May 18, 2009

Legitimate internet business blogging

Among all the various searches on the Internet, millions of people are looking for a legitimate internet business every month. It is understandable, because a legitimate internet business can be profitable and allow people a last wish or a desire for many: self-employed and be able to make your own schedule. Notice I said before I want or desire. While one might think they are one in it, are quite different, depending on where you fall on that wish to operate a legitimate internet business will determine the success or failure if you decide to take the leap and make one.

In my opinion, Pay Per Click is the most profitable form of paid advertising. However, the key to long term success in many methods is free so do not despair if you do not have a large advertising budget to start. Your best traffic will be from organic searches in search engines, blog directories, article directories, etc ... People are looking for something specific and use certain keywords to find him. They are then directed to your blog, articles, sites, etc ... and will be interested in what you have to say about it. To succeed with a legitimate internet business, these tips will help increase exposure for your site and will not cost you a thing.

Do you have a strong desire to work at home, or is it just a wish?
When someone strongly desires to operate a legitimate internet business, they have very specific reasons for wanting to. They are specific about the kind of money they want because they want the freedom it gives and what it plans to do with time. They have a burning desire for a certain lifestyle and are committed to obtaining it. If you do not have all these things mapped out in specific detail, it is imperative that do so before starting. If you are not willing to take the time to do this, you will never find the motivation and discipline to build your business successfully.

Post comments on other blogs.
A great way to improve your ranking with your legitimate internet business, increasing your businesses exposure, is to post comments on blogs of other people. In most cases, you can enter a name and website along with your comment. This will also allow you to connect your site with your chosen keywords and improve its place on the search results. Again, nothing excessive. Remember to use the keyword you are focusing on when you enter your name as it is the anchor text that is linking to the site you're promoting. Be kind with your comments and actually read the post you are commenting. You can focus on blogs related to your business or you can visit only those relating to any subject that interests you. I do a little of both.

If you are just starting, focus on less popular keywords.
Depending on the nature of your legitimate internet business, there are probably tons of keywords of varying popularity related to your site. Some may get hundreds of thousands of searches each month and some may have only a few thousand. Some terms return hundreds of millions of pages on Google and some only a few hundred thousand. Obviously, it is great to rank high for the former. That is a lot of natural traffic. However, the more popular a keyword, often times the more competitive it is as well. If you are just starting out with a legitimate internet business, focus on keywords that have some millions of search results at most. This way, you will have less competition and its Articles, blog posts, and your site itself may increase the pages much faster than if you choose a word that appears in 200 million sites.

If you find a little less popular keywords that have at least a thousand searches a month and end in the first couple of pages of search engine, you will have a decent amount of people seeing what you have to offer. A legitimate internet business takes a while to generate consistent income so you have to have some patience and get the ball rolling. Take some time to do some research and find some relevant keywords, but less competitive words and phrases. It is a good place to start and will get your legitimate internet business out there in front of interested people.

May 5, 2009

Affiliate Marketing for Anybody

Whether you are an internet marketer or simply a person who is interested in how to make money online, affiliate programs are a quick and easy way to earn money. Some people, termed super affiliates, are able to make a very lucrative living solely by selling affiliate products online.

Affiliate marketing is a great way to monetize the time you spend online. You do not need to create your own product, maintain inventory, hire a sales staff, or to pay the overheads associated with a brick and mortar store. All you need to do is find products that you want to sell and promote them.

Affiliate products are sold simply by linking to them with your affiliate link, the link that contains and tracks your affiliate ID. When someone clicks and buys through your link, you earn a sales commission. Your affiliate link can be placed anywhere: websites, blogs, or even in the signature field of forum posts, often using either a simple text link or an eye catching banner image.

Affiliate programs are very easy to find. Most websites that sell products will have a link, usually at the bottom of the page, where you can enroll in their affiliate program. Many of these will be titled 'Affiliates,' 'Webmasters,' 'Promote _________,' or just even 'Make $$$.'

When choosing a product that is good for you to sell through affiliate marketing, the best advice is to start is with what you already have. Do you already have a website, blog, or forum? If you do, look for products in the same niche as what your site is about. Then, it is an easy matter of adding your affiliate text links or banner ads to your existing site.

Most affiliates promote their affiliate products through online stores or blogs. Some solely promote their affiliate products in free articles or through pay per click advertising like Google AdWords. If you do not yet own your own website or blog, I recommend starting one, as it is the easiest and most cost effective way to get started - Blogger/Blogspot is free.

Once you have your site, blog, or forum complete with your advertising in place, consider building your web presence by creating profiles on social media sites like facebook, myspace, and twitter to attract targeted visitors to your site, where they will be exposed to the products you are promoting.

May 3, 2009

10 Commandments For Affiliate Blogging

1. Consider Your Reader:

Always try to approach your blog with the reader in mind. What would encourage them to make that purchase right here, right now or to ensure that they will bookmark your blog for a second look later.

2. Be Honest:

There's a saying that goes "if you can fake sincerity you'll have it made." Best selling salesman turned author put it another way: "You can't sell a product you don't believe in." People can usually tell if someone is giving them the strait scoop or just pushing the party line - keep it real and give your honest thoughts.

3. Quality Above All Else:

This goes along with #2 above. Do your research for the product or services you're advertising. Make sure the company can deliver on EVERY aspect of their business. A little homework will help you find great products and companies that are an asset to themselves. And happy consumers may come back to your blog to leave laudatory comments!

4. Give Them What They Want, When They Want It:

Don't think that a couple of banners on your blog will start drawing clicks, in fact you'll be lucky if you get any. We've become so used to the sight of them, we hardly notice them anymore. To get readers to click your ads, they need to be relevant to what they came to read, and most effective if they are in the text itself. Consider reading Affiliate Programs - Get Paid Per Click. Now aren't you more likely to follow that link, than if I had put a banner in the sidebar?

5. Consider Ad Placement:

People don't read a blog like they do a book, their eye wanders and they skip and jump around. Place your ads in the hotzones. Top left and middle right are the first two places your average reader looks, followed by the foot of the page.

6. Build Traffic:

Making money online is mostly a numbers game. Given that a certain percentage of visitors will convert into sales, then the trick isn't so much converting more sales as garnering more visitors. Brush up on your SEO to make sure you're making the most of your blog as you can. Also, consider regularly posting to relevant blogs and forums, including a link to your blog in the signature.

7. Diversify:

Sell different things in different places. Sponsors sometimes pull products, or have unfavorable changes in their payments and policies. Hosting accounts sometimes get hacked or experience downtime. Try to have as many irons in the fire as possible, so one setback isn't disastrous.

8. Sell the Product:

Write good copy about the product you're selling and offer the reader the choice to make that purchase. If a page offers a link touting a video of the product in action, but instead goes straight to the buy page you've just lost that customer. They now want to see that video and will look elsewhere to find it.

9. Multi-Task:

Better monetize your blog by integrating various programs. In addition to the product you're selling, offer image and text advertisements for other related products or services. Having arrived at this page, should you decide you're not interested in purchasing Affiliate Programs - Get Paid Per Click, you might be intrigued by one of the links in the Google ads and decide to follow it instead.

10. Learn What Works Best For You:

Most blogging platforms have an analytics program included which you can use to track where your visitors are coming from and what search terms they used. This can be used to decide what products might be better served for an additional spotlight, or even their own separate endeavor. Likewise, affiliate programs offer the same insight for traffic generated to their sites, and where the sales came from.