Free E-Commerce Website Using Google Sites and PayPal

I started off with the goal of making a website that has no on going costs, minimal transaction fees and low maintenance. The choice of having all features integrated into the one website? or do I manage the website and let a third party do the financial transactions? security is a key to answering this question, a third party will be my option. Firstly I did allot of research into free web hosting solutions, benefits, security and 100% uptime. The list got down to a few, I tested them and decided on Google sites which ticked all the boxes. The main disadvantage is also an advantage, it locks down allot of code, making it harder to implement heaps of features but increases security immensely.

I have decided on my web hosting, now look at payment systems. The customer would have to be redirected to a secure website, the data passed between my website and the shopping cart had to be minimal as this can be hijacked or changed. I looked at allot of cool Java and php based shopping carts but in the end, all still sent across code that could easily be changed by someone smart enough. PayPal and Google Checkout are the main players, being in a Australia, Google Checkout was ruled out so I worked with PayPal.

Google sites is very easy use, first you give the website a name, choose a template and play around with the formatting a bit. Add a picture of the item you want to sell, then put it in the back of your mind for a bit, we now head over to PayPal.

Create yourself a PayPal account and change the account type to Business at http://www.PayPal.com. PayPal gives you the option of making pre-made buttons that are attached to your account and because no dollar amount or numbers of items passes between the sites, it is very secure.

Creating a PayPal Button:

Profile >> My Saved Buttons >> Create New Button

Select Yes; create an “Add to Cart” button.

Give the item a name, if you have multiple of the same items, include an item number.

Choose a price

Additional Options:

Postage Weight or Postage cost for that item.

Track Inventory, PayPal can stop people purchasing items if you run out of stock.

Once the button has been created, select the tab e-mail, copy the code and keep this for later.

Go back to your Google sites web page and add an image that your going to use as the “add to cart” button. This can be the one provided earlier by PayPal or you can choose to make your own image. Make sure you happy with the size, Google sites gives you the option of small, medium or large, but if you want something different, it can be changed in the HTML code option.

select the image, then click up the top on the link button. This is where you link your button to the PayPal, choose link to external website and paste in the PayPal link you kept from earlier.

My finished result is:

http://www.dollsclothes.com.au

Choosing The Right Photos For Your Website & Online Brand

How smart companies use images to boost their online presence

You might think for an agency that does so much web design and blogging, we’re just writing and geeking out on code all day.

And that’s partly true – we do do a lot of writing and custom coding.

But part of being a good digital agency is understanding the role that visuals play, both in creating a website and fostering an online brand and presence.

Forget the old saying. Online, a picture is worth way more than a thousand words.

That’s why today we’re covering how to choose photos for your website and online marketing that will really pop and make potential clients remember you.

And don’t worry. Even if you don’t have the budget for a fancy photographer, there’s still plenty of ways to get great images for your website, which we’ll also cover below.

Using Images in Marketing

Humans are visual creatures, and that doesn’t magically change when we go online. That’s why using images for online brand marketing is critical.

Every image you share should invoke an emotion and represent your brand identity – whatever makes you, you. Sure, taglines and content are incredibly important (and critical if you want to rank on Google).

But images tap into and relay your uniqueness in an instant. In fact, neuroscientists at MIT have determined that it only takes 13 milliseconds to process an entire image.

So if you want to create a connection with your audience in an instant, then crisp, beautiful photos that represent your brand well are the way to go.

Today’s customers want to connect with authentic brands. The better you’re able to serve them stunning images that paint a picture, the more likely they are to become raving fans. And the more likely they are to become ambassadors for you.

In fact, a study from BuzzSumo found that articles using an image once every 75-100 words received double the social media shares as articles with fewer images.

Clearly, images matter, and can dramatically improve your website content.

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READ: Is Your Business Brand Identity Memorable Enough?

When thinking of your product or service what comes to mind? What do people envision? What characteristics do they attach to what you provide? And does it stand out from your competitors?

When building a memorable business brand, these are important questions to consider; otherwise, you risk losing valuable business because your brand isn’t differentiated enough from others who are going after the same target audience as you.

Your brand should invoke an identity, an emotion, characteristics and something that makes you, you. This is where that differentiation comes into play – tapping into and relaying your uniqueness.

Read more on our website

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Importance of Images in Web Design

Given the fact that at least 38% of users will stop engaging with an unattractive website design, using attractive images in your website is a no-brainer.

But images do so much more for your website.

First, images on your website can improve your SEO.

When Google scans your website, it looks at all your content, including your images. So good, optimized images can improve your Google rankings.

In fact, website content with images gets 94% more views than content without. So if you want more traffic, you need to use more photos on your website.

Using images properly can also keep people on your website longer.

And the stakes are even higher if you run an ecommere website. According to this Kissmetrics study , 93% of buyers consider visual appearance to be the most important factor when making a purchase!

And like we’ve covered, images also keep users more engaged.

Remember that people are busy, and they tend to scan through websites. Breaking your text up with shorter paragraphs, and interspersed with interesting photos and infographics, can help make your website more accessible and user friendly

Of course, this only works if you’re using images properly. This means using only relevant and attractive images, with small file sizes. It’s also best to use images of people as much as possible.

And remember, one of the most important elements of using images on your website or other online efforts is to ensure that you only use photos which you own or have the right to use, which we cover next.

How To Choose Photos For Your Website

So how to actually choose photos for your website?

First, think about the first impression you want to give. Create a brand guide that includes your brand colours and fonts, but also what look and feel you want your imagery to portray. And decide what types of images should and should not appear.

Ultimately, you want to be using high-quality images that deliver purpose and meaning. And it’s critical you have the right to use them.

If you have the budget to work with a photographer – great! Be sure to work with one who is willing to learn about your brand guide and work closely with you to create just the right images. This is one time where it really pays to be picky.

And if you don’t have the budget to work with a photographer – great! There are so many options for great stock photography available now, which can be much more affordable, or even free.

For paid stock photos, we recommend Depositphotos, which we’ve used for years without a hitch.

And if you’re just starting out and need to stick to free photos, check out Unsplash, which has a large amount of beautiful stock photos that are free to use, without attribution or permissions, for all commercial and non-commercial purposes.

When choosing stock photos, you need to be even more careful about choosing images that represent your brand well. Try to avoid stock photos where people are looking directly at the camera, which tend to be a bit cheesier and less authentic.

Finally, remember that visual clutter is actually a bad thing. Try to focus on using a few great images, smartly arranged. A good web developer can help ensure your website looks great and converts well, using just the right combination of beautiful images, captivating written content, and well-placed calls-to-action.

The better you’re able to use photos in your website and online marketing, the better you’ll be able to connect with your audience.

My team helps small businesses create just the right brand, along with website design, SEO and digital marketing. Talk with us to get started with an attractive brand that showcases your company perfectly.

To your business success,

Susan

Facebook Presentation Secrets for Social Media

Facebook Presentation Secrets for Social Networking.

Presentation is all about what your visitor sees first (usually an image and/or video) on Facebook and social networking. Scrolling through the feed content, your social media post must attract attention. Therefore, a featured image or video thumbnail of the required dimensions and file size is of paramount importance.

Learn how to create curiosity with presentation in social networking and on Facebook. Know what your audience on social media is looking for. There are 3 basic requirements to meet the criteria. Address an identified need within your niche on Facebook and social media. Offer a solution and create curiosity.

Your content must do the talking and consistent posting on Facebook. But we will get around to consistent posting with Facebook and social media later in this article. Done with an exceptionally well designed auto posting tool.

Timing Strategy for Social Media and Facebook.

Consistent posting needs timing and strategic writing with attention grabbing presentation. Therefore, it will require a few days and even weeks of sharing posts to establish optimized engagement time. That is why I mentioned the auto posting tool for social networking and Facebook. Which you will have access to shortly.

To target the right audience on Facebook and social media you post at times when audiences are most active. If you want to target a United States audience for instance, then search Google for the time zone. Then calculate the time you must post to social media and Facebook from your location.

Posting to Facebook and social networking at the wrong time can be devastating from a marketing point of view. Because your audience you wish to target may be sleeping. Therefore, all that presentation work just goes down the social media and Facebook feed in hope of some hits.

Creating presentations (posts) that will keep your visitors occupied is the whole point to posting on social networking and Facebook. Therefore, posting at the wrong time completely defeats the purpose. You have 2 powerful free tools, Google, and YouTube. Learn the secrets of how and what to do research on.

Creating Content for Facebook and Social Media.

Text position for social networking and Facebook post featured images are important for presentation. The key is consistent content and presenting your message in a timely and curios fashion. With social networks and Facebook, timing and presentation is crucial.

The image displayed with your post being it social networks, Facebook, or blog post. Will be cropped from the sides for mobile content display. Avoid creating “broken message” presentations this way with your writing and designing. Text focused to the sides of images will be cut off.

Although for social networking and Facebook posts our goal with text position is focused more on creating curiosity. Again, leveraging presentation and what your visitor sees first is the secret. URLs shared must be from your own blog, YouTube videos and/or bridge and landing pages. But never an affiliate link.

Social media and Facebook does have quite a few “hoops” to jump through. Like adding hashtags for instance. Because you are preparing your presentation (post) to share to selected Facebook Groups. The list of Facebook Groups I personally use will be available at the end of this article.

For knowing which hashtags are currently trending on social networking and Facebook, you can use a tool called (hashtags dot org). First you need to get to know your way around creating content consistently for social media and successful presentation.

Secrets for Social Networking and Facebook Posting.

The secrets of using emojis for social media and Facebook post presentations come highly recommended. Draw your visitor’s attention to the presentation by making it colourful. Create interesting 1 – 3 sentence posts. Make those first few sentences powerful and “need” specific.

But also use your free Facebook posting tools to add H1 and H2 headers to your presentations (posts). To focus your presentation on the H1 and H2 headers, add hashtags at the end of your presentation. Because then your H1 Header is the first text in your social media and/or Facebook post.

Adding headers however is only available when you do manual posts in Facebook groups. But it is a great way to make your presentation easier understandable by both your social media audiences and search engines. Remember to include your target keywords in the presentation (post) headers.

Use emojis to replace words in the text for Facebook posts, triggering curiosity. Use Bold and Italic text to highlight focus points as demonstrated above. And remember that all these social media presentation techniques can be accessed and leveraged 100% for free! All you need is to be a little creative really.

You can also ask your friends on Facebook if your post draws attention. Listen to people’s opinion and adjust accordingly. Remember, with social networks and Facebook our primary objective is to create curiosity through presentation. Because as mentioned earlier, the only secrets are presentation and timing!

Bridge Pages for Social Media and Facebook.

The fact that Facebook will not ban or block Google links, give us the upper hand from an affiliate marketing point of view. Google sites is an outstanding method to create consistent social media and Facebook posts. A Google site is a custom URL, and the slug can contain your target keywords.

But we will get to writing SEO friendly content and backlinks for the bloggers here a little later in the article. Keep reading, these social network and Facebook presentation secrets are rather simple to follow. You have 3 options for Bridge Pages with affiliate marketing on Facebook.

1. CB Pro Ads

2. One Page Profits

3. Clone Me

With Google sites all the work is on you, from writing to creating images. It is your job to create striking presentations for social media and Facebook. With the remaining 3 tools, all the bridge pages are done-for-you. You do not need to create any content or write anything except linking your affiliate networks.

We are creating Goole Sites and using Bridge Pages because sharing raw affiliate links will get you suspended on social networks and Facebook. Social media marketing is all about bridge pages, landing pages and funnels.

But for the purpose of this article. We are only going to focus on bridge pages for social networks and Facebook. And generating sales with affiliate marketing through this technique. Leveraging social networking, social media along with writing and media design secrets.

Secrets to using Google Sites for Facebook.

The secrets to using Google sites for social media and Facebook presentations is almost an unfair advantage. On second thought, no, not almost. It is an unfair secret advantage, especially once you get the hang of SEO. Because SEO is just the ability to best tell search engines what your content is about.

Share with Groups on Facebook but with different text on each share. But before you do there is one paramount requirement with regards to your presentation. Your Google Site URL will select a particular image on your Google site as social media post presentation image.

The question is, which “secret” image is automatically selected for social media and Facebook? And the answer is, the Google site logo. And a good, suggested dimension is 940 x 788 / 950 x 650. These presentation images can be created with Microsoft Paint or Canva for social media and Facebook.

But there are also a few great SEO techniques we will discuss under the last subheading. Keep reading and learn a lot about content creation, social media, Facebook, writing and presentation. You will be blown away by the traffic potential with social media and Facebook.

Apart from link building, strategic keyword placement in titles are important. But so is the first 2 – 4 lines of your Google site content. Much the same as the requirements for a great post on social media and Facebook. All part of the secrets to presentation and creating curiosity.

Get More out of Social Networking and Facebook.

Multiple social network profiles (pages, groups, spaces, communities) play a major role with presentation secrets for social media and Facebook. Especially Facebook pages because you get to leverage the call-to-action button. Which then redirects to a bridge page, Google site or landing page.

Audience engagement with Facebook is great for building reputation. Adding presentation secrets to the mix and creating curiosity makes success imminent. The more active and consistent you are the more visible you will become.

So, the secrets to getting the most out of social networks and Facebook. Focus on quality content and presentation, along with consistency and engagement. It is a lot of work to stand out on the internet, especially on social media. Because it had become rather crowded with marketers chasing the quick buck.

Always be real and do not make everything you offer on social networks a sales pitch. In fact, if your presentation creates enough curiosity, you will never have to sales pitch again. Ever. Commenting and offering solutions without any sales pitch and/or URL is another secret to build recognition on Facebook.

Be sure to get known as “the guy who helped” instead of the guy trying to sell something on social media. When people on social networks and Facebook recognise your knowledge, you will be unstoppable. Growing your audiences through presentation secrets and knowledge.

Secret List of Groups for Facebook Presentations.

Giving you 11 of my favourite secret Facebook Groups with social media that will drive a lot of traffic to your posts (presentations). Because we are looking at a total group member count of 1 824 800. Almost 2 Million Members! But that is just the tip of the traffic iceberg with social media and Facebook!

Make Money Online (151.6K Members)

Make Money Online Club Australia (193.3K Members)

Earn Money Online USA – Canada – Australia (85.3K Members)

Affiliate Marketing – Worldwide (335.3K Members)

Make Money Online Club (218.5K Members)

Affiliate Marketing Work – Worldwide (222.3K Members)

No1 Online Earning Community (245.6K Members)

Advertise Business and Make Money (69K Members)

Affiliate Marketing for Everyone (163.4K Members)

Unlimited Advertising + (80.2K Members)

Network Marketing Pro (60.3K Members)

Remember to follow the presentation and design secrets in this article. You will soon master the art of leveraging social media and Facebook for traffic. Getting unlimited free traffic can be done, but it is hard work. And unfortunately, there are no shortcuts. Competitive presentation requires maximum effort!

Establish the right time to post your presentations (Google Sites) on social networks and Facebook. And post only one post per day to each Facebook group. But read the group rules and understand what is allowed. Spamming and over posting is not a good idea. The secret is to build an audience over time.

Bonus Traffic Technique with Facebook Pages.

Leveraging Google sites and the call-to-action button with Facebook pages for social network traffic. One important thing to remember is that for everything we discuss in this post. There is probably a Google article and/or YouTube video that will show you exactly how it is done.

Therefore, just search your browser or YouTube for a video on how to use the call-to-action button with Facebook pages. Then follow the steps and redirect the call-to-action button to your landing page. Like a Google site or bridge page that must then redirect to your affiliate offer.

Using the post scheduling tool mentioned earlier is a fantastic way to build Facebook audiences. And eventually they start clicking on the call-to-action button. That is why interesting content with curios presentation is the secret to social media. Give people reason to want to like and follow your content.

The Psychological Power of Graphic Design – Manipulating Your Market Through Eye Appeal

As a professional marketer, you are governed by whatever your clients are hoping to sell. Sometimes it’s a useful, valuable product; sometimes it’s a dry, esoteric concept. More often than not, it is something that no one really needs, but it is your job to sell it. The client has put his trust in you and will pay you for your effort. No one ever said marketing was always going to be fun and glamorous.

Given the task of creating an ad, a website, a brochure or trade show display, your goal is to present your client’s job so every eye will be drawn to it, regardless of whether they need it or will ultimately buy it.

First question I would ask is, who is its target market? If we’re selling a geriatric product or service, it’s far different from selling something to the tween segment. But many jobs we do in this field are far removed from the everyday ken of the mass consumer market. For example, selling a particular type of industrial technology to the world’s waste water engineers. Or presenting a series of books on World War I history to a tiny clutch of worldwide war buffs. Each of these examples demands a different approach to reach what “moves” a given market.

Recently, I was contacted by a dancing school owner who wanted her website redesigned to reflect her personality. She felt that if I were to visit her and watch her work, I could capture the essence of her spirit and come up with graphics to match.

This is a common misconception among people outside of the marketing field. They all believe they are truly unique and possess some kind of special quality that will make them an overnight sensation. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

Working to package a marketing concept involves use of a finite assortment of type styles, textual content, colors, visual images, shapes and sizes dictated by the dimensions of the end product we are creating and has very little bearing on whether the client is a glamour queen or military madman. If what we are selling is related to those last two descriptions, then there may be some reason to apply such ideas. But in my thirty-five years of experience, graphic design is most effective when it relates to current aesthetic trends but surpasses the norm with innovation and surprise. It must be competitive with the world’s best efforts while being meaningful to its target market.

What type styles work best?

This is very much dependent on whom we are addressing. Just as tweens would have no appreciation for the grace and elegance of a classic font used tastefully in proper balance with its surrounding elements, an older market may bristle at an avant garde utilization of some brazen typeface scrawled defiantly across a bold design. Yet, there is a time and place for each of these techniques.

What colors work best?

According to multiple studies performed over a fifty year period in a number of different countries, regardless of age or gender, the color blue ranked as the most preferred color to use for a variety of purposes and goals. Second choices were green and purple. Least favorite colors were orange, grey and brown. However, each of the studies mentioned that cultural differences affected color favorites because of emotional relationships attached to color, e.g., associations with mourning, depression, mental illness, terrorism, etc. Other studies also concluded that men and women react to color differently with men being more oblivious to both color and subtlety, while women were more attentive and knowledgeable about both. Furthermore, in studies performed in laboratory settings to examine how color affected behavior, blue was found to have a calming, relaxing effect while red motivated quicker response. When age was more closely examined, the younger the subject the more likely the preference for bright colors such as red or yellow. Also, in the presence of these same bright colors, perceptions and judgments to size or value by all respondents tended to be larger and more favorable than when influenced by blues or greens which elicited more realistic and slower reactions.

What does this mean in terms of graphic design?

Much of what has been found through scientific or psychological study basically appears to be common sense. Young people like hot flashy colors and older people like cooler, more conservative colors. Yet, one truism about color doesn’t quite compute when reviewing the results of the various preference studies. According to color theory, there are three primary colors of red, blue and yellow with the complementary color of each primary color determined by mixing the other two primary colors together. This means that the complementary color of red is green; the complementary color of blue is orange; and the complementary color of yellow is purple. What sticks out like a sore thumb is that most people disliked orange; yet it is the most complementary color to use with everyone’s favorite color, blue.

So, do we throw these conclusions out the window? Hardly. It is a safe bet that if you were to use blue as the color scheme for women with breast cancer, men with a penchant for war and children shopping for shoes, none would be repulsed by the presentation. I think the use of an accent color would be the more sensitive issue and observation of the studies’ results should provide a reliable guide here. Also, not to be overlooked is the fact that there are an infinite number of shades and tones of blue which complicates the matter even further. If the blue you choose leans to the green, it is more likely described as a turquoise, while a blue leaning more to the red could be construed as more of a purple or magenta. These variations alter presumptions about use of secondary or tertiary colors to complement. Another important concern regarding color involves contrast which can affect legibility of text if misused.

What visual images sell best?

Years ago, before the existence of computers, desktop publishing and the Internet, it was common knowledge among this industry’s cognoscenti that babies and dogs were the images to use at the newsstand to capture the hearts of the magazine-buying public. In an extensive Google search, I have failed to support that theory today. Times have changed and with it tastes of our culture. Another mantra from years past was that “sex sells.” Whether we agree with that or not, sex rarely has a place within applications we professional marketers must utilize.

Here’s what one expert, Dick Stolley, the founding managing editor of People magazine, had to say about what cover images sell his magazine best:

“Young is better than old. Pretty is better than ugly. Rich is better than poor. Movies are better than music. Music is better than television. Television is better than sports…and anything is better than politics.” In 1999, he added: “And nothing is better than the celebrity dead,” a fact which has been strongly supported with the best-selling newsstand covers of all time at the death of John Lennon, Princess Diana and recently Michael Jackson.

For those of us selling widgets, however, these guidelines are immaterial. The correct image to use in marketing obviously must relate to what we are selling. This is not to say that we must show a photo or illustration of the subject. Sometimes that is not the best route to take. Instead, we must ask ourselves, what will best communicate to the ideal buyer why he must act immediately to proceed with a purchase of what we are presenting? How we “package” that appeal will be the magic bullet to motivate his response.

Well, that doesn’t give you much direction, does it? Having been in this predicament countless times in my career, this is what I have come to trust as the best way to accomplish this goal. After establishing the chief characteristic of the market based on the relevance of age, gender, occupation, education or location, I make the assumption that everyone wants to be treated as if they are the most desirable customers in the world. So I dress my presentations in the garb of the rich and successful, using sophisticated choices of font, intelligence, color, imagery and layout. I don’t resort to gimmicks or brash design. Rather, I rely on methods which utilize elegance and class.

One of the reasons I do this is because first and foremost, I must please the client. Since he is usually affluent and successful, he immediately can relate to this style. Secondly, typical of human nature, his prospective market, regardless of demographics, wants to identify with the rich and famous and probably will view the presentation as something that type of person would want. So, with his curiosity piqued, the presentation has achieved the first important step in the process. How well you have delivered the message and enticed him to act will determine whether he proceeds with a purchase.

While this methodology may contradict the logic of defining one’s target market if it turns out to be children or street gang members, in my experience the majority of those we are appealing to are people of means (hopefully) so they can afford whatever it is we are selling; of an age mature enough to comprehend and appreciate our proposal; and finally, a member of the American culture with needs and desires shaped by current technology, events and national outlook. With that as a starting point, my forays into marketing have been largely successful for those who have hired me based on the understanding that everyone prefers to go “first class.”

The Nigeria New Country Code Domain Extension Dot NG Is A New Internet Business Boom

The Nigeria new domain Country code extension is a force to be reckoned with and there is no doubt about that, but the question that runs across my mind every time, is; will it be a blessing to this great country or another curse like the black gold or call it petroleum.

Nigeria Internet Registry Association has released .ng to further improve the usages of internet names. However, .ng is not restricted to Nigerians alone; the new Country Code that has just been released has been embraced by bing.com and Google and others to protect their brands, also embraced by some domain business gurus. The new extension is a new source of money income for Nigeria and those who have the ideas for domain business.

The extension will surely improve the economy of the country like that of petroleum, if taking into consideration some important factors as early as possible. .ng ccTLD is a second level extension that rings bell for every caliber of domain traders.

WHY is .NG A FORCE To BE RECKONED WITH?

Unlike.com.ng extension, .ng is far more virtuous for those who have the knowledge and foresight for domain business; this particular extension cut across all industries of mankind ever known in existence, like the king of domain extensions known as.com; the .ng enable one to get premium names that are no longer available when add .ng instead of.com; it also makes premium domains available when add .ng to some unavailable premium names that has to do with vowels; most generic words such as the following: ki.ng Instead of king.com also bi.ng instead of bing.com while gives ri.ng instead of ring.com.

As I am writing this message, most of the premium names with .ng extension have been registered or secured, because they are no longer available or been reserved by the Nigeria Internet Registry Association.

As of now within two months, some highly profile domains have been registered such as property.ng insurance.ng, banking.ng, banki.ng, mortgagi.ng, hosti.ng and so on. Also most of the premium short four letters are now rear like that of the.com extension i.e. sex.ng, etc. I am not very sure if USA.ng will be available now or soonest. The extension was just released on 16th April, 2013 and now in May, for one to get the highly profile generic is like passing through the needle eye.

The extension has to do with any industry be it law or whatever trade or business you can mention, you even need it more when you have the.com, so as to avoid some traffic or lost of customer to your competitors.

This is another source of making money for Nigeria as a nation and individuals if quickly invest in the right domains now before acquired by someone else; domain is far profitable in hard currency. Most of these domains are sure to cost millions of dollars in the nearest future.

I am now inviting business entrepreneurs to come and invest in this lucrative market before all the good ones are taken by others; though, domain business is highly investment in nature, but it appreciates in good time like the landed properties, it is unlike stock; domain is highly profitable if you can get good generic now and this is the actual time to invest real money in the business.

This is a business that brings wealth far better than stock exchange, every individual can buy/register any available short generic one word and highly profile domain in this new country code extension.

Lastly, I am writing this, to invite Nigerians to avoid loss of bulk of our internet fortune shares or opportunity to many readily learned individuals of other nations to come in at the right time to have their own share in the internet virtual property as early as possible.

How to Improve Your Business Online Reputation

Today, managing and improving your online reputation has become essential. This is due to the advent of Google Search and the ability of anyone to look for you online and find out information about your company and your personal life.

Even if there is something out there that you don’t want people to dwell on, you can make it better. It takes a little bit of work but it can be done. In fact, everyone who wants to be known online should be doing these things.

Monitor the Buzz

People are talking about you. You can use Google Alerts and other online apps to monitor your business name, personal name, product names and more to know what is being said about you online.

Listen to Your Customers

So many business owners conduct surveys, read their online buzz, check out rating sites and so forth but never really listen. It’s important to show your audience by your actions that you’re listening.

Respond Quickly

When a customer has an issue or complains about you online, always respond quickly to the complaint. Even on social media, if you don’t answer a complaint they’ll see you as providing poor customer service regardless of whether you planned to provide customer service there or not.

Remain Positive

No matter what a customer, client, or review says, it’s imperative that you never allow negativity to take over. Stay positive and try to read between the vitriol. A good tip is to copy and paste their complaint or reviews into a word document, then delete anything that takes away from the complaint. Then only answer to the complaint.

Apologize

Even though business owners know that sometimes customers are wrong, in public they are right. You must apologize to them in public and offer to make it better. It’s the only way that you can regain the confidence and trust of the public. Better yet, ask the customer what you can do to make it better and you might be surprised at how little it takes.

Solicit Reviews

When you send information to your buyers in a follow up, always ask for positive reviews and give them the link of the place you want the review to be posted. This will help increase the positive and counteract any negative reviews that might exist.

Avoid Making Social Media Mistakes

Sounds easier than done, but all this means is you need to think twice about anything you put on social media, positive or negative. Even innocent jokes can get you into trouble if you don’t know your audience well enough.

Don’t Neglect Your Accounts

Once you have a social media account, do not allow it to remain dormant. Keep it updated on a regular basis – at least once a week personally, and if you enact some smart automation it will appear that you’re more active.

How Copyright Laws Fail Us When We Need Them Most

I used to worry about other people stealing my work. I do lots of different kinds of things so there is plenty to steal. In 35 years of being in business, I have produced plenty of exceptional photos, illustrations, graphic design, ads, websites, printed collateral material, logos, music and writing, to name just a few. And of course, I also have plenty of clients for all my competition to try to steal away from me as well. This is normal. If you are talented in any way, or in business of any kind, people steal from you.

What about copyright laws? Unless you want to waste lots of money hiring a lawyer to chase after every thief and take them to court only to get a judgement against them which they probably will never pay, what is the use? And that’s if you’re lucky. Most of the time in cases of Internet violation, you can never even locate the person responsible, let alone convict him of the crime. But it’s not money I’m after. If I were, why in heaven’s name would I be writing articles for Internet article directories who don’t pay for use of their articles? I write for such sites to get the benefit of linkbacks for my website and blog. What are linkbacks? They are a vital component of SEO (search engine optimization), as links back to my website from highly ranked, popular websites, which contributes to my achieving page one search results for my own website when appropriate keywords are searched on Google. It’s complicated but it works.

I recently was searching for some javascript code I could use to do something clever on my website. When I found what I wanted to adapt, I checked to see what the terms of use were. The writer of the code very humbly asked for a mere $5 if you wanted to remove his name from the invisible credits that would only appear where other code seekers would see it. Otherwise, it was free. How can you not respect a request like that? I happily left his name even though I needed to spend many hours tweaking the code to work in my situation but felt a certain kinship with this skilled individual that engendered the utmost in admiration and obedience. I treat others the way I wish to be treated myself.

It certainly was upsetting when I first realized that my articles were being used improperly and published as if written by someone on the website where I happened to find them. I checked the usage policies of the article websites to which I had submitted my articles which stated that it was required that articles be published with a signature line (meaning, author’s name) along with a link to the author’s website.

After reading that, I thought, “Oh, great! Maybe they will help me enforce their policies.” But after further reading I quickly learned that it was my responsibility to do any policework, notifying offenders of what they so innocently had overlooked. Once such violations are brought to light, these well-meaning publishers will be eager to correct their ways. Ha! That’s a laugh!

Not only do these offending websites have no way to contact anyone, they are enshrouded in secrecy by unknown hosts who ironically invite you to “report abuse,” only to inform you that they cannot accept responsibility for any individual blog publisher’s offenses. If you want to try posting a comment to communicate the violation, you usually need to register and log in, divulging all your own personal information, so your comment will ultimately get picked up by Google associated with a less-than-reputable website in some future search that will follow you to your grave. (Is this where we’re headed, as members of this Google-dominated culture we live in?)

As I was searching the title of my article which is how I discovered the stolen usages, I saw something else which made me realize what a tangled web we weave on the Internet. One instance of my article used my title verbatim, but what followed in the body of the article was what appeared to be an error-ridden, broken-English, horrendous translation from some other language, which suggested that this article had gone full circle. I imagined someone publishing my English-language article in say, Chinese, for example, and someone translating it back into English to use it on the website where I found it. Let’s just say I wasn’t a bit unhappy about the lack of attribution in this situation!

But this is sad… a very sad state of affairs, wouldn’t you agree? Or isn’t it, rather, “Wake up and smell the coffee! This is reality, so get over it”? Hence, my resignation. As a person with wavering self-esteem to begin with, I accept having someone pirate my work to call his own in the same way I accept someone cutting me off in traffic, or cutting ahead of me in line at the grocery store. It’s gotten to be so commonplace that what else can you do but just shrug your shoulders about it? Sure, you could make a scene but ironically in today’s society, you would be running the risk of getting arrested for breach of peace and instigating a public disturbance. That would be a perfect example of today’s justice. No thanks. I’d rather just look the other way and be glad that they’re not hauling me off as the real criminal for publishing interesting articles that tempt others to steal them.

But… just a minute! Isn’t that a website that has actually included my name as the author? And included a link to my picture and website as well? Well, now. Isn’t that nice of someone, to be so kind! Funny how abiding by the rules we’re all supposed to be following is the new supernatural, worthy of reverence usually reserved for the divine or the immortal.

Are we so jaded that merely obeying the law of the land has been elevated to an act of sainthood, and deserving of the grand prize awarded only to superhumans? I guess it follows then that telling the truth, showing respect, offering help and being fair are also beyond expectation for normal individuals, and anyone exhibiting such behavior should be honored with recognition as one of today’s superheroes. Never mind that many religions teach “Thou shalt not steal”; in fact, raised as a Catholic, I was taught not to even “covet” my neighbor’s goods, let alone go so far as to steal them. It was wrong to even “lust” after them, to use a term made famous (or would it be “infamous”?) by Jimmy Carter in a Playboy interview back in 1976. And certainly in civil law, everyone knows it is a punishable offense to take something that doesn’t belong to you. But this is more than that. It is not only taking it, but gaining glory from it as well! And in some instances, it is even gaining revenue from it because of advertising that appears as a result of its saleability and magnetic appeal, drawing cybertraffic to fulfill promised ad viewership. That should fall under a more grievous category and worthy of an even bigger punishment.

And if I were inclined to contact a copyright lawyer, I would be advised of my many rights in such a case. I would also be informed that I would be responsible for payment to the lawyer to represent me whether he was successful in apprehending the guilty party or not. Another case of divine justice gone bad. My rights are violated and I pay as a result. No pain, no gain, right? The pain being my shock and awe at having been so flagrantly ripped off; my outrage at having someone else impersonate me as the author; and my disgust at needing to pay a lawyer to defend my rights. The gain? Obviously all in the thief’s court, so to speak.

Successful Online MLM Business Planning

If you want to have a successful online MLM business, you can immediately separate yourself from the crowd and increase your chances of success by simply creating a business plan. Now, if you’re like me, the thought of creating a plan sounds about as fun as drinking bleach. But I discovered a simple method of business planning that has made a major difference for me and my team. So how do you do it? It’s simple. Here are four steps to help you create a one page business plan that can make the difference between success and failure in your business. I recommend you create a new business plan every single month, analyzing the last one to see how it did, then creating a new one for the next month.

1. State your why. You have probably heard that in this game you have to have a strong why. One way I’ve heard it put is, “If your why doesn’t make you cry it’s not strong enough.” So why DO you want a successful online MLM business? Travel, a car you’re proud of, taking care of aging parents, putting kids through college, serving a mission for your church, changing your zip code” whatever it is for you, write it down.

2. Set your goals. I create a business plan at the beginning of every month, so I always set a monthly goal. Some months I set financial goals, other times goals for a certain number of recruits. This month for example my company has an incentive for everybody that recruits 10 or more people, so that’s my goal. Everybody’s goals are different and personal, the key is to have a goal and write it down!

3. List the prospecting method you are going to use, the system you need for that method, and your budget. For example, let’s say my budget for marketing this month is $200. I have three columns on my business planning worksheet, “Prospecting Method”, “System”, and “Budget”. Under the Prospecting Method column I might list E-mail marketing and Pay Per Click. The system I use for autoresponse marketing is My Direct Connections, an all in one marketing/ list management/ autoresponse tool. For Pay Per Click I might choose Google. Then I can set my budget for each one. My Direct Connections costs $39.95 a month, that leaves about $160, so I can spend $80 on autoresponder e-mail leads (I pay 3 cents for mine, so I’ll get about 2,666 leads), and $80 on PPC. I then have an area for tracking, simply titled “Results”, where I write down the results from each method. My goal is to spend $50 or less per sign up. Industry experts generally agree that if your marketing costs are below $50 per person you can create duplication and build a massive, successful downline.

4. Write out your follow up methods. You have probably heard the saying, “The fortune’s in the follow up.” Well, your business plan needs to list your follow up method. For me, I consider every single visitor to my web-site like a visitor to my store. Now, the reason I use the internet to prospect is because I don’t want to run out side my “store” yelling at passers by to come in and shop. That’s how MLM worked before the internet. I just want to talk to people that are interested, and have already been to my store. So once they come to my site, if they don’t join automatically, I list my follow up methods, in this case:

1. Send a personally written e-mail.

2. Send a personally written short autoresponse follow up campaign.

3. Introduce myself on the phone.

4. Send them a simple info package in the mail.

So the four steps to creating a simple business plan are:

1. Write down your Why.
2. Set monthly goals.
3. Choose a prospecting method, system, and budget, then track results.
4. State your follow up method.

This simple business plan, if followed, will result not just in personal success, but help you create duplication in your organization. And when somebody in my team is struggling, I simply ask them about their plan. They usually don’t have one, which is often why they are struggling. The people on my team that have a plan and are executing it aren’t having struggles in their business, they are having success!

Copyright (c) 2007 Dave Sherwin

Google Search Engine Optimization – My Own Road Map For Internet Success

One of the most profitable marketing techniques I’ve used for my businesses is without any doubt search engine optimization.

Since venturing into SEO, I’ve encountered much success for my websites. At first when I saw the top 10 websites in Google for a popular search term in one of my markets, it was kind of dream for me. I knew what they did to get there but I knew there was hard work to be done. But certainly it was achievable.

I have to admit it was a kind of obsession to get my website in the top 10 placement because I knew once I am there I will receive targeted traffic and sales for a long time to come. That thought just keep coming in my mind.

All I know is I have to take action right now and I was also really motivated to attain my goals. I know getting search engine traffic is passive and that to profit from passive traffic, I have to start promoting my site right now or else it will take more time to get those coveted rankings.

And once I’ve worked on my search engine rankings, I can leave it aside and concentrate on other aspects of my business but also look for other ways to promote my business. One fundamental thing you should always remember is to FOCUS. Focus on one marketing strategy and keep at it. Give it all you can before moving on to the next one. If you try to do too many things at once, it’s very difficult to find success and you will most likely fail.

The day will come when you will do a search for a keyword phrase that you have been working on and to your surprise, you’ll see your site in the SERPs(Search Engine Result Pages). This will just prove that what you’re doing is working. I’ve been there and I can tell you that you will feel proud and happy with such an accomplishment. It’s an amazing feeling. It’s kind of you don’t believe you are really there.

If you want to achieve those top search engine rankings in Google and other major search engines, educate yourself well and learn the search engine optimization strategies and techniques that work because you won’t be wasting your time and time is so precious in search engine marketing. Have a plan like what you’re going to do everyday to achieve your objectives ie doing some valuable link exchanges with related and relevant websites, article writing, directory submissions, text link advertising.

Link exchanges are not useless. In the past, they were the major ways to get top rankings but now they have been a bit devalued but still they are worth getting. Why? Simply because related and relevant links will bring direct traffic to your website and will help your link popularity too. They will help you in rankings automatically but less as compared to several years ago. Well just focus in getting targeted links and you will be surprised how much traffic you can get just with links from related and relevant sites. Even if one day, reciprocal links are completely dead, those links will still be of value in terms of direct traffic. So don’t get reciprocal links just for search engine ranking benefits and for a boost in link popularity. Article writing should be an ongoing process for direct traffic and automatically, it will help your link popularity. Directory submissions will give your site a solid foundation for link building and can make your site stable in the rankings. Concerning text link advertising, if you can afford it, it’s worth it. Just advertise your website on relevant and related sites and if they are high traffic sites, you can get good traffic and potential business. There was a discussion about paid text links and that Google might detect those in the future and maybe devalues them and here is what I have to say.

I think this would have happened sooner or later. Google might detect paid links depending on some criteria. Suppose a website is new and is getting a bunch of high quality links eg sites with good link popularity, high PageRank, high traffic, this might raise a red flag like this site is buying links. But that as well, it can be getting good links due to article submission.

Whatever happen in the future concerning paid links, I believe if you have to do it, do so such that you are getting targeted traffic from those links and websites alone and bypassing PageRank and backlinks. But first, check that website’s alexa ranking to get an idea of its traffic levels(the lower the number, usually the higher the traffic) and check its rankings for its primary keywords in the major search engines as an additional plus because you can have high traffic websites which don’t depend on search engine rankings. They can depend on other traffic sources. Now if you were to check the rankings, a top 10, a top 20 and even a top 30 is worth considering. The website’s homepage html title will usually contain the primary keywords. By knowing the alexa ranking and search engine rankings, this should give you an idea whether it’s worth advertising or not. This alone can justify your investment.

If there is good return on investment, why bother about the search engine ranking benefits from that link. Even if you don’t get any benefit, you won’t care as long as you’re getting business from your text link advertisement. You might need to test which sites bring you results or not. Advertise for a month with one or two good sites and see if there is any improvement in traffic and business. You can know which site brings you more traffic via your traffic logs. You will see visitors coming to your site from another website. If you’re getting traffic but no business, you have to work on your conversion and tweak it. You can have different business models like selling your own products, affiliate products and generating money from AdSense for instance. Here as well, focus is important. Don’t try to give too many options to your visitors or else they can get confused and leave for good. You need to test which business model is more profitable and lucrative for your Internet business. Testing is absolutely crucial in Internet marketing.

I don’t think there is anything wrong if you purchase links on relevant and related sites for the purpose of advertising but if you have to do it solely for PageRank and link popularity, you might be affected if Google detects paid links in the future and devalues them. You might not get any PageRank passed to your website and your rankings might not benefit. So what’s the use? You can be advertising for nothing. No traffic, no backlinks and no PageRank. You have just wasted your money. Usually when you go for PageRank and link popularity only and not focusing on the traffic rewards, you will not be too concerned about what type of sites you are advertising on whether they are related and relevant or not. You can just buy links on unrelated and irrelevant sites simply for the sake of getting PageRank and backlinks. And usually, you will go after high PageRank websites. Well this is not recommended at all. Opt for a long term strategy which can produce results time and time again not short term results.

On another note, it’s important to remember that before starting a search engine promotion campaign, it’s fundamental that you have already created useful, quality and original content on your site. You might need to outsource your content creation if you have problems coming up with original content. A website without useful content won’t have much merit for the search engines. Search engines love content and best of all if it’s original. It’s also a good idea to build a solid link structure for your site.

So here you are, to get top Google rankings, create your own Google search engine optimization plan and have your own road map for Internet success. You’ll be glad you did.

Learn My Internet Business Top 5 Free Marketing Strategies

I would like to share with you mine My Internet Business free marketing strategies that are generating for me great results. There are many free marketing strategies online, most of them will require to put some effort and not necessary much skill.

Here are some top free advertising strategies:

  1. Article Marketing – writing articles can be a great way to generate consistent traffic to your website. If you are able to write few articles per day you will see descent traffic. Before writing any article first make some research for some good keyword you will be optimizing to. Include this keyword in article title and few times in body. Remember also to share some valuable content, share some knowledge and experience. Make your article easy to read and understand, simple language is a key.
  2. Video Marketing – popularity of videos on the internet is growing constantly. The leader of video sharing sites is of course YouTube. If you want to use full potential of videos post it to the top video sites, with most traffic. The main benefit of making video is branding yourself and marketing your program. People will know you better, you will build a relationship with them even though you didn’t spoke to them. I’m promoting My Internet Business on YouTube and get amazing traffic. Google is listing videos really high in result pages.
  3. Forum Marketing – forums is another great place to branding yourself, making contacts and relationships and of course promoting your business. Under any post you can write own signature, few lines promoting your site. Remember to make your signature short and sweet, offer free report or training, encourage people to click in your sig. There are forums about every possible topic. It won’t be hard for you to find some descent forums, just use Google.
  4. Classified Sites – it’s a great free marketing strategy because it’s the easiest way to promote your business. Look for top classified sites first like Craigslist, Backpage, Kijiji, USFreeAds and start posting your ads regularly. The headline of your ad is playing a key role of getting more traffic. Make your title creating curiosity to people. To really see some good traffic from classified sites you will have to post consistently many ads to many sites. I mostly focus on posting ads only on Craigslist. Conversion rates for My Internet Business are great. Each site will bring you a little traffic that’s why to see some significant results you will have to post your add massively.
  5. Blogging – blogs can be a great sample of free advertising. Blogs are trendy right now, Google is giving high listing to them and people really enjoy reading them. To set up a blog you can go to Blogger and with a few clicks you will have it created. You can post in blogs your articles and optimize for specific keyword to get better listing. There are many blog directories and web directories where you can easily and for free get a lot of quality backlinks.

As you see there are many free marketing strategies to promote My Internet Business. You don’t need to spend a dime to make sales. Using each of these strategies and implementing in your business will give you massive exposure online and flow of fresh and targeted leads. I recommend to anyone who is beginner in internet marketing to start from free advertising to really understand marketing online.

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