Ecommerce Guide

Marketing/Promotion Tools

Link Popularity Analysis – the more sites that link to yours, the better your search engine ranking. Use this tool to see how you rank and who is linking to your competitors. Does Search Engine Verification as well.
Google AdWords Keyword Tool See how popular your keywords are and get ideas for simiilar terms that people search for.
Google Analytics– - this is Google's free service, which lets you easily track the performance of your web site and online store. Happens to also be integrated with ClearCart Version 2.0
Google Toolbar – integrates a Google search box into your browser, and displays the current page's PageRank. Getting a link from a high PageRank site can boost your PageRank in Google.

Site Development Resources

Istockphoto.com - an inexpensive source of stock photos.
Stock.xchng - the largest collection of free stock photos.
Copyscape - a free tool that searches for sites that are copying your content.

E-commerce Resources

Practical eCommerce Magazine - the ecommerce magazine for smaller online businesses.
Shopping-Cart-Reviews.com - an independent product review site, specializing in comparing shopping cart software.

Directories and Misc Resources

Portland Oregon Web Designer Directory at Xemion.com.

Portland, OR Resources

The Self-Employed Creative Professionals (SECP) is one of my favorite networking groups for creatives in the Portland area. SECP was started 10 years ago to foster camaraderie and support for independent contractors who create advertising, promotional, sales and other marketing materials. SECP offers monthly meetings as well as a regular e-newsletter on events, workshops, job opportunities and other creative industry news.

Vicki Lind, M.S., Career Counselor & Marketing Coach. Vicki Lind enjoys working with three groups of kindred spirits: creatives in all fields; people who want to make a difference; and procrastinators. She can help you with a job search in a creative field; resume and cover letter writing; interview preparation; and membership in the "Job Club", a group which meets twice monthly and helps you focus on marketing your creative business. She also offers individual sessions for freelancers. I was a member of Vicki's Job Club for a year, and it helped me focus my business and marketing plan more than any other resource.

Rose City Designers. An excellent directory of Portland, OR area freelance designers, photographers, illustrators, and branding experts.