketing the delivery of different content based on the geographical geolocation and other personal information is automated.

Advantages

Internet marketing is relatively inexpensive when compared to the ratio of cost against the reach of the target audience. Companies can reach a wide audience for a small fraction of traditional advertising budgets. The nature of the medium allows consumers to research and purchase products and services at their own convenience. Therefore, businesses have the advantage of appealing to consumers in a medium that can bring results quickly. The strategy and overall effectiveness of marketing campaigns depend on business goals and cost-volume-profit (CVP) analysis.

Internet marketers also have the advantage of measuring statistics easily and inexpensively. Nearly all aspects of an Internet marketing campaign can be traced, measured, and tested. The advertisers can use a variety of methods: pay per impression, pay per click, pay per play, or pay per action. Therefore, marketers can determine which messages or offerings are more appealing to the audience. The results of campaigns can be measured and tracked immediately because online marketing initiatives usually require users to click on an advertisement, visit a website, and perform a targeted action. Such measurement cannot be achieved through billboard advertising, where an individual will at best be interested, then decide to obtain more information at a later time.

Internet marketing as of 2007 is growing faster than other types of media.[citation needed] Because exposure, response, and overall efficiency of Internet media are easier to track than traditional off-line media—through the use of web analytics for instance—Internet marketing can offer a greater sense of accountability for advertisers. Marketers and their clients are becoming aware of the need to measure the collaborative effects of marketing (i.e., how the Internet affects in-store sales) rather than siloing each advertising medium. The effects of multichannel marketing can be difficult to determine, but are an important part of ascertaining the value of media campaigns.

Limitations

Internet marketing requires customers to use newer technologies rather than traditional media. Low-speed Internet connections are another barrier: If companies build large or overly-complicated websites, individuals connected to the Internet via dial-up connections or mobile devices experience significant delays in content delivery.

From the buyer’s perspective, the inability of shoppers to touch, smell, taste or “try on” tangible goods before making an online purchase can be limiting. However, there is an industry standard for e-commerce vendors to reassure customers by having liberal return policies as well as providing in-store pick-up services.

A survey of 410 marketing executives listed the following barriers to entry for large companies looking to market online: insufficient ability to measure impact, lack of internal capability, and difficulty convincing senior management.[2]

Security concerns

Information security is important both to companies and consumers that participate in online business. Many consumers are hesitant to purchase items over the Internet because they do not trust that their personal information will remain private. Encryption is the primary method for implementing privacy policies.

Recently some companies that do business online have been caught giving away or selling information about their customers. Several of these companies provide guarantees on their websites, claiming that customer information will remain private. Some companies that purchase customer information offer the option for individuals to have their information removed from the database, also known as opting out. However, many customers are unaware if and when their information is being shared, and are unable to stop the transfer of their information between companies if such activity occurs.

Another major security concern that consumers have with e-commerce merchants is whether or not they will receive exactly what they purchase. Online merchants have attempted to address this concern by investing in and building strong consumer brands (e.g., Amazon.com, eBay, Overstock.com), and by leveraging merchant/feedback rating systems and e-commerce bonding solutions. All of these solutions attempt to assure consumers that their transactions will be free of problems because the merchants can be trusted to provide reliable products and services. Additionally, the major online payment mechanisms (credit cards, PayPal, Google Checkout, etc.) have also provided back-end buyer protection systems to address problems if they actually do occur.

Broadband-induced trends

Online advertising techniques have been dramatically affected by technological advancements in the telecommunications industry. In fact, many firms are embracing a new paradigm that is shifting the focus of online advertising from simple text ads to rich multimedia experiences. As a result, advertisers can more effectively engage in and manage online branding campaigns, which seek to shape consumer attitudes and feelings towards specific products. And just what is the critical technological development that is fueling this paradigm shift? The answer: Broadband.

In March 2005, roughly half of all American homes were equipped with broadband technology. By May 2008, broadband technologies had spread to more than 90% of all residential Internet connections in the United States. When one considers a Nielsen’s study conducted in June 2008, which estimated the number of U.S. Internet users as 220,141,969, one can calculate that there are presently about 199 million people in the United States utilizing broadband technologies to surf the Web.

As a result, all 199 million members of this burgeoning market have the ability to view TV-like advertisements with the click of a mouse. And to be sure, online advertisers are working feverishly to design rich multimedia content that will engender a “warm-fuzzy” feeling when viewed by their target audience. As connection speeds continue to increase, so will the frequency of online branding campaigns.

Effects on industries

Internet marketing has had a large impact on several previously retail-oriented industries including music, film, pharmaceuticals, banking, flea markets, as well as the advertising industry itself. Internet marketing is now overtaking radio marketing in terms of market share.[3] In the music industry, many consumers have been purchasing and downloading music (e.g., MP3 files) over the Internet for several years in addition to purchasing compact discs. By 2008 Apple Inc.’s iTunes Store has become the largest music vendor in the United States.[4]

The number of banks offering the ability to perform banking tasks online has also increased. Online banking is believed to appeal to customers because it is more convenient than visiting bank branches. Currently over 150 million U.S. adults now bank online, with increasing Internet connection speed being the primary reason for fast growth in the online banking industry.[citation needed] Of those individuals who use the Internet, 44 percent now perform banking activities over the Internet.[citation needed]

Internet auctions have gained popularity. Unique items that could only previously be found at flea markets are being sold on eBay. Specialized e-stores sell items ranging from antiques to movie props.[5][6] As the premier online reselling platform, eBay is often used as a price-basis for specialized items. Buyers and sellers often look at prices on the website before going to flea markets; the price shown on eBay often becomes the item’s selling price. It is increasingly common for flea market vendors to place a targeted advertisement on the Internet for each item they are selling online, all while running their business out of their homes.

The effect on the advertising industry itself has been profound. In just a few years, online advertising has grown to be worth tens of billions of dollars annually.[7][8][9] PricewaterhouseCoopers reported that US$16.9 billion was spent on Internet marketing in the U.S. in 2006.[10]

For now, keep a close eye on what we are up too.

At the moment the domain is pending registration which means that the site can only be accessed through the sub-domain at www.devilishlysaintful.co.za/boyswillbeboys.za.net – we hope that by the 31th of March 2009 the site will be directly available at http://www.boyswillbeboys.za.net and then will be accessible via that URL. For now, please register from the domain www.devilishlysaintful.co.za/boyswillbeboys.za.net and you will be able to use the full site.

There is currently a lot of testing on the site therefore you may find that there are some irrelevant articles and post/links on the site.

We will begin work on more sites in due time and hope that we will expand the source of these sites into something formidable for a world audience.

We have also began to work on many new insurance sites as well as band/entertainment sites which we will feature on this site soon.

Take a quick peak at our updated homepage (“,) – We added, removed, expanded and generally made it look better. We are delited at the caliber of clients that are exposed too and using the services of The Proniit Group and look forward to increasing this on a daily basis as we begin to grow as a company and with each individual – grow personally.

Need Traffic?

The Proniit Group has online marketing services tailored to the size, location, and type of your business. Our partnerships with search marketing and directory agencies make it possible for us to get you noticed for a minimum monthly cost. In the past few years, marketing for online business professionals has become a multi-billion dollar industry. This is because internet marketing strategies make it possible to directly target people who are already looking for what you’re selling. Compared to newspaper, radio, and TV advertising, the response rate from online marketing is much higher, more measurable, and generally more profitable.

Take a peek at at our rates, projects and give us a shout!

Why isn’t there a telephone number on this site? – FAQ

Bear in mind that these techniques (online advertising, Search Engine Optimization, media releases via the internet and social marketing) are not modules that can studied at university. Therefore we encourage you to ask questions, engage with your desired advertising company (even if it is us) and make the decision that you feel most comfortable with. Also, ensure that you find a solid example of a project that the company has worked on.

Web Site Specific Advertising (Banner, text and links)

Online marketing is a skilled technique that requires diligence and a lot of time to undertake. It requires that online marketer completely understands his target market and the caliber of people visiting a site before he or she decides to place advertising on any particular site. online, web site specific adverting, is much more precise and yields a greater amount of new leads, inquisitions and or subscribers to a particular service and or product.

Because of the complexity and precision of the entire process, you can be sure that your advertising will yield the desired result in a particular time frame. With the advanced analyzing statistics that web sites can and should be generating, it is possible to determine who exactly you are advertising to, how many people will respond to your ad and the entire profit that will be generated for your service and or product.

Successful advertising within the online world requires that you choose the right compnay that has various in which to help you and that they make this very clear to you in document form and pitching thier techique and methods used directly to you.

Most advertising agencies offer up your adverts on another person’s or company website. With The Proniit Group however, all your advertising is placed across the sites that we personally own and make up The Proniit Group – from insurances to cooking and everything in between. Whatever your market is, we have your niche.

More important factors:

1>You want to ensure that millions of people see your advertising. Great! We have all the traffic that you need within our network!

2> You don’t want someone from the USA seeing your ad and trying to buy from you (unless you do, then we have another great system for you!) so we geo-target your advertisements to South Africa ONLY.

(SEO) Search Engine Optimization

Lets assume that you have an online business and want more visitors (traffic) more targeted leads and more sales. With our unique return on investment strategies we will continue to grow your business and you can watch as you soar higher way out of the reach of your competitors. We will ensure that you rank for you keywords, thereby driving only interested clients to your site. We won’t stop there – we will ensure that there is continued success for your business by keeping afloat both the online advertising and the SEO strategies that we have learned.

If you do not have a web site we will help you there as well! Just contact us, view our rates and lets’ have a chat about what would be best for your business and how we can grow it for you.

The bottom line is that you want value for your money and more clients. Once we are done with an entire campaign for you, you listings will stay constant and may from time to time need a boost here and there. But you can be assured that you will reap the rewards in the end.

For valuable marketing decisions and advice to get your site ranked and advertised contact us now.

Dalesh Kowlesar
The Proniit Group
CEO / Founder

It is essential that every webmaster has a guide to basic and in dept Search Engine Optimization as this can make or break a site. Take time to read through this book, highlight the important information and keep going with the strategies and watch as your site ranks for your keywords. Don’t let your competitors take over you! Remember that consistency, new and original content and proper tagging will ensure that you become a respected source to the search engines. There is a lot more like the number of incoming links, link authority and link popularity that will make huge differences to your traffic quantity and quality.

You want to ensure that your links continue to propagate through the net and that you always are reciveing the best possible traffic and you WILL need this book to do just THAT!

The book covers the following:

Query Analysis;

Link Based Criteria;

Anchor Text;

Traffic;

User Behavior;

Domain Related Information;

Ranking History;

Document Topic;

Localization;

Using Social Networks, Blogs and RSS to increase ranking and traffic;

The most important TIPS.

Don’t miss out on this opportunity as we will not repeat this offer! (We are feeling generous).

All we ask for in return is a link on your site back to this post and a small review of this post. Contact us requesting the e-book and send us the link on your site and we will send the e-book right into your inbox.

HAPPY READING!