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Archive for October, 2005

What Posting Articles Online did for my Google Page Rank in90 Days

Friday, October 21st, 2005

What Posting Articles Online did for my Google Page Rank in
90 Days
Dr. Lynella Grant

Article Marketing Builds Momentum and Traffic
When I started submitting articles to ezines and directories
I was happy just to get an occasional article written and
widely posted online. I assumed that was the point. But I’ve
since learned about equally important considerations–like
the Page Rank of the site where it appears.

Each article was written to inform and appeal to the human
readers. Search engines were incidental in my mind. I wasn’t
systematic about submitting new ones on a regular basis so
they built momentum. Nor was I careful to emphasize my
website’s keywords and principal theme. But I do now–it
matters. Despite that, the articles already posted have been
hard at work for me.

My list of places for submitting keeps expanding. And it’s
further refined with every article posted. After a year and
a half, that’s a large list (nearly a thousand). And I’m a
known quantity with sites and ezines that consistently post
my contributions. My best-received article to date shows 181
Google mentions (with their related incoming links).

Starting from Zero Online Visibility
I launched a new website mid-June, 2004, using article
marketing as the primary traffic-building strategy (Yellow
Page Sage, getting your Yellow Page ad and website working
together). The first article was a strong one, getting 135
Google cites.

Over the next three months I wrote and posted seven articles
related to Yellow Pages or Local Search. The website also
provided extensive information about Yellow Page advertising
by other authors–making it very sticky and content-rich.

Creating an Article 12-pack
After they were submitted to my list, I combined those seven
articles with five of my prior marketing articles – twelve
in all (with a link to each article). Instead of offering
them as onesees, I now send the whole batch (letting the
receiver pick what they want).

I prepared a letter offering the 12-pack, asking if they want
to receive similar future ones. That letter is only sent to
websites I’ve visited. I’d never offer it to a site unless
there’s a good fit. Sending out the 12-pack is an ongoing
activity, and another way to expand my list. Some websites
have posted the whole set – twelve return links from one
letter!

Surprise! Google Noticed me!
Since I was busy getting the site polished and launched, it
caught me by surprise that in two months my Google Page Rank
was 3/10 (the first time I checked). And the following month
it had climbed to PR 4/10 – without doing anything but post
seven articles. I didn’t yet realize it was getting extra
mileage because of the strength of my list. So moving to PR
5/10 can’t be too far off, can it?

Then I started paying serious attention to Page Rank–the
posting site’s AND mine. Page Rank shows the extra
importance that Google gives to the number and popularity of
websites linking to yours. Links from higher Page Rank pages
elevate your Page Rank.

Two Things I didn’t Know When I Started Posting Articles
First – I posted my articles to get website traffic and
incoming links (via the Sig at the end of each article). I
treated every article appearance as equivalent. But Google
doesn’t. All those articles appearing in high-Page-Rank
directories were giving an extra boost to my score.

So I’ve re-assessed my list. Websites with higher Page Rank
are now my “A List.” Articles that they publish are doing my
Page Rank way more good than other places. Of course, I
still need to post widely and pursue both types of links.

Second – I didn’t realize that the “Page Rank of a website”
doesn’t exist. Every page on a site has its own Page Rank.
(Although there are ways to make every page on the website
share the same Page Rank, it’s not widely done.) So a home
page with PR 7/10 that links to mine from a PR 3/10 interior
page only provides a PR 3/10 link. That awareness influences
who and how I link with other websites anymore. And it
dictates the way I organize external links on my own
websites.

Get a Free a Page Rank Tool
To assess other sites, you need a Page Rank tool. You can
compare multiple sites at

http://www.phplivesupport.com/google_pagerank.php

Lilengine.com provides a free Page Rank Tool. Use theirs, or
you can post it on your own website.

http://www.lilengine.com/tools/pagerank-tool.php

Articles Give your Ideas a High Profile all Over the
Internet
The benefits of article marketing are well documented. And
if it can build your Page Rank as well, it’s even a better
use of your time. Start writing and posting articles that
show your expertise. And start getting the traffic and
attention you’d been wishing for.

bio = –Dr. Lynella Grant http://www.promotewitharticles.com Use posted articles to build your business Expert in the “body language of printed materials” Author, The Business Card Book and Yellow Page Smarts grant@promotewitharticles.com (719) 395-9450

Popularity: 6% [?]

A $2.95 Road Trip, Complete With Souvenirs

Friday, October 21st, 2005

“Hey, I didn’t know you were a writer, I thought you were a Virtual Assistant.”

No matter how many times I hear this comment it still surprises me. I learned early on that writing was one of the most lucrative services that I could offer in my virtual assistance business, not to mention an incredible means of free marketing.

I have discovered a valuable resource for writing assignments and other types of work. The Freelance Work Exchange is an innovative web site that incorporates nearly every aspect of the freelance process. It features the components with which you are familiar as well as those for which you may not have an accurate understanding, and quite possibly, some aspects about which you have never even heard.

As with most legitimate professional freelance web sites, membership at http://tinyurl.com/3v69r is on a paid basis. In this case, membership is paid on a monthly basis at the standard rate of $29.95 per month. You may feel this is excessive especially since you don’t know exactly what the value of membership is actually going to deliver for you.

Since this is the perspective of the average person, me included, the Freelance Work Exchange has a solution for addressing your questions directly. And no, you don’t have to submit an e-mail with a list of questions and then wait for a reply. All you have to do is take advantage of the Freelance Work Exchange’s valuable test drive.

For only $2.95 you can literally test drive the Freelance Work Exchange with a 7-day temporary membership. Unlike most other trial memberships that offer very limited access and no access at all to members’ only features, the Freelance Work Exchange gives you the run of the road. In other words, you don’t just get to drive it around the block; you get to actually make a real road trip with your temporary membership.

Guess what? The Freelance Work Exchange even gives you some souvenirs to make your road trip worth your while. Here’s what your $2.95 is going to net you, even if you decide at the end of the 7-day trial that one trip was enough for you.

* Unlimited 24/7 Access to Professional Members Area

For 7 days, you’re going to be able to explore and take advantage of each component of the Professional Members Area at the Freelance Work Exchange. This doesn’t mean that you get to read about them, but that you get to make full use of each member’s only component.

* Freelance Job Report

You will receive immediate access to the current issue of this Freelance Work Exchange professional edition bi-weekly newsletter, which is a paid subscription. Each issue features career advice and strategies as well as hot freelance job opportunities.

* The Jobs Database

Okay, so the Freelance Work Exchange has a freelance job bank, but so do other freelance web sites. However, this site actually allows you to use your test drive to go through the process of finding projects and applying for them. This will give you a good idea of how the site works for you without an ongoing commitment.

Categories in The Jobs Database include:

* Writing, Editing and Proofreading
* Design & Illustration
* Programming & Software Development
* Consultancy
* Administrative & Miscellaneous
* Work-at-Home

* Million Dollar Freelancing

The Freelance Work Exchange publishes this valuable freelancer’s publication feature in serialized format. A perk that you receive as a temporary member is a free subscription offer. You’ll receive this innovative publication in chapter-by-chapter format delivered directly to your e-mail address.

If you decide that Million Dollar Freelancing offers no value to you, you can simply discontinue your subscription anytime you choose. The Freelance Work Exchange will promptly remove you from this subscriber list.

* Featured Freelance Listing

The Freelance Work Exchange offers all its members the opportunity to purchase a “feature” listing as a freelancer for the price of $50.00 for a 1-month listing or $100.00 for a 3-month listing. This same offer is available to you as a temporary member. If you purchase a Featured Freelance Listing and decide not to continue with a monthly membership, you still have the benefit of having your professional profile featured for the period for which you purchased it.

* Freelance Billing Rates

A common issue among freelance writers and service providers is how to determine rates for professional services. Freelance Work Exchange has reduced it to black and white for you. Taken directly from the U.S. Department of Labor is a chart featuring average rates for various professional services. For some specific freelance services, there is an indicated range of from low to high.

True, you can find this information yourself for free at the U.S. DOL’s web site, but you will have to dig for it. The Freelance Work Exchange has done the digging for you.

* Gold Seal of Professional Membership

As a supportive service to its professional members, the Freelance Work Exchange has published a Freelance Code of Practice for which it has also created an image or graphics design. Your temporary membership entitles you to post this Gold Seal of Professional Membership directly at your own web site, provided that you are also willing to link to the Freelance Code of Practice.

What better way to declare your professional status than by associating yourself with a highly recognizable Gold Seal of Professional Membership? It will add a significant recognition factor of your professional expertise.

* Searchable Newsletter Archive

Not only does your 7-day temporary membership grant you access to current newsletter content, but it also grants you access to all the archived newsletters as well. Simply enter a keyword search to find a listing of relevant articles that you can actually read.

* Categorized Newsletter Search

If a keyword search is not your preferred method of finding information on a particular subject, Freelance Work Exchange features a categorical listing from which you can search for an article on a particular topic. Immediate access is provided to this feature with your temporary membership. You can read an unlimited amount of articles with seven days about any category that interests you.

* Priority Resume Bank

The Freelance Work Exchange gives you a genuine first chance opportunity for consideration with its recurring employer client base. It has established many solid relationships with employers for whom they provide freelance referrals as needed. As a temporary member, you are invited to submit your resume and/or other professional credentials via its online form for their review and inclusion in its exclusive group of professionals whom they refer to various employers.

There is no additional fee for reviewing your resume and maintaining it in the Priority Resume Bank for employer consideration.

* Freelance Job Finder

The Freelance Work Exchange features a meta search tool that you can use to do a quick search for freelance opportunities currently posted at all the major online job markets. This is an incredible timesaver that gives you an instant overview of what is available instead of having to go to each major employment web site and do an individual search.

* The Big List

For convenient viewing, the Freelance Work Exchange maintains a current listing of over 100 freelance markets grouped categorically. It’s a deep goldmine of places for marketing your services.

* Totally Free Software

The only thing better than free software is software that is free and useful to you. The Freelance Work Exchange reviews the benefits of several premium freelance software products to which it has linked directly for easily downloading. Again, you can find this information and the free downloads yourself on the Internet, but you’ll invest more than $2.95 worth of your valuable time searching for it.

* E-Mail Support

The Freelance Work Exchange publishes a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page in which it details specific information about the various features it offers. If you need assistance beyond what is provided there, it will gladly provide additional support for you via e-mail.

* Your Free E-Book on Viral Freelancing

Immediately upon purchasing a $2.95 membership, you have access to this innovative publication. Simply download it and save it to your desktop.

This valuable e-book is filled with easy how-to ways to boost your freelance earnings. Even if you decide not to continue your membership after the 7-day road trip, you still get to keep Your Free E-Book on Viral Freelancing. This feature alone is worth a considerable purchase price.

* Special Report – The Formula For Success

A proven reality, the Freelance Work Exchange gives you immediate access to a simple 5-part business plan for achieving success as a freelance professional. This intriguing report is delivered via download in Adobe Acrobat or PDF file and makes genuine common sense from what can be a complicated prospect.

Simply download the file and save it to your computer. You get to keep this valuable report even if you decide to cancel your membership your 7-day road trip.

* Post Your Own Job

The Freelance Work Exchange offers an online job submission form that allows you to submit your own specific job for inclusion in The Jobs Database. This valuable feature is available free of charge during your 7-Day membership period. It is a perfect opportunity to find an editor, a ghostwriter or simply an extra pair of hands to assist you as needed.

For the members’ only fee of $20.00, you can upgrade your job to a Featured Job Listing for placement in the Freelance Job Report Newsletter. This is a very nominal fee considering that the subscriber base of the newsletter currently exceeds 120,000. That means more than 120,000 talented freelance professionals are actually paying to see your job posting.

* Featured Members Specials Offering 30% Discount

During your Freelance Work Exchange road trip, you’ll have the opportunity to enjoy a 30% discount on Featured Member Specials such as professional resume writing services and web design services as well as other valuable resources such as the Work At Home Success Kit.

Okay, so that’s the map to your 7-day Freelance Work Exchange road trip. The final destination at which you arrive is yours to determine. Answer one question though before postponing your temporary membership purchase … just one. And my question is…

What previous $2.95 investment has ever netted you as much professional mileage?

(c) 2004, Davis Virtual Assistance. All rights in all media reserved. Permission for reprint granted to all venues so long as they are opt-in.
bio = Bonnie Jo Davis is a Virtual Assistant and the webmaster of the Articles That Sell Center. To join her no cost, unique monthly marketing e-zine visit http://www.ArticlesThatSell.com/newsletter.htm

Popularity: 5% [?]

Jump-start Your Link Building (without Getting Sandboxed)

Friday, October 21st, 2005

Link popularity has been written about ad nauseum, but most articles address the subject from a perspective circa 2001. The available information usually focuses on topics such as reciprocal linking or the current price of a PR6 link. But following outdated link building advice is more likely to get your Web site penalized than it is to help you gain top rankings.

Google’s increasingly sophisticated algorithm has largely caught on to PageRank brokers and has successfully filtered out the benefits of many bought links, as well as those of reciprocal links. The risk of obtaining these types of links is even greater for a new site, as detection of an “unnatural” link structure has recently gotten many sites “sandboxed” to the bottom of the SERPs. For this reason, a link popularity campaign must be conducted carefully and yield relevant, “natural” links.

The methods described in this article will give your Web site backlinks that fit the following criteria, which are important for keeping a site out of the “sandbox”:

1) The link is on a Web page that is hosted on a unique IP address.
2) The link is on a Web page that itself has a unique, wholly independent set of backlinks.
3) The link is on a Web page that is at least loosely relevant to your Web site’s topic.
4) The link is created within a week.

Numbers 1-3 are important so that your Web site’s new backlinks are independent and natural, and do not trip a filter in the search engine algorithm; number 4 ensures that you can move on to more advanced link building tactics before your competition gets further ahead.

Directories

Directories have always been cited as a basic starting point for a link popularity campaign. Listings in the Open Directory Project and the Yahoo! Directory ensure that a site will be spidered and indexed quickly and also provide a reputable backlink. In the past few years however many general and niche directories have sprung up, most charging a yearly or one-time fee to be listed. Webmasters have questioned the ROI from being listed in these second-tier directories, as most provide little traffic and charge 10-50 USD per listing.

But listings in these directories provide important link popularity benefits for a Web site. A link from a directory fits the four criteria we laid out above-each of these directories has a unique set of backlinks and is hosted on a unique IP, the site’s URL will be placed on a topical page, and all of the directories review and add new submissions within a week. With directory listings alone, a new Web site can gain a few dozen quality backlinks for under 1000 USD (not counting Yahoo!). Aaron Wall of SEO Book has provided a good list of directories at http://www.seobook.com/archives/000166.shtml.

Press Releases

Press Releases provide an opportunity to announce your Web site, and just as importantly, provide a backlink to your Web site from a relevant page (it had better be relevant-after all, it’s an article about your Web site!). A press release should be well-written and submitted to multiple newswires. In less than a week, it will be published on its own Web page by each newswire and possibly by the newswires’ syndication partners as well. The writer should be sure to include a link in the body of the press release in http://www.mysite.com format. Again, these backlinks meet the four criteria we laid out above. Newswires usually charge a fee to publish a press release, although a few offer this service for free. You can view the Open Directory Project’s category of press release services at http://dmoz.org/Computers/Internet/Web_Design_and_Development/Promotion/Press_Release_Services/.

Articles

Another great method for gaining quality backlinks, as well as publicity, is to write and publish a helpful article. The author can write a relevant, informative piece on your Web site’s subject, which of course includes a link to your Web site in http://www.mysite.com format. General “how-to” sites (and often, news sites in your particular niche) accept article submissions and will often reprint a relevant, well-written piece. It’s free content for them, and a backlink for you-a win-win situation. The author of THIS article swears by this method, and once again notes that it fits all four of our criteria for a timely and quality backlink. Aaron Wall of SEO Book has provided a list of Web sites that accept article submissions at http://www.seobook.com/archives/000099.shtml.

Just Say `No’

Although it may be tempting, you should stay away from reciprocal linking, except in the rare case where the link is relevant and helpful to your visitors. Likewise, you should avoid renting links from link brokers or networks; the links they sell are usually filtered by Google. These two types of links will have a minimal impact on your search engine rankings anyway and may even get your Web site “sandboxed.”

Instead, seek quality one-way inbound links by the methods described in this article; if you have exhausted these tactics, or if you have run out of money, you can always beg for links from relevant Web sites. If your site contains quality, original content, you may not even need to beg!

Conclusion

The success of a search engine optimization campaign depends greatly upon link popularity. Getting a Web site listed in directories, distributing press releases and submitting articles for syndication are three ways to gain a slew of legitimate backlinks from unique IPs relatively quickly. This will keep the site out of the “sandbox” and give any SEO campaign a sound link structure to build upon.
bio = Andy Hagans is a search engine optimization consultant who specializes in link building and risk management. Visit http://www.andyhagans.com/ for more information.

Popularity: 6% [?]

What the Internet Marketing gurus are doing that you are not.

Friday, October 21st, 2005

Do you want to join the well known gurus like Terry Dean, Willie Crawford, Jimmy D. Brown, Micheal Green, Jim Daniels, etc in bringing highly targeted visitors to your website weekly without spending a dime in adverts?

If yes, then write articles and send to article directories, article banks, article announcement lists and ezine editors on a constant basis.

Terry Dean uses it consistently to bring highly targeted traffic to his websites. At one time he said that he could stop advertising and writing TODAY and still will generate well over 50% of his traffic for years to come…all because of free articles.

Micheal Green confessed that he is making thousands of dollars in sales, for each article that he writes. He also said that EVERY leading marketer that he knows includes “article writing” in their TOP THREE most-used promotional strategies.

Willie Crawford said anytime he writes, his articles are published on many other websites, so each article becomes a mini-system which continues to bring in new site visitors and subscribers for YEARS.

Jim Daniels even calls writing article his “web traffic magnet” because it brought him 8,000 visitors per month in just his second month of existence. Now it contributes in bringing him over 100,000 visitors a month… without fail.

Jim Edwards revealed that he recently received 23,234 targeted visits (which converted to $5,864.41 in sales) in just 1 month from over 1,651 different sources – many of which came from his articles.

Jimmy D. Brown said you can write an article in half an hour, send it out to publishers and *literally* have your article in front of tens of thousands of subscribers in as little as a few hours.

Shelley Lowery advised that by writing articles and allowing them to be freely published, they will have the potential to be viewed by millions of Internet users!

All these Internet marketing gurus cannot be wrong about the potentials of writing and sending articles.

It actually works.

I can go on and on showing you how the well known Internet gurus are using articles to bring highly targeted traffic to their sites that translates to thousands of dollars in sales month after month, but I am sure you get the point.

To join them in making good use of this free but highly effective Internet marketing technique, do the following:

First, write an article around your key target topic or around any of your products. Make sure the article is very helpful and would be enjoyable to anyone who reads it.

Secondly, take the time to edit the article to make sure it is devoid of grammatical and spelling mistakes.

Thirdly, get a large collection of article directories, article banks, article announcement lists and ezine publishers to send the article to.

A few article directories/banks to submit are:

http://www.1st-in-articles.com/submit-article.cfm

http://www.1-website-promotion-internet-marketing-services.com/submit-articles.htm

http://www.adswise.com/submit_articles.shtml

http://www.advisor.com/wtips.nsf/submitarticle?open

http://www.affiliatesdirectory.com/ezine/ezine-submissions.shtml

http://www.all-4-all.co.il/article_add_form.asp

http://www.allbusiness.com/contact_us/article_submission.asp

http://www.allmerchants.com/submit-article.php

http://www.alumbo.com/submitcontent.html

http://www.articleannouncer.com/add-own.php

http://www.articlecity.com/article_submission.shtml

http://www.articlefinders.com/submit.html

http://www.articlepoint.com/submit-article.php

http://www.articleresponder.com/addarticle.php

http://www.articlesthatsell.com/submityourarticle.htm

http://www.articlewarehouse.com/SubmitArticle.aspx

http://www.awomaninbusiness.com/writers.html

When you have succeeded in sending your article to at least 100 directories/banks, announcement lists and as many ezine publishers related to your topic, you can then sit back and watch your website traffic increase consistently… and ultimately your sales.

If you still want to know more about the potentials of writing articles and exactly how to get started, download a free ebook here: http://www.nigerianscambuster.com/freeebook.html

The ebook contains expert tips by well known gurus about the How and Why of article writing and submission. It will show you all you need to learn to start profiting from article writing and submission.

Publishers, you are welcome to reprint this article in its entirety provided you retain the below resource box and include this notice, plus I will appreciate if you can notify me of the day(s) you will be running it.

bio = ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Josey Teby is giving only 50 people FREE access to his private article resource of 250+ article directories, 50+ article announcement lists and ‘active’ email addresses of ezine publishers that you can submit your articles to. Visit the site below quickly to beat 50 other people to it: http://www.nigerianscambuster.com/freeaccess.html

Popularity: 6% [?]

Simple speed readng experiments

Friday, October 21st, 2005

Time is money, and the more time is saved, the more can be applied to more important, or interesting endeavors. It seems like no matter how quickly we learn to do something. It can never be done quickly enough.

Read the words back to front

Ability to concentrate on the problem is one of the constituent parts of the successful mental work. Try to train your ability to concentrate by means of mental reading of the words in back to front position.
When you mentally read a word back to front you should imagine it by the letters and then to read these letters. For example “word” – “draw”, “tell’ – “let”. If your consciousness is distracted on a strange object, you instantly loose the thread of reading and you have to make the exercise again. In that way you can train your attention.
These exercises can be done in the public transport to make the most of the uselessly loosing time to your benefit. Begin with the simple words consisting of four letters. Gradually try to deal with longer words.
You can use free flash training Reading the words back to front. www.ababasoft.com/words/back_words.html

Breathing and reading

Breathing is also a good way to improve your rate in which you read. Try to take solid deep breaths instead of short quick breaths. This will allow you to calm down and try to read with more concentration.

Metronome reading

Place the text before yourself and give yourself the command execute this instruction clearly and dynamic.ÿ Do two frication of eyes on each line of the text. One click of metronome – one eyes jump! Work in this mode 1-2 minutes. Adjust velocity of the metronome upper. Continue to execute the task. First time the rate of metronome seem to be very high. Through several seconds (through how much?) you will sense that the rate was slow. Your mind adapts for current task and ready for the next task.
Say yourself thank you! It is necessary to do business with yourself with care. The brain can good adapt for new condition.
You see, the maximum speaking rate is 400 words per minute.ÿÿÿ If you say the words to yourself (even silently) as you read, you will never be able to read any faster than the maximum speaking rate.ÿ This is known as the “subvocalization barrier”.

The Speed Reading software can increases your mental processing speed to the point of “synchronization” and breaking the subvocalization barrier, it can also help you attain speeds far beyond what was once considered possible.

You can use free flash training Metronome. www.ababasoft.com/subvocalization/

Two vertical lines

If you use a glass ‘anti-glare’ screen, draw 2 vertical lines in felt-tip, 5 cm. apart, so that you have a strip 5 cm. wide located over the middle of the text you are reading.
Now move your eyes in a ‘Z’ pattern down this central strip, at a speed faster slightly faster than is comfortable. Because your Mind is not reading each word, it is forced to ‘fill in the gaps’. This engages much more of the Mind, since it has to build associations and patterns in the written material. This in turn leads to greater comprehension and increased memory of what was read. This technique takes advantage of the fact that much of written English is highly redundant; a lot of words can be skipped without any loss of meaning.

Strips reading

Cut up the text on three perpendicular strips. Place the piece before yourself. Make the one-inch blanks between the strips.Read quickly. The more speed of reading then more understanding. Soon you will not notice the space between the strips. Shift central strip in any order. Creating the brain maximum inconvenience. Let the works for brain! Feel the eases. Pack the strips in initial order.
Read the text. What do you feel?
You can use free flash training Strips reading. www.ababasoft.com/words/strips.html

Read first sentence

Since often the first sentence of each paragraph states the main idea of that paragraph, while the other sentences elaborate on that idea, you can skim read by just reading the first sentences. In some cases, you can get enough information by only reading the first sentence from each paragraph.
Unfortunately, some writers make their paragraphs so long, that they have several ideas in them, and others stick the important sentences in the middle. In such cases, you can’t use the first sentence method effectively.
Browse through the publication – front words or backwards – so that you get to know what’s in it and where it’s located. Notice the layout and how the information is presented. Notice the table of contents and any special sections. Don’t be too serious – it’s best to be playful.

Notice which articles pique your interest, but don’t read them yet. Catch titles, subtitles, pictures, and charts. When you find something interesting, think of how you can use it–reading for information should be a goal seeking activity. Decide how much time you can afford, and then go for it.

Follow this tip and your reading will become purposeful, active, questioning and goal oriented…this means you save time and get more information from the time you spend reading!

Do not read not every word

Ask you friend to guess the sentence from the text. Try to find it as faster as you can. Training develops selective ability of the brain. Sometimes you do not necessary to read whole text, but need to find important information by several key words.
While you are performing the exercise try to fix the subconsciousness condition. What happen in the brain when you find the answer? What you see, what you hear, what you feel? Is the word, which you searching for have the color (bright, red, twinkling, dark, pale). What happen with other words? Do you pronounce words (what voice, what tone)? What comes with your hand, belly, throat and eye when you find? Continue the list of the questions.
Try to understand how do you read (I know it funny). Understanding helps you to make your plan of speed-read developing.
You can use free flash training Perseption reading. www.ababasoft.com/words/

Wider eye-span

Develop a wider eye-span. This will help you read more than one word at a glance. Since written material is less meaningful if read word by word, this will help you learn to read by phrases or thought units.
Instead of reading single words one at a time, read them in groups of 2, 3 or 4. As you fixate on each group by minimising the time you spend on each fixation. To overcome the problems of back skipping and regression use a guide such as your finger or perhaps a pen or pencil. These ideas are very simple concepts that can have a powerful effect on your reading speed if you practice them and make them a habit.
You can use free flash training Strips reading. www.ababasoft.com/wider_eye_span/

Active reading

When you are reading a document in detail, it often helps if you highlight, underline and annotate it as you go on. This emphasizes information in your mind, and helps you to review important points later.
Doing this also helps to keep your mind focused on the material and stops it wandering.
This is obviously only something to do if you own the document! If you find that active reading helps, then it may be worth photocopying information in more expensive texts. You can then read and mark the photocopies.
If you are worried about destroying the material, ask yourself how much your investment of time is worth. If the benefit you get by active reading reasonably exceeds the value of the book, then the book is disposable.

Think for a moment, what you read

You were taught to read with your tongue because you were taught to read by being taught to speak. Want to enjoy what you read? Think for a moment, what were the best books you’ve ever read in your life? The ones you enjoyed the most?
I’m going to bet they were the best books for you because your imagination was totally engrossed in the book. Thus your brain was working at a much higher capacity when you were using your imagination.

www.ababasoft.com – speed reading articles, tips and soft
bio = I am flash programmer. 34. daughter. Live in Russia.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Make Your Financial Dreams A Reality

Friday, October 21st, 2005

Tons of opportunities for you to achieve financial freedom are flooding into your inbox every single day. You’ve probably have opened one or two and have attempted their suggestions. For those of you that their ideas didn’t pan out. Today is your lucky day, because this opportunity is the real deal. Turn your financial dreams into reality right this second.

You must be wondering how is this program different than all the other programs promising to make me money? The secret to this program is it’ll give you tips on how to keep money coming in day after day,month after month, year after year for the rest of your life. Don’t wait, this knowledge is an absolute must have. Don’t let this great opportunity slip through your fingertips. Check out my website right now.

www.peopleaffiliates.com
Angela Huggins

P.S. My site contains tons of freebies you’ll love, these include Get Out of Debt System,Secrets of Internet Millionaires,Internet Income Course,A Money Making Site set up for you,Home Business Training Articles,Affiliate Programs, and much more.
bio = My site will give you financial success
www.peopleaffiliates.com
Angela Huggins

Popularity: 5% [?]

How to acquire one way inbound links

Friday, October 21st, 2005

How To Acquire One Way Inbound Links.

By Salihu Ibrahim.

http://www.ebizstartups.com

How can one get a good ranking in the major search engines ? This is a question, I’m sure, agitates the minds of every newbie as well as professional webmaster. Even those that are doing well are fighting to keep their place. But isn’t there a way to consistently appear in a good position at the major search engines? I think there are ways to achieve this enviable position. One of the ways is what this article is all about. That is, consistently build one way inbound links to your site. Getting other webmasters to link to your site without you linking back.

Link Popularity, link prominence or link reputation is one of the most important elements search engines use to know if a site is an authority site. That is a quality site. However, like all other search engine ranking criteria, webmasters have found ways to beat this hurdle of link popularity. This they have done by exchanging links with one another. This is called reciprocal linking. You link to me and I to you and both of us have increased our link popularity by one.

Webmaster have realized the importance search engines attached to link popularity for top search engine positioning and have therefore resorted to reciprocal linking. However, in the near future this strategy will become obsolete, because these links are artificial links. Not generated voluntarily. And so they do not indicate a site as being an authority site.

The purpose of reciprocal linking is to increase link prominence for top search engine positioning and not necessarily for the benefit of web surfers. The search engines will recognize this. I predict that they will start taking this into account when they are changing their algorithms . The webmaster that will survive is one that consistently builds one way inbound links to his site. These types of links are the best. It portrays a site as being an authority site because the site is linked to naturally by other webmasters. Without reciprocal links.

Webmasters would not like to link to just any site unless there is some benefit for their site or site visitors. In this modern world nothing goes for nothing. A webmaster will only link to your site if there is some benefit for his site.

Why webmasters would link voluntarily.

Now in order for you to succeed in this one way inbound link building strategy, you need to know some of these benefits that lead webmaster to link voluntarily. If you like, call it the carrot. In accepting and eating the carrot the webmaster is led to link to your site. Let’s look at some these benefits before we look at how they can be used to entice webmasters to link to you.

1. Webmasters would want to provide good, important and timely information for their visitors. If your site has this information, they will readily link to you. They could for example, point their visitors to a free resource at your site.
2. Webmasters recognize the fact that providing good information creates a good image for their site. Visitors will get to know that the site is a good resource site even though the resource might not be located there. This keeps visitors coming back again and again.
3. There is also the benefit of linking to an authority site. Search engines do award some points for linking to an authority site. Contrary to popular belief that this reduces the overall link popularity of a site, it actually benefits that page . This is my practical experience.

Now how do you acquire these one way inbound links?

1. Provide some useful resource at your site. This is a very powerful incentive for webmasters to link to your site. More so, if this resource is free. It could be a free tool , free software download, free content etc. This gives an incentive for webmasters to point their visitors at this resource. Some the resources you could provide are:

(a) Link popularity check tool
(b) Meta tag generator
(c) Search engine page analyzer
(d) Free CGI scripts
(e) Search engine page ranking check tool etc.

For free and paid scripts go to Hotscript.com or Searchscripts.com. There you will find all kinds of scripts that perform specific functions. Or you can hire a programmer to write a custom script for you. You will find programmers at many sites such as Elance.com.

2. Write good articles and submit to article sites, article syndicate sites and ezine announcement sites. Your article will be published along with your byline with a link pointing to your site. Make sure that the text link has your keywords in it and not your domain name. For example, < a href=" http://www.ebizstartups.com"> home base business ideas and not www.ebizstartups.com

Webmasters are always looking for good content for their websites . Stating in your article that your byline be left intact you will have many one way inbound links pointing at your site in no time. If you cannot write, hire a writer to write your articles for you. There are many places on the net where you can hire a writer for as little as $5 per article. This depends on the number of words per article. One of these places to hire a writer is Elance.com.
Writing in your area of expertise is better. Then you can present your own unique perspective to the topic. If it is not your area of expertise then be sure to research the topic very well . An incisive, well-written article will be snapped up and published by other webmasters, thereby increasing your link popularity considerably.

3. Another way to build your one way inbound link is to participate intensively in newsgroups and discussion forums. By making good and valuable contributions (postings) you establish yourself as an expert. Always try to be different and stand out. Others will see this and check out your profile. This will lead them to check out your site and eventually link to it. If signature files are allowed in the forum use a well-crafted signature file that will pull forum members to your site

4. Enter your site for an award at award sites. If your site is selected for an award, a link is placed to your site and this increases your one way inbound links.

5. You could also acquire one way inbound links by offering to provide testimonials for products you have purchased. Send the manufacturer of the product or service an email offering to provide a testimonial at his site or sales page in return for a link back to your site.

6. Submit your site to directories. Especially, niche or specialist directories. Regional directories are also okay. Submitting your site to specialist directories gives your site a greater chance of being picked up by the search engines than when you submit to a general directory. Also consider paying for submission to some important directories. For a fee, these directories will index your site in their database within two to five business days. For a list of search engines and directories you can submit to for free and for a fee go to add url to directories. Consider hiring a link building company to do your link popularity campaign for you. One of such company is linkexpress.com For a fee they will guarantee a certain number of quality one way inbound links to your site. This might be expensive but the investment will surely pay off with traffic from free search engines.

8. You can offer a discount to webmaster on services you provide at your site in return for a link from their sites.

9. If you have goods or services for sale consider setting up an affiliate program. This is a very good way of rapidly building your link prominence. Make sure your affiliate software is hosted on your server. This ensures that your affiliates’ links point back to your site . Using an affiliate service will most likely mean affiliate links will be pointing at their server, thereby depriving you of links. One very good affiliate software is ASSOTRAC.

Some points to note when building one way inbound links.

Your link popularity increases as websites link to you. However, it must be said that it is not the number but the quality of the links that is important. That is, emphasis should be on quality and not quantity. Not all links are equal. Some are more favored (carry more weight) than others. Some of the things to keep in mind when carrying out inbound links are;

1. Look for quality sites to acquire links from. A link from Dmoz or Yahoo has more weight than one from a small private web site. Submit to free or paid listings in important directories.

2. The way other sites link to you is very important. Try as much as possible, to see that your keywords are in the text link that is linking to you and not your domain name. With your keywords in the text link it portrays your site as an authority site for the keyword.

3. Acquire links from complementary sites. Sites that are in the same industry as yours, but are not your competitors. Links from these type of sites have more weight than from those that are not related to your site.

4. Links from specialist or niche directories also carry more weight than those from less important general directories and your links are easier to find by the search engines.
When submitting to directories, especially for a fee, be sure to choose a relevant category that is not deep down in the directory. Your listing should be at most three clicks away from the home page of the directory. Some engines will not spider deep down.

5. If you have several websites, link them together in such a way that the links are one way inbound links, and not reciprocal links. Also don’t share the same IP address for the sites. All the sites should have unique IPs. This you can ensure by using a different host for each web site.

Conclusion.

Acquiring one way inbound links is the future of link popularity. Sooner the search engines will recognize the artificial nature of reciprocal linking in judging authority sites and will discount this in their algorithm or award less points (weight) to reciprocal links. The methods listed above in acquiring one way inbound links are basic, must do actions for every webmaster wishing to stay long at the top of the search engines.

The author has been earning his living online since 2000. For comprehensive home base business ideas check out one of his sites at http://www.ebizstartups.com There you will find solid, easy-to-do strategies for building a successful home base business.

bio = Salihu Ibrahim.
The author has worked online since 2000. The report is based on the author’s years of intensive Google adwords campaign experience. For more incisive articles on home base business ideas, check out his website at http://www.ebizstartups.com OR You can subscribe to his bimonthly newsletter BIZWISE by sending a blank email to bizwise@ebizstartups.com with subscribe as the subject

Popularity: 6% [?]

Google adwords made easy

Friday, October 21st, 2005

Google adwords made easy

A very Simple, Step by Step, Roadmap to Google adwords Success.

By Salihu Ibrahim

http://www.ebizstartups.com

Getting started.
The aim of any Google adwords campaign is to turn a profit. Whether tangible or intangible. Maybe you are looking to make more sales by generating very targeted traffic or have more visitors sign up for your ezine, download a free or trial software, free ebook etc. Ultimately the aim is to have a good return on your investment (ROI)
.
However, the immediate goals of your campaign is to
1. Have a high click through Rate (CTR)
2. and a low Cost per click (CPC).

These two parameters, together, put your ad in a good position (typical 1st to 6th position) on the search results page.
Google adwords is unlike other pay per click search engines where the highest bidder gets the highest position. Google wants to present the most relevant ads, matched with the keywords that generated these ads to searchers. So that a high click through rate means your ad is relevant to searchers even if the CPC is low.

If Your ad is presented (impressions) 1000 times and the CTR is less than 0.5% of the number of impressions, your ad gets slowed by Google and could eventually be disabled. If you ad is slowed you can edit it and run it again.

So here is your dilemma. To generate a decent CTR you need a good position. To get a good position you need a popular (competitive) keyword. Using a popular keyword means you will have to bid high. Yet you want a low CPC in the range of $0.05 to 0.10.

What to do? Look for not so popular keywords. Obscure keywords that few people use to search in your industry. Very few advertisers will be using them too. Identify many of these keywords. Make sure they are targetted. Add all the obscure keywords together. This will give you a good list that will generate a good amount of impressions, good CTR and at a low CPC.

Looking for good and obscure keywords

Use the keyword tools to check for currently used keywords, related keywords and alternative keywords. You can use the tools at:

1. Overture tool at http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/
2. Google tool at http://adwords.google.com/select/main?and=keywordsandbox
3. wordtracker at http://www.wordtracker.com
4. Espotting at http://www.espotting.com/popups/keywordgenbox.asp

How to discover your obscure keywords

There are various ways to discover obscure keywords related to your industry or search term.
1. Use keywords with very low search count at Overture keyword suggestion tool. These are not competitive Keywords. They are not often searched on. But remember you are trying to add all obscure keywords to make a great keyword list.
2. Add variations to the keywords generated above. For example market to markets, marketing, marketers marketable.
3. Check your website log and fish out keywords searchers are already using to locate your site or product. You will be surprised at what people type into search engines to locate your site.
4. Use the Thesaurus and dictionary to check for alternative words synonyms. You can use more than one type of dictionary. When checking for meaning of words, you will often see in the description, alternative words with same meaning as the word you are checking for.
5. Ask friends, family members, what words they will use when searching for your product or the theme for your Website.

NOTE: Always keep in mind that, what the keyword tools will give you is a tiny fraction of what millions of people use on the Web. The keyword tools at overture won’t give you those keyword count because very few numbers of people use them at a time or period.

Features Provided by Google to Achieve your desired CTR

(1) Exact Match
(2) Phrase Match
(3) Broad Match
(4) Negative Keywords

Exact Match: To designate your keywords for exact match, put them in brackets. For example, (niche markets). So your ad will only show if “niche markets”, without the quotes, is searched for. It won’t show up for market niche. This is a highly targeted way of getting visitors to your site. Unfortunately, you will get very few impressions using the exact match feature. Though your CTR may be high.

How to use it

Use exact match feature when you are bidding on competitive keywords. Because of the low number of impressions exact match generates, not many advertisers maybe using it. So experiment and at the same time try to lower your cost per click (CPC).
Phrase Match: To designate your keywords for phase match include them in quotes. For example “niche markets”. Your ad will appear when these words are searched for at the search engine. Also when words are added to those. Example, “building niche markets” or “niche markets discovery”. The main keywords will always appear in the other which you set it. That is, niche markets and not market niche. Your ads will not appear for “niche successful markets”. The phrase match generates many impressions. Though not as targeted as the exact match, it more targeted than the broad match option.

How to use it.

This is the feature you will most likely be using often . Build a good keyword list. In the niche market example, you will not appear for niche marketers or niche marketing so include these and others in your keyword list.
One important feature you should use with your phrase match option is the negative keyword. This is explained below. Negative keywords help to make your keywords more targetted by allowing Google not to add them to your main keywords.When you designate a keyword as negative, Google will not add it when you are using phrase or broad match. If not, Negative keywords could make your keywords to have different meaning than what you intended. For example, a word like free. If you are not offering anything for free and free is added to your main keywords, then clicks to your site might be wasted and costing you money. So designating the word free as a negative keyword will make Google not to add it to your keywords

Broad Match: Broad match is the default setting for Google adwords and your ad is automatically shown for expanded match, plurals and other variations. So be sure to remember to change it when starting a campaign. Choosing the broad match feature allows Google to add other words to your main keywords. This makes this feature to be the least targeted. It produces the most impressions and probably the most CTR. But due to its non-targeted nature, could produce very low conversions or ROI. Using the “niche markets” example in broad match, you could have your ads displayed for searches on “locating niche markets”, “niche markets ideas, “succeeding in marketing niches” etc. your keywords will come out in many variations in plurals.

How to use it.

To have an appreciable success in using broad match, you need:
(1) To build three and four keyword phrases. This limits the number of words Google adds to your keywords phrases.
(2) Build a good and extensive negative keyword list.
(3) Use the Google keywords suggestion tool. It will show you words that will appear with your keywords. That is expanded matches.

Negative Keywords: This feature is used to eliminate words that could be added to your main keywords. For example, the word free. Just add a minus in front of the word ( -free ) to make it negative, this word will not be added to your keywords. Example, if your keywords are “niche ideas”. Your ads will not show for “free niche ideas”.
It is extremely important to use this feature so as to eliminate unwanted keywords, unwanted meanings and untargeted keyword phrases.
This is also important when you are dealing with children’s products. You will need to eliminate porn words so that your money is not wasted. Imagine a user searching for adult content and clicking to your site. Use of negative keywords is an additional way of making your keywords more targeted when you are using the phrase match or broad match options.
One tool you can use to search out negative keywords is at http://www.ebooksdeal.com/cgi-bin/keywordtool/keywordtool.cgi.

How to build a good campaign structure:

A good campaign structure saves you loads of time and contributes immensely to a successful adwords campaign.

Campaign 1 Campaign 2 Campaign 3

Adgroup 1 Adgroup 2 Adgroup 3

Ads 1 Ads 2 Ads 3 Ads 4
Keywords keywords keywords keywords.

Google adwords gives you the flexibility to test your ads as much as you want. You can delete ads that are not giving you the right CPC,CTR or ROI. Create more ads to take the place of the deleted ads. Test as many ads as you like until you attain your desired CTR or CPC.
But you can only do this if your campaign is properly structured and set out well from the start.
You need to know what ads and in what adgroup(s), associated with what keywords, are giving you the required results. And those that are not. So that you can quickly delete the unwanted ads. On this basis you can set out your campaign structure as indicated above. For example, explaining campaign 1.
Start testing your large keyword list by distributing them among the different adgroups. Group keywords that are:
1. closely related in one adgroup.
2. group keywords that are highly competitive in another adgroup.
3. group keywords that are not competitive.
4. group keywords that are in plural
5. group keywords with misspelled words etc.

If you have different kinds of products with different keywords, create one adgroup for each product. This allows you to create ads specific to keywords for each product . So, you don’t have general ads which apply to all your keywords.

The general idea is to group your keywords as you like them so that you can easily identify which ones are producing the required results.

For each adgroup you can now create different ads. For easy management , 2 or 3 ads per adgroup is okay. I use two ads per adgroup. You can use the same set of keywords you have allocated per adgroup for ads 1, 2, 3. the only difference in the ads will be the title and description. At the ads level you can change any ad that is performing below expectation. delete and write new ads. If it is the keywords that are performing badly, delete that adgroup and create another. However, do not get into the habit of creating and deleting adgoups. If you test and track your results properly at the ads level you will not need to replace any adgroup after deleting it. Your result would have shown you that the keywords for that adgroup are not profitable and need not be used again. You then research new obscure keywords that you can use.

Note: If you use the same keywords for more than one adgroup only one adgroup will be shown at any point in time. Also Google optimizes ads on an adgroup basis not on keywords basis. Better performing ads gets shown more often. For example,

Keyword : “high heel shoes”
Ad #1 15% CTR
AD #2 5% CTR

When high heel shoes is searched on ad #1 shows more often than ad #2.

Keyword: “low heel shoes”
Ad #1 10% CTR
Ad #2 20% CTR

When low heel shoes is searched on ad #2 shows more often than ad #1.

However, you can choose to remove the optimization feature so that you can test all your ads equally.

Achieving your goals

(1) Producing your best impressions. You need to present your ads to the right searcher ( visitor ). This is important so your ads are not displayed to the wrong searchers, thereby generating wasteful clicks. For best impressions-
(i) good keyword research
(ii) good negative keywords
(iii) use phrase match

(2) Producing your best CTR. The click through Rate (CTR) is the number of times your ad is clicked on compared to the number of times it is viewed, in percentage. So if out of 100 impressions (views) your ad gets clicked once, your CTR is 1%. To produce your best CTR put your main keywords in the title and description of your ads. Example, keyword phrase is “niche markets”.

Title: Discover niche markets
Description: Download software for discovering
Niche markets fast.
URL: http://www.yourdomain.com/niche.html

A user searching for niche markets will be instantly drawn to your title because it same as what he is looking for. The title catches the eyes and the searcher is drawn in to read the description. The description also talks about niche markets. Before you know it.click. and one very targeted visitor has gone to your website. This type of keywords – title – description gets the most targeted clicks in a adword campaign.

(3) Achieving your best return on investment (ROI). To produce your best ROI you must apply the keyword – title – description approach described above. This gets the searcher to your landing page. The landing page is the page your visitor will first see after clicking on your ad. This page must be specific to the product you are selling or the action you want the searcher to take. Do not send the searcher to your home page unless the action you want the searcher to take is there.
So it is keyword – title – description – landing page. You don’t want the searcher looking all over your website for what has been described in your ad. Also do not frustrate the searcher by a slow loading page.

(4) Achieving your best cost per click (CPC). The ultimate aim of every advertiser is to have minimum CPC while maintaining a good ad position. Typically position 1 to 6. Even though writing good and enticing ads is the key to a good CTR, having a good keyword list is the key to many targeted impressions. A combination of these two will produce your best CPC.

Tips and Tricks

(1) Keyword variation. Here are some easy ways to generate variations in your keywords.

(i) Make keywords plural. Example, niche market to niche markets.
(ii) Adding the ing to verb words. Example, market to marketing.
(iii) Adding er. Example, market to marketer.
(iv) Adding or. Example, invest to investor.
(v) Adding ment. Example, invest to investment
(vi) Adding -. Example ebusiness to e-business.
(vii) Combining and separating words . Example, Web site to Website.
(viii) Common misspellings . Example, successful to successfull
(ix) Interchange words . Example, niche marketing to marketing niche.
(x) Replace words . Example, marketing niche to marketing segment.
(xi) Use American and English spellings. Example, vigor and vigour.

Use these anywhere it is possible in your keywords or keyword phrase.

(2) Tweaking your ad copy: Are your ads attracting enough clicks? . Here are some ways you can use to generate ideas for greater CTR ads.
(i) Study the ads of your competitors. Study the way title and descriptions are written.
(ii) look at the regular result pages when you type in your keywords at Google search engine. Study the description and the title of the sites that come up.
(iii) Use very specific words like download, free, trial etc if it is relevant to your campaign.
(iv) Include the price of your product if you know that it has a comparative advantage.
(v) Emphasize benefits to users in your ads.
(vi) Write out your ad in the best possible way. Do not, at first, limit yourself to the number of words allowed. When you are satisfied then try to reduce it to number of words allowed per line.

(3) Tracking: Tracking the results of your campaign is about the most important aspect of your adwords campaign after building a great keyword list. Tracking helps to indicate where your campaign is heading, good or bad. You need to carefully follow your impressions, CPC, position, etc. All these are present in the report panel of the adwords interface.

GOOGLE ADWORDS SCENERIOS

There are different situations you will find yourself as you try to achieve and maintain a profitable adwords campaign. Sometimes, you will find that adjusting certain parameters might improve or get worsen your the campaign. The trick is to test. Don’t be afraid to test . It is only by testing that you can really get to understand how adwords works and then master it.

Let’s look at some situations we might find ourselves in while running our adwords campaign.

1. LOW IMPRESIONS AND LOW CTR.
(a) This can happen when you are just starting your adwords campaign. You have probably not read enough about the Google adwords program before drawing up your campaign.
(b) Also it can be that you have not done your keyword research very well . You might be using keywords that people hardly search for.
(c) It could also be that your daily budget is so low that Google would not want to exceed your budget. So your ad is presented very few times.
SOLUTION ;
i. Set your daily budget high. Do not worry. Google will not exhaust your daily budget. If your daily budget is set to $100 for example. You will be spending about $10 daily. Or if you set it at $20 you could be spending $5 to $7 daily. Setting the daily budget high enough gives you plenty of data to analyze your campaign. Your impressions will be high. CTR will be high too if your ad is well written.
ii. Brainstorm and research good keywords. Use the available keywords research tools to know which keywords searchers use to find your site .
iii. Write good ads that follow the keyword-title-description-landing page formula. This will increase your CTR and conversion.

2. HIGH IMPRESSION BUT LOW CTR

This is the situation new advertisers to Google adwords find themselves. Here you will be trying to convert most of your impressions to clicks. You can do this in two ways.
I. Increase your cost per click (CPC). Increasing your CPC places your ad in a high position which in turn generates high impressions. This will increase the cost of your campaign considerably. If your conversion is not good enough you might be running a loosing campaign.
II. Write better ads using the keyword-title-description-landing page formula. Searchers will be more likely to follow through from search results to clicking on your ad. This increases your CTR.
NOTE: If you have a keyword that is generating high impressions but low CTR , it is advisable to delete it. But if the keyword is important and related to your services or product you can create an adgroup for that keyword and also create ads for it. Then test and see which ad is producing the desired CTR. Further more, deleting poor performing keywords is like deleting your past poor performance. So that, the new adgroup will not be hindered.

Also, it not good to leave keywords that are not generating impressions. Delete them. Though Google will not penalize you for these keywords until the impressions have reached 1000, low impressions generating keywords will hinder keywords that are performing well. This is the case, because the Google adwords system budgets for all keywords and if your daily budget is low, your keywords, including the performing ones, will be shown less often. The system will not exceed your daily budget.
Bottom line; use fewer keywords for a low daily budget.

3. HIGH IMPRESSION,HIGH CTR GENERATED BY HIGH CPC.

Every advertiser wants high CTR with low CPC. Typically in the range of $0.05 to $0.10 per click. But in industries where there are heavy players with costly keywords, high CPC could be the order of the day. How will a small business compete in a situation like that ?

1. Again the answer is in keyword research. Extensive, in depth research will provide you with the obscure keywords that few people have discovered.
2. Another way to compete is to know how much a visitor is worth to you. You have to have a good conversion rate at your website.
If for example,

A click is $1 and you are converting at your site at 5% conversion rate. This means, for every $100 spent 5 visitors buy your product. For you to break even (that is, no profit no loss) your product must have a margin (profit) of $100/5 clicks=$20.
So if each product has a profit of $20 on top of the cost price, then for each $100 spent you will recoup $100. Anything less than $20 margin will mean a loss for you. And anything higher than $20 means a gain in your campaign.
However, due to fluctuations in ad position, CTR, conversion rate, competitive bidding by other advertisers, it is advisable to ensure that your visitors worth or click worth is such that the profit on each product is high enough to allow for these fluctuations. For the example, $35 to $40 margin would be good . I must stress that this depends on your product, industry, competitors etc. The example is to provide a general idea of what to do.

HIGH IMPRESSION AND HIGH CTR WITH LOW CPC.

This is the dream of every advertiser. Achieving this takes a lot of hard work and testing. Google adwords is unique in that your ads go online immediately. This allows you to test your ads as much as you want. When you are not satisfied, write new ads. You can also set CPC for campaign as well as for individual keywords.
One trick you can use to achieve this, is to initially set your daily budget high, CPC high, and write good ads. This will position your ad well, 1st to 6th position. Once you have achieved a good CTR (4% to 7%) gradually lower your CPC while retaining a high daily budget. Always remember that a high impression and CTR will get you a high position even if your CPC is low compared to your competitors’

HIGH IMPRESSION,HIGH CTR,LOW CPC BUT LOW CONVERSION.

In a situation like this, low conversion is due to several factors

1. Bad or wrong landing page. Your landing page must be directly related to your ad. Do not allow the visitor to search for the information which brought him to your site. Use the keyword-title-description-landing page formula. On how to create a landing page that converts very well go to http://www.wilsonweb.com/isalihu2001

2. Keywords that produce high impressions, high CTR but are not exactly related to the landing page. There are some keywords that are closely related but have different meanings. For example, the keyword phrase “web pages”. Your title and description could be for a software that builds web pages. But the searcher is looking for how to write web pages that sell. This results in many clicks to your site with very few conversion.
So you should make your title and description as explicit and direct as possible. This leaves the searcher in no doubt as to what is on the landing page.

GOOD AD POSITION.

A good ad position is from 1st to 6th position. A good ad position is obtained by having a high impressions and high ctr.

AVERAGE AD POSITION

This is typically between 7th to 10th position. A higher position is achieved by either increasing your bid or writing better ads for higher CTR

summary

1. Keyword research . Very important. The bedrock of your adwords campaign.
2. Good campaign structure as set out above.
3. Write good title, description with relevant keywords in them.
4. Follow the keywords-title-description-landing page formula
5. And test, test and test. Track your results efficiently.

This free report is by Salihu Ibrahim.
The author has worked online since 2000. The report is based on the author’s years of intensive Google adwords campaign experience. For more incisive articles on home base business ideas, check out his website at http://www.ebizstartups.com OR You can subscribe to his bimonthly newsletter BIZWISE by sending a blank email to bizwise@ebizstartups.com with subscribe as the subject.

bio = Salihu Ibrahim.
The author has worked online since 2000. The report is based on the author’s years of intensive Google adwords campaign experience. For more incisive articles on home base business ideas, check out his website at http://www.ebizstartups.com OR You can subscribe to his bimonthly newsletter BIZWISE by sending a blank email to bizwise@ebizstartups.com with subscribe as the subject

Popularity: 6% [?]

When to NOT hire a SEO and why

Friday, October 21st, 2005

When to NOT hire a SEO and why

When you get an e-mail from SEO Company with content similar to this:

“We submit your site on X00.000 search engines and directories.”

Stay far away from companies which offer you to submit your site on thousands of directories and search engines.
Why?

What they do is: they use submission software and advanced scripts and they submit your site to different guest books, local search engines, search engines in other languages, post your URL in comments in different Blogs, FFA etc.You will not have any benefit from this.

FFA stands for Free For All, pages which are designed to carry a designated amount of links on each page. Have in mind that when comes to link popularity relevancy counts and links form this pages will not going to help you much. Add to this that FFA pages have very limited life span, you will get the picture.

When some SEO company claims that they can guarantee #1 on Google

Why?

No one can guarantee #1 on any Search Engine! (Except the owner of course)
I can guarantee you first place in the search results in my Greek Business Directory, since I am the owner, but there is no chance that ethical and honest SEO company will give you such a guarantee in real life.

Even the biggest companies in SEO industry do not give such a guarantee. There are companies who claim that if they don’t achieve specific number of top 10 positions, you get your money back. Take even this with great caution, and be sure to read their guarantee 2 times, including the small letters on the bottom (if there are any). Many of them will attempt to propose you non competitive phrases, which will give you no traffic and therefore you will have no benefit from this.

When SEO Company offers you to get paid on base on delivered traffic
(Though THEIR domain)

Why?

Many SEO Companies offer to the prospective client’s deals on base on delivered traffic. This traffic to be measured easily, they propose new domain, or sub domain to be created, optimized and to deliver traffic though this domain. Be sure to ask which property will be that domain or sub domain.
If SEO Company told you that domain will be their property, your site will not be optimized. Here is what will follow: SEO Company will register domain name on THEIR name, and will optimize that domain for your keywords. They will redirect all traffic from that domain to your site.

You will be forced to pay monthly maintenance to that company and if you decide to stop their services, they will redirect their traffic to some other company in same industry. Keywords which worked well for you, will work well for your competitors too.

Fair and honest company might offer similar deal because of many reasons, but the domain from which the visitors will come will be YOURS, so if you want to change SEO Company, you will have the traffic directed to your site until the new company takes over, and your investment (optimized domain and the traffic) will remain your property.

In case that SEO Company doesn’t want to disclose the techniques which will use to rank high your website.

Why?

Legal and ethical SEO Company will give you very clear idea what they intent to do with your site, and will give you detailed plan of activities. You have to know that some SEO Companies use techniques forbidden by search engines and your site may get banned from the search engines because of this.

For example if your SEO company use thousands automatically created so called doorway pages, which are full of your keywords only and are useless to the visitors, your site might get banned because of this.

So be sure to ask your SEO Company what they intent to do, and which techniques they plan to use. Good SEO Company is always ready to educate their client to some level.

When SEO Company claim that you will see the results within 1 months

Why?

In this case, don’t walk away. Run!

If your site is brand new, it might take up to 3 months to get listed on major search engines. To get some results even in less competitive results, you should count that 4-6 months is the timeframe where you can expect to see first results. Note that if your website has 5-10 pages only, you will need much more content that this. SEO Company will have to add much new pages to your site, and that is time consuming task.

So, if the SEO Company claims that you will be on the top within a month, they have PPC (Pay per Click) in their mind, and that have nothing with Search Engine Optimization.

bio = Zoran Makrevski
Search Engine Positioning Firm
SEO.Goto.gr

Popularity: 5% [?]

Keywords – key for all doors

Friday, October 21st, 2005

Keywords – key for all doors

Keyword research is certainly the most important phase in Search Engine Optimization process. Whether you hire a SEO company to do the job or you are doing the SEO process in-house, take your time during this process. You should not be a spectator, but you should be an active part of the decision making process.

Try to think as a customer

Before to start the keywords analysis & research process, be sure that you know how you should perform this process. Try to think about your keywords as a customer. How would you search for your product or service? Which keyword or key phrase would you use? Think about which words or phrases describe best your product or service.

Generic keywords vs. highly targeted key phrases

Surprisingly many companies still believe that increased traffic will necessary lead to increased sales. Unfortunately this is very far from the truth. If traffic is not well targeted, visitors will not found what they are looking for, and they won’t order anything.

Many companies still make the mistake to attempt to get ranked for generic keywords. This is often costly mistake. You will simply loose your time, money and resources to get ranked for generic keyword. Chances are that if you are in competitive industry you won’t succeed to achieve top ranking. In many cases, even if you succeed to get high ranking for generic keyword you won’t benefit much from that. Let’s elaborate this with an example.

Key phrase “shoes manufacturers” will return worldwide results, and your competition will be very strong. Even if you manage to rank high, “conversion to sales rate” will be fairly low. Some of the people would actually search for “shoes manufacturers” which are located in Asia. They might enter on your site, and they will leave without to order anything. You will get more traffic, and you want increase your sales or establish new business contacts. None of your goals will be achieved.

That is because your product or service is not exactly what the people are searching for. Key phrases like “UK shoes manufacturers” or “EU shoes manufacturers” will have better conversion and you will get high ranking faster. Why? It’s easier to get ranked for these key phrases because of smaller number of competitors. From the other side, because of better targeting your conversion rate would be higher, because your traffic is better targeted.

Best approach to do find right keywords and key phrases is to get your generic keyword, and add a specific word to it. Using this approach you will be able to find yours most important key phrases, and target your traffic much better. Key phrases are usually two to five words long.

Think global

In different countries people use different terminology for same product or service. Be sure that you check your terminology for your main keywords. Different terminology for your keyword might be used in Canada, or in Australia. Follow your site statistic, and if some country is missing, something might be wrong with your terminology.

How many keywords do you need

Number of the key phrases for which you will optimize your pages will depend from your budget of course. But be sure to create long list to select from. Initial keyword research should end with at least 70 -100 keywords or key phrases.

Your first thought here might be how you will find so many keywords. Creativity and well knowing your industry will do half of the work. The tools will do the other half. Wordtracker has free trial which will tell you how many times the key phrase was searched for last month. Full version (you can pay for one day only if you want to use this tool once) is much more powerful tool of course. Overture has also free tool for keyword research which will give you useful suggestions. These tools will give you suggestions which you might not come to your mind, and tell you how many competitors you have for every keyword.

Next phase should be customizing some of these suggestions and make the re-check after that. After establishing the main list, start the elimination. Have in mind that your chances are bigger if you select bigger number of keywords. It is always best strategy to optimize each page for one primary and one secondary keyword. Optimize your main page for your most important key phrase.

Final selection will depend from your budget. You can always optimize more pages later, so keep the initial keyword list. Best option is to start to optimize your pages for less competitive key phrases first. When you achieve high ranking for these key phrases, then go after more competitive key phrases.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Think Inkjet – Unleash Your Imagination

Friday, October 21st, 2005

Add unlimited dimension to creative crafts with your computer, inkjet printer and specialized media. Inkjet printing opens the door to thousands of colors. Why print them all on white paper? If you can think it. you can inkjet!

Unleash your imagination. Specialty papers are just the beginning of endless media alternatives to standard printer paper. High-resolution photo papers in glossy and matte finishes transform family photos into enduring memories. Parchment and confetti papers add elegance and personalization to text printing, making treasured gifts and display items out of your favorite writings and adding warmth and cordiality to your invitations and greeting cards. As wonderful as these papers are, they are only the beginning of what you can do with a little imagination and your inkjet printer.

Metallic inkjet media is available in gold, chrome, and silver. Although metallic inkjet media accepts print in either color or black and white, generally black and white prints will present better on gold. If you print yellow on silver metallic media, it will look like a gold inlay. Orange printed on silver looks like bronze.

This transformation takes place between the ink and the media so you don’t have to apply difficult text and photo manipulations to achieve elegant results.

Add dazzling effects to photos and text with holographic film. The base color of holographic media is silver. Holographic film reflects the full color spectrum and presents your print project in a rainbow of colors, changing along with the angle of view.

Super Color Shrink is a pliable plastic that accepts inkjet print. After printing, you bake the plastic and it shrinks and hardens, reducing the size of your image and adding texture to your project. Super Color Shrink is available both
transparent and white art sheets.

Even if you can’t paint like Monet or Van Gogh, you can still create a masterpiece on canvas with Super Color Art Canvas. Designed for use with inkjet printers, Super Color Art Canvas is actually a specially coated nylon surface that renders your images and photos so beautifully that you probably won’t even want to frame them!
Cling Window media makes window posters and removable art that adhere to most glass, plastic and baked enamel surfaces.

As you probably know, it is impossible to print the color white, but you can make white embossed prints with inkjet embossing paper and white embossing powder. Inkjet embossing paper keeps inks from drying. Sprinkle your prints with embossing powder and then heat the image with an embossing tool or heat gun and watch as your
design becomes an embossed raised image. Find both white and clear embossing powders at any good craft retail store. Preserve embossed images with a clear acrylic spray.

Apply your designs to unpainted wood, marble, slate, and leather with inkjet rub-on decal paper or use water slide decal media to decorate glass, metal, ceramics, candles.

Combine imagination and specialized inkjet media to extend your creativity to the limit. The possibilities are endless when you think inkjet!

======
http://www.inkjet-printables.com provides tons of useful information for any inkjet or printer owner. Everything from tips and advice to reviews of individual suppliers Inkjet Printables has it all.
======

Popularity: 6% [?]

Decide Today to Make Some Wise Choices When Starting a Weight loss or Diet Plan.

Friday, October 21st, 2005

By Jeff Lugeanbeal- www.worldwideweightloss.com
When you initially start a weight loss plan, cutting back on sweets and other junk food is a great start. Even checking the calorie and fat content on food labels is a wise decision. But read on!

You may be making some mistakes and not even realizing it. Check out some of these weight loss diet mistakes and find out whether your eating habits are affecting your efforts to lose weight.

Mistakes:

1. Skipping Breakfast
If you skip breakfast, you are setting yourself up to overeat all day. A decent breakfast, such as a serving of oatmeal, some egg whites, and a serving of fruit, jump starts your metabolism and prevents you from stuffing yourself at lunch.

2. You don’t drink enough Water
Water is so important to a healthy body. Try to drink at least 6-8 cups a day

3. You eat low fat snacks
Low fat doesn’t mean low calorie. Watch the calories of these snacks and also avoid the snacks that contain trans fats

4. You eat only 3 meals a day
While this may work for some people, actually eating 5-6 times a day not only keeps your metabolism in high gear but levels out your blood sugar.

5. you don’t eat carbs (carbohydrates)
Let’s face it, carbohydrates are your body’s main fuel source for energy and you should incorporate fruit, vegetables, and whole grains in your diet. Avoid processed carbohydrates like cookies, crackers, etc

c Jeff Lugeanbeal – All rights reserved

bio = Jeff Lugeanbeal- Sought after Health and fitness professional, motivational and nutritional coach, is a recognized authority On the subject of weight loss. His Web site, www.worldwideweightloss.com provides a wealth of informative articles and resources on everything you’d ever need to know about permanent, natural fat loss and will help you achieve the body you’ve always wanted.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Say No the the Exploitive Weight Loss Industry and You’ll Be Amazed How Fast the Weight Comes Off!

Friday, October 21st, 2005

The exploitive weight loss industry hopes Americans continue to struggle with their weight!

Let’s look at the facts. The statistics show that over 95% of people on a diet plan will fail and gain the weight back.

There is so much conflicting advice out there about dieting and weight loss. Eat low carb is the latest craze and will no doubt be replaced by something else a few years from now.

The plain truth is that diets just don’t work. You might lose weight for a while, but always seem to gain it back, and then some. Do you see a problem here. I sure do. With so much advice from so called experts out there, why are we so overweight and getting fatter?

I would venture to guess that people are just plain tired of dieting. They’ve tried everything out there, jumped from diet to diet, become frustrated and given up.

What we need is a shift in thinking. A paradigm shift. We need to stop thinking about dieting and start thinking about what foods our body needs to function properly.

Our bodies are wonderful, resilient machines. In order to have optimum health and optimum weight, we need to feed our bodies with the right fuel.

Look inside a typical grocery store. The aisles are filled with processed foods: crackers, cookies, bake mixes, white bread, breakfast cereals, bacon, lunch meat, hot dogs, sugary fruit juices, frozen dinners, margarine, white flour, salad dressings, frozen pizza, cool whip, chips, soda, etc.

What if we took a different approach to dieting. What if we decided to look at food as fuel for our body. It needs fuel (food) to survive and function properly, so why not feed it with optimum fuel. Not fast food, junk processed food like cookies, crackers, most cereals, white bread, hundreds of common grocery foods that are loaded with trans fat and ingredients we can’t even pronounce, Which most have no nutritional value.

Say no to the exploitive weight loss industry, make smart food choices, and you’ll be amazed at how fast the weight comes off!

P.S. You might just have more energy and improve your health!

bio = Jeff Lugeanbeal- Sought after Health and fitness professional, motivational and nutritional coach, is a recognized authority On the subject of weight loss. His Web site, www.worldwideweightloss.com provides a wealth of informative articles and resources on everything you’d ever need to know about permanent, natural fat loss and will help you achieve the body you’ve always wanted.

Popularity: 5% [?]

Weight Loss Plateaus: You Can Lose the Weight!

Friday, October 21st, 2005

By Jeff Lugeanbeal- www.worldwideweightloss.com
Weight Loss Plateaus- The most common problem when on any weight loss program is the dreaded weight loss plateau.

You’ve been on a diet for a while, lost a few pounds, your starting to look better, you feel really good about your self, and then all of a sudden you hit a brick wall!

I know your attempts at weight loss can drive you nuts. You feel you are doing everything right and you just can’t seem to lose any more weight.

The Most Common Mistakes

The most common mistake people make in desperation is to eat less and starve their bodies even more. You see, in most cases, you’ve been restricting your calories too much and your body’s own internal mechanism has slowed down your metabolism.

The other cause could be that you are overeating and not burning off enough calories. But it has been my experience that most people are not consuming enough calories.

Your Body Adjusts To You Eating Fewer Calories, and Your Metabolism Slows!

Yes it is true, If you go on a calorie reduction diet your body’s metabolism will slow down after a week or two. So what can you do?

Tips to Overcome the Weight Loss Plateau and Start Losing the Body Fat

1. Do not starve yourself

2. If you have been restricting calories, Eat More. Yes, increase your calorie intake, but please don’t eat a bunch of junk food! Increase your calories for 1-2 days.

3. Start exercising or increase the intensity of your workout. As you probably know exercise is one of the best things you can do to lose weight, and it is also healthy for your body!

4. Remember to eat healthy and stay away from the junk food!

5. Remember, everyone hit’s a plateau, don’t beat yourself up, Persistence will pay off!

c Jeff Lugeanbeal – All rights reserved

bio = Jeff Lugeanbeal- Sought after Health and fitness professional, motivational and nutritional coach, is a recognized authority On the subject of weight loss. His Web site, www.worldwideweightloss.com provides a wealth of informative articles and resources on everything you’d ever need to know about permanent, natural fat loss and will help you achieve the body you’ve always wanted.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Say No the the Exploitive Weight Loss Industry and You’ll Be Amazed How Fast the Weight Comes Off!

Friday, October 21st, 2005

The exploitive weight loss industry hopes Americans continue to struggle with their weight!

Let’s look at the facts. The statistics show that over 95% of people on a diet plan will fail and gain the weight back.

There is so much conflicting advice out there about dieting and weight loss. Eat low carb is the latest craze and will no doubt be replaced by something else a few years from now.

The plain truth is that diets just don’t work. You might lose weight for a while, but always seem to gain it back, and then some. Do you see a problem here. I sure do. With so much advice from so called experts out there, why are we so overweight and getting fatter?

I would venture to guess that people are just plain tired of dieting. They’ve tried everything out there, jumped from diet to diet, become frustrated and given up.

What we need is a shift in thinking. A paradigm shift. We need to stop thinking about dieting and start thinking about what foods our body needs to function properly.

Our bodies are wonderful, resilient machines. In order to have optimum health and optimum weight, we need to feed our bodies with the right fuel.

Look inside a typical grocery store. The aisles are filled with processed foods: crackers, cookies, bake mixes, white bread, breakfast cereals, bacon, lunch meat, hot dogs, sugary fruit juices, frozen dinners, margarine, white flour, salad dressings, frozen pizza, cool whip, chips, soda, etc.

What if we took a different approach to dieting. What if we decided to look at food as fuel for our body. It needs fuel (food) to survive and function properly, so why not feed it with optimum fuel. Not fast food, junk processed food like cookies, crackers, most cereals, white bread, hundreds of common grocery foods that are loaded with trans fat and ingredients we can’t even pronounce. Which most have no nutritional value.

Say no to the exploitive weight loss industry, make smart food choices, and you’ll be amazed at how fast the weight comes off!

P.S. You might just have more energy and improve your health!

c Jeff Lugeanbeal – All rights reserved

bio = Jeff Lugeanbeal- Sought after Health and fitness professional, motivational and nutritional coach, is a recognized authority On the subject of weight loss. His Web site, www.worldwideweightloss.com provides a wealth of informative articles and resources on everything you’d ever need to know about permanent, natural fat loss and will help you achieve the body you’ve always wanted.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Top Tips For Generating Killer Work At Home Articles

Friday, October 21st, 2005

By SAM HASKINS

Writing work at home articles is one of the most valuable ways to generate real exposure for your website. The problem however, is finding fresh sources of inspiration to ensure your articles are both interesting and informative.

But help is at hand and the following tips provide proven ways to get your creative juices flowing, to ensure your work at home business evolves into a phenomenal success!

Top Tips For Your Work At Home Articles:

1. Actively survey your customers and other visitors to your web site. After all, these are the people that matter most and identifying their needs is a sure fire way to generate new ideas.

2. Constantly review your site’s guest book and any other interactive media you may have on offer. You will often find questions or comments to spark your work at home imagination.

3. Create your own database of questions or problems you encounter in your daily activities. Remember these address the immediate concerns of thousands of people and bring real rewards anyone willing to resolve them.

4. Research the information that is broadcast though the media. Newspapers, magazines and current affairs programmes offer invaluable sources of creative inspiration.

5. Be on the look out for current fad’s or the ‘latest craze’ that you can adapt to your work at home business. These things generate enormous amounts of fresh energy and they always provide hot discussion topics.

6. Pay close attention to your calendar. Content relating to seasonal factors such as vacation periods and other significant dates can easily be used to inspire new ideas.

7. Participate in forums and discussion groups related to your target audience. Pay attention to the questions being asked and the general topics people are interested in.

8. Visit internet book store’s and review best seller lists. The information gained here will instantly show you what topics are in hot demand and this information can then be used to develop new ideas for your work at home articles.

bio =

Sam Haskins is founder of ‘The Work At Home Business Zone’. A home based business site showcasing work from home opportunities and internet marketing ideas to make money online. Visit http://www.work-at-home-business-zone.com to learn more.

Popularity: 5% [?]

The Storyteller

Friday, October 21st, 2005

New Book Offers Supernatural Tales Involving Everyday People

Martha Whittington invites readers to take a break from the doldrums of daily routine and delve into a world where ordinary lives are blindsided by the bizarre. The Storyteller: Volume I (now available through AuthorHouse) provides a feast of paranormal delights that satisfy the imagination.
Comprised of six intriguing tales, The Storyteller delves into the lives of a colorful variety of people who suddenly find themselves in unsettling situations. In “The Fennigan Case,” two news reporters step across the threshold of a creepy house and into another dimension. “A Unique Team” follows another investigative journalist as he plunges into international intrigue. Readers explore the mind of a psychic teenager in “The Hidden Knowledge” and meet a wicked woman who holds an entire town hostage with her dark magic in “The Witch”. Two brothers endure tragedy in a remote corner of the world in “Sand,” and a couple experiences any parent’s worst nightmare in “The Gifted Child”.
Throughout The Storyteller, Whittington weaves a macabre tapestry of drama, suspense and fast-paced action. From the dangers of the Egyptian desert to the cold streets of New York, she takes readers on a thrilling journey along the knife-edge between this world and the unknown. A captivating read for fans of the disturbingly weird. The Storyteller delivers thrills and chills at each turn of the page.

For further review on this book, please go to: http://storytellersbookclub.com or e-mail us at: thestorytellers2121@yahoo.com

bio = Born and raised in Monterrey, Mexico, Whittington set out to see the world when she was 21. She holds a Degree in Communications and a Master’s in Public Relations, and she speaks fluent Spanish, English, German and French. Whittington comes from a family of published authors. At a young age, she wrote short stories that won awards in international contests. She currently lives in Houston, where she continues to nurture her passion for writing.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Easy Steps to a Mailbox Brimming with Refunds

Friday, October 7th, 2005

Easy Steps to a Mailbox Brimming with Refunds
Copyright © 2004 Heather Wallace

Are companies keeping your money? Are they in possession of hard-earned dollars to which you are entitled? If you fail to send in your rebate form, then that is exactly the situation that will occur.

Rebate shopping serves no purpose if you don’t send in your refund request. Unfortunately, many people forgo submitting their refund form and all of those forgone rebates mean millions in saving for manufacturers.

Why save money for Big Business when you could be saving cash for yourself? If you want to put money back in your pocket, then follow the easy steps outlined below to make sure that you receive the savings to which you are entitled.

If you are making an in-store purchase, be sure that you are provided with the form that you will need to complete in order to receive your refund. Sometimes it is in the box, it may be printed at the cash register, or the clerk might provide you with the refund slip. If you ordered your item online, then the rebate form may have been included in with your shipment. Make sure that you don’t accidentally throw it away
with the packing materials, because obtaining another one would be a hassle. If a rebate form wasn’t included in with your shipment, then you might have to go online to print it.

One way to be sure that you get your rebate is to complete the form as soon as the item arrives at your door, if you ordered online, or when you get home, if you purchased the item in the store. This will ensure that this money-saving offer doesn’t slip your mind or that you don’t put it aside because of a lack of time.

If you do complete the form right away just be sure that you really want the item that you purchased as it will be difficult, if not impossible, to return once you have removed the UPC.

When completing your form be sure to carefully read all of the fine print. Nothing is worse than waiting for the mail to arrive with your rebate check only to discover that your refund request was rejected because of something that was overlooked. Also, be sure to print all of your information clearly, so that it can easily be read by the person or machine processing your form.

Rebate requests require you to include your receipt as proof of purchase. Never send your original receipt unless the rebate slip specifies that you must do so. Some stores will print a duplicate receipt for you, so be sure to inquire. If they are unwilling to do so, then in most cases a copy of your receipt will be
accepted. It is recommended that you make a copy of both sides of your rebate slip, the UPC, and anything else that you are required to send. That way you will have proof should trouble arise.

You will most likely have to wait 6-8 weeks to receive your rebate. Make a note on your calendar of the date on which your rebate should arrive as it is easy to forget something that will occur 6-8 weeks in the future. With a reminder on your calendar you’ll know if your rebate doesn’t arrive in the mail as expected.

If you don’t receive your refund after the designated time period elapses, then contact
the rebate-issuing company to check the status of your submission. If there was a problem with your rebate you may be able to clear things up with a simple phone call.

Follow the steps outlined above and in a few weeks you will get to experience the
thrill of finding your mailbox filled with savings. After all of the hard work you put into
compiling your rebate submission you’ve earned every penny.
bio = Heather Wallace is founder of BargainMartian.com Visit to take advantage of the out of this world bargains from leading merchants found in this comprehensive directory of deals, rebates, bargains, coupons, and money-saving offers.

Popularity: 6% [?]

“Fire Your Bank”

Friday, October 7th, 2005

FIRE YOUR BANK
by Mike Carey
Corruption In The Banking Industry Drowns American In Debt

91 years ago, way back in 1913 our Federal Government implemented legislation that removed their sovereign rights to increase the amount of money that circulates in this country. At the time, this may have seemed like the right and fair thing to do, but times have changed. Ever since that law was passed, the power to increase this country’s supply of money has been held by the private banking institutions. The only way for banks to increase the amount of “money” in our country has been to create debt by issuing credit or loans to people who lack the cash they need.

Now, If you think banks have the money they’ve loaned you back in the vault, you’re wrong. Banks create the money virtually from thin air, through a phenomenon they call “Fractional Reserves”. In reality the monetary amount of money banks are allowed to lend to their customers surpasses the money they actually have in the vault by more then 90%. So if your bank has 3 Million dollars in deposits on-hand, they’re allowed to issue over 30 Million dollars in loans. You may be surprised when I tell you that, in fact, less than 5% of the money that circulates in this country is actual cash. The remaining amount, over 95%, has been created by banks and other financial institutions, and exists only on the computer screen and in peoples minds.

Many people assume that if government continued to print money on a regular basis, inflation would soar through the roof. This would be true ONLY if the government printed too much money. However, if just enough money was printed to match the annual increase in gross domestic product, inflation would not be increased at all. For instance, if the US projected a gross domestic product growth of 4.5% the government could increase the amount of money necessary for a growing economy would be debt free.

This kind of system would obviously impact our economy for the better, decreasing overall debt and allowing us to quickly pay off our national debt. A strong economy equals economic growth not only for the country as a whole, but for individuals, businesses, and families alike. Should banks have ultimate power in creating money that doesn’t exist? Certainly not! Unfortunately, however, the only way for Americans to send a message to banks (and congress) is to make a commitment to living debt free. This means dealing on a Cash- Only Basis and avoiding the use of credit cards and loans at all cost.

bio = Author Mike Carey is a expert on economics and debt free living. For advice and information on how you can live debt free yourself and start living on cash, email Mike at mailto:bigshot@opportunity.com with the words “Interest In Cash Activity” in the subject box please include your name and where you read this article. Learn about Mike’s simple legal cash plan, just send a blank e-mail to mailto:bigmike@freeautobot.com and you will receive a instant response. Visit his website at http://www.tinyurl.com/4r6el Code 500895

Popularity: 5% [?]

How to choose a proper cheap web hosting service

Friday, October 7th, 2005

Cheap web hosting and affordable hosting
How to choose a proper cheap web hosting service
By Terence L ( http://www.hostpulse.com )

Undoubtedly, selecting a reliable hosting company is one of the most important decision you have to make for your online business.

The pricing of cheap web hosting services that you can find on the net varies a lot. Options like disk space, bandwidth allowance, control panel and operating system in a hosting account determine the price that you have to pay. First, to start finding a suitable host for your site, you need to determine your requirements for your site. For the sake of the topic, I will share information about cheap web hosting services only.

You need to write down a list of requirements that you are looking for in a host.

To begin your research, I recommend that you look at the many web hosting directories and forums. It’s a very good idea to search web hosting forums, and make posts to find the overall reputation of a web host, thereby avoiding the hassle of transferring your server to another web hosting firm. Access www.HostPulse.com/app to check the available companies offering cheap web hosting .

1) Search for cheap web hosting prices that start from US$6 per month
Cheap web hosting services start from US$6 per month. There are cheaper ones, but I don’t recommend them. Look for companies that offer dependable hosting services. You can check their response time by emailing to test and ask questions. If they reply to you consistently even if you have not signed up, you can consider them. Then look into hosting reviews to see if customers have had any bad experiences with them.

2) Get the proper software and hosting features.
Web hosting in the open Internet market today is very competitive. A good hosting provider will offer speedy internet connection, proper security measures, feature-rich hosting, and reliable server uptime. There are over a 100 types of features that a host can offer. Look for only what you need. Some of the most widely offered features include.

FTP, PHP, Perl CGI-BIN access, SSI, .htaccess, telnet and SSH crontabs
If you are paying for a site, you really should make sure you have all of these. Note that some commercial hosts do not allow you to install PHP or CGI scripts without their approval. This is not desirable since it means that you have to wait for them before you can implement a feature on your site. “.htaccess” is needed if you are to customise your error pages (pages that display when, say, a user requests for a non-existent page on your site) or to protect your site in various ways (such as to prevent bandwidth theft and hotlinking, etc). Telnet or SSH access is useful for certain things, including testing CGI scripts, maintaining databases, etc. Cron jobs may be needed for programs that you need to be run periodically (eg once a day). Check to see if these facilities are provided.

SSL (secure server), MySQLand Shopping Cart
If you are planning on doing any sort of business through your website, you might want to look out to see if the host provides these facilities. These facilities normally involve a higher priced package or additional charges. The main thing is to check to see if they are available at all before you commit to the host. You will definitely need SSL if you plan to collect credit card information on your site.

Email, Autoresponders, POP3 and Mail Forwarding
If you have your own site, you would probably want to have email addresses at your own domain, like sales@yourdomain.com, etc. Does the host provide this with the package? Does it allow you to have a catch-all email account that allows anyname@yourdomain.com to wind up being routed to you? Can you set an email address to automatically reply to the sender with a preset message (called an autoresponder)? Can you retrieve your mail with your email software? Can it be automatically forwarded to your current email address?

3) Calculate the bandwidth you require using this simple formula
There are many ways that you can determine the monthly amount of bandwidth transfer that your site needs to serve your web users, but I would suggest the simplest method below.

a) Look at your daily web statistics and find out the daily average volume of web users and number of page views. Usually, a new website has less than 1000 daily unique users, unless your site provides something useful, needful or something web users really wants.

b) Secondly, calculate the average page size that you have on your site and add all the graphics size attached to the page.

c) Multiple the amount of visitors with the page size ( this includes all the graphics ) and with 30 days and you will get the approximate monthly bandwidth transfer that you site needs.

How much bandwidth your site may need, depends on many website and business requirements. Look at your web statistics again. See which files are the ones that web users are downloading most and how many web users are downloading these files.

Once you have these data, you can safely add or reduce the amount of bandwidth at any point in time knowing that you have the ability to estimate the monthly bandwidth allowance required.

4) Understanding provider’s term of “Unlimited Bandwidth”
“Unlimited bandwidth” is a very confusing term used to describe the amount of bandwidth that a host will provide. HostPulse.com is a third party watch dog site in the hosting industry established since 2001. Working in this industry is not really as easy as it seems, but after much research has been made, I can carefully say that “unlimited bandwidth” is simply a term that hosting companies use to describe the provision of bandwidth allowance which will be at all times more than enough for that particular hosting account that you have purchased. Nevertheless, hosting companies still consign a maximum limit which most of the time it is not mentioned in the hosting details on that page you read. The maximum limit is usually the hidden term that you need to discover for yourself in the terms & conditions written on their website. If the hosting company is straightforward and honest, it will mention this on the page where the hosting details are written.

Since it is from the hosting provider’s point of view that the maximum limit is usually more than enough for your website, each web user will eventually have his own opinion about the unlimited bandwidth feature. If your hosting account exceeds the maximum limit on regularly, you will have to pay for the additional charges, otherwise, expect your site to be deactivated. Of course, most hosting companies will inform you about the website deactivation, but there are some that may not tolerate your website if they feel that it is abusing or wasting their bandwidth resources.

Hence, the question now is whether to sign up or not to sign up with hosting accounts with unlimited bandwidth?

My answer is, go ahead if you have a very tight budget, all the requirements of that hosting fit yours and you have researched on a host of important issues about the reliability and support service provided. There are always pros and cons in making decisions to sign up with a host. Hosting accounts with an unlimited bandwidth allowance are more often that not, placed in the lowest possible service class together with all the other unlimited bandwidth web users. But if you have decided carefully that bandwidth is not an issue for your website and have researched thoroughly that the hosting plan comes with feature-rich tools in addition to the excellent support, which all come at a very low cost, your decision to sign up is simply not flawed.

However, if you prefer a top-notch hosting account that requires a high amount of bandwidth that will cater for your ever increasing heavy traffic site, you will have to omit the unlimited bandwidth option. Choose a hosting account with at least 20GB for a start and if your site traffic is growing, opt for an additional 7Gb depending on the number of web users and frequently downloaded files. Remember to use the simple calculation mentioned earlier to provide you with an uncomplicated guide in managing your site.

5) Get at least 100MB disk space. Large disk space is not necessary unless it is a site requirement
Will your website and content grow from time to time or do you just need to publish a set of content that will expire after some time? For a corporate site with less than 20 web pages, a disk space of less than 100MB should be enough. If you want to start a site about a certain topic or industry, consider getting a hosting account with at least 60MB disk space for a start.

If you intend to publish a site with a lot of pictures or mp3 for users to download or purchase, consider a 100MB disk space hosting account. For personal sites, consider a 90MB disk space hosting account.

If you are in charge of an enterprise that needs to publish a lot of information and offer intranet system and public services, consider a dedicated server instead. These days, many hosting providers offer hosting services that exceed the disk space requirement standard for any given websites. Although more is better, it is not always necessary. Disk space can be purchased from time to time if it is not sufficient. So choose a hosting account appropriately depending on how much space you will need.

Secondly, consider hosting providers that can support the growth of your website and business, so that you can scale your website affordably. Ask about the companies’ application, network, disk space cost, facilities and the solution they can offer as your site grows.

The features of a hosting account have a lot to do with what you can do for your site. It is of utmost importance to find a host that matches your skills and interest. Let’s go step by step.

6) Most Linux-based or Apache-based hosting services are cheaper than Windows 2000/2003
The most popular web server nowadays runs on Windows 2000, Apache, Cobalt or Linux®. The design goals of both Unix®/Linux® and Windows are very similar in nature. These operating systems offer portability, extensibility, and an ability to run on various different computers, whether they are desktop PCs or departmental servers. Your choice of operating system will classify the service and type of software that you can deploy and the kind of applications that your site can run on.

Windows NT® or Windows 2000/2003 servers are configured to be compatible with Microsoft® applications, such as FrontPage, Access and MS SQL. NT/Windows 2000 servers also offer programming environments such as Active Server Pages (ASP), Visual Basic Scripts, MS Index Server and Cold Fusion. So if you are familiar with Microsoft®’s Internet Technologies, consider Windows NT® or Windows 2000 hosting services. Also, consider the speed of the processor and the amount of RAM (memory) that is installed on the server. Compare and choose the hosting provider that can offer you high processor speed and bigger amount of RAM (memory) at a reasonable price.

The Unix® platform offers tried and tested stability and the speed for enterprise level e-business. Linux® should also be mentioned when talking about Unix®. Many people do not realize that Linux® falls under the realm of Unix®. This is because Linux® is actually a Unix® derivative. Unix® or Linux® hosting often comes with telnet access, mySQL database, Perl, PHP and CGI support. If you are familiar with Unix® file naming, PERL or PHP applications, consider a Unix® or Linux® hosting account.

If you are not familiar with any of these operating systems, and if you prefer an easy-to-use platform, consider a Windows 2000 hosting account. If you are looking forward to learning the Perl programming language or if reliability or stability is a concern, consider an Unix® or Linux® hosting account.

Whichever platform that you choose, determine your goals for your site and find out the requirements to run your site. Based on your needs, determine the compatibility of the application or programming language that you need to use. Once you have all these in mind, you can safely and easily decide which platform is most suitable for your need.

7) Get web based email accounts
Look for email accounts with web based access as well as POP3. The best ones are those with administrator control. Generally, you should have at least 5 email accounts for 3 users. Depending on the number of users that you have in your organization, you should have least 2 to 5 standby email accounts. Some hosting providers offer unlimited email accounts as well. Features like auto responders, email aliases and email forwarding is very common nowadays.
8) Mysql or SQL server database?
Determine your requirements and decide if database is required. If you need to store a lot of records or transactions, a database can be very helpful. MS Access, mySQL and MS SQL Server are some of the most widely used database on the internet. If you decide a Unix® or Linux® hosting is your preferred choice, mySQL suits perfectly for your site. Alternatively, if a Windows 2000 server hosting is your option, you have the choice of either a MS Access or a MS SQL server.

9) Check to see if Microsoft® FrontPage is supported
This configuration allows you to use Microsoft® FrontPage to design, create and manage your website.

10) Make sure there is a control panel available
Control Panel is a service provided by the host to help you manage your web hosting account efficiently. This a is very useful tool that you need when you want things to be done quickly and dynamically. Check out this feature when you are looking for a host to sign up with. CPanel is currently the easiest Linux based control panel available on the market today, while Helm control panel recently dominates the Windows hosting accounts. Be sure to ask for Cpanel if you are interested to sign up on a Linux hosting account.

11) Ping host’s website or datacenter to determine response time. Below 350ms is excellent
Web users do not tolerate slow websites, and to a certain extent, you can avoid the problem by choosing a hosting provider that is committed to supply high speed connection and redundant lines to ensure your site remains responsive and that your data moves quickly even if your primary Internet connections are temporarily unavailable.

Although the speed of a site can be caused by various and complicated problem areas, ranging from routing, web server set up, and local area networks, the main and major concern of how fast your site is depends very much on the types of network connections. The general types of network connections that a hosting provider often provides are given below.

Many hosting providers still connect to the Internet through T1, or T3 connections, although there has been an increase of hosting services using OC (Optical Carrier) lines.

A T1 line will offer data transfer rate of 1.5 Mbps (megabits per second), while a T3 line can supply data transfer rates of 43Mbps. Ultra-High Speed OC3 and OC12 lines offers 155Mbps and 622Mbps respectively. Some hosting providers have connections to major internet backbones at the speed of OC48 (2488Mbps).

Thus, consider finding a host that provides reasonable internet connections. You can do a speed test to determine the average response time from a hosting provider’s site to your computer. Ping displays a report that includes the time it takes to receive a control packet from the remote host. High values of packet loss and response time indicate low connection performances, while low response time often means more reliable and faster connection. Please take note that the user’s experience of response time is not limited to server’s connection, but the throughput of the web server, the Internet itself, and user’s connection.

12) Make sure that the company provides at least 2 support methods.
Maintaining and running a web hosting company is not easy. In fact, finding highly experienced web technicians to respond and support inquiries 24 hours and 7 days a week is even harder. Because successful implementation of a web hosting company often depends on how the management team executes its plan, policies, and goals, you can easily test if the web hosting company will respond to you quickly by asking them questions through email a few times.

There are a few things you can do to find a host with good technical support.

Find out if the company provides online knowledgebase and FAQ support. Check if the system is frequently updated and used. Online knowledgebase and FAQ are very handy tools when you have trouble with your website at anytime.

Find out if a control panel is available for your site. The control panel allows you to change and manage your hosting account remotely at anytime without any support intervention.

Find out the company’s current status and how many years the company has been operating. Hosting providers that do not determine the needs of their customers have ceased or will eventually cease operations in this industry, leaving only the best-of-the-breed hosting providers to progress and move ahead.

Find out if the company has any technical certification in supporting and providing the service you purchase

Recommended cheap web hosting providers

Windows 2000/2003 or ASP.net
www.lfchosting.com
www.discountasp.net
www.hostway.co.uk
www.exabytes.com
www.nevidia.com

Linux / Apache
www.startlogic.com
www.ipowerweb.com
www.bluehost.com
www.be-hosted.com
www.websitesource.com
www.everwebhosting.com
www.onsmart.net

bio = About HostPulse.com
Founded in 2001, the HostPulse.com site was formed to focus on the specific needs of web users who are looking for web hosting services on the web. Today, the HostPulse.com has over 20,000 web hosting plans from over for users to browse and research. Search for cheap web hosting services at HostPulse.com

Popularity: 5% [?]

An Education in Saving on Textbooks

Friday, October 7th, 2005

Every year students flock to the college bookstore to purchase the various textbooks that they require for their classes. Little do these students realize that, in doing so, they are
throwing good money away. As unbelievable as it may seem textbooks, in some cases, actually cost as much, if not more, than tuition.

On the surface the college bookstore may seem like a convenient source for textbooks. Titles are usually in-stock and students may purchase new textbooks or opt for the cheaper alternative of used books. In truth the money saved by purchasing used textbooks from the college bookstore is only a fraction of the amount that students could be saving if they shopped online.

More and more online booksellers have begun selling textbooks at a considerable discount off of the cover price. In fact, many major booksellers now have special areas of their web sites that are devoted to selling nothing but textbooks. Online used bookstores are another source for college books as they stock a large number of textbooks, which means sizable savings for students. There are also web-based retailers whose inventory is entirely devoted to college books.

Students should avoid purchasing their textbooks at the first store that they browse. Instead, they should investigate the alternatives offered by other online booksellers. Price isn’t the only factor to consider when making an online purchase. Students should also factor in shipping costs and delivery time when making their buying decision.

Online auctions are another option for students seeking a bargain. This option, however, has its pros and cons. A plus is that students can get
incredible bargains when obtaining books via online auctions. One downside is that established retailers have channels in place to ensure that you receive your order within a reasonable amount of time. With an auction purchase, however, you are at the mercy of the auction seller’s timetable.

One way that students can really save is by obtaining books for free. Project Gutenberg is one resource that English majors will find invaluable.
At this site students can peruse a vast collection of classics that have entered the public domain. In the past students seeking assistance with their studies had to pay for the privilege of that help by purchasing study guides. Today that is no longer the case. Cash-strapped
students can now visit Spark Notes for free downloadable study guides as well as free downloadable classics.

Students who elect to buy online will no longer be able to resell their books to the college bookstore at the end of class, but that doesn’t
mean that they are stuck with the textbooks. Many web sites that sell textbooks also offer students the option of selling their books to fellow bargain-seekers. This allows students to easily recouping a portion of their money.

Textbooks normally consume a major portion of a student’s budget, but that doesn’t have to be the case, because while the cost of tuition may be set in stone the price of textbooks isn’t. By taking the time to do a little research on the best textbook values available colleges students can save money now rather than acquiring debt to be paid back later.

Copyright © 2004 Heather Wallace
bio = Heather Wallace is founder of http://www.BargainMartian.com Visit to take advantage of the out of this world bargains from leading merchants found in this comprehensive directory of deals, rebates, bargains, coupons, and money-saving offers.

Popularity: 6% [?]

The Power Of Niche Marketing

Friday, October 7th, 2005

The Power Of Niche Marketing
16/08/2004

Have you ever been over whelmed by all the competition on the internet. All the other companies going after the same customers that you are. Well panick not the world wide web is a MASSIVE market place and the best strategy is to create your own market.

Dont Compete Be Unique

1. The benifits of niche marketing
2. Dont dissappear in the crowd
3. The importance of a niche business
4. Ways of creating niches
5. Dont re-invent the wheel

#################################################################

1. Niche marketing is the best way for the smaller business person to level the playing field against the larger companies. Niche marketing is where you find a corner of your particular market which is exclusive to you. There are a few ways of finding your niche and this article is about some of the aspect concerning niche marketing

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2. The great thing about having a niche business is the fact that you are not struggling to compete against established marketers. Therefore you will not be invisible and you wont disappear in the crowd.Recreating products and concepts is a vital business skill I would go as far as saying it will keep you ahead of the game. Most big companies hire developers to improve on their products and service. So it is no difernt for the small business person.

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3. A way of developing a niche is to sell to people you are familiar with eg. You could be a ex chef selling Automatic self lighting ovens which cleaned itself every night.

Do you get it, if you are familiar with a certain business you can cater for it like no other company.

Also you can concerntrate on a smaller part of the market and become a specialist in that field. Like concentrating on helping diabetic people losing weight, instead of the whole weight loss market.

Just imagine for one moment that you were the only one selling automatic self cleaning cookers to the catering trade. You would corner the that market and make a fortune.

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4. The japanese are great at taking other’s ideas and improving on them and they are not doing to bad are they? Great inventors like Henry Ford and Edison have created great inventions and others have taken them to another level. The Japanese have shown the imortance of understanding the power niche business that is why they are one of the wealthier countries in the world today.

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5. Creating niche business doesn’t require you to invent the wheel, it only requires thinking of ways to improve it. That is where you will get more sales, and more referals. So that in the end your business will grow without competing with the bigger companies.

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In general you can see the benifits of niche marketing which is by cornering the market in your particular field,you differienciate your business. You avoid competing with the big boys. Therefore gaining your own exclusive market, which in turn will lead to more profits.

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Stone Evans publishes home business tips
a fresh and informative newsletter. Dedicated to supporting people like YOU! If you are looking for the *Best Rated* home business opportunities, the lates time saving tools and helpful support from an honest friend in the business come by and grab a F-R-E-E subscription today at: http://www.telnelbiz.com

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bio = Terry Stewat: After years of doing different types of jobs I decided to go into the home based business field. I now earn a decent wage and I can not see my self going back to a normal 9-5 job ever again.

Http://www.extraemoney.com

Popularity: 5% [?]

3 Simple Ways to Start Your Home Based Internet Business Right Now

Friday, October 7th, 2005

So, you’ve finally decided to take that giant leap of faith and
start your very own home based internet business. You’ve decided
that it’s finally time to step up to the plate and claim your share
of all those internet riches you keep hearing about. Only problem
is, now that you’ve finally made your decision, it seems like a
pretty daunting task deciding what to do next. Using the term
“information overload” to describe the problem seems like a huge
understatement.

Well, if you’re really serious about starting your own home based
internet business, the next step really doesn’t have to be that
difficult at all. There are 3 relatively simple ways to start making
an online income and one of them is sure to fit your particular idea
of what it is you would like to do. So, just relax, take a deep breath,
and peruse the following list until you find something that strikes
the right cord.

1-Join One or Several Affiliate Programs

This is probably one of the easiest and quickest ways to get
started making money online. The internet is full of products that
have affiliate programs you can join and most of them pay generous
commissions. When you join an affiliate program, you are simply making
an agreement with the owner of a product that you will receive a
commision in exchange for referring a prospect to that person’s product
(usually a sales page that you have sent the prospect to via your
affiliate link) if that prospect ends up making a purchase.

Start by choosing a product or service that you’re interested in
and then visit some of the websites which have achieved top rankings
for the keywords which describe that topic. You’re sure to find the
top affiliate programs for that industry relatively quickly. Or, try
visiting one of the many affiliate program directories (you can find
them quickly enough in Google) and scan their listings and
recommendations until you find something that appeals to you.

This is a good one for newbies since you don’t even need your own
website to get started. You will, however, need to learn how to use
the pay per clicks so you can get some targeted traffic to your
affiliate link. Once you start generating some income from the pay
per clicks, you can then start reinvesting some of your profits and
get yourself set up with your own website. By that time the prospect
of getting set up with your own website won’t seem so daunting.

2-Join a Residual Income Program

Residual income programs are somewhat similiar to affiliate programs
in that you typically get paid for referring a prospect to the
program’s website if that prospect decides to make a purchase.
However, the difference lies in the fact that with these programs
you also have the opportunity to earn a monthly recurring income if
the prospect you refer becomes a paying member of the residual income
opportunity program. For example, I belong to one of these programs
myself. If a prospect comes to my website and clicks on a link which
takes them to the sales page for the product and they buy, then I get
a commission. However, if that prospect also decides to become a
member of the residual income opportunity program, then I get a check
every month as long as that prospect remains a member of that program.

People tend to be skeptical of these programs and get them confused
with pyramid schemes. The way to tell if one of these programs is a
pyramid scheme is to simply determine if the company in question offers
a real honest to goodness product or service. If so, it cannot be
classified as a pyramid scheme and you should be okay. Don’t be scared
off by the fact that you will most likely have to pay a monthly fee to
participate in the residual income opportunity. If you can build a
downline for yourself in one of these programs, the monthly fee will
be negligible compared to the potential residual income you could earn.
Alot of these programs will provide you with your own cookie cutter
website, which is okay if you are just getting started. Again, use the
pay per clicks to start generating some traffic and then work on getting
your own site up so you can start to build your own opt in list.

3-Sell a Hard Good or Downloadable Infoproduct

Okay, okay, I know this one doesn’t sound so simple or easy, but to
be honest, it’s really not as hard as it might first appear. Selling
a hard good entails offering a real physical product (like fishing poles,
for instance) for sale in your own online retail store. If this idea
really appeals to you, go for it. Brainstorm some products you would
enjoy selling, then do some keyword research in Wordtracker to develop
a targeted niche within that market (deep sea fishing poles?).

After that, you can use a drop ship source directory or the search
engines to find manufacturers or distributors who will drop ship the
merchandise for you (meaning they ship it directly to the customer and
you don’t have to carry any inventory). Then go to Ebay or Yahoo and
sign up for one of their stores. I know from personal experience
that Yahoo has some merchant hosting packages that are great and
super easy to use. They’ll even provide you with a shopping cart feature
and help get you set up with a merchant account (so you can accept
credit cards). Plus, you’ll get some traffic already built in since
millions of people are using their shopping directory to browse for
products every day.

As for the website itself, don’t worry. Most hosting companies today
have some type of site builidng solution available for those customers
who wouldn’t know an html code from a java script. Believe me folks,
if I, a completely technically useless and html challenged technophobe
can do this, ANYONE can.

Now, as to the infoproduct. By the way, I mean YOUR OWN infoproduct.
Everyone on the web and their mother will tell you that this is the
best way to make the really big bucks online. Write about something
you know and/or love. The topic of internet marketing seems to have
been way overdone. Unless, of course, you are a true expert on some
niche internet marketing subject, then definitely do it. Just don’t do
it because everyone else is.

As for the actual writing, you don’t even have to do that if you
really don’t want to. You can check out a site like elance.com and post
your project and have writers bid on completing the project for you!
And there are so many easy to use PDF ebook creators available that
formatting the book should pose no technical challenge whatsoever.
Set up a simple little one sales page website with a link for payment
processing, optimize the site for the engines, use the pay per clicks,
find some JV partners, and you’re in the money!

By the way, I know of some guys who have about 10 or 15 of these
little mini sites set up selling little reports on niche topics and
raking in an average of $2,000 a month from each site. And they’re
incredibly easy to set up and practically run on autopilot once you
do!

Well, there you have it. Just a few relatively simple ways to get you
started on the way to raking in YOUR share of the internet gold mine!
bio = Andrea Hayhurst is an internet marketing professional and
publishes “How to Succeed Online”, a fresh and
informative newsletter dedicated to supporting people like
YOU! If you`re looking for the top rated home business
opportunities, the latest time saving tools and helpful support
from a friend in the business, come by and grab a
free subscription today at http://www.Your-E-Source.com

Popularity: 5% [?]

Web Coach Tip: Top 10 Deadly Web Site Design And Copy Mistakes

Friday, October 7th, 2005

Copyright 2005 Donna Payne

1. Don’t fill your web site with a lot of high-tech clutter. Your visitors will miss your whole sales message and bail.

2. Don’t use unnecessary words or phrases. Sentences should be no longer than 10 words. You only have so much time to get your visitor’s attention and interest; make every word count.

3. Don’t make the mistake that everyone will totally understand your what you have to offer. BE OBVIOUS! Use powerful words and examples to get your point across.

4. Don’t write your strongest point or benefit only once. You should repeat it at least 3 times because some people don’t get it right away. (how many times do you have to tell your kids to clean their room…5-6-7 times?)

5. Don’t push all your words together on your web site. People like to skim; use plenty of headings and sub headings. Bold key phrases to make your copy “scan-able”

6. Don’t use content your preferred audience isn’t interested in. If people are coming to your site to find info about knitting don’t include soccer content.

7. Don’t use 20 different formats all over your web site. Use the same fonts, text sizes & colors, etc. If a site looks to “complicated” to read, your prospect is sure to bail.

8. Don’t use words your visitors might not understand. People are not going to stop and look in a dictionary, they will just go to another site. (If my 11 year old daughter can’t “get” the concept of my copy, I start over)

9. Don’t let selling words and phrases go unnoticed. Highlight important words and phrases with color, bolding, italics, underlining, etc.

10. Don’t forget to use words that create emotion. (Woohoo!) People will have more interest when they are emotionally attached.

bio = Donna Payne is the Chief Web Goddess of The Web Coach.net and is known as the gal to call when you’re feeling overwhelmed by the internet. To spend some more time with Donna and to experience Web technology, Development and Marketing in the most SIMPLIFED way possible go to

http://thewebcoach.net

Popularity: 5% [?]

Playing Your Cards Right — Traveling with Credit Cards

Friday, October 7th, 2005

Using credit cards while traveling is a good idea for a number of reasons:

You have a record of your expenditures for record-keeping and tax purposes (especially important if you travel for business)

You may get a better exchange rate when obtaining foreign currency when using your credit card.

Credit card companies can refund disputed charges and may offer extra guarantees, special deals or warranties.

Your liability in the case of a stolen credit card is limited to $50

But, traveling these days is often a juggling act of luggage, boarding passes, identification cards, passports and a gauntlet of security measures. These identification acrobatics can leave you distracted and even a little bit addled, perhaps putting you more at risk of being targeted by an enterprising pickpocket or purse snatcher.

And, even though your liability is limited, costs can quickly add up if multiple cards are involved. Factor in the hassle and increased risk of identity theft, and it is apparent a few preemptive measures can save you from a boatload of heartache.

Consider the following tips as guidelines to traveling safely and affordably with your credit cards..

Plan Ahead:

Anytime you travel you should make photo copies of all of your credit cards airline tickets and documents, both front and back. You should leave these photocopies with a friend or family member.

Be aware that if you make copies of your cards and documents to take with you, you may be giving thieves another opportunity to rip off your personal information. Consider blacking out details such as expiration dates, verification codes and social security numbers.

If you decide not to carry photocopies of your credit cards, be sure to have the card cancellation numbers from the backs of the cards written down and stashed in your luggage.

Leave a Paper Trail:

Save receipts and keep track of the places you used your card. Make sure receipts are stored in a safe place so they can be checked against your credit card statement to ensure unauthorized charges have not been made and/or gone unnoticed.

His & Hers:

When traveling with other family members, even spouses, bring different credit cards that are on separate accounts. When a card is lost or stolen and must be cancelled, all cards on the account are cancelled as well. Having at least two cards from separate accounts will prevent the situation from leaving you stranded.

Lighten Up:

Carry only the personal information absolutely necessary for vacation, such as a passport or driver’s license. The less personal information you have, the better off you will be if your purse or wallet is stolen.

When traveling by air, always keep copies of important documents in a separate part of your luggage, such as a carry-on bag.

Keep cards on your person. Most travel stores carry small bags that you can keep cards, cash, and other items you will need to access while out and about. Consider a money belt or security wallet.

Look out for fees:

When traveling abroad and using a credit card, watch out for the conversion fee that many banks levy to convert charges in foreign currencies to dollars, generally 1% of the purchase amount. Some banks charge a fee and some don’t so, if you have several cards, it’s worth checking with the issuers to see which one has the best deal. Even with the conversion charge, many times ATM machines will have the best possible exchange rates and the lowest fees.

With proper planning, credit cards are a convenient, secure and cost-effective means of payment when traveling. Just keep these tips in mind, and the next time you’re balancing on one foot at the security gate, you’ll be glad you did.
bio = About The Author: (in HTML)

Gail Corwin is a successful author and publisher of http://www.luggage-n-travel-accessories.com. Your online resource for luggage and travel accessories, travel related information, timely articles and tips.

Popularity: 5% [?]

Are you hitting your target?

Friday, October 7th, 2005

Interesting question huh? I’m not talking about hitting target sales, hitting your target budget, or hitting your target margin. I’m talking about hitting your target market. If you can find your target market and hit them dead on then the sales and margin will be sure to follow.

Every business owner knows who their target market is but where most fall short is knowing how to reach them. If you can unlock this mystery your business is sure to flourish. Unfortunately, thousands of marketers have been led to believe that by advertising their products and services to hundreds of search engines and FFA links, that millions of people will see what they’re offering and thousands will buy it. Sounds reasonable right? No! Think about it for a minute; would you try and sell an ice maker to an Eskimo? Heck No because they don’t need it. By posting to thousands of FFA sites you are precisely doing this. You need to think more like your potential customer and narrow your focus.

Whats the easiest way to find out how to reach your target market in the most efficient manner? Take a walk in their shoes! Think like your potential customers and how you can reach them online. Think beyond search engines and search engine optimization because cracking this puzzle could take you years to figure out.

Where do your potential customers hang out? You really have to become your customer and figure out what trips their trigger. It has been my experience that people like to feel like they are a part of what they are interested in. They will want to interact with other people with similar interests as them. For instance you are reading this article likely because you are interested in earning money on the internet. This article is a part of an ezine I have put together at my website www.home-biz-wiz.com
If someone who had similar interests as you wanted to advertise a product in my ezine they would be reaching
their target market. YOU:)

Discussion boards and Ezine advertising really do work. Most subscribers to these types of services have
very targeted interests depending on what the subject matter is. With the internet growing like it is
there are hundreds of ezines and discussion boards out there that pertain to your particular business. All you have to do is find them and harvest them! If you can find a large targeted market for your product in an E-zine it is definately worth your time to check out and possibly work out some sort of advertising deal with the Ezine owner. If you have your own list many Ezine owners will
exchange a one time email marketing campaign with you. You blast their list and in exchange they will blast yours.

So think about who your target market is and figure out where they hang out. You will be doing yourself
and your business a great favor by doing so. Become a part of your particular business’ community and make friends. Who knows they could be your next best customer or a super
affiliate themselves!

I wish you all success.

bio = This article was written by Chris Simmon “The Home-Biz-Wiz” owner of http://www.nwmguide.com and http://www.home-biz-wiz.com To subscribe to Chris’ home business tips news letter(a $147 value) send a blank mailto:home-biz-wiz@getresponse.com.

Popularity: 5% [?]

The Truth About Free Inkjet Cartridge Recycling

Friday, October 7th, 2005

In a recent stand-up routine, comedian George Carlin suggests that maybe man’s reason for existence is because the Earth wants plastic.

The comedy team, Penn & Teller, assert in their cable show “Bulls**t” (bullpucky?) that recycling isn’t really all that useful and maybe not necessary.

Whether the Earth wants plastic or not, recycling of inkjet cartridges is useful in many different ways. However, before you choose where to recycle your inkjet cartridge, do a little research to make your recycling efforts effective. Recycling won’t work if we don’t close the loop. Many charitable institutions around the world have initiated ink cartridge recycling programs, which fund hospitals, school activities and other social concerns. This type of funding cuts costs in many ways from tax breaks for charitable donations to lowering the price that we have to pay for the services the funded organizations provide. In addition, remanufactured compatible inkjet cartridges are usually a fraction of the cost of brand name inkjet refills.

Several inkjet printer manufacturers also maintain recycling programs. However, your recycled ink cartridge doesn’t always make it around the loop.

Epson, in cooperation with Funding Factory, recently launched a free recycling program for its customers. Schools and businesses can get points for collecting and remitting empty cartridges to Epson.

However, the cartridges are not remanufactured or refilled. They are incinerated. To be fair, mention must be made that the incineration is at an environmentally friendly waste-to-energy plant; however, it’s easy to see that Epson is the big winner in this recycling effort. Their recycling plan takes cartridges out of the hands of remanufacturing plants that can offer less expensive remanufactured compatible cartridges to the consumer.

Hewlett Packard also has a free recycling program and they proudly announce that more than 1.8 million HP inkjet cartridges were recycled in 2003. Unfortunately, for the consumer, plastics and metal from the HP cartridges are also disassembled and made into new products. Other components are “used to generate energy or are disposed of in an environmentally responsible manner.”

Canon offers its customers several options for recycling toner cartridges, including a single return option, an up-to-eight multiple return option, and a bulk return option. Whichever you
choose, a shipping label can be downloaded directly from their website. Return shipping via UPS is pre-paid by the company. It appears from many recycling and other eco-friendly programs
displayed on their website, that Canon is a leader in environmental stewardship, however to date they have no recycling program in place for inkjet cartridges.

Lexmark’s recycling program is 100% free, as are the other printer manufacturer recycling programs. Customers request a kit using an online order form. Lexmark pays the postage both ways. However, there is one major difference between Lexmark’s program and the programs of the other print giants. Lexmark works with Planet Ark and Close the Loop in Australia to ensure every collected cartridge is remanufactured or recycled. In addition, they have similar
recycling programs in Latin American and South Africa. In Europe, every purchase of a Lexmark high-volume cartridge comes with a postage-paid recycling bag included. Now that’s closing the circle!
bio =
http://www.inkjet-printables.com provides tons of useful information for any inkjet or printer owner. Everything from tips and advice to reviews of individual suppliers Inkjet Printables has it all.

Popularity: 5% [?]

A Quick Tour of Spain

Friday, October 7th, 2005

With over fifty million tourists visiting Spain each year, this
popular West European country must have something special which
attracts the visitor. What exactly is it …?

The main beauty of this lovely land can be summed up in just one
word – variety – and, as you all well know, variety is the spice
of life!

Whether you are referring to its climate, geography, history,
culture or cuisine … there is something to appeal to all tastes,
ages and pockets.

The tourist explosion which took place in the 60s was originally
due to its marvellous beaches. And, with good reason, for the
Foundation for Environmental Education states that “Spanish
beaches are the most environmentally healthy in Europe” and has
awarded the much-coveted Blue Flag to 450 of the country’s
beaches – more than any other participating country.

But maybe lolling about on the beach all day is not your thing
and you prefer more action … a touch of sophistication?

Should this be the case then Spain’s major cities are ideal for
you … jam-packed full of history, and an art-lover’s dream.
Yet, with their abundance of parks and wide open spaces, good
shops and pulsating night-life, they are a joy for everyone –
children included.

So … mooch around the truly marvellous museums and monuments
of Madrid. Enjoy the bustle of stylish Barcelona bursting with
vibrant Gaud¡ influence. Savor the delights of romantic
Mediterranean cities such as Valencia and Alicante. Or journey
further south to the exotic cities of Granada, Seville and M laga.
Immerse yourself in their haunting Islamic palaces, the brilliant
colors and sounds of flamenco, and in the birth-place and works
of Picasso.

Maybe you hunger for the peace and quiet of a hideaway hotel in
an unspoiled village? Then rural Spain is for you: full of
forgotten villages, bursting at the seams with medieval castles,
and offering prolific flora and fauna, it is ideal for walking
holidays, painting, photography or just plain “get away from it
all” holidays. Not to mention ski-ing opportunities for the more
active amongst Spain’s snow-capped peaks.

Should you fancy a mix of all three – beach, city and rural –
then that is also easy to arrange. Although Spain is the largest
country in Western Europe after France, it is certainly no
problem to get around. Littered with airports – both national
and international – it also offers a good train service, though
the cheapest and most convenient method of internal travel is by
using the national bus/coach system.

For those who are a little tired of the stereo-typed hotel chains,
Spain has a unique alternative on offer in its state-established
“paradores”. In these, you will find accommodation in converted
castles, palaces, fortresses, monasteries, convents …

The aim of the “paradores” is to offer high standards at reasonable
prices in a noteworthy building or location and to help preserve
the traditions of regional cooking by serving the best of local
cuisine in the “parador” restaurants.

Which brings us on to yet another delight that Spain has to offer –
its rich and varied cuisine. Whichever region of Spain you decide
to visit, you will surely encounter scrumptious Spanish food!

What’s more, the traditional Spanish diet, with the liquid gold of
its olive oil, its rich supply of wine (in moderation!), its wide
variety of fresh fruit and vegetables, plus an abundance of seafood,
all mean that it is extremely good for the heart. On top of that,
it is affordable!

Even their “caviar” of cured hams – “jam¢n Ib‚rico” – has fat
unusually high in oleic acid which is known to lower cholesterol
levels! Now I ask you, where else can you get something pleasurable,
that is cheap, and also good for you?!

Even if you fancy picking between meals you can opt for their
tempting “tapas” – much healthier for you than a packet of crisps or
a donut!

Tapas originate from the large, southerly region of Andalucia and it
is this region that we also have to thank for flamenco and the
Spanish guitar. Which holiday would be complete without visiting an
authentic flamenco show or dancing the night away to the beat of
romantic Spanish music?

So … come visit this land where the warmth of its climate is only
surpassed by the warmth of its people. You are bound to have a great
time!

bio = After living in Spain for 20 years, Linda Plummer compiled

http://www.top-tour-of-spain.com

containing information on Spain for the traveler and expatriate.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Buying the perfect diamond ring while saving $1000′s

Friday, October 7th, 2005

Buying a diamond engagement ring can be a risky business! For most of us an engagement ring is the third most expensive purchase we are likely to make, after our home and car. However I can guarantee you know much more about buying a home, or a car than you do about buying a diamond ring! This lack of knowledge opens up the opportunity for dishonest people to take advantage of you.

This generally takes the form of selling you a poor quality diamond ring for a higly inflated price.

How can you avoid the pitfalls?

There are some basic precautions you can take, which will significantly reduce the risk. Some of these include:

Get Educated – Research the subject of buying diamonds, in exactly the same way you would if you were buying a car. There is no substituted for this, and if you are willing to make the effort you can have more knowledge of the subject in 2 hours, than 95% of your fellow consumers.

Buy from a reputable source – Whether you decide to make your purchase online or at a Jewelry store, make sure you have some background on the store. Visit the store and ask the salesman questions to gauge his level of knowledge. I would suggest you avoid the Jewelry districts, simply because the competition is so fierce that it breeds questionable practices and half truths amongst the occupants.

Never buy a diamond without a certificate – Without a certificate you could quite easily buy a piece of glass set into an engagement ring setting and be non the wiser, but up to $5000 poorer. However a certificate alone does not guarantee a better deal, you need to be proficient in understanding exactly what it is telling you, and how each factor that is covered affects the price and quality of the ring.

Understand the 4 C’s of diamonds – Most people know something about the 4 C’s of diamond buying including, Cut, Clarity, Carat and Color. However very few people know how to each of the 4 factors interact to determine the price and quality of a diamond.

If you follow this advice you significantly reduce your chance of being fleeced by a dishonest salesman. Treat your purchase as a significant financial purchase. Set your budget up-front and do not go too much above or below the price you’ve set yourself. Try not to get to emotionally involved in the purchase and the outcome should be favorable.

bio = Peter Vine is a researcher for a large consumer magazine, and has spent the last year looking at the diamond industry. The ebook ‘Diamond Ring Secrets’ is the outcome of this research, and shows you the insider secrets of buying a diamond ring while saving $1000′s. Take a look at it at:

http://www.diamond-ring-secrets.com

Popularity: 6% [?]

Book Review: The NEW Game Of Business

Friday, October 7th, 2005

If you think you’ve seen and heard everything there is to say, The NEW Game of Business brings new distinctions and a fresh perspective to the world of business.

This slim, easy-to-read soft cover book is so good that it should be required reading in business schools around the world. Every entrepreneur and every company employee, from the janitor to the CEO should read and reread this book.

The author’s quote in Chapter Five quite nicely summarizes the topic of this book. Mitchell Axelrod says this “I help you get from where you are, to where you want to be.” The new game in town is that of reciprocity and no longer does the businessperson with the most toys win.

Consumers are tired of turning on the television every day to more bad news about badly run businesses. Corruption and scandal seem to rule the day and all this negativity takes a toll on the economy and well being of those who sell and those who buy. Mitchell Axelrod advises that thinking outside the box is so outdated that businesses need to throw away the box entirely and begin playing “The NEW Game of Business.” This game is inclusive rather than exclusive and it is based upon service. Reading this book will help teach you the value of throwing out the old rules and writing a new script for a new game. A game where everyone wins.

The chapters of this book include: Play by the New Rules… “Caveat Vendidor!” Design a New Strategy… It’s NOT just Business; It’s Personal!, Practice New Economics… Good Deals are Good Business!, Seek a New Mission… Put People Ahead of Products and Profits!, Send a New Message… What Business Are YOU In?, Chant a New Mantra… “Serve, Deliver, Serve Some More!”, Find New Solutions… Don’t Fall in Love with Products or Services!, Acquire New Skills… Master the Tools of the Game!, Build A New Model… Integrate or Disintegrate! and Generate New Money… Profit is EVERYBODY’S Business! The material covers everything a reader needs to know about generating a profit while gaining lifelong customers and keeping loyal and happy employees. Apply these proven principles used by companies such as Nordstrom and Starbucks and you will find your business growing exponentially while you achieve your dreams!

Mitchell Axelrod is a consultant, professional speaker, talk show radio host and frequently published author on the topics of marketing, sales, entrepreneurship, life skills and playing the new game. For over twenty-five years Mitch has been consulting with Fortune 500 companies, banks, insurance companies, small businesses and individuals on how to boost income, increase sales and profits while deriving more fun, fulfillment and satisfaction from work. You can purchase The NEW Game Of Business at http://www.TheNewGame.com

(c) 2004, Davis Virtual Assistance. All rights in all media reserved. Permission to reprint granted to all venues so long as the venue is opt-in only.
bio = Bonnie Jo Davis is a Virtual Assistant, author of the e-book Articles That Sell and webmaster of the Articles That Sell Center. To sign-up for her free monthly e-zine visit http://www.ArticlesThatSell.com/newsletter.htm

Popularity: 5% [?]



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