Wednesday, July 31, 2013

What is a Website and What does it Take?

In the wonderful world of an artist, there are numerous disciplines being mastered. Like a visual artist, you have to know the fundamental principles of design and style like balance, room, distinction, plus more. The recommendations of design in no way change. Actually it whether designers are functioning on new trademarks, leaflets, special business cards or even a website. Basic principles are the exact same. Therefore , why is good website developers? Complete rules still use? Or even, will be the unique needs from the web getting back in the way in which? The result? Sure, with out.
Indeed, the principles have become in terms. On the web, you could have the overall flexibility to work with virtually any font you need. You a lot of have to convert the concrétisent to describes, but no less than to generate videos. There are many frustrations like printer requirements as well as PMS compared to CMYK color complexnesses. However general, the industry of print will be predictable compared to involving web page design. Cool Website
When building an online site, website creative designers must consider the capabilities of each and every browser offered. The originator is restricted for the fonts entirely on each personal computer (typically Helvetica, Arial, Instances New Both roman, plus some others). The particular creator must think of SEO and developing with all the minimal volume of images. Today, website developers have even to take into consideration screen size. Which you have an individual who may have a little mobile device at kunne approximately 300 -pixels wide. Or perhaps, you can have an individual can with around 1600 pixels broad. Knowing just how to create for the huge variations can be an art. Eventually, website designers should know tips on how to the design of the programmer. What improvement possible occur? How would you cover those development choices? Those will be the site designer's biggest queries all the time through the construct stage.
Simply no, the principles aren't entering the best way. Good web site designers are usually also good CODE and CSS designers. The greater fashion designer expert about code, the greater fashion designer they are going to. However total, once all these design-to-code hurdles are generally overcome, the principles of design nonetheless apply. In the long run, investing effective communication continue to trumps badly performed development templates. An excellent design includes a clear hierarchy data and shows the consumer, in secs, the actual want to do.
Therefore , why is excellent website makers? Nicely, it is the power to reside in both sides. They have to never leave their particular design beginnings. Using lovely lines and comparison where appropriate can leave viewers with the right sensations. And also, creating interactivity a top priority will assist users to take pleasure from making use of the website. Creating a definite and simple to find out navigation is vital. After that, to be able to anticipate the difficulties that include coding sites with regard to multiple browsers as well as platforms can help fashion designer tremendously. As well as, lastly, understanding what is feasible together with the strength of CSS is actually a true asset using any developer.
Really pretty obvious given that designers has to be good graphic performers. However best of all, great web site designers could always be superb HTML computer programmers too. Best Free Website

Monday, July 29, 2013

Effective Blogging Techniques Part 2 By GlobeTek Inc.

You must always respond to comments. This will show how you value the ideas and inputs of your visitors.  It would be very rude if you don't reply to comments even if they're negative feedbacks. You should track your reply so that you can keep the conversation updated.  And if the need arise, create a new post for new ideas that came up with the lively conversation.

In business blogging, always consider the suggestions of your customers and prospective customers.  Ask them direct questions on the quality of products and services you provide and ask for suggestions.  This is a good PR practice and will most definitely enhance your business reputation.  It's always a plus with customers if their suggestions are properly considered.

You can also ask other bloggers especially those with specialized expertise to contribute to your blog.  This is a good way of exchanging ideas and your customers can benefit from the inputs and fresh approaches of your resource person.

If this is not possible, you may conduct interviews with the gurus and publish it in your blog.  In both undertaking, be sure to provide the linked address of your resource person's blog site.  This is a way of thanking them by opening your traffic to them.  In due time, you may be the one to speak to their audiences and this could be great for your traffic and expertise.

Business blogging is a new phenomenon that requires new techniques and novel approaches.  To be successful and be effective in your blogging venture, you should always take into consideration the concerns of your visitors.  In this way, you can enhance your reputation and you can build trust and confidence from your web clients.

GlobeTek Inc.
Timothy R. Srobenhorst
President
(920) 819-7199
http://www.freeonlinewebsitedesign.org
Domain Names Now On Sale! Click Here http://1quickwebsite.com

The Importance of Your Site's Alexa Rank


Why is the Alexa ranking of your website or blog so important?

How reliable is the Alexa ranking system?

According to Alexa, they gather web traffic statistics from web surfers who have installed the Alexa Toolbar, or from website pages that display an Alexa Widget.

This means, that visitors to your site that do not have the Alexa Toolbar installed will not contribute to your ranking unless you address this by adding a simple to install graphical widget to your website's sidebar, header or footer. This way, when any of your sites pages are visited a request is made to Alexa's system to retrieve your site's current rank and at the same time Alexa will record the request as a qualified visit to your site and your Alexa rank will be adjusted accordingly.

All Alexa ranks are based on the preceding three months traffic data collected and an average trend rank is calculated when comparing this data against all other sites contained in the Alexa database.

The trend rank of any site is calculated according to the following criteria:

1. Reach - the percentage of global internet users who visited the site.

2. Pageviews - the percent of global pageviews the website received

3. Pageviews/user - a calculation of the pageviews per visitor to the site

4. Bounce rate - the percentage of visitors to the site that closed the site after visiting only a single page.

5. Time on site - an average calculation of the time spent on the site by each visitor

6. Search percentage - the percentage of visits to the site that were referred from a known search engine.

Alexa have recently stated that its toolbar has achieved over 10 million downloads worldwide, but I am unsure as to the duration this claim refers to. I am confident to assume that a very large percentage of toolbars will remain installed are being installed and therefore continue to contribute to the accuracy of the Alexa ranking system. But, this does however highlight the need for webmasters, who wish to gain the best rank possible, to install an Alexa widget on their sites.

Although not everyone in the web development industry believes that Alexa is a reliable popularity ranking system, Alexa (an Amazon company) remains at the forefront of the website ranking world and receives worldwide recognition of this. I recently searched Google with the keyword "website ranking", and the results were clear. It was Alexa.Com who was at the top of the search results.

In contrast to Google Pagerank systems, the lower a site's Alexa rank number, the higher the rank is. Google operate a system in reverse where a higher number indicates a higher rank. At the time of writing this article, Google ranked no. 1 on Alexa's Top Sites list, closely followed by Facebook, YouTube and Yahoo.

But, with all this said, what does having a high Alexa rank do for your site?

Your site's rank is very important for recognition and website monetization. Many website flipping businesses use Alexa to assist when making a calculated decision regarding the financial potential of a website on the open market. There are also websites that provide website value estimations, and once again a website's Alexa rank is used when making their calculations. Businesses such as these feel that the Alexa rank to be a very useful tool in determining the overall popularity of a site and in turn the potential financial viability of the site.

A high rank could imply high traffic and this often attracts advertisers when looking for potential advertising space. For those looking to move into the affiliate marketing industry, a high rank is often required by product and service sellers before they allow membership to their affiliate programs. This way they feel confident that their products or services are being advertised by sites with good traffic and therefore a good reputation. Websites with lower ranks are often rejected.

Tracking the movement of a site's Alexa rank is a very important practice for any web developer or blog owner. By keeping a close eye on the movement of the rank in relation to changes made to the site, a web developer or blog owner can make informed judgements on the effectiveness of changes or additions to the site and then act accordingly. But Alexa.Com does not offer tracking facilities to any websites that are ranked over 100,000 and as a result the only way to track changes has been to visit Alexa.Com every day to obtain the results yourself and record them in your own way. Perhaps as a spreadsheet or in a note book. A Google search of the term "Track Alexa" can provide some great tools for doing this for you.


In conclusion, although a million or two Alexa toolbar users and Alexa widgets cannot give us an exact ranking on the popularity of every website currently being served to the world wide web, the information Alexa provides can give us a basic idea on the general traffic a site receives and where the traffic is mostly being referred from. Alexa rank is important to any website because it provides recognition, increases the potential of monetization and provides important information that will help web developers improve the quality of their sites by improving the sites visitor experience. So tracking your site's rank is exceptionally important.

GlobeTek Inc.
Timothy R. Srobenhorst
President
(920) 819-7199
Discount Domain Names at http://www.1quickwebsite.com

How To Increase Google Page Rank

Google's page rank system has indeed added a very interesting twist on the whole search engine optimization (SEO) game. SEO is no longer what it used to be and for the most part it is grossly misunderstood. On-site optimization, these days, count for very little. It all boils down to off-site optimization and this is where page rank (PR) comes in. A high page rank is vital in achieving high traffic rankings with Google. 'How to increase Google page rank' is an important question that must be answered if you are serious about improving your search engine traffic.

First of all, it's important to distinguish between page rank (PR) and traffic rank.  Traffic rank is where you are positioned on a specific search term. Page rank is Google's ranking system that they use to determine the importance of your website or web page. A PR of 10 is the highest and a PR of 0 the lowest and if Google bannedyour site from their index then you won't even have a PR.

The reason why page rank is so important is because it greatly affects your search engine placement. On low competition terms this does not necessarily matter that much, but then again, it's only a matter of time before you will be out ranked by someone else. Suppose 3 websites target exactly the same keyword or key phrase. What will determine which one gets the best ranking on a search of that term? The answer is the page rank. A site with a PR of 7 is perceived to be more important than a PR 5 or 6 and Google will place it above the two with lower PR's.

If you are looking for ways to increase Google page rank, there are some very simple steps you can follow immediately to start improving yours. Always remember that Google is looking for 'importance'. So, how can Google tell if your site is important or not? Remember that Google is nothing but an index, and like a library index, it is designed to make it easier for you to find the most relevant information quickly. The more important your site, the better the chance that your site's information will be displayed on a relevant search.

One of the most effective ways to increase your perceived importance with Google is when other important sites think you are important. This is not really a new concept and we see this in advertising all the time. Companies pay 'important people' to endorse their products and the thought behind it is that if this important person finds the product useful then it must be good.

Google's thinking is very much the same. If you can get important sites to link to you, you can improve your page rank and consequently improve your search engine traffic. In highly competitive niches this is very important and with a high page rank you can break into virtually any market. The most effective strategies for how to increase Google page rank, is to get other sites to link to you and in doing so, you can convince Google just how important your site really is.

The whole idea of link building has been debated to death and there are numerous theories and 'black hat' tricks out there. Here are some tips that will help you increase your Google page rank effectively.

-:- The higher the page rank of the site that links to you the better, but relevance is equally important. Make sure that the site that links back to you is at least in the same niche as yours. Random links mean nothing to Google - remember that it is all about perceived importance and relevance.

-:- Build your links gradually. Google's robot is not as stupid as many people make it out to be. If you get 100 links in one day this will definitely red flag your site. The best way to do it is to gradually and consistently build links back to your site.

-:- One way links rule! A one way link is worth much more than a reciprocal link. Many so-called 'link farms' act as link exchanges where you can exchange links with other sites in your niche. Although Google value one way links more than a reciprocal links, it still counts - we just don't know how long for. As far as I can gather Google does not like link exchanges.


With software like SEO Elite you are able to find the high PR websites in your niche and build back links from them. SEO Elite 'spies' on the top sites in your niche to see where they get their links from and it even checks whether you can get a free (one-way or reciprocal) link from them. Sniffing out those PR 7 and 8 sites in your niche is priceless and it only takes a couple of these to take your own PR up to that level.

GlobeTek Inc.
Timothy R. Srobenhorst
President
(920) 819-7199

Sunday, July 28, 2013

Top 11 Reasons to Use Social Media in Business

Over the past few years, to say social media has exploded would be an understatement. Members of social media sites have discovered it's the easiest way to find, learn about, and share information that directly influences their purchasing decisions. It is this reason alone that every business should be on multiple social media sites in an effort to reach as many people as possible.


Build relationships - personal and professional; connect with all types of people - past and present coworkers, current clients, prospects, vendors, competitors, and marketing professionals to build your network
Share information - share your blog posts; share interesting and useful articles, other blogs, webinars, podcasts, presentations, and poll/survey results with your fan base
Gather valuable information - research similar products/services, competitors, prospects, marketing tips, blog ideas, create your own poll/survey - the amount of information available is endless
Join a social network of like-minded individuals or start a new interest group where you can further brand your product/service, build relationships, and share ideas and information
Stay current with the latest trends - write a blog or join a discussion on a trending topic; become aware of new social media sites that might fit the needs of your business
Land a great new job - using your new connections on various social media sites, you can get the inside scoop on companies that are hiring, as well as resume and interview tips
Discover a new passion in life, become a volunteer, or start a fundraising event
Get found by prospects by using inbound marketing tactics - spread the word about your product/service through social media sites; to form a complete marketing plan, combine this with outbound techniques (interruptive marketing)
Build business reputation and brand - constantly add value to all your posts and become a trustworthy leader in your industry; to quote Bob Burg, "All things being equal, people will do business with and refer business to those people they know, like, and trust."
Build a marketing department inexpensively - for start-ups, employing inbound marketing tactics is a cheap way to start marketing your product/service; most social media sites are free to join, while others have a minimal monthly or yearly fee
Help increase conversion rates - use social media and inbound marketing to steer more organic traffic to your website and convert more leads into sales; the average conversion rate is 2.3%, but varies by industries according to ClickZ, Marketing News & Expert Advice, http://www.clickz.com/clickz/column/1691779/benchmarking-average-conversion-rate.

I recommend choosing a handful of sites to manage and start getting your feet wet. Not every social media site available will be right for you or your business and it would overwhelming to try them all. For example, consistently maintaining a blog, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google+ pages, a YouTube channel, as well as a Twitter account might be a great place to start. Depending on the type of business, a Pinterest, Tumblr, or Flickr account might or might not be worthwhile, but obviously they are great certain brands.

If you need help getting started, there are countless different types of resources. I have used the An Hour a Day book series on Facebook Marketing, Twitter Marketing, and Social Media Marketing. They address each entity in a step-by-step fashion that is very user-friendly. I also find Hubspot to be extremely helpful. They are continually publishing user guides that contain valuable information, tips, and tricks. Lastly, when creating your profile on the various social media sites that best fit your marketing plan, it's a good idea to connect with other marketers to check out what they are doing to boost business.


Do you have a tip or trick to share with newcomers to social media? Share it with us; you are more than welcome to post questions and/or comments here!

GlobeTek Inc.
Timothy R. Srobenhorst
President
(920) 819-7199

11 reasons to use social media in business

Over the past few years, to say social media has exploded would be an understatement. Members of social media sites have discovered it's the easiest way to find, learn about, and share information that directly influences their purchasing decisions. It is this reason alone that every business should be on multiple social media sites in an effort to reach as many people as possible.


Build relationships - personal and professional; connect with all types of people - past and present coworkers, current clients, prospects, vendors, competitors, and marketing professionals to build your network
Share information - share your blog posts; share interesting and useful articles, other blogs, webinars, podcasts, presentations, and poll/survey results with your fan base
Gather valuable information - research similar products/services, competitors, prospects, marketing tips, blog ideas, create your own poll/survey - the amount of information available is endless
Join a social network of like-minded individuals or start a new interest group where you can further brand your product/service, build relationships, and share ideas and information
Stay current with the latest trends - write a blog or join a discussion on a trending topic; become aware of new social media sites that might fit the needs of your business
Land a great new job - using your new connections on various social media sites, you can get the inside scoop on companies that are hiring, as well as resume and interview tips
Discover a new passion in life, become a volunteer, or start a fundraising event
Get found by prospects by using inbound marketing tactics - spread the word about your product/service through social media sites; to form a complete marketing plan, combine this with outbound techniques (interruptive marketing)
Build business reputation and brand - constantly add value to all your posts and become a trustworthy leader in your industry; to quote Bob Burg, "All things being equal, people will do business with and refer business to those people they know, like, and trust."
Build a marketing department inexpensively - for start-ups, employing inbound marketing tactics is a cheap way to start marketing your product/service; most social media sites are free to join, while others have a minimal monthly or yearly fee
Help increase conversion rates - use social media and inbound marketing to steer more organic traffic to your website and convert more leads into sales; the average conversion rate is 2.3%, but varies by industries according to ClickZ, Marketing News & Expert Advice, http://www.clickz.com/clickz/column/1691779/benchmarking-average-conversion-rate.

I recommend choosing a handful of sites to manage and start getting your feet wet. Not every social media site available will be right for you or your business and it would overwhelming to try them all. For example, consistently maintaining a blog, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google+ pages, a YouTube channel, as well as a Twitter account might be a great place to start. Depending on the type of business, a Pinterest, Tumblr, or Flickr account might or might not be worthwhile, but obviously they are great certain brands.

If you need help getting started, there are countless different types of resources. I have used the An Hour a Day book series on Facebook Marketing, Twitter Marketing, and Social Media Marketing. They address each entity in a step-by-step fashion that is very user-friendly. I also find Hubspot to be extremely helpful. They are continually publishing user guides that contain valuable information, tips, and tricks. Lastly, when creating your profile on the various social media sites that best fit your marketing plan, it's a good idea to connect with other marketers to check out what they are doing to boost business.


Do you have a tip or trick to share with newcomers to social media? Share it with us; you are more than welcome to post questions and/or comments here!

GlobeTek Inc.
Timothy R. Sorbenhorst
(920) 819-7199
Timothy@Freeonlinewebsitedesign.org


Domain Authority: The Top Two Factors On Google: A Study of 50,000 Webpages in 5 Countries

Current Study: 50,000 top webpage's for 1,000 keywords in 5 countries

A series of 1,000 keywords was developed covering a variety of topics including professions and trades in various UK localities, website development, marketing, travel and health issues. The webpages on the top page of Google.co.uk (pages from the web) for each keyword were assessed to determine their PageRanks and the corresponding HomePage PageRanks. This was repeated for the USA, Canada, Australia and India using respectively.com.,.ca.,.com.au., and.co.in. The localities (towns or cities) were changed for each country. The findings could have been undertaken manually using either Firefox or Internet Explorer with the Google toolbar active: To simplify the process, a program that undertakes the analyses was used. Accordingly, any or all the results can be easily verified.

Nearly 50,000 top positioned webpages were assessed - some Google results pages do not have the usual full complement of 10 web pages. There were 2,486 webpages on the top Google results page with PR0 (5%). Of these, only 214 (0.4%) were on websites with HomePage PageRank less than 4 or they were not themselves HomePages.

There were 32,179 internal webpages on websites with HomePage PageRank of 4 or more (64%). There were 14,909 webpages on the top Google results page that were themselves HomePages with PR4 or lower (30%). Only 2,912 webpages (5.8%) of the webpages were not the HomePage of the website that were on the top page of Google for a keyword had associated HomePage PageRank of 3 or less.

In this study, 94% of nearly 50,000 web pages on the top Google results page for 1,000 keywords in 5 countries were on Websites with HomePage PageRank 4 or higher or they were themselves HomePages. This study supports the view that the top factor in the Google algorithm is the Domain Authority of the website as indicated by the HomePage PageRank. The second factor is a boost given to HomePages that are competing for a keyword.

Domain Authority and HomePage PageRank

Search engine optimisers are agreed that incoming links to webpages are even more important than webpage content in determining webpage positioning on the search engines such as Google.

It is apparent to anyone regularly conducting searches on the internet that some websites, such as Wikipedia, often appear on the top search engine results pages. Such domains are said to carry authority that lifts them up the positioning algorithms. It is a matter of conjecture as to how Domain Authority is best defined.

SEOmoz's Domain Authority represents their expert's best prediction about how a website will perform in search engine rankings. They recommend using SEOmoz Domain Authority when comparing one site to another or tracking the "strength" of a website over time. SEOmoz's Domain Authority is calculated by combining all their other link metrics (linking root domains, number of total links, MozRank, mozTrust etc.) into a single score. The SEOmoz's Domain Authority involves a complex derived formula the details of which are not made publicly available.

Google's PageRank is an indication of Google's evaluation of the value of incomming links to a web page. It is determined in a two-step process:
Each link recognised by Google to a webpage is given a value according to the PageRank of the page giving the link and this is divided by the number of outgoing links on that page. The value of all the incoming links to that page is then summated.
All webpages indexed by Google are placed in a table such that those with the most incoming 'link juice' are at the top - PageRank 10. We see webpage PageRank as integers 0-10 although Google knows the decimal places. PageRank is on a logarithmic scale and SEOmoz suggest that it has a base between 8 and 9 rather than the more conventional base 10. If it is 8 this would mean that for every web page with PR10 there would be 64 with PR 8, and 858,993,452 pages with PR0.


PageRank was initially of importance as it related to individual pages but there have been important changes. Google tells us "When Google was founded, one key innovation was PageRank, a technology that determined the "importance" of a webpage by looking at what other pages link to it, as well as other data. Today we use more than 200 signals, including PageRank, to order websites, and we update these algorithms on a weekly basis." It is apparent that PageRank relates now to websites and not only to webpages. The most obvious indicator of website PageRank is the PageRank of the website's HomePage.

The majority of web professionals have come to disregard PageRank as having meaning in search engine optimisation mainly because there are many webpages with PageRank 0 on Google's top results pages for highly competitive keywords. This appropriately leads to the conclusion that the PageRank of a webpage cannot be the top factor in the Google algorithm. However, I have previously indicated that the majority of top positioned webpages with PR0 are either on websites with HomePage PageRank of 4 or more or these webpages are themselves the HomePage of the website.

The Boost in Effective HomePage PageRank to Home Pages that are competing for keywords - like handicap in golf.

In this study, there were 2,486 web pages on the top Google results page with PR0 but only 214 were on websites with HomePage PageRank less than 4 or they were not themselves HomePages.

Google must be providing a boost in effective PageRank to HomePages that are competing for a keyword. This can be compared to the handicap system that allows golfers at different skill levels to compete. From an SEO perspective, this means, for example, that small businesses with websites that rarely achieve HomePage PageRank greater than 3, can compete with locality or trade directory websites that typically have HomePage PageRanks between 4 and 7. In practice, the boost to HomePage PageRank is to about 4.5.

Implications of the top two factors in the Google algorithm.

HomePage PageRank can be used as a guide to keyword difficulty provided allowance is made for the effective boost in PageRank to HomePages competing for keywords.


Websites with low HomePage PageRank, which includes new websites, only have a realistic chance of top page positioning on Google for relatively low difficulty keywords and, even then, only with their HomePage.

GlobeTek Inc.
Timothy R. Srobenhorst
President
(920) 819-7199
Timothy@freeonlinewebsitedesign.org

Saturday, July 27, 2013

Best Home Based Businesses - Work at Home Business Opportunity

As our economy continues to struggle, more and more people are "kicking the tires" of some home based businesses out there - in search of the best home based businesses. This article will be extremely useful to anyone looking to apply themselves in the network marketing industry or any other work at home business opportunity. Here are some key points to look for when deciding on your business:

The Right Management Team

The management team is the backbone of your business. They are your suppliers and your collection agents all in one. How can you survive in the network marketing industry if your suppliers are not delivering the goods on time or the company has cash flow problems? In order to choose the right company with the right management team, you must do your due diligence on these factors:

o Their track record. Is the network marketing company backed by a solid track record?

o Is the team here to stay? There are some network company owners who build and burn and build again. You don't want to invested interest in a company that is there today but gone tomorrow!

o The vision. Does the company have a solid vision and are they actively working towards that vision?

o The capacity to expand. Sometimes, when a new startup company is expanding, they might run into cash flow problems when their sales volume increases! They need to build more warehouses, deal with shipment and pay MORE commissions and bank loans when more and more orders are taken. Just because the teams are growing and the sales are coming in doesn't mean the company is able to cope.

A Product That Is In Demand

This is a no-brainer. No matter how good your company, management team, compensation plan or your upline is, a company will NOT survive if their product does not stand the test of time. This type of company is definitely not one of the best home based businesses.

For example, multivitamin supplements were a growing trend during the 80s. Because of the rising health needs due to pollution and people spending more and more hours in the office, it created a need. But that doesn't mean that the trend is still growing. There are some companies which came up with supplements that do not require water for mixing or swallowing. It caters to those people who are always on the run.

Today, people are not just developing new products... they are engineering new product lines and creating new demands while diminishing existing ones. The question remains... does the demand for your product justify your efforts for promoting it?

The Right Time

Whether a company is a ground-floor work at home business opportunity or a thirty year old company - you are going to get out of it, whatever you put into it. With that being said, there is no arguing that people who:

1. Join a company early on, and 2. Work their tails off, and 3. The company stays in business,

have an amazing opportunity and have the ability to change their lives, as well as the lives of their great-great grandchildren. Now, that's not to say that someone joining a thirty year old company couldn't do the very same thing - they will simply have to work harder and/or smarter.

Front Loading Companies

What is front loading?

Front loading is a bad way to build your business by 'buying rank' when you invest in an inordinately large amount of products - especially when you are just starting your business.

A lot of network marketing companies usually collapse due to unethical front loading practices disguised as a 'shortcut' to entice reps to invest more money.

If you find yourself investing in more stocks than you need for personal consumption and your monthly personal sales, then you might get yourselves into cash flow problems.

WARNING: AVOID FRONT LOADING COMPANIES AT ALL COSTS!

Friday, July 26, 2013

Online Sales Success: How to Find Your "Sales Passion" and Get Out of Your Rut

Are you looking to get that sales passion?

Everyone says that true online sales success has to having that burning desire... you know; you got to get that "sales passion" that everyone gets at some point just before they become successful. But how can you find out your passion?

Unfortunately, statistics tell us that about 75% of the population actually has no idea what their passion is. And, since the world is ruled by the almighty dollar, we all want to believe that our true passion lies in something to make us a million dollars! Ironically, the people who do finally achieve their lifelong financial security and now have the time to "do whatever they want" get bored to death! This is why you'll find most rich people either keeping on working or starting a new career in their 60's.

Where are you on the scale of 1-10 with your sales passion?

If you can find out your passion in sales - that "sales passion", then it's a win-win. The reason it just doesn't come easy for most of us is that we are caught between the need for certainty (a steady paycheck) and uncertainty (wanting variety and excitement). Then, on a scale from 1 to 10, we find ourselves at that steady 5 - getting just enough to keep is 'satisfied', but not enough to give us "sales passion" to allow our business to get up and fly.

We stay at a steady 5 because we're afraid to leave our comfort zone. We like adventure, but only if we're guaranteed safety. But having success in sales has a lot to do with leaving your comfort zone.

Push up your sales passion from a 5 to a 10 by asking yourself...

What makes me happy? Getting money can't be the answer here. We all think we need a ton of money, but when it comes, we're bored and want something new in our lives. Do you enjoy helping people? Are you in sales to help yourself evolve to be better with people? Are you focused on making money to help someone in your life, provide for a family so that others will have an easier life? If what makes you happy is connecting your sales job with growing as an individual or making someone you love happy, then you're on your way to finding sales passion.

Do I find what I do to be easy? If so, you might be in a rut. Although finding something easy is a great way to find your initial passion, you're apt to slip from a 10 to a 5 unless you are experiencing growth in your life.

When you're building your biceps, and it's easy to do 50 push-ups, what will help your muscle grow the fastest? Doing more push-ups! Even though it's past your comfort zone. When you push yourself just enough to stretch into something you didn't use to be, then that brings true satisfaction in yourself, which will help you in find your sales passion.

Having said, that, you'll enjoy thinking at the other end of the spectrum for sales passion...

What do I really hate to do? For me, it's cold calling. I'd rather scrub walls, empty garbage or pick up dog crap than get on the phone. I know, that keeps me from growing, that is, in the direction of talking to people. But online sales success doesn't always have to do with cold calling. In fact, most people get their sales passion out of online sales success because it keeps them away from the phone!

So to find out your passion, whatever you really hate to do, think about the opposite to find your sales passion. For me, it's achieving online sales success by learning more about writing articles and blog posts that will bring automatic income without picking up the phone.

What do I find myself thinking about all the time? And I don't mean negative thinking here. Do you like to think about your products and services? Then form your sales passion around that. Conduct research about real people who have used your product and write about their success. The more you write, the more passionate you'll feel. Do you think about talking to people and explaining your services? Then you love to talk to people.

Would I do it for free? If you're at a steady 5, then the answer is most undoubtedly "no". But if you find that your experience with sales has help you to grow, learn, and become a better person... or if you know that the money you've made has helped someone in your life and your relationship is better because of it, then you're on your way to a 10! When you look back to how your online sales success has made you evolve to a better life, than that's real sales passion!

Grow as a marketer to get your sales passion!

Six Services for Sending Coupons to Customers

Six Services for Sending Coupons to Customers

Mobile marketing is a quick and convenient way for companies to send ads directly to consumers’ cell phones, and although cell phone owners have been wary of this marketing method in the past, new studies show that the tables may be turning. Here are six applications for mobile coupons – some of which are free, and some include a sign-up or monthly fee – so your business can test drive the newest marketing fad.

iLoop Mobile
Reach: As many customers as you sign up
Cost: $1,500 and up for one campaign, or $2,500 a month for ongoing campaigns
iLoop Mobile is a mobile marketing service that sends coupons, quizzes, sweepstakes information, and other offers by text message. This app is particularly helpful with establishing brands, and helping agencies create compelling and effective mobile marketing campaigns and mobile interactivity with consumers.

 

mobiQpons

Reach: 100,000
Cost: $50 to sign up, plus $25 per month per business location
MobiQpons is a location-based mobile coupon application for BlackBerrys, iPhones and Android phones. Coupons are displayed in order of proximity within a 10-mile radius of the customer’s location, which helps consumers look for deals as they shop, or plan their shopping trips. Coupons may also be distributed by store and category.

foursquare

Reach: 100,000 users
Cost: Free for now, although the company plans to eventually charge for the service
Foursquare is a cell phone application that lets users broadcast their location to friends. Using the program, members can "check in" when they are at a local establishment, and sometimes add tips about what to buy. BJ Emerson, director of information and social technologies for Tasti D-Lite, a chain of frozen-dessert shops headquartered in Franklin, Tennessee, said, "It's not just a matter of click-throughs and impressions; I know when I have actual feet in the door."

Coupon Sherpa

Reach: 80,000 users
Cost: Free
Coupon Sherpa is an application for the iPhone that displays coupons by proximity, category, and brand. The app also boasts exclusive coupons that can't be found elsewhere, new coupons that are added daily, and you can create you own Favorite list of stores.

Yowza

Reach: 725,000 users
Cost: About $50 a month per business location
Rubio's Fresh Mexican Grill, a West coast chain of 195 eateries, began placing coupons on Yowza this summer to reach people searching for a lunch spot. According to Larry Ruskino, the chain's senior vice president of marketing and product development, once the company switched to Yowza, they saw a 4 percent redemption rate on coupons - four times what they were getting through direct mail, or ads in the Sunday paper.

Money Mailer

Reach: As many customers as you sign up
Cost: $25 to $75 per mailing zone of 10,000 homes
Money Mailer is a service that lets companies send text-message coupons when they purchase a direct-mail campaign. According to Ashok Desai, owner of the southeastern Tennessee-based Family Dry cleaners, which has four locations, one of the benefits of text-message coupons is that you can offer them at a specific time or day of the week. Desai calculates that he gets about a 10 percent redemption rate per coupon, which he entices customers to buy via fliers in each of his stores, and direct mail to local residents, urging them to sign up.

Reach: As many customers as you sign up
Cost: $50 set-up for one campaign, starting at just $25 a month for ongoing campaigns.

Reach Out Mobile: is a mobile marketing service that sends coupons, quizzes, sweepstakes information, and other offers by text message. This app is particularly helpful with establishing brands, and helping agencies create compelling and effective mobile marketing campaigns and mobile interactivity with consumers.
GlobeTek Inc.
Timothy R. Srobenhorst
(President)
(920) 819-7199


5 Tricks to Posting Online Classified Ads

Online classifieds are a gold mine! Very few marketers utilize online classifieds to their fullest potential. This article will show you exactly how.

Posting online classified ads is really quite simple. Once you know the formula, its actually very mechanical and will make you a lot of money!

Here are 5 tricks I've learned to maximize the value of online classifieds. Some of this stuff is basic, but I've noticed that many marketers miss some these essential ingredients in their classifieds:

1. Post, post, and then post some more! I know it sounds tedious, but it's true. If you post 100 online classifieds a day, you are almost guaranteed to rake in $1000 a week as an affiliate.

2. Spend time writing a Good headline. This is the most important part. Get creative and do something unusual. You want something that will grab the reader's eye and make them want to click on your ad. Use slang, ask questions... be clever and witty and you'll get a good response.

3. Make the ad body build excitement and keep it short and sweet. Don't try to sell people in the ad, you just want them to click on your link and visit your site. That's all... And always include a call to action: "Get Started Today" or "Sign Up Today For A Free Bonus" etc.

4. Make your link easy to read and always capitalize the first letters in each word. For example paymein24hours looks jumbled together compared to PayMeIn24Hours.

5. Create 40 different ad variations for each campaign. This will allow you to post as many ads as each site will let you. It's usually 3-5, but you can do even more than that if you have separate accounts registered with each site.

Here are a few of the most popular online classified sites:

CraigsList Classifieds

Backpage Classifieds

Window Live(MSN) Classifieds

AdLandPro Classifieds

City News

US Free Ads

Classified Ads.com

Web Classifieds.us

Recycler Classifieds

Free Ads City

There are literally thousands of others and all you have to do is Google "online classifieds" and they will show up. Make sure to keep good track of your logins and postings. You should know when your ads expire so you can go re-post on those sites. Organization is definitely the key because you're dealing with hundreds of sites and dates of posts.

On the main sites like Craigslist and Backpage you want to be very aware of how and what you are posting because your ads can easily be flagged or banned if you post in the wrong area or miss some other rule. Take the time to read their guidelines and abide by them.

The most important thing is to be creative! Do something other than what every other internet marketer is doing. Spend the time and energy to make your classified ads stand out and it will pay off big time!

GlobeTek Inc.
www.freeonlinewebsitedesign.org
(920) 819-7199

Do it Yourself Search Engine Optimization -Backpage Ad Posting By GlobeTek Inc.

How overwhelming can it be, for an individual like you to post your business, or product, in thousands of directories when in reality, it can be done in just a few.

Yes, just a few directories with high PR and indexed often by Google will get you in the right places with the right traffic.

You've heard of Craigslist, Kijiji, Stumble here, Backpage, Oodle, etc..? Well, if you focus your effort on these one, and post on blog directories, and articles written about your industry to make you a pioneer/specialist, the SECRET is out.

Yes, you can be your own online optimizer. All secrets can be provided with a package included of all the tools you may need to optimize your site.All the tricks of the trade, and how to save time with our tools will make you reach your goals faster. Yes, it can be time consuming to go to every of these directories and post your ad. We found the highly traffic sites and put them all in one package. We will also provide you with Our Tracking system of all your work so you can keep track of all your marketing effort.

All you want to do is increase PR and bring in traffic to your site. You don't have to spend thousands of dollars a year when you can do it all yourself, and do it better because it is your own business. All these SEO experts take hundred of clients at a time and promote all the business together, depending of course on how much each client spends for promotion. So if you spend just a few dollars a month, the SEO expert will put you in the bottom of the client list and you will see very mediocre results. If you do end up complaining, he will just come back and say: "Well, if you had a bigger marketing budget, I can help you better". Most companies will just try to bleed you dry so know who you are dealing with. This is why we have added this service for our clients so you will have no worries about what type of results you will obtain.

We can help you with whatever industry you are in: For example, we can provide you with customized autoposter for the moving industry, health, business, etc... We will provide you with the Autoposters for all the major recognized directories on the net. Remember, abusing them can get you in trouble, so just a few posted ads each day will do the trick or multiple quality posts in the correct categories. If you do outsource this you can achieve amazing results however you need a repuptipal company to help you with this!

Quantity of ads doesn't necessarily increase your traffic; it will actually consider you as a spammer. You also must include quality. Play it safe, this is the best strategy. So this is your new marketing journey, and the greatest thing is you can do it on your own, without being overwhelmed by all the pros out there or hire a company that will do it the correct way for a reasonable price. They learned it the same way as you will, but you will have all the tools they didn't have since the beginning. Let us know how we can be of any help to you and your organization. You will be glad you did.

GlobeTek Inc.
www.freeonlinewebsitedesign.org
(920) 819-7199


Thursday, July 25, 2013

SEO Strategies for Smartphone Random Search Marketing

The trend towards miniaturization of devices with internet capabilities has become a factor that will alter the way that marketers present their content. Web searchers have been displaying increasingly shorter attention spans and the younger ages of cell phone owners has resulted in clipped web jargon to save on communication time. Mobile device owners tend to be people on the go, in a hurry, and impatient for instant gratification in the use of their airtime. These users have to be factored in when designing content so that your message will be noticed.

When a visitor comes to your web site you have about 3 seconds to grab their attention so that they can decide if they should interact with the site, whether it is to bookmark it for later reference, phone the company, click a link, or request information through a form. Your logo will be the first thing visible so the main message should follow in segments, left to right, top to bottom, and above the fold. A call to action early in the message would be a logical step in the fickle world of random search. Connecting the hook to the worm as close as possible will make a big difference in conversion success.

An SEO campaign must be effective enough to attain top 5 Google rankings for a healthy number of keywords. The percentages of SERPs that are viewed are compiled and updated using eye-tracking studies, and the latest figures indicate a much lazier search audience than 5 years ago. An incredible 88% of subjects clicked on the top 5 results without going farther; even more indicative is that 79% of them found what they were looking for in the top 3 search results (Source: Cornell University Eye-Tracking Study 2010); the other 7 results got just 21% of the traffic and about 1% bothered going to the second page.

These figures should be tempered with the fact that the test subjects were university students and the subject matter they searched dealt with things like entertainment, fashion, social issues, and intellectual material rather than shopping for goods and services. They might have developed surfing habits that allow them to recognize web site titles and description as the correct information simply by having narrowed their interests. Commercial searchers would want to compare more sites as part of the shopping process; they may not be as web-savvy as college students who move at warp speed when gathering ideas. An academic audience would include quick-thinkers who will try another query without clicking anything on the first search, recognizing a chance to narrow the search parameters.

It's interesting to note that ranking position #7 gets the least attention as the user scrolls down to the bottom of the page. This is the effect caused by the page fold and is missed by the eye during the scroll-down. After spots 8-10 were examined, then the searcher went back to #7 to see what they missed; this actually caused more clicks on listing 7 on the way back up the page. The study made clear the importance of being visible in the power hit positions of the top 3 search results.

Due to the reduced keyboard typing that will be used for search terms on cell phones, the queries using long-tail keywords will be reduced, and so should the emphasis on optimizing pages for them. The search phrase will likely not go beyond 3 or 4 words. There have been private paid classifieds companies with in-house optimization teams who brag that they are #1 for something like "2381 Raleigh Avenue London Ontario apartments for rent" or some other ridiculous phrase that will never be typed into a search engine, and would never be considered by an SEO expert as a workable query. The web surfer would go to a free classifieds site like Craigslist, Kijiji, or BackPage.com to find a long list of apartments, the search engine optimization team at the private company is struggling to justify its existence to management, who may believe that there are customers out there who type over 50 characters into a search bar.

Condensed content, clipped in its wording and rich with keywords will work best on mobile searches. An image that is eye-catching is a must, and a video is supreme in getting the visitor involved. Google also loves videos and they should be placed on YouTube and your Google Places profile. Sharp has introduced a new Android phone in Japan with no-glasses 3D capability and they are planning to expand this into North America. This will create a need for more 3D content since game companies and movies have limited 3D material to fill the screens, so advertising and logos may incorporate 3D in future flash displays. Anything that catches the wandering eye of the web surfer will add to conversion ratios and it's up to the SEO to stay on top of the rapid changes in the behavior of the potential customer.

GlobeTek Inc.
www.freeonlinewebsitedesign.org
(920) 819-7199

Text Message Marketing Local Business Mobile Advertising

Local Business Mobile Advertising - How to Get More Customers With Local Business Mobile Marketing and Advertising With GlobeTek Inc.

In case you haven't noticed, the biggest emerging trend in local business marketing and advertising is mobile phone marketing. How big is this trend? Well let's just say that by 2013 all the technology pundits predict that more of your customers will be accessing the Internet via mobile devices than hardwired desktop anchors!

So unless you want to find yourself way behind your competition you'd better get smart quickly about the ins and outs of mobile marketing and advertising.

Understanding the Landscape of Local Mobile Advertising and Marketing

Mobile Internet Search Functionality

Probably the easiest way to take advantage of the approaching tidal wave of mobile marketing is to make sure you have a high-quality website that is easy to view and navigate using one of the new smart phones such as the iPhone or one of its Android equivalents.  You see, very soon people will no longer be using their wired connection to conduct product and service research for offline purchases, that job will fall to their smartphones so it's important that you get this right. Now of course, beyond just having a pretty website you need to have one that is designed to sell, capture leads, and create conversations.

Display Ads - Wireless Application Protocol (WAP)

There are dozens of mobile device only advertising platforms springing up all over that allow you to create banner ads that can then be distributed to mobile phone users. Google's Adwords, Admob, Adfonic and their competitors can all display your ads.  Each network has its own peculiarities and most differ in the types of targeting you can do.  So, depending upon what you're trying to accomplish some of the networks will be a better fit than others
.

Short codes are those messages you see associated with all the big brands and reality TV shows that ask you to text a word to a specific number such as Denny's campaign "text GRANDSLAM to 30101.  To get a short code you'll need to spend between $500 - $1000 per month for the short code itself... and then you still have to market and advertise it! Because of the cost of this method I strongly suggest you steer clear of short code advertising for your local business unless you already have a substantial budget to spend, or you partner with GlobeTek Inc., we can bundle all of this together at an extremely small fraction of the cost!

SMS messaging is simply sending text advertisements to a targeted demographic of individuals. Since text open rates are so high (just as we saw with e-mail over the past 5 years) SMS messaging can be a good means to get your advertising message across. Think of SMS messaging like you would opt in e-mail... only better.

Push Notifications

"Push" technology allows you to "push" your Twitter, Facebook and other social media feeds out to mobile device and smartphone users (primarily iPhone) who have downloaded Apps to allow them to receive updates from their social feeds.  If you already have a solid social marketing plan in place "push" can make it that much more powerful by tying in your followers through mobile content.

App Display Ads

"There's an App for That." You should be familiar with that phrase by now even if you are not familiar with what an "App" is.  Apps are little software programs that can be downloaded to mobile devices such as the iPhone and Google's android phone that allow the user to play games, calculate distances, make funny noises... virtually anything you can imagine. Smartphone users love Apps and download them constantly. Most of these apps are "free" to the user because they are used as platforms to serve advertisements. And these ads can be yours!

Click to Call

In some ways, what could be more powerful? Your potential customers are already using their mobile phones to conduct research, check in with their other social networks and generally stay in touch. So by using a click to call advertisement you can take your potential customer from a visually engaging ad to a visually engaging conversation in just one click. Your options are only limited by your imagination but since clicking on this type of ad instantly dials a phone number you can make a connection to either a live operator, an informative recording or a combination of the two. This is powerful marketing technology whether you use it for lead generation, appointment setting or product and service sales.

Search Ads

Once you have a smartphone you can conduct immediate research, gather information and even make purchases the instant your awareness of a need manifests.  So it only stands to reason that the big search-engine companies like Google, Yahoo and Bing allow you as an advertiser to display your ads contextually right along with the user's search.
The difference here and what is so powerful is that soon, no one will need to come back to their office or their home in order to conduct the research they need to purchases products and services like yours.

Click to Map

Click to map advertising functions in a manner similar to click to call. The difference here is that when the advertisement is clicked the user is immediately served directions from their location to the location of your business. As you can imagine, click to map advertising is perfect for nail salons, restaurants, hair salons, oil change facilities and other broad appeal products and services where the target audience is someone who is already out and about.

Time to Act!

The local mobile advertising and marketing trend is moving quickly and you do not want to be left behind!
Many of these services and more are currently being offeredby GlobeTek Inc., However at a very small fraction of the price. We believe that small business and its promotion is the only way to rebuild small business America!

Call us today and let’s talk about your specific needs and we will show you how you can succeed and how we can beat anyone on the markets prices! There is no one that can produce the results we will in the time we can do it while being customized directly for your business.

Call us now for your free no commitment consultation and let us show you how we can skyrocket your business to success while cutting costs and increasing productivity!

GlobeTek Inc.
920-819-7199 

Choosing A Broker - Your First Step To Forex Sucess

As the online Forex trading market becomes increasingly saturated and the choice of brokers becomes wider, the decision of which broker to run with becomes increasingly important for the trader.  Although the majority of brokers provide the same basic trading platform, there can be a vast difference in what they offer their clients, both in terms of trading conditions as well as customer support.  By simply visiting a company's homepage it may be hard to separate the second-rate firms from the professionals, therefore this article will examine the main parameters that should be taken into consideration before creating an account and depositing.

Account type

The decision of which type of account to open will most likely depend on the amount of capital you have to invest.  Most brokerages offer two main account types: a "Mini" ($100-$200 minimum deposit) and a "standard" account ($1,000-$2,000 minimum deposit).  Mini accounts are best suited to new or amateur traders looking to gain market experience and confidence with a smaller investment, and offer higher leverage, which you'll need in order to make money with such a small amount of initial capital. "Standard" account holders can expect to enjoy a wider variety of leverage options, but will have to invest a greater sum of money for the privilege.  Although not as commonly advertised, many brokers provide a premium service for large investors (perhaps $100,000 - $250,000+), including additional VIP services, such as a dedicated fund manager and tailor made conditions.

Common to nearly all online brokers is the offer of a demo account, which allows users to get a feel for the software and gain trading experience without the risk of market exposure.  Such simulations are undoubtedly beneficial to potential clients wishing to test the waters, but caveat emptor: they are not always representative of real-market, real-platform conditions, despite claims of full functionality.  Do not be afraid to question a brokerage on this matter - an honest, reliable broker will admit the downfalls of a demo account.

Software Considerations

The foreign currency market can move at a fast pace and will often require you to make quick decisions and executions, regardless of where you happen to be.  Depending on your level and frequency of trading as well as travel habits, it may be wise to choose a brokerage that offers a web-based Java trading platform, which requires no download and enables you to trade from any location worldwide.

Payment Options

Look for brokers that allow you to pay with credit card, as this is the easiest option by far and does not involve the necessity of transferring funds from online e-account.  Other payment options typically offered include wire transfer, which is equally as secure as credit card, but expect to wait a number of days for it to clear and to have access to your funds.

Support

Perhaps one of the most crucial considerations and one that may potentially have a significant effect on your trading success is the issue of customer support.  Whether you are a first time forex amateur or a FX vet, having the support and advice of a reliable, dedicated customer service team is undoubtedly invaluable, so it would prudent to do your homework on this one. The only way to gauge the quality of a support team is to contact them and see how they deal with your inquiries: are they fast, do they give reliable technical and market advice; do you get the sense that they know the industry well enough to advise others, or are they simply good sales people?  This might not be so easy to find out, but as the only point of contact between yourself and the brokerage, it is important to do so. As with any business, pre-sale service might be more satisfactory than post-sale, so again, try to judge whether or not you are being helped or simply pitched.

Platform, Tools & Analysis

In the present online market place it is rare to find a company which does not offer real-time tools such as charting and price updates, but predictably the quality and availability of such applications will vary from broker to broker.  Ideally you should have access to a wide range of tools, enabling you to assess the market 24 hours a day, making your trading decisions accordingly, and in addition your broker should also provide you with daily market reports, prepared in-house by professional analysts.  These reports should cover the basics: economic news relevant to the major currencies, technical movements and general commentary.  The better known, more reputable analysts have their reports published on a number of the larger online forex portals and forums, which is an indication that their data is considered accurate and reliable, which in turn tells you a little more about the reliability of the brokerage itself.

As previously mentioned, many trading platforms offer the same basic functions, but not all brokers cover all areas of the forex market, so before committing make sure your chosen platform will let you trade the currency pairs you require.

Spreads

Spreads are an important factor to consider before investment and will certainly require some shopping around in order to find the best offer to suit your trading habits. The spread is the difference between the price at which currency can be bought and the price at which it can be sold at any given point in time. FX brokers don't charge "commissions", so this difference is how they make their money; therefore, the lower the spread, the lower the commission, and unlike stocks, currencies are not traded through a central exchange, so the spread may differ from broker to broker.  Spreads differ according to account type, with mini accounts offering spreads between 1.5-2 times higher than those offered for Standard accounts, which in turn are higher than those offered to large volume traders with VIP status.

"Fixed" spreads remain the same day or night, and despite market conditions, and although they are usually somewhat wider than the narrowest of variable spreads, they can be safer over the long term by providing a slightly higher level of predictability and a slightly lower level of risk.  "Variable" spreads change according to market conditions (which may initially be attractive during a calm period, but once the market becomes busy, they are likely to widen considerably, meaning that the market will then have to move significantly in your favor before a profit is turned).

Leverage

Unless you intend to invest a six-figure sum of capital, the use of leverage will be essential in order to make decent profits in forex. Generally speaking, the sum of money made during a successful trade amounts to just fractions of a single cent per unit, so if you are buying lots worth just a few thousand dollars or less, your profits will be minimal. This is where leverage comes into play: in effect by "borrowing" your broker's funds temporarily you will be able to make larger trades, which, if all goes according to plan, will lead to larger profits. Obviously, this practice involves an inherent risk: if the market takes a turn for the worse you risk losing a substantial sum of money, depending on the amount of leverage taken. For this reason it is advisable to do some further reading on leverage and margins prior to using leverage, so that you are fully informed before exposing yourself to the open market. Under normal market conditions, some common currency pairs are generally less volatile, and may warrant a higher level of risk taking, while more exotic currencies may not be predictable enough and traders would be advised to use less leverage when getting involved with such pairs. Mini accounts provide the highest levels of leverage, with some brokers offering up to x 400.

Education

While practicing on a demo account may help you improve somewhat and trading with real money might teach you some hard-learned lessons, the best way to improve your trading ability and provide yourself with a solid knowledge base is to educate yourself. To this effect, more and more online brokers are offering trading courses or tutorials, ranging from free five minute "introductions to forex" to curricula covering the smallest of details and costing thousands of dollars. Well established educational centers, such as the Online Trading Academy (OTA), with years of technical training experience are your best bet, providing solid instruction that will not only teach you the basics of the market, but also the technical side of the business (advanced technical analysis, charting, chart reading, Fibonacci calculations etc.). Some brokerages produce their own courses in conjunction with such trading centers, such as the course offered by Forexyard.com. Without educating oneself, the vast majority of built in market tools offered by trading platforms will be wasted on the amateur forex trader.

In summary, there are numerous factors to consider before choosing the right online forex broker, all of which should be researched to ensure that your trading account and broker will allow you to get the most from your investment.  You must be aware that some brokers do not have your best interests at heart, but do not despair, as there are many reputable and reliable companies eager and capable of providing a professional service. As part of your research, be sure to visit the many online trader forums, where you can discuss any of the issues raised in this article with other traders, many of whom will already have been through the process of choosing a broker and will be able to advise you from their own experiences.

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Are You Incorporating Your Business in the Wrong State?

In the process of forming your small business, you will make both simple and complex decisions. But one important decision is often made by default because the business owner doesn't realize there is a choice to be made.

The decision is where to incorporate your business-what state will form the regulatory hearth and home for your new entity.

Believe it or not, you are free to form your corporation in any of the 50 states or the District of Columbia. And since each of these 51 locations has its own tax structure, start-up costs and regulations, defaulting to your own home state might not be in the best interest of your business or your bottom line.

For small businesses, three major factors should impact your choice for the state of your business incorporation formation.

1. The cost of formation, especially if your company will need to qualify to transact business in the home state.

2. Each state's taxation and corporate law environment.

3. Does the state of your choice openly welcome new business

State of Incorporation Factor #1: Formation costs and foreign qualification

Forming a corporation or LLC in the state where the business is physically located is called home state formation. Corporations and LLCs must pay filing fees to the state at the time of incorporation and are then subject to ongoing state requirements and fees.

If your company is formed in another state but transacts business primarily in the home state, it may need to "foreign qualify" in the home state. To foreign qualify, the proper paperwork-called a certificate of authority- must be completed and additional state filing fees paid.

To learn whether your company may need to foreign qualify to transact business in another state, consult an attorney.

State of Incorporation Factor #2: How Corporations and LLC's Are Taxed

Business owners should also understand how corporations and LLCs are taxed by each state under consideration, as well as the taxation requirements imposed by the home state on foreign-qualified corporations and LLCs.

For example, find out...

1. If your chosen state impose an income tax on corporations and LLCs?

2. Does the state impose a minimum tax or a franchise tax?

It is often beneficial to calculate your company's projected revenue for its first years of existence and then evaluate the states in terms of the amount of taxes your company would be required to pay.

State of Incorporation Factor #3: How Friendly is the State to New Business Owners

Some states have a well-deserved reputation for being friendly to new businesses, while others have reputations-equally well-deserved-for being difficult.

Delaware and Wyoming top the list of friendlies, while New York and California bring up the rear. Let's compare them so you can see how different states react to new businesses.

Delaware and Wyoming

The cost to form a corporation or LLC in Delaware is among the lowest in the country. Its corporate law is among the most flexible, and there is no state corporate income tax for corporations and LLCs formed in-state (though there is a franchise tax). But before you start learning all the words to "Our Delaware," know that many of these advantages are irrelevant to smaller businesses. There are also several indications that Delaware's days as a haven for business may be numbered, including a recent Kauffman Foundation study placing the state dead last in entrepreneurial activity.

Wyoming is quickly becoming the go-to state for businesses of all sizes and types, with regulations that are extremely pro-privacy and taxation that is extremely low. That's why an increasing number of analysts are now handing Wyoming the crown for most hassle-free and low-expense corporation state in the U.S.

New York and California

Both the processes and costs of incorporating and running a business in New York are famously awful. The state's tax system is burdensome and complex, including a maintenance fee, a franchise tax, a license fee, an organization tax, and an income tax. In addition to taxes, the ongoing requirements for filings and reporting are legendary.

California's anti-business reputation is based largely on a brutal system of taxation, including an $800 minimum income tax for both C corporations and S corporations-the highest in the nation.

When it comes to friendliness to new incorporations, the state-by-state landscape is ever-changing.

To decide what is best for your new company, seek the advice of an attorney or accountant.

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Affiliate Marketing Overview For Beginners

Introduction - by offering the proportion of the margin of your product or service to a large number of affiliates, you can dramatically boost sales albeit at a lower overall margin rate. By sharing the profits of a sale with other websites, it is possible for webmasters to generate higher sales volumes. By devising an attractive affiliate scheme and promoting and implementing that scheme in a professional manner, it is possible to generate thousands of website visitors using an affiliate of channel online. Search engines become less relevant if affiliates are sending your website the bulk of its traffic. Amazon.com is one of the pioneers of this business model selling million of books via ten's of thousand's of Amazon affiliates.  Today, affiliate marketing is a very well established method of selling online. The main advantage of affiliate marketing is high sales volume with nominal sales effort at an extremely low cost. The main disadvantage is much lower margins, (as affiliates need paying commission to remain motivated).

What is an Affiliate Program? - an affiliate program is a contractual arrangement between the owner of a product or service (the Merchant) and a separate 'Affiliate' organisation, to pay a commission, in exchange for promotion of its goods and services. Typically, this entails an affiliate website adding advertisements (in the form of banners, buttons links and other textual material) promoting the Merchants offering. There are literally thousands of different affiliate programs in existence on the Internet today. It is usually the responsibility of the affiliate to redirect visitors to their website to the merchant's website. At that point any customer service issues (such as ordering a product, dealing with customers on telephone delivering issues) are dealt with by the Merchant.

Affiliate schemes are normally automated and structured. Affiliates must pre-agree to abide by the merchant's terms and conditions when signing up before entitled to promote anything. For instance, Merchants make it a condition that affiliates do not alter the Merchant sales copy to avoid any potential accidental or deliberate misrepresentation (and ultimately customer dissatisfaction). Affiliates usually have a unique tracking ID associated to their registration or website. By adding this html code to their site, Merchants can track where each individual sale came from. The tracking html is usually combined with a cookie or CGI script to allow the Merchants Affiliate Tracking system to collate a database of visitors and sales.  It is normal that affiliates get paid one month in arrears and have an access to a monthly report outlining leads, sales and conversions. Affiliates are primarily motivated by money and so they are usually very interested in knowing the conversion rate of the Merchant.

Merchants benefit hugely from an affiliate marketing model as there is a virtual unlimited supply of keen entrepreneurs seeking out business opportunities to make money (in exchange for promoting an online business idea).  Most affiliate schemes operate in a commission scheme based on payments monthly in arrears, payable from the merchant to the affiliate of either via PayPal or an alternative independent escrow service, or check in the post. Some merchants exclude or reject applications from prospective affiliates who do not meet their guidelines for type of website, physical location or regulatory approvals (particularly in Financial Services). The main benefit of an electronic affiliate business model is that it is completely scalable - it is possible to recruit an unlimited number of affiliates to promote your product and the cost of doing so can be negligible...

Types of Commission Schemes - there are various types of affiliate models in use today. Historically, affiliate models existed based on banner advertising which were rewarded on a per impression basis. However, click through ratios were extremely poor and banner exchange schemes gave the sector a bad name. In addition, fraud impacted confidence in this method of marketing. The last nail in the coffin for banner advertising was that 'in your face' flashy moving images also tended to annoy users. Today, textual ads are the primary form of affiliate marketing. These are highly customised to the users needs using contextual advertising (based on the user's individual search profile and IP geographic location) are the preferred means of advertisers to reach their target markets.

1) Pay per sale - the merchant pays the affiliate an agreed sum of money each time a user visits the affiliate's website, clicking through's to the merchant website, and buys something. Most merchants affiliate programs tend to have a fixed commission schemes on a pay per sale basis. This could mean either a commission value for sale or a commission based on a percentage of the sale. These tend to have certain restrictions or caveats such as a minimum order a sale value, whether the client is a new business customer or existing customer. In addition, there may be bonuses based on volume of sales over a given period - all these types factors are used as carrots and sticks to motivate affiliates to behave in a certain way.

2) Pay-per-click - this affiliate commission scheme is based on the number of unique visitor clicks from an affiliate website through to the merchant's website. Unique clicks are identified using IP tracking to prevent click fraud. The user clicks on a text link with an embedded affiliate code or perhaps clicks on a search result or advert. The commission per click is obviously a lot lower than on a pay per sale basis. The affiliate benefits from of an instant and reliable source of commission. If the number of click thorough's from an affiliate's site is high and conversion rates of the merchant low, a pay per click model is ideal to maximise commission.

3) Pay per lead - a pay per lead of commission based model is typically used by merchants in situations where the product or service cannot be easily downloaded or purchased using your credit card, or where the sale requires human call-back and has a long sales cycle. For instance, where the merchant is a mortgage broker and requires the user to fill in a call back form with their contact details on. Each completed contact form would count as a 'lead' and will be paid to the affiliates on a qualified 'per lead' basis.

Two Tier Affiliate Schemes - a two tier affiliate scheme is a multi tiered program where affiliates in the first level of can also earn commission from the sale was generated from affiliates that they are recruit who sit in the second level or 'tier'. Typically the first tier would earn 10% commission on sales it indirectly generates from Merchant sales. In addition, the affiliate may earn a much smaller percentage e.g. 2% from sales from 2nd tier affiliates they recruited to the Merchant. A two tier scheme is aimed to motivate affiliates to recruit like minded people to also become affiliates. It requires additional sales copy marketing material and a good quality affiliate manager software tool. This tool links affiliates together and details of any sales, in order to calculate potentially vast commission sums. Key to success is a higher margin product, where margin can be allocated two separate levels to the point where affiliate's remain motivated and enthusiastic.

Affiliate Networks - an affiliate network website is an independently run collection of affiliate schemes which allow members of the network to join either one, some or all of the affiliate schemes registered with the affiliate network. It is a club making recruit of affiliates a straight forward process. This is ideal for portal websites where a range of different topics and schemes that can be advertised across a large number of different pages. Affiliate networks charge the Merchant to be part of the network and may even take a large slice of affiliates commission. In exchange, the affiliate network provides the merchant with an instant access to hundreds or even thousands of potential affiliates who have already joined the network in the past. In addition, it provides a central management console for affiliate's to track sales and leads. It is quite simply a middleman for a large and complex number of affiliate schemes all promoting themselves alongside their competitors. An example of an affiliate network is Commission Junction.

1) Critical success factors - there are usually a range of factors that are critical to the success of your affiliate Marketing strategy:

High Commissions - affiliates marketing efforts are directly proportional to the commission they receive (relative to your competitors affiliate commission levels). A successful affiliate business model relies on a sensible amount of available margin to be divided between the website owner and its affiliate on each sale.

2) Offer a Differentiated or Unique Product or Service - prospective affiliates will be attracted to have something a bit different with professional online marketing literature. If your web site is very similar to dozens of other websites, all promoting their own affiliate scheme, why should a prospective affiliate sign up to your affiliate scheme as opposed to your competitors? Therefore, you must really try and sell to the prospective affiliate (via your website affiliate signup page), in order to recruit them as an affiliate. It is critical to summarise your unique selling points so they can clearly see there is an opportunity to make money together.

3) Quality Feedback & Reporting - constant reassurance through online reporting and real time statistics help motivate affiliates. The more management information you can provide to an affiliate, the more confidence they will have in your ability have to close the sale. As an affiliate, it is a real confidence boost to see an email confirmation every time a lead is generated or sale made that has come from the affiliate's website. Consequently, the more motivated they will be to send additional leads in the future.

4) Great Merchant Customer Service - by providing professional and service to your prospects, your sales conversion ratio obviously improves. Prospective affiliate's will be looking for affiliate schemes that provide good quality conversion ratios and have a good market reputation. Affiliates need to know that that every single visitor they send to your site has the greatest possible chance of making the money vie you're selling effort. There is nothing more de-motivating for an affiliate than a lead that does not get followed up quickly enough or is accidentally deleted or ignored by the merchant.

5) Merchant Affiliate Recruitment Efforts - patience/ time to recruit the desired number of motivated affiliates is very important.. . Ask yourself basic questions... if it takes 6 months to recruit 100 affiliates who generate 200 sales equivalent to £100,000 profit in that time, could you have generated more than 200 sales in that time (and at what profit) if you had concentrated on direct selling only.

6) Affiliate Management & Tracking Systems - as the merchant you must have a thorough understanding of online affiliate tracking software and services to ensure affiliates are paid on time, sales are allocated fairly and automated new affiliate recruitment can be initiated. If you have no systems in place there are many commercial affiliate services available or software packages to provide an end to end service to manage and track affiliate's leads and sales. This is equally important for accounting purposes as the bigger your affiliate program becomes, the more important it is to justify outgoing costs (affiliate commission payments).