Free traffic is available in abundance on the internet; you just need to know how to find it!

There are two common types of internet traffics available for the online marketer: search engine traffic and traffic received from strategically placed backlinks on other websites or social sites.

Search engine marketing is an art in itself. If you want your website to rank high in the search engines, you need to study and stay on top of the ever-changing search engine optimization (SEO) world. I can provide a few pointers for ranking your website high in the search engines, but I strongly recommend you to learn the basic of SEO to promote your website correctly.

Search engines rank their results based on many factors. Two of these factors are within your control: your website content and your backlinks.

Your content should always be relevant to your product (never copy text from elsewhere on the internet! Always write original content for your site). The more relevant content you provide for your particular product or service, the more search engines will view your site as a valuable resource for web searchers.

Search engines keep track of how many links on the internet point to your website. The more high-quality backlinks, the higher your site will rank in the search results.

Although not entirely within your control, backlinks can be placed on the internet via many free methods. You can acquire backlinks through: writing articles, asking other websites for a link by “indirect” exchange, adding your site to social bookmarking sites, adding your website to online directories, and the list goes on.

There are many, many ways to acquire backlinks to your website. I suggest you perform a search for how to get backlinks and you will find enough ideas to keep you busy twenty-four hours a day. The more backlinks you acquire from high authority sites with relevant or complement topics, the higher your site will rank.

While you can purchase backlinks to your website, it is advisable not to buy backlinks from websites that are selling out too many backlinks to other sites because that makes it easy for Google to know you are buying backlinks from those sites, and Google doesn’t like it. You want to buy backlinks from sites that have a small and limited number of backlinks for sales and the owners have a good way of hiding it from the Big G.

Another great method of backlinking is to use a signature on user forums. Let’s say your business website sells dog training products. You can join a user forum that focuses on dog training (or dog ownership or pet ownership, etc).

Within your forum profile, you can add a link to your website and a brief line of text, such as “Please visit my website to get my free dog training tips!” Once your profile is in place, you can start communicating with the forum by joining their conversations and providing your input.

As long as you provide worthwhile content to the forum, other users will not object to your signature promoting your website. However, not all forums allow commercial signatures, so make sure you examine other user’s signatures before you invest any substantial amount of time participating in forum discussions.

Another great method for getting direct traffic from a backlink is to post comments on blogs. There are many blog search engines available online. When you find one, perform a search for your niche keywords and you will get a list of blogs that are relevant to your content. Then, read the author’s posts and place a non-spam, relevant comment. Your comment will include a backlink to your own website with relevant and helpful content which will draw visitors from that particular blog to your site.

Hopefully, you find this article helpful. If you do, please share it with others. Thank you very much!

The post How to Start Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Your Way to Success appeared first on Make Money Online With Your Computer: LaptopWork.com.

You’d think someone paying you would do that, wouldn’t you? Instead, they listen to their brother-in-law or the guy at the post office, or they start reading things on the Internet. One client, Julio, even started hiring other people – a PR consultant, a logo designer, an advertising agency. It became an impossible situation with input from all directions. Each of us contradicted the other at one point. Julio then made the decisions, trusting no one. Why, then, I asked him, did you hire people? (And then I fired him.)

THE IDEAL CLIENT DOESN’T CONFUSE HIM/HERSELF
Other clients pay me and listen to what I say. It’s a novel concept, but it works well. When I started working with Gordon, I said, “Yes, I will tell you what computer to buy, but not if you plan to then go ask everyone you know for their advice. That would waste your time and mine.” Gordon said, “I wouldn’t do that. Then I’d get confused.”

Gordon is “the ideal client.” He paid me for my marketing consulting, listened, took action, and his practice is thriving as a result. He saved us both a lot of time, which, since I bill by the hour, saved him a lot of money. He’s a smart man.

So how should you proceed if you are working with a web designer? There are a few “musts”. If you want people to visit your website and stay there, make sure the front page loads fast enough — in about 5-8 seconds. Web designers, like all creative people, get bored. Okay? They like to try all the new “bells and whistles.” This may or may not work in your situation. It’s like the choir director at church. Most of us would like to sing “A Mighty Fortress” every Sunday, some hymn we know and love. It’s been around a long time because we love it! It works. The choir director, on the other hand, wants to be on the leading edge, try the new things.

Know what you want and stick to it. Do your homework before you get there. Find 3-5 websites you like. The style, colors, font, layout, navigation. Show these to your web designer rather than trying to describe. Be clear about what you want. “Something professional-looking” is open to interpretation. “A site like this one: www.Sony.com” works a lot better. Trust your intuition. If they show you something you don’t like, go with your feelings. Find one with expertise in websites in your field. It will save you having to explain a lot of things. Find someone you trust and let them do their work.

HOW DO YOU FIND THIS PERSON?
1. Get a referral from someone whose opinion you trust.
2. Find a site you like and find out who did it.

I recommend two web designers to my clients. I know them and I know their work. They are excellent in every aspect:

They can get out of their own head and put the client on the webpage. They have the technical skills required. They are professional and responsible. They meet deadlines. They set a price and stick to it. They are courteous to my clients.

All those points are important, but Number 1 is MORE important. (In fact, you should expect the others.) It’s most important they have the knack of translating “you” onto the Internet.

THE RELATIONSHIP
I’ve been in marketing for many years. It happens to be a field everyone thinks they know something about – and indeed we do. We’re all consumers, and we have marketing “working on us” all the time, so we have our opinions. It isn’t like going to the dentist, for instance. I don’t have much knowledge about root canals, and I pretty much leave it up to the dentist.

It takes maturity and emotional intelligence to make it a successful relationship that produces the kind of product you want. That means you need two mature people with Emotional Intelligence Quotient (EQ) skills. Some web designers are all IQ and tech skills, with little ability to relate. Avoid those. Some web designers are the creative genius type, like Frank Lloyd Wright, who wanted to do what he wanted to do, the hell with the client. Avoid those.

Something in between is nice. It doesn’t have to be a fight. If it’s feeling like a fight, you need a new web designer. Start with a web designer who comes well recommended. Then enter a relationship of mutual respect. He or she knows how to design a website, and you know what you want. Together you can make music!

The post How to Work with Your Website Designer appeared first on Make Money Online With Your Computer: LaptopWork.com.

Does it matter what you wear to work? Heavens yes. Like it or not, many decisions are made on first impressions. You’ll be quickly checked over for cleanliness, grooming, and what you have on. It’s part of business etiquette.

Are there rules you can memorize? Not really. Like all social rules, you have to intuit what’s going on because it can differ from place to city, to state, to country.

What we wear is nonverbal communication. It’s sending a message, and remember, you’re communicating whether you think you are or not. Some people use dress to express hostility or provoke others or to express their conflicts. The more conscious you are, the abler you’ll be to make the way you dress work for you. It’s hard enough to get a job these days without shooting yourself in the foot.

If you have trouble figuring out what the rules are, take some Emotional Intelligence Quotient (EQ) coaching. It will sharpen your ability to be appropriate and act in your own behalf, verbally and nonverbally.

GUIDELINES

When in doubt, spell it out. Students at Claremont High School had the new fashion rules mailed to their home as part of a general information notice during the summer. The code includes, “students will have to ensure that shirts cover their stomachs and touch the top of their pants.”

Outline the consequences of failing to adhere, i.e., the Claremont notice said, “The school office can provide alternate clothing for the day, if required.”

Is this talking to adults like teenagers? Well, that’s appropriate if they’re behaving like teenagers.

The purpose said the Claremont officials “is to create a learning environment,” and the purpose at work is to create a working environment. Remember to nip it in the bud. The first time someone breaks the code, take action, or you will have lost your credibility — and not just in the area of dress code.

If you’re the employee, listen up. My client Marcia was returning to the work world after two years leave of absence to care for her dying mother. She was looking forward to getting back to work, and to dress up. She applied for a job at Habitat for Humanity and was told “We’re construction industry. We wear slack and sandals.” That wasn’t what Marcia wanted, and it mattered to her.

My client Alexei nearly got fired because he wouldn’t adhere to the dress code, despite his exceptional talents in his field. He said when he took the job he “knew he could get them to make an exception.” Is this wise? Not usually. Fight your battles somewhere else, not where your bread and butter is concerned.

We each have our own values and priorities. Part of Emotional Intelligence Quotient (EQ) is thinking it through before you take the job. What must you have? What can’t you stand? Once you sign on the dotted line, a deal’s a deal.

But, if you are more like me, who is an entrepreneur that prefers the dress code of “Silicon Valley” (shirt and jean) with a laptop to work, then you might want to consider your decision more carefully. Either way, I wish you feel comfortable with who you choose to work for.

The post Can a Dress Code Break the Deal with Whom You Choose to Work For? appeared first on Make Money Online With Your Computer: LaptopWork.com.

You’ve got your business plan, you’ve done your affirmations, you’re pumped up, you’re ready to go … NOT!

You’ve forgotten the most critical success tool for your business – a marketing consultant.

WHY ENTREPRENEURS FAIL?
As a coach, I talk to entrepreneurs all the time. They’re sharp, they have great products and services, and they all make the same mistake – a mistake with two faces.

It’s the marketing. They either (1) don’t understand they aren’t a lawyer/coach/therapist/ small business owner, they’re an entrepreneur; or (2) They think they’re a marketing person as well as a lawyer/coach/therapist/small business owner and are trying to do something they don’t have the experience, expertise or time for.

THE PRICE FOR THIS FALLACY IS HIGH
I would estimate that at least 75% of coaches fail because they don’t know how to market their practices. I don’t know national figures, but lawyers and other professionals are dropping like flies in my town, as are maid services, restaurants, errand services, small bookstores, and the like.

As an entrepreneur, you’re up against big marketing campaigns from big, long-established companies who offer similar services.

PIE IN THE SKY
It’s a common misconception that you get your degree or training, you hang up your sign, and the clients come, but “build it and they will come” is a sad, pie-in-the-sky fantasy.

As a minister said, who hired me to market his church, “They didn’t cover this stuff in Divinity School.”

Why don’t they come? Because there are thousands of other people out there doing what you do, and offering what you offer, and nobody knows about you!

Nobody knows how and why you’re different. You aren’t branded.

Marketing is hard work that requires a professional. You know this about your own field – it takes an innate talent, an instinct to do something well. Good marketing consultants have right-on instincts from years of trial and error, observation and analysis. You haven’t!

Marketing appears to be subjective, but subjective marketing is deadly. It takes a practiced, external, objective eye.

You’re not objective about your spouse or your kids, and you’re not objective about your other baby – your business or practice.

JUST WHAT IS MARKETING?
Marketing is a broad concept that encompasses advertising, public relations, and a lot of other things. Well, let’s take a look at someone who markets small and home-based entrepreneurs, Sharron Senter. She’s known for her free weekly marketing tips and has published several marketing reports, including “20 Excuses to Send a News Brief.”

Sharron (www.sharronsenter.com) has an impressive corporate background in marketing, and will do the following things for you:

1. Generating qualified sales leads
2. Increase client revenues
3. Website creation
4. Copywriting
5. Graphic design
6. Sales promotions
7. Online marketing
8. Direct mail
9. Public relations
10. Marketing seminars
11. Traditional advertising

You can see if you plan to do all these things yourself, you’re going to be working another full-time job.

On the other hand, if you decide to direct all this yourself, you’re going to be dealing with a cast of thousands.

GET ONE GOOD MARKETING COACH
This is a far better approach than working with a large agency. The head of the agency, who has promoted himself to his level of incompetence, will meet with you, the client, and promise to supervise your account himself. Then, unless you’re Microsoft, he’ll go back to his office and assign your account to the newbie. When you call for help or a progress report, you’ll be handed from one person to another.

THE BATTLE OF THE EXPERTS
If you go it alone, dealing with many people, the complaint I hear most from clients is: “She told me to do this, but he told me it won’t work, I should do this.”

You need one, knowledgeable, marketing person with whom to deal. I can’t stress this enough.

PAY THEM AND THEN LISTEN TO THEM
Everyone thinks they know marketing. Few people do. Most of us harbor a secret desire to do a Super Bowl ad or design our own website. It’s “fun” compared to, say, filing briefs or accounting. However, this is not the time for a “vanity website.” This is serious business – YOUR business.

It’s a far wiser strategy to hire ONE person to oversee all this, trust him or her, and then do what they say.

A marketing consultant has experience in keeping you out of trouble. Their job is to tell you what you need to hear not what you want to hear. Their job is to help you make money!

THE BRANDING
To succeed, you’ve got to brand yourself. Everything you put out there has to deliver one coherent impression. This is why you need the coordination.

Your website, for instance, must be constructed from the ground up with search engine placement in mind. You need an expert copywriter, too. The copywriter in an ad agency is usually the primo person there. Copy counts. Copy sells. It’s not the place for an amateur – you.

SMALL … LARGE
Find someone who works alone, as a coach or consultant, or with a small group, or ad hoc agency.

Good marketing coaches collect one excellent person in each area – web design, copywriting – contract or otherwise. They know who’s good at what they do – you most likely don’t.

ARE YOU READY TO GET SERIOUS ABOUT MAKING MONEY?
If you are, find a marketing consultant with a proven track record who is willing to give you exceptional service. Interview that person and read his/her business’ Google reviews. After you hired him/her, then trust him/her and let s/he do your marketing, so you can do what you best. S/he should have a number of ideas for you, as well as resources for implementation, that can get your business or practice soaring.

The post The Most Important Success Tool for Your Business or Practice appeared first on Make Money Online With Your Computer: LaptopWork.com.

I was wrong. There were 486 emails.

Also that afternoon, our postal carrier left a basket of mail that must have weighed a couple of pounds.

“I need a vacation,” I muttered to myself. But that was the problem. Monday was my first day back from one, and I vowed I would never take another.

I eventually came to my senses, but I still tend to think of time away from business with a mix of excitement and dread. After all, those who work outside the home usually have coworkers who can cover for them when they are away.

Yet, the Los Angeles Times reports that 40% of workers keep in touch with their employers while on vacation. “But that can get in the way of the fun and stress reduction vacationers are seeking,” the Times notes.

It’s worse for home-based entrepreneurs, who tend to be one-person shops. Imagine the orders, customer service calls and income opportunities we miss by being away from our posts for a week.

But vacations are as necessary as lunch (you do take a break for lunch, don’t you?) Vacations allow us to recharge our mental batteries, resulting in increased energy and creativity — not to mention keeping burn-out at bay. The trick to taking the time you need and coming home relaxed is to prepare your business well for your absence. Here are some tips:

1. COMMUNICATION IS KEY
Two weeks before a vacation, Angela Strosnider of Virtual Office and Business Solutions announces it to her clients, relatives, and others. “I take a laptop and will check for any emergency emails as well. Besides that, I make an autoresponder message to all emails about when I’ll return,” she said.

You need to communicate with your customers when you get back as well, especially when email replies have been delayed for a few days due to your absence.

2. GIVE YOURSELF A WINDOW OF TIME TO CATCH UP
“I’ve always thought that I should extend my vacation by two days when telling others,” says Roberta Stubblefield of The Mom Team “That way I can use the two days to catch up on everything with the answering machine on, then be ready to start out fresh.”

3. CONSIDER HIRING A BACKUP
A virtual assistant (VA) could be the answer to your vacation prayers, notes Kristie Lemauga, who happens to work as a VA. Kristie suggests that by forwarding your email to a live person instead of using an autoresponder, your customers can have their needs handled in a personal manner. Kristie says that “a VA can also process any orders, info requests, data entry, and unsubscribes while you are away, take phone calls for your business, prepare your calendar for your return, and assist with administrative tasks … so you can catch up in the areas that require your personal attention.”

4. MAKE A PLAYDATE FOR THE KIDS (if you do have)
As much as we love our children (and for many of us, they are the reason we are working at home in the first place), they can also be a distraction. You’ll catch up faster upon your return if they’re having fun outside the house. Terri Seymour arranges an overnight visit with their grandparents, but taking them to a playdate at the home of a trusted friend may give you all the time you need to focus on your work. (Just be sure your friend knows you’ll return the favor soon!)

5. ENJOY YOUR TIME OFF!
Remember that everyone needs your vacation! As Angela Strosnider says, “Working at home is a 24/7 job just like any other when you add a house and family. Take your personal time-out with your loved ones, and you will feel much better about working so much later.”

Hope you find these tips helpful. If you do, please share this article with others on your social network. Thanks!

The post How to Survive a Home-based Business Vacation appeared first on Make Money Online With Your Computer: LaptopWork.com.