Making Money Online

Backlinks

2008-03-25T20:50:00.004-04:00

Anyone involved in Internet Marketing knows the importance of generating high quality backlinks. Backlinks are very important to your position in the search engine results pages(SERP's) because Google(for example) has determined that the quality of the links which are pointing to your website are an indication of the quality of your site.

Their ranking algorithm has placed a high priority on these incoming links and webmasters use expensive software to determine where potential backlinks can be found for their site and then how to acquire these links. The process can be long and tedious but it is a necessary evil if you are going to succeed in the long term with your Internet venture.

The difficulty is in getting very high quality links because to get an "important" site to link to you is very hard to do. But if you can, you will really help your rankings because these sites carry instant "link-love" for your website.

And you do have available to you a number of these sites, right now. For example, both Whois and Alexa know all about your sites and have links which point towards them. The problem is that these links carry no link juice because they are "no follow" links for the search engines. However, you can turn those links into very high quality ones by linking to them from your blog, for instance. These links now become very important to you because they CAN be followed by the search spiders. Here are 3 that you can use; just replace my sites with yours.

www.whois.net/whois_new.cgi?d=teacher-recommended&tld=com
http://whois.domaintools.com/teacher-recommended.com
www.alexa.com/data/details/?url=teacher-recommended.com

In a few days, after the spiders have done their work, you will have several very important backlinks that will immediately help your website in the SERP's.

'Til next time,
The Teacher

Recommended Autoresponder

2008-02-29T23:53:00.009-05:00

When you are just starting out, one item you often forget is the autoresponder. This tool is essential to developing long term relationships with your visitors and it is well worth buying a book on this function alone. Any well run, successful campaign relies heavily on the autoresponder to keep momentum going in a number of areas.

From many veteran Internet marketers you will hear the phrase, "the money is in the lists". What is being talked about here is the use of opt-in forms to capture the email address of potential customers for various programs or campaigns. In this way, communication is opened up between you and your visitor that can pay great dividends down the road.

After opting in to your mailing list, you begin sending emails to your site visitor at a time interval of your choosing. These communications can be newsletters, special offers, tips and/or suggestions by which you develop a rapport with your customer. If done correctly, this can lead to multiple sales in the future.

AWeber Communications is the best autoresponder service I could find and they have become the glue which holds together my various advertising campaigns. Their price is very reasonable and their numerous webinars are a great way to get up to speed on the different strategies in which you can use this product.

AWeber has the enviable record of the highest percentage of email deliverability, which means they are doing a pretty good job to make sure your emails make it to your customers. And, of course, that is what an email and list service is all about if you want to make money online. This deliverability factor has become a big issue recently with many email programs filtering out spam and causing some legitimate communications not to be opened; so it is important look at who is the leader in this area. The features built into this service are extensive and the support is extraordinary. I give AWeber Communications my unqualified recommendation and my highest rating.

The Teacher

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Recommended SEO Software

2008-02-19T23:23:00.017-05:00

Search Engine Optimization(SEO) has taken on greater and greater importance as the fierceness of the competition has increased. It is safe to say that you will not be around long if you are not paying attention to this facet of your business. Whether it is building link popularity, optimizing titles and meta tags, developing proper keyword density or having a rigorous plan for using satellite entities to drive website traffic, SEO strategies need to be put in place to handle all this and much more.

In my opinion, IBP might just be the only Search Engine Optimization(SEO) product you will ever need. With the competition becoming so fierce for getting good results on the search engine results page, it would be a huge mistake not purchasing a product that will handle all of the "backend" functions that need to get done. This is the one that handles every permutation of search engine optimization. Whether it is improving link popularity(my favorite area of the software), improving your position in the search engine results page or submitting your website to numerous directories and search engines, IBP performs each function flawlessly. There are other features that manage your PPC campaigns and do keyword research for you. Indeed, there are so many different features to the IBP program that I have not gotten around to using them all! IBP is my top recommendation in the area of search engine optimiztion.

Brad Callen, author of Keyword Elite, has also written a very good program to handle all of your SEO needs. This, as you might have guessed, is called SEO Elite , and it has made my very short list of optimization programs. While, in my opinion, it is not quite up to IBP standards in terms of the breadth of the offering, SEO Elite is a fine tool to use to perform numerous optimization tasks. One of the really nice features included is a way for you to zero in on your competition to see why they are performing better than you on the search engine results pages. Also, it finds relevant sites for you to link with; one of the most important tasks you need to perform on a regular basis. The software is a bit less expensive than IBP and makes for a good alternative. My choice for runner up.

Next on the list for recommendations will be my choices for best Content Creator programs.

'Til then,

The Teacher

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Recommended Keyword Software

2008-02-17T13:25:00.016-05:00

Almost any campaign you will undertake in Internet marketing will use keyword research as a component to drive traffic to your website. The days of growth by organic means only are over and you absolutely must have a tool for this very important task. To say keyword research software is a crowded field is an understatement. Many, many tools are available and, of course, the question is, which one do you choose?

My strong recommendation is that you use Keyword Elite as your keyword research tool. It is an extraordinary program that will give you a huge advantage when it comes to PPC(Pay per Click) marketing and Google Adwords and Adsense in particular. It is divided into 5 projects(or different ways to gather data) and provides many insights that are sure to make you additional income with your ad campaigns. The learning curve needed to use this program properly was rather short and I had integrated it into my ad campaigns within two days. I highly recommend this and use it nearly every day.

The runner up in the crowded field of keyword research is Wordtracker. Wordtracker offers a database of 340 million search queries from which you can ask the software to build keyword lists for use in PPC and search engine optimization(SEO). Wordtracker was one of the first keyword research tools, coming out well before Keyword Elite, and it is still one of the best. It bases a keyword’s traffic on the number of searches over the last two months within the Dogpile/Metacrawler search engines and it gives many insights into the use and popularity of selected keywords. It is a paid subscription based product and therefore can get a bit pricey. It is a very good software product and you should compare the features with Keyword Elite before making a final decision based on your personal preferences. A close runner up!

Next on my list of recommendations....SEO software.

'Til then,

The Teacher Subscribe to my monthly newsletter - Making Money Online - A step by step guide to making money on the Internet

Recommended Self-Study Courses

2008-02-15T14:56:00.020-05:00

Hello again. Today I want to talk about self-study courses. You are really faced with quite a challenge when you are figuring the best way to accumulate all the knowledge you will need to really make a go of this venture.

There is the brute force method where you click on numerous ads to find what is "out there". Generally speaking, you waste enormous amounts of time surfing from one site to another and you can get caught up in all the hype about a particular product. If you are extremely disciplined this method can be very successful because inevitably, when you are on one site, a question will come up and you will find the answer to that question by jumping to another site and then another question will come up and you will repeat the procedure and then another question....you get the point. But you certainly can get the big picture by using this method.

A much safer way of finding all the knowledge you will need is to purchase a self-study course and then immerse yourself in it. The thing is, you are making an assumption here; that the author himself has all the required information packed into his course and that he is not leaving out various important components that you will need to know.

So which courses are the best??

The standout here is The Insider Secrets to Marketing Your Business on the Internet. This "book" is meant to be a home study course; it is over 1000 pages long and it includes folders and 6 training CD's. This is the one general training course that I would buy. I wanted a product which explained "everything" and would give me a high level view of all I needed to accomplish so this format was perfect for me. Everything you need to know about starting an internet venture can be found in this course. After finishing this book you will have a good working knowledge of all of the different facets involved in running an internet business. The best internet course that I have found.

The runner up in this area is 33 Days to Online Profits. This great ebook was an inexpensive course option that I also ordered and am using today. It is a step by step home study course that will teach you how to make money on the internet no matter what product you are selling. As with the "Internet Secrets" course, it explains thoroughly all the functions you must do in order to be successful online. I especially liked the description about writing articles to attract visitors and boost site traffic and I have made article inclusion a staple on most of my sites. It is on my desk every day in case I need to quickly research various topics that might come up.

Ok, what's next. I will be writing about something that every Internet marketer will be using; software. What programs to use will be one of your most crucial decisions and one that you want to get right the first time around.

'Til next time,

The Teacher

Recommended Site Creators

2008-02-13T13:53:00.005-05:00

O.K. Let's now look at perhaps your biggest decision and what I recommend that you purchase. Designing your own website scares the pants off people who have no experience in this area. Html, CSS, snippets, widgets and anchor text are all words from some elite foreign language to many people and they want nothing to do with creating the site by themselves.

My advice here will be as strong as any I can give. You absolutely should know how to create your own website. That doesn't mean you have to do all the editing and updating by yourself, but you definitely should be able to perform those tasks if you have to. You get a much better feel for the site, can make changes on the fly instead of waiting for someone to do it for you and you develop a continuity on your website that is apparent to your visitors(especially for a medium or large site). And guess what? It is not that difficult! I should clarify that. Creating your website is not difficult providing you choose the right software.

What we want is a site creator that will do the things we(Internet marketers) will want to do. Managing affiliates and AdWord campaigns should be tightly integrated into the software and creating the site should be modular in nature so as to allow for very quick site designs and fast turnaround times. XSite Pro is my choice for best site creator software. It was developed especially for the internet marketing community and has many features that target the types of functions that we will need to do all the time. Working with Adsense or Affiliate code is a snap and publishing is done right within the program. It also has search engine optimization features built right into the program and the snippet utility is great when you need to add an html script within a web page. Site development is done within a modular page layout environment, making it possible to create numerous pages within a short amount of time. This is what I am personally using and I have nothing but positives to say about this software. I give this software my highest recommendation.

A very close second(I will need to explain this) is Site Build It! Site Build It!(SBI) is an all in one product that was developed by internet guru Ken Evoy. Like XSite Pro it is a website creator but it goes far beyong building a site. SBI also includes a hosting service with site statistic tracking capability that comes with the base package. A keyword research tool is also included for your Adwords and Adsense campaigns; again, as part of the base price. But there is much more. Different search engine optimization functions are neatly tied into the program and you also have submission capability to all the necessary website directories. Another great component is the autoresponder that comes with SBI with which you can set up email and newsletter campaigns. It is a great product but it is expensive. You will need to pay $299, but that is for only 1 year so, in effect, you are buying a subscription plan where each year will cost you $299. Still, if you want to have a resource that holds your hand from start to finish, Site Build It! is the one for you. I made the conscious decision to seperate the different tasks in the website design/optimization process rather than have one company handle it all for me. But you may very well decide that the all enclusive nature of this product is just right for you. It is the best all in one service that I have found.

Next time, I will talk about the best self-study courses on Internet Marketing that I have found and why I recommend that at least one course is part of your learning curve.

The Teacher Subscribe to my monthly newsletter - Making Money Online - A step by step guide to making money on the Internet

Recommended Affiliate Book

2008-02-13T13:51:00.005-05:00

An affiliate program is one in which you promote another's product and receive a commission if that product sells through your promotional activities. These products can be anything and everything under the sun and the associated affiliate programs run the gamut from excellent to something that is little more than a downright scam.

So, needless to say, it is imperitive to do your homework here. What kinds of payment programs(monthly, biweekly, etc.) are available to you, the affiliate? Does a monetary threshhold have to be reached before you are sent your commission? Does this program have a history of on time payments and how good(or bad) is the ranking of this affiliate program? These and many other questions need to be answered before you commit your time and efforts to selling or promoting someone's product.

All right, what resource do I recommend that will teach you all you need to know about affiliate programs? In this case, there is only one. The Super Affiliate Handbook, by Rosalind Gardiner, is, in my opinion, the best affiliate marketing ebook on the market, hands down. The subtitle of the book says it all: "How I Made $436,797 In One Year Selling Other People's Stuff". Affiliate marketing is one of the three methods I use to drive income in each of my four income streams and is something everyone in this business needs to know about. This is an all encompassing ebook and covers an enormous amount of detail. Her focus is on the basics, finding the right affiliate programs, building quality websites and earning the visitor's trust. As a newbie, I appreciated Rosalind's down to earth style and found myself highlighting nearly every page. I give this one my highest recommendation.

Now we have 2 methods of income in place(AdWords/AdSense and affiliate marketing). But what about our website? You guessed it, next time I will discuss site creator software and what programs are the best in a very crowded field.

The Teacher

Recommended AdWords/AdSense Books

2008-02-13T13:49:00.005-05:00

Anyone involved in Internet Marketing needs to thoroughly understand Google AdWordsAdSense if they want to be successful. It is that important and answers the top question you have to consider: What is the fastest way to drive traffic to my site? Of all the countless books written on the Google AdWord/AdSense phenomena(I have 12 personally) two really standout to me.

The first, The Definitive Guide to Google Adwords by Perry Marshall, is the granddaddy of all AdWord books and gives the best in-depth discussion of the Pay-Per-Click(PPC) model that I have found. In addition, I have found the extensive follow up emails to be a great source of information. Marshall takes you from beginner to expert in less than 200 pages and he keeps the text crisp and readable. Of all the books that have been written about AdWords, this would be my #1 pick.

The second book I would recommend is The AdWords Miracle by Chris McNeeney. In this ebook, the author makes the bold assertion that he can teach anyone to get to the point where they can leave their regular job, just by using AdWords and the pay-per-click model of advertising. This points out the main difference between this book and Marshall's "Definitive Guide". AdWords Miracle is very specific, using AdWords while selling ClickBank products, while Marshall's book covers more general ground. It is a terrific read, and compliments the "Definitive Guide" very nicely. As this topic is so important for anything we will be doing, you can't go wrong reading both books. I did.

Once we have AdWords/AdSense concepts and strategies understood thoroughly, we are ready to implement this dynamic part of our internet business plan. Next, the best affiliate books to read.

The Teacher Subscribe to my monthly newsletter - Making Money Online - A step by step guide to making money on the Internet

First Things First

2008-02-13T13:45:00.006-05:00

Before you even begin to explore what direction you will be taking to make money on the Internet, you should do a system check. A lot will be asked of your computer and the worst thing imaginable can and does happen. Can you imagine walking into your home office one day and your system is dead? What was on the machine may represent enormous amounts of work, from a fully developed website to listings of all of your resources. Ughh!!

First thing you should do is get a couple of external hard drives for your system. Use these to store backups of your system and all your online business resources. Develop and automate a backup scheme so if worst comes to worst, you can rebuild your system from scratch.

Make sure your virus protection software is one of the best rated and check to see that it updates on a regular basis. You will be downloading countless files in you quest to make money online and your exposure to malware will be greatly increased.

You will need plenty of time to set your online business up, so think long and hard to see if you have enough spare time in your current lifestyle to allow you to have the time available to really get this venture right.

Next, a look at some of the best books to download to make sure you really understand and can apply all the different functions you will want to do in this Internet business.

The Teacher

The Beginning

2008-02-13T12:29:00.005-05:00

The Internet. Ahhh, can anyone really imagine a world without it today? And yet, it was only a few short decades ago that the online community consisted of mainly academics and government folks. Now, everything imaginable is available online and a large percentage of people spend several hours every day surfing the web.Different ways to get a share of the profits available to innovative entrepreneurs have been developed for those who want to make money online and the choices available are staggering and somewhat confusing. Some have great potential while others are simply thinly disguised scams. Here is where I come in.

Who am I? Well, if you are just starting the process of finding out how to make money online, I was you 4 months ago. I am a teacher (Mathematics) and have been for the past 25 years. I have taken this year off to see if I can successfully start an Internet venture and begin to make serious money online. I knew I would need to spend some "startup" money, but I wanted to keep this to a minimum at first in order to see what was working and what wasn't. Here is where I can save you big money by recommending the best resources I have found.

When I started out, I was absolutely overwhelmed by the choices available and when I read the sales copy of each product or book it seemed as if I had to own every single one of them in order to be successful. I got so tired reading through the bonuses I would get and how I would become a millionaire in a short time. Obviously, it would not be that easy but I knew that there were products and resources out there that I could and would use to become successful.

Well, I bought as many as I could on a trial basis (and cancelled many in the first 30 days), joined several forums for a wealth of advice and after 4 months I now have the tools necessary. It is the result of having spent 10-12 hours every day researching products and then reading about and using many of them until I now have a core set of products and resources with which to be successful in this internet business opportunity and start making money online. In the posts to follow you will find my book or product recommendations and I take these recommendations very seriously. These resources are the ones I am currently using (or have tested extensively) and the money has started to come in significantly as I have put in place 4 major income streams.

Well, enough of what this blog will be about. From here on in I will take you on my journey to financial freedom and hopefully help all of you who want to do something similar.

The Teacher Subscribe to my monthly newsletter - Making Money Online - A step by step guide to making money on the Internet

Making Money Online

Backlinks

Recommended Autoresponder

Recommended Content Creators

Recommended SEO Software

Recommended Keyword Software

Recommended Self-Study Courses

Recommended Site Creators

Recommended Affiliate Book

Recommended AdWords/AdSense Books

First Things First

The Beginning