Using Credit Cards to Control Your Financial Situation

Many people believe credit cards are the root of all evil. Used irresponsibly, sure they can be a problem. But, if you know how to use them right, credit cards can be a major boon to your financial situation.

Before you can see how credit cards can help you, you need to know your real financial situation. There is only one way to do this. Make a list of your expenses, know what you are spending and then sort out how your credit cards can help out.

Figuring Your Expenses - This will take a little paper gathering but is not hard to do. You need to find the credit card statements for an average month. Additionally, gather any other bills that you pay in a regular month. This includes everything down to the times you go out for dinner or the movies. When you add all these items up, you will know how much you are spending in an average month.

How Much Do You Make? - It is important to know how much you are really making as you consider how you are going to pay off how much you have been spending. This includes your paycheck from work, after all taxes and deductions have been removed, and any other supplemental income that you are using on a regular basis.

Do the Math - When you compare these two numbers, how do they look? Do you make more or spend more in a month? If you are making more than you are spending, good. If not, you need to change your spending habits to be lower than what you are bringing in each month.

Using Credit Cards to Your Advantage

Now is where the credit cards can come in. Not only can credit cards be a way for you to consolidate your expenses, but also a way to cut down on some of your spending, or at least get some of that money back. There are plenty of rewards credit cards that can help you to this end.

Cash Back Credit Cards - The easiest way to get money back as you spend is with cash back credit cards. These are exactly what they sound like, cards that give you a percentage back (usually 1-5%) on money you spend on the card.

Gift Certificate Credit Cards - A way to get a little more back for your money is to find gift certificate rewards credit cards. These are ones where you get points for each purchase that you can redeem for them to various stores and businesses. Often you can get more back for each dollar spent taking this route than by cash back cards.

Discount Rewards Credit Cards - Many companies have come to agreements with many businesses to offer their cardholders discounts and special deals. You should check with your credit card company to see if they have any of these types of partnerships you can take advantage of.

Travel Rewards Credit cards - If you regularly travel, you should look into travel rewards credit cards. Many of these cards will offer money towards or discounts on car rentals, hotel stays and even airfare, all the things you need to travel.


About the Author
Steve Sikes is an MBA and writes articles on credit cards and other financial products. To read other articles and compare and apply online for top credit card offers for low interest, balance transfers, rewards, cash back, business, airline miles, you will want to visit http://www.CreditCardWave.com

SEO - Be Direct, Be Clear

If you are like most people, it is probably safe to say that you are often annoyed when sales people become... pushy. And it doesn't matter if it's a car salesperson or someone blocking your way past a kiosk in the mall, these sales people have something in common, and that is persistence and the belief that they can persuade you to buy anything and/or everything.

If they talk fast enough, or maybe if they fill your head with so many claims, they feel that you can be convinced.

Unfortunately, there are many sites on the Internet who feel the same way, that if they inundate the friendly neighborhood visitor with claims and boasts and incomprehensible numbers and figures, they'll persuade you that what they are offering is exactly what you need. And surely you'd agree with them... once you've waded through all the claims.

Or, there is the other situation, the one in which you wander into the wrong store, either because the name was misleading or you just weren't paying enough attention. The same thing happens online. SEO practices can get certain websites to the top of the ranking for a given keyword, even if the searcher's intent doesn't quite match up with the content of the site. The visitors who click on your site need to know they found the right place before they have the chance to beat a hasty retreat.

Given these experiences, it should be obvious that being direct and being clear is at least as important a part of SEO as keyword rich content writing or link recruitment. Well, to rephrase, it is important if you want to increase your conversion rate and not just the number of visitors.

Often SEO developers are focused on creating keyword relevant content, and advertisers are focused on finding that great turn-of-phrase or magical call to action that will persuade a visitor to make a purchase. But the truth of the matter is that often it is the simple act of making your site clear that will do the most good for your business.

By clear and direct, this means that a potential customer will need to know immediately where they are, what they can do/buy there, and why they should choose you over the competition.

For example, an old SEO tactic (a bad tactic, it should be added) was to redirect visitors to a different page. But it doesn't have to be that dramatic, either. If a visitor clicked on a PPC ad that claimed there was a free download/membership/whatever at the other end, yet when they get to the site there is no clear path to the freebie, this can lead a consumer to believe that they found the wrong place and they will try somewhere else.

Helping them understand what they can do on your site should happen next, and it should happen very quickly. Don't make them wade through lines of text before giving them an option to do something. That option should be available to them from the beginning, and they should know exactly what that option entails.

Finally, they need to see why you are the right choice instead of your competition. This does not mean bragging and talking yourself up. When you do that you've just reverted to the care salesman mentality again. And no one likes dealing with these personalties unless they absolutely have to. Clear comparisons and honest testimonials will go a lot further than hollow promises and claims.

Many times content writers feel like they need to answer the "why" before the "what" and the "where". This only leads to cumbersome dialogue and weary customers. Proper content needs to quickly confirm where they are and what they can do. Do not try to present the solution before the problem. When you address these issues you can start to create a site that will interest your customers and help them choose to do business with you.

About the Author
Andy Eliason is a writer at Main10, Inc, a Utah SEO firm. If you'd like to learn more about strong Internet marketing methods then visit their site today.

Bingkisan Dari NEO: E-Book: The Truth behind the “Big Lies" about Chocolate

Link

How to Pay Lower Credit Card Interest Rates

Have you had your credit card for a while and finally noticed that the interest you have been paying is creeping up and up? Or maybe you have had a few dings of late payments, years back, but your interest rate is still struggling because of it. Think there's nothing you can do about it? Think you have to just deal with it? Think again.

There is plenty you can do to change the interest you are paying on your credit card every month.

Negotiate Your Interest

If you are in love with the credit card company you are currently with and don't want to even consider getting a new credit card, you may be able to convince the company to change your interest rate to a lower one.

Call the customer service department and ask them about the possibility of changing your interest rate. Many people threaten to leave the company if the rate doesn't change. There is one catch to this approach. If you really need your interest rate changed you may have to be willing to walk away from the company if they won't give in. Just be ready to follow it up with action.

0% Interest Credit Cards

Whether you need to make a large purchase or just have a lot of debt on other cards, with high interest, that you would like to get a better hold on, you may want to look at 0% interest credit cards. These are cards that literally have no interest in payments for a pre-determined set of time.

There are two styles of these cards - balance transfer credit cards and straight 0% interest credit cards. Balance transfer credit cards are meant to be used when you have other higher interest credit cards and would like to put the money you owe them on the new credit card. 0% interest credit cards will often give you a grace period (say 6 or 9 months) where any purchases you make are interest free.

Make sure to do your research and know how long the 0% interest rate lasts. Try to pay as much of your principal down as possible in this time. Also find out what the interest rate will be after the introductory period, so you know what's in store.

Low Interest Credit Cards

If you have good credit, you should be able to consider another option - low interest credit cards. These are cards that are created around the idea of having a lower interest rate. Usually these are limited to those who are considered better credit risks, and are essentially a reward for being a responsible credit card user.

About the Author
Steve Sikes is an MBA and writes articles on credit cards and other financial products. To read other articles and compare and apply online for top credit card offers for low interest, balance transfers, rewards, cash back, business, airline miles, you will want to visit http://www.CreditCardWave.com

10 Ways to Drive Massive Traffic to Your Website

Targeted traffic is the lifeblood of any successful business. In this article, I'm going to show you how to get laser targeted traffic in just a few simple steps.

1. Article Marketing - One of the best ways to drive targeted
traffic to your website is through the use of article marketing. This is one of the oldest techniques for generating traffic, but it's still one of the best.

Once you have written your article, you can then submit it to some of the top article directories like EzineArticles, GoArticles, Buzzle, the American Chronicle, ArticlesBase, and SearchWarp. For a list of the top article directories online, go to...

http://www.masonworld.com/masonworld-article-directory-rank/

You can also publish your website to Web 2.0 sites like Squidoo, HubPages, Zimbio, and Gather.com.

For a complete list of Web 2.0 sites, go to...
Web 2.0 Directory : eConsultant

Article marketing is even more powerful when you submit exclusive articles to bloggers and owners of newsletters. This technique has sent me thousands of visitors with a single article. The key is to find the right distribution outlets.

Just imagine if you spend just one hour each day writing and distributing one article. In three months you would have 100 articles all sending you traffic on a daily basis.

So get out there and start syndicating your articles, submitting guests posts, and writing for online newsletters.

2. Viral Ebooks - Why not bundle your articles together and create a viral ebook? Giving away free ebooks is one of the best way to generate traffic online. It's also one of the best ways to build your mailing list.

You can submit your PDF ebooks to Free-eBooks.net, Scribd, eSnips, DocStoc, Calameo, Issuu, Yudu, FreeIQ, and ButterflyReports.

For a complete list of ebook directories you can submit to, go to Free Ebook Directories

Quick Tip: You can also convert your ebooks to exe files and submit them to all the different software directories online. You can convert your ebooks using afree piece of software called WebsiteZip Packer.

3. Blogging - Blogging is one of the best things you can do for your business. Blogging is a great way to get to know your readers. Plus, blogging can play a major role in getting valuable search engine traffic from Google, Yahoo, and MSN.

4. Submit your articles to Blog Carnivals. A blog carnival is a collection of blog posts on a particular subject. They are then posted together on on blog - called a host. The host (who is also a blogger), publishes the carnival on their blog, with links to each blog post that has been submitted.

This creates an excellent opportunity to get your blog posts shared on other blogs.

There are a number of benefits to participating in blog carnivals. Not only will you generate extra traffic, but it also provides you with quality backlinks and an excellent opportunity to connect with other bloggers.

To submit your article to a blog carnival, go to Blog Carnival - Blog Communities Publishing Magazines. For extra exposure, submit to multiple blog carnivals. Just make sure they're all relevant to your topic.

This is one of the easiest ways to create one-way backlinks coming into your site, which is one of the biggest factors when it comes to ranking high in Google.

5. Submit your blog posts to social bookmarking sites.

Social Bookmarking is one of the easiest ways to get extra traffic and links coming into your blog. Social bookmarking allows Internet users to save and organize bookmarks to a public website, tag them with keywords, share them with others, and browse what others have bookmarked.

Digg, Delicious, Mixx, and Digg are just a few of the social bookmarking sites you can use to maximize your exposure.

You can do a semi-automated submission to over 50 social bookmarking sites at AutoPoster.com.

You can also encourage your blog readers to bookmark your posts as well with a Wordpress plugin called ShareThis.

6. Ustream.tv - Ustream allows you to create your very own tv station on the Web. However, it's better than TV because it's a live, interactive experience. While you're broadcasting the video, you're also getting feedback from the live chatroom.

Ustream gives your business a human face and a real personality. This is extremely valuable, because people like to buy and interact with people, not impersonal companies.

Live video allows you to reach entirely new audiences and develop a much greater level of engagement. A deeper level of engagement almost allows equates to a higher conversion rate when done correctly.

It's also an excellent way to get feedback from your audience.

7. Forum Marketing - Forums are another way to drive targeted visitors to your website. The key to getting quality traffic from forums is to find a forum that is highly targeted to your website, become involved in the community, and create a benefit-laden signature.

You can put a link back to your website in your signature. It's critical that you use your signature to offer something of extreme value along with a good call-to-action. Otherwise, why would anybody click?

The biggest benefit of marketing in forums is that they are centered around a very tight group of people who are all interested in the same subject. This is essentially a community of raving fans for a particular topic, making them extremely targeted prospects.

Forums are also an excellent way to connect with other bloggers, meet other marketers, and gain insights into your market.

8. Interviews are another great way to generate traffic. When you interview a fellow blogger, they will almost always publish a link to the interview on their blog. At the same time, you are also sending traffic to their website by posting the interview on your own blog.

This can be a very effective technique for generating traffic and meeting new bloggers. Unfortunately, most people are just afraid to ask.

9. Build a List - If you're not building a list, you're missing out on a major source of ongoing traffic. Your list is the most valuable asset in your business.

Best of all, it can be leveraged at anytime to drive a funnel of visitors to your website.

10. Video Marketing - Video sites have quickly become some of the most highly trafficked sites on the Internet, making them one of the best places to generate lots of extra traffic.

And don't worry, your video doesn't have to be a Spielberg classic. In fact, it can just be a PowerPoint presentation with audio. Even simple videos can drive thousands of visitors to your site.

Once you've created your video, you can then submit it to the top video submission sites with a tool calledTubeMogul.

And finally, My Favorite...

Search Engine Optimization is one of the best ways to generate extremely targeted traffic online. By following just a few basic principles, you can get lots of traffic from the search engines every month.

To find out how I get front-page rankings within 24 hours, Grab my Free Google Domination Videos...

About this author
For step-by-step videos on how you can get front page rankings within 24 hours, go to http://www.buzzblogger.com/traffic/

The 3 Types of Website Traffic

Where does traffic come from? Now I'm not talking about that stuff we all get stuck in during rush hour. Website traffic is essential, if you have no traffic to your website you are not going to get anyone buying your products or reading your articles. Traffic is one of the key components of your website and is available in these three forms.

1. Pay For It.

You can buy traffic typically using what is known as Pay Per Click advertising. The major names in this market are Google and their AdWords program and Yahoo Network Sponsored Search. There are many smaller companies around also but they all follow the same premise.

You create your account, grab a bunch of keywords and create your adverts. You can define the amount you want to spend per click or per day, what geographical areas you want your adverts to appear in and even what time they should appear.

When someone types one of your keywords into for example Google your advert will be displayed down the right hand side of the natural search results. If the searcher then chooses to click on your advert and gets forwarded to your website you will get charged for that click.

The price you pay for each individual click depends on a variety of conditions such as how many other people are competing on that keyword. The more competition the more it costs to be higher up the ranks. The position you want to occupy. The percentage of people who click on your advert, the list goes on.

Pay Per Click advertising can be very successful but has a steep learning curve, it is essential that you do lots of research into your chosen Pay Per Click vender and in the niche you are in.

2. Borrow It.

This option is not for everyone, but in certain niches it can be effective. The first method of borrowing traffic is what is called link exchange. This is where you put links to another website on your site and they put links back to you on theirs. This can be beneficial as you can get traffic from a more successful website reasonably quickly. However this traffic is not always targeted.

The second option in the affiliate marketing world is called a joint venture or a JP. This is essentially where you would contact another marketer or company who had products that complements yours. If they are interested they may send a mailing out to their list or put an entry in their blog alerting their visitors about you and your relevant products.

The key things to remember about borrowing traffic is that you have to give something in return. This can make it tricky when targeting very successful websites.

3. Create It.

Creating your own traffic is one of the best ways to start bringing people into your website. There are literally hundreds of ways to start creating your traffic but I'm just going to tell you about two of the most popular.

Articles are a great way of generating traffic. You can write your articles about your chosen niche, offering advice, definitions, explanations, news, reviews just to name a few. Once you have created your articles you can put them on your website or blog as content. You can also upload them to article directories or even assemble a few of them into a white paper or ebook to give away to visitors.

Video is currently the big thing on the internet world. Everywhere you look there are videos for everything. 50% of all web traffic is video and YouTube alone receives 12.5% of all the traffic out there. YouTube has made it possible for anyone to upload their videos for the whole world to see. Just as you can create an article about anything you can do the same thing with video. The best option is to do both: Create it in print and create it in video.

I wish you all the best of success.

About the Author
Mark Voce - I hope you found this article helpful. Check out my blog to get more advice, tips, secrets and the latest news on Google AdWords and Internet Marketing.

What You Need to Know About Credit Card Due Dates

Credit cards can be a great boon to your financial abilities, as long as you use them right. You have likely heard from a friend or family member who blames the credit card companies for all their financial woes. The truth is, they are blaming the credit card companies only because they don't want to blame the person really responsible for the problem, themselves.

While credit cards are great to use to spend a lot of money, it is important to realize this is not free money. This is an advance loan that you are being given, in good faith, by the credit card companies. They are entering into an agreement with you where they will let you use their money, often at low interest rates, as long as you keep up your end of the deal by paying them back on time, as you have agreed. This is where many people hit the snag. One of the quickest ways to see your credit card interest and debt go up and your credit score go down is to start missing the payments that you are supposed to be sending.

Due Dates and Interest

When you start with a credit card company, you often will have a low interest rate that the company has trusted you with. They do this because they believe you are a good credit risk and that you will pay them back as you have agreed to in the credit terms that you signed in order to be able to use their card. If you fail to hold up your end of the bargain (paying on time) the rules will often change and they will increase your interest rate, as you are no longer as good of a credit risk.

Due Dates and Your Credit Score

If you don't remember to pay your credit card bill on time not only are you going to see an increase in your credit rating, but also you could see a decrease in your credit score. Many people don't realize that when they are late on a payment or two, the credit card companies often report those tardy payments to the credit reporting companies. Late payments are a ding on your credit score and can see your overall rating drop.

Due Dates are Due Dates

A lot of people figure a few days one direction or another shouldn't matter when it comes to them paying their credit card bills. Do you think the same way about your boss paying you on payday? Would you mind if the company waited a few days to pay you? Of course you would. It's the same with the credit card company. You made a promise, you need to keep it.

Admitting Your Wrongs May Help

If you are late with your credit card payments and there is a good reason, that doesn't mean the credit card company will forgive it, but it doesn't hurt to ask. Often the companies are willing to be a bit accommodating if you are up front with them. If you are late, or going to be, call and apologize. While it may still see your interest go up they may be willing to do something to help you, such as taking away the late fee.

About the Author
Steve Sikes is an MBA and writes articles on credit cards and other financial products. To read other articles and compare and apply online for top credit card offers for low interest, balance transfers, rewards, cash back, business, airline miles, you will want to visit http://www.CreditCardWave.com

How to Deal With Work at Home Business Scams

Work at home business scams are one of the main concerns for home business moms around the world. Sadly, the number of such scams are increasing each day and it does not look like there will be a stop to it anytime soon. It is insufficient for home business moms to only recognize and avoid these work at home business scams. Many of these working from home moms are eager to take action against the companies or individuals responsible for these schemes.

Work at home business scams usually have certain distinct features such as a simple and vague job description and promises of a huge amount of money. Home business moms are normally required to pay a start-up fee or some form of upfront payment in order to get "hired".
Furthermore, it is more often than not impossible to get in touch with a representative from such companies for further information regarding the position.

Fortunately, there are many organizations and associations dedicated to combating these home based business scams. For instance, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) is an organization which helps consumers with complaints and credible information regarding charities and businesses. BBB also alerts individuals about the latest scams which might affect them and their business. On the other hand, the Direct Selling Association (DSA) has more than 200 companies, many of them well-known, as members of their association. DSA's mission is to make sure that their member companies follow ethical business practices and if they fail to do so, home business moms can file a complaint on the DSA website or send them a mail or fax.

The National Fraud International Center is another organization which helps consumers and businesses fight against work at home business scams. It aims to help people avoid telemarketing and Internet schemes and pass their complaints to law enforcement agencies without any hassle. Working from home moms who come into contact with a home business scam can file a complaint on their website or call 1800-876-7060. Alternatively, work at home mums can visit the Internet Crime Complaint Center which is a partnership between the FBI and NW3C to deal with matters relating to Internet crimes, including work at home business scams.

Home business moms should be weary and careful, but definitely not fearful when looking for business opportunities on the Internet and in the real world. They should keep these important information handy in case they may need to use it in the future to report against a scam.

About the Author
Stella Parks is a 28 year old corporate slave, determined to spread the word on "work at home" opportunities to Mums everywhere. Visit her blog at Mummy's Home Biz for useful info, advice, tips and more to help you become a successful work at home Mum.

Eliminating Failure in the Online Marketing World

Guaranteed Recipe for Failure.

Failure is all but guaranteed in the highly competitive online market. Advertising costs are though the roof and keyword competition is out of control. The average online marketer can barely keep up with the "Big Boys". Creating enough back links through blogging and article writing can be a daunting task for someone working alone. After several frustrating months, many will simply give up and join the 90%.

Network Marketing is going to explode in 2008 and 2009.

Lets face it, people are desperate for options. Layoffs are up! Bankruptcies are up! Gas prices are up! Corporate loyalty is down! More and more people will be looking online for help. Those people will be looking for opportunities. What are you going to do to position yourself to reap the rewards of this market explosion?

The Solution.

The solution to eliminating failure is simple. Teamwork! A group of individuals is much stronger than one. When you have a group working together, you don't have to worry about that Sponsor who suddenly disappears as soon as you join their opportunity. A group supports each others marketing efforts.

How it works.

Think about this. You decide to write an article and you want it to be on Digg's front page. Everyone in your team will go and digg your article. Soon you are on the front page! That is very powerful and will help you attract new recruits. Some groups even pool their resources and everyone shares the traffic generated for a particular opportunity. The power of this is everyone can concentrate on his or her strengths and tap into every possible marketing technique.

The future of online marketing is in the Team Concept, not the individual. Remember to pick your team first, not your opportunity. The right team will be successful in any opportunity.

About the Author
Tim Benefiel. A Founding Member of Infinite Potential. A free forum of like minded marketers working together for success. http://www.internetsuccesshome.com

Internet Marketing, Tracking Your Results

One of the biggest mistakes that newbies make when taking their first steps into Google AdWords is not tracking the results. But this doesn't only happen with Google AdWords but with all new types of marketing. The majority of people and companies do not track their results or do not track properly.

When people start tracking their marketing it is all too common that the wrong results are being monitored. For example if you start a new marketing campaign and notice that your website traffic increases by 50% this must be a positive result... Not quite. Just because your website gets more visitors doesn't mean that you get more money.

When monitoring your marketing it is vital that you monitor your profit, not your turnover or the number of visitors to your website. The only true representation of how successful your marketing has been is how much profit you have made.

There are many ways you can start tracking your marketing, if your customers phone you up to place an order or enquire about your products. You can simply ask them, how did you find us? Which search engine did you use? What search term did you use?

Using this method you can generate good results although you allways get some customers who was handed your info by someone else and some people just don't seem to remember how they found you.

If you are selling your products online using a e-commerce shopping cart or even a service like Paypal you can track every step a visitor makes all the way through to purchase. Google has their own monitoring tool called Google Analytics. This tool allows you to monitor every visitor into your website, you can see what traffic sources provide your visitors, how many pages they visit, which page do the leave on.

Google Analytics has a powerful tool called Conversions, you can define what you class as a conversion for example this maybe the thank you page after someone has purchased one of your products, it may be the thank you page after someone has joined your mailing list or subscribed to your newsletter.

You can then take this a step further and create a sequence of conversions, this is often called a sales funnel. You may for example set up a conversion for when someone enters their name and email into your squeeze page. A second conversion may then exist on the page containing how to buy your product and finally and conversion at the end of a shopping cart.

Using this method you can see how many people get to your squeeze page, who then goes on to find out more and finally the percentage of visitors who go on to purchase one of your products.

When you are successfully tracking your marketing campaigns you will always know which keywords from which traffic sources are generating you the most profit. You can identify what does not work, ignore it and then concentrate on your marketing that gives you the best results.

I wish you all the best.

About the Author
Mark Voce - I hope you found this article helpful. Check out my blog to get more advice, tips, secrets and the latest news on Google AdWords and Internet Marketing.

Web Design in a World of Change

When it comes to web design one of the things I really like to see for a more hands-free experience for visitors is self-updating code.

In some cases this information is free. In other instances you may have to pay something to use it or allow the information to be ad supported.

Let's say for instance that you sell replica NASCAR vehicles. You might want the latest NASCAR news on your website. You can search for sources that provide the information either as scrolling text or in a side box.

There are sites that can make customizable content for your website for things like recipes, news, gardening as well as music and entertainment news. You can paste the code they supply into a webpage and watch as that information is updated on a regular basis.

This can be an important element for those who don't want static information on their homepage and can utilize information relevant to the primary business website.

It is likely that if a visitor clicks on a link within the text of this information they will be taken away from your webpage, but if they are used to finding that information with you they will likely come back for more.

It is sometimes difficult for business owners to keep up with every aspect of their industry and this type of updating tool allows comprehensive and current information to flow without intervention from the site owner.

One site that seems to do a good job of listing lots of free content for websites is http://www.freesticky.com/stickyweb/. Categories include cartoons, education, entertainment, sports, news, maps, weather, tips and advice to name a few.

Most online sites look for relevant and changing content. The use of a free article directory can help you locate very specific content for your website, but for news and current events it can be difficult to broker individual agreements to cover the use of current content. That's why finding self-updating source code can be important to your web design.

You can even segment small portions of your website to include things like a quote of the day, this day in history, unusual facts, daily questions and even games.

These elements can add some personality to your website as visitors become used to intriguing content that never seems to stay the same even when other content might.

You should know that not every html code you place on your website will match the look and feel of your website. There may be some adjustment you can make to help this. It is also possible that the code may interfere with your website design and you may need some help from a code expert to either fix the coding issue or find something else that may be more suitable.

Some individuals are also using RSS feeds to accomplish a similar goal. The point is that no matter the method you use to obtain the information the addition of content that remains in a state of flux can help in providing an improved user experience for your regular site visitor.

About the Author
Scott Lindsay - Make A Website in minutes with the Website Builder at HighPowerSites.com. Start a Home Business and Sell Ebooks at BooksWealth.com.

The Mysteries of SEO

SEO, or search engine optimization, is the most important element in building a successful website. Most people online have heard the term SEO and have some idea of what is involved yet it remains a mysterious process to many. One of the reasons SEO is so mysterious is that it can be a complicated endeavor and search engines are constantly changing the way they rank sites and the way the recognize the many tools of SEO.

At the forefront of the SEO check and balance system is the leading search engine Google. They have pretty much set the standard for technology in search engine algorithms that can track the relevancy of a website to its content and SEO efforts. Their ranking system remains one of the most popular methods of determining a web site's quality because of their diligent efforts of weeding out the bad apples that have little to offer a consumer other than skilled manipulation and the ability to 'play the system' to their advantage.

Of course taking advantage of the system makes perfect sense from a business standpoint but from the search engine outlook of wanting to provide the best quality sites on their results for the viewer it can become difficult to differentiate the site that is good quality wise from the site that is good because it has a very manipulative operator at the helm.

Because the rules for SEO evolve and change rapidly the mystique of search engine optimization continues to confuse website owners. Many people build their websites thinking the only SEO tool they need is key word density. While key words are an important aspect in SEO they are not the only means to an end, they are simply a part of the puzzle. There is another tried and true method of SEO that is as relevant today as it was at the start of the concept of web 2.0 marketing and that is back linking. While back linking remains one of the most successful ways to get your site to rank high on the search engines it also has undergone some changes making the types of links important so that search engines do not penalize a site for bad incoming links.

The term "back link" refers to an outside link on another site that points to yours. In the past any link from another site would have a positive impact on your site by the search engines. Because there were so many gimmicks developed in the last few years to garner massive back links to websites such as link farms, and irrelevant reciprocal linking Google began to develop a way to weed out links that were purchased, or had little meaning or relevancy.

Even though back linking is used to manipulate search engine popularity there are many very legitimate reasons for using the system of back linking. Finding web sites that have a common interest to your own who are willing to place your link on their site can get you extra exposure. When their visitors come to their site they will see your link and likely visit your site as well.

The fact that onsite links like that have such a perceived relevance to the visitor makes them a valuable marketing tool, but that perception of quality is also why Google works so hard to be sure they are real quality links. You will get higher ranking on a search engine for a number of truly appropriate back linking partnerships however if the sites linking to you do not share any common information or products Google will penalize you for the link. There are new programs in the works with Google where your site could even be devalued if the site that links to you is determined to be bad quality so it is important who you choose to link to, and also who links to you.

In the past many web site owners would open up multiple websites with the sole purpose of promoting one principle site. They would use the extra websites as a means of placing back links to the main site. Google now watches for sites that are created with the same IP address. Creating a large number of websites on the same IP address and putting back links on them to quickly develop a number of links is known as link bombing. That is not to say that you cannot ever link to your own website from a site you own. If there is a reason to show your visitors some additional information a few well placed back links are fine. It is when there are many links from each site all pointing to a single 'main' site that the search engines look at them suspiciously.

The system Google is working hard to put in place to discount a link from a bad site is why it is very important to know who is linking to you and if their site stacks up to your standards. It is no longer true that all inbound links to your site are good links. There are very good tools available online for free that can show you who is linking to you. If you find a site that is linking to you that you feel is questionable in terms of how they relate to your website either in information or product you should contact the webmaster of the site and demand that they remove the link to your website to avoid being penalized by the search engines.

Probably the best way to obtain a back link to your site is through anchor text. That is when you have another website with content that is relevant to your own (relevancy is ALWAYS important) including your site in the actual content of their site with a hyperlink inside the text. These back links are valued much higher than a simple sidebar link as long as they appear in the text in a way that has a fluid and meaningful association with the content of the article. There are several ways to get such back links.

Providing articles to content sites with your link built into the article is one method. If you write very compelling information on your website is another as someone else with a similar site may wish to point it out on their own. You may not even realize they are doing it unless they tell you about it. This is one of the main reasons it is important to keep an eye on who is back linking to you. While the majority of those types of links are wonderful and you should thank the site owner for their inclusion, if you feel the site that is linking to you does not meet your standards, have similar information, or the content is not relevant to your site you should definitely ask them to remove your link.

Back linking is an extremely important aspect of SEO development and it is something you need to understand well in order to implement and control it properly. There are many secrets and mysteries in the SEO world that diligent study can clear up. Keeping your website in good standing with the search engines and popular with your visitors is the best way to ensure a vital and profitable future for your business online.

About the Author
My name is Rick Youngblood, and I am the web designer and owner and operator of Spyglass Studios, Website Design. Living and working in Redding, California, I have been designing websites for seven years.

5 Tips to Designing Your at-Home Business

When starting an at home business, there are several important facets you will want to focus on. You want to create fresh and enticing content, promote your web site consistently, and give each visitor the time of day they deserve. Another facet that can sometimes get overlooked is the design of your web site.

Here are five tips to designing a visually appealing at home business.

1. Header
The first thing you want to focus on is the header because this is the very first thing people will see when coming to your web site. You want it to be professional, but make sure that it stands out at the same time. You can do this by making it bold, much larger font than the rest of the page, and perhaps making it a professional looking color. In addition, it can be smart to add a logo of some sort next to or behind the header.

2. Above the fold
When people come to your web site, you have to know that not everyone is going to read through your entire web site. Because of this, you want to give them the most important information first. Above the fold means placing all of your important information toward the top so the reader does not have to scroll down. As soon as they have to scroll down to read, they have gone below the fold.

3. Highlight key concepts
In addition to placing your most important information above the fold, you can also help the reader by highlighting key concepts. You can highlight specific words or an entire sentence if need be. You can highlight by bolding the word or phrase, or even separate the word completely into its own line.

4. Balance
One of the most important parts to making a web site visually appealing is to create balance between your graphics and content. The last thing you want is to have all of your content on the top and all of your graphics on the bottom, or vice versa. Interchange the two to make it easier to follow along.

5. Eliminate clutter
While it is important that you place video, audio, and graphics on your site, you want to do it in a professional manner. There are far too many sites that think the more flashing banners and graphics they have the better. But all this will do is take the focus away from your content and make it difficult to find things on your site.

There are several important facets to an at home business, including the design. Take the five tips listed in this article and create a visually appealing web site that will keep visitors coming back for more.

The Most Valuable Source for Leads

Would you like to tap into the most valuable source for leads? You might be surprised to discover that you are climbing over the low hanging fruit in an effort to get to the top of the tree. In your haste to shout your message to the masses, you could be shouting over the heads of the potential business that is already in a queue at your door. Slow down and reflect for just a moment. Then tap into the most valuable source for leads.

The Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council has just completed a study of channel executives, distributors, resellers, and other channel representatives. The results of the surveys may not surprise you, but the contrasts of the responses provide a shocking insight into the sheer volume of missed opportunities. This is good news for you, because missed opportunities by others can create new opportunities for you. While you may agree with the initial results of the survey, consider how you can adjust your approach to the market and leverage these opportunities.

According to the survey results by the Chief Marketing Officer Council, most valued source of leads is from customer referrals.

54% Customer Referrals

14% E-Mail or Direct Marketing

8% Internet

7% Events

7% Leads from Vendors

3% Third Party Lead Generation Organizations

8% Other

Would you agree that the best leads come from the referrals of satisfied customers? Is it surprising that customer referrals were ranked as four times more powerful and valuable than E-Mail or Direct Marketing campaigns? Customer referrals were ranked nearly seven times more likely to result in sales and new business than leads derived the Internet.

Customer referrals are a means of providing immediate credibility. With the increasing ability for consumers to share personal expression on the Internet, Blogs, E-mail, and word of mouth, the ability to communicate has enhanced the voice of the customer. In business-to-business transactions, a customer referral is more likely to lead to an appropriate contact with a relevant message, which is far more powerful and likely to result in success than a cold call from a third party lead generation. Events and trade shows can be a powerful platform to market a brand, but fall short in delivering valuable leads.

With all of this insight, how did the same channel executives, distributors, resellers, and channel representatives respond to the survey by Chief Marketing Officer Council with regards to tactics for generating new leads in the coming year?

14% Plan to use Direct Marketing and E-mail campaigns

13% Plan to use Sales Brochures and collateral

10% Plan to focus on Tradeshows for lead generation

8% Will use Seminars to generate leads

7% Will rely on Print Advertising

7% Plan to use Public Relations and Article Placement

7% Plan to use the Internet and Online Advertising

6% Will revert to Telemarketing

6% Plan to invest in Internet Search Engine Marketing

5% Plan to engage customers in User Group Gatherings

4% Plan to rely on Yellow Page Advertising

4% Will experiment on the Internet with Blogs and Social Networking

3% Will use Online Directories

3% Will create Webcasts

1% Plan to use Content Syndication

2% Will try something completely different

The results of the survey regarding lead generation tactics for new business acquisition are hardly surprising. Very little has changed in the planning and tactics as conveyed by the survey response, and yet, the contrast in comparison to the most effective and valued leads is staggering. Even though 54% of respondents acknowledged that the most valued leads are based on customer referrals, the first mention of leveraging this goldmine occurs in the 4% of respondents that plan to engage customers in user group gatherings.

Fortunately, it would appear relatively that fourteen percent of respondents believe the most valuable lead generation comes from Direct Marketing or E-mail, and fourteen percent plan to use this tactic for lead generation in the coming year. However, even though only seven percent believe that the best leads come from trade shows, there are ten percent planning to take this tactic, and another eight percent who will augment this activity with seminars.

Although only eight percent believe that the highest chance for success comes from leads acquired by the Internet, there is a staggering number of diverse plans to leverage this channel of communication. The tactics include seven percent Internet and Online Advertising, six percent investing in search engine marketing, four percent using blogs and social networking, three percent using Online Directories, and another three percent experimenting with webcasts. The Internet provides an exciting vehicle to be creative, showcase the brand, and communicate to a very large audience. However, is it targeting the most valuable audience by engaging the most valuable leads that come from customer referrals?

As you can see, the tactics are not groundbreaking or unusual. On the contrary, the approach to market is contrived on establishing a brand, shouting a message to the masses, and hoping that the merit is recognized by the appropriate lead. The Internet, Trade Shows, Brochures, and Advertising, provide effective, if not innovative vehicles for spreading the slogan. While it may be necessary to invest in these channels of communication to maintain competitive placement, there remains untapped opportunity for higher rates of success when tactics engage customer referrals.

Stop what you are doing right now and imagine how referrals from satisfied customers could generate valuable leads and grow your business. It does not matter what kind of business you are in, or what responsibilities you have in the organization. Every member of an organization contributes directly, or indirectly, to customer satisfaction. Your actions may results in testimonials, endorsements, or positive word of mouth. If you could harness the power of customer referrals, your sales force would blossom with representation from independent trusted advocates.

So, how do you encourage and empower customers to grow this incredible pipeline of valued referrals? You ask them, of course. However, before you make such a bold request, your customers must know that you are fully engaged and obligated to their aspirations. When customers are assured that you are a trusted advocate, committed to customer satisfaction, they have the confidence to share referrals and recommendations.

Once customer confidence is established and the relationship is mutually rewarding, then it is just a matter of creating the appropriate opportunity for referrals to occur. This can be as simple as asking for referrals, or as formal as creating gatherings for existing clients and potential prospects to meet and exchange experiences. Introducing existing clients to potential prospects demonstrates immense confidence in your own relationship with your customers, because you are not fearful of losing the mutually rewarding relationship. Group gatherings and communications creates a unique opportunity to endorse your customers, grow their circle of influence, and for them to provide a third party endorsement of your efforts.

There are many ways to empower customer referrals by engaging individuals in group gathering or discussions, leveraging the Internet or Advertising, or by collecting a powerful collage of testimonials. The tactics for getting the most out of this goldmine pipeline are as diverse as the markets and customers in them. It all begins with recognizing the most valuable source for leads, acknowledging the value of these resources, and creating specific action items in a plan to unleash these untapped opportunities. Actively and effectively mining the most valuable source for leads will give you an advantage over 95% of your competition.

About the Author
John Mehrmann is author of The Trusted Advocate: Accelerate Success with Authenticity and Integrity. The book that is changing everything by reawakening personal values in business as a competitive edge.

Keep the Sale

Keep The Sale - Does this sound familiar?

After dozens of phones calls and emails as well as several face-to-face meetings, you finally reach an agreement with a prospect who is intent on buying your service, product or solution.

"Whew! Another sale done," you think to yourself.

But, wait. Before you start counting your commission it is critical that you keep the sale. Just because a prospect has agreed to move forward it does not mean that the sale will move forward, especially if you sell a complex system or solution. Dozens of things can happen to derail your efforts.

Your key contact may change companies or positions. The person you are dealing with gets cold feet, loses interest, or decides to change vendors. The company may be acquired or sold. A competitor may approach your prospect with a better offer. There is no such thing as a guaranteed sale even if you are holding a signed contract. That means you need to ensure that you keep the sale. Here are several strategies you can incorporate into your business that will help you achieve this.

1. First, send some form of acknowledgement or thank-you. I know this sounds like an elementary concept but most sales people think of doing this. They take the sale and move on to the next prospect. However, if you send a thank-you card immediately after you confirm the sale, you differentiate yourself you're your competition. You can also use postcards. The key is to show your new customer that you value his or her business and thanking them is just one small gesture that demonstrates this.

2. The next thing to do is regularly update your new customer. Keep them informed about things like delivery or shipment status and installation dates and schedules. If you sell a highly customized product, make sure you advise them on the progress of the development of their product. Frequency of updates will depend on a few factors.

- What does your key decision-maker expect or want? If they are detail oriented person they will require more frequent updates than someone who is less detail-oriented. The easiest way to determine this is ask this question, "How often do you want me to send you updates?" A simple question but one that will give you tremendous insight into your customer's expectations.

- Another factor is the length of time that occurs between the time of your agreement and when your services will be rendered or your product will be delivered. The more time that elapses between these two, the more important it is for you to update your customer. For example, in my particular business, it is not uncommon for a company to book me for a keynote speech or training workshop up to a year in advance. During this time, I try to send them some form of update so they know I have not forgotten about their event.

3. Send them additional information of value. This includes articles, magazine and newspaper clippings, or other information that is relevant to their business. You could send them an article that mentions a strategic move one of their competitors is about to make or an article on a topic that relates to your key contact's interests. You may come across a newspaper article about their company-clip this article and send it your client. It does not matter if they have already read the article because your gesture shows that you are paying attention to their business. And most sales people do not do this. One word of caution. Do NOT send information about your product! This is not about you! It is about giving your new customer a reason to keep the sale with you.

4. Depending on the size of the sale, you could send a book that will help them with their business. There are a multitude of books on the market today, addressing virtually every business situation. If your client enjoys reading then it makes good business sense to send them a book that will help improve their results. I have sent books to my clients that focus on communication, leadership, sales, and customer service. Attach a brief note explaining why you sent this book.

5. Lastly, reinforce their buying decision. The easiest way to do this is to send them testimonials from satisfied customers. An even more effective approach is to ask one of your existing clients to call your new customer. People want reassurances that they have made a sound buying decision so just imagine the impact if they heard a voice mail message from one of your clients stating how satisfied they were with your product, service or solution.

These may sound like simple concepts. However, I can guarantee that very few sales people actually use them. Integrating these strategies into your routine will not only help you differentiate yourself from your competition, you will increase your odds of keeping every sale you make.

About the Author
Kelley Robertson, author of The Secrets of Power Selling helps sales professionals and businesses discover new techniques to improve their sales and profits. For information on his programs contact him at 905-633-7750 or Kelley@RobertsonTrainingGroup.com.