Ways To Generate Online Income

The Internet has made it possible to generate many more forms of passive online income. Passive income is one of three types of income, as categorized by the IRS. The most common source of passive income is through online advertisements.

Advertising models

Online advertisers offer a variety of advertising models where advertising affiliates are offered payment in exchange for clicks, impressions or for each commission. For example, an e-commerce website might offer a percentage of the revenue generated from sales after a user arrives from the affiliate's link.Generating passive income


The size of the passive income generated by the advertising affiliates comes from the number of users who see the link and are compelled by the advertisement or context that the link is embedded in. In order to draw in traffic and maximize clicks, advertising affiliates need to create content that is interesting to the users and can also draw in traffic that is likely to click on the links and purchase the product on the other side.

The need for content

For this reason, many websites that are advertising affiliates need content, which is most often text. However, the content can also include images, downloads, software, video and various other applications and forms of multimedia. Website owners earn a passive income through advertisements either by creating the content themselves or by subcontracting the creation of this content out to other content creators.

Passive and active compensation

This can be paid for either through passive or active payments. Some website owners choose to share a portion of the website earnings with the content creators, while other websites choose to pay content creators a flat fee, which represents an active form of income. Flat fees provide content creators with an immediate gratification for the content creator, but articles with a large amount of views can earn much more passive income.

E-commerce and auctions

Advertisements are only one way in which income is generated online. Another way to generate income is through the selling of products and services. Many products are sold on e-commerce websites and auction websites. E-commerce websites generally sell a select type of merchandise, with products sold usually at a set price. Auction websites allow buyers and sellers to meet online. Buyers can bid on products, with the highest bidders getting the item for sale.

Private contracts

The bidding concept is also used to sell services on a variety of bidding websites. In this model, clients can post projects and professionals can bid on the project. In this case, the bid represents the fee that the professional wishes to be paid for the project. The client can choose bidders based on the suggested fee, the professional's credentials and samples that are presented to the client.

However, this only represents one of many ways that clients and independent contractors can come together. Many clients will advertise the need for services on online classified websites, content mills and forums. For more high-profile projects, talent is usually found through word-of-mouth or by the independent contractor advertising his or her services on a personal website. While clients might pay a flat fee for services, some clients and independent contractors work out an hourly rate or a revenue share system.

Should You Borrow Money From Your Parents to Start a Business?

“We’ve always encouraged young people: Take a shot, go for it. Take a risk, get the education, borrow money if you have to from your parents, start a business.” –Mitt Romney

Political preferences aside, Mitt Romney’s encouragement to young entrepreneurs is something that some of you may have contemplated. When you’re ready to start a small business, but need funding to get it off the ground, should you borrow the money from your parents?

Surely, they’re likely to be flexible with you on payment terms, and will give you all the emotional support you need when starting a new endeavor, but borrowing money from your parents can be both a blessing and a curse.

Let’s take a look at the pros and cons:

Benefits:

They may give you more lenient terms for payback, including lower interest rates and waived penalties. This is one of the more significant reasons to borrow money from your parents vs. obtaining an inflexible bank loan. Even if this is the case, you’ll want to approach the agreement with a signed promissory note (that’s been looked over by a lawyer), and will need to establish a payback schedule that you can adhere to. Just because you don’t have late fees does not mean you should take advantage of your parents’ generous loan.
Your parents, whether they’ve invested or not, want to see you succeed. When you borrow from them, their money is on the line, and they’ll likely do everything within their means to help you reach your goals – making introductions to their network, acting as your extended sales force, or being beta testers for your product.
Since your parents already know and trust you, they’re likely to have more faith in your business idea and may not put you through the business plan wringer when deciding whether or not to lend to you. This doesn’t mean you should forego this important step when planning to start a business, but it may make it easier on you to know that you’re supported and your idea has merit.

Drawbacks:
We’re still crawling out of an economic recession, and they likely don’t have much money to part with, if any. Through the last few years, many older generations lost a ton of money, and have had to rebuild their wealth while postponing retirement. If your parents are in this position, saving for retirement should be their priority over helping you. Remember that, as they age, they should also have reserves for health care and possibly extended home care, neither of which are inexpensive.
Borrowing money from Mom and Dad could change your relationship with them. It’s one thing to accept a monetary gift, but quite another to explicitly ask for a large sum of money to start a business. When you borrow money, they’ll likely have questions about their involvement in your business, including what they will or won’t have a say in when it comes to how you spend the money. Working with your parents on a personal, familial level is quite different from working with them professionally. You risk having heated disagreements and ongoing tension if there’s money between you.
If you are unsuccessful, you’ve just wasted your parents’ hard-earned money. Banks hedge their bets with small businesses, and can help you to determine how much money you truly need for start-up costs. It’s likely your parents have neither the insight nor the resources to compare your likelihood of success with other small businesses like yours. They may also feel obligated to make an investment based on your personal relationship, even if they can’t afford to lose it.

Regardless of where your funding comes from, it’s important that you make smart business decisions, like these recommended on WiseBread.com. Otherwise, it doesn’t matter where your money came from … parents or otherwise.

Are you a believer that money and family don’t mix? Or have you successfully borrowed money from your parents to start your business?

Lose Upper and Lower Belly Fat

There are two main areas of belly fat: upper and lower. In reality, you abdominal muscles are actually one long slab of muscle. The problem is that it is easier to exercise the upper abdomen than it is to exercise the lower abdomen. Here are some exercises that workout each of the sections of your abs, so than you can develop that dreamed of six pack. At the end of this article will also be some fat burning tips.
Upper Belly Fat

Regular crunches. Lying flat on your back (on a mat or bench), place your hands behind your head gently to support your neck. Your knees should be bent with your feet flat on the floor. Contract you upper abdominal muscles and lift your shoulder blades off of the floor and lower back down. Repeat this several times.

Clam shell. This exercise is similar to the regular crunch, only there is an additional movement. As your bring your should blades off the floor, bring your knees in towards your midsection. When you lower your head back down, lower your legs back to the starting position.
Lower Belly Fat

Reverse crunches. Lying flat on your back, with your hands rested at your sides or behind your head, raise your legs so that they are perpendicular to the floor. Cross your legs with your knees slightly bent. Contract your lower abdominal muscles and raise your hips off of the floor. You back should remain straight and on the floor. Hold the position for a second and lower back down. Repeat the exercise until fatigue.

Abdominal leg raises. You will lie on your back for this exercise as well. Place your arms down at your sides and close your legs. Press your lower abdomen into the floor as you lift your feet off of the ground. Keep your legs straight. Lower your legs back down and raise them again. Repeat.
Fat Burning Exercise

Aerobics class. Sign up for an aerobics class and get your heart pumping. Aerobic activity is great for your respiratory system. It is without question, a great way to boost your metabolism and help you burn fat. You will also have accountability with your instructor and friends.

Dancing. You can sign up for a class in dancing as well. You can take ballroom dancing, hip-hop, Latin Dance, and many other types of dance. It will get your heart pumping just as much as other aerobic activities.
Fat Burning Diet

High fiber, low sugar. Fiber can work wonders for your diet. Increasing your intake of fibers will increase your metabolism and keep you from storing as much fat. Fiber will also help you to feel full faster, so that you won’t eat as much. Reducing your refined sugar intake will also help you to lose weight. Cut down on the cookies, cakes and donuts. You should also drink water instead of soda and fruit drinks that are not 100% fruit juice. The best tried and tested fat loss diet is the Fat Loss 4 Idiots. Thousands of people have had amazing success with it already!

Good fats, good carbs. Monounsaturated fats are the healthy types of fats that you can have. They are found in olive and peanut oils. Lower your intake of saturated fat, because that increases your cholesterol, and packs on weight. Good carbs, or complex carbohydrates are in wheat, rye, oats, and other whole grains. Make sure your breads are 100% whole grain, and not refined. White bread products are something to avoid.

Practicing these exercises will help you to lose both of your upper and lower belly fat. If you do them and make sure that you eat properly, you will see your belly shrink down, and expose a nice six pack.

Using Self Liquidating Transactions to Finance Your Company

The number of business financing alternatives that are available to small and medium sized companies has dropped dramatically as a result of the financial crisis. Until recently, most owners could get a business loan by posting their house as collateral. Now that real estate prices have dropped substantially, banks find themselves saddled with worthless collateral and are being extremely careful with their loan portfolios. Only companies that can show profitable operations for a number of years, strong financial statements, demonstrated management leadership have a reasonable chance at getting business loans. Everyone else will need to find an alternative.

One alternative is a type of self liquidating transaction called invoice factoring. A self liquidating transaction is one that carries it’s mechanism for its own repayment. This feature makes them a very attractive source of financing to some companies.

Factoring is commonly used by companies that give 30 to 60 days invoice terms to their clients. Although large clients demand these payment terms, many small to medium sized companies can’t afford them. They need to get paid sooner so that they can meet their operating expenses. This is where invoice factoring comes in.

In a conventional factoring transaction, the client makes the sale, sends the invoice to the client and the finances it using a factoring company. The factoring company funds the invoice in two payments. The first payment covers about 80% of the invoice and is given soon after invoicing. The second payment of 20 % (less fees) is sent once the invoice is paid in full. The second payment closes – or liquidates – the transaction.

One immediate advantage of invoice factoring is that it allows clients the ability to offer payment terms to their clients with confidence – knowing that they can get money sooner if their business requires it. Additionally, factoring transactions are based on the credit strength of the invoice backing them. This allows small companies, who sell to large credit worthy businesses, to leverage their roster of clients to get financing.

Factoring is ideal for small and midsized companies whose biggest problem is that they can’t afford to wait 30 to 60 days to get paid.

3 ways to finance your small-business startup

This Spotlight on Business Credit Cards is brought to you by American Express OPEN, the leading issuer of small-business credit cards and charge cards in the U.S. OPEN offers business owners products and services to help them run and grow their businesses.

The lingering effects of the Great Recession have made the already-difficult process of financing a startup even more challenging. Small-business loans, which can be tough to secure in the best of times, have gotten even more scarce.

Angel investment can be an attractive option, but, in an article on Bloomberg Businessweek, Karen Klein writes that “you will have to get your business running and make substantial investment in it yourself before you’ll be eligible for private investment.”

And, as always, financing a startup can involve significant risk. But for creative, motivated entrepreneurs, it is possible to navigate this difficult business climate and finance a startup without going bankrupt.

Don’t quit your day job

The most straightforward way to minimize the risk of your startup is to avoid taking on large amounts of debt. That means digging into your savings and living frugally for a while. Entrepreneurs who choose to bootstrap their companies shouldn’t “spend money on anything that doesn’t have the ability to put money directly back into [their] business,” writes Wayne Mullins, founder of Ugly Mug Marketing, in an article on American Express OPEN Forum.

Ideally, 10 years from now, the cash will be flowing in from your company and you’ll be leading business meetings from the deck of your own private yacht. But in the meantime, get ready to put in some 14-hour days. Keeping your regular job until your startup takes off can provide some much-needed security and a steady stream of cash to pump into your business.

Consider a credit card

A number of high-profile entrepreneurs, including Sergey Brin and Larry Page of Google fame, have used credit cards to get their companies up and running. Plastic has some notable advantages over other kinds of financing — for starters, it’s flexible, notes Beth Orenstein. Credit cards allow you to borrow exactly the amount of money you need, when you need it. And, at time when other forms of financing are tough to come buy, small-business credit cards are still accessible for many entrepreneurs.

“The biggest pro to using credit cards in this economy is availability,” said Sam Thacker of Austin, Texas-based Business Finance Solutions, in Orenstein’s article.

However, easy access requires discretion. Without a bank or group of investors scrutinizing your decisions, you have to make sure you are spending wisely. “Credit card financing may be too easy to get for a simple business idea that’s not a real profitable business model,” said Denise Breeson, an instructor at Santa Rosa Junior College in California, also in the article.

Think outside the box

Bank loans and private investment get most of the attention when it comes to startup funding, but there are a number of more unusual methods to consider. For example, many colleges and other organizations run business-plan competitions, which provide an opportunity to secure thousands of dollars to help turn your idea into a reality. Small-business speaker Barry Moltz likens these competitions to “show business.” “You also need to be a good presenter,” he writes.

Also search for other creative ways to fund your startup, such as through government-grant programs, Moltz recommends.

Online Reviews are Vital to Small Business

Internet marketing is becoming more important to small business as a means of attracting the local trade. While online sales have continued to grow, the use of the internet to find those same products or services from a local supplier has also grown; Google is reporting that 20% of all searches from desktops and 40% from mobile devices relate to location1. With two thirds of all search engine traffic, Google2 is handling 471 million location related searches every month, and so claiming your business’ Google Places listing should be the first step towards developing a successful local online presence for your small business.

While this all seems straightforward on the surface, the downside to this trend for using local search to find a local business is that Google also turns up every single mention that has been posted online about your business at the same time. Worse yet, your Google Places listing uses the number of reviews of your business to determine where it will place your listing in the SERPs, and displays the latest reviews regardless of whether they are positive or negative. If one unhappy customer goes online and posts a couple of dozen bad reviews of your business, these complaints might be all that potential customers see when your Google Places listing pops up in their search results.

The internet has had a significant influence on the way that people choose to make a purchase, with 58%3 of people indicating that they first do online research on the products that they are thinking of purchasing. When they do go online, only 24%4 of users go to a company website for their information, and the remaining 76% look in the search engines or ask their friends on social media. The ease with which we can now leave a highly visible opinion about a business that we have dealt with has seen 24%3 of internet users saying that they have left a review of a product or service that they have purchased, and 80%4 of internet shoppers have said that they have changed their mind about making a purchase or dealing with a business after reading bad reviews online. All of this indicates that people are willing to take the time to post a review and that others are reading them and paying attention.

For a small business this can be a double edged sword, especially if you aren’t aware of what is written about you online. If it turns out that you do have a number of bad reviews online they can be difficult, if not impossible to remove, and the first step to turning your online reputation around could be to contact InfintechDesigns.com about internet reputation management strategies for your business. Even if you have good reviews for your business online, it is important to keep them fresh in order to keep your ranking as high as possible in the SERPs, as the crawlers that index the Google Places listings value new reviews more highly than old ones.

Testimonials are a well established marketing tool, and online business reviews fill a similar role for online shoppers. Collecting good reviews for your business should be a part of your long term internet marketing strategy, and encouraging your satisfied customers to leave a positive comment on one of the internet business directories to bolster your online reputation is a constructive way to build your ranking in the SERPs. InfintechDesigns.com can help you to structure a search engine marketing campaign with the focus on your local customers that takes advantage of all of the online opportunities that are available to small local businesses.

eCommerce SEO Marketing Business and Computer Electronics Business

With big industries looking to tap on the ever-growing Internet market, small businesses can no longer afford to delay doing the same. If you’re an entrepreneur and your aim is to have a huge company, it’s high time to know about eCommerce SEO and local SEO.

What is eCommerce?

Electronic commerce pertains to commercial activities that take place on the Internet. When a business establishes a website with an interface where clients can transact, this constitutes online trade and thus makes that business engaged in eCommerce. The concept encompasses many fields including online shopping, web-based banking, stock trading, rentals and many others. Even small businesses offering personal services such as salons are under eCommerce once they establish an online page.

Why do businesses commit to it?

Many business owners cite three common reasons: (1) it promotes their business and boosts their company image; (2) it makes transactions easier for their current clients; and (3) it helps them offer lower prices.

A website is another means for promoting a company. It also helps prospective clients know that a particular firm exists and this company offers several products or services. On the customer service side, eCommerce delivers more convenience to a firm’s existing clientele as all these people need is to log online and click several buttons. Lowered prices are possible since owners get to minimize overhead costs. Programs replace human workers and these can take in the same workload without adding extra expenses to the entrepreneur.

What is search engine optimization?

Search engine optimization refers to methods used by individuals or companies for a website to rank in major search engines like Google and Yahoo. White hat techniques may include employing keyword research, producing multiple original online content materials and performing link-building tasks.

Why is eCommerce SEO important?

It’s vital because it helps maximize business potentials. Imagine the Internet as one big race and this race will award the top ten race participants with fantastic prizes. You only get to win something fabulous if you belong to the first ten winners.

eCommerce SEO helps you become a winner in the rat race that’s the Internet. Their professional writers, marketers, researchers and link builders can find ways to help you gain first page visibility. When you hire a competent team to do this, your business can win over clients, reap revenues and have a clear shot of gaining repeat sales or service requests.

Does Facebook Marketing Help Your Website or Faceb

Let me start off by saying that I think social media marketing is an incredibly important component of any inbound marketing campaign. Alongside SEO and content marketing, social media marketing helps build your overall online brand presence, connects your company with new and interested consumers, and strengthens your industry authority and more. Without a doubt, Facebook is still the 800 pound gorilla of the social networking world and should be incorporated into every company’s social media marketing plan in one way or another.

But in the last year or so I’ve noticed a growing trend when it comes to Facebook marketing—companies are giving their Facebook profiles a lot of “face time” on all of their marketing platforms—TV commercials, radio ads and print ads invite consumers to Like a company on Facebook; websites publish big “Find Us on Facebook” banners on prime page real estate and entire marketing campaigns are built with around the goal of getting more Facebook fans. While I think it’s great that so many companies are invested in having a strong social presence, it’s important to remember that every time you promote your Facebook page it’s Facebook that could reap the most benefits in the long run, not necessarily your company. If you’re not careful, your Facebook marketing just markets Facebook!

In my opinion, Facebook is not a place of commerce; people don’t head over to Facebook with the intent to buy. They go to check in with their friends, post funny videos or breaking news, upload photos from their family vacation, plan parties and so forth. Even though Facebook is doing all it can to become a one-stop-online-shop for users it’s still mostly a social site. When you promote your Facebook page, you are encouraging your target audience to check out Facebook INSTEAD of coming to your website. Facebook is the one that benefits from all of your traffic!

hink about it like this—let’s say someone does heed your call-to-action and searches for your company on Facebook. Once they are on your Facebook page, where do they go from there? Sure, they could click over to your website or blog (the end goal of any Facebook marketing campaign), but there are literally dozens of other links on you Facebook page that could take them away from your brand. Never mind the fact that their own profile and home page is just a click away, Facebook also puts ads in the side bar on your page. You might be advertising your own competitors! The last thing any site wants to do is send a targeted customer over to the competition.

Now I am not saying that companies should stop promoting their Facebook profiles altogether. Having a social presence is critical to online success today, and obviously you want to make sure your audience knows where they can find, connect and interact with your brand online. However, I am suggesting that site owners take a good hard look at their Facebook marketing tactics. The end goal should never be just “get more Fans.” You want to use your Facebook profile as a gateway to send more qualified visitors over to your site. Don’t turn Facebook into the end destination otherwise Facebook reaps all the benefits while you do all the work.

Pay Per Click Advertising What is Pay Per Click Advertising?

Pay Per Click Advertising simply refers to a form of Online Marketing whereby a company pays a particular source to advertise on their website, for example Google AdWords. Payment is charged per click-through to your website from the ad on another's website. This could be another company or individual's site or a search engine such as Google for instance. For the purpose of this explanation however, we will focus on Pay Per Click Advertising through the major Search Engines.

Pay Per Click Advertising refers to the form of Search Engine Marketing that sees company websites advertised in the sides and top of Search Engine Results for selected Keyword Searches. These listings appear as Sponsored Listings within the major search engines. As the name Pay Per Click Advertising suggests, payment for the advertising is based on the number of clicks an ad receives.

How does Pay Per Click Advertising work?

Pay Per Click Advertising is a step by step, often complicated process. Its success is dependant on a range of variables, such as Budget Determination, Keyword Selection, Search Engine selection, Bid Placement, Ad Creation and Campaign Review, each of which are explained below.

Budget Determination: The first step to creating a Pay Per Click Advertising campaign is determining a suitable budget to allocate to the campaign. Determining the budget is almost entirely up to the company looking to advertise. The only budgeting restriction is any minimum spend requirement as set by the Search Engine itself. These are generally nominal, between $25-50 in most cases. These spend requirements allow almost any website to undertake a Pay Per Click Advertising campaign, making this among the most accessible forms of Online Marketing.
Keyword Selection: The next step in Pay Per Click Advertising is to select the most appropriate Keywords for which the company wishes to advertise. This is often seen as the most important step as it indicates which Searches will display the company ad. To begin with, brainstorming should be undertaken to identify as many possible keywords and terms that are relevant to the company and its industry. Once this list is established, Keyword Selection must be based on two major factors. Firstly, research must be carried out to highlight the most searched for words or terms on the brainstormed list. This indicates the level of exposure each ad is likely to gain. The list should be ordered starting with most searched down the list to least searched. Once this is completed, further research should be undertaken as to the competition for each of the Keywords or terms in the list. The intensity of competition for each keyword or term will indicate the price of that keyword or term. This is thanks to the bidding system in place on the major Search Engines (see below).
Search Engine Selection: Once a budget is determined and keywords or terms are chosen, the advertiser must select the Search Engine on which they wish to advertise. There is a whole range of Search Engines online, many of which offer Pay Per Click Advertising. The largest of these, in order, are Google, through Google AdWords, Yahoo, through Yahoo! Search Marketing, and MSN, which has recently teamed up with Yahoo! Search Marketing. Each of the different Search Engines has their own advantages and limitations. Some are more popular than others, increasing exposure as well as expense. Others are smaller and therefore less expensive, but can be riskier due to lower exposure. In most instances, the most successful Pay Per Click Advertising campaigns work across a combination of Search Engines.
Ad Creation: Once the above steps are completed, a Pay Per Click Ad must be developed. These Advertisements become the visual touch point for the company's targeted consumers. The design of these ads has several restrictions placed on them by the Pay Per Click Search Engines. We will discuss the restrictions in place via Google AdWords, due to the popularity of this Search Engine. Many of these restrictions are replicated on the other Search Engines as well.
Bid Placement: Pay Per Click Advertising works on a bidding system whereby a company places a maximum bid for each keyword or term they wish to advertise for. This bid not only indicates the maximum the company is willing to spend on each click (Cost-Per-Click), but also plays a major part in determining the placement of the company's ad for that keyword or term. Recent alterations to many Pay Per Click Search Engines, particularly on Google, increased the evaluating scope meaning not only the Cost-Per-Click determines the ad placement. Also considered is the Organic Search Engine Optimisation of a Landing Page, i.e. how relevant is the page to the user's search. This has been termed “Quality Score”. This prevents companies from being placed above others simply because they have a larger Online Marketing budget.
Campaign Review: One of the greatest benefits of Pay Per Click Advertising is the ability for businesses to monitor their campaigns. Pay Per Click Advertising is a highly effective, highly measurable form of Online Marketing. Every time a consumer clicks through to a company's website, their actions within the site can be tracked. These actions can include number of pages visited, sales made, contact enquiries, newsletter sign-ups and more. Each of these actions can be allocated a particular value based on the dollars earned for the company. In turn, each click received can then also be allocated a value. The ability to track each click allows a Pay Per Click Advertising campaign's performance to be closely monitored and enables the campaign manager to constantly review the campaign, maximising the clicks which receive the most value and ensuring the overall campaign ROI is maximised. With the right selection of keywords, a Pay Per Click Advertising campaign can be a very cost effective form of Online Marketing. Each keyword can be individually evaluated, allowing careful monitoring of the campaign and ensuring only the most valuable keywords are retained.

What are the limitations of Pay Per Click Advertising?

Pay Per Click Advertising does have its limitations. The competition for keywords can at times be intense, driving the Cost-Per-Click to increase, in some cases rather dramatically. At times, this competition can be so intense that the Cost-Per-Click can reach $10 or more, especially on the more popular Pay Per Click Search Engines. For small-medium businesses, this competition can completely blow the Online Marketing budget, making it very difficult to effectively reach their target market. This limitation has been seen to be within the Pay Per Click Advertising key term bidding model. The advent of the Quality Score Indicator has somewhat reduced this limitation, as now it is possible for businesses to be seen in the paid search listings even if they can't quite match the financial clout at times thrown around by their larger counterparts.

One of the toughest limitations to overcome within the bounds of Pay Per Click Advertising however is consumer distrust of paid ads as compared to the Organic Search Results. Online consumers are increasingly learning that the Pay Per Click listings are in fact paid advertising, and that the only true indication of relevance to a particular search term is found in the Organic Search Results. Whilst this can be partially overcome through effective ad creation and content development, it is an issue that cannot be totally avoided. However, one positive of the Pay Per Click Advertising model is that businesses only pay when someone clicks on their ad. If a particular consumer chooses to ignore the paid listings, at least the advertiser doesn't have to pay. However, in order to reach the greatest depth and breadth of a market segment, it is important to combine effective Search Engine Optimisation with Pay Per Click Advertising.

Sponsored Search Campaigns

PPC stands for "Pay-Per-Click". Pay-Per-Click is an advertising model where businesses pay an agreed upon amount, each time their advertisement is "clicked", not each time their ad is displayed.

Business owners typically setup a PPC campaign with one, or several of the various search engines defining how much they are willing to spend for each click-through that they receive.

Companies select keywords, keyword phrases, keyword groups, or categories in which they want their advertisements to appear. Those willing to spend the most money for a relevant advertisement will generally be listed first.

Benefits Of Pay-Per-Click Advertising
When you setup a PPC campaign you can control the traffic. While a new website takes time to rank well in search engines, with PPC you can turn the traffic on and off. With PPC you can create almost instant traffic.

Another benefit to PPC listings is the opportunities for international exposure. Organic search listings vary in different geographical regions. With PPC you control where you are seen.

Tracking Sponsored Search Click Throughs
In order to determine how effective a PPC campaign is, it is important to install tracking code on your website and use tracking software. This will provide you with information such as your cost per click, ad relevance, click through rate, and daily budget and the order on which the ads appear is based on a number of factors.

Keyword Analytics
Understanding the search terms end users browse with to locate the products and services in your industry are critical to launching a successful PPC program.

The keywords and phrases selected for your campaign will affect your overall budget; qualify the end user who clicks through on your ad and ultimately, the number of leads (conversions) you receive.

Adwords Campaign Budget
With both Google and Yahoo they have traffic estimators that allow you to see the average daily bid for the keywords and phrases you are looking to buy and anticipated click-throughs.
You can then set the amount your willing to pay per keyword/phrase, and a daily and monthly budget.

Sponsored Search Ad Writing
Our Pay-Per-Click team has significant experience in writing effective ads. The ad title should be clear and when possible should include keywords. There is a higher incidence of click throughs when the actual keyword or phrase is used in the title, by up to 50%.

The ad description should be accurate and should be used as a filter, so that you are not paying for clicks that are not going to convert to a sale or the action that you desire.

Click Through Landing Pages
To generate the highest conversion rates, most PPC engagements include the programming and installation of landing page(s). The landing page is contained within your website's domain but only accessible via clicking through on the ad.

This page limits the end users navigation choices and typically solicits an offer specific to the product line. After the end user submits their contact information they are then able to download the offered PDF document.

When landing pages are incorporated with a PPC campaign, your conversion rates will increase dramatically.

Click-Through-Rates (CTR) & Conversions
Click-through-rate, or CTR, is a way of measuring the success of an online advertising campaign. A CTR is obtained by dividing the number of users who clicked on an ad after searching with a keyword or phrase by the number of times the ad was delivered (impressions).

Conversions measure an 'action' the end user takes after clicking-through your ad. This can be their completing a submit form, downloading a white paper or clicking on your 'Contact Us' link.

The Goal Of Pay-Per-Click = Conversions
A successful PPC campaign should be targeted not too narrowly and not too broadly. Direct the user to a relevant landing page that has a direct relationship to the keyword or phrase contained in their search and in your ad. This will insure a higher Click-Through-Rate and more Conversions.

Two Ways That You Can Achieve Greater Website Visibility

Have you been wondering how to jump-start your business and get it out of the current slump that it is in? Whether you have a brand new business or a business that has been around for a while, it is important to make sure that you know how to effectively market and advertise your business, products, and services so that potential customers will be more likely to choose your products and services over someone else’s products and services. One great way to attract customers is by setting up an attractive website that is easy to navigate and is very user-friendly. However, setting up a quality website is only half the battle, because you then need to draw customers to your website one way or another. Employing SEO techniques and choosing to buy traffic are two ways that you can increase traffic to your website.

You have probably heard of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) before, but you may be wondering exactly how it works and how it can increase your website’s visibility. The concept is actually fairly simple, and is based on how search engines rank articles, websites, and blogs based on their content and on key words that are used throughout that content. Search engines have complicated indices that are able to instantly pull up relevant content in response to a search term. For example, if a customer is searching for “swimming pools” in a search engine, the search engine is able to draw from its indices and pull up related content in a fraction of a second. If you want to increase visibility to your particular website and products, then you want to make sure that your website has a high search engine ranking and pulls up within the first few pages of search results. Achieving a high ranking within search engine indices is a complicated and difficult task, but you can increase your chances of accomplishing this goal by using proper SEO techniques.

Another way to increase your website’s visibility is by purchasing traffic for your website. If you decide to buy traffic it is important that you are aware that some traffic is targeted and some is not. You can experience some benefits whether you choose to buy traffic that is targeted or whether you choose to buy generic, robotic traffic. However, if you want to experience superior results then you may want to purchase targeted traffic because targeted traffic consists of real people that are directed to your website based on interests, demographics, and/or specific search terms that they have typed into a search engine. Generic, robotic traffic has the ability to increase traffic to your website, but is generally not as helpful if you want to attract real people who will be genuinely interested in your products, services, and content.

If you are of spending large amounts of money trying to come up with creative ways to advertise and attract customers to your website, then you may want to consider purchasing targeted or generic traffic for your website while simultaneously using proper SEO techniques. Both of these methods are fairly easy to employ and can offer highly satisfactory results over time. These techniques can help you to draw more customers to your website and achieve greater website visibility so that your website and your company are more likely to succeed.

Business Pay per click - advantages and disadvantages

The desire of every business and Internet marketer is to achieve a high position for a chosen keyword in the search engines. This means that when potential customers search on a phrase which you have targeted, they will find your website on the first page of the results returned by any search engine.

In previous blogs I have explained the basics of Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising. This article looks at the advantages and disadvantages of using PPC.

Pay per click advertising does offer some advantages over more conventional advertising techniques. Because you have control over your web site, you have control over who visits it. That is the nature of the Internet and effectively how it operates. Because of this, it is possible to target your ads quite precisely, so that your adverts fit specific searches that people make. However, as outlined below there are disadvantages as well.

Advantages

PPC can work instantly - After you undertake PPC companies, your website can start to receive visitors in a matter of hours.

Increased traffic - The money being made in the PPC industry can be high and website owners as well as bloggers are monetizing their sites by publishing these text ads in addition to their other affiliate programs. This means that your ad can be placed onscreen and in front of a million eyes the first week or month, depending on your daily budget.

Reliability - When you apply search engine optimization (SEO) to your websites, you are not guaranteed of a great placement in the search results. You can have the world's greatest website, filled with lots of useful information, this will not help you if your SEO is done badly, other companies are paying lots of PPC dollars for your top keywords, or a search turns up ten million websites with the same or similar information.

Stability - There are billions of websites on the internet that are vying for a good position in the first few pages of a search result. To get around this, many webmasters attempt to cheat and put plans in place to get around search engine rules. When caught, the websites are penalized to the point that some of them are removed completely and are no longer indexed. With pay per click advertising, as long as you keep paying, you will stay in the search results.

Disadvantages

Expensive - Pay per click is an advertising system that works by having visitors click on ads that they see on a website or search engine result page. These clicks can quickly add up to a lot of money in a short amount of time. New users are the most susceptible to large charges. After they setup an account, they can come back in a few hours or even the next day, and find that their maximum daily limit has already been met. In some instances, errors or glitches have kept their accounts going long after the daily limit and their accounts are charged hundreds of dollars in a very short amount of time.

Click Fraud - This type of fraud has been a huge concern for those involved in text ads and PPC. Some publishers will attempt to get more money by clicking on the ads on their own websites. This can quickly lead to them being banned from the companies but in some cases, other publishers have family and friends do the clicking for them.

Accidental Clicks - You can also lose money from false clicks when a publisher places their text ads in places that can make visitors assume that the links are part of the actual website. Visitors can also click accidentally by not paying attention to what they are looking at. These clicks mean that the visitor hits the back button or closes the page without paying much attention to where the ad has lead them to. You lose money, and you have not gained a new reader or customer.

No Guarantees - Paying for PPC does not mean that you will make money from the clicks accrued. Millions of users click on these links and then they leave the page. The only guarantee is that you will receive a few clicks, but that does not always translate into sales.

Heavy Competition - When using text advertising, it is wise to find keywords and phrases that are not popular. Large companies are using PPC and with their high budgets, they have made it hard for the average small or medium business owner to afford widely known keywords. You can do research on specific keywords only to find that the one you would like to use has a rate of £75. This is no exaggeration and this means that just five clicks would cost you £260 with no guarantee that you will receive even a single sale.

The bottom line

PPC can be a great advertising tool, but you have to do your homework and figure out how best to use it and firstly check whether it's the right tool for you to use.

My advice is to never undertake a PPC campaign without first doing a thorough traffic analysis not only of hits and visitors to your site but also of the search volume and other key indicators. The information gathered from the analysis will tell you whether a PPC campaign is a good option for your business.

This analytical and staged way of working, offered by my company, has certainly benefited the clients I work with.

Search Engine Marketing Increases Your Website's Exposure

Search engine marketing (SEM) is a fundamental strategy that improves a website's visibility in major search engines. It does so on multiple fronts, using both organic and paid optimization techniques to drive targeted traffic to your site. Without keyword research and honing in on your target market, your site may get many worthless visits as consumers are led to your site even though it does not offer what they are searching for. Without search engine marketing, a business website could easily become a veritable billboard in the desert. Regardless of its design or aesthetic appeal, few people would see it.

You can use SEM techniques to sharply increase your company's exposure within your market. The strategy is complex and must be deployed carefully to generate lasting results. When combined with SEO and social media optimization (SMO), search engine marketing represents a cost-effective way to reach your audience, drive them to your site, and convert them into loyal customers.

Organic Rankings Through Search Engine Optimization

Search engine optimization (SEO) focuses primarily on lifting your web pages to the top organic listings for your chosen keywords. By using both on-site and off-site optimization techniques, you can gradually improve your position for the phrases your audience uses. SEO is an important cog in your search engine marketing campaign. By appearing higher in the organic listings, your website will attract a larger volume of targeted visitors.

There are many areas within SEO that you can focus upon in order to gain higher rankings and enjoy better exposure. For example, local search emphasizes ranking for keywords with a geo-specific rider. The key is to integrate your optimization tactics within the broader scope of your SEM campaign.

The Role Of PPC In Search Engine Marketing

Pay per click (PPC) advertising is another critical component of search engine marketing. While SEO focuses on ranking your website within the search engines' organic listings, PPC does so in the sponsored listings. By bidding on optimal keywords, you can show your ad to only the most targeted audience.

One of the advantages of pay per click advertising over search engine optimization is that it can drive traffic to your website immediately. By contrast, SEO takes time. High organic rankings will deliver powerful results, but those rankings are achieved gradually. While your SEO campaign is gaining momentum, your PPC campaign can begin driving a positive ROI almost instantly.

Search Engine Marketing: Paying For Inclusion

In many industries, search engine marketing should also include paying for inclusion in relevant directories. This is especially true in competitive spaces where PPC bids are outrageously high and top organic rankings are controlled by authoritative sites. By paying for inclusion in directories that enjoy high traffic and top organic listings, you can further increase your company's exposure.

Not all directories are created equal. Some enjoy more traffic and authoritative ranking power than others. A search engine marketing specialist will be able to find the appropriate directories for your particular industry.

Social Media Marketing: Reaching The Influencers

Social media optimization is not technically a part of search engine marketing, but it is a potent strategy for reaching your audience and building your company's brand. The strategy leverages communities and the people who influence them. Websites such as Facebook and Twitter have become phenomenal traffic magnets because they encourage interaction among their users. Each person is part of an interactive social network. By using social media marketing tactics, you can reach the influencers within those networks to generate traffic, publicity, and sales.

Tracking Your Search Engine Marketing Results

The results of your search engine marketing efforts are measurable. Your website's positions in the organic listings for your main keywords can be easily evaluated. The positions of your Pay Per Click ads can be gauged. The traffic volume those positions drive to your site can be tracked. On-site conversions can be calculated based on the keywords your visitors used to find you. This is the core advantage of search engine marketing. You can use an analytics package to track your data and calculate an ROI.

There has never been a better time to explore the power of a honed search engine marketing campaign. It can improve the exposure of your website and drive targeted traffic to it. By using a multi-pronged approach that simultaneously leverages both organic and paid listings, search engine marketing can expand your sales and your customer base.

How Buying Targeted Traffic Can Benefit Your Website

Everyone who owns a company and maintains a website knows how difficult it can be to drive traffic to their website without spending large amounts of money on flyers, text ads, banners, and other forms of creative advertising that is designed to attract attention and draw more customers to their website. Because so many people rely almost solely on the internet to find specific products, companies, services, and content that they like, it is more important than ever to make sure that real people are directed to your website when they are looking for goods or services that you offer. However, achieving a high level of visibility online can be much more difficult than it sounds, and you can easily become frustrated and discouraged if your website doesn’t draw very much traffic and isn’t very highly ranked by various search engines. Continue reading this article if you would like to learn how you can take advantage of online marketing opportunities and find out how you can increase your website’s visibility and search engine ranking.

If someone were to ask you to name the most important component of a successful website, you might first think of website presentation and layout. However, without large volumes of website traffic your site probably won’t be successful no matter how professional or attractive it looks. It does little good to have an expertly-crafted web page if no one ever sees it or makes use of it. So as you can see, the most important component of a successful website is high visibility and high volumes of website traffic. So how do you go about attracting people to your website and encouraging them to read your content or buy your products and services? One way that you can achieve this goal is through buying targeted website traffic.

If you think that you can buy any website traffic and get the same results, you need to think again. If you simply purchase generic website traffic, then you will likely get only robotic visitors that are directed to your site. These visitors are not looking for products or services that you offer, and although you will be getting more traffic to your website, it won’t be valuable traffic. On the other hand, if you buy website traffic that is targeted, then real people will be directed to your website who are selected based on their interests, demographic area, or specific search terms that they enter into a search engine. This means that you will be receiving visitors to your website who are actually interested in your products, services, and the content of your website.

If you buy targeted website traffic, you will be able to draw more visitors to your site, which will not go unnoticed by search engines. The more visitors you receive to your website, the higher your website will rank within search engines, and the more visibility your website will have in search engine results. This in turn leads to even higher volumes of traffic, and the cycle will continue to repeat itself while your website benefits from the results of more visibility. If your website is currently in a slump and you are ready to start experiencing higher volumes of website traffic, then you should consider purchasing targeted website traffic to help increase your website’s visibility and success.