SEO|Make Money Online|Health|Debt

“This niche seems so saturated – I might as well not even try to go into that one.” This is a common complaint that’s uttered by newer Internet Marketers who come into this business wet behind the ears and intimidated by their existing competition.

There’s a saying that you should adopt when you decide whether or not to get into a niche – “Everything that can be done has been done before.” Business is all about reinvention.

It’s about putting your own stamp on a product or topic and making people understand that yours is better than the rest. If it didn’t work this way, then we’d all be resigned to accepting only one hamburger brand, one brand of jeans, one movie with the same theme.

Think of how many Internet Marketing guides you’ve read to date. There are a wide variety of styles in teaching this business. Some will give a methodical, step-by-step technical accounting of AdWords, while others will deliver a more theory-based approach based on gut instinct and trend forecasting.

In the dating niche for men – there are those who teach you the traditional, seemingly common knowledge strategies and some who tell you to throw caution to the wind, forget everything you’ve ever known and use some tactic that would seem to get you slapped rather than score with a woman.

There will be plenty of room for you as an Internet Marketer in 2010. It doesn’t matter what niche you want to enter. There’s a spot with your name reserved on it, and here’s why:

If you want to succeed, then you should be going into this business truly believing that you can do it better than any of your competitors. That you can provide something no one else can – whether it’s secret knowledge of a trick used to make more money (or pick up women) or it’s in the way you teach – that helps people learn better from you than others.

Don’t go into Internet Marketing with a mindset that you’ll throw darts against the wall and hope something sticks. There’s room for you in this industry – but only if you’re willing to do the research and map out a plan of attack before you haphazardly jump in and waste time, money and patience on something you don’t really grasp.

There may not be an Internet Marketing degree you can earn at a college near you, but there is a wealth of information that can prepare you to succeed as an online marketer in any niche market you want to tap. All you have to do is generate enough interest, determination and motivation to get you from point A to point Z.

The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) passed new regulations that will affect Internet Marketers in regards to the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising section.

The changes they’ve made affect bloggers and website owners who use testimonials or those with celebrities. If you’re an affiliate marketer, it affects you, too. While most of the buzz was about celebrities who fail to disclose they’re being paid or receiving freebies when touting a certain product, it’s smaller entrepreneurs we’re concerned about.

You’ll want to do ample investigating on your own before you start promoting anything for a paid commission. This article isn’t meant as legal advice for you – it’s simply an observation about the new rules and how we might feel their impact.

The point of the changes is to connect the dots for consumers between advertisers and endorsers. Not everyone has an Internet marketing background and can spot an affiliate review compared to an unbiased, unpaid one.

This will affect marketers who make up their testimonials. Some of them have written up their own testimonials and bought a stock picture of the “testimonial giver” – falsely making the consumer believe people have gotten good results with the product, when it fact not a single person had tried or purchased it yet.

Traditionally, advertisers could simply put an asterisk next to a real testimonial with the words “results not typical” in fine print. This was still shady because it wasn’t blatantly exposed on the site.

Now, if you get paid a commission, or if you got a freebie in exchange for recommending a product, then you’d better openly disclose that connection to your readers or you could face an FTC fine.

There’s no broad laws governing bloggers and marketers, though – the FTC says each case will be investigated individually. Aside from the payment being disclosed, you also have to be honest. You can’t say something helped you make $10,000 in revenue if it didn’t – and if you get caught, you could be forced to pay up.

Now if you’re caught, the burden is on the FTC to prove their case and how it violates the FTC Act. You can order a copy of the FTC’s updated Act here: FTC’s Consumer Response Center, Room 130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20580. The bottom line for 2010 is – don’t cheat your readers out of an honest review, even if that means you admit you’re getting paid for your opinion!

SEO a.k.a. Search Engine Optimization is an important asset to any business and it is something that business owners all over the world are looking into doing for their websites. Not only is it helpful to get more business now during this economy, but it is almost necessary nowadays to have an online presence just to survive as a business! Although SEO can be a confusing subject at first, it is still crucial to educate yourself about it now and jump on the bandwagon now because it is an asset that no business should ignore.

What is SEO?

SEO is the term used for optimizing a website so that it shows up on the search engines (Google, Yahoo, Bing, Etc) when someone searches for a keyword phrase that is related to their website. If you have a website that is for a Chinese Restaurant in Chicago, you would certainly want your site to show up when people search for “Chinese restaurants in Chicago” or anything related, right?

If your website isn’t there, then your competitors’ websites will surely be there and then you can lose out on the traffic and therefore lose money. Why leave money on the table when such a HUGE share of the market is searching the internet to find practically everything they need? And why hand over the targeted traffic to your competitor?

There are a couple of ways to show up on the first several pages of Google, Yahoo, etc. One of those ways is to do “Pay Per Click” advertising where the business owner pays Google every time someone clicks on their websites listing. This allows them to show up on the first page (depending on how much they’re willing to spend) but it can be extraordinarily expensive and in many cases not profitable. Also, many people prefer to not click on the results that they know are “paid for” and “sponsored” ads.

The more desirable way to rank in the search engines is to rank “organically” or naturally, without paying for any clicks and without paying a dime anytime someone clicks on your search result. This results in a long term stream of “laser targeted” traffic to your website (since the only people who find your site are searching for something related to it) which will turn into leads and eventually customers. Remember: Traffic = Money!

This is accomplished by optimizing your website for certain keyword phrases that have been proven to have a decent search volume, building incoming links to your website, formulating the proper META tags and making sure you have clean HTML code, etc. It will take hiring an SEO specialist to come and give you a consultation as to what your site needs and what it already has, as well as if there is anything you may be doing wrong that is penalizing you or preventing you from showing up on Google, Yahoo, etc.

SEO is a long term investment with astonishing results and ROI’s. It is also necessary for any business — large or small — to invest in having a presence on the internet as well as other internet marketing services including SEO, article marketing, link building, social media marketing, blogging and more. Simply look up a local SEO person in your town or city and ask them to give you a consultation or a basic rundown of what you need to do to your website to make it work for you and make you more money.

By making your website more search engine friendly you will be ensuring long term success for your business.

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Search Engine Optimization or SEO, is something that every business owner is looking into nowadays as a way to get the exposure they need as a business and to stay afloat during hard times and times to come. The topic of SEO can be very confusing to some and although it’s confusing, it is still important to learn about it and make sure you take part in it, because it is an invaluable asset to any business.

SEO is the process of optimizing your business’s website for the search engines, such as Google, Yahoo and MSN Search. Although it is said that you are optimizing it for the search engines. What you’re really doing is optimizing your site for the people who want to find it. Basically, when someone searches Google for a keyword related to your business, for example “restaurant in New York City” — You will want to show up within the first couple of pages of the search results, otherwise your competitors will be there and beat you to the punch!

There are two ways to show up within the first few pages of the search results, one way is to set up a PPC campaign, where you have to pay for each click that you get to your website — but this method can cost a fortune. Then, there is the increasingly popular “Organic SEO” method, where an SEO specialist uses the power of keywords, link building and other factors to optimize your website so that it shows up in the natural, “organic” search results. This is when your website gets indexed on Google for keyword related to your niche, only you aren’t paying for each click or for your position.

People strive to show up in the organic search results which are located on the left side of any search on Google, Yahoo, etc. The right side displays the “sponsored links” which are paid for, by running a Pay-Per-Click campaign with the search engine itself and paying hefty fees “per click” to show up on the first or second page.    This is extremely important for any business, being that having a long term listing on the top search engines can bring a significant amount of traffic and therefore potential customers every single day of the year. If you can, try to get a hold of a local SEO expert in your area and see if they can give you a basic consultation or recommendation as to what you should/could do with your website to make it more search engine friendly… It will pay off, trust me!

How SEO Can Help Your Business Greatly

The term SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is one that is used much more commonly these days than ever before. This is mostly due to the fact that now the majority of the market will search the internet (Google, Yahoo, MSN) before anywhere else, when looking to purchase a product or service either locally or internationally. This has caused business owners to frantically look for someone who can perform these SEO services for them, by optimizing their websites for the search engines.

When someone searches for a keyword phrase that’s related to your business, for example “auto mechanics in New York” the first page of results on Google shows only 10 results. There are usually hundreds or even thousands of pages of results for any given keyword. Anyone can show up on the top page of Google, by paying a hefty fee PER click to be there. This can cost a fortune and cause a lot of headaches if you don’t know what you’re doing. SEO on the other hand is usually referred to as “Organic SEO” or “Organic Search Engine Optimization.” This means that you are making it so that your website shows up in the natural search results that are on the left side of the page when you do a Google search (the paid ads show up on the right side).

By landing your website a few organic search engine listings (on the first page or not), you are doing your business a GREAT service. This is perhaps one of the most valuable long term assets your business can have, because you will have a flow of traffic to your website, of people that are actually searching for what it is that you offer. And that is precisely why companies are paying thousands of dollars a month to search engine optimization specialists.

On the local level however, SEO services tend to be much cheaper than at the international corporate level, so they are affordable.

By having that organic listing, you will have “targeted” traffic coming to your site (people who are searching for your specific niche) and you will NOT be paying for every time someone clicks on your search engine listing! Your business will have more exposure on the internet, have a chance of competing with the rest and will survive well into the future… With your rankings going up every year hopefully!

Why Your Business Needs Internet Marketing Services

Nowadays, about 85% of the market will go to the internet FIRST to search for a product or service, before they go to the Yellow Pages or dial a phone directory service. Yes, that is a very large portion of the market and it is a crucial fact to consider. If you have a business, big or small, having exposure on the internet is so important due to the existing statistics as well as the increasing popularity of the World Wide Web. People of all ages are now going online, from their cell phones, laptops, computers, etc. and if you are not there for people to see… Your competitor WILL BE.

As a business owner, you most likely do not have the time to learn how to create websites, write and understand computer code, optimize your website for the search engines, get involved in social networking (Twitter, MySpace, Facebook, etc.), utilize article marketing, set up a Pay Per Click campaign or do anything related to internet marketing! This stuff can be completely confusing, like Chinese to you, but it still needs to be done. It really can’t be ignored.

If you want your business to thrive in modern times, it is crucial that you look into getting an individual or a company to handle your internet marketing campaign or at very least give you a consultation on as to what you need to do to get more exposure on the internet. It will not only make a substantial difference in your profits, but it will secure the future of your business.

Often times, doing things the fast, convenient way costs more money – and is less healthy.

If you are trying to pay off debt, one thing you need to do is plan ahead and watch your spending.

Here are some ways to save money AND be healthier:

Walk or bicycle instead of taking the car – to work, to school, to run errands. If you do this regularly, you can even quit your gym membership and save a fortune on gym fees

Instead of buying frozen meals, or fast food dinners, buy healthy food in bulk, and cook up a week’s worth of meals at a time. Freeze some of the meals for the week ahead.

Pack your lunch and bring it to work. Pack a couple of healthy snacks too. It’s much cheaper than going out to restaurants or constantly buying food from the vending machines.

Enlist the family in getting healthy and saving money. Bring your family on bike rides or long walks instead of spending money on expensive activities; bring a picnic lunch or or make paper planes or play frisbee outdoors.

Stop buying junk food. Prepare healthy snacks and always keep them on hand, for work, school, and home. You’ll feel better, lose weight, and save money that you were spending on empty calories.

Need other people around to stay motivated for your workouts? Join one of the many fund-raising teams that do marathons or triathlons or bike runs for a cause – diabetes research,  breast cancer research, etc. You may have to contribute a small amount of money, but you won’t have to pay a gym or hire a trainer and you will make new friends and improve your health, with a whole team of people to cheer you on while you’re doing it.

When your goal is to get out of debt, paying more up front can save you a LOT of money in the long run.

Here’s how:

Let’s start with a mortage. If you pay off half of your mortgage payment every two weeks, instead of making one payment once a month, you will end up making 13 payments a year instead of 12. You will barely notice the difference, if at all, but the long term effects are huge. You will save tens of of dollars over the life of your mortgage loan and you will end up paying off your loan significantly faster than if you paid the traditional way. So with each paycheck, pay off half of your monthly mortgage payment – have it withdrawn automatically.

Pay off extra towards the credit card bill with the highest balance each month, and as soon as you have that one paid off, pay off the next credit card.

If you owed $5000 on a credit card with a 17 percent balance, and had a minimum payment of 3 percent a month…you would end up paying that off in MONTHS and paying an additional $4030 in interest charges!

So paying off more than the minimum on your credit always makes sense.

If you are buying a new car…first of all, it’s better to buy a USED car rather than a brand new car. But either way,  if you need to take out a car loan, putting a bigger down payment towards the loan – paying more up front – will save you money in the long run.

So whenever you can, pay off more than the minimum, and pay larger down payments, to save big bucks in the long run.

If you’re in debt, of course you want to get out as soon as possible. Of course you want to have money in savings.

But just thinking that is not enough. You need to set a specific plan, with a timeline, to get out of debt and start saving.

First you have to figure out how much you owe. You need to gather all of your bills together and go through them and figure out the grand total. You also need to figure out what your monthly payments are for each bill and add them all up.

If you literally can not pay them, you need to call up the lender and negotiate a lower monthly payment. And as a last resort, if you need to, you may have to turn to a non-profit credit counseling agency to help you get out of debt.

You need to figure out how long it is going to take you to pay off your debt. You may need to change something about your circumstances to pay it off; live in a cheaper house, get a second job until your debt is paid down and more manageable, sell things that you own and put it towards debt, etc.

And you also need to save some money every month, no matter how small the amount. If you set up a savings account, even if you literally are saving only $20 a month, you still are getting ahead rather than behind. And you will find that once you have that savings account set up, you are going to find ways to put more money into savings.

It’s ideal if you can set up a long term retirement savings account and then several shorter term savings accounts. The shorter term ones are your reward accounts – an annual vacation account, a trip to the spa account, a Christmas account, whatever will make you happy and keep you from feeling deprived as you cut back on daily spending.

So start planning today, because every day that you don’t have a master plan in place is a day that you still mired in debt with no way out.