Marketing your online business can be a very time consuming and drawn out process. Most of us get so consumed with our online social media sites, article marketing, etc., we forget there is a whole offline world to which we can market our products and services.

There are many ways you can effectively market your [...]]]>

Marketing your online business can be a very time consuming and drawn out process. Most of us get so consumed with our online social media sites, article marketing, etc., we forget there is a whole offline world to which we can market our products and services.

There are many ways you can effectively market your online business to the offline world. Some strategies will require more aggression and work but will produce results. Making the transition from online to offline marketing can sometimes be difficult and outside our comfort zone, but to succeed with your business you need to expand. Start with one or two of the ideas below and as you make progress start increasing your marketing arsenal.

1. Have a Networking Party – Plan and invite your local and surrounding area business owners to a networking party. Brainstorm together to cross promote each other and bring leads to fellow business owners. Working together with other business owners can bring you a remarkable amount of success.

2. Brochures/Flyers – You can make your own brochures/flyers at a very nominal cost and they can help build your business. Always carry them with you so you can hand them out at every opportunity. Include them in all your mailings and post them on bulletin boards where allowed. Hand them out at parades, community events, sporting events, etc. Be sure to add a call to action so your potential customer will take action. NOTE: Always check to see if you are allowed to distribute or hand out advertisements before you do so.

3. Advertise on Public Vehicles – Many of us have seen buses and other public vehicles plastered with ads. This could work very well for your business as well. Contact bus companies, taxi companies, utility companies, etc. to see what they would charge for your ad.

4. Sponsor Community Events – Children’s sports, charity events, picnics, fundraisers, etc., are all good events to sponsor. Getting involved in your community will definitely give your business a boost. Not only will you get excellent publicity but you will get additional networking opportunities as well.

5. Freebies – Freebies are always a good way to get your url out into the world. Offer people ink pens, mouse pads, coffee cups, calendars, etc. Give as many out as you can! Be sure to give out freebies people will actually use.

6. Letterheads – Your url, business name and logo should be on all mailings, letters and envelopes that leave your house. You can design your own stationery and envelopes. Greeting cards, postcards even the monthly bills should all have your business info!

7. Business Cards – Business cards are a great tool for you to spread the word about your business. Be creative. Use short but powerful testimonials. Add your url and logo. Offer a coupon/discount code for first orders. Add a special tip, motivational quote or personal message. Hand them out to everyone!

8. Discount Radio Shows – Many radio stations have local shows where they offer various coupons and discounts to listeners from area businesses. Call the radio station and find out how to participate. Offer specials on various products and/or services.

9. Public Restrooms – An unusual advertising idea that seems to be spreading is to post ads from various local businesses in the restrooms of stores, restaurants, etc. Call these places to see what it would cost to have your ad in their restroom. I know I read those ads all the time – what else is there to do. Also, ask restaurants about ads on their placemats.

10. Your Vehicle – Add a painted or magnetic sign to your vehicle. Be sure you use your url and add a short tagline. Even a family fun day can bring you some new business!

The offline marketing ideas are endless so always be on the look-out for new, innovative methods to spread the word about your online business. Spread your wings and go outside your comfort zone! You will be amazed at some of the results.

About the Author:
Don’t be one of the 95% of people who fail at their online business. Terri Seymour can help you make money online. Find out how to increase your traffic and sales with her popular “How to Build Your Online Business” ebook for FREE at:

Social media has made a profound impact on the way businesses market their products and services. Did you think Facebook and Twitter wouldn’t last when they first came out? Many of us did but boy were we wrong! Social media has taken most of the world by storm and if you own a business you [...]]]>

Social media has made a profound impact on the way businesses market their products and services. Did you think Facebook and Twitter wouldn’t last when they first came out? Many of us did but boy were we wrong! Social media has taken most of the world by storm and if you own a business you definitely need to incorporate social media marketing in to your business plans.

Social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, blogs and LinkedIn have grown faster than radio or television! Social media has made such a big impact on business more than 70% of companies now have a Facebook page.

Social media does take time and work and must be done effectively. Below is a list of ten social media mistakes and what you can do to prevent them from happening.

1. Not Being Consistent – You cannot post on your Facebook page or tweet here and there. You have to draw up a social media plan and schedule your time spent on your social sites.

What You can Do: Make up a daily and weekly social media schedule and stick to it. Plan to spend maybe an hour a day working on your social sites. Do not spread yourself too thin. Choose a couple of the best sites and give them the time and attention they need to work their magic. I would recommend Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

2. No Interaction – When people comment or post on your pages, you need to answer them and thank them. If you do not respond to people who visit your page, they will just stop visiting.

What You Can Do: Check your sites at least twice a day to see if anyone has posted or left comments. Take the time to answer them thoroughly – a quick thank you will not always suffice! Then you should go visit their site and reciprocate. This will help keep your pages active.

3. Not Adding Personality – You want your social sites to be a fun and friendly place to visit but you also need to keep it professional. Don’t just post a bunch of clone comments with no personality.

What You Can Do: Treat your page as if it were a meeting place for you and your clients. Talk about interesting things, offer special deals and contests, keep things fresh and new. This will make your page live with personality!

4. Not Linking Accounts – If you have several social sites and a blog you should be connecting them all together so people can find them all.

What You Can Do: Put your social site links on your main blog or site. Use widgets and/or plug-ins that will allow your visitors to easily connect to your social pages. Have your posts go out to all your social sites instead of one at a time.

5. Not Asking for Likes and Follows – Don’t be afraid to ask people to Like your page or Follow your account. This can greatly increase your social activity.

What You Can Do: Put a request in your email signature, put it on your business card, put it on all your office stationary. Post your links wherever possible and ask for those follows. You have to incorporate your social media into all parts of your marketing.

6. No Quality Content – You have to give people a reason to want to visit your social sites. After all, there are millions of pages so you definitely have to offer something of value.

What You Can Do: Post links to helpful articles, offer little tidbits if useful information, post special sales, offer coupons and prizes. Contests are very popular so try holding a fun easy contest each month. Give all those people a reason to keep coming back!

7. No Call to Action – People are more likely to respond to a sale or service if you give them clear concise calls to action.

What You Can Do: A call to action can be as simple as “Click Here to Subscribe” or “Read the Entire Article”. Use as many as is appropriate to get your visitors to do the desired action. When you post something, you can ask people to retweet or share on their Facebook page. Offer discounts on your products with calls to action like “Click Here to Get $25.00 Off Your First Order” or “Click Button for Special Offer”. The possibilities are endless and effective!

8. Not Writing Effective Profiles – Your profile is the first impression that most people will get of you so you want to make it impressive. Just slapping up your name and hometown is not going to get the job done. A complete well-written profile will help build your credibility.

What You Can Do: Finish your profiles completely. Add a professional looking photo of yourself. List your qualifications and why people would benefit from your products or services. Do not leave blank spaces or unfilled information. Read your profile from your visitors’ point of view. Would you visit your page from what you see?

9. Not Proofreading – Bad grammar and spelling can make a good page go bad.

What You Can Do: Read your post as you are writing it and then when you are finished read it again. It also helps if you have someone else read it as well because they might notice things you have missed. Be sure all your posts, tweets, etc., are written correctly and look professional.

10. Getting Too Personal – We’ve all seen them. The posts and tweets that read something like, I am watching Rambo tonight but it gave me a headache so I am off to bed! Or, went shopping today and bought my baby a new pair of booties. Posts such as these do not belong on business pages so be sure to not get too personal when posting.

What You Can Do: Visit other successful social pages and look over the kinds of things they post. Provide info that would actually help your visitors and benefit them. Getting your hair cut is great but it doesn’t help your potential customers. Although, it probably will annoy them! So, with every post you write, ask yourself, would this help my visitors?

Social media marketing has opened doors with incredible speed and power so if you are not successfully taking advantage of that, you need to start learning and open up those social site accounts.

About the Author:
Don’t be one of the 95% of people who fail at their online business. Terri Seymour can help you make money online. Find out how to increase your traffic and sales with her popular “How to Build Your Online Business” ebook for FREE at: http://www.SeymourProducts.com

Well, it is tax time again! For some of us, tax time is a total nightmare. I used to love tax season when we got a big refund each year but now owning my own business, it doesn’t work out that way. To keep what we pay in taxes down as [...]]]>

Well, it is tax time again! For some of us, tax time is a total nightmare. I used to love tax season when we got a big refund each year but now owning my own business, it doesn’t work out that way. To keep what we pay in taxes down as low as possible, we need to know what we can deduct and what we cannot.



For a lot of us, it is better to go to a professional to ensure we get the most deductions possible. But there are a lot of us who prefer to do our own taxes. If you are one of the many that choose to do your own taxes, here are some tips to help you minimize your taxes. All the forms mentioned can be found at the IRS website.

1. Keep Organized – Always keep records and receipts of all your purchases, expenses, and income. Don’t just throw everything in a shoe box. Keep papers categorized and filed. This will save you a lot of headaches when tax time arrives. A lot of records can be kept and organized electronically as well.

2. Home Office Deduction – If you have a room in your home that is used only for your business you can deduct a portion of your home’s expenses. It also has to be the primary place of business, meaning you do not rent office space or conduct business elsewhere. With a home office, you can deduct a portion of your mortgage, utilities and home repairs. You can use Form 8829 to figure out your home office deduction and add it to your Form 1040 Schedule C.

3. Donate to Charity – You can deduct cash and property donations but you must keep impeccable records on all items. For example: if you donate over $5000.00 in a non-cash property, you must have it appraised in writing for fair market value. If you donate over $500.00 in non-cash items, you must use Form 8283. You also must be able to itemize each and every item donated.

4. Mileage Log – If you use your vehicle to go see clients, or for other business purposes, be sure to keep a mileage log. Record the date, the destination, the purpose of the trip, the mileage from your odometer at the start and end of the trip. You cannot simply write down that you drove 50 miles. The IRS will expect much more detailed information.

5. Hire Your Kids – If your kids are over 6 you can hire them to help you with your home business. This is good for the kids as well as helping with your taxes. The wages you pay them are tax free if the kids are under 18 and they are a deductible business expense for you.

6. Telephone Deduction – If you only have one phone in your home, you cannot deduct it as a business expense because it is not used exclusively for your business. You may deduct long distance charges that are made for your business but you might want to consider getting a second line used only for your business. This way the whole cost can be deducted.

7. Training and Information – If you take classes, attend seminars or further your education to help you with your business, those expenses can be deducted. You can also deduct business-related books, newspapers and other publications.

8. Mailing Expenses – If you send greeting cards to your clients and prospects, they can be deducted as a business expense. You can also deduct the postage. If you purchased email addresses or mailing lists for your business, they can be deducted as well.

9. Website Expenses – Don’t forget your website expenses as part of your deductible business expenses. Web hosting, domain name, and software are all deductible expenses. If you paid someone to design your site, don’t forget that in your business expenses. However, there are some specific rules on website design costs.

10. Health Expenses – If you have non-reimbursed health costs, these can be used as a tax deduction. This includes insurance premiums, co-pays, and other health related expenses. This can be a substantial deduction if your health costs are large.
The information provided in this article is based on general online research so be sure to check out all new tax laws and/or consult a professional.

Tax time does not have to be a stressful, harried experience. Keep all your records organized, keep abreast of the tax laws and know what you can and cannot deduct. If needed, be sure to go with a professional to make sure you get the all the deductions you deserve!

About the Author:
Don’t be one of the 95% of people who fail at their online business. Terri Seymour can help you make money online. Find out how to increase your traffic and sales with her popular “How to Build Your Online Business” ebook for FREE at: http://www.SeymourProducts.com

Google is the world’s most popular search engine. Shortly after its creation, Google’s popularity skyrocketed and it soon became the dominant search engine for finding information on the internet. This is why, if you own a website, you want it to be high in the Google ratings.

Google is constantly changing and evolving so you [...]]]>

Google is the world’s most popular search engine. Shortly after its creation, Google’s popularity skyrocketed and it soon became the dominant search engine for finding information on the internet. This is why, if you own a website, you want it to be high in the Google ratings.

Google is constantly changing and evolving so you need to keep up with the changes. Their recent changes, called the Panda Update, caused many sites’ rankings to drop significantly. Google’s mission is to provide the highest quality information for each search done and in doing this, many sites get lost in the endless pages of search results.

To get your website increased ranking there are many things you can do and many things you should not do. I have tried to list some of the more effective things you should do and a couple things you should not do for better placement in Google.

1. Limit Your Advertising – If you have a hodgepodge or cluttering of advertising on your site, this can decrease your ranking. Google considers excess advertising to be a sign of a low-quality spam site. And remember, Google’s goal is to provide the highest quality sites at the top of the search results.

2. Google Toolbar – The Google Toolbar is an important tool to have because of all the features that will help you improve your ranking. The Google toolbar can help you monitor your page rank and help you find sites to link to and to which sites are linked to you. You can also keep tabs on how your site is doing with targeted keywords. Find out more features and get it for free at Google.com

3. Relevant and Quality Content – One of the most important things to do for better SEO is to provide quality content with relevant keywords. Quality is always more effective than quantity so don’t plaster a ton of low-quality articles on your sit just to have content. Make sure the articles you choose are relevant to your site and provide helpful information. If you have some of the same articles as another site, the most relevant quality site will be higher in the rankings so the duplicate content itself, will not lower your rankings. Also, be sure to add fresh new content on a regular basis.

4. Google+1 Button – By joining Google Plus and adding a Google+1 button to your site, you can help uplift your site’s rankings. One of the things Google looks at the most is your site’s level of importance and relevancy. The more plus ones you can get, the more importance it will give your site, thus causing Google to increase your ranking in the search results page. This will also get your site more exposure resulting in more visits as well.

5. Become a Blogger – If you haven’t already done so, you need to add a blog to your business website. Blogging is a highly efficient way to raise your ranking in Google because a blog does two things. First, it can add many pages of keyword-rich relevant quality content to your site which will be noticed by Google. The more quality pages indexed, the more chances you have to be on page one. And secondly, a blog can increase the amount of quality inbound links to your site.

6. Relevant Inbound Links – Quality inbound links are a great way to add relevance and importance to your site. Guest posting on high quality blogs is one of the best ways to accomplish this task. Commenting on existing blog comments works well also. Always use keyword rich posts with appropriate sites and use relevant keywords for your links. Google does not value links from article banks as much as they used to so choosing a few quality blogs is better than submitting to countless article sites.

7. Social Media – As with many facets of internet marketing, social media plays a big part in SEO. Be active on your social sites. Do not let them go stale. Engage in conversations, post new info regularly and involve your visitors.

8. Keyword Research – Keywords play an important part in SEO but using the wrong keywords can do more harm than good. Be sure to research keywords to find what search phrases people are using to find your site’s info. Google offers a keyword tool called Google Keyword Tool. This free tool will give you a list of keywords and tell you how often they are used and their competition.

9. Hidden Text – Hidden text is text displayed on your site but invisible to your visitors. A common way of doing this is to set the font color the same as the background color. The reason for doing this is to add a large amount of keywords for the search engines but not make your content seem redundant to your visitors. Do not do this. Google considers this manipulation and it could get your site penalized.

10. Bad Linking – Reciprocal linking, inbound links and outgoing links can all be good if you follow the proper procedure. Do not link with any and all sites. Be very selective and only link with sites that are relevant to your site and contain quality content. Stay away from FFA (Free For All) or link farm sites. Check your links regularly to make sure they are not broken links. Broken links will catch the attention of Google and other search engines. Linking to poor quality sites or spam sites is also something you do not want to do. Years ago quantity might have gotten you a boost but now it is all about quality links to relevant sites, NOT quantity!

Obtaining a high Google ranking is the goal of every webmaster. It can be done but you need to be consistent, persistent and keep abreast of Google’s ever evolving search methods.

About the Author:
Don’t be one of the 95% of people who fail at their online business. Terri Seymour can help you make money online. Find out how to increase your traffic and sales with her popular “How to Build Your Online Business” ebook for FREE at: http://www.SeymourProducts.com

When the World Wide Web began about 20 years ago, it opened up an amazing world of opportunity for people to make their own success and realize their dreams. More people than ever were able to start their own home business. Unfortunately, about 95% [...]]]>

When the World Wide Web began about 20 years ago, it opened up an amazing world of opportunity for people to make their own success and realize their dreams. More people than ever were able to start their own home business. Unfortunately, about 95% of the people who start their own online business will fail. People are led to believe all they have to do is throw up a website and the money will start pouring in. This is definitely not true!

Building a website now is much easier than it was 20 years ago but you still need to know how to make your website efficient and profitable. The following quick tips will help you streamline your website and hopefully make it more productive.

1. Call-to-Action – To substantially increase your number of sales, your site will need a call to action. This is when you tell people what to do next. For example: Order Now, Supplies Limited or Click Here for Special Offer, Today Only.

2. Annoying Features – Leave out intrusive music, flashing lights, animated banners, slow-loading pages and other annoying features. These things do not say welcome!

3. Add a Blog – Blogs are extremely popular and search engine friendly so if you don’t already have a blog you definitely want to start one.

4. Site Search – Be sure to provide your visitors with a site search box. You can get one for free at Google Site Search.

5. Interactive – Make your site interactive by adding message boards, surveys, comments. This will bring your visitors back for more.

6. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) – Do some research and make your site search engine ready. Add relevant keywords, get as many backlinks as possible, add content, etc.

7. Site Map – Having a site map on your site can help you with the search engines and it will help your visitors find things on your site as well. You can make one for free with GSiteCrawler.

8. Analyze Your Traffic – Be sure to study your site stats so you can find out when you get the most visitors, where you get the most visitors, how long they are staying, what pages they are visiting the most and so on. This can help you tweak your site for maximum performance. If your host does not provide your stats you can use Google Analytics.

9. Content – Always be adding new and relevant content to your site to keep your visitors interested and the search engines as well.

10. Trust – You must build trust and credibility with your visitors. You can do this by using testimonials, posting any rewards you may have received and letting people know of important clients you have had.

11. Affiliate Programs – Adding good solid affiliate programs to your site can help raise your profits. Be sure to check out the programs before you join and if possible, personally recommend the products and/or services.

12. User-Friendly – You want your site to be easy to navigate; not like a maze for your visitors to try to find their way. Make all pages the same basic layout.

13. Collect eMail Addresses – Building an email mailing list is very crucial for keeping in contact with your visitors and building the foundation of trust. Be sure to put a sign-up form on all your webpages and put it on top for easy visibility and access.

14. Sell Advertising – Don’t overdo but selling a few choice spots on your website for advertising can raise your profitability.

15. Stress Benefits – Be sure to let people know how they can benefit from your site. Let them know how you can solve their problems with your products/services.

16. Contact Info – ALWAYS have your contact info on every page of your site. If people don’t even know your name, there surely are not going to trust you.

17. Fresh and New – Always be adding new and updated content to your site. Keep up on SEO and always be tweaking your site for more ranking. Do not let your site get old and stale!

18. Professional Design – Your site should be clean, sharp and easy to read. Do not clutter it with junk. Make it look professional!

19. Color – The color of your website can be very important. Certain colors can trigger psychological responses and you want to be sure your site triggers the right one.

20. Social Networking – Be sure to add all your social links so people can connect with you on multiple levels. Social networking can do wonders for your website if used properly.

Developing a profitable website takes time, research and work but it certainly can be done. Don’t give up too easily. Put in the work and be committed. You CAN be a success!

About the Author:
Don’t be one of the 95% of people who fail at their online business. Terri Seymour can help you make money online. Find out how to increase your traffic and sales with her popular “How to Build Your Online Business” ebook for FREE at: http://www.SeymourProducts.com

10 Ways to Maximize the Power of Your “About Us” Page
© Terri Seymour

If you own an online business, you need to provide an About Us page. Unfortunately, many sites neglect to give this page the attention it [...]]]>

10 Ways to Maximize the Power of Your “About Us” Page
© Terri Seymour

If you own an online business, you need to provide an About Us page. Unfortunately, many sites neglect to give this page the attention it needs and deserves. Many people do not realize the importance of an effective About Us page.

Your About Us page has the distinct purpose of letting people get to know your company, which will help build the foundation of trust and respect that is needed for a successful online business. For certain businesses, the About Us page can also be used for recruiting new employees, sales reps, etc.

So, take some time, look over your About Us page and see if it utilizes any or all of the ten features listed below.

1. Company History – Give a brief history of your company and how you got started. Explain how long you’ve been in business, the purpose of your business and your experience. This is also a good place to add your mission statement.

2. Focus on Benefits – Be sure to focus on the benefits your company will provide the customer. Your potential customers want to know what you can do for them, not how you do it.

3. Introduce Yourself and Crew – Be sure to give your name and the names of those who work with and/or for you. You would be surprised at how many About Us pages I have read that contain no names whatsoever! Give a very brief background on yourself and your workers so your visitors can get to know them.

4. Special Skills and Accomplishments – Highlighting any special skills you have or accomplishments can help to build your credibility and separate you from your competitors. If your company is a green company be sure to highlight that as well. Let people know what your company stands for and against.

5. Toot Your Horn – Provide testimonials, awards and names of notable clients. Don’t be afraid to let people know exactly how accomplished you and your company are. This will also help build credibility and trust.

6. Use Photos – Be sure to add some photos of yourself and your workers (if any) so people can feel get more human contact. Actually seeing the person or people behind the website will make it more believable.

7. Personality and Passion – Give your company some personality. Accentuate the passion and commitment your company possesses. Let your readers see the human side of your company.

8. Social Media – Be sure to add your social media site links. This will give your readers another avenue to keep in touch with your company.

9. Coffee Clutch – Write all of this information as if you were sitting over coffee and chatting with your visitors. Don’t make it sound like a dull cookie cutter page. Add life, vigor and sparkle to your writing.

10. Contact Info – ALWAYS thank your visitor for coming to your site and offer your contact information. Let them know you are available to answer any questions or concerns. Adding your physical address is shown to raise the level of confidence in your company as well.

Although the About Us page is often overlooked by the site owner, it can be a very powerful way to attract customers and increase your conversion rate. Do the research and take the time to write a compelling and powerful About Us page that will boost your credibility and gain the trust and respect your business needs to survive!

About the Author:
Don’t be one of the 95% of people who fail at their online business. Terri Seymour can help you make money online. Find out how to increase your traffic and sales with her popular “How to Build Your Online Business” ebook for FREE at: http://www.SeymourProducts.com

In the Business World, you can be bombarded with various marketing strategies. You might hear about performance advertising. What exactly is it? After knowing about this tool, it is pertinent to consider learning about the terms in using it.

Performance marketing is also called “affiliate marketing”. It is actually quite simple. Advertisers pay [...]]]>

In the Business World, you can be bombarded with various marketing strategies. You might hear about performance advertising. What exactly is it? After knowing about this tool, it is pertinent to consider learning about the terms in using it.

Performance marketing is also called “affiliate marketing”. It is actually quite simple. Advertisers pay their marketers or publishers once a pre-determined action is completed. And that action can be a lead or a sale of the advertised item or services.

This can also be best explained as revenue sharing or paying a commission on a referred business. This performance or action can be tracked electronically and the marketers or publishers are paid out directly by the advertisers itself, or through an affiliate network (a go-between company).

According to some studies and reports, performance advertising or marketing is a multi-billion dollar industry that is continuously growing year–over-year. There are more than 200,000 affiliate publishers and over 5,000 advertisers in the performance marketing space.

Below is a short glossary of terms that can best introduce anyone that is new to this kind of industry, whether you are an advertiser or a publisher:

• Advertisers – are the company that advertises their goods or services and pays out a fee after a particular action is completed.




• Publishers – these are individuals or corporations who promote products for advertisers on their websites.




• Affiliate Network – which was briefly explained above, is an intermediary between or go-between advertisers and publishers.




• Affiliate Manager – manages and runs the affiliate program on behalf of the advertiser, generates sales by establishing relationships with affiliates, tracks sales and pays the commissions.




• Text Link – it is a link within the body copy of a website that if clicked on, and the desired action is completed by the person who clicked on the ad, the publisher gets the pre-determined commission.




• Lead Generation – the creation of leads for advertisers by marketers or publishers.




• Cookie – this is how these companies know how and who to give commissions to. Cookies are small text files that contain a unique ID tag placed on a computer or on a website when you search the web.




• Sub ID Tracking – a lot or affiliates have more than one site or newsletter and they would like to track their affiliate links from these multiple sources. Affiliates that provide rewards or incentives to members also need to distinguish which person referred a given action.




• Data feed – is a mechanism for users to receive updated data from data sources.
  
  

What are the terms and conditions of a performance based on advertising?

The best part of an affiliate program for an advertiser is if it fails, or if it does not turn out the way you expect, you can easily recover by changing your plan. Commissions can be increased or decreased. You can hire a number of publishers for how many you want. If needed, you can rectify by pulling out a failing program. And that maybe is the best part about this “digital marketing”, anything can be easily and quickly changed.

Performance advertising or performance marketing is right for an advertiser because it is considerably less expensive compared to traditional advertising with upfront costs. Networks charge advertisers to run their affiliate programs and these fees are usually negotiable. The good part is that the advertisers only pay if the publishers perform, hence the term performance advertising.

Or Mortiner is a leading performance ad network by trade. He has contributed a large range of articles on Performance Advertising and Real time advertising.

Testing the effectiveness of a website can increase the percent of visitors who become buyers. By learning the habits of visitors, the owner can make adjustments to match a visitor’s preferences. To do this, the owner must use techniques that monitor the actions of their visitors or gather their visitor’s feedback. If you are wondering [...]]]>

Testing the effectiveness of a website can increase the percent of visitors who become buyers. By learning the habits of visitors, the owner can make adjustments to match a visitor’s preferences. To do this, the owner must use techniques that monitor the actions of their visitors or gather their visitor’s feedback. If you are wondering how effective your website is, you can find out firsthand by using many relatively simple testing products. Here are 3 basics to get you started. Once you understand both the strengths and the weaknesses of your site, then you are one step closer to improving your overall conversion.

1. Heat Map

A heat map tracks a visitor’s movements on a page and will tell you the effectiveness of your page design. It can detect which items customers click and view, how low they scroll on a long landing page before they lose interest, the number of clicks items receive on a page, or, the number of comparisons customers make before they make a purchase. This can tell you which items are hot and are effectively grabbing the customer’s interest. Heat maps can also tell you which referral sources are bringing the most traffic to the site.

2. A/B Split Testing

A/B split testing is a way for you to compare the effectiveness of two different web pages or websites. Software programs are used to split traffic to two variation of the same page or site. It will measure the visitor’s reactions to a particular element, or, to a desired action, also known as a conversion. A conversion is made when a visitor completes a form, clicks on a picture, or makes purchase. When enough conversions have been made, a conclusion is reached to determine whether the placement of a picture, the number of elements on a page, or the position of the shopping cart had more of an effect on visitor behavior on one page compared to the other.

3. Surveys

Surveys are another way for to determine the effectiveness of a web page. As the site owner, you can receive direct feedback from visitors on the ease of use and appearance of a website. The visitor’s feedback can reveal their thoughts on the effectiveness of a web page instead of monitored movements. A survey can be a simple 5 question questionnaire where they are asked to rate their experience on a scale of 1 to 5. Or, a more detailed survey where visitors are asked to input a short response. The visitor can tell why they performed certain actions, or, what they were thinking as they viewed the site. Advantages of using a survey over other methods are its ease of customization to suit current needs and it makes customers feel appreciate for their opinion.

Determining the effectiveness of a website can improve business for the owner and make using the site more enjoyable for the visitor. You can learn valuable information that can turn a higher percentage of visits into profit.

Emily is an internet marketer and a contributing writer for Invesp, a company that specializes in many of the conversion optimization techniques mentioned above. Tests such as these are used to determine the effectiveness of landing page optimization and overall customer experience in the sales funnel.

A web hosting service allows you to make your website accessible to the world wide web. You generally upload your site files via FTP (File Transfer Protocol) to your host and they go “live” and become a part of [...]]]>

A web hosting service allows you to make your website accessible to the world wide web. You generally upload your site files via FTP (File Transfer Protocol) to your host and they go “live” and become a part of the internet. There are free web hosting services for personal sites but if you have a business site, you will want to pay for a better hosting service. There are countless hosting services on the web but there are things you need to look for when shopping for a good host. Below are ten things you might want to check before choosing your host.

1. Support System – One of the most important things to look for in a host is a good customer support system. When you are having problems you don’t want to wait days for answers. Test the support system of the host before you purchase. See how friendly, helpful and fast they are. Do they have an email, support forums, phone number? They might even have a live chat option available.

2. Disk Space – You want to make sure the host offers a good amount of disk space but you want to also make sure they do not offer too much just to charge a higher price. An average business site might use about 50 MBs of space but if you offer images, ebooks or other downloadable files, you will probably need much more than that. You will need to consider what you will be offering on your site to determine how much disk space you will need.

3. Bandwidth – Bandwidth is the amount of data transfers that occur on your site. This would include visitors downloading your web pages to their computer, you uploading files to your site and any other data transfers. Again, if you offer downloadable items on your site you will need more bandwidth than the average site. As your site gains in popularity, you will be using more bandwidth. The average business site will probably not have to worry about bandwidth but it is best to check it out thoroughly including what the penalty will be for going over the allotted bandwidth.

4. Programming Services – Websites can be built just using HTML and CSS but most sites would require additional programming languages and database capabilities such as PHP, CGI, MySQL and SSI. Be sure to check to see if your potential host is compatible with these programming languages and services.

5. FTP Access – FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is an easy way to upload files faster and more efficiently then through your control panel. The easiest way to access your ftp is by using your domain as your FTP. Not all hosts have this easier FTP access.

6. User-Friendly Control Panel – Control panels can be very intimidating and frightening. Your potential host should be able to provide a demo of the control panel they provide. Check to see that it is easy to use, navigate and understand.

7. Site Builder – Web creation tools can be a big help for people building new websites or additional sites. Most hosts will provide these website building tools but always check to be sure.

8. Web Statistics Tools – You will surely want your host to have web analytics because you need to know how many visitors you are getting, when you are getting them, to where they are going, how long they are staying and more to produce a successful, efficient website. These tools are invaluable in helping you to find out how to improve your website so it can grow!

9. Email Accounts and Mailing List Feature – A good web host should offer you numerous email accounts. You might also want to check for a mailing list feature to help you build an email marketing mailing list.

10. Uptime – Another very important service a good host should provide is reliable uptime. One thing you do not need is for your site to be down more than it is up. Most sites will claim 99.9% uptime but do some research and find out if it is actually true.

Web hosting services are a dime a dozen online and sifting through them all to find a good one that provides you with everything you need can be a daunting task. See if you can get someone you know and/or trust to recommend a good host. Do a search for web host reviews and read some real experiences of people who have used the host. Find out everything you can before choosing a host because that can be one of the most important choices you make in building your website!

About the Author:
Don’t be one of the 95% of people who fail at their online business. Terri Seymour can help you make money online. Find out how to increase your traffic and sales with her popular “How to Build Your Online Business” ebook for FREE at: ==> http://www.SeymourProducts.com