While not all of my clients are interested in internet marketing, many are so I thought I would share this article. There's a lot of Do's & Don'ts where internet marketing is concerned and if you're not careful, you'll find yourself penalized by the search engines (like Google) for employing the don'ts ... as JC Penny recently discovered.
Search engines love links into a website. The more the better. But the catch is that these links have to natural links ... in other words, other sites are linking to yours to share valuable (and related) content with their readers. If you manipulate the system, you can get into trouble. This is why generic link exchanges are typically considered bad practices.
JC Penny hired an SEO firm to boost their site's rankings and the firm engaged in black hat tactics to set up pages with links to JC Penny. In short, they tried to manipulate the system to bring more links to the JC Penny website. It's not clear if JC Penny knew what was their SEO firm was doing - but none the less, JC Penny has been penalized by Google by it.
Click here to read the full article.
Showing posts with label internet marketing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label internet marketing. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Sunday, November 14, 2010
How to Create Google Alerts
Google Alerts are a great way to keep up to date on specific topics. For example, if you're interested in "pet care services", you can create a Google alert for that topic. Anytime a new blog post or article is written on "pet care services", Google will send you an email sharing the information and link to the source. .
From an ordinary consumer view, this is a great way to keep up on your favorite hobbies and interests. Google alerts will save you time scouring the Internet looking for information related to your hobby and interests.
From a business view, this Google Alerts are a valuable tool that help you stay on top of what is happening in your industry (as well as what information your competition is publishing). Again, this is a huge time saver in keeping up to date on the latest info and industry trends.
Setting up Google Alerts is easy. You just need to have a Google Account first (which is free). If you have a Google Account, you can add another email address (or alternate) to your account. Doing so, will allow you chose which email you want the Google Alert to go to (i.e., personal or business).
To set up a Google Alert, follow the steps below:
Even with "just the best" option selected in step 5, you will get a good amount of alerts from Google. I have most of my alerts configured for "everything" (step 3), "once a day" (step 4), and "only the best" (step 5). These settings help me manage the emails better.
Most of my Google Alerts end up on my spam (or junk) box ... which is fine with me. I just go through it once a day and look for Google Alerts. While there are loads of them, they are pretty easy to check out fairly quickly. When you open each Google Alert email, you will see a summary of results along with headlines and links. If a headline catches my eye, I will click the link to read more .... otherwise I just ignore the info. I can get through these emails pretty quickly this way.
The really nice thing is that if a headline does catch my eye and look like information I should be aware of, I can click the link to read more. Then if the info looks like something I think my readers will be interested in. I will do a little more research and write my own blog post on the topic to share with them. I usually try and make my blog posts more complete than the info shared in the Google Alert.
You can create as many Google Alerts as you like. For example, you might create one for "pet nutrition", "pet certification", "pet care legislation", etc.
You can also manage your Google Alerts. So if you find that you're getting too many emails, you can reconfigure your settings or even delete an alert if you decide it's not helpful.
If you look to the right of the Google Alert settings, you will see a bunch of text. Below it will be a link that reads, "You can also click here to manage your Google Alerts". Click that link to delete or make changes to your Google alerts.
To Delete a Google Alert .... place a check mark in the box next to the alert you want to delete, and click the delete button.
To make changes to an alert, click the EDIT link on the right side of the Google Alert.
That's all there is to it. Since deleting Google Alerts is easy, set a few up and give it a try. You might have to create alerts for different keywords until you find the ones that work best for or your business.
From an ordinary consumer view, this is a great way to keep up on your favorite hobbies and interests. Google alerts will save you time scouring the Internet looking for information related to your hobby and interests.
From a business view, this Google Alerts are a valuable tool that help you stay on top of what is happening in your industry (as well as what information your competition is publishing). Again, this is a huge time saver in keeping up to date on the latest info and industry trends.
Setting up Google Alerts is easy. You just need to have a Google Account first (which is free). If you have a Google Account, you can add another email address (or alternate) to your account. Doing so, will allow you chose which email you want the Google Alert to go to (i.e., personal or business).
To set up a Google Alert, follow the steps below:
- Go to the Google Alert site
- In the "Search Term" field, type the keyword that you're interested in (pet care services in this example)
- Under "Type", you can specify if you want EVERYTHING that's published for that keyword or just specific info (like video or blog updates).
- The "How Often" field lets you configure how often you want Google to email you an alert (once a day, as it happens, or weekly).
- The "Volume" field lets you specify if you want to see every alert, or just the best. Stick with "just the best" here.
- The "Deliver to" option lets you specify which email address to the alerts to (if you have more than email address setup in your Google Account).
Even with "just the best" option selected in step 5, you will get a good amount of alerts from Google. I have most of my alerts configured for "everything" (step 3), "once a day" (step 4), and "only the best" (step 5). These settings help me manage the emails better.
Most of my Google Alerts end up on my spam (or junk) box ... which is fine with me. I just go through it once a day and look for Google Alerts. While there are loads of them, they are pretty easy to check out fairly quickly. When you open each Google Alert email, you will see a summary of results along with headlines and links. If a headline catches my eye, I will click the link to read more .... otherwise I just ignore the info. I can get through these emails pretty quickly this way.
The really nice thing is that if a headline does catch my eye and look like information I should be aware of, I can click the link to read more. Then if the info looks like something I think my readers will be interested in. I will do a little more research and write my own blog post on the topic to share with them. I usually try and make my blog posts more complete than the info shared in the Google Alert.
You can create as many Google Alerts as you like. For example, you might create one for "pet nutrition", "pet certification", "pet care legislation", etc.
You can also manage your Google Alerts. So if you find that you're getting too many emails, you can reconfigure your settings or even delete an alert if you decide it's not helpful.
If you look to the right of the Google Alert settings, you will see a bunch of text. Below it will be a link that reads, "You can also click here to manage your Google Alerts". Click that link to delete or make changes to your Google alerts.
To Delete a Google Alert .... place a check mark in the box next to the alert you want to delete, and click the delete button.
To make changes to an alert, click the EDIT link on the right side of the Google Alert.
That's all there is to it. Since deleting Google Alerts is easy, set a few up and give it a try. You might have to create alerts for different keywords until you find the ones that work best for or your business.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Can You Really Make Money Working from Home?
With today's unstable economy and job insecurities, folks are looking closer at ways to earn extra income. You've probably seen many of the "work from home" ads on TV and internet. Folks are claiming to make $5k plus every month by working at home. But are these ads true?
I believe some are. Why? Because I'm one of those people making money working from home. Not that much, albeit. But I do make money running an internet business. I've shared my story before, but I wanted to share it again here for others who may be contemplating jumping into one of these money making schemes.
But first, even though some of these programs are legit, you want to be careful before jumping into one of these because there are a lot of scams too. It took me a couple of years of trying different offers and products before I could figure out who could be trusted and who couldn't.
Okay, back to my story. As much as I love working on computers, I'm not sure I could see myself doing it when I'm 60. So I wanted to find a way to make money on the internet in hopes of one day having another source of income in the event I was no longer able to work on computers. So I jumped into affiliate marketing after learning about it. If you're not familiar with affiliate marketing, it's the process of making money for assisting in the sale of a product. Commissions are small, but the idea is the more you have, the more money you make. I love affiliate marketing, despite the problems associated with it!
However, one the things that these "work from home" schemes don't tell you is that they do take a lot of work. And to do it right, you need to create a niche website that offers a product (s) that others aren't offering in order to dominate that market and attract visitors to your site. This is why the "business in a box" schemes don't work. Too many people are competing against each other for internet traffic.
It took me a couple of years to find IMC, but when I did it was the best thing for me. IMC (short for, Internet Marketing Center) is a group of experts in Canada that teach folks how to make money on the internet. They're sort of like the "University of Internet Marketing". They sell a comprehensive training course (which is worth its weight in gold) that teaches you how to make money on the internet.
In the old days when I started out (4 years ago), you had to study the course on your own and proceed from there. If you wanted more help, you could go through their "Advanced Internet Marketing" program (which I did). That program gave you one on one mentorship with an IMC expert. It was a very expensive program, but invaluable in my experience.
With IMC's help, I created a website about trout fishing and started selling an eBook (which I wrote). I grew up fishing and had been actively teaching my nephews how to catch trout. And as luck would have it, there were very few sites on the internet about trout fishing (so I was able to rank high in search listings).
eBook is short for "electronic book". These books are digital so after buying them, you download them immediately to your computer and can either read them on the computer or print them out. I wrote my eBook using a special product called, eBook Pro which was developed by IMC. The cool thing about eBook Pro is that it allows me to imbed video into the eBook. So a person can be reading along in the eBook and click links to watch video embedded inside eBook. It's really cool technology!
Anyway, this site does produce significant income for me. I'm not making $5k/month. But the way I figure it, every little bit helps. I'm continually working on the site to increase its revenue. Thanks to Amazon's affiliate program, I now have a fishing store on the site. So now folks can buy other fishing resources, including T-shirts and other fishing related apparel.
Now IMC offers two others methods to speed up the learning curve. The first is an internet marketing forum, called the Internet Entrepreneur's Club. This forum gives you access to the IMC mentors as well as other internet marketers making money.
I'm a member of this forum and once again, find it an invaluable resource. This forum is perfect for all levels of expertise (beginner to advanced) because you get personal help from IMC experts for your specific questions and internet businesses. I do pay a monthly fee for access to this forum, but it's worth every penny to me. If this forum had been around when I signed for the advanced mentoring program, I would have signed up for it instead. It's that valuable!
IMC also has a relatively new product available now called, BeBiz. Although it may look like it, BeBiz is NOT a "business in a box". Instead, it is a set of tools available to help you set up a unique niche internet business with expert help.
In order to set up a niche internet business, you have to do some keyword research first - which costs additional money. You also have to purchase or subscribe to a few other tools that can help automate the business for you so it runs 24x7 for your web visitors. BeBiz incorporates these tools into their system so you don't have to go out and pay for them separately. These fees are all part of the monthly BeBiz fee.
I can tell you from personal experience, that IMC can be trusted. They truly are experts and well worth your investment of time and money. I wish I had started out with them as opposed to going in different directions on my own. But perhaps my failed experiences just makes me appreciate IMC more.
If you've ever been thinking about making money on the internet, IMC is the best place to start. I'd recommend ignoring all other internet marketing schemes and sticking with IMC (believe me, it will save you money in the long run). And if you're really inexperienced, I'd highly recommend getting IMC's course as well as consider BeBiz. I think BeBiz gives you 30 days of free access to the Internet Marketing forum, but then if you want to stay in it, you'll have to pay the regular monthly fee (like the rest of us do). But as I've said, these are investments worth your money and time.
However, if you're still not sure about it all, you might want to consider checking out the "Secrets to their Success" online magazine. Every month IMC shares two real-life stories of folks who have made it big doing internet marketing. These are the folks making $5k and more a month. I subscribe to this private web too.
I enjoy reading the stories of other's success each month and do pick up internet marketing tips from them. I also enjoy the web makers - where IMC experts a website that isn't making much money and redesign it to a better marketing site.
IMC offers several other products too (all of which I own), but the one mentioned above are perfect for those would like to get started making money on the internet. I won't lie to you and tell you these are "get rich quick schemes" - they aren't. Building an internet business takes time and work - a lot of it. But if you're serious and want to earn some extra money, IMC has the tools and knowledge to help you achieve those goals.
I believe some are. Why? Because I'm one of those people making money working from home. Not that much, albeit. But I do make money running an internet business. I've shared my story before, but I wanted to share it again here for others who may be contemplating jumping into one of these money making schemes.
But first, even though some of these programs are legit, you want to be careful before jumping into one of these because there are a lot of scams too. It took me a couple of years of trying different offers and products before I could figure out who could be trusted and who couldn't.
Okay, back to my story. As much as I love working on computers, I'm not sure I could see myself doing it when I'm 60. So I wanted to find a way to make money on the internet in hopes of one day having another source of income in the event I was no longer able to work on computers. So I jumped into affiliate marketing after learning about it. If you're not familiar with affiliate marketing, it's the process of making money for assisting in the sale of a product. Commissions are small, but the idea is the more you have, the more money you make. I love affiliate marketing, despite the problems associated with it!
However, one the things that these "work from home" schemes don't tell you is that they do take a lot of work. And to do it right, you need to create a niche website that offers a product (s) that others aren't offering in order to dominate that market and attract visitors to your site. This is why the "business in a box" schemes don't work. Too many people are competing against each other for internet traffic.
It took me a couple of years to find IMC, but when I did it was the best thing for me. IMC (short for, Internet Marketing Center) is a group of experts in Canada that teach folks how to make money on the internet. They're sort of like the "University of Internet Marketing". They sell a comprehensive training course (which is worth its weight in gold) that teaches you how to make money on the internet.
In the old days when I started out (4 years ago), you had to study the course on your own and proceed from there. If you wanted more help, you could go through their "Advanced Internet Marketing" program (which I did). That program gave you one on one mentorship with an IMC expert. It was a very expensive program, but invaluable in my experience.
With IMC's help, I created a website about trout fishing and started selling an eBook (which I wrote). I grew up fishing and had been actively teaching my nephews how to catch trout. And as luck would have it, there were very few sites on the internet about trout fishing (so I was able to rank high in search listings).
eBook is short for "electronic book". These books are digital so after buying them, you download them immediately to your computer and can either read them on the computer or print them out. I wrote my eBook using a special product called, eBook Pro which was developed by IMC. The cool thing about eBook Pro is that it allows me to imbed video into the eBook. So a person can be reading along in the eBook and click links to watch video embedded inside eBook. It's really cool technology!
Anyway, this site does produce significant income for me. I'm not making $5k/month. But the way I figure it, every little bit helps. I'm continually working on the site to increase its revenue. Thanks to Amazon's affiliate program, I now have a fishing store on the site. So now folks can buy other fishing resources, including T-shirts and other fishing related apparel.
Now IMC offers two others methods to speed up the learning curve. The first is an internet marketing forum, called the Internet Entrepreneur's Club. This forum gives you access to the IMC mentors as well as other internet marketers making money.
I'm a member of this forum and once again, find it an invaluable resource. This forum is perfect for all levels of expertise (beginner to advanced) because you get personal help from IMC experts for your specific questions and internet businesses. I do pay a monthly fee for access to this forum, but it's worth every penny to me. If this forum had been around when I signed for the advanced mentoring program, I would have signed up for it instead. It's that valuable!
IMC also has a relatively new product available now called, BeBiz. Although it may look like it, BeBiz is NOT a "business in a box". Instead, it is a set of tools available to help you set up a unique niche internet business with expert help.
In order to set up a niche internet business, you have to do some keyword research first - which costs additional money. You also have to purchase or subscribe to a few other tools that can help automate the business for you so it runs 24x7 for your web visitors. BeBiz incorporates these tools into their system so you don't have to go out and pay for them separately. These fees are all part of the monthly BeBiz fee.
I can tell you from personal experience, that IMC can be trusted. They truly are experts and well worth your investment of time and money. I wish I had started out with them as opposed to going in different directions on my own. But perhaps my failed experiences just makes me appreciate IMC more.
If you've ever been thinking about making money on the internet, IMC is the best place to start. I'd recommend ignoring all other internet marketing schemes and sticking with IMC (believe me, it will save you money in the long run). And if you're really inexperienced, I'd highly recommend getting IMC's course as well as consider BeBiz. I think BeBiz gives you 30 days of free access to the Internet Marketing forum, but then if you want to stay in it, you'll have to pay the regular monthly fee (like the rest of us do). But as I've said, these are investments worth your money and time.
However, if you're still not sure about it all, you might want to consider checking out the "Secrets to their Success" online magazine. Every month IMC shares two real-life stories of folks who have made it big doing internet marketing. These are the folks making $5k and more a month. I subscribe to this private web too.
I enjoy reading the stories of other's success each month and do pick up internet marketing tips from them. I also enjoy the web makers - where IMC experts a website that isn't making much money and redesign it to a better marketing site.
IMC offers several other products too (all of which I own), but the one mentioned above are perfect for those would like to get started making money on the internet. I won't lie to you and tell you these are "get rich quick schemes" - they aren't. Building an internet business takes time and work - a lot of it. But if you're serious and want to earn some extra money, IMC has the tools and knowledge to help you achieve those goals.
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