One of the questions I'm most often asked is how to do search engine optimization properly. Very soon, I will be revealing our turnkey solution that you have been waiting for. But in the meantime there is something very simple you can do if you blog on Wordpress. This is especially powerful if you use the Socrates Theme, but it works great for all themes. While we have optimized the Socrates layout for better indexing... Continue Reading

If you've been using AdSense for Search, you'll know that last year, Google shut it down. If you wanted to continue to offer your users a search function -- and earn revenue from ad clicks when those users conducted their searches -- you needed to use Google's Custom Search Engine and attach it to your AdSense account. Continue Reading

(Written by guest contributor Andrew Albritton) To say they're the latest craze in online shopping would be an understatement. Groupon, Living Social, Social Buy etc. have taken the web by storm, revolutionizing how "deal of the day" type websites meet local brick and mortar business. Traditional "Deal of the day" type sites are typically affiliates that have great discounts from advertisers that have a large online presence and may not even have brick and mortar... Continue Reading

Have you ever thought of launching an online business to be a lot like running a race, but with plenty of hurdles in the way? I did an interview today and the person asking me questions wanted to know what the biggest hurdle is that people face when running an online business. Is it search engine optimization? Is it social media? Is it product development? I laughed and replied that none of those were the... Continue Reading

I received an email solicitation today to take part in an alleged competition that is due to take place starting in October. It's called (brace yourself...) "The Internet Marketing World Cup" (goooooooooalllll!) It is likely you will be hearing more about this in the future so I thought it would be interesting to dissect it and share some thoughts. Continue Reading

(Written by guest contributor Andrew Albritton) Search engine marketing (SEM), sometimes referred to as paid search, is the practice of bidding on keyword strings to increase a website's visibility on the search engine results pages (SERPs). For Internet marketers SEM can be a highly effective means for promoting and driving traffic to a website or sales page. In fact, when optimized and managed effectively, a well-performing SEM campaign is one of the most sought-after and... Continue Reading

The world is changing. But you don't need me to tell you that. The Internet of today is a far cry from the one I launched my first site on fifteen years ago. Technology has made major advances, meeting needs of many, and exposing other needs yet to be met. Just in the past few years, the way we market products and services online has changed. Continue Reading

(Written by guest contributor Joel Ownby) If you are serious about starting an online business, then you should realize that just like a traditional brick-and-mortar company, an investment of time and money is almost always required. We aren't talking about going to the bank and taking out loans here, but we are talking about a lot of sweat and small monetary investments over time. The strategy discussed in this article is one avenue that you... Continue Reading

Interviewing prospective web designers is often a difficult task. Some candidates might be design rock stars but unable to develop the essential business features for your site, while other applicants will have portfolios filled with high-ranking sites that look like ghosts from the late 90s. Continue Reading

If you are a small to medium-sized business that can deliver a physical product at a reduced (or matched) cost locally, then you must consider implementing a serious local search campaign. I would urge you to take a serious look at any funds in your marketing plan allocated to radio, television, or any other form of non-direct response marketing and consider using at least some of those funds for a well-planned local search effort. Continue Reading

One of the most frequently asked questions that seems to surface again and again is "How do I start an online business with very little money?" Unlike brick and mortar businesses that frequently require retail or office space, inventory of products and an in-house staff, an online business can be run from home with no inventory and outsourced staff. This entry will lay out the absolute bare essentials needed to start your own online business... Continue Reading

When blogs first came out, no one really knew what they were for. They were supposed to be diaries, but diaries are meant to be private so why put them online? And if you did put one online, why would anyone want to read it? And if someone did want to read it, how you could earn money from those viewers? Continue Reading

"All aboard!" shouts the conductor, alerting the passengers that the train is getting ready to pull out of the station. If you don't have your ticket and know where you are going, you'd better get it sorted out fast. After all, there are many tracks that lead out from the station. And while you might travel miles and miles down one track, you could end up finding out that you've traveled miles and miles... Continue Reading

Twitter looks so easy, doesn't it? You don't have to plan and research like you do when you're writing a blog post. You can write whatever's on your mind and hit the Update button. Random thoughts make for perfectly good tweets. You don't have to think about search engine optimization. Tweets do turn up on Google but links in tweets don't count towards page rank and there's no way - or reason -- to optimize... Continue Reading