SEO experts and internet marketing professionals know that the key to high search engine rankings is link building. They will also tell you that link building is not all that easy until you have done it for awhile, and that there are so many techniques for link building that It is hard to sort them all out. Here are the 4 levels of link building to take you from novice to expert.
1. Do It Yourself, Quick and Easy. The easiest links to build are those for which you do not have to rely on anyone but yourself. The easiest way to do this is to submit your site to directories. Simply submit your URL, the name of your company, and a short description of your company. Know before you begin that directories are managed by humans, so you may not see results right away. Also know that some directories require a small fee for your listing.You should also use social media as a way to get links to your page. SEO experts do not find these crucial to success, but they are still a pretty simple and cheap way to target an audience that is going to be using the sites anyway.
2. Do It Yourself, Not So Quick and Easy. Before you start on Level 2, make sure you have started a business blog. This is crucial if you want to have good content to which others can link. And the way you are going to get these links is through press release optimization and article marketing.When you are writing your articles and your press releases, always keep your keyword strategy at the front of your mind. Links should coincide with your strategy. Before you send your press releases and articles into the ether, use a press release grader to see if they pass muster.
3. Networking Plus Significant Time. Networking is by far the most effective way to get links to your site. It is time consuming and it can be frustrating, but it can also get you results that you never dreamed of. There are many ways to go about this type of networking, but the key is putting yourself amongst those who are potentially interested in what you have to say.
The best way to do this is to establish yourself as an expert in your niche. But never make people feel like they would be lost without your presence. Engage them. Show compassion. Share your own opinions and ideas and vulnerabilities. Start by reading industry-related blogs and commenting on them. Eventually you will want to establish a one-on-one relationship with bloggers, probably by casually mentioning third-party content that they might find interesting.Ideally you will soon be asked to be a guest blogger on blogs that are related to your niche. In the process, you can link to yourself and let others in your niche know that you know what you are talking about. If all goes well, they will start following you as well, which leads to the final level...
4. Links Resulting From Good Content. Once you have reached this level, you have established yourself as a knowledgeable resource within your field. Although you can probably never afford to abandon the strategies mentioned above, you are now generating most of your links from people who respect you and enjoy reading your excellent content. This kind of success does not happen immediately. It takes a lot of time and effort, including effort in providing your followers with an array of high-quality, interesting, and relevant content. You may do his through your blog, through hosting webinars, or through publishing white papers.
The key to keep in mind as you are starting out is that, while content is crucial, you are going to have to start out doing more than creating great content. You are going to have to go out and find followers, and then give them a reason to stick around. It is not easy, but it will pay off in the end.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Why Websites Fail to Make Money
People are attracted to the idea of running an internet business. Start up costs are very low, and almost anybody who can send an email and edit a simple document can get started! And we do hear about big winners, those who get to give up their commutes and bosses, and who get to enjoy running their own business. But the sad truth is that most of the people who attempt to prosper online do not make it that far. I have my own experiences and opinions about why this is so, but lets explore the current state of the internet.
I have been working on the net for about five years, and I have to admit that the competition is stronger then ever. I base most of my business upon getting good search engine rankings on competitive and profitable search terms. It certainly takes more research to find gems that are not saturated with thousands of other websites. However, those gems still do exist. And just because a lot of other websites are competing for a search term does not mean that those websites are well optimized, and that I still cannot get my page listed far up in the results of the major search engines.
Now, to make up for the increased number of websites that are competing for surfers on the net, there are also a lot more surfers! Almost everybody, from kids to senior citizens, knows how to surf the net. This was not the case at the beginning of the decade when the internet was much less user friendly and reliable, and access was certainly a lot slower.
So many great tools have been published so that a novice can have a pretty good website running in a few minutes, even though I believe that becoming a great webmaster takes years of testing and experience. And just as it does not take any special high tech skills to build a website these days, it also does not take a bundle of money. In fact, the most popular blogging platforms, are free.
It is also easy for webmasters to find website sponsors, Affiliate programs usually have few requirements beyond a website and a quick registration. Thousands of affiliate programs cover almost every topic one could imagine. And all it takes to start making money is signing up and dropping a snip of code on a website.
So this brings us back to the first question. Why do so many internet marketers fail? I lay some of the blame on the hundreds of ebooks and so-called home business opportunities with names like Internet ATM or Easy Web Profits. While I love working online because it lets me run my own show, succeed according to my efforts, and express my creative side, the last thing I would call this business is easy.
I get to choose the projects I will work on, but I always research them before I start. Even so, I have to cut some very interesting websites loose because they did not return the results that I needed in order to keep the lights on around here. But I always have several projects in the works, and I can concentrate on the 30% of my websites that make me a good return. So, what I am saying here, is that I fail about 70% of the time.
I also expect to put in a full day of work. I do not expect to put up a website and have it magically make money. I spend my time promoting my websites, testing my pages, and then tweaking my results until my efforts either bear fruit or I decide to put them on the shelf for that some day when I have more time. I know lots of other internet marketers too, and the ones that really make their living on the net always laugh at the idea that this job does not require any work.
Related Links:
http://onlinedatajobs.50webs.com
http://onlinework-dataentry.blogspot.com
I have been working on the net for about five years, and I have to admit that the competition is stronger then ever. I base most of my business upon getting good search engine rankings on competitive and profitable search terms. It certainly takes more research to find gems that are not saturated with thousands of other websites. However, those gems still do exist. And just because a lot of other websites are competing for a search term does not mean that those websites are well optimized, and that I still cannot get my page listed far up in the results of the major search engines.
Now, to make up for the increased number of websites that are competing for surfers on the net, there are also a lot more surfers! Almost everybody, from kids to senior citizens, knows how to surf the net. This was not the case at the beginning of the decade when the internet was much less user friendly and reliable, and access was certainly a lot slower.
So many great tools have been published so that a novice can have a pretty good website running in a few minutes, even though I believe that becoming a great webmaster takes years of testing and experience. And just as it does not take any special high tech skills to build a website these days, it also does not take a bundle of money. In fact, the most popular blogging platforms, are free.
It is also easy for webmasters to find website sponsors, Affiliate programs usually have few requirements beyond a website and a quick registration. Thousands of affiliate programs cover almost every topic one could imagine. And all it takes to start making money is signing up and dropping a snip of code on a website.
So this brings us back to the first question. Why do so many internet marketers fail? I lay some of the blame on the hundreds of ebooks and so-called home business opportunities with names like Internet ATM or Easy Web Profits. While I love working online because it lets me run my own show, succeed according to my efforts, and express my creative side, the last thing I would call this business is easy.
I get to choose the projects I will work on, but I always research them before I start. Even so, I have to cut some very interesting websites loose because they did not return the results that I needed in order to keep the lights on around here. But I always have several projects in the works, and I can concentrate on the 30% of my websites that make me a good return. So, what I am saying here, is that I fail about 70% of the time.
I also expect to put in a full day of work. I do not expect to put up a website and have it magically make money. I spend my time promoting my websites, testing my pages, and then tweaking my results until my efforts either bear fruit or I decide to put them on the shelf for that some day when I have more time. I know lots of other internet marketers too, and the ones that really make their living on the net always laugh at the idea that this job does not require any work.
Related Links:
http://onlinedatajobs.50webs.com
http://onlinework-dataentry.blogspot.com
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