Google

Monday, March 19, 2007

How To Turn Your Site Into A Google A-Lister

Unless you've just recently returned from a protracted space furlough cruising around the solar system, you are probably aware that the current Undisputed Heavy Weight Champ of Search is none other than Google a/k/a The Big Dawg of Search! What you may not know however, is how much of a Champ of Search they really are. Recent surveys and polls list Google as hogging more than a whopping 60% of global search market share.

In order to best understand how to keep your website in Google's good graces you first need to know what their ultimate goal is, or that of any search engine for that matter.

SEARCH IS BIG BUSINESS

Search is a huge money-generating business and not merely a 20th century tool that enables you to conduct research while you slouch on your couch. So how big is the search industry really? Well let's put it this way; in the year of 2006, online advertising racked up revenue in excess of $16.7 billion dollars and is expected to reach $45 billion in the next five years. Impressive huh?

Anyway these figures should give you some idea of the stakes involved in the search engine industry.

Further, more than 97% of Google's not inconsiderable fortune is derived from online advertising. Remember as noted earlier, Google commands more than a 60% share of the global search market; which makes for one very good and big reason you should ensure that your website is googlicious (google extra-friendly).

GOOGLE'S OBJECTIVES AS A COMPANY DETERMINE ITS ONLINE BEHAVIOR

We've already established that search engines are dedicated to more than simply returning pertinent results to yours or any number of the various billion queries conducted each day; they are dedicated revenue generators.

Google is by far the largest search engine and derives more than 97% of its revenue from online advertising. And let's not forget that Google is a publicly held company, meaning that it has an obligation to its investors to maximize yearly profits.

This then clues us in to what Google's main objectives are:

1. Maximize Profits; by

2. Hosting the largest number of advertisers; by

3. Retaining the largest number of conducted online searches; by

4. Supplying the most accurate results per query; which

5. Ensures that more people will use Google as their search engine of choice.

GOOGLE 2007 SHAKEUP

The year 2007 launched with considerable anticipation as well as turbulence for the SEO community. A Google algorithm change or modification that SEO analysts cannot yet as one agree to term either an update or data refresh was the cause of such unrest.

However whether it was an update or data refresh, what is not in contention is that it certainly shook up the SEO horizon and left quite a number of webmasters upset and disgruntled because their websites suddenly lost significant position for targeted keywords. The flip side of this particular coin had a good number of webmasters ecstatic over the realization that that their websites were suddenly ranking very well for their most coveted and targeted keywords.

The ripples of this Google shakeup had authoritative sites (which for time immemorial had been ranking well for particular keywords) suddenly drop several positions on the SERPs and in the worst scenarios disappear completely off the grid! (Most have been reinstated to their former glory.)

This shakeup now also meant that wizened old websites could no longer rely on the age factor alone to guarantee their index listings or page rank. In order to maintain their long coveted positions such sites need to be refreshing data or adding new content regularly.

Disconcerting as these new rules may be there actually is a lot of sense to this approach. Perhaps you may recall that in 2006 Google experienced a server overload super-crisis. There simply were not enough servers to accommodate the burgeoning number of web pages of the ever-expanding internet.

So to alleviate the situation Google adopted a number of modifications of which perhaps the most notable was the one which restricted the Google spider to crawl only those web pages that were accessible via external links. The rationale behind this was that pending the acquisition of new servers only such web pages that were considered of the utmost relevance would make it into the Google index.

Thus it is not too far of a stretch to consider the 2007 Google shakeup as a reinforced strategy on their part to avoid the server debacle of 2006 and by proxy also sharpen the accuracy of their indexed data.

HOW TO KEEP YOUR SITE GOOGLICIOUS IN A WORLD OF UPDATES!

1. KEEP IT FRESH

To maintain or elevate your website's page rank or listing on the SERPs, you need to add new content or at least refresh it on a regular basis. In the past it was possible for fairly old websites to remain static yet maintain their high page rank and SERP listing purely based on the age factor. Due to algorithm tweaks following the 2007 Google shakeup, that is no longer possible.

2. KEEP THOSE LINKS GROWING

Using inbound links as the premier tool of measure for evaluating the importance of a website is not going to change any time soon. If you consider that an inbound link is an approximate thumbs-up vote for the linked-to site then you easily understand why this measure of evaluation is not about to disappear quite yet.

Certainly not all links are created equal such that links from topically relevant and related web pages are more highly rated than those from topically unrelated web pages. However it isn't always possible to get such topically related links but the bottom line: your website is not going to mature on the SERPs or graduate page rank-wise without external inbound links.

There's also a new twist in the way links are evaluated. Beforehand a high page rank link was the most valuable kind of link, but now that search engines are more sophisticated there's a new system in play. The strength of a link will be determined by the number of clicks that link garners. In other words a very active PR3 link characterized by a high click-through-rate will score much higher from an SEO point of view than a PR8 link that has next to no clicks! This is just one of the latest ways in which the search engine algorithms are combating artificial link acquirement.

When all is said and done however--keep those links growing!

3. MAINTAIN WEB INTERCONNECTIVITY

From the outset the ideal vision of the internet was one where a mass of data would connect together through a natural progression of topical relevance via links. Well as you're probably aware, ideal and paradise tend to exist more in the hypothetical realm than the real world.

Anyway back on this theme of interconnectivity, for the longest time it was considered good SEO practice to hoard your page rank as much as possible by having as few outbound links as possible. That has changed and now having next to no outbound links could even result in a minor penalty. It would appear that as the algorithms have smartened up the search engines are now finally reaching for the sky--aiming for that elusive web paradise!

4. KEEP IT STICKY

In the same manner that you can tell how long people are spending on your website from your web stats so can the search engines. The longer visitors spend on your site the stickier your site is said to be. Suffice it to say that the more sticky your site the better as far as search engine optimization goes. A stickier site will improve your page rank and SERP listings. The best way to make your site sticky is to have interesting, valuable and stimulating content!

Ba Kiwanuka is the webmaster of http://www.internetbusinessmart.com

http://www.internetbusinessmart.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ba_Kiwanuka

Tired Of Buying Money Making Ebooks

The truth is that you need to buy some money making ebooks if you are working into this niche. But good ones, not the ones with the hype, those that only base their business on the resale of their own ebook with you as an affiliate advertising it.

Think about this: in any human activity, online or off line, there is a need for knowledge in order to do the right way whatever you are entitled to do. You go to school, to college, to courses. You learn your job.

The same need for knowledge is required in the ecommerce business. You need to be informed, to have the knowledge about the field or topic of your online presence.

You must select an ebook which gives you a straight to the point advice. And you must select maybe two or tree books in different topics in order to have a complete view of the big picture.

And it will be best if this book has the business opportunity in addition to the valuable information they provide.

So the big question might be: how to find a product which is affordable to buy, is valuable to use, and then you will be able to sell it online to others, and recover your investment, many times?

Then you will have to think about the price tag. What product is best to sell, which one will be easier. The $97 product or the $2.99 product. I know what you will be thinking; it is better to sell a high price tag product as you will make more money. But the truth is that high price products to sell online involve a more iterative sales process: you will need to contact your prospect customer many times in order to close the sale; it involves a lot of effort.

On the other hand to be able to make money with the low ticket product you will need to automate all the process; but, once this automation part of the business is set, the selling process will be a machine, with a lesser customer-salesman effort. Then, what is the perfect ebook to sell?

Want to learn more about this selling strategy? Click here: http://www.find-a-product2sell.com


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Pablo_Molina

Friday, March 16, 2007

Creating Residual Income - Affiliate Programs Are The Answer

If you are tired of the daily nine to five slog and trapped in the proverbial rat race of modern life, it’s time for you to take a trip back to the Middle Ages. Here’s why: In the Middle Ages, although no one really knew it at the time, a concept developed that would be responsible for the wealth of some of the biggest business titans in our modern age. Back in the Middle Ages a select few people (usually aristocracy) were land owners, and we are not just talking about little lots, but we are talking states and provinces which ‘belonged’ to individuals and families. Due to their positions as land owners they were able to make a fortune for doing absolutely nothing.
See, what these landowners did was to charge every person who lived on their land a levy – regardless of what they did on the land. If you were a landowner and you had seven towns on your land every person and farmer in and around those towns had to pay you a monthly or weekly fee, just for being there. This is where the idea and the principle behind residual income originated. Residual income, by definition, is income that continues to be generated after the initial effort has been expended. As for the landowners, their asset (the land) kept on bringing in income month after month without them having to do much more. After they got hold of the land their income was residual.
Most people today earn linear income. Linier income is income that is directly proportional to the amount of hours you work and it is nothing more than a reward for your time and effort. Residual income, on the other hand, is what is often called smart money. The really rich never ‘work’ for money. They set up residual income streams that keep working for them and they earn money long after they set up the system that generates it. You either work for your money or your money works for you.
The sheer thought of going to sleep and knowing that you are actually earning money while you sleep is a blissful thought and one that I am sure appeals to many. The problem is that residual income remains an illusive concept for most. Surely it sounds nice, but ‘how’ do you create residual income for yourself? I believe that when it comes to residual income affiliate programs hold the key, especially if you are starting out with nothing and especially if you are stuck in a current job that limits your free time.
Before we look at how you can create residual income with affiliate programs, lets look at some of the more traditional ways of creating residual income. Firstly, if you have a lot of money you can create residual income by investing your money. Your return on your investment will be a recurring income or you can invest your money in a business that will make you money even if you do nothing. This is where the idea of ‘it takes money to make money’ comes to its own. Similarly, you can invest your money in real estate and let it out to receive a monthly income from the rent. The second way to earn residual income is to write a book. You do the work once and you earn a royalty or commission for every book that gets sold. This can be highly lucrative, but it definitely does not strike a cord with everybody. Many residual income affiliate programs are based on ebooks that pay commission, but more on this later. In a similar way you can write a computer program or a play or a movie and earn residual income off that. Once again this requires significant amounts of time and above all - talent.
I am sure that there are many people who actually do have the time and talent to do that, but for the rest of us, starting out with very little time and money, there must be a way of creating residual income for ourselves. I believe that residual income affiliate programs hold the key. It requires very little money to start with, you can do it by investing only a couple of hours a week and virtually anyone can do it. You do not need any special skills or knowledge to do it.
Virtually every product on the market these days are available through affiliate programs. Basically, affiliate programs pay you a commission for every sale that is made from customers that you refer to the vendor’s website. Let’s say you start a website about your favorite thing in life, your Chiwawa. Now, you probably know more about Chiwawas than 99% of the people out there, so doing it won’t be difficult at all. By signing up for relevant affiliate programs your readers can go straight from your site to a vendor where they can purchase relevant products or services. For this you will earn a commission and the best part is that you will continue to earn that commission for years to come. As your website becomes more popular and grow in size and content you will draw even more visitors and your residual income will increase, regardless of whether you work on it or not.
Residual income affiliate programs is the answer to making smart money. You probably won’t quit your day job after two months, but starting to build residual income can easily snowball. In fact it always does, and before you know it you will be earning a full time income while you sleep.
Article by Sincere-Advice.com To learn more about creating multiple streams of residual income, visit http://www.sincere-advice.com/residualincome.html and learn how to create your financial freedom online with affiliate programs.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Deon_Du_Plessis

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Formatting Your Forum Signatures For Best Exposure

Online forums are now a common feature on the Internet. Some websites have even broken the traditional definitions of a website and feature only forum, where the main index page is a list of forums and active discussions. These websites offer content not in the traditional form of static webpages but dynamic user submitted posts and content. With an active community continuously contributing to the content of the website, the website develops into popular place for the latest news and acts as a grapevine for forum members.
In addition to participating on forums and gaining new knowledge from other members, forums are an excellent place to promote your websites. This is done through the forum signatures that most forums will allow each member to have. These forum signatures are automatically attached into the post made by the member. Forum signatures have traditionally been used in mails and then in electronic mails and then in bulletin-board/newsgroups discussions. It is no surprise that the signature system also progressed into the online forum and is widely supported by popular forum software such as VBulletin, phpbb, Invisionboard, etc.
Your forum signature can be a useful tool to do a bit of advertising for your website and products. Most forums will have some regulations on forum signature lengths or forum signature formatting. Common forum signature formats that are approved by mature forums are text-only forum signatures and specifying a maximum of number of lines in the forum signature. Always abide by the forum rules and especially in the forum signature rules as many forums are particular about members not joining their forums for the specific purpose of spamming their links through their forum signatures or posts.
So, as a contributing member to the forum discussions, you have the priviledges of including your forum signature in your posts. How do you ensure that your forum signature is read and not ignored like the tens of forum signatures of the other members who have posted in the same discussion? How do you use your forum signature for maximum benefit?
Here are some tips for optimizing forum sigatures:
1. Do not post more than 3 links. Anything more than that is certaintly viewed as spam and most people will ignore your forum signature.
2. Do not post something like: " http://www.buildtolearn.com - Webmaster community ". Instead, if possible, post your link with "anchor text". The word webmaster community should be the link enclosed by the <> tags. This would benefit your link in SEO.
3. Include more than just a link. Be more descriptive around your forum signature and links. For example, use something like "Over 10,000 members in the best webmaster community" (with link from the keyword 'webmaster community'). Or something to entice the viewer to click through to your website, eg. "Submit articles to our article library and stand to win $100".
4. Use at most 3 colors in your forum signature. It is a good idea to highlight the keyword/link with color such as blue or red. Leave the rest of the text in black.
It takes some experimenting to find the best forum signature format for each forum. With these 4 tips in mind, your chances of improving click-through rates from your forum signature will increase tremendously.
Dax Christopher maintains a two year old webmaster community at http://www.Buildtolearn.com a forum community that discusses web-hosting and webmaster related issues such as web-design, page coding, SEO and many others.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dax_Christopher

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

“Top 10 Tips For Generating Big Traffic To Your Blog Today

Let’s face it, blogs (or weblogs) are getting incredibly popular amongst people with an internet connection due to the ease and practicality of setting one up.

Despite this however, there is no value in having a blog if no one is visiting and reading it!

Therefore, it is important to know exactly how to drive traffic to your blog if you desire to increase your readership or monetize it.

To do that, here are 10 quick tips to generating more traffic to your blogs:

Tip 1: Reciprocal Linking

One of the most proven ways to gain targeted traffic is to exchange links with other bloggers or site owners. This is a task which requires a little work – by sending an email request for a link exchange with a few follow ups but the results are worth it.

Another linking method is to simply write a testimonial for a product you have purchased. If your testimonial is good, product owners will usually publish it on their sales page with your blog URL included.

If you want to skip the traditional way of exchanging links and go for the easier way, you can automate the process with various software and services found on the net. Just do a search at Google.com and you will have a list of these.

Tip 2: Blog Commentaries

Do you know that your comments also have high potential in generating targeted traffic to your blog and is an effective linking strategy?

All you have to do is find a blog related to your niche and post your comments. At the end of your comments you can include a link back to your blog, this way people who are interested will be able to visit your blog as well. However you should never misuse this to spam other blogs.

Tip 3: Blog Directories

Blog directories are similar to search engines just that they cater only to searches for blogs. It is advisable to submit your blog to the major directories, some of which include feedster.com, technorati.com and blogstreet.com.

Similarly, there are many blog services like pingomatic.com which you can use to ping your blog. Pinging your blog notifies the service that you’ve updated your blog. These services will then publish your new posts and you get traffic from interested readers and search engines.

Tip 4: Writing Articles

This is one of the best ways of pulling targeted, steady and long-term traffic to your blog. By writing your own articles and submitting them to article directories, you can invite a lot of targeted visitors to your blog.

In order to generate traffic by writing articles, you need to include your resource box at the end of every article you have written. The resource box is where you promote and introduce your website or blog.

To truly maximize your results, you need a system to create, submit and leverage off your articles easily. One of the best available is seen at http://EzineArticle.com/aa.htm

Tip 5: Writing Press Releases

Press release is a very effective way of generating instant traffic to your blog. Although press releases only pull in short-term traffic, they can work very well if you continuously write and submit press releases regularly while monetizing the traffic received.

PRWeb.com is one of the oldest and most trusted sources for news distribution on the web. Or you can use an automated press release service like http://www.SubmitYourPressRelease.com to do the work for you quickly.

Tip 6: Start A Blog Mailing List

The phrase “the money is in the list” is true in all businesses. If you want to succeed online, you must start building your own list of targeted subscribers. You can send your subscribers to your blog anytime you have new posts.

By the same token, you can also get your blog readers to subscribe to a ‘blog update’ list which can be used to notify them when you have updated your blog. REPEAT traffic through returning visitors is a key traffic strategy and you can control that with this method.

Tip 7: Publishing Your Own Ezine

You can also provide your subscribers with useful information in several series with an autoresponder. An ezine is often called an online magazine. By publishing your own ezine, you are able to attract readership to your blog when you advertise it in your ezine.

Tip 8: Pay For Traffic

If you have a good monetization strategy for your blog through affiliate programs, Google Adsense and a mailing list, you should consider using paid advertising to drive traffic to your blog.

Recommended options include pay-per-click advertising, ezine advertising and huge banner exposures.

Tip 9: Giving Out Free Reports

Give out free viral reports to promote your blog. Providing useful information in your free reports can trigger your readers’ interest to know more about you and your websites. More information on this tactic can be found at http://www.MiniEbook.com.

Tip 10: Niche Discussion Boards

Discussions boards or forums can deliver targeted traffic to your blog. If you have a blog about gardening, try searching for a related niche forum with huge traffic to participate in.

Most forums will usually allow you to include a signature file where you can write a few sentences of words. You can invite people to visit your blog through the signature file by posting more regularly.

In conclusion, realize that getting traffic to your blog should not be viewed as a one time effort. Commit and focus on a long-term strategy in order to succeed. It is all about gaining momentum.

Once you get a decent amount of traffic to your blog, you will attract more visitors to it everyday as you work on it. As time goes by, you will have an amazing amount of traffic to your blog which you never thought was possible!

For reviews and guidance for online money making visit:
http://reetim.thebestbizreview.com
Copyright Ewen Chia, http://www.EzineArticle.com

Scam Alert!!

Don't get scammed!! Take it from me, there are a lot of money making scams online. I know, because I've tried them. I've tried data entry scams, numerous e-books, not actually scams, but too vague, and not enough step by step info to help me, Investment scams. You name it, I've tried it! I couldn't stop my quest for making money online, because the more e-books I read, the more I believed there were legit ways to make money online. I just didn't have enough detail, or guidance to help me, a newbie, make the money that's definitely out there. I did find that there a some sure ways to know if you're being scammed: If the focus is on quick money, "It's so easy, make $1000/day" , it's probably a scam. If it was so easy to make $1000/day, everyone would be a millionare. In order to make $1000/day, you have to build up the knowledge and skill neccessary. It is possible, just not overnight. Also, most data entry programs are scams, (been there done that!) especially if you have to pay to enter. I can warn you about one data entry scam that I've tried and that's: edatajob.com. Once I signed up for it, I think it cost $47.oo, I was never able to log in. Be careful with online paid surveys, you should never have to pay to enter, they will pay you if they're legit. I hope this info helped!
For more detailed reviews of all the money making scams out there on the web visit: http://reetim.thebestbizreview.com