Thursday, July 17, 2008

How Understanding What Your Customers Value is the Key to More Sales

Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2008 Judy Murdoch



Have you ever had this experience? You work hard on developing an offer for your product or service. Maybe you even ask a few people to take a look at your Web page or brochure to make certain they get your message. Then you send your offer out into the world.

And you get no responses. Or a puny little trickle.

So you send multiple offers out over a couple month's time. Maybe you sell a few but given the time and money you've invested, not enough to count.

The Fatal Error

The fatal error that will kill your marketing efforts every time is failure to understand

value as your customer defines value. Not as YOU define value.

Defining "Value"

Think of customer value as a simple formula:

Cost of Non-action (minus) Cost of action = Value

When Value is positive (meaning, there's more to gain by acting on your offer, buying your products, taking your class, etc.) prospects take action.

When Value is zero (meaning they think it will cost about as much to act as not to act) or negative (meaning there's more cost to acting than not) it is very likely that they will stick with the status quo.

To improve your response rate, you need to increase perceived value.

How to Increase Perceived Value

Looking at it this way, there are two things you can do to your offer to improve your response rate.

1. Decrease the cost of taking action.

2. Increase the perceived cost of not taking action.

Examples:

Decreasing the Cost of Taking Action

Before we began promoting our Info Product Roadtrip program we interviewed a variety of small business owners to get their reactions to our idea. It was a good thing we did. Although most of the business owners we spoke with loved the idea of passive revenue, about half were very concerned about the time, effort, and expense of creating information products.

To make the program more valuable, we decided to focus on a smaller group: authors and speakers. Why? Because authors and speakers have existing content. It is far easier (less costly) to create an information product based on a chapter in a book than creating it from scratch (which was the challenge for many entrepreneurs we spoke with.).

Increasing the Perceived Cost of NOT Taking Action

Put simply, this is about "sweetening the deal." Oftentimes, when customers are slow to respond to an offer our first instinct is to lower the price. That's a mistake. Yes, money can be a barrier to purchase but not as much as most people think. In my experience, if your offer is valuable enough to your prospect, they'll find the time and money to act.

For example, the author of a book on their great grandmother's life growing up in the Louisiana Bayou might include some authentic recipes for gumbo and fried okra as a bonus for buying her book. Or a realtor giving a presentation on buying vacation property might offer a no strings attached discount to stay at a popular resort. When you offer additional value, you are in effect, increasing the cost of NOT taking action because you are creating the perception of missing out on something special and valuable.

Bottom Line

To get people to take action--to sign up for your free teleclass, or buy your new book, or schedule an appointment, you need to make sure that the cost to your prospects of not taking action is higher than the cost of taking action. You can do this by (1.) lowering the cost of taking action or; (2.) increasing the perceived cost of not taking action.


About the Author:
Judy Murdoch helps small business owners create low-cost, effective marketing campaigns using word-of-mouth referrals, guerrilla marketing activities, and selected strategic alliances. To download a free copy of the workbook, "Where Does it Hurt? Marketing Solutions to the problems that Drive Your Customers Crazy!" go to http://www.judymurdoch.com/workbook.htm
You can contact Judy at 303-475-2015 or judy@judymurdoch.com


Start With A Product That Is Already Proven To Be In High Demand If You Want Your Website Traffic To Grow!

Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2007-2008 Casey Moher



Your internet marketing business pivots around several key ingredients that make it hum. Let's discuss how you go about creating (or finding) and evaluating a product you can sell online.

Website owners who create their own products to sell have much of work ahead of them. These business people must focus on market surveys and studies and a lot of guesswork, as well.

You have available to you a very different approach than this. This is an approach that makes all the difference in what you do.

What you are going to do before you ever select a product is to know how well it sells, how popular it is, and what people are willing to pay for it. What a great business approach you now have available with all the product sales statistics at your fingertips as you move through the selection process. Product selection is far from being a problem with thousands available for your choice.

In the online environment, there is a huge demand for products that can give people valuable information on how to do something to make their lives better. You now have available a huge on-line warehouse of these products.

These products are managed by a company that does the lion's share of selling in this massive market. The producers of these information-based products actively seek to have people sell them.

Commissions up to 75% are available to you.

Again, all the 'heavy lifting' has been done for you. There is a huge number of products for you to pick from in your selection process. Here are the product criteria I find to be important.

Picking a product that solves a problem is vital. Choosing a product that you would want to own is also important. Look for a product with a good, compelling sales letter and other exciting sales materials. Look for testimonials from satisfied customers as well as popularity rankings of the product you are considering.

You should take note of the commissions available and go for 50% minimum.

Before you try to sell your product on your website, it's a great practice to buy it and use it yourself. This is because if you can tell an amazing transformation story about how something in your life changed or got easier or better once you started using the product, your sales success as people visit your website will be much greater.

A company that does all this can be found in one stop at: http://www.clickbank.com

Spend some time at this website so you can appreciate the products available to you for your use. This is the site you will use to find which products have people scrambling to buy them.

It's a very simple matter for you to establish yourself as an affiliate. As quickly as you establish your affiliate account you are in position to benefit from each customer that visits and acts on your site. You simply register to get a user name (also known as a nickname) established with clickbank.

With that nickname you are established to get credit for all the sales of any and all products that you choose for your project. There should never be a shortage of products for you with more than 10,000 available.

Remember, commissions run as high as 75%! Your product line is noted for its popularity and marketability which means your marketing efforts are on after-burner.

Clickbank manages all the details and makes sure you get paid what you are owed.

For a very reasonable price these days, you can get your own website established. As soon as your site is up, people all over the world can learn about the product you have chosen.


About the Author:
Casey Moher - Caseymoher@comcast.net (801) 941-3334

Mr. Moher is a Registered Pharmacist and Life-Long Marketing and Sales Professional. You Can Get His Free Five-Day Mini-Course on Building Targeted Website Traffic by visiting: http://www.newtrafficmaster.com


How To Meet Or Exceed The Estimated MPG On Your Vehicle

Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2008 Butch Taft



With gasoline at or above $4.00 per gallon, all of us are painfully aware of the effect of fuel prices on our budgets. Suddenly the fuel efficiency or lack thereof of a SUV, Hummer, or large car becomes painfully evident. Even with a fuel-efficient small car, the impact on our wallets catches almost everyone's attention.

Most of us simply cannot run down to the local car dealer and buy a brand new, highly fuel-efficient hybrid car. Somehow, we just have to make the best of what we have available to us. In this article, I am going to assume that you are just like me, and I am going to assume you need to figure out how to get the best gas mileage out of the vehicle you have in your driveway. So, what can YOU do TODAY to reduce your cost of driving from here to there and back?

Slow Down. What? S...L...O...W... D...O...W...N (Taxi Humor)

When you have to drive your car, the single thing that you can do to most dramatically reduce the cost per mile is to SLOW DOWN. I know that you didn't want to hear that, did you? Whether commuting or traveling on the interstate, we all want to keep up with the traffic, which is probably going 10 to 20 mph above the speed limit, if traffic conditions allow it.

Many decades ago traffic jams began to back things up on the Golden Gate Bridge and traffic engineers began exploring ideas on how to move more cars across the bridge in less time. The answer was to reduce the speed limit from 50+ to 40 or less. With less distance between the cars at the slower speed, the total number of cars per hour across the bridge went UP dramatically.

Every car consumes energy to run. For most of us this means gasoline. The engine-transmission-rear end-power train combination requires a certain amount of fuel per second for any given speed. While the specific data varies for each power train combination, a graph of speed versus miles per gallons (http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/driveHabits.shtml) shows the maximum miles per gallon (and the lowest fuel cost per mile) occurs between 45 and 60 miles per hour. Above 60 the MPG drops rapidly.

For some cars, the computer and the instrument panel can team up to show your estimated MPG data, in real time. If you have the information available look at it - it can help you understand how to achieve the most fuel-efficient operation of your vehicle, in whatever conditions you drive.

According to the DOE/EPA web site (http://www.fueleconomy.gov), aggressive driving (high acceleration, high speed, rapid braking) can reduce you gas mileage by as much as 33%. If you drive with tire squealing starts, 80-mph interstate cruising speeds, and "stand on the brakes" stops - you are paying a dear price at the gas pump.

If you hate $4.00/gallon, eliminating these fuel inefficiencies could give you the equivalent of $3.08/gallon gas. Does that sound good to you? All you have to do is slow down. Now, slowing down to 60 may feel a bit frustrating at first, but just think of all the dollars you are saving, every time you get into your car! What's really important to you... fast acceleration and fast driving, or lower driving costs and more driving distance?

Minimize Drive Time

Aside from riding your bike to the grocery store, instead of the car, you can also reduce your car's expense by carefully planning your errands to minimize your total miles driven. Make one Saturday errand trip rather than 3 or 4. Think ahead. Shop once a month, instead of twice a week, or only stop at the store on your way home from work. You would be amazed at how much fuel you can save by reducing your need to drive.

Properly Inflate Your Tires

What else can you do? Check your tire pressure and adjust to the recommended pressures. Soft tires consume more energy flexing and rolling than hard tires. The Owner's Manual lists the recommended tire pressures, and there is an information plate on the car, usually around the driver's door, giving the same information.

Get a tire pressure gage and check the tire pressure in each tire when it's cold. Record the pressures and note how many PSI below recommended pressure each tire is. Drive to a service station. Recheck the pressure in each tire - it will probably have gone up some from the initial cold check as rolling and friction warmed the tire. ADD air to each tire to increase the pressure by the number of pounds each tire was low as recorded above (even if the new hot pressure is higher than the recommended cold pressure).

Make Your Car More Aerodynamic - Reduce Drag

Another savings idea - reduce vehicle drag as much as possible by removing car top luggage containers, ski racks, etc. If you feel you must use such devices, understand there is no free lunch - it will cost you in reduced fuel economy. Also, reduce the total vehicle weight as much as possible by removing any unnecessary weight in your vehicle. If you put sand bags in the trunk during the winter, to improve your traction on snow and ice, get them out of your vehicle when the ice and snow have gone.

Good Maintenance

Keep your engine running in good order. That means regular tune-ups, air filter changes, and proper oil viscosity selection. Remember, every little bit helps.

Other Resources

A number of web sites offer other information. See (http://www.fueleconomy.gov/) for U.S. Government data and for suggestions from Consumer Reports, try: (http://www.consumerreports.rog/cro/cars/new-cars/resource-center/green-car-guide/green-car=guide.htm)

Don't Be Duped - Avoid Magic Bullets

If there are DOs, there must also be DON'Ts. We love to believe in magic potions, silver bullets, and conspiracies. For generations we have been bombarded with commercials and advertisements about stuff to dump in the radiator, in the oil, in the gas, or hang on the car, which will fix our problems and make everything much better. Some of these things work, sometimes. More often than not, they offer false hope and little, if any, practical benefits.

One of the recent popular subjects is running you car on water. Many web sites talk about hydrogen-oxygen powered engines, hydrogen boost from water, etc. It is true that burning hydrogen produces heat, and water is a by-product of that process. Some automobile manufacturers are even experimenting with hydrogen engines, fuel cell propulsion systems, etc.

However, the basic method of getting hydrogen gas, in the "water powered car", is electrolysis of water using an electric current. Unfortunately, the electrolysis process requires more electrical energy to separate the hydrogen and oxygen out of the water than you will gain by burning the gases in an engine. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxyhydrogen)

Yes, it is true that some people are claiming fantastic results using the water-powered car technology, but you may also note that most the people making these claims are the same people that are hoping you will spend your money with them.

They say, "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is". Wait until these technologies are well proven, by reliable and independent testing facilities, before depending on them to save you money or reduce the operational expenses of your car.

Final Thoughts

If at the end of the month, you can increase your MPG and/or decrease the miles you drive, you will save money.

Studies have shown that the average person can increase their fuel mileage by at least 30%, by simply changing the way they drive. If you can increase your fuel mileage by a mere 30%, then you can expect to save about $23 per month on every $100 you currently spend on gasoline for your vehicles.

If you can drive 20% fewer miles than what you drive right now, you could expect to save another $15 on every $100 spent.

If you drive as much as my wife and I drive, you can expect to save $46 per month, on your monthly $200 gasoline expense, just by improving MPG by 30%. Then by cutting your driving distance by only 20% per month, you could expect to gain another $30 savings, bringing your overall fuel savings to $76 per month.

Every dollar counts these days.

We are not stopping at simply trying to increase our fuel mileage. There are actually people in this world who are beating the Estimated MPG on their vehicles, sometimes by as much as +100%. We will be happy if we can simply beat the Estimated MPG on our vehicles by a mere 20%. Think of it this way; every gallon of gasoline saved is $4 earned! And I am all for increasing our earning power!




About the Author:
Butch Taft writes about modern transportation for the website: http://automotivewebmasters.com As fuel prices continue to rise, people are thinking about what they can do to "reduce the pain at the pump." So much so that many people are have put summer vacations on hold. The author of the Automotive Webmasters ebook, "How To Increase Fuel Mileage In Any Vehicle" is already beating the Estimated Highway MPG for his vehicle, in city driving, and he will teach you - in his ebook - how to do the same: http://automotivewebmasters.com/ebooks/increase-mpg.php


Tuesday, July 15, 2008

The Mythical Google Sandbox And How To Escape It

Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2008 Bill Platt



With an article title like this, it almost seems like I am playing the fool, by telling you something doesn't exist and then telling you that I will show you how to beat that thing I said does not exist. Maybe I am the fool, or maybe, I have something valuable to share with you today. You be the judge.

I Don't Believe In The Google Sandbox, Dragons or Unicorns...

I was browsing the Digital Point forums earlier, when I came across this quote:

"The Google Sandbox is something that people either believe or don't believe. It usually means that within the first 6 months - 1 year you won't get a lot of love from Google." - http://forums.digitalpoint.com/showthread.php?p=8286280

I saw the quote shown above and I had a good laugh. Yes, many people believe in the existence of the Google Sandbox, and I am not one of those people. I place the "Google Sandbox" in the same category as the leprechaun... they both make a neat children's story, but I see no truth in either.

What Is Google Love?

Google love is the imaginary "feeling" that Google has for the websites in its index. The more Google loves a website, the higher that website will rank in the Google search results.

No matter how many search results Google shows for a particular search term, Google will only show a maximum of 1,000 website listing in its search engine result pages (SERPs). However, few people, except nuts like me know that as you go to each consecutive page in Google's SERPs, the actual number that Google is willing to show you gets smaller with each additional page visited.

For example, I just did a search on the keyword phrase "Google Love". My default Google settings are set to 100 results. When I first typed the search phrase, Google showed 68,300,000 results, and Google shows me that I can look at ten pages of results. But, when I get to the tenth page in Google's results, there are only three listings. Google only loves 903 web pages for the search term "Google Love".

Google has told us that they attribute value to a web page, based on the number of inbound links that page might have. Google Love primarily comes from link popularity, which is derived from inbound links.

The Suggested Lifespan Of The Google Sandbox

I see the "sandbox" as being a term that some person working in SEO derived to explain why so many of his client's new pages appeared in Google's search results for about one month, before the pages disappeared into the deep recesses of the Google index.

In absence of a better explanation, some SEO person coined the term "Google Sandbox" to explain to his or her customers why a page disappears from the Google index and stays missing for months or years.

According to those who preach the Google Sandbox theory, the lifespan of the Sandbox is six months to one year. That is a lifetime when you are running an online business.

The Life Curve Of A Web Page

Google's algorithms rely heavily on inbound links to determine the value of a web page. But a brand new web page has not had the opportunity to attract any inbound links, because after all, it is a brand new web page. So Google gives new web pages the benefit of a doubt.

News stories are a good example of web pages that may very well be important to the world-at-large, but its importance cannot be determined by the number of inbound links available to that page.

As a result, all brand new web pages on the Internet are given an intrinsic value by Google, as if the pages housed a news story. But what was important thirty days ago, will not necessarily be important today. So news stories are given early value and then their value fades with time.

Once the news cycle is completed, the web page will slide down to where it deserves to be according to the normal Google algorithms. This often means that a new web page will disappear into Google oblivion (or the theoretical Google Sandbox), if after 30 days the page has not generated any link popularity of its own.

After The News Cycle, All Normal Rules Apply

We have all heard it before. The way to get a web page to rank in Google is to build link popularity for the web page.

And how do you build link popularity for a web page? Build inbound links to that web page, of course.

Once the news cycle is done, a new web page must compete with every other web page, based on Google's normal algorithm.

What If A Page Could Develop Link Popularity In 30 Days?

What if you were able to build inbound links and therefore link popularity for a web page, before the news cycle runs out? That would be a twist, wouldn't it?

Personally, I know for a fact that if you can build link popularity on a page, within the news cycle window, that this new page will not fall into the dreaded and mythical Google Sandbox. The page will not fall into the Google Sandbox at the end of the news cycle, because the page will have already accrued some link popularity within Google's primary algorithm.

You Are The Master Of Your Own Domain

As the master of your domain, you get to choose how long a page is sandboxed. Most people don't realize they have that kind of control, but with smart link building, one can prevent a web page from entering the sandbox. Or, if the web page does slip into the sandbox, the smart online marketer can bring a web page out of the mythical sandbox in days or weeks, instead of months or years. The beauty of this truth is that you define the time line for when a web page exits the sandbox, not Google.

I Boast That I Can Prove It To You

I built a new page 16 days ago (June 10th, 2008) that is holding page one results in Google against 200,000+ websites, with my Blackhat Fish SEO Contest entry.

Now, one could argue that I am still in the news cycle for this web page, so in another two weeks, my page could disappear from the Google results. But, I have built so many inbound links to this page that I fully expect that when the news cycle is done, my page will remain outside of Google's mythical sandbox.

I Challenge You To Test My Results

Test my proof by checking back here in a couple weeks, or even in four weeks or six. If I am right, you will be able to click this link to Google's search results for the keyword phrase Blackhat Fish, and you will be able to see my page title on page one or two of Google's search results: "Whitehat vs. Blackhat: Fish For Links or Die Trying".

I say page one or page two of Google's search results, because I would be surprised if I actually won the competition. However, if I am still in the top20 results for the search key term after July 10, 2008, then I will have proved to you that anyone can beat the sandbox, if only they exercised the right strategy for escaping the sandbox ahead of the end of the news cycle.

I have actually pulled this off with three web pages in the last 60 days. The above listed example is just one of many examples I could show you as proof of concept here. But for brevity's sake, I am only including the one example here.

In Conclusion...

You can accept my analysis as sound, or you can call me the fool. It does not matter to me which you choose. If you want to believe that the Google Sandbox really exists to thwart your online business, then more power to your fears.

For those of you who have found my words worthwhile, let's meet next Saint Patrick's' Day to share a green beer and a laugh.




About the Author:
Bill Platt has been providing article marketing help to his clients since 2001 at: http://www.thephantomwriters.com/ He offers ghost writing and article distribution services. With lots of experience writing articles that attract publishers, readers, traffic and sales to his website, Bill wrote an ebook to share the secrets of his article marketing strategies at: http://thephantomwriters.com/ebooks/article-marketing-traffic.html


Monday, July 14, 2008

Internet Marketers: Will You Quit or Overcome The Obstacles Before You?

Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2008 Bill Platt



There is barely an industry on the Internet who has not been touched by those who quit and those who overcome obstacles to success. "Attrition" is a term that describes the "people who quit." I utilize the term "attrition" most often when I am talking about subscribers who leave a newsletter's member list, while others discuss the term in regards to people who quit business opportunities to pursue greener pastures.

Silly Cows and Three-Year-Old Logic

I grew up in rural America, so I fast caught on to the phrase, "the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence." Those silly cows can be in a field full of lush, green grass, but it never fails that many of them will strain against the barbed wire fence to reach out for that brown grass outside their enclosure.

My three-year-old once explained to me, "Cows do not have any brains." I told him that of course cows had brains. He insisted they did not. I asked what made him so sure, and he responded, "Well, they don't know how to talk." Ah, the beauty of a child's logic.

Success Online Begins With Commitment

Far too many people on the Internet have yet to figure out how to succeed online, but they are experts in how to quit, before they ever give themselves a chance to succeed. Someone once told me that in network marketing, 80% of all new sign-ups quit one opportunity and move on to the next one, after only two weeks. That is one heck of an "attrition rate".

Success online begins with the acceptance of one simple word, "commitment". Followed closely by commitment is investment. One must invest their time, their heart and soul, and sometimes their financial resources, in order to find the success they desire for themselves.

When I started my current business in 2001, quitting was not in my vocabulary. I started my business with the commitment to stick to my task until I found the success I desired. In March of 2005, I quit my day job (which required 65 hours most weeks, and 90+ hours per week during December) and risked it all on my own belief that I had laid the foundations that would make me successful in the long run. My revenues last year were three times higher than what they were, in the year that I quit working for other people.

After starting my online business, I kept my job for another three-and-a-half years, and then I went solo. I have been flying solo for just over three years now, and each year since leaving my job, I have been met with sales that continue to climb.

I recently did an analysis of my business' growth over the years since I started it. In four of six calendar years, my business grew by more than 100% in just twelve months. For those of you who are not math-savvy, that means my sales doubled in four of six years - it tripled its sales in its first full year (against a partial-year), and it doubled its sales in its third, fourth and fifth years of operation. My business is in its seventh year of operation. I will have my seventh year anniversary in October of 2008.

Overcoming All Obstacles In Your Path

If I had quit my business opportunity after only two weeks like most people do, I would still be working a job 65 hours per week at a job I mostly hated. But, because I was willing to do what was required to overcome the obstacles in my path, I now work from my home, available to my children when they need me. I was glad to leave the job world behind, especially during the Christmas shopping season when I had been required to work 90+ hours per week.

Even now as I write this article, my five-year-old is sitting behind me in my chair as he is fond of doing, and he is watching Spongebob Squarepants as I type. I listen to Spongebob more than I watch it, but I have to tell you, it is truly a funny cartoon. Spongebob's writers realize that mom and dad watch the show too, so they have been kind enough to include jokes that mom and dad can appreciate too.

Obstacles Fall When You Approach

Commitment, investment and overcoming obstacles will deliver you to success online, but "belief" will carry you forward to greatness. When you begin to believe that certain good things will come your way, the laws of the universe will stand behind you and elevate you to greatness.

The following book titles should be required reading for anyone who strives for greatness in life:

  • "Think and Grow Rich" by Napolean Hill
  • "The Laws of Success" by Napolean Hill
  • "The Magic of Thinking Big" by David J. Schwartz
  • "Think BIG and Kick Ass in Business and Life" by Donald J. Trump and Bill Zanker
  • "See You At The Top" by Zig Ziglar

  • Each of these books addresses the concept of creating and possessing a real "belief" in yourself and your potential for success. "The Magic of Thinking Big" is my personal favorite, although the book "Think and Grow Rich" runs a close second place for me.

    When you strive for a goal, you can reach it with a lot of hard work. But when you believe that your goal will absolutely be achieved by you, call it "faith" if you will, then there is nothing that could stop you from achieving your hearts' desires.

    As you gain levels of success in your business and life, you really should use those successes to strengthen your "belief" in yourself and your capabilities. At first, the "ownership of success" will be hard to accept. But, if you continuously apply your success to the foundations of your belief, you will eventually know in your heart-of-hearts that success is yours to possess.

    Do Not Be A Quitter

    After two years of failure online, many people will quit this online thing and declare to all of their friends and family that no one can succeed online. The declaration will be made as if to assure the listener that if the speaker could not do it, then no one can.

    Let me assure you of one thing. If you try to find success online in the same way that the speaker did, then you too will surely fail. But if you pick a target, commit yourself to reaching for the target, invest yourself fully in achieving your goals, overcome all obstacles that will stand in your way, and finally, believe that success is yours to possess, then you will succeed online as many of us have already done and continue to do today. I will sign-off by swiping a book title from Zig Ziglar, "See you at the top."


    About the Author:
    Bill Platt has been providing article marketing to his clients since 2001 at: http://www.thephantomwriters.com/ He offers ghost writing and article distribution services. With lots of experience writing articles that attract publishers, readers, traffic and sales to his website, Bill wrote an ebook to share the secrets of his article writing success that can be found at: http://thephantomwriters.com/ebooks/article-marketing-traffic.html


    Avoid Keyword Suicide in Your Network Marketing or Online Business

    Article Presented by:
    Copyright © 2008 Trey Pennewell



    If you're involved in Network Marketing or MLM - same thing, different verbiage - one of the biggest challenges you will have is driving traffic to your web site. Now this could be your product site or you business opportunity site.

    In many Network Marketing companies (if not all), you are given replicated web sites to send traffic too. However, there is one basic problem with that, and that is... they are replicated web sites. Your website looks exactly like the website of the other people participating with the same company. Your websites look alike, and its keywords are exactly the same. The only difference between your site and that of your neighbor is that you might get to brand your website with your own name. (What most companies fail to tell you is that the search engines frequently ignore replicated websites.)

    The most successful Network Marketers know that a replicated web site is all fine and good, but if you want to have control over the amount of traffic you send to your product or opportunity web site, you need to have a domain of your own.

    Why?

    The basic cornerstone of any web site is the keywords that the search engines are going to use to index your site. If you are using a replicated web site, the keyword structure is usually very generic and not site specific - that is the reason why search engines ignore replicated websites.

    In order to have a successful web site, you need to have control over your site, starting with the keywords of that site and the links that lead to your sales pages. Besides that, you might have more than one network marketing opportunity to promote, and you cannot promote other opportunities from your replicated websites.

    But the trick, for the lack of a better word, is NOT to fight to rank in the search engines for the same keywords everyone else is targeting.

    This would be "keyword suicide".

    Every boy and his dog are probably fighting to rank for the keywords: MLM, Network Marketing, Home based Business, and so on. Great keywords like these are all but impossible to achieve a number one listing through the organic search results (free listings in the regular search results). People who are expending their resources trying to rank for these very competitive keywords will usually go broke, before they achieve their goals or any profits.

    You should understand that you don't need the "big gun key words" to drive a huge amount of traffic to your website, and therefore to what you are promoting. Start with what is called "fringe keywords". These are less-searched keywords that are still target-specific keywords for whatever it is that you are trying to promote.

    Think about it, you can become a big fish in a little pond, if you target keyword phrases that the others have not thought of or that others did not consider worthwhile. But, if you target 100 to 200 fringe (smaller searched) keywords, which are averaging 1500 queries per day, and you multiply that by the 200 keywords your rank for, then all your targeted keywords are now getting a combined daily query of 300,000 queries a day.

    By targeting lesser-searched keywords, your chances of being listed on the first page of the search engines just went up ten-fold, maybe even one-hundred-fold. Just imagine having a first page listing on 100 or 200 search engine results pages for these lesser-searched keywords; how do you think that would affect your website traffic? I will tell you from personal experience - it could be huge!

    So where do you start?

    Well if you are like most people, you head to http://www.Google.com, http://www.Yahoo.com or even http://www.MSN.com and start researching keywords. You punch in keywords, to see who has the first page listings and then head to those sites, and check out their keywords by viewing their source code.

    Let me ask you a very important question: "Do you want to work hard, or do you want to work smart?"

    Most people will choose the path of least resistance and choose to work smart, unless they simply do not know any better.

    Doing keyword research is time consuming and it is hard work, so to make your job faster and more efficient; instead of going to Google, Yahoo and MSN to research keywords, you should be heading to http://www.Widow.com

    I know you have probably never heard of Widow Search, but I will tell you now: if you are trying to do keyword research, you should forget about http://www.WordTracker.com and all of those other paid keyword research tools. I have found in my own experience that the keyword research tools are generally flawed and offer me only one piece of information that I cannot get from Widow. The one missing component is the estimated search traffic, but if you are targeting "fringe keywords", then the volume of search is a really small consideration in your strategy.

    Widow.com is a Meta search engine. With one click of a button, you can get the listings for your keywords from Google, Yahoo, MSN, http://www.DMOZ.org and http://www.AllTheWeb.com

    Here's how Window.com works: like most Meta search engines, Widow does not own the database; it creates what is known as a virtual database. It takes your request, in this case your keyword research request, to several other search engines and/or databases and aggregates the results into a single list and displays them according to their source.

    Not only does Widow provide you information for your query from multiply search engines, it also has a Cluster Search feature. This feature is set as the default search setting; you can turn it off and just have a blended search if you prefer, but once you understand the power of a clustered search, I don't know why anyone doing keyword research would want it turned off. You can also set the number of result views per page.

    Here's how the clustering feature is a huge time saver and its many advantages. Let's use the keyword phrase "Network Marketing" as the phrase that you wish to do keyword research.

    Currently when I type in "Network Marketing", it is showing the top 10 results from the multiple search engines Widow accesses, but on the left hand side of the page is my Cluster Search Results. My cluster search results has provided links for the following:

    Resources, Company, Multi Level, Companies and Income; there are more, but these are the top five cluster results. In addition, within each one of these results are even more results. Now many people say that all a cluster is doing is to attempt to display themes within your results. Yes, that is true and that is a good thing. Remember, the strategy I am talking about here is to find the keywords on the "fringes" of the primary keyword phrases, so themed results will allow you to uncover those fringe keywords more quickly and efficiently.

    The cluster search results allows you to drill down into the set of your results and to do it all from one search engine and one search query.

    Here is the other huge advantage of using a Meta search engine like Widow, over let's say Google (the big boy on the block). Meta search engines like Widow clear away all the clutter and paid listings that are found on search engines like Google, Yahoo and MSN.

    When you think about it, all of these search results on the big three search engines are competing for space and the attention from the user, for its paid advertisers. Web crawlers are influenced by cross-linking, Google-bombing (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_bomb), and the efforts by commercial webmasters to skew the PageRank (link popularity) scores. Therefore, the result given back to you is not a true picture of the available information, because of all the influential factors that are typically associated with search, can be manipulated by commercial enterprises.

    However, a Meta engine like Widow must combine the search results and average those results (votes) from the related search engines to reveal more comprehensive and accurate results. Moreover, to keep the search result as unbiased a possible, Widow does include many paid search listings.

    This benefits the user by eliminating duplicate hits and grouping the most relevant results at the top of the list. You are now doing a more efficient search of the web, and you're doing it with one search engine. Given that the Widow Search tool also incorporates Clustered Search Results and Similar Terms in its search results, the network marketer will find the task of keyword research greatly simplified and more comprehensive, than keyword-research gathered from another source. And more beneficially, Widow Search is a free service, available not only to webmasters and network marketers, but also to the general public.

    So I ask you again "Do you want to work hard or work smart?"

    Once you have used Widow Search as often as I have, you will finally understand that the old way is the "working hard" way and Widow Search is the "working smart" way. Check it out. I am sure that after you have used it a few times, you will agree with me on this one.


    About the Author:
    Trey Pennewell is one of the dozens of ghost writers creating content for the clients of http://www.thephantomwriters.com article marketing service. Trey's articles appear on numerous blogs, including many of the blogs that accept articles from The Phantom Writers article distribution service, such as the one located at: http://byte-sized-marketing.blogspot.com


    Thursday, July 10, 2008

    How To Line Your Own Pockets With Cash From A Product Developed By Experts That Is Already In High Demand!

    Article Presented by:
    Copyright © 2007-2008 Casey Moher



    To have a successful online business, many individual components must come together to work as a machine. You can find many products out there that can be great cash-generators for you.

    Typically, the scenario when somebody is producing a product is that they will start by doing a bundle of market research. On-line marketers who wish to develop their own product must research the demand for what they envision.

    You can accomplish the same thing by taking a marked shift in your approach. A clever and very strategic approach!

    What if you could find a product already in existence that had a track-record of sales success? What a great business approach you now have available with all the product sales statistics at your fingertips as you move through the selection process. Choose whichever product you wish from among thousands.

    People today want information that can improve their income, their free-time activities, travel, education and a myriad of other areas. You now have available a huge on-line warehouse of these products.

    These products are managed by a company that does the lion's share of selling in this massive market. The producers of these information-based products actively seek to have people sell them.

    You can actually enjoy a profit of 50% to 75% of the sales price on products you choose to work with using these methods.

    A huge amount of groundwork has been accomplished for you. You simply choose which products best meet your area of interest, and which ones you think will do the best job for you. Here are the product criteria I find to be important.

    The first thing to consider is choosing a product that solves a problem. Secondly, pick a product that you would own and use. A strong sales letter together with great marketing support materials is important, too. You want to choose a product well ranked in popularity as well as a product that carries a lot of testimonials that the owner has included with the marketing information.

    Of course, you want as a product choice one that has a very attractive commission schedule.

    Make a practice of actually buying and using the product you choose. If you have first-hand experience with how your product helped you, your customers will have more trust in what you say.

    A company that does all this can be found in one stop at: http://www.clickbank.com

    Spend some time at this website so you can appreciate the products available to you for your use. At this site, you will also find rankings of all products so you can locate the best ones.

    You can set yourself up as an affiliate very quickly and easily. As quickly as you establish your affiliate account you are in position to benefit from each customer that visits and acts on your site. You simply register to get a user name (also known as a nickname) established with clickbank.

    With that nickname you are established to get credit for all the sales of any and all products that you choose for your project. More than 10,000 products are yours from which to choose.

    You can earn an amazing 75% on some products. Clickbank is noted for its very sellable products which means they amplify your marketing efforts.

    The 'product warehouse' company keeps track of everything and makes sure the product-owners pay what you are owed.

    For a very reasonable price these days, you can get your own website established. You can get visitors to your site as soon as it's ready where they can learn about the product you have chosen for them to buy.


    About the Author:
    Casey Moher - Caseymoher@comcast.net (801) 941-3334

    Mr. Moher is a Registered Pharmacist and Life-Long Marketing and Sales Professional. You Can Get His Free Five-Day Mini-Course on Building Targeted Website Traffic by visiting: http://www.newtrafficmaster.com


    Wednesday, July 9, 2008

    When You Feel So Pressured To Make Money You Can't Think

    Article Presented by:
    Copyright © 2007-2008 Mark Silver



    Your marriage falls apart, you or your partner is laid-off, or your spouse gets ill and you lose half your household income.

    The financial pressures sweep in like a sudden high tide, and as one of my clients wrote me, "I feel so pressured to make money I can't think." What do you do in a situation like this? "Forget about the bladdy-blah-blah of patience and organic growth, man! I need to make the rent like, yesterday!"

    Okay, but first you need to know about the two wings of growth.

    The Two Wings of Growth

    The Sufis teach that in our growth and development as humans, we fly on two wings: Hope, and Fear.

    The Wing of Hope is when our hearts sing. In the ego we know it as joy, in the heart as expansion, and deeper in our soul we know Hope as a state of Beauty.

    But, flap too much with one wing, and we fly in circles. Too much with the Wing of Hope can carry us into heedlessness.

    Extreme Hope leads to fantasy island, where nothing is real. In business, you can fall off the edge of the mountain because you spent so much time visioning, feeling good, having fun, that you aren't taking beneficial actions and paying attention to structures.

    So you need the Wing of Fear. Fear? Yes, Fear.

    In the ego we know it as fear, but in the heart we experience it as a natural state of contraction, and in the soul we know it as Awe and Majesty.

    A certain amount of healthy contraction is a great way to grow. How else do you get the toothpaste out of the tube, eh? Urgency about paying the bills has moved more than one amazing heart-centered person out of the shadows into the limelight of successful business.

    But, Extreme Fear is not a good thing either. Too much fear and all you do is spin your wheels, working harder and harder trying to make things happen. You forget that there is Hope, and that miracles are ever present.

    Hope and Fear- your two wings for forward movement.

    I'm still so scared about money I can't think.

    If you're in the situation above, you have to flap your hope wing. You have to break the cycle of fear. How? Take a break.

    Spiritual practice, and fun. Time in prayer, and time at the movies. Time shnuggling your partner, or child, or cat, and time on the meditation pillow resting your heart.

    Fun loosens you up, brings you hope. Spiritual connection deepens your ability to contain and experience that hope. Fun distracts you so you can back up from the problem. Spirituality lets you take another look, and see a larger Truth in your situation.

    Example: My client was panicked, and reached out for help to me, and to The Business Oasis (our heart-centered online business community). And then she also took time to hang out with her daughter and the dog, watch a movie, laugh, play, forget about her troubles for a little bit.

    And she took time in her heart to see a larger Truth about the situation.

    She came back refreshed, able to breathe and think, and to take in some of our good advice.

    And about our good advice? Well, AFTER she flapped her Hope wing with fun and spirit, then came the action steps.

    Keys to Quick Cashola (from the heart)

  • Assess your true needs.

    We have a tendency to think 'I'm making it.' or 'I'm not making it.' Look more closely. What's your true squeak-by financial needs? And how much is coming in now? The truth, not your 'hope-for.'

    Example: My client, when she looked at how her new business was performing, and her squeak-by financial needs, she saw she only needed a few hundred dollars a month to bridge the difference. That, she knew, was doable.

  • Assess your business assets.

    The only asset that means anything in this situation, aside from cash in the bank, is a list. A list of people who have already told you they are interested in what you offer.

    And, if you don't have a list like that? Who do you know that has a list? Churches, organizations, fellow business owners who have more developed businesses. People who like and trust you, who might be willing to introduce you to their list.

    Example: My client realized that she already had some dozens of people on her email list. She also knew folks who liked her work enough that they might be willing to help promote her.

  • Make me a personal offer.

    The final step is to make an offer. Don't get fancy about it- don't come up with some big seminar idea, or a shiny new product that needs to be developed.

    Create some kind of one-on-one individual support offer. Price it at a rate that feels comfortable to your heart. Don't low-ball it, but don't try to stretch too much, either. Remember, you just got yourself out of the panic zone.

    And package it so that it's not one session at a time. Take some time in your heart to ask what will it really take to get your clients results they want? Four sessions? Twelve?

    See if your heart, and perhaps some friends, can help you find a middle ground between the ultimate package that will fix everything, versus something so small that they can barely get started.

    Example: Someone in the Moneyflow class was talking about how her friends had signed up with a bodyworker for a five-session package. The results her friends were getting, after receiving a session a week for five weeks straight, really wowed her, and she's got her eye on signing up for a full five sessions.

    A single session wouldn't have created the same wow factor. It also wouldn't have done the same thing for this bodyworker's cash flow, who is getting five times the business from the same customers, merely by having a package.

    Remember first: fun and spirit. Then, what do you need to squeak by, what kind of lists of people can you access, and package your individual services. You may just be days away from getting out of the hole.

    The best to you and your business,

    Mark Silver


    About the Author:
    Mark Silver is the author of Unveiling the Heart of Your Business: How Money, Marketing and Sales can Deepen Your Heart, Heal the World, and Still Add to Your Bottom Line. He has helped hundreds of small business owners around the globe succeed in business without losing their hearts. Get three free chapters of the book online: http://www.heartofbusiness.com


  • Tuesday, July 8, 2008

    Learning More About Expired Traffic And Its Importance

    Article Presented by:
    Copyright © 2008 John Khu



    Every year millions of web portals become expired and redundant because of a number of reasons and causes. As a result of this, these web portals loose millions of hits and web site visits in the process. Most of these expired domains were once thriving businesses and money making ventures with a considerable amount of expired traffic attached to it. So, how this perceived expired traffic help you as a domain trader? Expired traffic is creating a big buzz these days and people are flocking over to buy an expired domain with expired traffic.

    Expired traffic is just like using someone else's efforts to create a significant online asset. With expired traffic, you can save your money, time and effort. If you find an expired domain with plenty of expired traffic, you are a sure winner! It is almost like adding a huge bonus to your online kitty. The rule is very simple here: If the expired domain name that you buy has a reasonably good link popularity value associated with it, it is highly probable that the expired domain in question was once thriving with plenty of site visitors.

    Thus, the most important idea here is to buy those domains that come with plenty of traffic expired and gone. You may need to isolate such domains from a big inventory of expired domain names and register the ones boasting high link values as well as traffic. It seems that such domain names are commercially viable and highly critical for your online success.

    However, there are conflicting views on the viability of expired domain that had a large amount of expired traffic in its previous avatar. While some people say that major search engines have a practice of deleting the expired domain names from their search directories, others disagree with this argument saying that major search engine do not have the time to delete all those millions of web sites from their directories. This could be a major blessing in disguise for those expired domain traders who look for expired traffic.

    The major task for you now is to locate those expiring domain names that carry plenty of expired traffic and inbound links. If you are lucky, you can even find a very good domain for a very low price of less than $50! You can use expired traffic for a number of purposes. The most important benefit of having expired traffic in your command is that you don't have to run around in search of traffic. Since the traffic is already there, with your expired domain, you can just use it immediately for your business purposes. If you are already running a web site, you can reroute the expired traffic to that site. This will help you sell you products or services with out putting extra efforts. If you feel that the expired traffic is of high quality, then you can dispose off the expired domain for a premium price. If you are a newbie, you can place your expired domain in a parking service and earn some form of income on an ongoing basis.

    However, buying expired domains based on their perceived age could be a tricky issue and you may need to learn and understand how the age of a given domain expired can really help you in your domain trading business.


    About the Author:
    John Khu is an author and also a seasoned professional with vast experience in expired domain name business. He is the owner of the path breaking web site called http://www.expireddomainsecret.com which provides complete and up-to-date information on expired domains and their eternal secrets.


    Sunday, July 6, 2008

    Beware Of Magic Beans - A Warning To Newbie Internet Marketers

    Article Presented by:
    Copyright © 2008 Bill Platt



    John (and other newbie online marketers),

    Let me ask you a question. Why would you ever send out an email that destroys your own credibility? Credibility is absolutely essential to the success of any company on the Internet. And yet, you lied to me in your email, multiple times.

    Lies? Yes, that is a strong word. Would you prefer me to suggest that you exhibited "extreme ignorance"?

    I know that you likely have some very clever software that you are using to construct and mail your sales offers to folks.

    Your only salvation here is that I know you likely made only one mistake. You trusted your handy-dandy software package to take good care of your business interests.

    But your software has failed you.

    The first problem in your mailing appears in the first and second paragraphs.

    "I was recently reviewing automobiles ezine sites in some of the major search engines and I came across your web site: www.thephantomwriters.com."

    "After reviewing your site I found that we are both targeting the exact same market, though we are not in competition with each other."

    It is obvious that you really did not review my website, or you would not have written your sales message as you did. But then again, I also know that your nifty little software package wrote the actual sales script for you.

    Later in your message, you also said,

    "I offer this partnership very selectively, so please do act fast if you wish to go ahead with this."

    Here is another lie that your software's nifty little sales script tagged to "your reputation". If you were selective about who you offered this too, you would never have contacted me. After all, I only have about 20 pages related to the automotive industry - in more than 6000 pages on The Phantom Writers website.

    The truth is that ThePhantomWriters.com is not an automotive website!!! It does not even have its own ezine!!!

    But, you know what? I decided to check out your offer anyway, because I actually do own an automotive website at a different URL. I am always on the search for monetization offers for my various websites, so I gave you a shot.

    At the beginning and end of your message, you referred to my "automotive website", and you offered an affiliate program to enable my "automotive ezine" to earn money.

    The biggest disappointment I found in your message is that your affiliate program has absolutely nothing to do with automobiles or the automotive industry. Nope. You are soliciting me to sign up for an affiliate program, to sell web hosting services to my visitors!!! Yes, it is true that most website owners own cars, but not all car owners own websites!

    John H. (last name withheld for obvious reasons), I have news for you. My company specializes in the creation of informational and tutorial-style articles and in the distribution of those articles to publishers on the World Wide Web, for the purpose of promoting my clients' websites.

    You know what else John? In responding to your email, I just wrote my newest article. The good news is that you are going to be famous!!! The bad news is that you are going to be famous for all of the wrong reasons...


    About the Author:
    Bill Platt - Owner of http://thePhantomWriters.com
    The Phantom Writers specializes in creating and distributing informational articles for the promotion of our clients' websites. Even if you write your own articles, we can help you out by distributing your articles to our network of ezine publishers, website owners, blog owners and newspaper websites. http://thephantomwriters.com/x.pl/tpw/info/nutshell.html


    Wednesday, July 2, 2008

    A Comparison of Paid Search Advertising Models

    Article Presented by:
    Copyright © 2008 Bill Platt



    As webmasters, we are all chasing customers. We are looking for human visitors to come to our websites and to buy what we are selling.

    To serve our needs for targeted traffic --- potential customers --- the search companies have begun to offer us a share of their significant traffic through many paid advertising methods.

    The most common advertising offer at the search engines is the PPC (Pay-Per-Click) advertising model. There are also other search advertising models such as CPM (Cost Per Thousand Impressions) and Featured Listings.

    In this article, we will look at the advantages and disadvantages of each advertising method.


    PPC (PAY-PER-CLICK) ADVERTISING MODEL

    By far, PPC is currently the most popular advertising model. From the buyer's perspective, it is usually the most expensive type of advertising and the one that generates the most fear of fraud. In fact, many experts suggest that click-fraud might be as high as 20 to 25% of all click-traffic.

    Pay-Per-Click is exactly what it sounds like. The advertiser bids on keywords and tells the advertising company that they will pay X number of cents or dollars for every click that they receive to their website through the PPC-provider's website.

    Advertisers compete for position within the search results with the highest bidder getting the best advertising spot at the top of the results. The second highest bidder gets the #2 spot, etc.

    Generally, Pay-Per-Click providers serve three listings on the first page of search results. Only when there is strong competition for a particular keyword term and a number of advertisers vying for placement, will the PPC-provider show results with more than three advertisers.

    If you bid the minimum five cents per click (the standard for most PPC systems), then it is possible that you might not see your listing on page one or page two of the search results. Let's face it; PPC providers are interested in making the most money they can from the traffic they send to people. So, if one advertiser is paying a dollar per click and you are only bidding five cents a click, who do you think will receive the best placement? Yep, the one-dollar per click advertiser will get the most attention and the best placement, even if it requires pushing your placement back to page three of the search results.

    The top two PPC-providers are:

    http://adwords.google.com/ http://www.content.overture.com/d/ - Now owned by Yahoo!

    Other not-so-well-known providers of PPC traffic, in alphabetical order, include:

    http://www.411web.com/ http://www.7search.com/ http://www.abcsearch.com/ http://www.adbrite.com/ http://www.ask.com/ http://www.brainfox.com/ http://www.enhance.com/ http://www.kanoodle.com/ http://search.looksmart.com/ http://www.lycos.com/ http://www.miva.com/ - Formerly FindWhat.com http://www.search123.com/ http://www.searchfeed.com/ http://turbo10.com/

    The biggest advantage to these systems is that they serve large pools of consumers online, and they let you target specific search keywords.

    The disadvantages are numerous. Those most often cited include: the high cost of bids for certain keywords, poor conversion rates on purchased clicks, and click fraud (generally regarded as people clicking your link just so they can get paid for it).

    Personally, I have paid as high as a dollar per-click for a service that sells for $35, and $20 in volume. I have spoken to others who operate for-profit websites and have paid as much as $2.50 per click on an average keyword. In some really competitive markets, people pay as much as $30 per click.

    If you use the Web-Professor bid tool to check keywords at Overture ( http://web-professor.net/tools/bidstats/ ) and you type in the keyword "mesothelioma", you'll find 30 bidders vying for that term and a maximum bid of $29.88 per click! If the maximum bidder converts traffic to sales at the national average of 3%, then he or she is paying an average of $900 to get one client! Insane, but true.


    CPM (COST PER THOUSAND IMPRESSIONS) ADVERTISING MODEL

    CPM advertising is most often associated with banner advertising, but can now be purchased for text ads as well. This type of advertising is available from many sources, including:

    http://adwords.google.com/ http://www.realtechnetwork.com/ http://www.joetec.net/

    CPM advertising can be cheaper than PPC, but it fails to address the effectiveness of your advertising copy. Before undertaking a large CPM campaign, you need to be confident your advertising copy will deliver results.

    As with any other type of advertising, you need to track click- through and conversion rates to determine the advertising copy that is most effective for your business.

    You also need to have a solid understanding of how many impressions it will take to generate a visitor, and how many visitors you will need to generate one sale. And, on the backside, you will need to know what the average earnings from your sales will be. With these stats in hand, you'll know how much you can afford to pay for CPM advertising or any other type of advertising.

    Using Google Adwords, you can buy CPM advertising for as little as $2 per thousand impressions. The one time I went that route, thinking my advertising might be cheaper, I ended up dropping $180 in three days with only one sale to show for my investment - -- utilizing the exact same ad that generated a 4% click-through rate (CTR) in Google's PPC advertising system.

    The major appeal of CPM advertising is its perceived low-cost, with rates ranging between $2 - $3 per thousand impressions.

    The major disadvantage to this type of advertising is that you need a good handle on how well your advertising is performing. Your advertising copy can make or break you. Additionally, you need to keep an eye on your advertising budget. From first hand experience, I can tell you that although CPM advertising can appear inexpensive, it can in short order surpass the costs of PPC advertising.


    FEATURED LISTING ADVERTISING MODEL

    Featured listings differ from the other two advertising models in that you do not pay for "ad clicks" or "ad impressions". With featured listings, your advertisement appears in the purchased location for 30 days, 90 days, or one year.

    Featured listings can be bought on individual websites and even on networks of websites. Below are a few examples of advertising networks that offer featured listings:


    Geek Files ( http://www.geekfiles.com/advertising/ )

    Geek Files offers various Featured Listing placement options with ad rates ranging from $19 to $179 per month. You get two months free if you buy advertising for a full year.


    Aardvark Travel ( http://www.aardvarktravel.net/featured/ )

    Aardvark Travel is a travel search engine. Featured listings appear in a colored box between the top five listings and the bottom five listings in the travel-related search results. There is a $50 setup fee for each Featured Listing and a $10 per month recurring charge for as long as you keep your listing active. Aardvark claims featured listings generate 40 times more clicks than any other listings on their pages.


    The Independent Search Engine and Directory Network ( http://www.isedn.org/ )

    The ISEDN offers a program that allows you to purchase Top Ten exposure for your website(s) across their network of 200 plus member websites.

    The network is comprised of specialized search engines, search directories, and article directories. Featured Listing placements for specific keywords are displayed across the entire ISEDN system.

    The cost of a keyword term (the word or phrase associated with the listing) is $12 for three months or $36 for 12 months. The price drops for each additional 5 listings you purchase. If you are buying in volume, discounts can be significant. For example, the cost for 16 to 100 listings is $6 per listing for 3 months and $18 per listing for 12 months.

    The main drawback to the ISEDN program is that the network, although large, does not yet have the traffic volume of the major engines.

    The major benefit, of course, is that you can buy a lot more bang for your advertising dollars. Additionally, you can see your ads appearing on pages in a position that will attract more attention and click-through traffic to your website.


    WHICH ADVERTISING MODEL IS RIGHT FOR YOU?

    It really depends on your business model. More so, it depends on your absolute click-through averages and your website conversion rates.

    Your advertising needs to cost you no more than what it earns for you. Ideally, your advertising will cost less than it earns for you.

    Some businesses trade on the lifetime value of customers and are willing to pay more to get customers than what they earn on their first sale, but not all of us can afford to build a customer base in the same way that Amazon built theirs.

    If your advertising budget is small, your goal should be to make every advertising dollar count. Grow your business to the point where you might be able to afford some of the more expensive advertising solutions. But then, if the lower-cost solutions generate sales for you, why would you want to pay more?


    About the Author:



    How To Measure The Effectiveness Of Your Article Marketing Campaigns

    Article Presented by:
    Copyright © 2008 Bill Platt



    I frequently rant on Internet marketing and some of the gurus who try to bend your ear. Why? Because many of these so-called gurus trash everything that makes sense in this Internet world, especially when they realize that they cannot make money from the techniques being recommended.

    I don't preach marketing concepts solely for the purpose of selling my products and services. (If you happen to buy my products or services, then awesome, but that is not my point when I share information from my SEO and other marketing campaigns.) I preach the concepts that I have used for myself successfully. Either you can trust me and test the things I recommend, or you can listen to the gurus and drown yourself in pity, when you realize you are not finding the success you seek.

    I present things in such a way that anyone can actually go out and try my suggestions on their own, with or without my help. I want you to at least try what I suggest. I don't want you to try once, but I want you to commit yourself giving the suggested methods a chance to work for you.

    Yes, I preach article marketing in connection with building link popularity value for your website (and I operate an article marketing company). But, I am not the only article marketing company out there. So, it remains possible for you to employ my article marketing techniques, without actually using my services specifically. (If you want to use my services, great, but you don't have to do so.)

    Frequently, new customers come along and say, "Bill, I am going to try this once. If it works out for me, I will be back." My response is often, "Dude, you are selling yourself short, when you do something just once!"

    As a person who has only written one article, you are just one in thousands of uncommitted, wannabe article writers. Your article may very likely be overlooked, because the publishers do not yet know your name or why they should care that you are writing articles.

    When publishers have seen your name, 3, 4 or 10 times, then they are more likely to open your articles to see if they like your writing style and to see why they should pay attention to your message. Once publishers begin to pay attention to what you write, then publishers will open more of your articles, and perhaps publish your articles more frequently.

    When you do a one-time out article, you are riding solely on a prayer, for success. (I am not in the prayer business - please see your pastor for that service.) But, if you can commit yourself to ten articles, your chance for article marketing success has been improved tenfold.

    The first thing that needs to happen for article marketing to work for the promotion of your website is for you to create great content that other people want to publish. Then you must get noticed by the (ezine and website) publishers that will want to publish your articles. Once you have an audience, don't let them down --- keep giving them more content so that they can turn to you always.

    To express this point, let me share a couple names with you. How many of you have heard of Willie Crawford? Willie has written and distributed 123 articles through my program, and he has 140,000 search results for his name in Google (http://www.google.com/search?q=%22willie+crawford%22).

    My friend Clinton Douglas IV has written and distributed 36 articles. Google credits him with 17,500 mentions in the Google search results for his name (http://www.google.com/search?q=%22clinton+douglas+iv%22).

    Both of these gentlemen suggest that they rely primarily upon articles to build their presence online. Of course, Willie is somewhat of an exception, since he has his fingers in so many pies. But, Willie still attributes much of his success to article marketing.

    When it is time to measure your article marketing success, you should never go to Google's public search results and pull a simple search for your name or a link:yourdomainurl.com search. You should not even go to Yahoo's Site Explorer to find the same inforamtion.

    Instead of relying on the public records for inbound link counts, you should register your website in Google's Webmaster Tools control panel at: http://www.google.com/webmasters

    On the public side of Google, my site shows 33 inbound links (http://www.google.com/search?q=link%3Athephantomwriters.com) and Yahoo Site Explorer credits me with 1,478 inbound links. But, inside of Google's Webmaster Tools, I have +10,000 inbound links according to Google's records. I am not going to divulge exactly how many inbound links I have (according to Google's Webmaster Tools), but even I was surprised by the strength of my link counts.

    The fact is that Google will only show you a really small sampling of the inbound links for your website, and while Yahoo is more free with this information, they also fail to show anything more than just a small snippet of the number of links you will actually have for your website.

    So, if you are truly interested in learning the value that you created with your article marketing campaign, you absolutely have to login to Google's Webmaster Tools to get to the truth of the matter.

    But, building links is just one facet of a successful article marketing campaign. There is also the reputation you build for yourself when you teach your readers something of real value in your articles. There is the consistent traffic you can receive to your website when your article is published on a website that has a regular audience. And there is the surges of traffic you can receive to your website when your article is published in a large newsletter.

    I have always tried to play straight with folks, so please take this advice as it is intended. If you are only going to do one article to see where article marketing can take you, spend your money on paid advertising instead. But, if you really believe that those of us who have written hundreds of articles do so, because this marketing method works, then make a serious commitment to seeing an article marketing campaign through to success.




    About the Author:
    Bill Platt has been providing article marketing to his clients since 2001 at: http://www.thephantomwriters.com/ He offers ghost writing and article distribution services. With lots of experience writing articles that attract publishers, readers, traffic and sales to his website, Bill wrote an ebook to share the secrets of his article writing success that can be found at: http://thephantomwriters.com/ebooks/article-marketing-traffic.html


    Get More Targeted Traffic To Your Site

    Article Presented by:
    Copyright © 2007-2008 Casey Moher



    There are dozens of good ways to send people to your website. These methods come with a wide variety of results and difficulty. As much as possible, I've worked with and tested many of them. Here's a run-down on one that I believe is highly effective.

    Give Your Visitors A Free Gift:

    Information that can truly be a help to your visitors is a great place to start. The right information can truly make someone's life better.

    Overcoming an ever-present hurdle in the form of inherent mis-trust on the part of your visitor will always be with you. Overcoming this hurdle is vital to the success of your venture.

    Your focus should be to find and share valuable information. An on-line approach is the most efficient way to find and distribute valuable information. It doesn't take much search time before you will be discovering subjects and information that folks want to know. Once you find the topics being sought-for, you will want to spend your time learning and writing about them.

    One strategy you can employ is to share the information in the form of a multi-day mini-course that people can receive from you. You will find more success if you spend the time necessary to make this a high-quality gift. Extra effort at this point will increase the value of your subscriber list. Very little cash takes you a long way in this project.

    You will be offering to share this information in exchange for your visitor's name and e-mail address. The best way to perform this information capture function is to use a 'squeeze page'. Establishing a squeeze page can readily be done starting with a simple website.

    Some very professional design work is available at affordable prices these days. In a very short time, your own squeeze page can be activated and running.

    You can have your own squeeze page up and running fast, just let me know. You can move things to auto-pilot function starting with these strategits.

    With care, your subscriber list can be cultivated and a long-term relationship built with the members. Your efforts can become continually more rewarding all the time for all concerned as you move forward with this venture.

    You can reach people around the entire world and provide them with value using your valuable products, services and information. You can be paid very well in the process.

    Here's another way to utilize the power of free information to build good will and interest before a person ever visits your website There are a number of methods, strategies and delivery formats available to you. Take the time and whatever the minimal expense is to do a professional job.

    Remember that your internet visitor is there because of a desire and a need for some basic information. Put their needs first and realize they did not log on looking for an opportunity to send some cash your way. You have to overcome an always-present barrier of doubt in your visitor's mind. Provide valuable information at no cost and you will quickly erode the doubts. Valuable information can be found readily on the internet. You also likely have more information and knowledge of your own than you realize. A quick search of some key-word tools will reveal to you the topics of interest and need of large groups of people.

    The whole key to making article writing and publishing work for you lies in NOT trying to sell something to the reader right away. If you write a self-serving article that is really a sales promotion, it will be very transparent. You will have done more to alienate and push people away than to pull them close. After your article has presented the information, it's fine for you to include a resource box at the end. The resource box gives your name, website address and what the reader will benefit when they visit it.

    Everything got much easier in the article-publishing process recently. There is some new software out there that makes the process push-button easy. This program keeps content unique and speeds things up tremendously. Science and industry now have the capacity to produce, publish and distribute articles to thousands of readers.

    You will do well to include article publishing and distribution in your long-range strategy. Automation and professional publishing services can reach thousands of readers very quickly. If you want more information on these useful tools (or anything else in this article), just contact me.


    About the Author:
    Casey Moher - Caseymoher@comcast.net (801) 941-3334

    Mr. Moher is a Registered Pharmacist and Life-Long Marketing and Sales Professional. You Can Get His Free Five-Day Mini-Course on Building Targeted Website Traffic by visiting: http://www.newtrafficmaster.com


    SEO Contests Are Gaining Industry Respect

    Article Presented by:
    Copyright © 2008 Bill Platt



    Search Engine Optimization companies have been around as long as there have been search engines. In the early days, I ignored SEO contests as a tasteless attempt to spam up the search engines, especially when I saw target search terms such as: "nigritude ultramarine", "seraphim proudleduck", and "v7ndotcom elursrebmem". But, my initial attitudes towards SEO contests have changed.

    The first SEO contest was the "nigritude ultramarine" competition, and it offered an iPod as the grand prize for the contest. That contest was actually offered by the Search Guild. This contest ran for 60 days. At the end of the competition, whichever websites held the top two listings in the Google search results, for the target keyword phrase, would win the top two prizes.

    The conceptual purpose of the SEO contest is to bring the sharpest minds in search optimization to the table and give them a chance to prove themselves on a level playing field against their top competitors. At the end of the contest, most contest sponsors ask the winners to share some of their secrets for success. By design, it will produce two outcomes: those who really know their stuff get to shine in a public spotlight, and it may help industry practitioners improve their technique.

    All was happy in the SEO community, until they saw the "v7ndotcom elursrebmem" contest, which was offering cash prizes. Many people felt that the sponsor of that campaign acted in poor taste when he admitted that he was putting up the money for the contest, on the premise of actually driving link popularity to his own website. Read more about that controversy here.

    These days, it does not seem to be such a bad thing for people to sponsor SEO contests that help pass link popularity back to their own websites. In fact, the practice seems to be pretty commonplace. Personally, I don't see it as a bad thing really, since the person putting up the money for the contest is seldom a person with the simplest of altruistic motives.

    While the Search Guild was no slouch, I did not actually pay attention to SEO contests, until which time I had seen that Search Engine Journal was playing the game. All of a sudden, I started paying attention.

    In early June of 2008, I was browsing the Digital Point forums and I saw a mention of a new SEO contest. So, I popped in for a quick look.

    I searched the target keyword phrase in Google and realized that the contest was so new that only fifty web pages were competing at that time. One of the top ranking posts was one made by the Search Engine Journal, so I read their post. I had been expecting them to be slamming the practice, but I realized that they were playing the game along with everyone else.

    Of course, I have an axe of my own to grind. I have told people for years that if they used article marketing smartly, then they could successfully utilize article marketing to influence Google, Yahoo and MSN's search listing for specific keywords. For a time, I had even operated a SEO link building service at http://www.linksandtraffic.com for the purpose of selling folks a service that enabled them to get the same kind of ranking value I was getting for my own websites.

    Links and Traffic was a successful enterprise until which time Google's Matt Cutts started to question "paid links" and to inform the Internet marketing community that "paid links" were a big no-no in Google's search algorithms. But, customers never really understood that Google views links derived from article marketing differently, than links purchased on high PageRank pages, solely for the purpose of buying PageRank value.

    I left Links and Traffic in place, but I took my own link building services off the table, until which time the marketplace began to understand that links derived from article marketing were different from links that were outright purchased. If I were to tell you how many inbound links I have successfully derived from article marketing for my websites (as evidenced in my Google Webmaster Tools console), you would fall over. If you understood how many keywords I rank for in the top search engines, you would probably scream.

    So, I had my own axe to grind. I saw the Blackhat Fish contest to be a perfect opportunity to showcase how I actually practice what I preach, and deliver what I promise by moving my websites up in the search results for my target keywords, utilizing article marketing as a primary tool in my SEO arsenal and SEO philosophy.

    We are still a couple of weeks from the conclusion of this particular contest, and my full rollout is still in progress, but I am bouncing between page one and page two of Google's search results, against what is at this time 233,000 results for this keyword phrase in Google.

    Some SEO gurus have told me for years that they think I am full of crap, but the proof is in the pudding. If I am so full of crap, as some of these so-called experts would have you believe, then how is it that my blog post titled, "Whitehat vs. Blackhat: Fish For Links or Die Trying", is holding its own against some of the most influential SEO companies on the Internet? Check the Google link above to see how I am doing against the professionals... The proof is in the pudding.

    If you fancy yourself to be good at search engine optimization, or if you are like me and you want to test your own skills against the big boys, then bookmark the http://www.seocontests.info website and visit often enough to keep up on what is going on in the SEO contest world. Of course, not all SEO contests get posted on this website, so keep an eye to the various forums as well, to catch the news of upcoming and current SEO contests.

    Wouldn't it be so cool if we the people could outrank the professionals in a few of these SEO contests? I don't actually think I will win this competition, but it would be more than awesome if at the end of this contest, I was sitting on page one of the search results, while all of the pro's are sitting scratching their heads as to how they were outperformed by a person they have so many times referred to as an amateur. ;-)

    At the end of the day, it really does not matter to me if I win this competition or if I gain the respect of my peers. What matters to me is that I know how I can help "my" websites win in the search ranking game, for the keywords that matter to my business and my bottom line. In the long run, I will make much more money selling my products and services, than I ever will make winning a single SEO contest. So, I am just going to keep doing what it is that I do to strengthen my own search rankings, and if I win a contest or two along the way, sweet.




    About the Author:
    Bill Platt has been providing article marketing to his clients since 2001 at: http://www.thephantomwriters.com/ He offers ghost writing and article distribution services. With lots of experience writing articles that attract publishers, readers, traffic and sales to his website, Bill wrote an ebook to share the secrets of his article writing success that can be found at: http://thephantomwriters.com/ebooks/article-marketing-traffic.html


    Tuesday, July 1, 2008

    How Do You Grab A Top-Selling Product And Put It To Work In Your On-Line Business?

    Article Presented by:
    Copyright © 2007-2008 Casey Moher



    Hi, this is Casey Moher.

    To have a successful online business, many individual components must come together to work as a machine. Let's discuss how you go about creating ( or finding) and evaluating a product you can sell online.

    Website owners who create their own products to sell have much of work ahead of them. On-line marketers who wish to develop their own product must research the demand for what they envision.

    This can also be done with a very different strategy and approach. This is an approach that makes all the difference in what you do.

    You are miles ahead of the game RIGHT NOW because you have available to you products you can work with that sell like hotcakes! With these methods I am describing, you have all the product research done before you ever begin. The choice is yours as to which product of the thousands availale you would like to have.

    People today want information that can improve their income, their free-time activities, travel, education and a myriad of other areas. You now have available a huge on-line warehouse of these products.

    These products are managed by a company that does the lion's share of selling in this massive market. The producers of these information-based products actively seek to have people sell them.

    Your commissions can range from 50% to 75%.

    Again, all the 'heavy lifting' has been done for you. The fun part is in choosing a product that interests you and that you feel will do the best job for you. These are the considerations I use as guidelines for product selection.

    Choose a product that solves a problem. It is also critical that you select a product you would use. A product with a great sales letter will serve you better also. Look for testimonials from satisfied customers as well as popularity rankings of the product you are considering.

    Also, pay attention to the commission schedule provided for you.

    Buying and using the product that will be sold on your website makes for better results all around. If you have first-hand experience with how your product helped you, your customers will have more trust in what you say.

    A company that does all this can be found in one stop at: http://www.clickbank.com

    Spend some time at this website so you can appreciate the products available to you for your use. At this site, you will also find rankings of all products so you can locate the best ones.

    Becoming an affiliate is a very easy matter. Once you are set up as an affiliate, you are qualified to receive a commission on each sale you are credited for. You simply register to get a user name (also known as a nickname) established with clickbank.

    With that nickname you are established to get credit for all the sales of any and all products that you choose for your project. More than 10,000 products are yours from which to choose.

    Remember, commissions run as high as 75%! Clickbank is noted for its very sellable products which means they amplify your marketing efforts.

    Clickbank also manages all partner relationships for you. You always get paid what you're owed.

    For a very reasonable price these days, you can get your own website established. You can get visitors to your site as soon as it's ready where they can learn about the product you have chosen for them to buy.


    About the Author:
    Casey Moher - Caseymoher@comcast.net (801) 941-3334

    Mr. Moher is a Registered Pharmacist and Life-Long Marketing and Sales Professional. You Can Get His Free Five-Day Mini-Course on Building Targeted Website Traffic by visiting: http://www.newtrafficmaster.com