Consider Internet Marketing

Internet Marketing: Tip of the Month - Blog Linking In Your Posts

2010-10-02T07:42:00.000-07:00

Blog Linking In Your Posts

When posting to your blog, don't forget to put a clickable link towards the bottom of the post with a call to action. This call to action can be a text link saying for example:
* Change Your Life. Free Info!
* Get Your Free "Killer Website Designs" Ebook!
* Make $5000 Every Time You Speak!
* Learn The 7 Steps To Leadership Success!

or any call to action that relates to your business. The point is your blog post is full of great content. Reward your reader with additional content such as a free white paper, report or special training that they will reward you back with by leaving their email or buying a product. You should at least get the visitors email to build your database, so that you can market to them throughout the year.

What happens if there is no call to action link? The reader may read a few of the posts, get reminded of something they read somewhere else and disappear. What about your opt-in box at the top of your blog? As they scroll down to read additional posts, that box disappears from their line of sight, and they may forget all about it. Those opt-in boxes at the top right corner of your blog are notoriously weak for sign ups. A link to a "freebie" or further training embedded in the post, while they are still engaged in the material they are reading, is far more effective.

Don't let the reader get away without giving you their email address. It takes a lot of work to get them to your blog in the first place. The blog is not the "end point" of your marketing, your opt-in or sales letter is. The blog creates interest in your business or service, and quality posts can entice the reader to make a further decision or conversion. Not only that, the search engines love "anchor text" or clickable links made of keywords. Don't leave links that just have your URL or "click here." Use a strong call to action and reward your reader with additional quality info and they will give you something in return.

For more great tips and strategies - Click Here and sign up for our FREE Newsletter.

Until next time be well.

Jim Gage

www.ConsiderInternetMarketing.com

Internet Marketing: Tip of the Month - Twitter

2010-09-25T07:25:00.000-07:00

Hello All:

Here is a great tip on the many uses of Twitter, and how you can increase your bottom line with just a few strokes of your computer keyboard.

Retweet buttons is a great way to encourage customers, visitors, and prospects to easily tell others who would be interested in your PDF reports, e-books, checklists, and other PDF downloads. And because all they have to do is click a few buttons, all the work of tweeting about your content is already done for them... which make promoting your PDF a snap! You can use this technique to:

* Build your mailing list
* Increase up your Twitter following
* Encourage more affiliate sales
* Get more traffic to your website

For more great tips and strategies, please visit my website and sign up for a Free Newsletter - Click Here

Until next time - be well.

Jim Gage

www.ConsiderInternetMarketing.com

SEO Myth: You Can't Use Flash on Your Website.

2010-08-30T14:02:00.000-07:00

You Can't Use Flash on Your Website - right ? Wrong !

Yes, you can! While I don't recommend that you create your entire website in Flash, using bits of Flash here and there for some cool effects will not bother or choke the search engines in the least. They don't punish, penalize or otherwise nuke into oblivion sites that have Flash on them. You should of course avoid putting important content into your Flash elements, and also remember that some mobile devices such as the iPhone and iPad don't support Flash. But if you add alternative text for non-Flash-enabled browsers, all should be well.

If you find these tips helpful, why not sign up for our Free Newsletter Click Here

Until next time - be well.

Jim Gage

Internet Marketing: Google Changes

2010-07-09T11:19:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone:

Google has just made public another change in how they view and rank websites within their search engine! Google is now very interested in the speed in which your website loads when someone clicks on your site! So for all the SEO and Web Masters who for years have tried to convince people that their web sites should be busy and have all the bells, whistles and flash - guess what? They have done you a great disservice and have actually hurt you and your business. That's why I have never been an advocate of these methods; my method is keep it simple and easy to navigate.

Hope this tip has been useful.

Jim Gage

PS: For more great tips like this, why not sign up for our Free Newsletter - Click Here

Internet Marketing: Happy 4th of July

2010-07-03T09:00:00.001-07:00

As we spend this 4th of July weekend with family and friends, let’s pause for a moment and think about what this Independence Day really means. As our country goes through hard times, let us remember that the sacrifices of those that have gone before us paid so we may enjoy the opportunities and freedoms which make this the best country in the world.

Happy 4th of July to you and yours, and don’t eat too much BBQ.

Jim Gage

Internet Marketing: How to Keep Control of Your Online Presence

2010-05-12T13:49:00.000-07:00

by Jim Gage

Just like there are a lot of things that you must keep control of in the offline part of your Internet business…there are a number of things that you need to be in control of if you have an online presence or if you’re selling your products and services online. Unfortunately, a lot of business owners give up a lot of control over their online presence simply because they don’t know how certain parts of the Internet functions or because they don’t want to get into the technical parts of running a presence online. This usually ends up in disaster for the business owner who caught unaware. In this article I’ll talk about how to keep control of your online presence and how to avoid some of the pitfalls that can take how you present yourself online out of your hands.

1. Register your own domain name…and always register it yourself- Domain names are like digital real estate. If you wait until you’re ready to build a website before you register your domain name, you might miss out permanently. You don’t have to have a website in order to use a domain name, you can send email under your own domain name or forward it to your third part store or blog. You can get your own domain name for as little as $8 per year…so there’s no reason why you shouldn’t have your own domain name even if you’re not ready to build a website yet.

2. Have more than one place online where people can contact you- Preferably a channel that you have control over, whether it’s a blog, social networking site, or your own website. Websites and social networking services aren’t forever. If you have multiple places where people can contact you, you increase the chance that people can find you and you have a back up if one channel disappears or goes down...

to read the rest of the article Click Here

Breaking Internet Marketing News

2010-04-15T09:53:00.000-07:00

Hello All:

The Labor Department reported Thursday that first-time requests for jobless benefits rose by 24,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 484,000, the highest level since late February. Economists were predicting claims would fall.

Now if this isn't a reason for you to get started with your own Internet Home based business I don't know what is. People, including myself are making a six figure income on the Internet, even in a down economy! Ask yourself, what is holding you back? Fear,lack of knowledge or just uncertainty on who to listen to. Here is my counsel to you; go by my website and view the articles and pages of information contained there, and sign up for my Free Newsletter. Take your time, absorb the information, e-mail or call me with your questions and make an informed decision on your future - always have a plan B.

Until next time.

Jim Gage

Internet Marketing : Membership Sites

2010-03-31T17:46:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone:

I was asked today if membership sites were still a viable marketing strategy for consistent cash flow? Well, that surely is a loaded question, but the simple answer is Yes ! As long as your site is something that people need and need on a regular basis. There is no use having someone join your site for 1 month and then cancel; that is not a recipe for ongoing cash flow.

So that being said, what site do best in an economy where people are pinching pennies? Any sites that people gain valuable or enjoyable information will do very well in this economy such as:

--> Improve your golf game

--> Dog Training

--> Stock Market Investing Training

--> Real Estate Investing Training

--> Public Speaking

--> Exercise Related Subjects

etc...

These are just a few ideas for you to consider and start to develop. Remember, you can charge anywhere from $17.00 to hundreds of dollars per month based on your subject matter.
Now the million dollar question, how much will it cost you? You can get a membership site up and running for about $150.00 when you use a blogging platform.

If you have any questions feel free to e-mail me at orders@ConsiderInternetMarketing.com

Jim Gage

Internet Marketing : Things Every Successful Website Need Part 3

2010-03-16T13:36:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone:

Here is my last installment on what you should have as key elements on your web page. If you have any questions feel free to call me at 508-595-9567.

7. Search Engine Optimized Copy:

At first glance you might not think this is so important, but trust me it is. You want your pages to rank well with the search engines and there are a few steps you can take to ensure this happens.
Each page of your website should be optimized for 2, or at the most 3 keywords/phrases. Weave the keywords into your titles and into the body of each page. You can also include them in your image titles, alt tags; even in the names you give your pages. Look at each page individually and decide what it’s about, then optimize accordingly.

8. Social Media Share Button:

With the popularity of social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace, you’d be foolish not to include an easy way for your content to be shared with others.
You’ll find many free services that will give you the code you need to instantly add a “share button” to your web pages so that visitors can instantly share them with their friends.
To generate your own buttons see:
• AddThis: http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php
• TwitThis: http://www.TwitThis.com

9. Meta Tags:

Some may tell you that meta tags are dead. Don’t listen. Meta tags should be included in your HTML code at the top of every page. Many search engines will read them to pull a description to include in their search results.
Again, each page should be optimized separately and have a unique title, keywords, and description tags.

10. Copyright Notice:

• Sounds simple but forgotten by many. All pages should include a copyright notice. If you don’t want to have to update it manually every year, find a simple JavaScript that will automatically do it for you.

11. Trust Seals/Testimonials:

I grouped these two items together as they both instill trust and confidence in your visitors. Remember, when someone comes to your website, they don’t know who you are and if you’re selling something, they may not feel comfortable giving out their credit card information. To help them feel more “warm and fuzzy”; include trust seals for any organizations you belong to:

Also, if you have testimonials from happy customers, or ezine subscribers, weave them into your site copy. People always love to hear that others have had a happy experience with your products/services. Make sure you get permission first from the testimonial writers before placing them on your website.
So there you have it -my short list of what every site needs to succeed online. Now that you’re armed with this information, get out the magnifying glasses and take a close look at your own website to see what may be missing.

For more great tips and strategies Click Here to sign up for our FREE Newsletter.

Until next time, be well.

Jim Gage

Internet Marketing : Things Every Successful Website Need Part 2

2010-03-11T14:04:00.000-08:00

Hello All:

We will now continue with our tips for a successful website as mentioned in our last post.

3. Site Map:
If your site is rather large, you’ll also want to include a way to search, or have what is called a “site map”. There are many ways to add a search function to your site, the easiest being to use Google’s free service at- http://www.google.com/sitesearch/.
A site map sounds technical, but it’s just one web page that contains links to every page of your site, usually broken down by category.

4. Google Analytics/Tracking System:
Once your site is up and running you’ll want to keep your eye on traffic. Who’s visiting your website, what pages are the most popular, where is the traffic coming from. All of these questions and more can be answered by using a good analytics program.
There are several ways to add a thorough tracking system to your site, but the easiest and one that won’t cost you a dime is Google Analytics http://www.google.com/analytics/ Once registered, you can add as many sites as you like all under one user ID and password. You’ll be given some code to copy and paste on your pages. Simple, easy, and you’re done.

5. Newsletter Sign Up/RSS Feed:
There’s an old saying that people won’t buy from you the very first time they come to your website, so you need a way to stay in touch with them to bring them back again and again. By offering a newsletter, also known as an ezine, you’ll be building a list of possible prospects which is invaluable to any site owner.
You’ll find a multitude of free and low cost newsletter services online. It’s up to you, depending on your needs and what you can afford. If you don’t want to pay anything, my favorite free services are:
FreeAutoBot: http://www.FreeAutoBot.com Yahoo Groups: http://www.yahoo.com/groups
You can also offer an RSS feed for your newsletter, or updates to your blog or site. This makes it easy for others to keep up with your most recent posts. The best service for this is… FeedBurner: http://www.feedburner.com/fb/a/home

6. Consistent Navigation:
This might sound like a no brainer, but many folks get it wrong. No matter what type of menu system you decide upon, make sure it stays the same across the board on all pages of your site.
Your job is to guide your visitors through your website, making sure they always know where they are and how to get to where they need to go.
For more see:
• Eye on Web: http://tinyurl.com/dyh9fm
• Web Page Mistakes: http://www.webpagemistakes.ca/website-navigation/

More tips to follow on upcoming posts - stay tuned...

Jim Gage

Don't forget to sign up for our Free Newsletter Click Here

Internet Marketing : Things Every Successful Website Need Part 1

2010-03-03T12:56:00.000-08:00

So you’ve put together a spectacular website, and you’re ready to go live on the Internet for the whole world to see. Not so fast! In case you didn’t know, there are a few essential requirements that every site needs to include in order to be successful.

That being said, in the next several posts I will go over what I believe are the building blocks of a successful website.

1. Privacy Policy/Disclaimer:

Now, I’m not a Lawyer and don’t claim to be one, but these two documents should be standard issue for every site you have. People want to know how you’re going to use their personal information, and a “privacy policy” does just that.
In today’s litigious society you’ll also need to include a disclaimer/terms of use page. This protects you and spells out to your visitors what they’re agreeing to by using your website. If you don’t know where to start in generating these documents, you’ll find plenty of help online.

--> Google Adsense & other Ad Networks
--> Privacy Policy
--> Free Site Disclaimer

This is not legal advice, and if you need help in this department, consult with a local attorney.

2. Contact Us Information:

I can’t tell you how many sites I’ve been to that fail to include a way to contact the owner. If you can’t include a phone number, at the very least have an email address or a “contact us” form. By providing this information, you’ll make your visitors feel more comfortable knowing there’s a way to reach you should the need arise.

On my next post I will continue my tips on what every website should have.

If you find these posts helpful, why not sign up for our Free Newsletter by Clicking Here , you will be glad you did.

Until next time be well.

Jim Gage

Internet Marketing : What is Dynamic HTML?

2010-02-17T08:52:00.000-08:00

Dynamic HTML, or DHTML, is an umbrella term for a collection of technologies used together to create interactive and animated web sites[1] by using a combination of a static markup language (such as HTML), a client-side scripting language (such as JavaScript), a presentation definition language (such as CSS), and the Document Object Model.

Now in English. Plainly, it is technology that allows you to get past pop up blockers! When would you use such techniques? When you desire to have a opt in page with a hovering box - that's dynamic html at work!

Until next tine be well.

Jim Gage

www.ConsiderInternetMarketing.com

Internet Marketing : Using Video

2010-02-08T15:07:00.000-08:00

Hello and Good Day:

In this post I would like to explain why you need to use video, when possible, on your website. You see when you use video you accomplish the following things:

--> Better search engine placement

--> Better Google & Yahoo organic search positioning

--> People like to watch video over reading text - can you say YouTube

--> Gives your website a more professional feel

--> Able to convey that in person, personal feel to potential client's.

these are just a few of the advantages of using video on your website. For more great tips and strategies, please visit my website: Consider Internet Marketing
and sign up for our Free Internet Marketing Newsletter.

Until next time - be well.

JIm Gage

Internet Marketing : Domain Names

2010-02-03T14:02:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone:

Today's subject is domain names; or more exactly how to choose one.

Below is the most important points to remember when choosing a domain name...

--> Domain should include keywords

--> Never use your name

--> If you can't get a domain with your keyword, try adding a word 6 letters or less in the front or back of your keyword.

--> Always try to get .com , especially if you are an e-commerce site.

Theses are just a few of the great tips you will receive from our Free Internet Marketing Newsletter Click Here to start receiving your free tips.

Internet Marketing : CD Reproductions

2010-01-27T15:01:00.000-08:00

Hello All:

Here is a great resource to get your CDs reproduced including jewel cases with inserts for 1 dollar! There are no mins or set up fees - just a straight price of 1 dollar - go to kunaki.com for more information.

Jim Gage

Internet Marketing: More Reasons Most Internet Businesses Fail - Conclusion

2010-01-21T13:30:00.000-08:00

Hello All:

Today we will finish up on our topic of 'Why Internet Businesses Fail", specifically reasons 4 & 5.

4. Being a Shopaholic

This goes along with #3 above. Stop paying for every new scheme that comes along because they're promising you instant riches. All that's going to do is drain you of your money.

And then, if you're like so many others, there's a good chance you'll get frustrated and give up on the whole thing, because you don't know who you can trust anymore, and you don't want to take a chance, so your dream of workíng from home is over before it began.

Or, maybe they're not selling you a scam, but in fact have valid programs that many people use successfully in their businesses. That's great, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it's right for you right now. It might be something that will be a good investment for your business later on, but you should really concentrate on getting your website up and running first. Otherwise you end up with information overload as described in #1 above.

5. Fear of Technology

Just because you haven't tried something before doesn't mean that you can't learn to do it. Think about pretty much everything you've ever done, especially the things you're good at. Did you always know how to do that, or did you learn it over time?

I'm guessing that you learned it, and you can learn to do a lot of the work on your website, too. I constantly have to tell the people I meet that it's in their best interest to learn at least a little bit of the technical stuff that comes with having a website.

I'm not saying you have to be a programming expert. In fact, if you need heavy duty programming done, then you should definitely get someone to do it for you. It'll save you a lot of time, for one. But there's no reason why you can't learn some of the basics of HTML so that whenever you need to make a small change to your website (such as the testing we talked about earlier) you won't have to pay someone to do it for you. And you won't have to wait for them to have the time.

It's not as hard as you think. It just takes a little time to learn it.

Conclusion

The most important point I'm trying to convey is that, in order to be successful online, you need to remain focused on one task at a time. Finish that task and move onto the next one. Finish that task and move on. And keep going until you're done.

Stop investing in every fancy new program that comes along. There are no "magic bullets" anyway. Stick to the plan from the beginning, and see it through to the end.

Starting a new website does require a bit of work at the beginning. There's no way around that if you want to succeed. But the great thing about working online is that once you have everything set up, you can put almost all of it on autopilot and bring in money 24 hours a day with a minimum of work.

So get started now, don't be afraid that you can't do it, don't get frustrated, and don't let anything distract you. You could be making very good money in very little time if you do it right.

For more great tips click here .

Internet Marketing: More Reasons Most Internet Businesses Fail

2010-01-19T13:55:00.000-08:00

Hello All;

We continue on our theme of why Internet businesses fail; we will address number 3 of the 5 main reasons on this post.

3. Waiting for the "Magic Bullet"

Let me just start by saying that there is no magic bullet when it comes to running your business, or doing any kind of work online.

I know that a lot of salesmen make it sound that way when you're reading their sales letters, but it simply isn't true. They're lying to you. And even if they're not lying to you, and let's say their system does work, it's only going to work for a short period of time, and it's only going to make you a little bit of money. Not the millions they're promising.

That's why I constantly warn people away from the "business-in-a-box or so-called cookie cutter formula" opportunities. The result isn't ever very good. Maybe you'll make a small bit of side money, if you're lucky. Besides, why would you want to sell the same thing everyone else is selling anyway?

The only way to have lasting success online is to have a website that is unlike anyone else's, that you've built up into a success, with a loyal customer base, one step at a time.

For more great tips, strategies and articles on Internet Marketing, why not sign up for my FREE Newsletter by clicking here ?

Internet Marketing: Reasons Most Internet Businesses Fail

2010-01-18T08:33:00.000-08:00

Hello All:

The next few posts I would like to go over, what I believe causes most Internet businesses to fail - enjoy.

Here are the most common reasons that most internet businesses fail that I've seen, in no particular order:

1. Information Overload

You've probably already been inundated with emails explaining how some new money making scheme is the hottest thing on the planet and you need to get in now so that you're on the cutting edge of internet marketing.

The problem is that you haven't finished working on the previous hot new thing yet, and as soon as you start this one, yet another hot idea will hit, and so on, and so on.

In every valid email you get, there should be an "unsubscribe" link at the bottom. Start clicking on it and just stick with a few of the people who you know are giving you good information about building your business from start to finish in the right order without any distractions.

And make sure that you see every task through to completion before moving onto the next one. It's the only real way to get anything done.

2. The Curse of Perfection

Speaking of seeing tasks through to completion, also consider that not everything on your website and in your sales process has to be absolutely perfect before you can unleash it on the public.

So many home business owners who are just starting out have a habit of obsessing over every little detail forever before they'll allow themselves to launch their site.

Stop it. It doesn't have to be perfect. That doesn't mean that you don't need to make sure your website is working properly first. It means that you can work on adjusting small details, such as the color scheme, the sales copy, the images, later on. In fact, if you're planning to do any proper testing (and you should be), then you should be constantly working on those items anyway.

So get your website out there, get some traffic, make sure the big things are working right, and then worry about adjusting the small details.

More to come in future posts - don't forget to bookmark my blog.

For more great tips, strategies and articles on Internet Marketing, why not sign up for my FREE Newsletter by clicking here ?

Internet Marketing : Squidoo and You

2010-01-11T13:40:00.000-08:00

Today we will stay on the theme of FREE ! In my last post I provided a totally free way for you to list things you want to sell for free. Now, what if I could show you another medium to do the exact thing but with much more traffic and unlimited pages you can create - would you be interested? I thought you would be. It's known as Squidoo.com, and it's something I have been using for a number of years to create another avenue of sales for my products and services. Check it out you won't be disappointed.

If you would like help with Squidoo check out our latest training by clicking here

Be well.

Jim Gage

Internet Marketing : Question of the Month

2010-01-08T13:45:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone:

I would like to share with you a question that was submitted to me today, I think everyone can benefit from my answer...

Q: I would love to have a website to sell products from, but I don't have the money to have one created! What can I do besides giving up on my dream?

Bill H., Homestead, Florida

A: Hi Bill,

Don't give up, many people are in your same situation! I suggest that you start a blog and start selling products from there. There are 2 sites are would recommend which will allow you to start a blog for FREE! Yes, I said FREE - they are blogger which I use and Word Press. If you would like some direction on how to configure your blog with all the bells and whistles I have on mine, click here and send me an e-mail.

To your success,

Jim Gage

Internet Marketing: Sell Your Products For FREE !

2010-01-06T08:10:00.000-08:00

Hello All:

I hope you had a great New Years with your family and friends. I just wanted to let you know about something I just found out about - and it won't cost you a dime!
If you have read any off my posts you know I love using Ebay as an avenue of additional income and lead generator for my numerous website business. But did you know that there is a website that allows you to sell your products and services in a Ebay type format for FREE? Yep, that's right for FREE! The name of this exciting website is UPillar and I am about to try it.
From what I can conclude at this time is that it is starting to gain a large following in part due to the endorsement of Glenn Beck. Granted, they do not, or at least at the time of this post, they do not have the traffic of Ebay, but that might change in the near future.

I will let you know my experiences with the site in future posts...

Jim Gage

For other great tips and strategies, don't forget to sign up for our Free Internet Marketing Newsletter by clicking here

Internet Marketing 2010

2010-01-01T11:01:00.000-08:00

Hello All:

Well, here we are 2010! The past year was a great and profitable year for those of us who have taken our internet marketing skills to the next level. In the coming year I will share with you, my faithful subscribers, some new strategies and tactics I'm currently using to bring in consistent cash flow in a down economy.

That being said, on behalf of myself and everyone here at Consider Internet Marketing may the New Year bring you and yours many blessings and success in all your endeavors.

Happy New Year.

James A. Gage

Consider Internet Marketing

Internet Marketing: Your Unique Selling Position

2009-12-30T14:16:00.000-08:00

You must give potential customers some very good reasons for them to buy from you or your links. Offering special bonuses and discounts works wonders for your sales. Some of my most successful pages simply consist of coupons and discounts offered by different companies. If buyers can save $100's OFF by buying thru your links, they will.

Always remember, besides looking for the best deal or bargain, consumers are also looking for a quality product. If you're into affiliate marketing, only pick top quality products to promote. Picking top brand names also makes it easier to make sales. So too is only promoting popular online merchants like Amazon which can be an effective marketing strategy. Most importantly, always remember consumers are also looking for INFORMATION on the products they are considering buying, give them helpful information and you will succeed.

For more great tips and the latest in Internet Marketing, click here to receive our Free Internet Marketing Newsletter.

Internet Marketing Wishes

2009-12-24T08:39:00.000-08:00

On behalf of myself and everyone here at Consider Internet Marketing we wish to wish you and yours a Merry Christmas and a Happy Hanukkah.

As we rest and spend time with our loved ones and families, let's get ready to make 2010 the best year yet!

Peace be with You.

Jim Gage

Auto Responders, Líst Building & Online Relationships

2009-12-21T13:47:00.000-08:00

Keeping in contact with potential buyers is mission critical. You must use auto-responders to send follow-up messages to build trustful relationships with your potential customers.

So building a large contact líst is essential. That's why the social networks such as Twitter, Facebook, MySpace can be very effective marketing tools for building this online contact and trust. Truth be told, all these social networks are, more or less, just glorified auto-responders and líst builders!

For more great tips and the latest in Internet Marketing, click here to receive our Free Internet Marketing Newsletter.

Internet Marketing: Automate Everything

2009-12-16T08:32:00.000-08:00

The real beauty of marketing online and using computers... you can automate just about every process in your marketing system. Make it a point of automating everything you do... use autoresponders to follow-up with potential buyers, use automatic check-outs, automatic reporting... just set-up your whole internet marketing system that runs itself with little or no supervision from you. This will free up your time to concentrate all your efforts on marketing/promoting your site or product. Besides, nothing beats coming back from a vacatíon and finding out you have earned the cost of your vacatíon and then some - all the while you were lying in the sun and miles away from any computer.

For more great tips and the latest in Internet Marketing, click here to receive our Free Internet Marketing Newsletter.

Internet Marketing: Target Recurring or Residual Income

2009-12-14T13:31:00.000-08:00

One of my most effective marketing strategies is to promote and sell products and services that give you a recurring or residual income. Make one sale and get paíd for years or for the life of that referred client. Concentrate on services like web-hosting, telephone, marketing programs... once customers sign up to these services, they will likely keep them for years. I am still earning income from sales I made five years ago.

Building a large residual income could be the key to surviving in tough economic times. This will be income which will carry you or your business over the rough patches since it is based upon past performance and not on your current selling situation.

For more great tips and the latest in Internet Marketing, click here to receive our Free Internet Marketing Newsletter.

Until next time - be well.

Jim Gage

Internet Marketing: Go With The Flow

2009-12-10T13:32:00.000-08:00

If you're marketing online, you have to follow what's working for you. Most times you will try countless ideas or tactics - once you have found a process or system that works, really work it or scale it up. Making your first dollar is the hardest, but once you do something that earns you that dollar, just repeat that "something" a thousand times.

Tracking what works is very important so keep a close eye on your site's traffic logs to find where your customers are coming from. Something like Google Analytics is simply priceless for "fine-tuning" your site and your internet marketing. It will tell you what's working and what's not.

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Consider Internet Marketing: Make Google Your Friend

2009-12-08T13:26:00.000-08:00

Whether you love or hate Google doesn't matter, you just have to make it your number one ally in your online marketing. Google has just about conquered the world-wide search market, Yahoo and MSN are still important, but Google is the deal-breaker when you're selling stuff online. Consumers have enormous respect for Google; a number one listing for a lucrative keyword simply means money in the bank.

I have found using Google Search, Google Adwords, and Google Adsense have played a more than significant role in the success of my own online sites and marketing. Google tools such as Google Analytics, Google Alerts, Webmaster Tools... all have been invaluable and an enormous help in achieving my "web-based" lifestyle and livelihood. Of course, Google has also driven me around the bend more times than I can count, but no one is perfect. Besides, when it's all said and done, anyone marketing on the web must truly embrace Google if they want to reach their highest level possible.

Consider Internet Marketing: Website Keywords

2009-12-07T14:43:00.000-08:00

Make Keywords Your #1 Goal

This is the single most important factor for my own online success. You have to make keywords and ranking high for them in all the search engines your main objective if you're marketing online. Might sound obvious, but many beginning marketers don't truly understand how important getting top rankings for your chosen keywords will be in your online success.

Target less competitive long tail (multi-worded) keywords to get started and slowly work your way up to more popular keywords. Center your marketing around getting those first page listings for your keywords. Achieve this goal, (especially in Google) and it will be almost impossible for you not to succeed and make a profit with your online marketing even in bad times.

Internet Marketing : Link Bait Tools

2009-11-08T12:43:00.000-08:00

For anybody with a bit of imagination and a talented programmer, creating a tool for your site is the easiest way to link bait. Make the tool useful and well presented and its very easy to link to. Unique and useful tools can often turn a commercial site that struggles to attract any natural links into a useful resource that even competitors will link to and use on a regular basis.

Common ideas include methods to help people find information about products, test their websites, improve their skills, generate images or content for blogs and social networking profiles. Some of the best tools build millions of links without the users even knowing they are part of some clever link bait campaign.

Internet Marketing : Presenting your Link Bait

2009-11-06T13:43:00.000-08:00

Although successful link bait will attract thousands of visitors you should not expect the visitors to click on any Ad sense adverts or buy any products from your site. The best way to make your site stand out and attract links is to remove all the adverts. Yes, you read that part right. Remove your adverts. You can put them back on in a month or so, if you like, but make sure the page is clean, well laid out, easy to read and ad free.

Design is another essential skill in a link baiter's arsenal. The page needs to look great and not look like just another Blogger blog. Invest the time and money required to make your site look great. People who go the extra mile and design custom graphic for a particular article or blog post will get more links because of it. If you are really creative then adding an image that’s cool enough for other bloggers to use it on their blogs while they link to you will make you more memorable and maximize the potential of your link bait.

For more FREE Internet Marketing information, why not stop by our web site and sign up for our Free Newsletter - you will be glad you did - http://www.ConsiderInternetMarketing.com

Internet Marketing : Creating Link Bait

2009-11-05T11:34:00.000-08:00

My last post had to do with link bait, so I thought I would continue on that theme. Today we will focus on creating your link bait!

The first step to thinking of a really cool tool, unique news story or article is to find out what people want to read about. It sounds simple but following the breaking stories on the various social networking sites as well as Technorati.

Another good tip is to search the social bookmarking sites for things related to your site that have been popular in the past. You might find a nice tool that was on Digg 2 years ago and be able to use it to inspire something more modern for your site.

A quick look at some popular tools in different areas is often a good source of inspiration. For example you might see a tool on a car/auto website for valuing used cars and be able to apply it to your real estate site.

Internet Marketing : Link Baiting

2009-11-04T14:09:00.000-08:00

Link bait is the act of adding content to a website with the aim of attracting links from other sites. The content can take a variety of different forms from a unique tool or a breaking news story to a well written article or controversial image.
Sometimes link bait is intentional but quite often the best link bait is conceived quite by accident.

My favorite example of a piece of link bait is the Adobe Acrobat Reader software. The download page has over 15 million links and is probably the most linked internal page on the web today.

The Top 12 Ways To Use Twitter for Internet Marketing

2009-10-28T18:06:00.000-07:00

1. Use it to promote new pieces of content you or your company create to drive traffic to your site. From online articles to blog posts or from videos to webinars, each time you add something to the Web that is of value, tweet about it and include a link. (Most people on Twitter use www.TinyURL.com to take a long URL and make it short.)
2. Use it for learning new marketing ideas, strategies and techniques. If you follow the right people, and you have to be picky about who you follow, you’ll get pointed to a good amount of useful tutorials, videos, e-zines and other things that teach you about marketing.
3. Use it to get new customers. Use Twitter’s search to find people who may be interested in your product or service. There are many ingenious ways to search for people on Twitter. For example, if you sell red widgets you could go to http://search.twitter.com and find people who have tweeted specifically looking for red widgets. To do this, type the following into the search box: red widgets?
4. You’ll notice a lot of the results will be of others selling red widgets. These ones will all obviously have links in them to direct people to the site they’re selling red widgets on. To weed these people/tweets out, use the negative sign like this: -http red widgets?
5. Since every link has ‘http’ in it, using the negative sign in front of it will cause your search results to not include any tweets with links in them.
6. Use it to build your email list. Use Twitter’s search to find people who may be interested in the monthly newsletter you send out to your opt-in house email list. Invite these people to join.
7. Utilize Twitter plugins or add-ons such as TweetMyBlog or The Twitter Updater, which both automatically make tweets of every new blog post you publish. Also check out TwitThis. When visitors to your website click on the TwitThis button or link, it takes the URL of the Web page and creates a shorter URL using TinyURL. Then visitors can send this shortened URL and a description of the web page to all of their followers on Twitter. Finally, look at TweetLater, a service that allows you to write lots of tweets at once and then schedule them to go out over time.
8. Use it to build buzz about an upcoming product or website launch.
9. Use it to better brand yourself or your business. Remember, when someone wants to learn more about you or your company, they are increasingly using sites like Twitter for research. You could easily use Twitter to establish yourself as an authority in your field.
10. Use it to update followers on breaking news regarding your company. If your company is mentioned in a new article, tweet about it and include a link to the article. Or if you’re at a conference or trade show, you could tweet what you’re doing and invite people to visit you in person.
11. Use it for business networking, master-mind groups (see Napoleon Hill), and getting yourself seen by high-profile people in your industry.
12. Use it as an instant messaging system to keep your and your team on the same page during projects. This is especially useful for those who work with teams spread out in different cities or countries.

You should note that this top 12 list is not in order of importance or in any particular order. I suggest that you give Twitter a try if you haven’t already. See if you can apply a few of these techniques and tactics to help you take advantage of Twitter as a marketing tool.

Internet Marketing : Google and You

2009-10-21T13:30:00.000-07:00

Did you know that some experts estimate that Google gets close to 500 million local search results each month? Do you think there are people looking for what you may have inside your head? Meaning, your knowledge and expertise! Yes, people are looking for what you know, whether that is a hobby or your experience through a job or a small business that you own or have owned.

Why not turn your knowledge into products and services and become one of the hundreds of individuals we have helped to do just that. Please stop by our website and sign up for our Free Internet Marketing Newsletter - www.ConsiderInternetMarketing.com

Until next time - Be well.

Jim Gage

Internet Marketing : Why Social Bookmarking?

2009-10-09T13:24:00.000-07:00

I figure that if you're reading this, you have that question, or a similar one.

There are three reasons:

     1 - More links

     2 - More traffic

     3 - More credibility

More links are always a good thing.

Think of links as the road traffic that moves through the web. If there are no roads to where your business "lives" online, namely your website, it's far less likely that the visitors you want will end up getting to you.

That's true whether you're talking about search engines or links from other sites. Search engines use a mysterious cross between the number and quality of links to your site in their determination of whether you should be number one or number 701 for your desired keyword.

In addition, the "nicer" the road, the more traffíc will flow through it - think of an authority site linking to your site as a highway that leads directly to your site, and one from a reciprocal link or link exchange scheme as a back street in a sketchy neighborhood full of potholes.

Improved traffic, also good.

From social bookmarking, this traffic is often targeted. Through tagging, the description someone writes, or the title they assigned to your link, the person who discovers the submitted link on a social bookmarking site knows exactly where they're going, and why they're interested in getting there.

It's like seeing the cover of a magazine on a rack. That's what pulls them in, they see a headline - and to get to the story they are compelled to take another action.

The more credibility thing is a bit harder to explain, so we'll go with another analogy.

Let's say I made a movie and I thought it was fantastic. If I hadn't met you before, and I tell you, "hey, I made a great movie, come see it!" - you may come see it, you may not.

It depends more on how much time you have and if you're interested in that kind of movie, or even how nice of a person you are, than my opinion.

Why?

Because I'm the one who made it, so you can't know whether to trust my opinion, at least in relation to how much YOU might like it. Of course I think it's great, but I have no way of knowing whether you will.

Now, if you knew me and my taste, and how alike our tastes are, you may be a bit more inclined. So if I'm, say, Michael Bay, and you liked my last movie, and my new movie is on the same type of thing, you might go see it based on the trailer alone. You know you're taking a gamble but it's a safe bet.

Now watch this.

Your best buddy, the one who likes all the same things you like, the one you hang out with and trust the most, calls you on the phone and says:

"I've just seen the best movie I've ever seen in my entire life. I have to see it again. When are you free, I'll come pick you up."

The only thing that could make that deal sweeter is if your friend has also said "My treat." At least as far as recommendations go, the person who knows what you like the most is likely to be the person whose advice you'll follow.

If you know that friend, and that person has similar tastes, or at least knows what you like, you're more likely to see the movie.

My sister and I have similar tastes in movies, but I'm a little more patient with beginnings and endings and like more indie-fare. Yet, no matter how many times I have suggested we watch a movie together that she ends up not liking as much, if I rave about a movie, she'll at least give it a chance.

Now, let's take that back to social bookmarking. Imagine you can find hundreds of people, all over the world, with tastes similar to yours, sharing information you wouldn't find yourself.

Or maybe you can just connect faster and more frequently for suggestions from people you already know. Wouldn't you be more likely to follow their suggestions than some stranger?

That's the power of social bookmarking. It's put a technology behind word of mouth sharing of web sites that anyone can use.