One of the greatest benefits of being a web business owner is that you don’t need to have deep pockets to drive your businesses to success. I can show you how to build a complete web business from the ground up with a shoe string budget.

Step 1: Build a revenue generating website.

The first step to take is to build a website that will be able to generate sales for you. Do your market research in advance and find out the products that are selling well. Know everything to there is to know about the niche that you are targeting. What products are selling? What are the price points? Who are the target customers?

If you have the answers to the questions above, half the battle is won. In your mind’s eye, you can already see success. Now, you need to put in time and effort to do the work and move yourself towards success.

I highly recommend that you register a keyword based domain name for SEO purposes. The bulk of your traffic will come from your articles. But organic search traffic is free, and it converts really well. So why not receive traffic from both sources?

A domain costs about $10 bucks to register. You may need to pay $120 for a year of web hosting. So far, total cost works out to be $130.

Step 2: Targeted traffic generation with article marketing.

Once your website is up and running, it’s time to promote the site and drive targeted traffic to your website. There are many ways you can drive traffic – banner advertising, PPC, SEO, article marketing, etc.

When you consider these methods, you quickly realize that many of these methods are for experienced marketers only. In other words, they are paid advertising, and you get into those methods only if you are already making online, or if you have extra cash to spare. But what about the small business owner? What about the individual with a shoe string budget? How can they drive traffic?

One of the most cost effective ways to generate traffic is by article marketing. Article marketing has been around for ages. Traditionally, marketers publish content to newsletters and Ezines to market their websites.

Today, the focus is less on Ezines, and more on search engines. When you publish content publicly on the Internet, the articles get picked up quickly by the search engines. You then receive page views, which eventually lead to clicks and sales.

Always remember that your goal is to generate targeted traffic. You don’t want to attract curious clicks or freebie seekers. These are not buyers and there is no point directing such traffic to your websites. So how to drive targeted traffic with articles?

Tip 1: Write a keyword rich article title.

Use specific keywords to weed out non-targeted visitors. For example, a title that says “Article Writing Guide – 3 Tips On Generating Targeted Traffic” is much better than a vague title like “Article Writing Tips”.

Tip 2: Write a good teaser that draws in the reader in.

The summary of the title appears on the article directories, as well as in the search engines. Usually, the summary is made up of just 2 to 3 short sentences. It’s not necessary to write a summary that is longer than 50 words because most of the texts will not be displayed. The summary appears right after the title, so we can try to use it as a teaser to draw the reader in. Don’t reveal all the information in the summary, or there is no reason for the reader to click and visit the web page for the solution.

Tip 3: Write a brief but interesting article.

The article shouldn’t be too lengthy. This is because you want the reader to finish reading the entire article. Why is that important? Well, your links are located at the bottom of each article. If the reader doesn’t see your links, there is zero chance of getting clicks. The ideal length is between 300 to 500 words. Anything longer than 500 words should be separated and published as multiple articles.

Tip 4: Write a great author box.

Provide a strong incentive and invite the reader to click on your links. Note that you are competing for the reader’s attention with other links on the same web page (e.g. ads, banners, other articles, etc). So your author box has to stand out. Don’t try to abuse this tiny space by trying to squeeze in your resume. The author box is not for this purpose. It’s supposed to help you get clicks. So focus on drawing attention to your links.

Total cost at this stage is still $130. I highly recommend that you invest a small sum of money on a good article writing course to boost your productivity. The more articles you can produce, the more traffic and sales you will receive.

More marketing tips.

1) Drive traffic to a squeeze page to build a list. A list is important if you are looking for long term success. Without a list, you have only 1 chance to make a sale. If the visitor doesn’t buy, you have lost the visitor (perhaps forever). With a list, you can follow up and try to sell the prospect over and over again.

2) Always link to a website that you have full control over. Sure, you can always register for a free blog and save R80 on domain registration on hosting. But what if your site gets deleted (it has happened before). Also, affiliate offers sometimes get taken off market. So if you don’t have control over your links, the links in your articles will be pointing to dead offers.

3) Focus on back end products. Traffic generation is important. But don’t neglect back end sales.

4) Stop trying to chase the latest money making methods. Focus on the fundamentals of building a strong web business.

5) Productivity is important but it’s not everything. Learning what works is just as important. Then just do more of what is currently working to boost your web businesses to the next level.

I get many questions about my job as a copywriter and SEO practitioner, and for the most part they follow a similar theme- ‘what do you do?’ and ‘could I do it?’ In an attempt to address these questions once and for all and possibly also give an insight into the life of an internet marketer I’ve put together an article: this article.

A large portion of my day is spent writing. From articles to press releases, website content to blogs: countless hours are spent staring at a blank page, frantically scrambling for inspiration or that perfectly sculpted sentence. The phrase ‘writer’s block’ is an often derided cliche, but there is no denying that sometimes you just can’t quite work out exactly what you’re trying to say, or even more infuriatingly, the best way to say it. Some will go for a walk to clear their mind, others to their cigarette packet or porcelain throne in an attempt to find clarity.

In the realm of content writing and SEO based copywriting in general there is a very simple reason why these personal catalysts are turned to with persistent regularity: it can be boring. There, I said it and to emphasise my conviction will say it again: Writing For Seo Purposes Can Be Boring. Now hopefully you’ll grant me enough time to justify this outburst before reporting me to the various authorities, oh, and please forgive my reliance on personal experience in portraying a more universal point.

I go into work every day knowing that I am required to write intelligently and enthusiastically on topics which I may have very limited previous knowledge of, and due to what I assume to be some sort of genetic defect: utterly love it. It is my love of writing that stops me from finding it boring. I am fully aware that the majority of people wouldn’t revel in this challenge, which is great for me as it reduces my competition. Consequently, the odds are that you’re reading this purely to find out a little more about writing on just one broad topic: and to make another assumption, I expect that your writing on this topic is to promote your website. It is to you non-reveller, single broad topic focussed, committed website owner that I level my ‘it can be boring’ battle-cry as an explanation for your writer’s block and seek to show how you can get round it.

You have passion for your chosen topic, well, I sincerely hope you do (if you aren’t enthusiastic about your product/website/company/field of operation then it won’t be poorly written content that jeopardizes your company’s longevity and more importantly in this instance: my whole argument rests on it). It is this passion and the resulting knowledge you have amassed on the subject that is key to your success in writing copy, articles and press releases for your website. No amount of literary flair, cunning word play or EXCESSIVE USE OF formatting Tools is ever going to appeal to your target reader more than the sound advice and authoritative content that you, the expert on this subject are capable of providing. Equally important is the very fact that if you’re passionate about something then surely you aren’t going to find it boring.

Having established that you are more than qualified to advise others on your chosen subject and have enough interest in it to apply yourself to the time consuming task of writing accurately about it, all I can really do is give you a few pointers and tips on converting your knowledge into something which others can benefit from and in doing so raise the profile and credibility of your website. To avoid taking up too much of your time, I’ll keep it brief:

1. Provide Original Content

Whether you’re writing the content for your homepage or an article explaining the finer points of your industry and associated benefits, you must ensure that what you’re saying isn’t said elsewhere. Inevitably there will be others who have said something vaguely similar, but focus upon being better and different. You will get no credít from search engines for duplicating someone else’s work and gain no customers by rehashing a competitor’s article.

2. Research Tone and Style

We all write differently depending on the context. A blog on celebrity gossip will read very differently to a governmental department’s homepage and the way you construct a text message to a friend will differ to the structure of an email you send to a business associate. It’s well worth researching the homepage content of similar websites when writing yours in order to judge which style you find most effective, relevant and credible. It is more than likely that the style you find most suitable will be the style your prospective visitors will find most suitable: so copy it (NOT THE CONTENT…just the tone and style). Once you’ve established this starting point then write in a way you find comfortable but adhering loosely to the tone you’ve chosen to emulate. The words should come naturally, don’t worry if it doesn’t sound quite right you can always come back and edit the text.

3. Double Check Grammar and Spelling

Having spent hours crafting your text, there is nothing more irritating than publishing the piece to discover an abundance of easily avoided errors. Get others to read your copy with a critical eye before making it live, they may well spot something you’ve missed. Having taken onboard any amendments: read it again…and again before committing it to the archives of internet history.

4. Enjoy It

I know, I know…easier said than done, but if you care about the subject matter and the benefits the content will have for your business then I’m sure you won’t find it that hard.

This post was supposed to be brief but I got a little carried away, I just hope it provided a little guidance to those hovering on the precipice of a first foray into writing online content. If you republish this, then please include the resource box- a vast number of my more conventional and less formal articles have been ‘stolen’ in the past and put on websites in the guise of original content.

No matter how good your company is, some people will always write something negative about your site, even if you tried your best to help them.

Some customers might write negative comments about your company in their blogs or some of your competitors might like to damage your reputation by creating fake comments about your site.

What can you do if web pages with negative comments appear on Google’s first result page for your company name?

1. Fix the problem

If people write negative reviews about your company, the first thing that you should do is to fix the problem that caused the negative review.

2. It doesn’t hurt to ask

Send the webmaster of the web page with the negative review a polite email and ask for removal of the negative comments. Many webmasters will cooperate if you explain the issue.

3. Give web pages with positive comments a boost

If the webmaster does not want to remove the negative review, find websites that contain positive comments about your site.

Link to these pages from your own website to increase the link popularity of these pages. The more links the pages with the positive reviews have, the higher they will be ranking in the search results.

If appropriate, bookmark web pages with positive remarks about your website on social bookmark sites such as Digg and Delicious.

4. Ask for testimonials from happy customers

If you receive positive feedback from customers, ask them to write a review on ConsumerReview.com, Epinions.com or similar sites.

5. Add your website to company wiki pages

Websites like AboutUs.org allow you to create an article about your company. If your company is important enough, you might even create an entry in Wikipedia.

These Wiki pages will also appear in the search results when someone searches for your company name.

6. Make sure that your own website tops the search results

If your own website comes first for your company name then most people will click on your link and don’t look further. Use IBP to make sure that your own web site has position 1 in the search engine results.

Removing negative comments from the search engine results can take some time. It’s best to avoid negative experiences at the outset by providing high quality products and good customer support.

When developing content for your web pages it is important to have well written articles that are concise and engaging. If you are selling products or services you may also want to include calls to action that will help you maximize conversions. For individuals with a marketing background this may all sound very familiar to you.

However, since you are writing content for websites you will not only have to cater to potential customers but also to search engines crawlers that are trying to index your pages in order to rank them on search engines.

Search engines match a user’s search query with keywords found on your pages in an effort to display the most relevant search results. Your web page will definitely not rank if a user query on Google does not match keyword phrases on your pages. Effective SEO copywriting requires the right combination of compelling content and pages that are optimized for search engines.
Keyword Research

It is generally a good idea to start your SEO content writing process with a comprehensive keyword research. This will give you a good idea as to which keyword phrases are relevant and should be targeted during your content writing process. Google offers a free Keyword Research Tool. You can also use this Geo Specific Keyword Tool if you are targeting local keywords. Copy/Paste your list of keywords in a spread sheet so you can refer back to this list as you write content.
Organizing Your Content

It is a good idea to develop articles that target no more than three related keyword phrases. With this strategy you make it easy for search engines to understand what the particular page is all about. Plus, you avoid having multiple pages on your site compete for the same keyword. (Keyword Cannibalization) Many websites solve this issue by creating a resource section that targets specific keywords assigned to individual pages.
Optimizing Web Pages for Search Engines

Developing optimized web pages is not complicated. However there are a couple of elements that need to be address in order to give your pages the best chance to rank well on search engines:
1. Page Title

Page titles are the most relevant tags on your entire page and will significantly affect the ranking on Search Engines. Use these guidelines when developing effective page titles:
Your targeted keyword(s) must be in the page title
Write your title with conversion in mind
Have a unique title tag for every page
Match searchers intent – if your page is designed to sell something keep the title short. For example:’ Buy HP Printer Cartridges’. If your visitors intent is more researched based use a longer more descriptive tile.
Limit your title to 66 characters – (Your title tag gets cut off after 66 character)
Make page titles easy to read by separating your brand from your keywords. For example: SEO Services – DoneSEO.com

2. Meta Description-Meta Keywords

Meta Descriptions will not help you with rankings. However they are often used as the description for your webpages on search results. Therefore write a meta description that matched you page content. Each page should have a unique meta tags and meta keywords. For your meta description use between 20 and 30 words.
3. H1 Tag

Include your keyword phrase in your H1 tag. This will further help search engines understand what this page is all about.
4. Content

As you develop content be mindful of the keywords you are targeting for a particular page. Refer back to your keyword research spreadsheet and list the various pages that you have optimized for specific keywords. This way you know which keyword phrases are missing a corresponding page.

Don’t stuff your page with keywords. Start by writing for human consumption first and make your content compelling and concise. As you start editing, see if you can include keywords in to your article in a way that sounds natural. I suggest you try to achieve between 2-5% keyword density for your any given page. I use SEO Quake’s Firefox Plug in to check the keyword density on web pages.
Content Development Based On Existing Rankings

If your website has been online for some time there is a good chance that some of the keywords you are interested in already rank somewhere in the top 10 pages on Google and other search engines. If that’s the case it probably makes more sense to optimize pages that already rank using the guidelines mentioned above. To quickly check rankings of a site I use SEO Books’ Ranking Checker. The tool will tell you which keywords and pages are ranking.

Author: Christian Neeser

Perhaps a quick introduction and a handy disclaímer is the best way to start this article on Internet marketing. Mainly because you should know who is talking and you should definitely know what you’re getting yourself into…

I have been a full-time online marketer for over 5 years now, and I run 9 or 10 sites on the wwww – wonderful world wide web. I make a very respectable living and I enjoy every minute of it. But if you’re under the impression that all you have to do is to slap some content together and place it on a web site and watch the money roll in; then you are sadly mistaken. Don’t get the wrong impression, you can become a successful online marketer, but it will take a lot of time and work on your part. It just doesn’t happen overnight, at least, this has been my experience and we can only write about our own experiences and views.

Over the years, I have also found it helpful to get pointers from someone who is actually doing what we want to do. So below I have put together 7 Tips for becoming a successful online marketer.

1. Knowledge Up

The whole concept of marketing online may seem quite simple, just place some content or product onto a website and you’re in business. The reality is quite different. It may take you years to learn all the complex techniques and tactics to compete in the online marketplace, which is becoming more and more competitive as more companies and individuals discover its great potential. Sure we have all heard stories of people who come up with a great idea and make an online fortune very quickly. People also win the lottery… but if you want to become a successful online marketer you first have to learn your trade.

You have to acquire all the knowledge you can on Internet Marketing. Read articles and ebooks, take online e-courses, study and examine successful websites and/or marketers… there is a wealth of marketing information on the web. Just find it and use it. When I was first learning all the ropes, I made tons of mistakes but I was fortunate enough to come into contact with some successful online marketers who were actually doing what I wanted to do. People like Marlon Sanders, Ken Evoy, Corey Rudl, Neil Shearing, Brad Callens… I quickly became acquainted with these individuals and learned everything I could from them.

This was not out of the ordinary or hard to accomplish, since all these marketers have comprehensive affiliate training programs to show even the most novice webmaster or marketer the ropes. Most of these programs are free because these marketers want to teach you how to sell their products. This is a very simple way to get a quick education on how to market online. I personally liked the numerous free ebooks offered thru Ken Evoy’s SiteSell program… many of these will drive you bonkers, especially if you’re new at this game, but only because they are so comprehensive and thorough – all the information can be a little overwhelming to say the least. But if you can work you way through some of SiteSell’s free marketing manuals and ebooks, you will get the basic knowledge to further your goal of becoming an online marketer.

2. Find Your Niche Market or Subject

Unless you already have a product or business you wish to market online, then your first task will be finding a good niche market or subject which you can explore and exploit on the web. Best advice, find something that you already have a strong interest in such as a favorite hobby or past-time, an area where you already have special training or something you always wanted to study and examine. This niche market or subject will take up countless hours of your time, so you have to really pick something you like doing. The major point here, if you’re doing something you like, it won’t seem like work.

No matter which subject area you choose, you must check out the commercial viability of your topic. In other words, if you want to be successful, there must be enough commercial interest in your market or subject. There must be enough people searching for your product each month so that it’s viable. Use a program like WordTracker or Google Adwords Keyword Tool to find the number of searches made each month for a keyword. Keywords are words or phrases web users type into search engines to find what they’re looking for on the web. You must have plenty of good searchable keywords relating to your subject in order for it to be workable.

Another Keyword tool I like using is Microsoft’s Detecting Online Commercial Intention, which tells you the probability a certain keyword or site will have enough commercial potential customers who will purchase a product or service. http://adlab.msn.com/Online-Commercial-Intention/Default.aspx

3. Google Up!

Google is the most important player on the web. While you shouldn’t ignore the other search engines, I would suggest you learn everything you can about how Google both indexes and ranks pages on the web. Getting a number one or even a top 5 listing for your chosen keywords in Google, can make or break your online business. Google simply sends/controls the majority of the quality search traffic on the web. Get those top rankings in Google and you will succeed.

Now Google gives webmasters many valuable webmaster tools and devotes a whole section to help webmasters with their sites. One valuable resource which is loaded with helpful information is Google Webmaster Tools. Use it! Also, if you’re just starting out, another good resource is Google’s “Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide”, which is a handy pdf file you can download.

Always, keep in mind, Google is like any other company supplying a product and in this case the product is their SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages), so the higher the quality of your content and pages – the higher your rankings in Google will be. Of course, seasoned webmasters know quality one-way backlinks are one of the most important keys to getting high rankings in Google. But it all comes back to quality. If you have quality content, people will bookmark it in all the social media sites, and related webmasters will link to your quality content. This does really happen, so creating high quality content should be your first and most important SEO strategy.

4. Building Your Site

Regardless of what kind of site you’re building, you must follow some very simple SEO rules. Make sure your site’s structure can be easily navigated by both your visitors and the search engines. Try to keep your site’s hierarchy simple, with all your pages reachable from the home page. Most webmasters just use three levels – homepage, topics and sub-topics – with all pages linking back to your homepage and no more than 3 clicks away from it. It is also a good idea to have a sitemap link on each page so that you don’t leave your visitors stranded. Check with Google’s Starter Guide for more information on how to create a proper lay-out.

Author: Titus Hoskins

If you want to understand how to be successful online, study those who are already successful, and gain an understanding of “what they do” and “why they do what they do…”. Then mirror their actions.

I have been very successful using Article Marketing to promote my online businesses, since early 2000.

I have written and distributed many articles that went on to generate sales in the five figures. But for the sake of the FTC, “Very few people will make this kind of money with Article Marketing…”

If you understand the “how and why” of writing great articles, perhaps you can generate more sales from your articles than I have from mine… But if you miss the point of this article, you aren’t likely to ever make any money at all with article marketing.

There Are Five Essential Elements of Successful Article Marketing:

1. Title – Many people suggest that you should put your top keywords at the front of your article title, but I don’t subscribe to that methodology. I do include my target keywords in the title, when I can, but an article that is well-optimized for the search engines is worthless if it does not get published. The #1 goal of your articles’ title is to get the article opened! You must present a title that is going to get the attention of publishers and readers; you must present a title that is going to compel a person to at least open your article to see if they will want to read it.

2. Opening Paragraph – The title got your article opened, but now you need your reader to read the article. Tell your reader why they should keep reading your article and read it to its conclusion. Any reader who does not reach your website from your article is a “missed chance” to sell your stuff. Show people why it will be in their best interest to finish reading your article.

3. The Article Body – The article body must meet the promise of the Article Title and the opening paragraph. The article body must retain the interest of the reader to the last word. The article body must tell a story people want to read, and leave them wanting more. The article body must successfully carry the reader to your Author’s Resource Box. When finished reading, the reader must be happy to have read the article.

4. The Authors’ Resource Box – The Authors’ Resource Box needs to transition the reader from your article to your website, by offering a compelling call-to-action to get the reader to go to your website. Tell who you are, but don’t go overboard. People do not care who you are – they only care about what you can do for them. Jeff Herring wrote a great article that elaborates a bit further on how to construct an effective Resource Box here.
5. Your Landing Page – You shouldn’t ever try to sell your products or services in your Authors’ Resource Box. Instead, you should try to get the reader to your website, where you have a large number of words, videos, pictures and testimonials to tell the real story of your products or services. Few vendors have the ability to sell a product or service in 500 characters, so you should use your Authors’ Resource Box to get the reader to your website, where you will do the real selling.

Tell A Story People Want To Read

Often, the difference between someone who will try to write an article for $5 and the professional writer who understands the value of his or her work can be defined simply.

The person writing an article for $5 will “beat around the bush” for five hundred words, without ever actually saying anything of any real value to anyone. The person who works for $5 an article is just putting words on a page so that he or she can be paid.

The person who demands $40 to $500 to write an article is a master of story-telling. He or she will tell a story that people will want to read, and therefore a story that publishers will want to publish.

The authors who tell a story that “people are happy to have read” will find their articles on more high-quality websites, and they will find more people visiting their websites, as a result of having read the article.

Words on a page only please search engines, but a story on a page will ALSO attract readers, visitors and paying customers to your website.

Interestingly, most marketing gurus who advise hiring people to write $5 articles also fail to tell a truth — they fail to point out that articles that pass real link popularity to a website must have link popularity to pass on to your website. People don’t link to articles that are nothing more than “words on a page”, but people will link to a story that needs telling. Just like with Jeff Herring’s article linked above; his story is worth sharing with you, and as a result, it has gained its own links from people who do not know Jeff personally (I haven’t met Jeff Herring or talked to him by phone or email. It was an honest recommendatíon for a great article written by him.)

Jeff’s article has gained its own link popularity, by merit of it being a good story. As a result, Jeff’s article will pass real link popularity back to his website, because it has real value for readers and real link popularity to share.

Article Marketing Will Not Work For Everybody

There are a great number of us who have made a lot of money with article marketing. Then there are thousands of others who haven’t made any money at all with article marketing.

When you want to find success with an online business, you should mirror those people who have been successful.

Article Marketing is no different. If you have ever visited a website or purchased a product, as a result of having read an article that mentioned the website or product, take another look at the article that drove you to action. Try to understand the “how” and “why” that article worked, and then try to figure out how you can duplicate the formula for yourself.

Chances are good that you will see my “Five Essential Elements of Successful Article Marketing” in those articles that you are reviewing.

Fortunately, you don’t have to take my word for what I am telling you in this article. Whenever you find an article that moves you to visit the website shown in the Authors’ Resource Box, take another look at the article to see how closely it matches with the “Five Essential Elements” I shared with you in this article. You may be surprised by what you learn.

Author: Bill Platt

Just to cover the ground, lets go over what link building is quickly. Link building is the process of building backlinks to your site. The more backlinks (links from other sites to your site) a site has, the higher it ranks on the search engines. Link building therefore is a mission of all money makíng webmasters.

Link building methods have changed from time to time and a specific method that worked yesterday may not work today. This is due to changes in the industry over time and in some cases extreme abuse. If a specific link building method has been abused too much, then that method will not work anymore.

It is therefore very important to know which link building method works today so that you can spend your time in a most productive way.

There are many link building methods out there today that work with some working better than others. Below are some of the today’s popular links building methods:

Article Submission

If you are reading this article, then you know that you can publish your article in article directories. Not only do you gain backlinks to your site from your published articles (see bottom of this article), you will get some traffic as a bonus. Think of you reading this article. There might be many reading your published articles as well.

Article submission is a great way of building backlinks as it provides you with 100% relevant contextual backlinks that Google loves.

Directory submission used to work lot better before, but it is still a popular link building method that still works if done properly. How many directories are out there as of this date is anyone’s guess but one thing is certain: that most of the directories aren’t worth submitting to.

Google considers a Yahoo Directory link as a quality backlink so if you can afford and justify the cost, it is worth submítting to Yahoo Directory. Yahoo charges $300 for a yearly submission and there is no assurance that your site will be approved!

Directory Submission

DMOZ is another directory that is worth submitting to and can provide great benefit in your SEO campaign. It may take months to get the approval from DMOZ and the chance of getting approved is pretty slim. A lot of small directories use the DMOZ directory categories so getting listed with DMOZ would mean getting bonus listings on many other web directories.

Another good directory to submit to is the BOTW dírectory that costs $99 for a yearly submission and $299 for a permanent listing.

Other than the above, you should look for quality directories where you can submit your site. You can judge the quality of the directories by analyzing the number of sites listed, number of backlinks the directory has, PR, age of the directory, etc.

Social Bookmarking

Social bookmarking worked like charm only a few months ago. If bookmarked on authority and quality bookmarking sites like Digg, Mixx, Propeller, etc, then you can still make good use of social bookmarking. Other than backlinks, social bookmarking also offers you some bonus traffic depending on where you submit to. If you can manage to put together or collect a good bookmarking site líst, then social bookmarking can still be a useful link building method.

Blog Commenting

This is a link building method where lots of spamming has already been done so to make the best of it, you need to work a little harder here. It is best to find quality blogs related to your category and make on-topic relevant comments. Not only do your comments add value to the blogpost, you now have a greater chance of getting your comment approved and your comments have greater chance of staying on those blogposts.

Press Releases

Submitting to press release sites can get you some backlinks as well. It is however hard to put together a líst of good press release sites that are worth submitting to. If a good líst can be managed, then this method can give some quality relevant backlinks as well.

Social Media and Web 2.0 Pages

There are a lot of quality social media and Web 2.0 sites where you can publish your articles for backlinks. You should write articles that are relevant to your site and publish them on these social media and Web 2.0 sites with your keywords hyperlinked to your site. Some of the authority sites are Squidoo, Hubpages, Blogger, WordPress.com, etc.

Social media and Web 2.0 links are very popular these days because they work great. They give quality, relevant contextual backlinks that Google and other major search engines love. There are lots of other link building methods out there, but if you can utilize the above ones to their fullest potential, there is no need for any other methods.

Time and time again I hear webmasters complaining about their sites getting slapped. In fact, if you take a look at Google’s official webmaster forum, you’ll be shocked at the number of new threads where business owners are pleading with the moderators for a reason why their site has dropped 10 pages down the rankings.

It’s soon brought to their attention that the moderators have no control over the listings and 9 times out of 10 there’s nothing they can do to resurrect their sites’ rankings other than playing the waiting game.

How would you feel if you relied on Google for 80% of your traffic and it suddenly dropped in the rankings overnight? And, if you’re sitting there shaking your head thinking that it won’t happen to you because you’re a ‘good guy’ and you follow all the webmaster rules, then you need to seriously re-evaluate your mindset because time and time again I see innocent sites with great content get the “good news”.

Google reportedly updates its algorithm over 200 times a year

This time next week 50% of the backlinks pointing back to your site could be instantly discounted because the latest updates deems them as being too “spammy”. Where does that leave you? 50 places down the rankings and a dismal outlook for next quarter’s financial results.

So, now that I’ve scared the heck out of you, I’m going to give you five ways in which you can safeguard yourself from Google’s right hook and put you in a position far stronger than your competitors. It’ll also help you sleep at night!

1.Take Advantage of Untapped Traffic Sources

I am serious when I say the traffic generating potential online is incredible. By going one step beyond that of your competition you can really get a foot up and get your brand in front of a TON of laser targeted prospects.

Did you know that there are literally hundreds of high traffic web sites out there that will publish your content and let you include a small pitch and link back to your web site? I’m not talking about article directories here! I’m talking about hugely established and well respected sites that get hundreds of thousands of hits per month. So, do you think it’s worth spending a couple of hours writing an article to get your name in front of that hoard of traffic? Of course it is!

Are you sceptical? Don’t think that it works? Well, you’re reading my article aren’t you?

Not only will you get hugely targeted traffíc, but you’ll also get some incredibly powerful back links (to keep the big G happy until it gets trigger happy again), brand recognition and be able to establish yourself as an expert in your field.

Here’s a tip, if you’re a new startup and you’re doing something interesting and something that people will want to read about (a USP that nobody else delivers or an alternative way of thinking for example) then head on over to http://www.mashable.com and write them a nice little article. That’ll kick start your new business for sure!

2.Build A Líst Of Subscribers

Outside of the internet marketing niche and large corporate companies, I rarely see líst building done effectively. Yet building a líst tripled my income within the first couple of months and helped me to build a relationship with prospects that over time I converted into buyers, some of whom became repeat buyers. Without a líst I simply would not have a way of building up a relationship, trust, authority and my bottom line. So, in basic terms a líst makes you more money, but it doesn’t stop there…

It also provides you with a sense of security – you have the peace of mind that comes with knowing that if at any time every single last piece of traffic dried up overnight, you’d still make the payroll and survive until you figured out the underlying problem.

But how do you build a líst of subscribers if you’re not technical? Hosted services such as Aweber have made it so simple to set up your autoresponder service that all you need to know how to do is copy a bit of code into your squeeze page – it’s as simple as that.

3. Start An Affiliate Program

I know some companies that do absolutely nothing to get traffic to their web site. They don’t write articles, they don’t backlink to their site, they literally do nothing and let an army of affiliates do the job for them. And the army produces incredible results!

The great thing about an affiliate program is that there is no rísk as a vendor. You do the sums up front, figure out how much you’re prepared to pay someone for making a sale on your behalf and that’s that. How would you like a no-rísk, pay on results, unlímited sized sales force at your disposal?

You can really attract a bucket load of affiliates if you’re selling digital products with reasonably high profit margins, high valued products so that you can afford to give quite large payouts per sale or, the gold pot of them all, a service that is billable on a monthly basis so that the affiliate can earn a small monthly retainer per sale.

And don’t be afraid to start an affiliate program – you don’t even need to run it yourself if you don’t want to. There are a number of excellent affiliate brokers out there who will manage the tracking, payments and creatives on your behalf – you just need to find one that suits you and get cracking. Should you choose a managed affiliate program then you’ll usually be expected to pay a small fee up front for setup costs and then a small percentage of earnings thereafter.

In Summary

Please, take my advice and don’t get into the position where your business is relying on Google. In the offline world it’s akin to being in the wholesale business with one contract to a huge retailer. What happens when that retailer doesn’t renew the contract? Bad things happen!

You can choose the three methods I’ve mentioned above, or find other ways of generating laser targeted traffíc such as PPC, press releases, e-book creation, video marketing and so on – it doesn’t matter how you do it, just do it!

If you’ve been involved in marketing of any kind over the last two decades, I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, “content is King.” Marketers, successful marketers, live by that mantra. When I look at the Internet what I really see are two things. There is the content and then there are the applications that allow you to interact with the content.

To completely over-simplify things, the applications are what make it possible for us to create, share, and use the content we find on the Internet. So to say content is King, you’d have to also say that the applications are Queen in order to have a more complete view of the Internet. There are all kinds of applications from the browsers that make surfing the Internet possible to all sorts of applications that manage and deliver the content.

Think about it. Without the application we know as Google, how would you find the content you’re looking for on the Internet? I’ve been there and I remember finding things online was next to impossible, but that was back in 1987. Then we have Adobe TM Flash that allows us to see and hear sounds and images over the Internet.

There are all sorts of content management systems available to us today that simply didn’t exist a few years back. As it becomes easier and easier to manage and digest, the demand for new content grows and grows.

Marketers who create quality content often find they are able to generate large amounts of traffic, they usually have large mailing lists, and it almost goes without saying that they usually have healthy bank accounts.

It all starts with the content. The more you create, share, distribute, the better off you’ll be in building a profitable business on the web. If you want the real secret to Internet success, this is it.

Content comes in many forms, and it’s best to use as many forms as possible on your web site because there are now so many ways to access and use content and not everybody wants it the same way. Some people love to read, others prefer to listen, some prefer to sit back and watch a video.

As you develop your content, think about creating not just written articles, white papers, and special reports. Be sure to add streaming audio, podcasts, videos, screen-captures, and even animations to your mix.

Sometimes it’s best to give the same content in different formats. For instance, you might present an article as both a regular web page and a downloadable .PDF file. You might present a video and also present just the audio track from that same video.

Now how do you get from creating content to building a successful business?

Think about why most people use the Internet. They get online and check e-mail. They log into their social networks to keep up with their friends. They search for information to help them answer a question. They look for things to purchase. They come to play games and meet people. All of these activities revolve around finding and using content.

When you’ve got content on your web site and you make it easy for people to find, you íncrease the traffic to your web site, naturally.

The more content you have, the more people will be stopping by your web site. Truly the days of the single-page sales letter web sites are done. You’ve got to do more than make a compelling sales pitch, you’ve got to demonstrate that you’re the leader in your market. You’ve got to show people why they need what you have and how it will truly make their lives better. And most of all, you’ve got to let them sample your stuff before they purchase.

Let’s look at it from the customer’s perspective. Your customer wants the best of what’s available but how can they figure out what’s best from a sales letter alone? They need more information that’s not in the form of a sales pitch. They need to feel like they can try it on, test it out, and they can do that when you present them plenty of content on your web site.

So if you’re selling a product that is best demonstrated in a video, be sure you have a number of videos on your web site showing customers using and loving your product. If you sell consulting, demonstrate your knowledge of your topic with articles, reports, white papers, audio presentations, and even videos of you speaking to an audience.

As you plan your content, also keep in mind how you’re going to present it on your web site so that it’s in the formats people can really use, that it’s easy to find, and that it’s readily accessible from different Internet devices, including smart phones.

If you’ll take to time to do this, what you’ll soon realize is that your sales letters will perform better, people will not need as much strong-arm salesmanship before they purchase, your mailing líst will grow, and your web site will show up in more places on the Internet.

It’s no surprise that web sites that present a lot of content lead the field when it comes to sales. Take a look at your web site today and think about how a new visitor would really get to sample what it is you do without having to purchase what you’re selling.

How good is your web site at attracting new visitors with little or no direct effort on your part? Do you have enough easily accessible content on your web site to keep people coming back for more?

Most web sites, including my own, can always use more great content. Adding content is the best and most profitable use of your marketing dollars because the return on your investment continues for years.

For instance, in 1991 I wrote my very first article on marketing. It was published in a national business magazine a few months later and it continues to appear on the Internet almost 20 years later. In that time, this one article has been read more than a million times, and has generated countless sales for my business. What other kind of marketing can do that?

In my opinion, no other marketing piece can do what adding fresh content to your web site can. Ideally, you’ll be adding new content regularly, and expiring content that is no longer relevant. When you do, you’ll have the most profitable marketing strategy working for you all day, every day for years to come.

Don’t exactly know what it is about starting a new year of marketing online, but I always stop and take a hard look at all my marketing tactics and methods. Article marketing is always at the top of my list, mainly because it is and has always been the cornerstone of everything I do on the web.

By cornerstone I mean it is the key to basically all of my online earnings. Without article marketing I wouldn’t be a full-time online marketer – it’s as simple as that. No articles, no income.

Articles bring in the targeted traffíc. Articles build those all important one-way backlinks. Articles build those even more important top rankings in Google for your chosen keywords. Articles build your online reputation and credibility in the eyes of your visitors.

I was struggling on the web for around three years before I wrote my first article. “10 Reasons To Put RSS On Your Site” which is still on around 8,000 sites around the web.

Writing was always a passion of mine, but it was more on the creative side, although I did work briefly as a reporter for a very small community newspaper. Looking back on it, I believe (perhaps falsely) that I had to gain all those years of experience before I could start writing articles about it.

Which was the totally wrong attitude to take since anyone can research a favorite subject or topic and write a short informative article on it. Most of us have been doing that since grade school – it is the same as writing a report or an essay.

Only with article writing you actually see monetary returns almost immediately. Surfers search for an answer in the search engines, your article pops up, they read it and then clíck the link to your webpage where you have conveniently placed your affiliate links or your products.

A Small Percentage of Those Article Readers Will Buy Your Products and You’re in Business.

Over time, all those backlinks in your resource box at the end of your article will make your keywords rise in the search engines, especially Google. Then as someone searches in Google – your site pops up, they click thru to your webpage and a small percentage of these visitors will buy your product or affiliate product displayed on your page.

Smart marketers will also start building a large list of prospective customers by offering a free guide, ecourse, ebook or software program to get those visitors to sign-up to your list. These marketers can then do follow-up with all these potential customers.

That in a nutshell is an article marketing model or funnel which thousands of online marketers and webmasters are using. And have been using for years.

But Will Article Marketing Remain Effective in 2010 and the Coming Years?

More than likely the answer would be yes but the web is constantly changing and there are other games worth playing. The same kind of marketing system could be done with Videos, Blogs, Social Networks and even with Twitter. Your options are more varied…

However, I find article marketing can be integrated into all these elements. For example, EzineArticles lets you Tweet your articles to all your followers. I turn my best articles into Videos and place them on YouTube which opens up a whole different flow of traffic to my webpages and affiliate links.

Likewise, you can place your articles or links to them on FaceBook, MySpace and the other social networks. I find getting your articles on Digg, Reddit, Stumbleupon… can bring in a lot of traffic and improve your rankings.

But the Question Remains – is Article Marketing as Effective as It Once Was?

My own answer and personal opinion is no since it’s effectiveness has been watered down somewhat because every “tom dick and harry plus sally” is doing it. Everybody has discovered how writing short informative articles on the topic of your site can be very lucrative.

When I wrote that first article five years ago, I was ‘writer #1561′ with Ezinearticles. Now they have over 242,000 writers!

Back then, I found your article was placed on a lot more sites mostly because there wasn’t that many articles out there and competition was much, much less than it is now. More people writing more articles simply means your article falls into a bigger pool of other articles.

I believe video marketing is at the stage article marketing was at around five years ago. So turning your articles into short “how to” videos would probably be a wiser move and you would have a lot less competition. You can also place your marketing into the whole Video/Youtube craze that is still bringing in tons of traffic and interested customers.

However, the popularity of free article directories have grown and some of these sites have very high traffic numbers. Here are some of the main ones I use:

• EzineArticles
• GoArticles
• iSnare
• IdeaMarketers

And I also like to place my articles on important but perhaps lesser known sites such as:

• PromotionWorld
• SelfGrowth
• American Chronicle
• Buzzle

However, article marketing is still a very good way to get your site and name on the web. It can still bring in traffic and help build those all important backlinks and search engine rankings. This is one marketer who will not be giving up article marketing any time soon.

Some of my most effective techniques for article marketing are:
• Place your targeted keyword phrase in the title, usually at the beginning.

• Make sure your article is informative and supplies the information a reader is searching for – but always try to motivate the reader to click your links in the resource box for further information since your main objective is to get the reader to click thru to your site.

• Most experts say to keep your article short, around 400 – 700 words, but I have found longer articles of 800-1500 words do really well.

• Place your targeted keywords in the anchor text of your resource box links, that’s the underlined clickable part. Vary these keywords to avoid keyword spamming.

• For very important sites, try writing an exclusive unique article for that site alone.

• Always spell-check and proof-read your articles. Grammar hasn’t ever been my strong point so what I do for finding the correct usage of some tricky phrases or words – I do a search in Google with “quotation marks” to find out which one has the most links/usage… I go with one that has the most links, even if it’s wrong. Thousands of people are making the same mistake. Many marketers do the same thing with misspelled keywords.

While they can be expensive, I also like using paid article submission sites such as SubmitYourArticle, ThePhantomwriters and Isnare… mainly because article marketing has been so profitable for me, I don’t mind pouring some of those earnings back into those sites. It saves me time and extends the reach of my articles.

Article marketing will continue to be one of your best ways to build backlinks, raise your rankings and bring in potential customers to your site. It still works for me and hundreds of thousands of other webmasters – it should also work for you.