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Here’s the problem. When I began running websistes overs 5 years ago now, I origianlly planned to just run some of my own websites, learn how to make them successful and reep the rewards. Sounded simple, but it truly takes alot of work and always being up on top of all the “geek” news to keep your sites successful. But then something totally unexpected happened to me….I started getting others asking me to do work for them.

I never expected I would be taking on clients to build their website and help with SEO, markieting etc but it did. So my life went from simply running my own websites to being over worked with clients of my own. I apologize for letting this happen and therefor neglecting my own websites.

My current wake-up call was the new google PR update that was a few weeks ago now and seeing all my sites (this blog included) take some major hits. For the first time I will agree with Google that most of my sites have truly been neglected and its time to get me back on track.

I hope to start decreasing my client commitments and get back to running my own internet empire. I truly love doing my client work, but I also loved having my own websites to run, tinker with and find out how to get them more and more popular.

I truly is a challenge, no matter how long you’ve worked online to keep up with new techniques and marketing plans, but I still love it. I hope some of you have begun your own websites, and even more, I hope to hear your success stories.

Stay tuned for more…I will be back soon with some new tips and news you should know to keep your websites profitable!

Some feel that this will help internet businesses that focus on selling webmasters tools, tips and tricks as people begin looking to the net as a way to make more money or even a place to begin a total new career. This may be true on some levels, but others of us, me included, have to worry about our own bottom lines.

With people worrying about their personal income and financial situations, advertisers may become less able to pay prices we have become accustom to on our own websites. Google, who came out with amazing earning, yet again, last week even has concerns about their own adword clients and their budget changes.

Lesson learned, world news is always important to consider when running your virtual business. My websites are nearly all in the financial niche, so I obviously have other concerns, but it is important to always be thinking outside the box. Considering what is happening in the world and how your business can use it to its advantage. Ok, so that may sound shallow but it is not meant to. I am by no means telling you to take advantage of those that are financial distraught these days, but consider how your company can use it to gain loyal customers.

If you sell products, you can consider having a sale, or offer freebies that may help them during this time. Add more interactive elements on your website that will be helpful, and keep them coming back.

Example, put up a financial calculator that will show them auto loan options, mortgage rates, CD rates etc….(you get the point)

You have to look your own personal niche and decide what relevant news effects it, obviously not everyone will be effected directly by this if your not in the financial niche, but perhaps you offer new information on how to get their own websites up and going etc.

This wasn’t meant to be a lengthy post. Merely trying to help you open your eyes and realize that everything going on in the “human” world effects our virtual businesses. Depending on what you do with it, it may greatly benefit your business.

I found a great resource that you can use in countless ways to help give your website a personal touch and a local feel, no matter what niche your in! ZipCodeGuy.com provides zip code databases that you can buy and use in limitless ways. Want your clients to be able to find your business from their location? Want to list demographic information for a clients area? Or just want to run a comparison type of website…the ideas are truly only limited to your ideas and skills.

In order to help your website increase conversion or even just increase your traffic you want to always be sure to offer these type of interactive features that will have them coming back when they need a certain type of information, or even just want to play around with your cool tools!

I highly recommend you check out these databases for your website and see what you can come up with to improve your website conversions. I’d love to hear what you come up with, and I’ll be sure to let you know what I begin doing with my databases that may help your websites too!

Many people will tell you that to get your web site noticed you need to ‘optimize’ your site for the search engines. You are then led up a path where you have to keep changing your web site as the search engines change their ways of listing things. As fast as you ‘optimize’ your site, Google and the others have moved the goalposts, meaning you have to keep optimizing over and over again.

Now consider some facts. Most people in the world are not users of the Internet. Let’s repeat that. The vast majority of people who you want to reach don’t use the Internet. It doesn’t matter how well you optimize your web site, they simply will never find it.

Here’s another fact. Some of the best Internet marketers make most of their sales ‘offline’. They sell their books, CD-ROMs and so on at seminars, workshops and conferences. Indeed, for many ‘Internet marketers’ these ‘offline’ sales represent the bulk of their income.

So what do these facts tell us? They show us that ‘offline’ promotion is more important than online promotion. You may be able to optimize your web site to get high rankings in a search engine. But that doesn’t mean you’ll reach the vast majority of people who could buy your product or use your information.

This was confirmed recently by one study that showed most people go to an Internet address (URL) after having read it in a newspaper or magazine, been given it by a friend or colleague, or having heard it being mentioned by someone speaking at a meeting or on TV. In other words, it seems that significant numbers of people who get to your web site will do so having heard the URL somewhere outside the Internet.

You can get many people visiting your web site, even if you are not ranked highly by the search engines. You can do this in two main ways:

1. Write articles for use in regular publications – newspapers, magazines and so on. Always include your URL in the article and you’ll get millions of people to notice your web site address.

2. Speak at every opportunity. Make presentations to business clubs, chambers of commerce, local societies – you name it, you should speak at it. Every time you speak, announce or your web site address.

Although these are the two principal ways of gaining offline publicity for your web site, don’t neglect your business stationery, posters, car stickers and so on. The more your web site address is visible outside the web, the more visitors you will get regardless of how kind the search engines are to you.

First off always go with Google Adwords and Yahoo!, MSN is ineffective and you will get very little traffic from them. By far Google has been our best performing ppc platform, obviously with 60-70% search market share.

Choose your keywords carefully, general terms do not and will not convert. We run an annuity website, but using the term “annuity” is too broad, costly and competitive of a keyword to be effective. In other words, you will spend a lot of money for low to no results. But, the keyword annuity comparison, while competitive, is a better fit with lower competition and low cost per click.

Google offers a keyword tool to help you pick the keywords best for your website. Pay close attention to advertiser competition for the keywords, more competition means higher costs for you. We concentrate on lower cost keywords that fit our sites best. This method keeps our costs lower and conversions higher. We also offset our costs with Google Adsense so those who do not buy will hopefully click off our site and we can recoup a portion or more of our cost per click.

Ad variations are also important. Create several, and we mean several, different ads with your focus keywords in the ad. If the ad contains the keyword that you are bidding for then you may get a higher quality rating which can mean lower cost per click expense for you. Ad quality is extremely useful for ppc advertising and pay close attention to it.

Cost control is extremely important when using ppc advertising. Since you have greater expense exposure than traditional banner advertising, which is generally fixed costs, you have to watch costs. We refuse to pay more than $.50 a click, therefore we set out maximum bid for $.50 and daily budget at 20-$30 a day. From there we watch conversions and which ads generate more clicks.

Do not assume you will get business from ppc, it’s like a website, just because you have it that doesn’t mean that it will work or generate money for you. Log in to your Adwords account at least daily to check your stats, make adjustments and hopefully you will have conversions.

Cheap keywords and enticing ads will create sales for you. One last thing, never bid the same amount for content advertising as you would for search engine advertising. With click fraud and mfa sites abundant, you will find that content ads are next to worthless, IMHO.

If you are doing ppc arbitrage be very careful and keep your bids low and content keywords high to maximize returns. A 10-20% rate of return on arbitrage is EXTREMELY good.

1. Blogging
Blogging has become a phenomenon and highly attractive. People become loyal to good bloggers that write interesting, humorous and insightful posts. Blogs give you a chance to prove to others you’re an expert in your field.

Ok, lets say your not into the whole blogging idea, it is time consuming, here is another approach. Find Blogs out there written about your topic and post on them. A lot of blogs allow you to post on their site and there you will be able to basically put in your two cents and give them the following, HIGHLY IMPORTANT LINE ending your post which should always be in anything you write…

Do you know what it is?

“For more information go to mysite.com”

It may seem like a simple line but if you forget to put it in, you missed your chance to get targeted traffic to your site for free! When people are interested in what you have to say they will look at your site for more information so it is crucial that you have one HIGHLY IMPORTANT LINE in there.

2. Article writing
One of my favorite ways to get traffic and links all in once! Write articles about your site, go and submit them to just 10 different article/content exchange websites with your link/website info on the link in the article and watch the traffic come in, and the links pointing to your site go up. No joke, this method really works. The downfall would be you obviously can’t control where your articles appear and what type of websites.

3. Press Releases
Press releases have always gotten me great highly targeted traffic,. There are many PR services out there to consider, paid and free. I personally prefer the paid method (you get what you pay for) PRweb.com. They get your press release (after editors approve it there, so don’t make it a sales letter, make it and informative piece) into some great news resources to give you high traffic and highly targeted visitors.

4. Viral Marketing
Some of you may not think you know what viral marketing is, but you’ve seen it I guarantee! Think about those jokes you get in your email, that you keep passing on to your friends, or those funny You-Tube videos that you share with everyone. A lot of these are ll attempts to start viral marketing. Viral marketing is creating something that will be passed around by others causing the marketing pice (no matter how subtle) to take on a life of its own almost. You create something so funny or entertaining that people just start spreading it for you, and all the time there is a link to your website in there somewhere for people to learn more or see more at.

5. Integration Marketing
This technique is pretty much a traffic exchange that can be useful is you set yourself with a targeted site that is comparable or related to what your product or service is. Integration marketing is a hot topic and many claim it is a necessity to a successful website. I highly recommend you look at as many experts in this field as you can. The more you know, the more you can offer on your site and become more successful.

Ex. You have a newsletter on your website that people can sign up for. After signing up for your newsletter there are given the opportunity to sign up for other peoples newsletters or product information.

When you line yourself up with a website with similar client base this type of traffic exchange can be beneficial for your both. Or have other get their members to sign up for your list/newsletter or forum etc.

6. PPC advertising
Be very careful before you ever start a PPC campaign. You can literally lose all your money with these things if you aren’t highly informed on how to do this effectively. Keep you bids low to test waters and only increase them slowly to see if the results are worth the bid increase. PPC can bring you traffic, but not always that targeted traffic so you have to test this method to see if it is beneficial to your specific website.

7. Paid ads (very different then PPC)
Paid advertising allows you to determine which websites specifically will have your ads. You can make sure o approach highly relevant websites and strike a deal with them to place you advertising on their website, possibly even swap advertising, they place yours if you place theirs on your site.

8. SEO techniques
I never overlook ways to get free traffic. SEO techniques to help your site with its natural search engine rankings will always help you increase your traffic. To go into all the SEO techniques you can use here would make this the worlds longest blog post, there are lots of great resources out there to refer to to help your Serp’s… and also an idea for a future blog post for me 

To boil it down to the bones, the 2 keys to creating a winning web site that will captivate your readers are:

• Good Informative Content

• Effortless Navigation

Pretty tall order, right? It is, and it’s your job as a web writer to make it happen!

Web surfers are your customers. As a web site content writer, the best way to stay in business is to provide something of value to your customers. On the Internet, that “something” is appealing, well-designed information.

Let’s examine for a moment an off-line writing example, the procedure manual. Most businesses have them in one form or another. If you compare the structure of a detailed manual to web writing, you’ll discover a few things that are keys to success.

Manuals often grow to be hundreds of pages, and are updated all the time. Cross-referencing from one page or section to another is frequent (just like hyperlinks!) Changes made to one section often impact another section, which will keep you on your toes. If you write “see pg. 279 for more information,” there better be more information on page 279!

It’s even more so with a web site. Your pages, as they slowly but steadily grow, will become many. Certain pages will link to others, and they must always be easy for your readers to find.

Suppose you write a web site about baseball. Baseball players, rules of the game, equipment… everything baseball! Now it’s time to create new pages about famous baseball stadiums. Your new page about Fenway Park is great… but don’t forget to update your Index Page or Site Map with easy to follow links.

Next, within the structure of your existing web pages, add good, purposeful in-text links to these new pages. This will fulfill your readers in a big way (not to mention the search engines!)

Your web site is made up of text, links, and images. As a writer, you’re very close to these separate “parts.” But your readers will not see your pages as isolated features. They will not notice all your content first, and then go on to check out your site design and pictures.

They’ll experience everything at once, instantly. All these features – refreshing content, appealing design, and well-planned linking – work together as one subtle ensemble in your readers’ minds the moment they enter your site.

As you write your pages, keep navigation and your site’s structure very much in your mind. Deliver an “easy-to-browse” web site chock full of great information, and you’ll knock a home run every time.

Ian Del Carmen is an online business professional running his main site at http://www.ianDelCarmen.com. His other sites include http://TheOnlineBusinessProfessional.com, http://MobileEbooks.net, http://InfoProductLaboratory.com, and many more…

In fact, many small business owners don’t understand the process or complain that conducting a market analysis is too complicated or too expensive and wonder why or if it is necessary.

What is market analysis?

In the most basic terms, a market analysis is an assessment of:
- A particular problem or opportunity in a market.
- The needs of the target market relating to the problem or opportunity.
- Ideas for marketing a particular product or service that fills the needs of the target market.

When should you conduct a market analysis?

- When you are starting a business.
- When you are entering a new market.
- When you are considering a new product or service.

Why should you conduct a market analysis?

- To minimize business risks.
- To understand the problems and opportunities.
- To identify sales opportunities.
- To plan your marketing/sales approach.

The process of conducting a market analysis can be divided into three parts:

Part 1 – Understanding Market Conditions

This gives you basic information about your entire market — the size, the competition, the customers.

Part 2 – Identifying Market Opportunities

This gives you more targeted information about potential problems or opportunities in the potential market, and includes information about growth, current and future trends, outside factors and more information about specific competitors.

Part 3 – Developing Market-Driven Strategies

Here is where we get into what market research does for you. It helps you to pinpoint opportunities to grow your business. By understanding the market and knowing what opportunities are available you can create a marketing strategy that leaves your competitors in the dust!

Here are 10 questions that can help you get started:

1. What is the market I want to reach?
- Who are they? (Basic Demographics)
- What is their biggest problem in relation to this market?
- Are their needs being met by the products or services provided in this market?
2. Who is my competition in this market?
- Are they successful in this market?
- Are they marketing a similar product or service?
- What is the market share of the three biggest competitors in this market?
3. Is there room for growth in this market?
4. What is the size of this market?
- Is there room for growth?
- Is the industry growing? Stable? Saturated? Volatile? Declining?
5. How is my product or service different from the competition?
6. How can I reach this market?
- How is my competition currently reaching this market?
- Is it the most effective way?
- What are the alternative ways of reaching this market?
7. What are the business models of my competition in this market?
- Are they effective?
- Is there a way to do it differently or better?
8. What do customers expect from this type of product or service?
- What are the core competencies of this product or service?
- What would make the product “new” “different” or “better” for the customer?
9. How much are customers willing to pay for this product or service?
10. What is our competitive advantage in this market?

Knowing the answers to these questions will not only help you figure out if there is a need for your product or service, it will help you figure out the best ways to reach your customers, price your products or service and ultimately make more sales!

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Ian Del Carmen is an online business professional running his main site at http://www.ianDelCarmen.com. His other sites include http://TheOnlineBusinessProfessional.com, http://MobileEbooks.net, http://InfoProductLaboratory.com, and many more…

What is Open Source Software and Why is it Used?

What is Open Source Software?

Open Source Software (OSS) is software that is available under a special license that allows everyone to access the program code as well as the executable program. This means that anyone is able to edit the program code and therefore customize the software for their own needs.

This ability to access the source code is protected by the license under which the software is released. There is a great many Open Source licenses, but they all have one thing in common, they protect the right of the user of the software to access and modify it in any way they desire.

This ability to modify applications is in direct contrast to the Closed Source Software model. In Closed Source only the creator of the application has access to the source code, and therefore, only the creator is able to modify the application.

Being able to change the way an Open Source Software application operates is critical in many business environments. No two businesses are identical and therefore it is unlikely that any one piece of software will satisfy the needs of all potential users. Without the ability to modify their software a company is restricted in its operations by that software.

While it is true that no two businesses are identical, it is also true that there are a great many common business practices that are repeated across organizations. These common practices can be well served by “standard” software. The remaining practices, those that are different from competitors are, typically, the ones that give a business an advantage in the marketplace.

Since these non-standard practices are key to the organizations success it is critical that any software solutions adopted by the company also support these non-standard processes. It is in this need to adapt software to a companies specific needs that makes Open Source Software attractive. Since the company has access to the source, the application can be freely adapted to suit the unique requirements of each user.

Who Pays for Open Source Development?

The ability to customize software is critical to allow an organization to continue to improve their business processes, but how does a company afford to pay for such customizations?

One of the side effects of allowing any user access to the source code is that the cost of acquiring the software in the first instance is massively reduced. In most cases the source code is available for no cost. This enables the user to divert resources normally allocated to pay software license fees into enhancing the software.

A successful Open Source Software project has a large community of software developers. Many of these developers work as independent contractors and can be employed to customize the software, alternatively, if a company has internal developer resources, they can leverage those skills to perform the customizations.

Does it Really Work?

This all sounds fantastic, but does it really work? Are there Open Source Applications in use in the real world?

Here are a few facts to convince you that it most certainly does work:

- Around 70% of web sites are served by the Open Source Apache HTTPD server.

- In a 2002 survey it was found over 31% of UK and nearly 42% of German companies were using or planning to use OSS.

- In 2001, Debian (an Open Source Operating System), contained over 55 million lines of code and was estimated to have consumed over 14,000 person years in development time. That is a development cost of around 1.89 Billion Dollars (US) yet it is still available with no license fees.

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Ian Del Carmen is an online business professional running his main site at http://www.ianDelCarmen.com. His other sites include http://TheOnlineBusinessProfessional.com, http://MobileEbooks.net, http://InfoProductLaboratory.com, and many more…
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A great places to look for free code and scripts is hotscripts.com which contains a catalog of scripts for nearly every program need in every code language whether you want html, php, cgi, perl etc.

Take advantage of what is out there, save yourself some money and get the website working the way you envisioned it could. Keep your clients happy and interacting with your website. To your success!