Should You Pay for Your Website Hosting?

Should You Pay for Your Website Hosting?
Whether you're in the beginning stages of website building
or you already have a sit up and running, web hosting needs
to be on your mind. When you're running or planning to run
an online business, whether or not you can reach your
customers is going to help in predicting your success.
With a good web host, you should be available to your
customers and visitors at any time of the day, no matter
the traffic. But the prices for web hosting can seem
pretty high when you're a fledgling business. And those
offers for free web hosting or low cost shared hosting can
seem pretty tempting. Should you give in?

What Shared Website Hosting Is

When you see advertisements for shared website hosting, you
first want to find out what it is in order to decide if
it's right for you. Just like regular website hosting,
these companies will help get your website out onto the
internet so that it can be seen by your prospective
customers. But unlike traditional hosting services, you
aren't going to have your own server at the hosting company
- you are going to be on a server with other websites,
hence the name 'shared.' All of the sites on this server
will be sharing bandwidth as well as space on the internet.

The Benefits of Shared and Free Hosting

The truth is that shared hosting is actually a good idea
when you're first starting out on the internet. It will
give you a chance to broadcast your website without having
to pay for your hosting or you might have to pay a small
fee. However, as you needs grow, this kind of hosting
arrangement just isn't a realistic venture.

Other benefits of these web hosting services is that you
can often get guidance on how to build a website and you
are often able to conduct business as usual, without any
interruptions.

Why Shared/Free Hosting Costs You

Even if you're not paying for these kinds of web hosting
services, you might be losing money in another way.
Because you are going to limited in the bandwidth and the
storage space you can take up on a specific server, you may
have troubles with your website from time to time. If
you've ever visited a website to see that it was busy and
unable to load, this is typically a server issue. And when
you are sharing a server with other sites, it's a much more
common issue.

When your site isn't able to be seen by your visitors, you
might begin to lose business and return visitors. You can
be seen as unreliable in your business, which can lead to
fewer profits. In addition, features on your website may
not always work, causing your visitors to become
disappointed with your services in general.

What Happens Next

Since there really isn't anything your server host will be
able to do to prevent this from happening, you are at the
whim of the internet numbers. When other sites on your
server are busy, there is going to be a higher chance of
disruption to your website, and vice versa. High traffic
days will simply cause your site to show an error message.

Though private web hosting is often quite expensive, it is
worth the price. When your visitors are able to visit your
website whenever they like without any troubles, you will
show your true professionalism to them. You will also have
a backup plan in case your server does go down for some
reason. Instead of having to vie for internet space, you
have your own host to call home.

----------------------------------------------------
Scott Oliver offers free video coaching to help you build a
profitable home business FAST. Get an hour of "Website
Traffic Secrets" and "Minisite Creation Tactics" for FREE
-- immediate access here:
http://www.InstantWebsiteBusiness.com

Why I'm NOT "The King Of Pay Per Clicks"

Why I'm NOT "The King Of Pay Per Clicks"
Back in the Spring of 2003, I was at Joel Christopher's
Master List Builder Workshop. Marlon Sanders was up
speaking. We had never formally met, but Marlon had
obviously read some of the things that I'd written on using
pay per click advertising.

Back then, I was heavily into pay per click advertising,
and had even done TWO teleseminars with my friend Marty
Foley on the topic. We called the teleseminars "Master The
Pay Per Clicks." We recorded the teleseminars and sold
those recordings for a long time.

I still use the recordings from those teleseminars a few
places because much of the information is timeless. Marty
and I taught a lot of testing and tracking. What has
changed most since then is primarily the rules and
policies at the pay per clicks... and which search
engines are the most important. We taught solid basics
back then, and they still work.

Anyway, as Marlon was doing his presentation, he spotted me
in the audience, and used what I did as a simple, proven
model of generating a steady flow of traffic to your
website and converting it to sales.

Back then, for every $1 that I invested in pay per click
traffic, I generated $7 in profit. Not a bad return on
investment!

Marlon referred to me as "The King Of Pay Per Clicks" and
asked me a few basic questions. I answered them, and
Marlon proved his points. Actually, one of the points
that I heard Marlon make that day was "Whatever they're
buying, I'm Selling!" The lesson that I learned from Marlon
there was, sell the items that your customers are looking
for rather than what you'd like to sell them.

In that same presentation, Marlon yelled, "Dead Ducks Don't
Quack!" I understood his message there to be, if people
aren't buying a product, then stop wasting your time and
effort trying to sell it to them. People KNOW what they
want.

Just those two statements made that entire weekend worth
the 13-hour drive from Florida to San Antonio. I drove
because I wanted to use the drive time as time to listen to
a course that I had recently purchased. I did listen to the
audio tapes in that course all the way to, and from, San
Antonio... completely absorbing the course in the process.

I absorbed and later applied what Marlon taught during that
fateful presentation. I applied what I learned during that
time spent in "Automobile U" ... the 26 hours driving back
and forth between San Antonio. Both learning experiences
shifted my think in major ways.

Later that year, Ramon Williamson coached me and provided
me with a lot of much needed direction. When I mentioned to
him that Marlon had dubbed me as "The King Of Pay Per
Clicks," he asked if I really wanted to be "pigeon holed"
by that title.

Ramon asked me to clarify what "I" wanted to be known for
on the Internet marketing landscape. Back then, I decided
that I really wanted to be a coach and a mentor. That's
what I still get the greatest joy from doing online.

So, while I did leverage the fact that an "Internet
marketing icon" had dubbed me "The King Of Pay Per Clicks,"
I also took Ramon's advice to heart and distanced myself
from the label.

Today, as back then, I realize that without traffic to your
website, your web business CANNOT be successful. You simply
need visitors to a webpage who, upon arriving, take the
desired action.

Since the need for website traffic is so CRITICAL, back in
2003 I purchased the domain name "Website Traffic PhD." I
had no idea what I was going to do with that domain, but I
KNEW that not having enough website traffic was what
"pained" most webmasters, and that if I could show them how
to get an unlimited stream of website traffic, I had a
product that they would trip over themselves to get.

Marty Foley and I did discuss creating a joint product that
would be an "encyclopedia" of proven methods of generating
website traffic. Perhaps because I still hadn't learned
enough back then, I didn't tackle a job that I didn't feel
totally qualified for.

I did nothing with that domain, and even allowed the name
to expire, but later re-registered it.

Back in December 2002, I first met John Reese at a seminar
at Hawks Cay, down in The Florida Keys. That was at the
same seminar where I first met Ramon Williamson and Marty
Foley. Ramon, Marty and I all gave presentations. As
time progressed, I got to know John better, and he and
Ramon attended the very first seminar that I hosted. Ramon
spoke, and John totally riveted attendees during
conversations held in the back of the room during breaks
(and at meals).

John demonstrated his marketing savvy when in March of
2004, he conducted his sell-out, $4500 per seat, seminar on
website traffic tactics. John leveraged that seminar into
his Traffic Secrets Course, which made him $1 million in
under a DAY!

John validated for me that REALLY studying traffic
generation, and then teaching others how to generate
website traffics was an excellent use of my time.

Between 1996 and today (11 years) I have studied just about
every website traffic generation tactic imaginable. Over
time, I learned which ones worked consistently "for me"
(long-term) and which ones required the least expense and
effort.

Today, after sifting through what must be over 100 possible
traffic generation tactics, I have just a few core tactics
that I use and teach. I even have my "Top 10 Best Free
Traffic Generation Techniques." Those are THE techniques
that worked for me yesterday, and will work for me
tomorrow, without my having to struggle staying up with the
latest search engine tricks.

I'd rather go fishing, or spend time playing with my
grandchild, than spend countless hours chasing after the
latest, usually very short-lived, search engine tricks.
This strategy is so powerful, that on one site that I
recently setup and promoted using my "Top 10 Free Traffic
Generation Techniques" I generated over 1 million visitors
in under 60 days. Needless to say, the site is a success,
and will earn me a nice income stream for a very long time.

I like that model... build a website, plug in free traffic,
make minor adjustments, and let the site make you money :-)

In case you missed why I'm no longer "The King Of Pay Per
Clicks," it's because it takes too much struggle! I prefer
the long-term, very effective traffic generation tactics
that I share with friends at:

http://x-factortraffic.com/

When something works, why change it. When something isn't
working, it's insane NOT to change it. Just that simple
observation, properly responded to, will make you an
online success. Now, it's time for you to do it!

----------------------------------------------------
Willie Crawford has been teaching others uncomplicated
methods of building successful online businesses since
1996. Today, he does most of his teaching inside an
exclusive membership site
filled with other experts dedicated to uncovering the truth
about how to succeed online. Join Willie and dozens of
other "old-timers" at:
http://TheInternetMarketingInnerCircle.com

The Secret to Finding a Good Paid Survey Site

The Secret to Finding a Good Paid Survey Site
Searching for 'paid survey' on Google will bring back
millions of hits (including my site), but you don't need
millions of hits you only need one good paid survey site.
With all of the information out there about paid surveys
how can you tell the good sites from the bad sites? After
reading this article you'll know exactly what to look for
and where to go to get good paid survey information without
getting robbed in the process.

There are ways you can compare the paid survey sites and
decide which ones are best for legit paid surveys. Here
are 9 factors you should look at to evaluate paid survey
websites.

1. Is the site charging for access to it's list of paid
survey sites? You shouldn't EVER pay to get paid survey
info that is freely available, it's a waste of your hard
earned money and unnecessary. This also applies to sites
that want you to register with your name and email address
to access their site. These sites just want to add your
email to their list so they can spam you with more of their
affiliate offers.

2. Is the site growing in popularity? You can find out by
checking the site at http://www.alexa.com or
http://www.quantcast.com/

3. Find out how long the website has been in existence.
Paid survey sites will come and go. The best ones tend to
have staying power. If a site has been around longer than
one year it is most likely not a scam.

4. Is the website updated regularly? Check back in a week
or two and see if anything has changed at the site or if it
is just a static page of links. If changing are being made
that's good because it means the site owner is active in
its maintenance and upkeep.

5. After narrowing down your list to two or three paid
survey websites go and take a look at each one. See how
many companies are listed and how easy it is to navigate
the site. What you're looking for is simply to determine
which site will work best for you.

6. Get a new email account specifically for your paid
surveys. All of your paid surveys should go to this
address to keep them separate from your personal email.
This will help you to focus and keep more organized.

7. Do your part. The paid survey site owner has given you
the tool, the list of paid survey companies. Now you have
to visit each paid survey site yourself and apply. Until
the survey company has your complete registration and
information they can't send you surveys. Don't hesitate,
just do it.

8. Keep checking your email for new paid survey offers.
Check multiple times a day if you can. It may be slow at
first and you may get low paying offers, but stick with it.
As the paid survey companies find out that you are
reliable they will send you more surveys as well as higher
paid surveys. This is when it really gets to be fun!

9. Be patient, because it will take some time to start
receiving lots of offers and more importantly good offers.
It also takes some time to start hitting the required
minimum payments for the paid survey companies. Once you
do though you'll see that you can count on a steady income
from paid surveys each month.

Following these 9 suggestions will put you ahead of 95% of
the people that try to make money taking paid surveys. You
will have found a legit and reliable paid survey site that
works well for you and you'll be organized as well. These
are the rules I've followed for almost two years now and I
know they work for me and for many others who have been
successful making money taking paid surveys.

----------------------------------------------------
Answering paid online surveys is an easy and fun way to
make cash in your free time. Don't waste your money by
paying some website for paid survey information. Come to
Paid Survey Success where you can get all the paid survey
information you need to get paid for surveys.
http://www.paid-survey-success.com

Niche Marketing Success

Niche Marketing Success
Niche Marketing

The term' niche marketing' can mean different things to
different people but generally it means the developing of
websites in sub mainstream market segments to profit from
selling products, generating advertising revenue or other
forms of website monetization. Another term could be
Micro-trend Marketing.

Niche marketing is effective because it allows you to
operate in markets that are less competitive, which means
you have the potential as a new or seasoned marketer to
capitalize on big opportunities with relative ease and far
less cost.

Niche marketing can be particularly good for people new to
Internet marketing and niche marketing can be the key to
riches because it allows you to compete on a level playing
field. You don't have to compete with thousands of
heavyweight competitors and you can use the experience to
develop your skills in the junior divisions before moving
into the big leagues.

If you pick the right niche you can build your site,
establish yourself as an expert, sell your own products,
recommend other people's products - the opportunities can
be endless and good money can certainly be made.

The trouble is that as niche marketing grows in popularity,
many of the markets we use to call niche markets are now no
longer niches at all, and are almost as hard to break in to
as mainstream markets in terms of their competitiveness and
difficulty to profit from.

The markets that spring to mind are ones like acne, dog
training, or anxiety. Markets like these, while they can
still be profitable, will not make the average web marketer
a lot of money at all. Even the more nichey versions, acne
treatments, dog training videos or anxiety relief are often
difficult for most people to compete in and make money from.

Then, of course, there is the other extreme. You can go to
such tiny niches that they get almost no search volume. You
can find "long tail" keywords like 'pug training schools in
Atlanta" or "acne treatments that work in 2 days". etc, but
the problem with these are a) that they often don't get
enough traffic and b) they are so specific that even if you
can drive traffic, there isn't much you can do to serve
those people except show them ads. Again this can be
profitable if you know how to do it but, as I'm sure you
are already thinking, there just has to be an easier way -
and there is!

The people who make the most money niche marketing are
those that know how to find the perfect balance between
competition and search volume. Not only that but they know
how to analyze the nature of a niche market to determine
how much potential it really has before they enter it.

By doing this they find markets that can make them big
money very quickly, faster than most people think
possible.Then when they do find the markets they will also
know how to make sites that will capitalize on them as
effectively and efficiently as soon as possible. The
result? Big profits, easily, and quickly.

There is no doubt that niche marketing, though often a
tricky game, can be wildly profitable when done right. It's
just a question of knowing where to look!

----------------------------------------------------
Peter Blake is an Englishman currently based in London, and
writes on familyand work from home issues. The online
professional help can be got by going to this website:
http://tinyurl.com/2gdmsg

Sharpen Your SEO efforts: A Tip After Search Engine Submission

Sharpen Your SEO efforts: A Tip After Search Engine Submission
Internet marketing is long, continuous process about making
your products and services visible and desirable. Once your
site is launched and submitted to the search engines for
indexing and ranking the task on monitoring the progress
and reviewing the process begins. It is important that you
constantly work towards augmenting your site more enhanced
viewing by quality traffic and generating a continuous cash
flow to sustain your efforts.

A Logger or a tracker placed on your site actually creates
and maintains log file of visitors that have visited your
sites. Listing these names acts as boost to these sites
while the search engines assess these sites for rankings
and indexing. This is a reward for visiting to your site,
which will provide incentive to similar bloggers to
revisit. This is how you also get referrals and traffic
flow to your site is regular and increasing.

Monitor your site for proper and full spidering. Make sure
that the full site is crawled by the search engine spiders.
Make your links compatible for optimum crawling from Google
and other engines. Linking is very important to be noticed.
Try to mobilize free links to your site. Email similar
bloggers to link up with you on same topics. Try to locate
sites that are willing to exchange links free.

Once you have developed your content, your task is not
over. Your content will be outdated in a day with the he
amount of quality information that pours into internet
every second. Have you planned your strategy to counteract
that? Try to build at least one page of quality content
every day. Place RSS feeds in your text and your content
will be updated to your clients immediately. Your content
should be contemporary and fresh. It should be simple,
short and hit the bull's eye.

Use of headers, bold text that standouts from the other
text in your page as liberally as logical separators
actually help people to focus their attention on which you
want them to stop and read before they are routed to same
other page. Logical placing of text and highlighting them
actually stops the people who just scan through the sites
in search of relevant content.

Whenever people from similar domain are visiting you more
or you are receiving requests of linking back, do not agree
blindly. Scan their sites as scrupulously as possible
before putting their links to your page. Check for Google
ranking of the same site before you do so.

To augment what you provide always help readers to adds you
as their favorites or bookmark you, or emailing your page
to their friends. Try to build in every option that makes
visitors to come back and visit you whenever they are
looking for similar topics. Always round out your offering
for better results and guaranteed comebacks.

Retrospection of your logs is very crucial to developing
your site and sustaining it to remain user friendly. Review
the logs carefully and look at the combination and
positioning of keywords that people coin, to get to your
site. If you find a keyword to be repeated over and again,
then try to build in new content around the same keyword or
key word phrases. Inclusion of all semantically close words
in various combinations in your site actually enhances the
traffic flow to large extent.

Networking with similar bloggers is equally important. It
will pay off in email exchanges, tips and link backs. The
Forums and Communities of similar bloggers help to
establish you in the keyword loop. Wide range of keywords,
fresh content frequent updates, reciprocal linking will all
draw in enough referral and guarantee sure success in SEO
efforts in internet marketing.

----------------------------------------------------
Allen Thomason is an accomplished and established internet
marketer. To find out how to expand your online knowledge
and learn more about Internet Marketing, Advertising, and
Proven Marketing Tactics visit
http://www.TheProfitCombination.com .

Advertising With Little Or No Money

Advertising With Little Or No Money
Get 6,000 circulars printed and mailed free

Here is the plan that allows you to get your information
printed and mailed free, plus reduce the cost of your own
mailing to ZERO.

Locate an offset printer in your area or by mail order in
one of the many mail order publications, who will print
both sides of a eight ½ x 11 sheets for $25.00 per 1,000.
We will then have them run the following ad over your name
in various mail order productions:

"CO-OP PRINTING (our ad on back side) 1,000 two 1/2 X five
1/2, ONLY $ 5.00. SEND CAMERA-READY COPY TO: (your name and
address)."

"CIRCULARS PRINTED (our ad on back side). 1,000 3X6, ONLY $
5.00 SEND CAMERA-READY COPY TO: (your name and address).

On a 8 ½ x 11 sheet of paper, you can get six three x six
circulars, received from responses to your ad, plus six
3x6's on the other side FREE! Have the printer cut them
into six three x 6's, 1,000 each. Send 1,000 to each of
your customers. You get 6,000 of your side printed FREE and
mailed by your customers FREE!

Six responses to your ad will give you $30.00; $25 for
printing and cutting and $5.00 for mailing circulars to
your customers. When printing and postage cost goes up
again, adjust you are pricing accordingly.

Check the mail order publications to see what others are
getting for similar programs. Stay with the competition in
setting you are pricing structure.

There is another way to get your circulars mailed free. As
soon as you can afford it, become a supplier of common
circulars. The easiest way to do this is to take "all
profit" offers and have circulars printed on two sides. On
the one side, have your own name and address printed. On
the other side, leave a space for a rubber stamp imprint.

Offer these circulars to circular mailers on a commission
basis. They keep a commission from 50% - 100% on their side
and you make your profit on the other side. Use the same
method for any offers you develop for yourself.

You can reach these mailers by advertising in or
subscribing to several mail order Trade Magazines and ad
sheets. Another way to locate mailers for your literature
is to notice the ads by mailers. Usually, at the bottom of
their ads they state "COMMISSION CIRCULARS MAILED FREE,
which means they get one side of the mailer and you get the
other, as above.

If you really want to start using this method, take two,
"all profit" offers, one on each side, and give the mailer
100% on one side. You still make your profit on the other
side.

If your interested in obtaining additional commission
circulars for yourself, include "COMMISSION CIRCULARS
MAILED FREE" in your ads.

Still another way to get your literature mailed free is to
include this little note on all you are advertising at the
end of the copy - "STAMP APPRECIATED" It only costs two
words, but could save you a great deal in postage. If you
are advertising in Trade Publications or ad sheets use
"S.A.S.E" which means Self Addressed Stamped Envelope. The
savings for envelopes, addressing and these cans add up
fast. Many small dealers use this method exclusively, even
in large circulation magazines. They have been using it for
years and it still works!

----------------------------------------------------
Discover how to earn a whopping $4,567,09 per month in your
spare time even if nobody joins your MLM business. Let this
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An Open Letter to Small Biz Owners: How to Get More Prospects (and Money!) in the Door

An Open Letter to Small Biz Owners: How to Get More Prospects (and Money!) in the Door
Dear success-minded small business owner,

We understand you've been wondering how to get more
prospects, customers, and clients to your business.

You're definitely not alone.

However, because you're reading this, it's clear you're
thinking beyond your next one-shot marketing effort to The
Big Picture, where all of your marketing pieces work
together to drive people to one central, informative,
evangelizing hub:

Your website.

Smart thinking, friend. Very smart, indeed.

Ads in newspapers and magazines go bye-bye after they're
published, and brochures get tossed in the circular file as
soon as your prospect knows you're not looking. Your
website, on the other hand, gets to brag about you, deliver
information on your behalf, and encourage people to contact
you to fulfill their needs, 24/7 - forever, if necessary.

More importantly, folks don't usually just "happen" upon
your website. They arrive because they're looking for a
certain product or service, and they've discovered you
based on their specific online searches.

And odds are you're getting a lot of inquiries - and
business! - from online sources these days. (If you're not,
then your Internet-savvy competition is.) That's why we
recommend marketing tools that are more content-driven.

>>>Press releases, articles, lists of valuable tips and
advice, and a blog, to name a few.

Here's why:

1. Using targeted content to reach your ideal audience
allows you to leverage the content over and over, to make
it COST EFFECTIVE.

2. Content-driven marketing makes search engines very
happy, and this makes it EASIER for people to find you
online.

3. Instead of being assaulted by "generic" or
"in-your-face" marketing efforts, your audience receives
information they're searching for, that's valuable to them,
and that offers a friendly, helpful voice and style. THIS
BUILDS TRUST AND GOOD FEELINGS, which invites a
relationship, which in turn becomes that coveted "warm 'n
fuzzy" emotion, driving prospects to your front door.

(Knock knock! It's your next opportunity!)

Now, some people have questions about what it means to
leverage content successfully.

Let's use one targeted article as an example, "5 Tips to
Finding the Perfect Widget." This one article could be used:

- To send to publications looking for content to fill space
around their ads - which positions your business not as an
advertiser, but as an expert with thoughtful information to
share.

- To send to article directories online, creating links to
your website that raise the site's profile in the search
engines.

- To send through a press release service, creating links
to your website on online news services and providing
additional print publication opportunities.

- To post on your website (and/or blog) as keyword-rich
content, to get search engines to come back to your website
more frequently and give the site greater credibility and
traffic.

- To excerpt and use on a postcard or direct mail campaign,
which would direct people to your website to read the rest
of it.

Smart, cost-effective, guerrilla-like, and wildly
strategic, right?

Right.

Warmest regards,

Lani and Allen Voivod aka the "Content Lovers"

----------------------------------------------------
Lani & Allen Voivod, aka 'The Content Lovers,' help
lifestyle entrepreneurs and bold small businesses 'A-Ha
Themselves!' in fun, innovative, and profitable ways. For
immediate access to insider knowledge on more than 12 of
the easiest, most effective, and most affordable ways to
market your products and services for long-term success and
profitability, check out "The 'A-Ha Yourself!' Action
Guide" at http://www.epiphaniesinc.com/actionguide.php .

The One-Time Offer and Your Online Marketing Business : Help or Hindrance?

The One-Time Offer and Your Online Marketing Business : Help or Hindrance?
An online marketing business can be very complex when you
think of all the ways you can market a business online.
You may decide to choose one or two main methods of
internet marketing, or you may choose several techniques.

If you're a seasoned internet marketer with an online
marketing business, or even a newbie embarking on a new
online business venture, you will have probably already
encountered the One-Time Offer (OTO) as one of these
methods of marketing.

A one-time offer is a sales page that might pop up in
several different places that allows you to make a purchase
- now or never. You only see the page once, so you have to
read it carefully and decide whether or not you want to
make the purchase, or skip the offer forever.

It's a very clever online marketing business sales tactic
that works for some, but doesn't work so well for others.
Successful and well-known internet marketers like Mike
Filsaime use the OTO as a method that helps them generate
millions of dollars each year.

I have also used the OTO as a method that would supposedly
help me generate more extra cash. For example, I tried OTO
GoldMine, a system designed for the newbie to make extra
cash by offering software and other products related to
internet marketing for usually a very low price.

At first I jumped at this free opportunity. Who wouldn't
when you hear all about how well one-time offers capture
those internet surfers who are rushed to make a decision
now, or lose the opportunity forever?

I added it to my online marketing business website so that
each time someone left my site, it was set to show the OTO
Goldmine offer page, which offered products related to my
site, as an exit screen, much like you would capture
subscribers with an exit pop-up.

After at least a few months, I realized that the OTO - at
least for me, and the way I was using it - goes against
what I really believe and value when I think about my
online marketing business and what it is meant to do. As
excited as I was to put it up, I was equally excited to
take it down.

After all, I am not all about suckering people into
spending their money just because they visited my website.
I am more about building an honest business and
recommending products as I see fit.

That does not mean that I used the OTO GoldMine product in
the best possible way. You can really make a lot of extra
money with this system, and they are effective enough that
they are used by the pros out there.

Perhaps the one-time offer is meant to be used more
carefully. For example, if someone purchased something off
my online marketing business website, it would be an ideal
time to present a one-time offer after they have made their
initial purchase. Most good salespeople know that it's
good practice to offer something else of related value upon
making a sale.

I, on the other hand, placed the OTO in a place where
people visited my site, decided they didn't want anything I
had to offer, and then they saw my OTO sales page. It was
as though I made a desperate attempt to squeeze one last
penny out of my visitors who didn't want anything in the
first place! Bad me.

I have learned my lesson, but have not returned to the
one-time offer, which, I admit did not make me any pennies.
Even though the products were valuable, there are many
places to get the same products for free when you have an
online marketing business.

You may also advertise the OTO in traffic exchanges as a
sales page, or to your newsletter list. I still maintain
that you will only be successful at this if you do it
right, and put the OTO's in the right places at the right
times, and have an unbelieveable offer that can't be
refused.

I guess what you hear me saying is that the one-time offer
is good if you are a somewhat experienced online marketing
business marketer, and know exactly how, where, and when to
use the one-time offer to your advantage, and your
customer's benefit.

Online marketing businesses are not all about making money
online. That is certainly an added bonus, but be careful
about how you go about the one-time offer. You don't want
to lose the trust and respect of your valuable customers,
so learn all you can about one-time offers, and work on
building those customer relationships first.

I may try the OTO again for my online marketing business in
the future, but rest assured, I will be smarter about it
next time. Live and learn, as they say!

----------------------------------------------------
Liane Bate owns a Plug-in Profit Site web business, and is
author of 100+ articles related to online business and
internet marketing.
Visit: http://www.HonestMoneyMaking.com ,
http://www.HonestMoneyMaking.com/pips.html , and
http://www.HonestMoneyMaking.com/blog/

Can You Predict Demand For The Products And Services Of Your Home Internet Enterprise

Can You Predict Demand For The Products And Services Of Your Home Internet Enterprise
The business climate for your home Internet enterprise is
volatile because it is affected by the supply and demand of
the marketplace. There are many factors that can contribute
to the consumer demand, and this demand can affect the
supply of goods and services. It is important to look into
each of these factors to be able to anticipate changes. One
of the most important determinants of demand is the
customers disposable income. When the disposable income of
the customer drops, then his ability to purchase goods and
service is adversely affected. This event can be predicted
by awareness of the overall economy, and it is something
with which any savvy home business owner should keep
abreast.

Another factor that influences the demand for your products
or services is their price point. For example, if the price
of apples falls for one particular season, then you can
expect the customers to buy more apples during that
specific time, even if they are used to buying oranges. The
orange industry then suffers because the customers buy
apples due to their low price. Once again, a smart home
Internet enterprise owner will not be taken by surprise by
price fluctuations because he or she is constantly
monitoring the competition and their products, and can
adapt accordingly.

Still another demand determinant is the fickle taste of the
market. Sometimes, there are trends in the market that
drive the demand of some products up, while sending the
demand for another perfectly good product plummeting. The
taste of individuals reflects on the overall demand in the
marketplace. If some customers decide they prefer chocolate
over vanilla, then you can expect the demand for chocolate
to be a lot higher than the demand for vanilla.

Clients expectations for the future are also likely to
affect the demand for a particular good or service in the
present. If you are expecting to earn a significant raise
in the near future, then you will be more inclined to make
a purchase immediately. On the other hand, if your source
of income is tenuous, then your demand for products and
services will be reduced at this time and you are likely to
save your money right now.

Even the number of buyers in the market will have an effect
on demand, because they will drive up the availability of
these goods and services. For example, summer vacations
take a large number of buyers away from the Internet home
enterprise market to spend time with their families. This
drops demand significantly.The products these clients
usually seek are readily available due to high demand the
rest of the year, but during vacations the demand will
diminish.The prices of these goods and services will be
dependent on the fluctuating demand which is created by the
ups and downs in the number of buyers.

As you can see, there are many factors which determine
demand, and as a home Internet enterprise owner you should
be on top of each of these determinants thoroughly. This is
because you are in an industry that is highly dependent on
the demands of the marketplace. Every home business owner
in the world needs to follow the trends and the demand in
the market in order to flourish. The determinants of demand
which we have discussed are just some of the things that
will affect the demand. There are still other factors that
may affect the demand more than you thought possible, so be
ever vigilant in your efforts to make your home business
the best it can be. This is a success strategy for the
2000's.

----------------------------------------------------
Sal Scaramuzzino; Restaurant Owner & Avid Internet Marketer
------------------------------------------------------------
-----
To find the best home based business ideas and
opportunities so you can work at home visit:
http://www.Fast-EasyMoneyOnline.com
------------------------------------------------------------
-----

Great Websites Doing Nothing

Great Websites Doing Nothing
With millions of websites competing on the Internet for top
search engine rankings, it should go without saying that
website owners should be sure to commission web developers
that are SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) smart from the
very beginning of the web design project.

Surprisingly, many companies do not realise the
significance of having their website developed and design
to be read and understood by both search engines and human
visitors. Companies get blind-sighted by designers that
impress them with flashy presentations, impressive
creative's and clever navigation techniques.

Many extraordinary looking websites are being launched onto
the worldwide web daily. Impressive splashy entry pages and
dazzling creative's demonstrate the creativity of the web
designer, but unfortunately these websites do very little
for the websites rankings in search engine results. Very
often, the only objective that is achieved by these types
of websites is that the person or company that designed the
website is has unquestionable creative talent. As
brilliant as these websites may look, unfortunately many of
these are simply doing absolutely nothing for the company.
It is surprising how few web designers today are taught the
skill of optimising the websites that they design for
search engine rankings.

From the start of the web development project, a website
owner should commission an experienced search engine
optimiser to prepare the website brief for the design
company, thereby defining those essential elements that
should be incorporated. Without properly configuring the
page architecture, and content a website stands very little
chance of being positioned anywhere of significance on
search engine results pages.

There are more than one-hundred variables that search
engines include as part of their ranking algorithm. Thus,
website owners, web designers and marketers should take
cognisance of the fact that it is simply not good enough to
publish a fancy looking website onto the Internet and
expect it to start attracting and converting customers in
the hope of producing income from their new online presence.

It takes a substantial amount of research, skill and
careful planning to create a website that will be
recognised by search engines as relevant enough to rank
anywhere on the first page of results. This alone does not
guarantee that that the websites offers a user experience
that satisfies the researcher's needs and eventually may
convert the researcher into a customer.

Getting ranked highly on search engine results is not a
quick fix. It is a process that requires a great deal of
planning, editing and monitoring in order first climb into
the top ranking positions and then to try to remain there.
With the algorithms changing at will, there is no one
technique 'cast in stone' that will guarantee top rankings.
If you want to reap the rewards, you need to invest time
and effort into properly researching your competitor's
position, and then carefully plan a strategy that will
hopefully outrank them, while at the same time attracting
niche targeted audiences.

Beware of companies promising to have websites ranked in
the top ten results pages within weeks. Although some
websites do rank much faster than others, those companies
practicing spamming techniques may get websites ranking in
a matter of weeks but, in return they can expect to be
dropped from the rankings - or even worse, be blacklisted
by the search engines within as little as six weeks.

Companies should be careful to approach search engine
optimisation from an ethical, spam-free perspective if they
want to thrive in this very competitive environment. Until
such time that a website ranks highly, there certainly is a
place for paid advertising (pay-per-click).

----------------------------------------------------
Blue Magnet has launched a one day Search Engine Marketing
training course that teaches the skill of SEO and SMO. Blue
Magnet Web Intellect is an Internet Marketing Training and
Consulting company, specialising in Search Engine
Optimisation, Online Copywriting, PPC Campaign management,
Web Design and Project management and Internet Marketing
Strategies. Visit http://www.bluemagnet.co.za

Your Work From Home Success

Your Work From Home Success
So with all of the resources available to work from home,
what makes some people flounder and others soar? There are
a few key things that every successful work fom home
entrepreneur will tell you is vital to your success.
Everyone is capable of success while working from home if
these simple steps are put into place. The structure from
your J-O-B is a thing of the past and what you do with your
time is all up to you.

1) Have A Goal

The most successful minds in history have always set goals
for themselves. Don't just set them, but write them down
and hang them somewhere of prominence where you can refer
to them often. Set a long term goal and then short term
goals that will lead you to your long term goal. Make sure
that all of the goals are time specific. Evaluate your
progress often.

2) Prioritize Your Day

Make a list at the beginning of each day of the most
important things that you need to accomplish that day. Go
through the list systematically and complete each task in
its entirety. When the day is over, go back through your
list and make sure that all of the items were completed. If
not, place them at the top of your list for the next day.
Prioritizing your day will make your time more productive.

3) Schedule Breaks

You need time during the day for yourself. Make breaks a
part of your daily routine. Schedule them into your day and
try to stick to a time acceptable to you. Make sure that
you are getting enough hydration and nutrition. This will
be vital to your mind clarity and productivity. Allowing
yourself breaks will help motivate you to complete your
next tasks.

4) Avoid Distractions

While it is important for your productivity to take
adequate breaks, it is also just as important to avoid
potentially hazardous distractions. When working from home
it is so easy to get wrapped up in a phone call with a
friend, a television program, or personal chores. Make sure
that you are doing these things in your personal time, but
leave them out of your work day. They will only pull you in
and thus make your day less productive.

5) Enjoy Yourself

Enjoy what you're doing. Chances are if you are working
from home you are a highly motivated and driven person.
Just remember to not take yourself too seriously, relax,
and have fun at what it is you're doing. If you enjoy
helping others, think about how the project you're
currently working on will help make another person's life a
little easier.

6) Have A Mentor

Don't just go into this new endeavor alone. Find someone
who has been or is currently successful from home and ask
them if they will mentor you. Some of your best advice and
guidance could come from someone who has already gone
through what you are.

7) Create Balance

People who work from home above all need balance. Allow
yourself time for your family and hobbies. It may seem like
it is a waste of time that could be used for making money,
but in the end you will thank yourself. If you don't allow
yourself time for enjoyable activities, you will burn
yourself out. Entrepreneurs who have balance between work
and their personal life end up being the most productive in
the end. So take that long walk or go out to dinner. Your
life and business will prosper if you're balanced.

----------------------------------------------------
For more information, get Brian's Wealthy Marketer
newsletter today at http://www.Wealthy-Marketer.org . Brian
McCoy is a successful internet marketer and success coach
who specializes in helping others become full time internet
marketers.

RSS Feeds On Your Site: Be Noticed and Recommended to Similar Bloggers

RSS Feeds On Your Site: Be Noticed and Recommended to Similar Bloggers
RSS is an acronym for Really Simple Syndication. RSS are
managed by XML codes. RSS feeds actually helps information
to reach the target audience as and when information is
updated and modified. RSS is a bleeding edge breakthrough
technology of 2005. RSS1.0 and RSS2.0 are the most commonly
used feeds.

RSS 2.0 being the latest is used by almost all the sites
and blogs. There are quite a few feed readers compatible
for Windows and Linux and is Open Source e.g. Beaver,
WinRSS, Awasu, Aggie etc. Your blog is readily compatible
to incorporate the RSS feed, even if you do not know html
or xml (extensible markup language) coding. Therefore, it
is convenient to use, simple and user friendly.

Popular Browsers like Yahoo and Firefox has built in RSS
feeds that help in Content syndication. If you have
published content, Yahoo and Google makes, it reachable to
many viewers through the RSS feed reader. The RSS feed in
your blog helps your content to be indexed quickly to the
search engines. Therefore, if you are using blogs to
publish your articles then it reaches to target viewers and
similar bloggers instantly.

Using the ping functionality also helps to include your
content and makes it visible through aggregators like
Technorati and others. With a RSS feed your blog is
naturally rich in content that you update regularly and the
search engines are exactly looking for this kind of quality
information.

• RSS feeds are excellent to disseminate information about
new audio, video releases and are used in information
sensitive business like news and podcasting.
• RSS also helps to catalogue websites in a manner so that
you can actually read the headlines, titles and choose the
content you want to read. The feed reader or aggregators
facilitate reading of any RSS content.
• Clicking the RSS icon in a browser actually initiates the
subscription process to a blog or site. The reader monitors
the subscribed feeds frequently for updated, modifies
content, and downloads new content replacing the older
versions.

The popular BitTorrent clients also offer RSS support. RSS
feeds are thus instant contact mechanism that boosts the
fundamental principles of internet marketing. Your
information will spread like fire to the similar minds and
interested crawlers.

When someone is picking up your feed, she or she actually
subscribes to your blog. They add you to their favorite
lists and reach you whenever they want to. This contributes
to building your client database very fast. It complements
the tasks that you do through your promotional emails. So
even if you are not sending out mails for any reasons your
clients will be updated about the new changes in
information.

Feeds also contribute to link building and magnifying your
link popularity. With RSS feeds, you also get instant
feedbacks on your blog. This increases your visibility and
clients are happy to build their trust and dependence on
your skills. Therefore, RSS feeds are the best way to be
noticed and recommended to others. If you are not convinced
then you will be denying a cost effective and simple
technology at your own risk.

----------------------------------------------------
Allen Thomason is an accomplished and established internet
marketer. To find out how to expand your online knowledge
and learn more about Internet Marketing, Advertising, and
Proven Marketing Tactics visit
http://www.TheProfitCombination.com .

How to Build A Profitable Opt-In List

How to Build A Profitable Opt-In List
How to Build a Profitable Opt-In List

To build strong monetized list, you have to keep your
visitors coming back. Unless you offer them something to
come back to, then chances are they will not. You will need
content on your web site that not only interests them, but
also changes regularly.

1) Articles- Articles give your visitor something to read.
Undoubtedly, sometime in the future, you customer will have
a question, or want more information about the product or
service that they received from your business. If the
articles pertain to your business and the products and
services that you offer, then they will be able to access
the information.

You do not necessary have to write these articles yourself.

You can post information about your products directly from
the package, or maker's web site.

There are several article directories online that provide
good, quality content at no cost to you. It is as simple as
visiting the directories, searching for articles that suit
your business, and then copying them into your web site.
You are only required to provide a link back to the
original author's web site.

2) Contests- Who does not want to win something? By
offering contests (especially if they change frequently)
gives your visitors something to come back for. When the
visitor signs up for the contest you may also want to
include a link to your newsletter.

The key is to change the contest frequently, whether it is
weekly, monthly, or semi-annually. Just remember, the more
you change your contest the more times your visitors will
come back to your site.

3) Coupons and Discounts- You may want to provide coupons
or discounts for your previous clients to entice them to
return to your web site.

You can use the coupons a number of ways. A few ideas are:

- A buy one get one free.
- A specific percent discount (such as 10%)
- Free or discounted shipping

Discounts are easy to administer, provided you have a
shopping cart. The typical way discounts are given is by
code. A code word such as "springtime" allows customers
with the code word to receive a discount.

Alternately, you may want to provide a printable coupon on
your, and accept it at your physical location.

4) Forums- Forums provide something that everyone craves:
conversation. If a forum is provided on your site, the
visitor will have a reason to visit your web site
frequently, whether it be to ask a question when help is
needed or to keep up on a conversation.

You can host your forum from your site, or you can choose
to use a third party forum, the choice is up to you, truly
it is whatever your prefer. Both have their pros and cons,
it just comes down to what is best for your business.

5) Blog-- Believe It or not, people are interested in what
you have to say! A blog will not only allow you to update
your clients on your business and life, but it also gives
you a great opportunity to add those much needed keywords
to your web site.

There are quite a few free applications available that make
blogging easy.

6) Newsletter- A newsletter is one of the best ways to keep
your visitors coming back time and time again.

You will want to include part of a unique article or tip in
your newsletter, and then a link to the rest. This will
force your viewers to visit your site to get the remainder
of the story.

Once again you do not have to write all the content
yourself. Using free article directories will cut the time
it takes to put a newsletter together in half

----------------------------------------------------
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How To Monetize Your Authority Site Using Contextual Ads and Affiliate Programs

How To Monetize Your Authority Site Using Contextual Ads and Affiliate Programs
Authority sites employ the geniuses of the best of
webmasters to Monetize websites. With increased competition
getting the king's share of web traffic on Internet space
it is imperative that you know the right ways to monetize
your authority sites. Popular websites seek innovative and
user friendly approach towards generating fast flow of
website traffic. Latest softwares and Internet marketing
tools help to monetize authority sites. In e-biz, every
detail of the authority website counts. The content
infrastructure, web design and copywriting of the text add
to the value of authority sites.

Monetizing Authority Sites Using Affiliate Programs

Authority sites get quick popularity with massive traffic
generation from the affiliate programs. The affiliate
programs run numerous social networking and B2B or B2C
operations, promoting the steady flow of traffic from one
website to the next. Some of the highest commissions paid
by affiliate programs range within 20% to 60% of the total
traffic. The most rewarding affiliate programs are the ones
with life commission packages. These are ones with longest
running membership and have built in database. Every time a
new product is launched the data can be used for promotion.

Some of the most sorted techniques to Monetize authority
site are by establishing links. A 2-tier affiliate network
with multi-income facility would be extremely popular among
the visitors. The authority sites would collect multi
commission based on the flow of traffic. The first income
is from sales via visitors and latter during the reference
via visitors. The website would earn commission from both
the sales and further sales generated through references.
The referral links add the number of visitors along with
the income from the multiple commissions.

Moreover, e-newsletters, link baits, and link exchange
programmes published on affiliate website help to increase
income. Choose an effective affiliate program with theme
that matches to the products and services on the authority
site. A percentage of the revenue would be based on the
traffic generated from the affiliate site. Use an e-mail
auto-responder that acts as round the clock newsletter for
authority site and post a link on the affiliate sites.

Monetizing Authority Sites Using Contextual Ads

Contextual Ads on authority sites are user friendly as well
as owner friendly. It turns out to one of most practical
tools of advertising online. Search for the theme based
websites related to the services and products displayed on
the authority site.

Maximize the concentration of keywords for easy listing
during scanning by the search engines. Some of ways to
Monetize authority sites by contextual ads is to pay
attention to key areas. Page match, automated topic
suggestion, topic based bidding for ads, site targeting
should be focus areas while building contextual ads for
authority site.

Mentioning the link topic on the links and not the link ads
would drive in more visitors interested to the product.
Contextual ads are frequently displayed real-time, these
targeted at highly specialized consumers on the Feeds.

The latest buzz in contextual advertising is a sure shot
technique to Monetize authority site. These techniques
involve categorization along with keyword bids. They refer
to one another for generating a larger response. Effective
URLs accompanied with real time indexing establishes new
real time range. Cost - Per - Click has a different meaning
for Monetizing authority sites.

Have an in-built auto bid system for evaluating CPC by the
visitors. Overall, the optimization of contextual ads is
the root to success for Monetizing authority sites.

----------------------------------------------------
Cory Threlfall is an Internet Marketer and website
developer. He publishes a blog called Strategic Online
Business and Marketing Tactics on a weekly basis at
http://www.corythrelfall.com . He also built a Squidoo Lens
with Video, Articles and Diagrams for people interested in
Authority Site Building -
http://www.squidoo.com/authoritysitebuilding and recommends
The Authority Site Center -
http://www.corythrelfall.com/recommends/ASC.html

How to Take Your Customer's Money

How to Take Your Customer's Money
The best and most profitable specialist content websites
are like a traditional trade magazine. They generate
multiple revenue streams from advertising, affiliate deals,
sales of products and merchandise, subscriptions and
organizing events.

For a publisher to be able to achieve the goal of multiple
revenue streams, it will have to integrate payment
processing into its site. This will enable the site to sell
products and services (such as downloadable reports and
software, branded merchandise, software, etc), charge
subscription fees for access to premium content and promote
and sell events (seminars, webinars, courses, etc.). This
can be a torturous process unless you know what you are
doing.

This is a quick guide to getting started, based on my
experience of launching sites all over the world, including
the U.S. and the U.K.

Ways of Taking Money

The first task you will need to undertake is setting up the
means to process the payments. There are essentially three
ways to do this:

• An online payment provider such as PayPal or Google
Checkout

• A payment service provider (PSP) such as WorldPay,
Patrasys or NetBanx

• A combination of a payment gateway and a merchant service
account

I will quickly go through the pros and cons of all three.

Online Payment Provider

PayPal is the world's biggest online payment provider. Most
people on the Internet have either used PayPal or are
familiar with the service it offers. PayPal enables an
individual to receive a payment from a customer by credit
card. PayPal manages the transaction from the time a credit
card number is entered into a website to the time the money
is deposited in your bank account.

Pros

• Simple and cheap to set up

• High acceptance rate of new clients

• Global

• Improving all the time; customers without a PayPal
account can still pay you through PayPal

Cons

• A nasty habit of freezing clients' accounts, and it can
be tricky to get them reactivated

• Very poor customer service

• Perception that PayPal is a service associated with
'cheap' websites; this is changing as PayPal launches new
services and has started to appear on bigger e-commerce
websites

Google Checkout is an alternative, but it is years behind
PayPal. It is worth keeping an eye on.

Payment Service Providers

PSPs are similar to PayPal. They manage the whole
transaction from the credit card being inputted into a site
to the funds being deposited in your bank account. The
biggest PSP is WorldPay (www.worldpay.com). Others include
SecPay (www.secpay.com), Netbanx (www.netbanx.com) and
Patrasys (www.patrasys.com).

Pros

• Single provider takes care of the end-to-end transaction
process

• High acceptance rate of new clients

• Generally good customer service

Cons

• Very expensive set-up and transaction fees

• Difficult set-up and integration

• Often hold funds for up to 60 days, which can kill cash
flow for a small business

Payment Gateway with Merchant Service Account

All major banks have a merchant service division which is
responsible for enabling clients to process credit cards.
These are called merchant service providers. If you go to
your bank and say that you want to start accepting credit
cards on your website, they will point you in the right
direction. Once you have a merchant service account, you
need to have a payment gateway. This is a service that
enables the transaction to take place on your site. It
checks that the credit card is valid, checks for fraud and
verifies all the personal details. Most banks try to sell
website owners both their merchant service account and
their gateway product. In my experience, bank-provided
gateways are clunky, hard to integrate and very expensive.
There are far better services in the market. In the U.K., I
use Protx (www.protx.com) and in the U.S., Authorize.net
(www.authorize.net).

Pros

• Cheapest transaction rates

• Rapid transfer of funds into your account

• Good customer support from most banks

Cons

• It can be very hard for new businesses with no trading
record to get a merchant account.

• There can be problems getting a gateway and merchant
service account to work together.

• Banks can be reluctant to allow annual subscriptions.

My Recommendation

If you are starting a new business with no trading record,
my recommendation is to use PayPal to get started. Once you
have a trading record, go to your bank and apply for a
merchant services account. If you get one, then switch to
processing payments through this account and a cheap
gateway service.

----------------------------------------------------
SubHub provides an all-in-one solution to enable you to
rapidly design, build and run your own content website.
Publish for profit on the web.
Website: http://www.subhub.com
SubHub Articles Feed:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/SubhubStartASubscriptionOrMember
shipWebsite-OnlineMagazineOnlineJournalOnlineNewsletter?form
at=xml

SEO makes more sense with Geographic Targeting

SEO makes more sense with Geographic Targeting
Increasingly the Internet is being used as a tool for
finding local resources. Not just for finding information
or buying products online, but you can use it to find homes
for sale in your neighborhood, local independent insurance
agents, local retail stores and local law and accounting
firms for example. It is becoming increasingly important to
keep geo-targeting in mind when optimizing for search
engines. It makes sense to not only target by a searchers
keyword but also by the searchers geographic location.

Hypothetically, let's say I own a business located in
Philadelphia, PA. I am looking for a public relations
firm in order to help market my business to consumers
living in the Philadelphia area. As you would expect, one
of the first ways I look for a public relations firm is to
search online using a major search engine such as Google.
Because I am a small or medium sized business located in
Philadelphia, it makes sense for me to do business with a
public relation firm located in the Philadelphia area.

So the question is, how do I find a public relations firm
located in the Philadelphia area? I can search on Google
and type in "public relations firm" and I will get a list
of thousands of public relation firms from all over the
world. Since I want to hire a Philadelphia area public
relations firm, the search does not give me what I am
specifically looking for. Chances are, local companies are
not found easily in this type of search. Internet users are
becoming more savvy on how online searches are conducted
and more and more users search using geographic locations.
For our discussion, I would search using the keyword phrase
"Philadelphia public relations firm," which gives me a
better listing of local public relation firms for which I
am looking to conduct business.

The concept is fairly simple and makes sense; however, many
websites do not include this concept as part of their
Internet strategy. As a company or organization conducting
the majority of business with local companies, how do you
take advantage of the concept spelled out above? The idea
is to develop your search engine optimization strategy
around the concept of geo-targeting in order to increase
your search engine rankings when a potential client or
customer is searching for your product or service locally.

There are two ways to get your website listed on search
engines such as Google. The most popular is organic search
optimization, also known as natural search optimization; it
is a continuing process allowing a web site to gain free
listings within the major search engines without incurring
ongoing marketing costs. If you are targeting clients
within your local area, you may want to consider the
following geo-targeted strategy.

Include the following:

1) Full address on all your WebPages, the higher on the
page the better results.
2) Areas where you do business throughout your website copy.
3) Geographic location in your title tags and Meta tags.
4) Your city in the link text when linking from other sites
to your Website.
5) Register for local search with the major search engines.

The second way to get listed on search engines such as
Google is through "pay per click" (PPC) campaigns. If you
use PPC advertising, you pay each time one of your ads is
clicked on a search engine. Google PPC marketing is called
Google AdWords, which is located on the right side of a
search page

How PPC (pay per click) works:
1) Register with a PPC system, provide credit card number
and load your account.
2) Create one or more ads with title, body text and link to
your appropriate WebPage.
3) Associate your important keywords with each ad.
4) Bid on each keyword, the more you bid the higher the
listing.

The key for a local businesses using PPC is to take
advantage of Geographic Targeting. Google allows marketers,
using AdWords, to specify the geographic locations in which
their ad will appear. For example a business in Boston that
targets local companies can set up their campaign so that
only people in their market area will see the ad. This
makes a lot of sense because the Boston based company does
not want to be charged because a person from Florida
clicked on their ad. By taking advantage of geo-targeting
the searcher from Florida will not see the ad.

----------------------------------------------------
Article written by Jason Lomberg, founder of The
Philadelphia Marketing Directory
(http://www.philadelphia-marketing-directory.com), Internet
Marketing Expert and Internet Strategist with 12 years of
experience from the Philadelphia area. Jason holds a
Marketing Degree and a MBA from Rutgers University. He can
be contacted at jason@philadelphia-marketing-directory.com

Keyword Research: Make Them Optimized for Search Engine Indexing

Keyword Research: Make Them Optimized for Search Engine Indexing
Keywords play a crucial role in Search Engine Optimization.
Keywords or Key word phrases are those words or phrases
that define and highlight the crux of your content. The
choice of keywords is essential to the indexing of your
blog or site to the reputed and most used search engines.

A successful blog is conditional to proper and scientific
research of relevant keywords that qualifies a specific
niche audience search. Therefore, key word research has to
be performed carefully and properly to launch a blog that
gets a good rank. It should also be catalogued to match the
most vital and relevant search generated in the same field.

Tools can only help you to get or access the inventory of
keywords listed for a specific business niche. However, you
need to choose the right keyword that narrows down the
search to your blog appropriately. If you are veteran
business professional and in net business for a long time
you might be able to locate the right set of keywords that
makes your site or blog rank the top in the search engines.

Keyword research could be disconcerting task if one does
not put in effort and time to analyze the need, know the
audience, and then design the blog. Tools are available in
for free keyword research and implementation. This is not
just a mere selection of words that you like but those
words that people generally search for when they visit the
net.

If you are new in internet business, it is always better to
consult SEO experts or firms to help and generate a set of
keywords just optimized to match search engine results.
Employing an SEO expert will be a positive investment in
launching business that has success potential from day one.

The most important factors that should cover your keyword
research are: Each page of your blog or site should be
optimized for a single keyword, Use of Latent Semantic
Indexing or LSI i.e. using key phrases rather than single
words, Use of geo-specific keywords or using keywords that
are optimized to specific demographics.

Each page of your site should be linked to a specific
keyword or keyword phrase. Overuse of relevant keywords in
the same content or same page could sometimes be confusing.
Using up to five different keywords in the description and
Meta title are permissible and accepted for indexing by the
search engines.

The Other factor that is elemental in SEO is clustering of
words to express one relevant keyword that defines your
text. This positioning of the words in a particular right
sequence in which the popular search is generated makes a
keyword most sought after. Latent Semantic Indexing in
keyword research and analysis actually focuses the
variations or iterations of the keywords. It is a strictly
mathematical or scientific approach to relate semantically
close keywords and generate fruitful search.

Use of country specific keywords in also an important part
to ensure the targeted traffic to your blog or site. The
same word could be spelt differently in USA, Australia, and
UK. Therefore, your research should be able to exclude or
include these variations according to your specific target
audience. Referencing the keyword phrases in the commonly
used search engines is also significant in this context.

Keyword Analysis follows your research task. Your keywords
should be checked for competition with other sites. Read
relevant blogs related to the same business and study
carefully the keywords used and their density. Monitor
your keywords for contemporary modifications and new search
results. These might require re-positioning and fine-tuning
for better matches or best rankings.

----------------------------------------------------
Allen Thomason is an accomplished and established internet
marketer. To find out how to expand your online knowledge
and learn more about Internet Marketing, Advertising, and
Proven Marketing Tactics visit
http://www.TheProfitCombination.com

4 Good Reasons To Hire An Article Writer

4 Good Reasons To Hire An Article Writer
Several years ago article directories took off as a great
way to get traffic to your website. Today that is still
true with blogging adding another aspect to article
marketing. Many people want to take advantage of building
content on their sites, but do not know how to write
articles, or do not have the time to write their own.

In this article we will look at 4 reasons you might want to
hire an article writer.

1. Articles give you credibility from your reader. As they
are picked up by various directories or ezines you get a
viral effect that spreads your name all over the internet.
The more articles you have online the more exposure you can
get and the more you become known as an expert on the
topics you are writing about.

Hiring an article writer allows you to build up this
credibility and all you do is pay for the article. As long
as it is 100% exclusively yours you can copyright it as
your own and use it however you want.

2. Hiring an article writer is a good idea if you are
unsure about how to write a quality article. A good article
writer can structure your article with proper keyword
relevancy for both the reader and for search engines. There
is a trick to getting a article put together and you may
not know how to do it.

3. Not all article writers are created equal so be careful
about who you hire. Many times you get what you pay for. If
you have ever paid for sub par articles you know what I am
talking about. Fresh content, exclusive articles are what
you want. Getting articles that are rewritten can be a
problem for you in terms of duplicate content.

4. The best way to use articles you pay for is to put
together a long term campaign for them. This means several
things.

- You need a keyword list of several hundred keywords that
the articles will be written around. This means you will be
having hundreds of potential articles written and will
allow you to dominate your market in the long run by using
articles you have written to help you do that.

- You should use your articles several times a week in your
blog and to build web pages.

- To get your articles online use a quality article
submission service such as Submit Your Article. They are
good because they offer a free program called Article
Leverage which allows you to take one article and quickly
turn it into hundreds of unique versions.

- You want to hyperlink the primary keyword of your website
in your bio box on every article. If you do not have a bio
box have your article writer write one for you. After you
begin to build up backlinks for your primary keyword then
hyperlink the keyword for each article back to inner pages
or blog posts to deep link those pages.

If you find a good article writer hang on to them. You can
use them for blog articles or website articles on an
ongoing basis. To compete online today you need fresh
content on a regular basis. Hiring an article writer is an
inexpensive way to do that and you get all of the credit
for writing them!

----------------------------------------------------
Jeff Schuman invites you to visit his make money online
website for hundreds of make money ideas, articles, and
products. For all of your article writing needs and to read
his free ecourse "P" Your Way To Online Success please
visit his website here: --->

http://www.Team-Schuman.com

Are Blogs Worth Your Time?

Are Blogs Worth Your Time?
Everywhere you turn these days, business websites seem to
be adding blogs to their promotional fare. Whether these
blogs are quirky notes from people on the staff or written
by a professional copywriter, there is a debate in the
market as to whether or not these blogs are even worth your
time. When done well, blogs can offer a new insight into a
business' dealings, but if not done correctly, they can
often harm the image the business is striving to create.

What Kind of Business are You?

Simply throwing a blog up on your business website or as a
link on your website and waiting to see how popular it is
isn't the best first step in having a business site blog.
You need to begin by determining the audience you are
addressing with your business. Are they even blog readers?
Most people are fairly aware of blogs and their place on
the internet, but in relation to your business, do they
even make sense? If your typical customers and site
visitors are coming for new products or to make return
purchases, chances are pretty good that a blog isn't going
to matter to them. When your site is setup to give your
visitors new information, blogs might be a good way to
package this information in a pleasing way.

Try to think about other websites that are in the same
market as you. Do they have blogs? Do these blogs get a
lot of comments? If so, that can mean that people are
reading them enough to comment on the content - and that
kind of interaction may be worth your time.

Are You Making the Right Impression?

The trick with blogs is that they can go from classy to
classless in a matter of sentences. You need to create a
blog that is focused in its subject matter and written by a
person who understands what your business is about and who
your customers are. Again, looking at other blogs will
give you a better idea of how to do this. If you're
looking to draw in the serious customer, you might want to
keep your blog content as factual information about the
products you sell as well as the related issues that go
along with those products. For example, if you sell
refrigerators, you might want to create a blog about
refrigerator repairs or about dealing with food spoilage.

Always, always, always try to remember what your reader is
thinking when they read your blog. While you might enjoy
the content, in the end, it's about what your reader thinks.

How to Start a Successful Blog

If you've determined that a blog is the right choice for
you, you might want to start by making a list of the topics
that you want to cover in this blog as well as decide on
the frequency of the blog itself. Is it going to be a
daily thing or perhaps just a weekly installment? You will
also want to find a writer for this blog and watch the
responses and visits that you get to this blog each day.
This will give you a sense of whether or not you're on the
right track.

Here's a great tip: Try to include links within your blog
entries to further increase the popularity of your website
itself. You can always ask the sites if you can link to
them, but most sites will be happy that you did.

When you want to create a blog, you need to keep three
things in mind: focus, tone, and interaction. Take time
each day to read the comments in the blog so that you can
address any visitors' concerns. This will make your site
all the more popular and visited.

----------------------------------------------------
Scott Oliver offers free video coaching to help you build a
profitable home business FAST. Get an hour of "Website
Traffic Secrets" and "Minisite Creation Tactics" for FREE
-- immediate access here:
http://www.InstantWebsiteBusiness.com

Success From Affiliate Marketing

Success From Affiliate Marketing
Just a couple of years ago I was a senior psychology major
studying to get my degree. I worked part time, and like a
lot of students, opted to take out the max amount of loans
I was able to receive. I was renting a very inefficient
house with a friend and paying off a loan for a car. The
bills were adding up fast and I soon found myself in debt
up to my eyeballs. I had to do something, and fast. I
dropped out of school, moved into an apartment with my
girlfriend, and went to work for a friend as a kitchen
manager making a measly nine dollars an hour. I tried this
for a while and the debt wasn't going away so I got another
full time job doing surveys for a multi-national research
company. It paid twice as much but I was working seventy
hours a week and was getting burnt out. This is not what I
had in mind to get out of debt, but at the time I did not
have much of a choice. I remained positive and my mind was
consumed with ideas on how I was going to make a living for
myself.

As I walked between jobs I often noticed all the nice cars,
buildings, bill boards, and people in suits. I knew that
there was a lot of money out there and there had to be an
easier way to get to it. How to get that money without
having money was a large task but I was determined to
figure it out.

I didn't have specific ideas for what I was looking for. I
wanted to consider as many avenues as possible to find the
perfect fit for me so I searched the internet. I quickly
found that there were many possible ways to make money
online. There were so many money making opportunities and
information and I was initially overwhelmed. Where would I
start? Who would I trust? I had research to do so I had
to prioritize and make time to do it. I decided to quit
my kitchen job and stick with my survey job because it
allowed me more freedom. I had ten hour days where it
seemed like all I did was stare at the walls of my cubicle.
Plenty of time to research online money making
opportunities. Within the first week of my new schedule
I bought a used laptop for $100 and had my internet set up
that same night. This was the beginning of my internet
marketing career. Everything was all set up for success.
All that was necessary was a computer and an internet
connection.

Staying positive and finding new avenues for profit and
success has led me out of debt and able to purchase some
things I only thought possible with a degree and a 9-5
J.O.B. My girlfriend and I are proud new home owners and I
now dedicate my 9-5 to my home business and helping others
find the same success as I did.

Money Making Opportunities

In my extensive research (which is non-stop) I found very
cheap ways to get started. Three specifically...My Power
Mall, Leisure Audio Books, and Plug-In Profit Site. And I
would recommend them to anyone looking to get started.

My Power Mall is an online mall where you get paid to shop!
There are over 1000 stores to shop at and you get rebates
back for purchases you make. The more people you refer to
them, the more money you get back. It is a nice little
operation. Most of the products I found are the same price
if not cheaper online. You can even purchase a Mastercard
and use it anywhere to earn the same rebates. It is
totally free, there is nothing to sell, and there is no
qualifying to receive income.

Leisure Audio Books is a similar type of program that
allows you to earn commissions off of any products you sell
for them or for any referrals you give them.

Both of these are great money making opportunities and they
both provide all the tools and training you need to succeed
with each. They are also 100% free. It will cost you
nothing to start up and the only cost is through LAB when
and if you decide to upgrade.

The Plug-In Profit Site is an outstanding profit pulling
opportunity. In less than 24 hours you can have your own
web site and six automated streams of revenue setup for
you. The major advantage of this is having your own
website to bring traffic to. It makes marketing a heck of
a lot easier and you can earn income from these programs
for as long as your website is running. It also provides
top notch training and I credit everything I know from that
program. Nothing is left out. Even if you don't make one
sale through PIPS, the knowledge in and of itself makes it
well worth your time. The only costs associated through
PIPS is the domain ($15) and hosting ($24.95).

Whatever it is you choose to do, take action!

"Do or do not. There is no try." -Yoda

----------------------------------------------------
It is time to act now! Go after success. Don't wait for it
to come to you. Enroll for free! You having nothing to
lose and everything to gain!
My Power Mall... http://www.mypowermall.com/Biz/Home/20714
More Money Making Opportunities at...

http://www.livelifetothefullest.biz

Vital Shipping Tips For ebay Sellers

Vital Shipping Tips For ebay Sellers
For most ebay sellers, getting the sale proceeds
transferred into their bank account is usually the end of
the deal, but if you have an acute business sense, you will
realize that seller responsibilities do not end at this
stage. As a seller, you need to realize that your
responsibilities are not over until and unless the ordered
product is shipped and is received by its rightful owner in
the same condition as described in your online ebay store.
Your bank account may have been credited, but you still
need to get your shipping right because if the customer is
not satisfied, he can easily give you a negative feedback
ranking, which in turn can seriously jeopardize your
business plans. Getting your shipping right is necessary
also because only fully satisfied customers generate
referrals, something that is vital for the long-term
prospects of any business venture.

While cutting costs is necessary for the success of your
online ebay store, you should look at other available
options rather than using sub-standard products for
packaging and shipment. Shipped products travel great
distances and are most likely to be mishandled during
transit. If you do not use the prescribed materials, the
parcel and its contents may become susceptible to tampering
or damage, which in turn could easily dent your store's
brand image and reputation. In your efforts to save a few
bucks, you can easily end up losing much more in terms of
lost sales due to negative customer feedbacks.

The best way of reducing shipping related costs is to
solicit trade enquiries from as many courier companies as
possible in order to find the best available deals. While
doing so, concentrate on the underdogs, i.e. the second or
third ranked courier company because they are the ones who
are often more than willing to generate new business. You
can also bargain for shipping rate reductions, but for that
you will be required to have large enough business volumes
as required by the courier company.

Now do not lose heart if you are a small time player
because there are many other options available. For
example, instead of offering a single shipment plan, you
can offer multiple shipment plans and ask the buyer to take
his pick. Buyers feel more comfortable when they have
access to multiple choices and as such they are most likely
to ignore your quoted shipping rates, even if your rates
are higher than that offered by other sellers. This will
not result in real time cost reductions, but since you will
no longer be required to compete in terms of shipping
rates, it will still prove quite beneficial. You can then
concentrate more on your main business and work towards
achieving your set goals and objectives.

----------------------------------------------------
John Thornhill is an eBay PowerSeller and trades on eBay
under the username planetsms. He earns $1000s every week
selling info products on eBay. If you want John to mentor
you and show you how he is so successful visit
http://www.mentorshipmonthly.com/

Conducting Your Online Business Checkup

Conducting Your Online Business Checkup
I recently spoke with an online business owner about the
creation of her ideal service business. She wanted to
establish a practice with a higher-end clientele who can
easily afford to pay her fees. She said that she had a hard
time visualizing what a high-end successful practice looked
like, because she had never seen one. I responded by
telling her that she knew exactly what that kind of
business looked like because it was her ideal business --
and the vision of that looks very different to each online
business owner.

For some online business owners, the ideal online business
might be one in which the owner is spending much of her day
working with 1:1 clients, interspersed with a few
information product sales. For others, the ideal day might
consist of implementing Internet marketing strategies to
sell many information products, and only a small amount of
time spent with high-fee 1:1 clients. The bigger vision to
wrap your head around is how do you want to spend your day
-- your week -- your year -- your life? How much money do
you want to make? How do you want to spend your time --
with family, traveling, completing hobby projects, in
relaxation, or working in your business?

There are no right or wrong answers here. The great part
about being a self-employed service professional is that
you have the freedom and the tools to create the perfectly
designed business for you -- to become a lifestyle
entrepreneur, or lifepreneur, in which your life and your
business work together in harmony so that you have adequate
time and energy to devote to both . And, if that vision
changes at some point, you can make changes accordingly.

For my business, that vision includes working many days in
my bathrobe, spending time on the phone with hand-picked
clients in 1:1 sessions where I get as energized as they
do, writing content for additional information products,
designing additional revenue streams for my business,
enjoying a relaxed lunch while watching Samantha Brown's
travels on the Travel Channel, and spending time with my
fiancee when his schedule allows. You won't find me taking
lots of exotic vacations or throwing wild parties or
bragging about the new expensive car or house or clothing I
just purchased --that's not a part of who I am. I love the
creative process I find through my work, and I find my work
to be fun, so I treat my business as others might treat a
treasured hobby. Flexibility is also important to me, as
is being able to conduct ALL aspects of my business from my
home office. I find myself becoming annoyed at even having
to go to the Post Office to check my mail!

If your business isn't developing the way you initially
thought, take a long, hard look at your business vision and
check to see how close you are the picture of your ideal
business. Syndicated columnist Maureen Dowd says it best:
"If you settle for less than you deserve, you'll get even
less than you settled for." So, If you hate the travel
component of your business, brainstorm ideas of how to take
your information to your target market from your home
office. If you're burned out from working with 1:1
clients, strategize the possibilities of working with them
in a group setting. If you want to take more time off,
assess some passive revenue possibilities for your
business. If you hate in-person networking events,
discover where your target market hangs out online and
develop relationships there.

Running a successful business isn't easy -- if it were,
everyone would be doing it. And, it doesn't happen
overnight -- many "overnight successes" have 5, 10, or more
years of work that contributed to that "overnight success".
You deserve a full, thriving business -- don't settle for
less! To make sure your online service business is on
track, conduct a regular checkup of your online business,
including:

1. Your service fee structure. Begin with the end in mind
here in terms of what amount of money you need to live on
for the year in way you'd like to or are accustomed to
living and determine what you need to charge to live your
life in this fashion. In a service business, your time is
precious and should not be squandered. What is the client
value of working 1:1 with you? Are you charging adequately
for that privilege?

2. Your passive income strategy. What percentage of your
business income do you want to derive from passive income
streams? Have you devoted time during the course of your
work week to develop these passive income streams?

3. Your invoicing and payment policies. Are there multiple
ways clients can pay you (check, cash, debit/credit card)?
When do you expect payment for a contract? How do you
deal with late payments?

4. Your hours of operation. Are you working around the
clock, or do you leave time for yourself to enjoy your
life? What about vacation and family time? Are there
procedures for dealing with clients who want you to work
outside your scheduled work hours?

5. Your ideal client profile. Include descriptive
adjectives of the characteristics of your ideal clients as
well as more statistically-oriented details, such as what
industry they're in, what do they read, where do they hang
our on- and off-line, what professional associations do
they belong to, how much money do they make each year, what
are their most pressing business management concerns. Do
your current clients fit this profile? If not, you need to
clean house and find clients that are a better fit for you
and your business.

6. Kind of work you love to do. Don't waste your time
with tasks that aren't fun or don't tap into your special
talents/gifts that come easily to you. Do what you do
best, and delegate the rest.

Once you've reviewed these checkpoints, create an action
plan that helps you move forward toward your ideal business
vision. The president of the college where I once worked
had this motto he established for all the administrative
staff, "If it is to be, it is up to me." You are the
creator of your destiny, of your business, of your quality
of life. If you are to have a successful online business,
it is up to you to do it in the way that works well for
you, brings you joy, and permits you to make a decent
living in the process.

----------------------------------------------------
Online Business Resource Queen (TM) and Online Business
Coach Donna Gunter helps independent service professionals
learn how to automate their businesses, leverage their
expertise on the Internet, and get more clients online. To
claim your FREE gift, TurboCharge Your Online Marketing
Toolkit, visit her site at http://www.OnlineBizU.com . Ask
Donna an Internet Marketing question at
http://www.AskDonnaGunter.com .

Email Marketing Lead Capturing Your Way to Website Marketing Success

Email Marketing Lead Capturing Your Way to Website Marketing Success
It is not enough to maximize web site traffic. You must
have a system in place to acquire the name and contact
information of people that may be interested in your
product or service. Lead generation is one of the most
important aspects of internet marketing online and a must
when it comes to growing a successful business.

In the old days of online email marketing, you had more
latitude to do this. There was nothing wrong in sending out
emails to people who had not requested one as long as you
did not go overboard with it. Unfortunately many people did
just that and by doing so added an old word with a new
meaning to our vocabulary: spam. The good news is some
people had a better idea and went to work creating email
marketing lead capture pages also known as name squeeze.

Name squeeze is the act of setting up one or more web pages
whose sole purpose is to entice visitors to leave their
contact information thereby joining your opt in email list.
The email marketing lead capture form can include phone
number and address but all you need really is the visitor's
name and email address. These pages often times are used as
doorways that lead you to the main website.

Email Marketing Lead capture pages are pretty
straightforward. If done properly, you cannot be accused of
spamming or tricking someone to leave their information
since you have stated clearly that for the person to get a
free gift, more information or access to your web pages
they must agree to join your opt in email list.

In other words you are building a database of customers who
are ALREADY interested in what you have to tell them. I
don't say they will automatically buy your product or
service but as long as they remain on your opt in email
list, you have the opportunity to present countless offers
to them. Just make sure you can them quality information on
a consistent basis and not just a daily sales pitch.

There are 3 ways to use lead capture pages that can explode
you online business:

1. Building List Marketing

If you have never heard the phrase "the money is in the
list", welcome aboard and get use to it. It has become a
pretty standard cliché among internet marketers because
it's true. The name squeeze technique moves people to take
action while limiting their options. This is a good thing
since too many choices has a tendency to confuse people.
For instance if you offer a free report on your name
squeeze page, people have only two actions to choose from:
sign up to get the report or leave. A good email marketing
lead capture page can build you a massive opt in mailing
list of targeted customers.

2. The One Time Offer.

You have peaked the interest of your visitors to the point
they take action and sign up to your email marketing list.
However instead of being immediately taken to the free
report or given access to your website, they land on a page
that offers a specific product or service related to your
niche that is available for purchase. Welcome to the one
time offer page.

This technique has made a lot of money for some online
business owners. The theory behind it is, since people are
in the frame of mind to get more information then this is a
good opportunity to lead them to a quality offer related to
that niche. The groundwork for your one time offer has
been put in place by your squeeze page. This practice may
not be for every situation but if used properly it can be a
very profitable website marketing tool for your business

3. What Do They Want?

You already know that people who have joined your email
marketing list via your squeeze page are interested in what
you have to say but what else? You can change the topic on
your lead capture page or just design several different
squeeze pages to identify other potential hot markets. Set
up some kind of tracking system to find out what pages are
generating the most interest.

Learning to maximize web site traffic maybe the lifeblood
of doing business online but it doesn't mean a thing if
people click to your site then leave without taking any
action. Email marketing lead capture pages can not only go
a long way to your web visitors taking action but also
ensuring the success of your internet business.

----------------------------------------------------
Daryl Campbell invites you to get more free tips, video,
step by step coaching and up to the minute information to
help you grow your business into a long term success at

http://winthemarket.com