Think of one good keyword or keyword phrase. If you are building a website about inline skates your keyword should be something like ‘ inline skates’. When choosing your keyword keep your competitors in mind. If you are building a website about computers you may want to think twice before picking the keyword ‘computers’. If you have plenty of money for marketing your website then you may be able to be successful with a very competitive keyword but if you are an average person you may want to think of something a little less competitive like ‘computer information’. A very valuable resource you should use (I use it just about every day for one thing or another) is the Keyword Selector Tool at inventory.overture. com. Type in your keyword in the very simple tool, this will show you how many searches were on yahoo in the last month on the keyword you typed in and on other keywords similar to it. I would suggest to pick a keyword that is RELEVANT to the theme of your site that has somewhere between 2,000 and 5,000 searches a month. This is because of what I said before, competition. If you are started your first website you DO NOT need to waste your time competing with Dell or Microsoft. Once you choose your Keyword or Keyword phrase either write it down or memorize it, this will be a very important part of getting your website known.

Now that you have the idea for your website and the keyword, you need a domain (the actual website address, ie. http ://www. yoursite. com) Now you need to think of a domain name. When considering your domain name, try to think of one that has each word of your keyword or keyword phrase in it, for instance, if your keyword is computer information the idea domain would be http ://www. computerinformation. com. Of course most domains are allready taken so you will have to add something in, a suggestion would be http ://www. computer-information-now. com . Do not get too stuck on picking the right domain name, allthough it is better to have your keyword in your domain, it will not badly damage your marketing. You register domains through what is called a ‘Website Host’ Choosing a bad host can cause problems in the future. I have always used the same host called 1and1, so I honestly couldn’t tell you all about every host out there. For this instruction I will use 1and1 for the examples as this is the Host I am familiar with. To find out which domains are available go to their homepage, on the right in the middle of the page there is a spot to check domain availability, you simply type in the domain you are interested in and it will tell you if it is available or not.

Now that you have chosen your domain name you will need to register it. On the previous step I explained how to find out if a domain is available or not. Go back to the host website, type in the domain you have chosen and just follow the simple steps. You will have to choose a hosting package, since you are probably brand new to all of this you may want to choose the basic package but if you know you are going to stick with this you will eventually want to purchase the business package.

Now you have come up with the idea for your site, chosen a good keyword, chosen a domain and registered it. Now how do you actually create the website? I think this is the step that scares most people away from the idea of making your own website, but it is actually very easy. You DO NOT have to know HTML ( Hypertext Markup Language ) – The code that actually makes a website work, to build a website, you DO NOT have to know anything about Website Design, all you have to know is what I have told you already and what I am about to tell you. If you do know how HTML works it is possible to make your website straight through your host but it will take you 10 times more time and effort. There is software out there that has been created for you to use that will create the HTML for you. I use a program called Dreamweaver. Dreamweaver is said to be the number one website building software on the market. When I first purchased this software I had no idea how to use it. It took a few hours to learn how to use the basics and a few weeks to learn the more advanced stuff but anyone can learn how to use it just by messing around with it and seeing what things do. Purchasing this software will be the biggest investment you will make in the whole process of making a website but in the long run it is WELL worth the investment. If you get stuck you can always call them, afterall you did pay for the software, they should provide technical support right? They do!

Thats it, Enjoy your very own unique, operational Website. by: Joshua Spaulding

Keywords, basically, are the words or phrases that are most associated with the subject of your business. These are the terms that people will most likely use to search for information about the topic of your website.

For example, your website is dedicated to the general subject of “cat care.” The keywords that are applicable for your business should be:

cat care 
care cat 
care of a cat 
cat care clinic 
cat care society 
care of my cat 
take care of my cat 
take care of a cat 
cat health care 
to take care of a cat 
how to take care of a cat 
care for a cat 
care of cat 
care for cat 
care of your cat 
to care for a cat 
how to care for a cat 
taking care of a cat 
cat dental care 
persian cat care

There are more, most definitely, but these examples should give you a good idea on how to come up with the most effective keywords for your online business.

You could manually think of 1000s of applicable keywords, but such would be a brain buster. Instead, check out the tools found on the following websites:

https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordSandbox

http://www.inventory.overture.com

http://www.goodkeywords.com

The features on these sites will give you a lot of suggestions for possible keywords which you can use. Once you have selected your keywords, it’s time to put them to good use. Here are the things that you should do with them:

Populate your website’s content with the keywords. Try to insert 2 to 4 keywords per 100 words. This will give you a 2 to 4 percent density level, which many experts believe is the optimal amount of keywords to attract the attention of the search engine spiders without compromising the logical integrity of your content.

Remember, just because you use the keywords in your content, doesn’t mean that the readability of your content should be sacrificed. Always keep in mind that you have to keep your content informative.

Insert the keywords in your meta tags. Meta tags are HTML codes that help the search engine spiders to identify your web pages. Simply include the following tag in your source code:

Please Note: In each of the HTML instances below, to create PROPER html tags you will need to replace [ with .

[META name=”keywords” content=”(place your keywords here with each term separated by a comma)”]

Meta tags should also be present for your title, with the use of the tag [title] , as well as your headlines, with the use of the tag [h1], [h2], [h3] and so on and so forth.

Here’s an example of a title tag for your source code:

[title]An Introduction To Cat Care[title]

And here’s an example of a headline tags:

[h1]Why Should You Care For Your Cat?[h1]

[body](the appropriate part of your content goes here)[body]

[h2]How To Start Caring or Your Cat[h2]

[body](the appropriate part of your content goes here)[body]

Use your keywords in your ALT tags. ALT tags is the alternative text that appears every time the mouse cursor passes over an image. It is advisable that you have a working knowledge of HTML for this, though most HTML editors like Microsoft Front Page and Macromedia Dreamweaver have features that will make this easier.

It is important to note how search engine spiders read your website. Once they have pinpointed your page, courtesy of the meta tags in your source code, the search engine spiders will read your content from the uppermost left part of the page going to the extreme right, and back left in the next line, much like how a web surfer will view your site.

It is therefore essential that the uppermost left portion of your webpage contains your keywords. This can be done by including the said keywords in your title.

Your first paragraph is critical. Make sure to include your keywords in the very first sentence, and also try to mention your keywords at least twice in the rest of the paragraph. Succeeding paragraphs need only mention your keywords at least once.

Divide your content into paragraphs, and introduce a shift in subtopic with a sub-headline. The sub-headline should also include your keywords.

Lastly, about the bottommost right portion of a web page, many people are actually having a hard time figuring out how to include the keywords in this section. Here’s a simple trick. The bottommost right portion of a page is usually reserved for your copyright notice. In our running example of a business involved with cat care, where “cat care” are the primary keywords, you could use the copyright format below:

© 2005 cat care

That should do it, right?

Keyword research and website optimization are only a small part of getting high search engine rankings. I will cover other strategies in coming articles. 

by: Mal Keenan

1. Create at least four keyword posts per day. Most of the top blogs such as Boing Boing, Daily Kos, and Instapundit (with literally tens of thousands of visitors per day) publish an average of 30 small 100-150 word posts per day according to “Secrets of the A-list Bloggers: Lots of Short Posts” by TNL.net

2. Submit to My Yahoo! When you submit your own RSS to My Yahoo it is indexed by Yahoo.

3. Submit to Google’s Reader. When you submit your own blog RSS to Google’s Reader the Google Blog Search will index your site.

4. Add a relevant link directory to your blog and trade links like a demon possessed! Although it may take more time than simply submitting to a search engine one time, this method is perhaps the best way to drive traffic to your site. Use software such as Zeus to speed up the link trading process.

5. Use ping sites like ping-o-matic. Ping your site every time you add a new post.

6. Submit your blog to traditional search engines such as AltaVista, and MSN.

7. Submit your blog to traditional directories such as DMOZ. Directories (particularly DMOZ) increase relevance with Google. DMOZ is very picky, but what do you have to lose by trying?

8. Submit to as many RSS Directories and Search Engines as possible. This is a simple but repetitive process that can be done with software such as RSS SUBMIT.

9. Comment on other blogs. Do not just leave short, lazy comments like “I agree.” Leave well thought out replies that will force readers to wonder “who wrote this?”

10. Use track backs. If there is a blog that you refer to or quote and it is highly relevant to your subject, leave a track back. It increases your link popularity and may even score a few interested readers from the linked site.

11. Go offline. Use newspaper ads, public bulletin boards, business cards, even stickers to let as many people as possible know your blog exists.

12. Add a link to your blog in your e-mail signature block.

13. Use Groups (Usenet). Find a relevant group on Google groups, Yahoo groups, MSN groups or any of the thousands of other FREE group services and find like minded people and talk with them. Make sure to use your blog URL like it is your name.

14. Use Forums. Forums are one of the best places to go for advice. Go to forums and find problems to solve. Make sure you leave your blog name, but be tactful about it; some forums get annoyed with those who selfishly drop a few links to their own site and leave.

15. Tag your website. Tagging is a new idea that has erupted across the web. Sites like Del.icio.us, Technorati and many others have a social feature that allows you to place your article under keywords or “tags” that everyone interested in that tag can see.

by: Kevin Oorlynck

The product you sell is an important factor that Dallas Web Design will need to focus on. You want to sell something that is high in demand and not only just one product. When you use Dallas SEO Company they can help you break down who your audience is and how to target them. They want to be sure your content matches the type of people you are trying to sell to. 

A payment method is a tool that Dallas Web Design will integrate on your site. There are many different merchants to choose from when you sell items online. This will make purchases easy for shoppers and convenient when they can purchase directly from you. A Dallas SEO Company will ensure you don’t have a mail in order company because you will never make any sales and lose a lot of customers. 

Shipping companies are another factor you need to consider with your Dallas Web design. It is best to work with a business so you don’t have to drive to the post office every day. In addition, a Dallas SEO company will provide a way for customers to choose different shipping options that they can afford like FEDEX and UPS. 

When you use a Dallas SEO company they are going to provide a marketing campaign that is affordable for you. They will advertise your business which will bring in traffic to your site and increase revenue. With the proper Dallas web design there will be hype about your products and your business. 

One of the biggest opportunities the Internet provides is for anyone to have their own business. Dallas Web Design can show you just how cheap it is to have an online company and drive traffic to your company. When you hire a Dallas SEO company they will help you sell any product you want to. You might not even have a product or a service but just an informational site. They can help provide or write content to provide the useful information you are trying to achieve. 

Selling products and services online is really super simple. You can work from the luxury of your own home when you hire a Dallas SEO Company to help you get started. They are the fastest way to get the best results with a retail shop. When you have the right Dallas web design you will be successful. You can make a lot of money online and you can sell anything you want to. Hiring a professional is the best thing you can do for yourself and your business. They can provide marketing, opportunity, and much more. by: Jordan FeRoss

Jason Vaughn, founder of CreativePublic.com, envisioned a web destination where graphic designers around the world could find information, services and products to support their business needs. Vaughn knew that securing a concise, creative domain name on the Internet would ensure that his vision would become a reality. Today,CreativePublic.com – which originally was a resource for his college students only — is now one of the top resources for graphic designers all over the world!

The founder credits much of this success to the unique identification of his creative domain name. Because of this domain name and web site, Vaughn is able to share his knowledge with graphic designers 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Since registering and launching CreativePublic.com, Jason has been able to fund his children’s college education, meet like-minded people from places like China , Ireland , England , Russia , and obtain job offers from companies such as sessions.edu, which is an online school of design.

Shaun Cronrath recently spoke with Jason about his new domain venture. This is what he had to say:

Shaun Cronrath: Can you tell us a little about yourself?

Jason Vaughn: I have over 10 years experience in the graphic design industry including print, TV, animation and the Internet. During that time, I’ve owned a graphic design firm, taught web design at a community college, and co-founded Internet startups. Some of my clients include Blue Cross, NBA, NFL, NHL, Energas, and Aramark. I’m also currently an online instructor for sessions.edu, which is the first accredited online school of design.

Shaun Cronrath: Can you tell us about your domain?

Jason Vaughn: CreativePublic.com has been something I have wanted to do for quite some time. It first started out as a resource for my students that I was teaching at a community college in the Dallas , Texas . I had already decided that I wanted to makeCreativePublic.com into a business resource for graphic designers; something that is not very available for designers. Most sites out their today have little to do with the background of business, they are all about design. That is when I decided that every designer at some point would need the same forms, contracts, pricing guides, employee manuals, and other information that I needed with my business.

Shaun Cronrath: How did you think of this idea?

Jason Vaughn: The idea has been there since I first started my ad agency back many years ago. Many people have come to me, asking me how I got started and what it took to get going in business. I wanted to create a site based on what I did with my business. The idea did not become a reality until I got the opportunity to teach Web design at a community college 2 years ago.

Shaun Cronrath: When did you realize that sharing your passion via creativepublic.comcould turn into something successful?

Jason Vaughn: I realized that my passion for CreativePublic.com would turn into something successful when I got my first sale. I figured if one person bought my product, there should be more designers out that would do the same. Another really big deal was when CreativePublic.com was featured on HOWDesign.com (HOW magazine), a leader in the graphic design publication industry. That was when I knew, for a fact, that the site had value and was on its way to being successful. Since then, CreativePublic.comhas become one of the top resources for graphic designers.

Shaun Cronrath: How has your life changed since you registered and launched your domain?

Jason Vaughn: I feel more connected to the graphic design world, even though I sit behind a computer all day. I feel more a part of a bigger community. CreativePublic.comhas not only become a community for designers, but has given me the opportunity to meet so many great people. I get to talk to people across the world and make great friends in places like China , Ireland , England , Russia and many other countries. The extra income is great too! It helps pay for my car, house, and my children’s college education.

Shaun Cronrath: How has other peoples lives been effected since you registered and launched your domain?

Jason Vaughn: The feedback I get from my visitors and members is great. Everyone is always complimenting me and thanking me for coming up with such a great resource for designers. It has helped many designers to get their business started or obtain information and forms that they could use for their business operations.

Shaun Cronrath: Can you share with us any obstacles you overcame while registering your domain?

Jason Vaughn: Finding a domain was hard, almost everything was taken, but with a little imagination I was able to conger up a name. I tried several names, but one tool that helped out were those that listed alternate domain names I could choose from. After several days of research, I decided on a name based on my concept. I was really surprised that the name was available. The domain was chosen to pertain to creative people of all types, not just graphic designers. The site is mostly for designers, however it has much to offer for other creative individuals.

Shaun Cronrath: As a successful domain name owner, do have any words of advice for others who aspire to use a domain name as a vehicle to share their creative talents and ideas?

Jason Vaughn: If you have an idea, the only way to see if it will work, is to put it into action. If you just sit around dreaming about it, it will never ever happen.

by: Shaun Cronrath

There are many types of home businesses but not all of them are right for all people. You need to ask yourself these questions: Do I want to start my own business from scratch? Do I just want to join an MLM and sell for someone else? Do I want to sell physical products or digital products? Do I want to do all the work online or offline too? Do I want help with my business or do I want to go solo? Do I just want to become an affiliate and sell other people’s online products? 

MLM/Direct Sales – The company you sell for is in control of how you run your business. You are paid a commission for sales and usually have to recruit a downline. 

Distributorship – You are in control of your own business. You keep all profits and do not need to recruit a downline. 

Digital Products – Selling digital products such as ebooks is done online and there is no need for an inventory, shipping or worrying about damaged goods. 

Affiliate Programs – many people make a good online income just by selling other people’s products. 

Service Provider – This would include such things as virtual assistant, party planner, pet sitter, etc. 

These types of businesses can be combined to form one very successful business. Such as applying for a distributorship and then also offering ebooks on your online store site. 

Once you have chosen your business and gotten all your permits, tax numbers, etc, you will need to start marketing your new business. There are countless ways to do this online and offline. 

Offline Marketing 

Offline marketing would include: business cards, flyers, attending your community events and networking, attending expos, craft fairs, trade shows, postcards, phone calls, newsletter advertising, door hangers, radio, fundraisers, school functions, catalog distribution, mailing lists, home parties, car magnets, brochures, seminars, yellow pages and more. Use your creativity to come up with your own unique marketing ideas. 

Online Marketing 

Marketing strategies online include: link exchanges, search engines, autoresponders, online auctions, email press release, online chats/seminars, ebooks, blogging, tutorials, ad swapping, ezine publishing, article marketing and much more! 

To market your home business takes a lot of work, consistency, time and commitment. Handing out a couple business cards and throwing up a website will not suffice. Work as many as these marketing ideas as you can. Find out which ones really work for you and then expand on them. Then try more! 

I want to make sure you understand that you cannot treat your business as a hobby. If you want a successful business with a full time income, you have to work your business full time. If you find one of these programs that claim you can make thousands a week for 5 minutes of work, (that actually work) please let me know. In the meantime, start using some of these ideas and get your business name out there!

by: Terri Seymour

So although you do have to exert effort, dust off and use your imagination, and even learn some new skills (gasp!), you can use affiliate marketing programs to make cash online and maximize your earning potential. While it is not necessarily quick or free, affiliate marketing is one of the simplest and most effective ways to make easy money online today. 

Just to clarify in case you don’t already know, affiliate marketing is an agreement between a merchant (retailer) and a website owner (you). The website owner (affiliate) uses their website to promote the merchant’s products by linking to the merchant’s website. The merchant pays a commission to the affiliate on all sales generated by the affiliate. So whenever a visitor clicks on that link on the affiliate website and makes a purchase, the affiliate is paid a commission. 

Affiliate marketing programs are a win-win situation for both the merchant and the affiliate, because the merchant is exposed to a wider market in which to advertise his product or service by the affiliate’s efforts, and the affiliate does not have to warehouse or create his own products. The merchant can have an army of affiliates promoting his products at no cost to him, so literally thousands of merchants representing every imaginable type of product are more than willing to participate in such affiliate marketing programs. 

Ok, ok….I know….how can this be my online money maker? What’s in it for me? There are actually some quite compelling benefits to online money making opportunities such as affiliate marketing programs for those with the right entrepreneurial spirit, so let’s outline what those are: 

- Work From Home 

I can think of many reasons this would be appealing. You hate your job. Your boss hates you. Everybody at your company is probably going to be laid off. You can barely pay your bills and need to make some extra income. You want to be fabulously wealthy. You have always wanted to be self-employed. You want to raise your children yourself, rather than let a babysitter or daycare worker witness their first word, first step…..you get the picture. You are retired and your social security and/or pension payments just aren’t cutting it….plus you are now bored just sitting in your rocking chair all day. Or, most important of all, you_______ (fill in the blank). Your own reasons are the best ones of all. 

- No Sales Experience Necessary 

That’s right, there is absolutely no sales experience necessary because you aren’t selling anything. You are merely directing buyers to the merchant’s website, where they make the sale….and then pay you. Since your responsibility is simply to find prospects for the merchant; you don’t have to worry about inventory, order processing, product shipping, customer service support, returns, blah, blah, blah. These are all the duties of the merchant. Yes!! And….most affiliate marketing programs offer excellent support, free marketing materials, and even training. 

- Make Cash Online 

Perhaps the best benefit of promoting affiliate marketing programs is the opportunity to increase your income. You can be an affiliate marketer even if it is only a sideline business; but with your own affiliate marketing business, you can easily earn either extra income or expand your efforts to make it into a full-time income if you wish. 

- Minimal Start-Up Costs 

Since you are selling other people’s products, there are no warehousing or production costs for any products you sell. Your only costs will be for an internet connection, domain name and a website. Some say that you don’t even need a website, but it is probably easier and more professional looking if you do spring for that expense. And affiliate marketing programs are almost always free to join. 

- Minimal Risk 

Another benefit of promoting affiliate marketing programs is the minimal risk involved. If the product you decide to promote doesn’t turn into an online money maker, you aren’t obligated to a losing proposition. There are no long-term binding contracts tying you to any products, so you can easily stop your promotion of a product that isn’t working for you and select another program. 

- Own Your Own Global Business 

Because of the global reach of the internet, you can easily find thousands of prospects worldwide who are interested in the products you promote. By having such an enormous market base, you can attract more prospects, and thus maximize your potential to make easy money online. 

- It Is FUN 

Why not create your own online money making opportunities by promoting the hobbies or interests you already love? There are thousands of products and services you can choose from to promote, so why not make money online by promoting products in which you already have an interest? You can find affiliate marketing programs for virtually every product under the sun, so surely there’s a product or service out there that is relevant to your interests.  

by: Jacque LaMantia

This rather crass question became popular in the late 1970′s, when many couples chose to live together without the benefit of marriage. Similarly, today’s affiliate marketers tend to favor programs that offer no sign-up fee, especially when so many include support, personalized websites, back-office marketing, etc.

And, too, there are programs that offer nothing more than an ID link and a few banner ads on a login page. In fact, seemingly sophisticated marketers are often offended by a program that requires an up-front investment. And for good reason: the marketer is already investing time, effort and their own marketing system (i.e., money) to promote a given program– an additional investment seems as if the company is taking advantage of them.

And some do. But not all of them.

In fact, online companies that offer affiliate programs can be divided into roughly three different categories: Those that offer free sign up; those that offer a free sign-up but require some kind of back-end fee; and those that require an up-front investment from their affiliates, as well as a back-end fee. The reasoning behind each strategy varies from program to program and should be considered along with the qualities of each. But, in general terms, these are the basic strategies behind them:

FREE SIGN-UP PROGRAMS

This kind of arrangement is usually offered by those companies that offer little, if any, hands-on support for their affiliates. They supply the link and a login-secure page on their site with several advertising tools, possibly with an automatic payment system, such as through ClickBank or Storm Pay.

These companies are generally small — possibly only one or two people — and are hoping to capitalize on the affiliate marketing system with little or no effort on their part. Generally, too, they offer only one product or promotion. For the marketer, unless volume sales are huge, they can expect to make only a few dollars from these types of programs. But, if all they have to do is put an affiliate link on their website to generate sales, this is sufficient for the marketer. Also, a very small percentage of companies in this category offer an MLM system.

PRO: These type of programs are a quick and easy way to cash in on a new product or trend, provided one learns of it early.

CON: Once the market is saturated, sales reduce to the point where even the small space the link takes up on their webpage becomes a loss. Also, unless the company is sound — as well as responsive to its affiliates — there is always a chance it could fold up and disappear before the marketer ever sees any actual cash for his or her sales.

FREE SIGN UP WITH BACK END PAYMENT PROGRAM

This is the most common type of arrangement and the companies that employ this seem to be trying to utilize the “best of both worlds” approach. Either the company will offer initial sign-up for free with incentives to upgrade, or they will charge for “extras” in lieu of sales or a downline (in the case of MLMs). Essentially, these companies are “straddling the fence”, that is, trying to find a way for the affiliates to cover their own expenses without making an “up-front” investment.

PRO: Programs like this often forego charges once a marketer creates a certain amount of sales or take the charge out of commissions, both of which give the marketer an incentive to make a minimum amount of sales. The companies that use this type of program usually offer adequate back-office support such as a support staff to answer questions, payment schedules that are adaptable to each marketer and regularly updated promotional materials. They also tend to be better established than the completely-free-program companies and often have a physical contact address and telephone number for questions or problems.

CON: Without sales or a downline, marketers are often paying much more in the long run than many up-front investment programs charge. Also, in the case of companies that ARE well-established, a new marketer may be unknowingly entering a field that is fully saturated with other, well-established and more experienced marketers. This makes obtaining the sales they need especially challenging, particularly for the newer marketer. Getting their foot in the door becomes a challenge of its own.

THE UP-FRONT INVESTMENT PROGRAM

These are less common than in the past but still exist — and, in fact, are still being created — under certain, specific circumstances. The company that opts for this arrangement may use up-front investment as a way to “pre-qualify” its marketers, hoping to capture only the most professional and serious-minded marketers. They usually offer higher than average incentives and may also have a high-demand product in which the company has already invested heavily themselves. And, too, they may be budgeting for future advancements and product placements, as well as creating support teams specifically designed to help the marketing staff alone. These companies will often include — to help off-set the investment — many back-office features not usually offered to marketers in other programs. And, without exception, these companies offer higher-than-average commissions.

PRO: Programs such as this offer more promise to actually obtain the kind of income that has become infamous (not to mention synonymous) with internet marketing. Also, bonuses or other payment arrangements that allow the marketer to make higher than average commissions. Back-end support is usually top-notch including, in some circumstance, the marketer is treated as an actual employee. Some even include benefit packages and other employee-like perks. The product or product line is something in high-demand and/or has a high rate of sales.

CON: The up-front investment obviously causes start-up marketers to turn away. Also, competition from serious marketers who have well-established sites makes succeeding in this field challenging. Further requirements after joining the program that may increase the challenge of succeeding. Due to their inherent popularity, a short time-frame in which joining this type of program is viable in terms of ROI.

In choosing individual programs, a marketer must decide which type is best for them, regarding their resources, their own marketing strategy, the overall ROI (return on Investment), and based on their advertising campaign/budget. Many marketers choose a mixture of these programs in order to minimize their investment while maximizing their return.

Oh and, by the way? In case you’re wondering, many of those couples in the 1970′s that started out living together, ended up getting married after all. So, what does that say about getting the milk for free?–mo

By Marige O’Brien, Copyright © 2006

Reprint With Byline Inclusion Only

by: Marige O’Brien

As online joint venture partnerships, affiliate programs allows both content publishers and web merchants to maximize their online profits by working with each other.

Content publishers, including webmasters, ezine writers and forum owners, are able to focus their energies and resources on what they know best…creating great content to attract web visitors.

Affiliate merchants on the other hand, are able to focus their efforts on creating great products, receiving online payments, and getting their products to customers.

The success of affiliate marketing has resulted in an unfortunate problem:

Because they are so popular, there are now so many affiliate merchants fighting for affiliates that it has become hard for them to differentiate themselves from each other and to attract good affiliates.

Put another way, while affiliates can help merchants solve the problem of finding customers, merchants are now facing the problem of having to first find good affiliates!

This has given rise to some innovative merchants setting up affiliate programs that pay affiliate commissions to multiple tiers of affiliates, the most popular being 2 tier affiliate programs.

What this does is to create a unique opportunity for “Affiliate Recruiters” who join multi tier affiliate programs to serve a slightly different function.

These affiliate recruiters, often owners of websites, ezines, and forums that attract other webmasters, focus their energies recruiting other webmasters to sign up as their “sub-affiliates” and to sell the affiliate products.

As a result, when affiliate products are sold by their sub-affiliates, these affiliate recruiters will also get paid a referral commission.

Two important points to understand are:

1) The affiliate programs must be free to join…no “sign-up” fees, “set-up” costs, nor “product-testing” fees are involved…otherwise they become traditional multi level marketing programs, and run the risk of affiliates trying to make money by “pushing products” to other affiliates.

2) While these programs create a new role for “affiliate recruiters” who can make money by specializing in recruiting affiliates, the products will still have to actually be sold to real customers for the merchant, affiliate recruiter, and affiliate to make any money.

If you are currently an affiliate merchant having problems recruiting good affiliates, why not consider using a multi tier affiliate program and let “affiliate recruiters” do this work for you?

If you happen to run a webmaster related site, or happen to know many webmasters or successful affiliates, why not consider being an “affiliate recruiter” by recommending multi tier affiliate programs?by: Terence Tan

There are many ways to develop a linking strategy where the links to your site will multiply without any effort from you. This is the most effective way to generate links to point to your site. In this article we will discuss how to do this, debunk myths, and how to do this without unintentionally harming your site’s status.

Debunking myths:

Linking software

I personally don’t approve of linking software that does the work for you. Why? Because the software does not do a good enough job where it can tell if the site it has the same theme or relative content that matches your site. Many errors slip through the process when this is done, that can cause damage to the reputation and rankings in the search engine. Also each site that you would like to link to you should have a decent PR ranking from Google to help your site’s rankings. (PR ranking is a method that Google uses to put a value on the web site) If you have too many web sites pointing to you with a poor PR ranking it could actually make your site drop in the rankings. And in addition sites with excellent PR rankings would help your rankings a great deal.

Linking farms and automated link exchanges

Linking farms and automated link exchanges are not recommended for the same reasons as the linking software. Poor quality links and potentially harmful to your site. In addition these two methods carry another danger. If the site that links to has been put onto a black list for spam, and your site points to that site your web site will automatically get black listed and your rankings will go down as well. That is why I prefer one way links to your site instead of reciprocal links. It may sound hard to do, but it isn’t and I will show you a way to do it below.

The more sites pointing to your site the better. Right?

Wrong! In the past search engines would rank you higher in the search engines by judging the value of your site to the number of links pointing to it. But because people have abused and try to cheat this system, the rules have changed. Now they actually penalize you for too many sites pointing to yours if they are deemed suspicious. For instance many other sites pointing to you with the same IP address (caused by you putting up mirror sites to build links), links that point to that do not have the same content as you (“once I saw a web design site having a reciprocal link with a lingerie site”), and links that have low PR rankings pointing to your site (in this case the more the merrier does not work).

“I’ve seen a site with only 10 links pointing to it (links from government sites) do better with searches than a site that had over 10,000 links pointing to it.”

Another thing to consider: Google has just bought rights to register domain names. So, here is a theory of mine that may show up later. Google may update their algorithm to check links to see if the domain name those links are registered under contain the same registration information. This way it could penalize sites that register a bunch of domain names to point to their site and try to cheat the system.

“The only time you would like a lot of links pointing to your site is if they are from respectable sites, have a high PR ranking, and have relative content.”

Who links to your site now?

An easy way to find this out is to type in link:www.yoursite.com into a search engine and you will receive a list of web sites currently pointing to you.

Are they quality links?

You can use Google toolbar located at their site to read the PR ranking, an add-on extension for Firefox, or visit a web site that will tell you the PR rankings of sites that you type in. If you type in page ranking tool in the search engines you’ll find plenty of resources for this.

Who links to your competitors that are high in the search engines?

Examine and study the links to and from your competitors web site to learn more. And request links from the same people for your site.

How do I build links pointing to my site?

These are a list of ways to build links to your site that are one way links instead of reciprocal links. I highly recommend these ways to build a solid link foundation:

1) Content and more content. Content will increase your rankings in the search engine and people are more likely to link to you if you have valuable content. One time I had a large college link to one of the articles at my site for a research paper. The college had a high PR ranking and the link is in their archives. (This is a way to have your links multiply without the effort)

2) Add a link to us page to your web site. Where you can give the visitors to your site to apply a text link or banner. I recommend a text link to your site that contains keywords for your site. For example, web development contractor would point to my site via hyperlink. (This is a way to have your links multiply without the effort)

3) Start a blog on your site that people can go to and bookmark for the latest information in a category that relates to your site. (This is a way to have your links multiply without the effort)

4) Offer a free helpful ‘how to’ e-book to give away that has links inside of it that point to your site. (This is a way to have your links multiply without the effort)

5) Submit to online directories. Online directories usually have high PR rankings and get picked up by other directories and web sites to include on their sites.

6) Write a testimonial for a site you like that has the same relative content as yours. Chances are that if you praise their site and sign it with a link (to your site) of who praised them they will post it on their site giving you a free one way link.

7) Create a free article directory asking people to submit articles to your site, and in exchange for posting their articles on your site have them post a link on their web site stating where their article can be found. (your site) I’ve seen people put a list of where there article can be found to impress the visitors on how popular they are. (This is a way to have your links multiply without the effort)

Lastly, and most importantly write articles yourself! When I wrote my first article I submitted it to 25 places. (places with higher traffic views) and the next day over 180 sites were pointing to my web site, because I had a nice keyword enriched link pointing to my site in the article. The next day the total was over 300. How do you find out if they are pointing to your site? Type in your article title in quotes into the search engines and then you’ll find out how many sites are posting your article on their site. (This is a way to have your links multiply without the effort)

One thing to do for sure is monitor your results. Who is driving the most traffic to me? Which ways of linking are producing multiplying links without any effort on my part? Which links are actually harmful to me? Do these links compliment my site? Do these things and I guarantee you that the links to your site will increase ten fold.

Be looking for more articles soon!

Copyright © Michael Rock 
Web development contractor (Web Design and Hosting) 
Internet Presence 
www.TheInternetPresence.com

by: Michael Rock