Business, economic development - the unofficial Chamber of Commerce

For the past few years, I’ve been stashed away in my secret lab working on underground strategies for driving hordes of targeted to traffic to my sites.

I’ve decided to emerge from my lab for a limited time and reveal a few of these killer strategies to you.

Are you ready? Good… let’s get to it!

It seems that my consulting clients all suffer from the dreaded ‘limited site’ disease. You may be afflicted by it as well. Basically, the disease consists of limiting your vision to your main website.

Most people see their site as being the center of the universe… but in their universe no other stars or planets exist.

I would like to open your eyes to a bigger picture. One full of stars, each surrounded by their own planetary system.

How does this relate to your website?

Imagine your site sells 32 different widgets (this is the center of the universe).

Now imagine you create a new site for each widget which is dedicated to that widget alone. Some call these minisites, I will call them stars.

The object of each star is to expand upon the benefits of that widget, but point back to the center of the universe (your main site) to order that widget.

With me so far?

Good, let’s move forward.

Now, each star can have its own planetary system. Let’s say each star has 5 planets. Planets are simply ‘feeder’ sites whose only purpose is to direct traffic from the search engines back to the star.

For example, many of you are familiar with page generating applications such as Ranking Power or Traffic Equalizer. What if you used these with the intention of feeding your stars? Are you beginning to feel the power here?

I will stop here for now.

To recap…

Your main site is the center of the universe. You register a domain for each of the products you sell and create a star (or minisite) for that product. The ordering page for that star points back to your main product site. Each star then has 5 planets (feeder sites) generated with Ranking Power or Traffic Equalizer all pointing back to that star.

It’s a very powerful concept, use wisely. More will be revealed soon.

Copyright 2005 Keith Baxter

This article has been authored by Keith Baxter, the editor and publisher of the fast selling video newsletter at http://www.StealthTrafficSecrets.com

If you wish to learn how to drive massive amounts of traffic to your website, then subscribe to the site now… it’s only $7.00 per month!

I see all kinds of wild figures thrown around from 0.5% to 20.0% of site visitors that book then and there; this is broadly referred to as the conversion factor. I’m not going to tell you what it should be for your web site because I don’t believe in it. I use RevPOV - Revenue Per Online Visit - this is the RevPAR alternative for web site revenue benchmarking. It’s an easy sum; take your total DIRECT online revenues and divide it by the total number of visits to your site. Now, go back for the last 12 months and chart this both on a linear and month-on-month basis. Chasing visit growth as your goal is like chasing occupancy or average rate individually …as we all know, genuine hotel benchmarking is really about RevPAR, and in the online space, it’s all about RevPOV.

Yes, you need to grow visits but you also need to reach visitors who are ready to buy…and make them buy! That’s why we measure your total online revenues per visit, that is your most important benchmark …and now some tips on how to grow your RevPOV sensibly!

How to convert more web visits into revenue…

Right up front, your web site MUST have an Online Booking Engine (OBE) that allows site visitors to see real time availability; one that is able to sell a room or package and confirm the sale NOW, whilst I am in the mood to book. There are a range of third party suppliers that have ready-made booking engines, preferably that can be plugged into a page on your site or one that will open up in a new browser when a visitor clicks on the Book Now button.

Search for “online hotel booking engine” on your favourite search engine and many will come up. We always prefer to keep visitors within a site and therefore the OBE code needs to be easily integrated into a page on your site. Failing that, your OBE set up MUST open a new browser and either present some design/colour relationship with your site (reproduce it completely if possible) or very clearly state that this is the booking engine for The Sample Hotel; it should never provide links to other hotels that the OBE company services.

Why must your OBE open in a new browser? So that, should a customer chicken out of the booking process or make an error and want to start again, your site is still there in the original browser. This way, they can either start again or, shock horror, they might just pick up the phone and call.

Fees vary greatly but most OBEs will offer you a set up fee and then some form of base fee plus a percentage of revenue over a certain volume. Me? I’d negotiate away the setup fee and base fee (they kind of expect you to, that’s why they have them) and make it purely performance based. Don’t begrudge them the ongoing fee as, frankly, you are paying this only for materialised bookings so it comes out of incremental revenue and with a technology and user experience level that you could never reproduce on your own site. Don’t sign any long term agreements that don’t have a thirty day cancellation clause and read the fine print; there are some cowboys in this space.

And look for ease of use, for you and your team as well as the consumer. Is it easy to understand and operate or do you need to be a propeller-head to work your end of the system? We also like OBEs that have easy to create packages and lately we also like the ones that offer some value adds just before the final sale for things like fruit platters, wine and cheese or a bottle of bubbly on arrival…just don’t make things too complicated for your consumer…you have got between three and five clicks at the most to finalise a sale online, end of story.

If your current Online Booking Engine does not meet these criteria…change to one that does!

Now, what else drives conversion of online visits?

Pop in to Wal-mart or Target or K-mart - are you ever in any doubt that they are trying to sell you something? Lots of signs for specials and deals and promotions…if you buy now. Well, you need to be a little less precious and get a little retail about your web site. EVERY page on your web site must have either a BOOK HERE or ONLINE ENQUIRY button up toward the top right hand corner of your on-page text. This simple addition has been known to double hotel online revenues. Your web site should be created with goals in mind…a) make a sale, b) have users make an enquiry or c) encourage them to register to receive your newsletter and in some cases d) as they leave, ask why they didn’t buy. Your web site needs to be a sales funnel, persuading visitors to buy.

Page upon page of booking opportunities - create a page EACH for your weekend packages, romantic packages, special offers, promotions, deals, mates rates and more with links to your online booking engine - visitors will not scroll down screen upon screen of information…use yourself as a market research group of one, if you won’t do it, then chances are 99.0% of the world won’t either. The majority of people buy either a room only or B&B rate online but like to “window shop” to see what else may be available; perhaps a unique value added package or a special three night deal for Thanksgiving…you won’t actually sell a lot of these but they will help you sell more of your room only or B&B offers.

Add a very personal sales message and call to action - at the end of each page, and in keeping with the theme of that page, tell people why they should book; a story about what the outcome will be for them and provide a text link through to your booking engine, another link to your online enquiry form and a phone number to call if they are not brave enough to book online.

Testimonials - there’s nothing that consumers like to read more on a web site than testimonials; people who have stayed at your hotel or held an event and have then said something really nice about their experience. Go on, we all get some…add these to your site, either as a separate page in the navigation bar, or as a snippet at the bottom of each page. You will be surprised the impact that this will have on conversion levels as testimonials raise the confidence level of your online visitor.

The common theme I emphasise with web site conversion is about quality content; rich, experiential words and images that, just for a moment, touch your customers and take them past the nervousness stage and into the open arms of your booking engine. And not just on your Home Page…on ALL your pages.

The conversion tips I have just given you are just the tip of the iceberg; the essential question you need to ask yourself about every page on your website is “If I were a potential customer, would I buy that…now?” If not, then you need to keep tweaking the page content.

A lot of people ask me “Keith, why do you share all these “secrets” and other tips so openly?”. Well, in all honesty, I know that anyone with the right level of interest and commitment can learn how to build traffic to their sight and convert it…after all, that’s how I learned to do what I do…grow online revenues. The two challenges you face as hoteliers are (a) time (and the lack thereof) and (b) keeping up to date with the constantly changing playing field…then add into the inclination equation …yah de yah de yah de…

I know that, all things being equal, the very best conversion results can be produced internally…you and your team know your product and service, you know your customers and you know why your customers buy…all that is missing are the technical skills. Along the way in your career, you have mastered Property Management Systems, training skills, motivation and leadership…and you can master this thing called online conversion too.

But you are also smart enough to know that when you have a tax problem, you call in your accountant; if you have a legal issue your first port of call is your lawyer; a technology issue, you contact your IT support resource…and for web site development, design and construction hoteliers call Hotel Marketing Workshop. We are experts in building web site traffic and then converting that traffic into bankable dollars.

And, it might be a bit old fashioned in this hectic world of hotel marketing, the internet, online and hotel ecommerce but, I reckon that if you regularly do something nice or share your knowledge with someone who really needs help, then some time later, that goodwill will is usually returned tenfold.

Keith Paulin is the General Manager of Hotel Marketing Workshop (http://www.hotelmarketingworkshop.com). Like many hotel marketeers in the industry Keith “landed” in hotel sales and marketing after commencing his career in hotel operations. Keith has worked in senior marketing roles both within the industry (Hilton, Regent, Hyatt, Accor) and in other industries (HP, Lion Nathan, Shell) and has formal qualifications in Marketing and Business Management. Hotel Marketing Workshop works with chain and independent hotels delivering tactical, practical hotel marketing strategies at property level that work and, just as importantly, they assist with expert implementation. Keith has a very strong interest in the world of e-commerce, Search Engine Optimisation and Search Engine Marketing and a clear track record in producing on-line results in hotel internet marketing.

In 1993, on a moon lit, warm summer night, I was surfing the Internet attempting to discover what successful sites had in common. I was really hungry to find out the secret ingredient of websites that were making it big.

You see, I was tired of traveling thousands of miles by plane and car. My mind was made up to stop living out of a suitcase. It didn’t matter that I had hit a peak in my marketing and sales career by working on projects for best-selling author- Tony Robbins. I was eager to simplify my life, settle down, and work from home.

I began my journey brimming with certainty about achieving my outcome. You see, years earlier I learned from Tony that every successful person has three characteristics. They take certain actions, in a specific order, and on a consistent basis. With that in mind, I knew that selling on the Internet would have it’s top producers -like any other field- and all I had to do is get their materials, then read, study and implement the wisdom divulged on each page and in every word.

I was elated to find out that, regardless of all the actions, the order in which the actions were taken, and the amount of consistency employed…that at the core of it all, there existed one essential skill.

Believe or not, there is one skill that virtually anyone can learn, practice, and master (after 1,000 hours) to become successful at selling on the web.

Warning! You may want to sit down before finding out the one skill that contributes the most to the success of website owners who earn boat loads of cash. Contrary to what I believed, it wasn’t search engine marketing, pay per click or reciprocal linking.

Don’t get me wrong though. Those traffic generation methods are needed. But if you drive a million unique visitors to your site per day, and none of them buy anything, or at very minimum subscribe to your newsletter so that you can follow up with an offer, you won’t be able to pay your mortgage, car note, hosting fees, etc.

So what good are your traffic generating skills? Every online company must generate traffic, aka leads/prospects. That’s what search engine ranking and other traffic generation methods are meant to do. Good news is learning the one skill all successful website owners have in common will increase your traffic too.

What is the one skill that will enable you to generate more traffic and convert more of your browsers into customers? At the end of this article you’ll find a resource box that contains a link to my website, click on that to find out. Deal?

After you’ve mastered that one skill, the next step is implementing it through multiple online and offline marketing methods. Regardless of what methods you use, I promise that the one skill will pay off big if you learn…

Copywriting. Direct response copywriting to be specific. By now you’ve heard of direct response copywriting, but have you invested time, capital, and effort in learning and implementing the skill? Chances are if you have, you are enjoying the benefits of using the skill. If you haven’t learned anything about direct response copywriting, keep reading to grab some helpful tips.

2 Simple Tips for Grabbing Your Website Visitors By The Lapel and Persuading Them to Hand Over the Moolah Tip #1. Headlines

Headlines are crucially important to the success of your website. Testing has proven that headlines can increase your sales as much as 1900%. The late, legendary copywriter John Caples revealed that fact during his phenomenally successful career. By the way, I define Mr. Caples’ success on how many sales were made as a result of his talent as a copywriter. And I can assure you that Mr. Caples’ selling success was nothing short of phenomenal. But let me get back to headlines.

According to David Ogilvy, another legendary copywriter, the headline is the most important part of an ad. On average, five times (500%) as many people will read the headline as the actual body copy. That obviously means we must spend a considerable amount of time creating headlines.

It’s customary for professional website copywriters to write as many as 100 headlines before deciding on one to use. You may think that would be a daunting task but it’s not. All you need are a few headline writing formulas. There are 11 widely used headlines. I’ll share 3 with you right now.

The “How To” headline is one the easiest to write for “do it yourself” types. “How To” headlines grab people’s attention because of the promise of learning something of value. For example, “How to Put Words Together that Make People Beg to Buy Your Product”. Get the idea?

Another headline writing formula that’s good for “do it yourself” types is the “If, Then” statement. Here’s what I mean. “If you give me one hour of your time for 12 weeks and your promise to take action on what I recommend, I guarantee your online business sales and profits will double — or you don’t pay me a dime”. How did that grab you?

The last headline formula that I recommend for “do it yourself” types is the “Specific Testimonial” headline. I don’t need to explain why your testimonials should be specific, do I? Okay, I’ll give a brief explanation. Better yet, I’ll provide you with a vague and specific testimonial headline, then you judge which one influences you the most. Deal?

Vague Testimonial: “Harry Toes is fantastic!” J.A., CA.

Specific Testimonial: “Harry Toes is brilliant… he shared one method that I invested $1,839 in that brought back $33,637 gross profit.” Jim Baldy, President, Bald Men’s Club, Gaithersburg, MD,

Tip #2 Offer

“I’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse” - Don Vito Corleone, The Godfather. In 1972, Marlon Brando verbalized what every great marketer must master. Making irresistible offers. A powerful factor in making irresistible offers is taking risk out of the transaction for your prospective customer. Let’s face it, nobody want’s to lose money and get stuck with a bad product. Taking away that fear will boost your online sales.

Here’s an example: “For only $49 you can try out “21 Secret Traffic Conversion Methods That Rich Website Owners Revealed To Help Their Fellow Online Marketers” for up to one full year. If at anytime you’re not convinced that the secret traffic conversion methods will make your sells soar, simply return it and receive a refund of every penny you paid– no questions asked and no hard feelings. Plus, as an added bonus, you can keep the FREE bonus gift “Website Traffic Conversion Secrets Revealed” just for giving me a shot. You have nothing to lose… call now!”

Is that powerful?

Before I wrap this article up, I’ll share another example of making irresistible offers in the form of a rather famous story told to me by marketing expert Jay Abraham.

Once upon a time, a father went shopping for a pony to buy for his daughter. After looking at a few dozen ponies, this man had almost decided between two ponies. They were quite similar; in fact, the price was the same. He decided to take another look so that he could make a final decision.

The first farmer was eagerly attempting to sell his pony so he went on and on about how gentle and cute his pony was, but the father didn’t decide. The second farmer was different in his approach. He didn’t brag about the pony, he simply said…

“Sir, I’m certain you’re daughter will love this pony so here’s what I’ll do: Give me a check, and I’ll hold it for 30 days. I’ll bring you a saddle, bridle, the pony and 30 days of hay. If your daughter decides to keep the pony, let me know at the end of the 30 days, and I’ll cash the check. Otherwise, I’ll give you back your check, pick up the pony and even clean up where he’s been.”

Which farmer would you buy from?

In closing, you can convert more of your visitors into customers. It will take an investment of your capital and time, but I guarantee you the return on investment will be worthwhile. Begin writing headlines with the “How to”, “If/Then”, and “Specific Testimonial” format to grab your website visitors by the lapel and include irresistible offers to persuade them to hand over the moolah.

About The Author

Ron Hudson is an author, business growth strategist, and copywriting expert. Get a free copy of “Website Traffic Conversion Secrets Revealed!” by clicking on the website address www.bbgs.us.

The net is bombarded with various search engine optimization strategies. Keyword analysis is one strategy that is directed towards finding out the hidden keywords which would help in increasing sales conversion ratio. The main idea behind keyword analysis is to figure out or to look for the right keywords that would effectively increase search engine optimization. Key word analysis would also help web owners in advertising in adwords as well as in other search engine programs that would further increase quality traffic to their web sites. Keyword analysis is one important stride in developing a web page that is sure to have a good search engine ranking.

Keyword analysis entails for keyword research which is a process involve in the generation of keywords. Just how do we generate keywords? The keyword that is gong to be used or generated will depend on the business or the industry and would also depend on the services provided by the business. Keywords are generated by means of the wordtracker as well as other keyword generating tools. The highly searched keyword meaning high in count found in the wordtracker will then be chosen to be used as the keyword.

However, another step is still required like comparing these keywords across keyword analysis tools in order to remove some of the commonly repeated keywords. Also make certain that your chosen keyword is competitive, you can check its competitiveness by checking on just how many times it appears every time it is searched on the web. After you have checked your keyword you may now use it either for your search engine optimization or for keywords to use in advertising your site.

A right choice of keyword will generate at least 90% traffic to your web site and will guarantee a google’s phrase match of your selected keyword. The keyword that you’ve chosen will provide you with the basis of coming up with the various combinations that would enable your web site to be searched on in various search engines like google.

Google searches compose almost sixty percent of the total searches compared to Msn search which only comprises twelve and one-half percent. This is also the reason why most web sites are fighting over page rankings in google.

Jinky C. Mesias is a graduate of Bachelor of Science in Business Administration Major in Management. She is at present an Associate Manager of a Life Insurance Corporation and a freelance writer.

For suggestions and comments about the article kindly visit Web Development and Design

It’s not true that everything that has been said has already
been written. Since that unfortunate axiom came into use, the
whole universe has changed. Technology has changed, ideas have
changed, and the mindsets of entire nations have changed.

The fact is that this is the perfect time to write an ebook.
What the publishing industry needs are people who can tap into
the world as it is today - innovative thinkers who can make the
leap into the new millennium and figure out how to solve old
problems in a new way. Ebooks are a new and powerful tool for
original thinkers with fresh ideas to disseminate information to
the millions of people who are struggling to figure out how to
do a plethora of different things.

Let’s say you already have a brilliant idea, and the knowledge
to back it up that will enable you to write an exceptional
ebook. You may be sitting at your computer staring at a blank
screen wondering, “Why? Why should I go through all the trouble
of writing my ebook when it’s so impossible to get anything
published these days?

Well, let me assure you that publishing an ebook is entirely
different than publishing a book in print. Let’s look at the
specifics of how the print and cyber publishing industry differ,
and the many reasons why you should take the plunge and get your
fingers tapping across those keyboards!

Submitting a print book to conventional publishing houses or to
agents is similar to wearing a hair shirt 24/7. No matter how
good your book actually is, or how many critique services and
mentor writers have told you that “you’ve got what it takes,”
your submitted manuscript keeps coming back to you as if it is a
boomerang instead of a valuable mine of information.

Perhaps, in desperation, you’ve checked out self-publishing and
found out just how expensive a venture it can be. Most “vanity
presses” require minimal print runs of at least 500 copies, and
even that amount will cost you thousands of dollars. Some
presses’ minimal run starts at 1,000 to 2,000 copies. And that’s
just for the printing and binding. Add in distribution,
shipping, and promotional costs and - well, you do the math.
Even if you wanted to go this route, you may not have that kind
of money to risk.

Let’s say you already have an Internet business with a quality
website and a quality product. An ebook is one of the most
powerful ways to promote your business while educating people
with the knowledge you already possess as a business owner of a
specific product or service.

For example, let’s say that you’ve spent the last twenty-five
years growing and training bonsai trees, and now you’re ready to
share your knowledge and experience. An ebook is the perfect way
to reach the largest audience of bonsai enthusiasts.

Ebooks will not only promote your business - they will help you
make a name for yourself and your company, and establish you as
an expert in your field. You may even find that you have enough
to say to warrant a series of ebooks. Specific businesses are
complicated and often require the different aspects to be
divided in order for the reader to get the full story.

Perhaps your goals are more finely tuned in terms of the ebook
scene. You may want to build a whole business around writing and
publishing ebooks. Essentially, you want to start an e-business.
You are thinking of setting up a website to promote and market
your ebooks. Maybe you’re even thinking of producing an ezine.

One of the most prevalent reasons people read ebooks is to find
information about how to turn their Internet businesses into a
profit-making machine. And these people are looking to the
writers of ebooks to provide them with new ideas and strategies
because writers of ebooks are usually people who understand the
new cyberspace world we now live in. Ebook writers are experts
in Internet marketing campaigns and the strategies of promoting
and distributing ebooks. The cyberspace community needs its
ebooks to be successful so that more and more ebooks will be
written.

You may want to create affiliate programs that will also market
your ebook. Affiliates can be people or businesses worldwide
that will all be working to sell your ebooks. Think about this?
Do you see a formula for success here?

Figure out what your subject matter is, and then narrow it down.
Your goal is to aim for specificity. Research what’s out there
already, and try to find a void that your ebook might fill.

What about an ebook about a wedding cake business? Or an ebook
about caring for elderly pets? How about the fine points of
collecting ancient pottery?

You don’t have to have three masters degrees to write about your
subject. People need advice that is easy to read and easily
understood. Parents need advice for dealing with their
teenagers. College students need to learn good study skills -
quickly. The possibilities are endless.

After you’ve writtten your ebook

Getting your ebook out is going to be your focus once you’ve
finished writing it, just as it is with print books. People will
hesitate to buy any book from an author they’ve never heard of.
Wouldn’t you?

The answer is simple: give it away! You will see profits in the
form of promoting your own business and getting your name out.
You will find affiliates who will ask you to place their links
within your ebook, and these affiliates will in turn go out and
make your name known. Almost every single famous ebook author
has started out this way.

Another powerful tool to attract people to your ebook is to make
it interactive. Invent something for them to do within the book
rather than just producing pages that contain static text. Let
your readers fill out questionnaires, forms, even crossword
puzzles geared to testing their knowledge on a particular
subject. Have your readers hit a link that will allow them to
recommend your book to their friends and associates. Or include
an actual order form so at the end of their reading journey,
they can eagerly buy your product.

When people interact with books, they become a part of the world
of that book. The fact is just as true for books in print as it
is for ebooks.

That’s why ebooks are so essential. Not only do they provide a
forum for people to learn and make sense of their own thoughts,
but they can also serve to promote your business at the same
time.

Online marketing is an area where you can find a LOT of hype. Make a quick search at Google for ‘buy hits’, ‘ad blaster’ or ‘email blaster’ and you’ll have an idea how wide those big void promises of getting ‘automatic’ traffic to your website. But it’s not a real traffic…

By real traffic I refer to traffic that has a great potential to convert to either sales, joining the business opportunity you promote, joining your newsletter or any other purpose you might have. This IS the bottom line of your business…

As an online business owner, especially of you are building it on a part time basis, you would be very tempted to ‘skyrocket’ your business easily and ‘without efforts’ as those ads implies. Just know this:

YES… you will submit your ad to thousands of websites. And YES… you would get plenty of hits, however, your conversion ratio (how many sales or signups you would gain out of this traffic) will be on a severe diet!

Let’s look at some examples to clarify why this kind of marketing is NOT worth your time or your money:

1. Ad Blasters

First, most of the people visiting free classified sites are doing so just to place their ad, and not to view others ads.

Secondly, those ad blasters made many of those sites absolutely useless!

Think about it for a second: Let’s say there are ten people (only) using that database of 10,000 or so classified sites (and I’m sure they share the same sites even if they are using different ad blasters). Each makes an automatic submission of 10 or more copies of the same ad to a single category (that’s one of the so called ‘features’ in those blasters – multiple submission of your ad copy to each category). What do you think will happen?

The classified site becomes overloaded with the same ad, over and over again in every category, AND, those blasters will ‘compete’ to knock the ads of each other down the list! It would be also useless for anyone who wants to manually submit ads to those sites.

2. Email Blasters

Email marketing is a great way to promote your products or your business opportunity. With that said, email marketing is all about building a relationship with your mailing list, and NOT sending emails to people who didn’t request information from you!

First, I would doubt if anyone has a legal mailing list of 50 or so million people that have asked for more information.

Secondly, sending email to millions who did NOT ask YOU for more information is considered spamming, and it will ruin your credibility, which is a very important key for a successful online business.

3. Automatic ‘Traffic For Clicks’ Software

Traffic for clicks are deals where you get traffic for every website or ad that you view. The more websites you browse, the more credit you’ll get, which means the more your own website will be displayed to others using the same service.

I have noticed an ad for a software that automatically browses others websites, so you would get the credit without having to do anything… I laughed out loud after giving it some thought, here’s why…

Let’s assume you buy such software, you activate it and go to sleep. The software starts browsing others websites, and you get a HUGE credit. Meanwhile, someone else is using a similar software, and HIS software is browsing YOUR website, and vice versa!

So you get tons of hits, your web statistics will show an amazing rate of visitors. However, the ‘people’ visiting your website, are actually a small ‘piece’ of software

I could go on and give more examples. The saying “it sounds too good to be true” applies here! While some of those tools might have worked for some (probably the first guys who laid their hand on them), they do NOT build a solid base for a successful online business.

To avoid any of those hypes, just use your common sense, ask your self a simple question: If you knew a quick way to drive millions to your websites instantly and without some efforts, would you give that secret away?!

Hamad Kadmany helps real people succeed online with his free newsletter and his website. His business provides you with a real online business opportunity and the proper tools, training and support for a successful online business. Discover why so many have found their ideal business with Hamad today at OnlineBizKnowHow.com

Building links and backlinks is part of marketing your site. But the truth is–if all you do is context-less links, the search engines will eventually downgrade your site in their engines.

This is how you should create backlinks:

1. Write articles (with a live hyperlink to your site in your resource box) and submit to at least 3 directories, including EzineArticles.com. This will create backlinks at at least 3 sites. Then, approach webmasters and website owners about posting your article on their website. Make a list of the top sites in your industry and work down, contacting five per day. Many won’t be interested, but those who are can really help you. Not only will you get another backlink to your site, but you might also build a strategic business relationship.

2. Comment at blogs–but make sure you are commenting with quality information. Do not blog-spam! Most blogs will let you leave a link to your website when you comment on their blog. This will also generate backlinks to your site when the search engines spider these blogs.

3. Post in forums. But follow the same advice as above–don’t just post “Nice comment,” or spam the forum with something dumb. Focus on answering questions with quality information or asking good, quality questions. You can get a sense for these by reading the forum a bit first before you start posting.

All three methods create backlinks for you because you can leave your website link (live and hyperlinked) in each case. This also creates passive traffic for you. Since your focus is on posting/writing quality info (adding value), people will be attracted to you as a marketer of interest and link through to your website.

Who knows? Maybe they’ll even buy from you….

Change your life and business for the better at Success University. Jeremy will help you.

Read more of Jeremy’s marketing tips at his blog.

FREE – whatever – the word captures attention.

You have to give to get. It’s a simple ploy of business that works, and it works every time it’s used. If you provide something of value for your consumer, at no cost to them, you will gain their respect, and their business.
What can you GIVE to get the traffic you want at your website?

1. Dynamic Content on your Front Page. Impact visitors early in the site by providing dynamic content early on your front page. Once you’ve attracted their attention and they are on your site, KEEP them with dynamic content that tells them what they want to hear.

2. FREE Merchandise and Information Marketing. Offer to email a FREE newsletter and a FREE document/ebook on sign up. Don’t scrimp, give them their money’s worth on the front side and they will be back for more.

3. Offer FREE gifts on purchase of a service or product from your site. Make it worth their effort, and give them something valuable. Not only should your services or products be high quality, but your gifts should prove your quality too. (If you use a gift from another company, consider asking for a referral from the company to your services, or possibly offering a gift certificate with their product.)

4. Sell the product with a guarantee and incredible service. Provide services required to make your product stand out. Installation, updates, hardware or software information, more data to make it better or a solution to any problems that might arise.

Generosity brings undeniable benefit. Give to get something is a principle that works. The value of what you give will bring value back to your business.

Impact your market with the power of generosity!

Impact your market as never before. Be seen. Be alive. Be creative in your endeavors to brand your business and consume your market. Let eBiz Blitz empower your dreams by infusing your business publications with Dynamic Content. Visit Dynamic Content Creator, Jan Verhoeff, at http://www.freewebs.com/ebizblitz

Traffic Exchange Sites are websites where you get page views of
your own site in exchange for visiting others. Many such sites
are available. However, choosing the right one or a combination
of them can be a very time consuming process.

Basically there are two types. Manual surfing and Auto surfing.
Some Traffic exchanges cater for Manual surfing only, some cater
for Auto surfing only and some cater for both.

Manual surfing - This requires your input by clicking a
button after a specified time period, generally 15, 20 or 30
seconds, although there are a few other variations. With manual
surfing, the surfer is expected to view each site. However, with
most exchange sites, it is possible to minimize or resize the
windows. This defeats the purpose because it allows multiple
sessions to be run simultaneously. On the better exchange sites,
security measures are often used to deter this. These are
normally random prompts that require user input. For example,
after x number of page views, you may be required to enter a
code, select a color or image or perform some other variation of
this.

Auto surfing - This requires no input. However in
reality, your input may be required because of popup or frame
breakers. Some traffic exchange sites require that the pages run
are maximized and although you can minimize the page yourself,
it will automatically maximize at the next refresh. You will
also find that with some exchange sites, pages will run on top
whereas with others, pages will run quite happily underneath,
allowing you to do what ever you like without ever viewing the
page content.

Both manual and auto surfing will bring traffic to your website,
but there is a much greater likelihood of your web pages being
actually seen with manual surfing.

Credits - As well as surfing, credits are usually
acquired for subscribing, for referrals and for any winnings
associated with exchange site lotteries, games or competitions.
These credits can then be used to increase the traffic to your
site. Some exchange sites will also allow you to sell your
credits to other members.

Free or Paid - The majority of Traffic Exchanges offer a
paid option. This option may give you a better surf ratio, bonus
credits, money for referrals or other benefits. Before paying
however, it is important that you test how targeted the traffic
is that you receive. There’s no point in paying for extra
traffic if it doesn’t generate any more income for you.

Click for Credits or Buy Credits - Is it worth buying
credits? This can depend on a number of reasons. The two main
ones are time and money.

Let’s take an example

At the time of writing the cost of 2000 credits for free members
of a well known Traffic Exchange Site was $40. This works out at
$0.02 a click. For pro members the same $40 bought 2200 credits.

With the number of clicks limited to 250 per day and page views
of 20 seconds this means that in theory it will take you 250 X
20 = 5000 sec or 83 minutes 20 seconds to view the 250 pages.
However in practice you must allow extra time for clicking the
next button, clicking the title of the page you will be viewing
and any sites worth looking at.

Since I am a firm believer in practical results, I viewed the
250 pages. It took me 2 hours and 12 minutes to accomplish this.
During that time, I accumulated 854 credits. To buy these
credits would have cost $17.08 as a free member and
approximately $15.53 as a pro member. Allowing for rounding up,
this equates to almost 390 credits per hour or $7.80 per hour
cash value.

Now ask yourself this. Would you work for $7.80 per hour?

I must emphasize that this is only one example and that other
results will differ because of the random allocation of credits.
It is shown here only as an example and to give you an idea of
the cost implications for one particular traffic exchange site.
The cost of credits may differ dramatically for different
exchange sites. If you buy or intend to buy credits from a
traffic exchange site, you can apply what is shown in the
example. There’s no need to click on a large number of websites
to find out if your exchange site is giving you enough credits
for your money. A sample of around 20 sites should give you
enough information to produce a rough value-for-money guide.

If you enjoy this sort of thing or want a break from train
spotting, you could expand on this. Increase your sample size,
increase the number of samples, select a good representation of
traffic exchanges and tabulate your results. Choose enough sites
and you will be able to create your own league table. There’s a
market for everything.

Whether you use traffic exchange sites or not in the quest for
more visitors to your site, you should at the very least know
what they are and what they do. But don’t totally dismiss them.
They are part of an expanding market. I recommend that you try
at least one traffic exchange site. You could read every book on
the subject, but without active participation, you will not be
qualified to comment on their worth or suitability. The time
taken for a few mouse clicks is a small price to pay. If it
works for you, you have learned. If it doesn’t work for you, you
have learned.

There are literally billions of Web sites online now offering all types of products and services. Some succeed brilliantly, while others fail miserably.

There can be many reasons for the failure of some Web sites: poor marketing, poor planning, a weak knowledge of the target market, or just an overall lack of knowledge of business principles by the Web site owner.

One shared trait of successful Web sites, however, is the ability and drive to provide good resources to its visitors. This is a tactic that increases traffic, keeps visitors engaged and coming back, and lends authenticity and reliability to a site. Yet many new (and sometimes “not so new”) Web masters neglect this very important facet of Web site development and Internet marketing.

Why? There are many reasons, however, here are the “most” common:

1. A Web master may be unaware that resources when added to a Web site can add value and increase sales. Adding resources, especially those that are Affiliate links to other products or services, is a great way to “backend” sales, by offering visitors more than the main product or service to buy.

2. A Web master may feel (wrongly) that offering other products or services, or including great informational resources may “compete” with their own product or service. They may be reluctant to expose others to resources or products and services that are the “same” as theirs, feeling that the competitor will end up with the sale. This may be true to some extent.

However, the benefits of providing other resources and products or services besides the main product or service greatly outweigh the negatives. Studies have shown that Web sites containing great resources have more return visitors, and greater sales numbers overall.

3. A Web master may not feel comfortable assuming the liability for other products and services, or other resources that are added to a site. Of course, the more that a site contains, the greater the maintenance and cost associated with a site. However, again, the benefits of a resource-laden site far outweigh the liabilities.

4. A Web master may have no idea how to find good resources or make a judgment about what to add and what to omit.

All of the above seems to account for the reluctance of some to add additional products and services or resources to their sites. Since adding additional products and services are beneficial to almost all Web sites, here are a few guidelines when choosing which resources to add, which to omit, and the approximate amount of resources to add.

1. Resources should always reflect the main theme of a Web site and be complimentary to the main Web site, as well as the other products, services, and resources that already exist. E. G. An Internet Marketing site should, in all probability, only contain links to products, services, and resources that reflect Internet Marketing.

2. Resources should always be “content rich” and interesting to the visitor. A smattering of lackluster, “same old, same old” type resources does the Web master little good, and may even hurt the Web site, by reducing its sales effectiveness.

3. Resources should be updated at least monthly, to keep the site “fresh and lively” for return visitors. Visitors quickly lose interest if a site seems stagnant.

4. Resources should be plentiful enough to fill out a site, however, they should never overshadow the main theme of a site nor should they take away from the main purpose. They should be placed in an orderly fashion, and laid out for easy accessibility and readability. Clutter should be avoided at all costs, and a clean look maintained. There is a fine line here between “just enough” and “way too much”.

5. Avoid gimmicky, poorly written, ethically substandard resources. A Web master must use judgment when choosing resources that are truly an asset to the site. “If in doubt, don’t” is a good rule of thumb here.

Resources not only add quality and backend sales on a Web site, they enhance Search Engine placement by providing content and incoming links. They give visitors a good feeling about the site, and they set the Web master up as an “expert” in any given field.

However, quality must always rule over quantity, when placing resources and additional products and services on a site. If prudence is used, resources will enhance sales and traffic, and keep the site “alive and well” long after other competitive sites have disappeared!

Vishal P. Rao is the owner of: http://www.work-at-home-forum.com/
An online community of people who work at home.