We all want the same thing, productive traffic. The thought that someone followed a link from one website to ours is exciting and when that click turns into a person that interacts with out site we are very pleased.

Often when you are looking to promote a new site you just visit every free link source you know and submit url, title, descript and leave it at that. You are missing out on a prime source of quality links that will be spidered by the major search engines as well as get human surfers to your site.

Lets take my site for example http://www.webmasterearnmoney.com There is no cost to you to sign up for a membership there and its not like you have to spend all your time there. With a free membership you get a profile with a link to your site as well as setting signatures that will display in all forum post.

So things to do that promote your site from my site, post in my forum. Often sites have a spam forum and a place to introduce yourself. Look at the most recent post and see if you can contribute anything relevant and useful. These post will have links to your site from the signature you set up earlier.

Submit any content that is relevant and use the “resource” or “about me” section at the bottom of each page to promote your site and urls. Content submitted like this are valuable to our sites and provide links back to you that are far superior to directory listings and resource page links.

Contact webmasters about reasonable and fair link exchanges. These often involve putting a link to them on your main page in exchange for a similar link. Many sites you visit have a “Partners” section where they put such link trades so if you see one then they are likely wanting to hear from you. Such link trades should be of equal value.

By equal value it should be kept in mind your site with a google PR of 1 might be turned down by another site when you are asking for a link on a PR 5 page. Most webmasters I have contacted want relevant link exchange of similar value and many want non-competing links as well.

Some sites owners will consider creative partnerships. From my site (link near top of this article) if you browse to forums then notice at the bottom of forums listing a section called “Hosted Partners Forums” with a “Go Get Links – Support” forum? This is a creative partnership between of my own sites. Many webmasters would find great value in trading traffic and links with partnerships like this.

This type of partnership allows you to have a place to promote yourself from a different domain and update information about your site. Every time you post in “your forum” you would also be increasing the links back to your site. This kind of partnership gives the host of your forum content so the site remains active and the search engine spiders stay interested.

There are many ways to develop linking strategies from one site to another the reason why you should take advantage of them is obvious when you search google for information. Most searches turn up a few forum post and articles on the first page of results. I know I often find relevant information when I follow a link to a forum post and then to another website.

Keep in mind that all the ideas suggested here are in no way intended to be high maintenance projects. These are just things you can take a day to do at a few sites and then revisit the more productive sites and add more as you see fit.

About The Author
Curt Ray owner of http://www.webmasterearnmoney.com/ and http://www.gogetlinks.com/ is an affiliate marketer and all around helpful person. Contact me at my website for help and networking. (Reprint this article free of charge with links active and resource section intact. Drop me a line info (at) webmasterearnmoney.com)

Bloggers Against Abuse

September 27th, 2007

Check out Blogging Mix for more details or you can visit BlogCatalog's Discussion Thread regarding the event!

If you’re doing business in China, you will need to learn Chinese. If you’re doing business in Japan, you would need to learn Japanese. If you’re doing business in Italy, you would need to learn Italian.

What language, then, would you need to learn when you’re doing business online?

Why, the language of the Internet of course! HTML, Hyper Text Markup Language. HTML is a series of codes and commands that would help you craft an intricate system to convey your business message throughout the entire virtual world. If you want to embellish your forum posts, you would need HTML. If you want to build products that would provide solutions for web users, you would need HTML. If you want to create fantastic innovations that can be carried out through the World Wide Web, you would need HTML.

But HTML is most important in one aspect of the online game, particularly in Internet marketing: website design. You would need some knowledge about HTML if you are to build a website that would attract the attention of online users and project a sense of professionalism and class that would make it easier for them to trust your business.

Seeing as how your website would serve as your online business’ digital store on the Internet, it is very important that you come up with a clean, organized and effective design. Much is at stake at how you will present your website. Hence, a modicum of knowledge about HTML would usually be insufficient in preparing a website built for business.

You could always hire a freelancer to create a website for you, of course. But outsourcing seldom comes cheap. Often, you would have to shell out a lot of cash just to ensure high quality work. And sometimes, what will be delivered would be contrary to your expectations. Also, miscommunication and disagreements with the freelancer should also be factored in. All of these combined would be enough to give anyone some genuine headaches.

So what are you to do if you don’t know jack about HTML and if you’re too hesitant to try outsourcing? Should you settle on doing business without a website?

Fret not, dear friend. There is another option you could take. You could always resort to ready-made website templates.

Ready-made website templates are ready-to-use website designs that usually come in .htm or .html file formats along with the accompanying objects therein. With these templates, all you have to do is to personalize them to suit the identity as well as the needs of your business, upload them on a web server, and they’ll be ready for all the World Wide World to see. Indeed, with website templates, it’s that simple.

There are a lot of website templates available on the Internet. There is always one which would be perfect for your business. And if the choices aren’t amenable for you, you could always mix and match and features and objects of different templates to come up with a design that you would feel would perfectly represent your online enterprise.

Website templates are the easiest ways to come up with your own website. The past two years saw a boom in the number of websites on the Internet. This is because of the effects brought by the Google AdSense program. A lot of people earn their keeps by creating countless mini-sites about different niches. You must bear in mind that it would be physically impossible for one NETrepreneur to create that many websites.

The need for fast, convenient, and highly effective websites has also spiked the demand for website templates. More and more are slowly learning their value in the field of online business.

Internet marketing is all about time, after all. In this industry, time is gold and every second counts. If you feel you don’t have the time to learn the language of the web, then you might as well avail of the many, many benefits of instant website templates. If you’re looking for quality web templates, visit this page: http://ebizprotege.com/t.cgi?Art1WebDesign

About The Author
Bob Bastian is a successful Internet entrepreneur and a prominent info product creator. His latest website distributes quality private label content for free: http://www.PrivateLabelPublishing.com

For more blogging tips and advices, visit Blogging Mix. Enhance your blog and blogging skills with Blogging Mix.

Those of you who aren't ready to wade into the Blog pool are taking your time for several reasons, according to my informal interviews with people before and after they blog. Others start blogging and then abandon their projects too soon, unaware of the benefits.

Whatever your reason, you should get started now - or get back to blogging as the case may be. Here’s some motivating enlightenment that you may find surprising.

Reason # 1 that you aren't blogging - You don't realize how huge the benefits are, and how much they may outweigh any monetary or time costs involved.

I think number one may partly the fault of people like me, who have a foot in the marketing arena, and don't explain the idea in detail.

We tend to tell you how great blogging is, but we don't tell you why, or better yet, show you. Or we tell you how to get the best results with your blog, but don't tell you where to start. Let's talk about some of the basic facts.

If you've ever dreamed of going from getting 10 hits a month to getting a few dozen visitors a day from search engines, blogging can make it possible, if you do it right. The structure of a blog, and the fact that most of them automatically generate content feeds, also make them the best food for your friendly neighborhood search engine spider.

If you would like to have visitors come back to your site over and over again, until they buy, you may want to be a blogger. An informative blog that engages your audience shortens the sales cycle. It also creates a courtship period. They can subscribe to your thoughts, see if they like you, even get to know you a little.

People buy from people they like. I don’t remember who said it first, but I’ve learned that it’s the truth.

If your visitors don't feel like they are getting a personality vibe from you, they are often less likely to buy. Vibe = buy. Remember that, and that blogs make it easy for you to vibe.

If you'd like to create new targeted search engine pages for your site without needing to hand-code a new page, or fire up your HTML editor every time, you may enjoy blogging. You log in to your blog admin panel, type your thoughts, proofread, press publish.

Presto. You’re a blogger.

If you'd like free one-way links back to your site that contain your lucrative keywords, blogging helps with that too.

Even if you've made a mess of your SEO efforts, or been the unsuspecting victim of an algorithm change, as long as you aren't banned by a search engine, blogging can help bring you back into top results. Because they have a search engine friendly architecture, and can make use of your keywords automatically, without being gratuitous, they are an easy way to get into a search engine and stay in.

Reason #2 That you aren't blogging - You think it's hard and expensive.

Granted, especially if you're busy, or have a medium sized to large business, it may be in your best interest to hire one of the few consultants that works on these types of issues.

But if you're a small business owner or home business owner with an online element, you can get away with firing up a free blog and paying for an inexpensive custom template if you can't install one on your own. Most blog consultants will do all the keyword research, etc for you, so that all you'll have to do is log in and blog.

Many of the most common blog software systems are free or inexpensive, especially when weighed against the cost of only using paid methods to attract visitors.

Reason #3 That you aren't blogging - You don't think of yourself as a writer.

Not only can you get away with a few paragraphs, you don't have to write in professional-speak, or use industry jargon to blog. By nature, blogging is done in a casual, conversational tone.

And your blog posts don't have to be long article-type entries like mine are. I'm used to writing articles, and I'm just naturally verbose. My audience is used to my mini-brain dumps, just as your blog readers will likely be happy with, or adapt to, whatever your style is. Your audience will be thrilled with a few paragraphs every day, as long as they’re informative and consistent.

So take the plunge. Start blogging today. If you’re already a blogger and didn’t see the benefits the first time around, try making it a part of your routine - and have a little fun. Give it time to work for you.

You’ll be glad you did.

Copyright 2005 Tinu AbayomiPaul

About The Author
Tinu is a web site promotion specialist who writes about many different ways to get more visitors to your web site. If you want better search engine results, more visitors and return traffic she invites you to take a free eCourse on blogging at RescueYourBlog.com.

So what is this "blog factor"? Well, what a few thought was a novel idea some years ago has now morphed into something no one expected. There are currently nine million blogs out there with 40,000 new ones being added everyday. Some are informative and some are just downright a waste of your time. And while we hear a lot about blogging these days, what is blogging *really*? Blogging in its simplest term is like an online journal but much, much more powerful. Blogs (short for Web log) is a place where surfers can get up to the minute information on a topic or voyeur into someone's life. Some blogs are nothing more than a daily glimpse into someone's life, while others are so sophisticated, it's hard to tell them apart from an online news service.

Why Blogs Matter

Google, the #1 search engine on the net, loves blogs. So much so that if you do it right Google will spider the heck out of your site. What does it mean to "spider"? Well spidering is when Google, or the like, searches your site’s content to establish ranking, and the more content you have (i.e. fresh content) the more Google will do its magic and push your site up the search engine. Another reason blogs matter is that they are interactive and, if you blog on your book’s topic, it will help to further your expert status on a particular issue. When we plan "Virtual Tours" for our authors, we include as many blogs as we can into a tour. Why? Because if you can get into a good blog that's seeing a lot of traffic, you can really start to gain some exposure for your book.

What Would You Talk About?

This is the question we get asked most often. "If I start a blog, what on earth would I talk about?" Well if your book is non-fiction it's pretty easy to figure out what your topic would be, but if your book is fiction it could get a bit tricky - but not impossible. An author I work with has a series of books starring one character - a private detective. I recommended that he "blog" this character, meaning that the character (not the author) would have the blog. It could be the character's diary or adventures and stories - a glimpse into the life of a private detective. This would give the reader (and fans of this character) a reason to return to the blog for an update on this ongoing adventure or story. In another instance, I work with an author who wrote a fiction book about right and wrong with a new age/spirituality spin. I advised him to blog on issues related to that - right and wrong in our society and his own personal "spin" on these issues. Some of his blogs might be controversial but that's okay, you want to create your own "voice," your own take on a certain issue and if that opinion is controversial, all the better for exposure and for getting people to interact on your blog. Getting readers to respond to your posts is a great way to gain interest and momentum for your blog and (more importantly) getting people to talk about it will grow your blog like nothing else!

How to Start a Blog

Starting a blog is super easy. All you have to do is register at a blog site (like http://www.blogger.com) and get started. It's that easy. The blog service will link to your site; you'll need to ask your Webmaster to add a button to your home page so people can find your blog.

How to Blog Effectively

The best bloggers know that the more you add to your blog, the more traffic you'll drive there. Some bloggers I know post daily, sometimes even multiple times a day while others post weekly. How much you post will probably depend on how much time you have to dedicate to this. The challenge will be that if you want to keep driving people to your blog, you'll want fresh content. This doesn't mean you have to create this all yourself, in fact you can invite people onto your blog and interview them, or you can just post a one paragraph "thought" on your topic. It doesn't have to be complicated or long, it just has to be fresh. Also be innovative, as we discussed earlier, be different with your blog, have fun with it. It might seem complicated at first but once you get the hang of it, you'll quickly become a blog expert!

About The Author
Penny C. Sansevieri
The Cliffhanger was published in June of 2000. After a strategic marketing campaign it quickly climbed the ranks at Amazon.com to the #1 best selling book in San Diego. Her most recent book: From Book to Bestseller was released in 2005 to rave reviews and is being called the “roadmap to publishing success.” Penny is a book marketing and media relations specialist. She also coaches authors on projects, manuscripts and marketing plans and instructs a variety of coursing on publishing and promotion. To learn more about her books or her promotional services, you can visit her web site at http://www.amarketingexpert.com. To subscribe to her free ezine, send a blank email to: mailto:subscribe@booksbypen.com.

If you are new to the internet and wondering what an earth this blogging craze is all about, or if you already have your own website and you’re wondering why everyone keeps advising you to start your own blog, read on. I’m going to explain to you what a blog is, why you need one, how to set it up, promote it and of course, make money from it.

Blog is short for “web log” and is similar to an online diary or journal. The craze of blogging began in the very late 1990s and has started to become more and more popular over the last couple of years. Almost everyone seems to have a blog these days, from CEOs of large companies to webmasters, from world travelers to teenagers. Even my Dad has his own blog now! A blog allows you to communicate informally with people via an online journal, but it’s more personal and unstructured than a website and easier and cheaper to set up than a website.

If you have your own website, but haven’t yet started a blog you can easily start one using a free service such as Blogger or WordPress. Try to post to your blog at least once or twice a week on topics related to your website. Blogging will help your search engine rankings and open up the communication channels between you and your visitors or customers, encouraging them to interact with you and give them a reason to return to your site in future.

If you don’t have your own website and are looking to set up a blog quickly and easily I recommend opening a free account with Blogger. You can blog about anything you like, for example a hobby, a vacation, your home town, something political, a sport or your business. Just be sure to pick something that you are interested in and knowledgeable about. You can host your blog for free on Blogspot – all you need to do is pick a name that is relevant to the topic of your blog. Once you have set up your profile and chosen a template, blogging is as simple as sending an email to a friend.

There are many ways to make money from your blog, but here are a few ideas to get you started:

- Google Adsense - this is free to join and easy to set up. The ads will match the content of your blog and you will get paid every time a visitor clicks on an ad.

- Affiliate Programs – sign up for affiliate programs related to the topic of your blog and display links to related products on your blog. Clickbank, Trade Doubler and Commission Junction are good places to start, or do a Google search for “affiliate program” + the topic of your blog to find more affiliate programs. Whenever someone clicks through your affiliate link and buys a product, you will receive a commission. If you are knowledgeable about your topic you could also write product reviews to help increase your affiliate sales.

- Sell Advertising Space – if you have a popular blog you can charge people to advertise on your blog. This could be in the form of a text link, a banner or a graphic.

You are not going to make money with a blog unless people can find it. As soon as you have started to post to your blog it’s time to start promoting it. You can get your blog noticed by…

- Submitting your blog to blog directories – just search for “blog directories” in Google

- Asking other bloggers to exchange links with you – you put a link on your blog in exchange for a link from their blog.

- Writing an article related to the topic of your blog and posting it to article directories. Remember to include an author’s resource box with a link to your blog.

- Pinging blog ping services every time you make a new post – pingomatic.com and pingoat.com are two sites you can use to do this.

- Participating in forums related to the topic of your blog. Put a link to your blog in your forum signature.

Finally, once you have your blog monetized and you have started promoting it don’t forget to post regularly. The most important aspect of every successful blog is frequent posting, so be sure not to let the virtual dust gather over your blog!

About The Author
Suzanne Morrison blogs regularly on various topics including travel, home business and internet marketing. You can visit her Plug-In Profit Site Blog at http://www.pluginprofit.blogspot.com to find out how she makes money online.