In In-link and In-commerce it's now possible to automate paid listings in your directory. This is a guide on how to setup a new In-link based paid listing directory or how to convert your existing directory. This guide also explains how to run a paid listing directory only with In-link, however adding In-commerce to your In-portal web site will allow you to process payments automatically, and it will also extend your web site with online store capabilities, such as selling various merchandising, and much more.

Step 1 – Installation

Install In-link 3.1.1 and In-commerce 1.0.1 or higher (if you would like to process orders and payments automatically), or upgrade your existing In-link to 3.1.1 and upgrade In-commerce to 1.0.1. If you don’t have In-commerce yet, you can add it at any time. We have a special time-limited offer for current In-link owners – you can buy In-commerce for only $340 instead of the regular $395. If you have not received your promotion code in the email, please write to support@intechnic.com and we will send one to you. This offer expires on October 1, 2007. New users can click here to buy In-Link E-commerce package (In-link bundled with In-commerce). If you need help getting started, open a support ticket for free installation, help with the upgrade or to get additional information. Our support representatives will be glad to help you with any questions you may have.

Step 2 – Configuring Enhanced Listings

Login to In-portal Administrative Console and navigate to In-link -> Paid Listings. This is where you would create your Enhanced Listing Types. Click the “New” button on the toolbar to create a new listing type. First enter the name of the listing type, for example ‘Premium Listing’. Then set the duration of your Premium Listing – this is how long a listing will stay enhanced after the service is purchased. Now select how many days in advance should the enhanced listing renewal reminder be sent to your customers. Finally, you can select how your enhanced listings will differ from the regular ones. A good option is to make them Editor’s Picks. We will show how to setup In-link to display Editor’s pick links above regular links later in this guide. You could also set up the enhanced listings to be New/Hot/Pop, or increase their priority compared to other links, or add them to some special category.

You may skip the next paragraph if you don’t want to use In-commerce

If you have In-commerce installed, you will see a second tab called ‘Shopping Cart Entry’ in the upper right-hand corner of the screen. This is the tab where you configure pricing for your enhanced listing type. If purchasing is enabled, when your customers click on “Enhance” on their “My Links” page and select the listing type, they will be redirected to the shopping cart and follow the standard checkout process. Enter the product name, as it should appear in customers’ shopping carts and orders. Set the desired price for your enhanced listing type. Click “Save” on the toolbar, and you are done creating your first enhanced listing type.

Step 3 – Configuring Output Settings

Using the tree on the left, navigate to In-Link -> Output Settings. Make sure that Enhanced Listings are turned on, and if you want to use Editor’s pick for enhanced listings, check “Display Editor Pick’s above regular links” checkbox.

Step 4 – Configuring In-commerce

You may skip this step if you don’t want to use In-commerce

When you first install In-commerce, only the “Credit Card (manual)” payment type is enabled. This payment type allows you to process credit cards manually. However, if you have an account with a payment gateway such as PayPal, Authorize.net or any other, you need to take additional configuration steps. In-commerce default installation currently includes PayPal and Authorize.net payment types. (If you need to use another payment gateway, contact us at support@intechnic.com and we will integrate your payment gateway free of charge in the next version). To configure a new payment type, all you have to do is enable it under Modules & Settings -> In-commerce -> Payment Types. Once enabled, double click the payment type to edit it and go to the Gateway tab. Depending on the selected gateway you will need to enter additional information such as a username or a transaction key.
For more In-commerce configuration options, please refer to the full User Manual.

Step 5 – Testing your customer experience

Now you are ready to test your paid listings directory from the customer’s perspective. If you don’t have a front end user already, register on your site and approve your user registration from the Administrative Console. Then login on the front end, go to a test category and submit the test link. Depending on the category permissions, your link will appear on the site instantly, or you’ll have to approve it through Administrative Console. When you link becomes visible, go to My Links under My Account, find the link you have just submitted and click on Enhance. You should see a page with the list of available Enhanced Listing Types. If you followed the steps in this guide, there will be only one listing type here - “Premium Link”. Select it and click Submit.

 

If you have In-commerce installed you will be redirected to the shopping cart, with your Premium Link already added to it. Now you need to complete the checkout process. You may test the checkout with a real credit card, and refund the transaction later through your payment gateway merchant interface. Once you complete the checkout, go to the Administrative Console, to In-commerce -> Orders section. Depending on your gateway configuration (for Authorize.net you can choose Credit-Preauthorize to approve every transaction manually or Credit-Direct to process transactions automatically, and for PayPal all transactions have to be approved manually) you will see your new order on the Pending or on the Processed tab. If it appears on the Pending tab you need to review and approve it. Once the order is processed, go to In-link -> Paid Listings and select the Listings tab. You should see the paid listing you have submitted there. You should see the Listing Type (“Premium” in our case), the link (what you have entered when suggesting the link on the front end), and the Enabled On and Expiration dates.

 

If you don’t have In-commerce installed, go directly to the In-link -> Paid Listings tab. You should find the link you have submitted there. The small green question mark near the listing icon indicates that this link is pending your approval. You should review the listing and approve it. This will activate the enhanced listing for your link.

 

Finally, go back to the front-end of your site and find the category where you placed your enhanced link. Your link should now have the Editor’s Pick flag and it should be displayed above all other links. In the default theme it will also appear on your home page. You are done!

We have covered only the basic setup of the paid listings. There are a lot more configuration options to accommodate the specific setup of your directory. For instance, it is a good idea to change the templates to make the Editor’s pick (now used as Enhanced) links look different from the regular links.