Michael J Byers

Making web sites more accessible for people with disabilities is one of the internet's burning issues of the moment. This article on Good practice in web design provides simple rules for designers to follow when making their websites.

Accessibility accessibility

All internet marketing professionals want their website to come among the first couple of pages on any search engine. Search engine optimised content is one of the best tools to achieve the same. Back-links is one of the most potent tools of search engine optimisation. And link baiting has emerged as an ideal way of acquiring sound back-links to your site.

What is link baiting?

The article or the content is the most important part to attract interest from other users as well as get back-links. If a website has a great article then automatically others will link to it. So the article or the content here plays the bait for organic and authentic back-links to your site. This is called link baiting.

A well maintained web page attains a huge number of one-way links. Basically it is all about attracting others by writing about topics which interests others the most. Link baiting is link building in an unconventional way. In case of link baiting, links are not pursued. To acquire links, hooks can be of several types like:

• News hook: Content on the latest news can attract links to it.
• Contrary hook: Some articles can be written in a way to raise arguments from people. If done effectively, side-stepping controversies or personal vendetta, it is one of the best link-baiting methods.
• Resource hook: If the article is very rich and high on quality, links pour in as users refer to it as a genuine resource of information.
• Humor: Humorous articles in web sites can also act as effective link baits.
• Attack: This is a type where other content/articles are criticised, invoking a response from the other author – as well as back-links on their profiles/web sites.

In short link baiting is all about making the article or the content very interesting and attractive. There are some important tips that help to be a successful link baiter:

• Try to write about topics which might interest people or which is very popular on public forums. Don’t write any boring or repetitive articles; else nobody will even go through it.
• Try to promote your work through blogs, reviews, interactive forums, etc.
• Write about anything which is current, spicy, interesting and very informative. Don’t write on old topics (if not as a response) as old news is no news.
• Write the content in a way that stands out from other articles. Think out-of-the-box.
• Try to invoke others’ reactions or views as people often link back to interactive articles.

There are several advantages for link baiting

• Links acquired via link baiting can be crucial to improve your site’s search engine ranking.
• The more links you get, more your website’s value increases. People view your website having a large amount of back-links as a reliable site and a potential resource for further information.
• Vastly improved conversion rate of the website.

Pitfalls of link baiting

Link baiting is all about capturing links though articles but it can act as a double edged sword. You should know what to write and should not exaggerate or fake just to attract people. This might get you a large inflow of back-links initially, but may put your website’s authenticity and professionalism at stake. Even if you criticise any other content or competitor then you must have logical proof and arguments to support the same.

Link baiting can create wonders if executed right. All these depend on the quality, importance, logic, and how presentable your article is on the website. The most important of all is to have an in-depth knowledge on the subject you are writing about.

Summary

Link baiting is a method to capture links but this method should be executed well in order to obtain results.

Reference links

http://www.ezinearticles.com/?What-is-Link-Baiting?&id=1438138

http://www.ezinearticles.com/?Website-Promotion-Via-Link-Baiting&id=964054

http://www.thatseoguy.com/2008/10/10/the-pitfalls-of-link-baiting/

Search Engine Optimisation, Website Promotion website promotion, seo tips, seo, search engine optimisation, article marketing

The URL of your website is a key factor in search engine optimisation. It is important to choose a search engine friendly URL that search engine crawlers can read without problems. If the URL can be easily read and crawled, then the likelihood of getting your site to the top of the search engine ranks is increased. Here are some tips for creating an SEO friendly URL.

1. Create a short and static URL. Static URLs do not contain special characters or long strings of code. They usually take the structure of www.michaeljbyers.com. Search engine crawlers prefer this form of URL as they prioritize short and static URLs when indexing web pages.
2. You should include keywords in your URL. For example, if a site is selling digital cameras, then the URL should contain the keywords cameras or digital cameras. There are two advantages for constructing the URL in this way. The most significant is that search engines will identify your site when someone makes a search for digital cameras. The other advantage is that web users can easily remember the address of a site that has a short, relevant URL.
3. You should always endeavour to organise your URL structure based on your website topics and site map. This way, search engines will be able to index all the pages in your website efficiently. Website users will also have an easier time navigating a website that has a well made URL structure.

Search Engine Optimisation seo, seo tips, search engine optimisation, search engine

To follow, or not to follow, that is the question: Is it nobler to suffer the tweets and musings of those who don't interest you or is it better to click the unfollow button? While Shakespeare, Mark Twain, and Plato quotes are fun to read and it may be interesting to view pictures of the day from certain Twitter users, there comes a time when you must manage your Twitter stream. As with most of Twitter, the seemingly simple step of unfollowing someone has its complexities.

First, consider why you followed the person in the first place. If you're following a dear friend but can't stand the endless chirps about her favorite X-factor contestant, her feelings may be hurt when you unfollow her. Will she understand that you don't share her fascination with pop music? Is your relationship strong enough in person to handle a virtual abandonment?

On the other hand, if you followed someone because you thought that they might be interesting and they aren't, the decision isn't nearly as difficult. However, before you click that unfollow button, you might want to check and see if this same person is following you. If he is following you, then consider whether you would be hurt if he unfollowed you in return. In this case, it's not hurt feelings, but rather hurt interactions. Does this person have the potential to become a major client? Is this someone that you eventually hope to do business with?

Understanding who is following you helps in deciding whom to stop following. For example, if you're following someone and she is not following you back, you have a one way Twitter relationship where you see her tweets, but she doesn't see yours. Most likely, she doesn'’t even know that you exist. A good rule of thumb is to give the people that you're following two weeks to follow you back. If they don't, consider them uninterested in what you have to say and unfollow the ones that are spammy, boring, or otherwise unfollow worthy.

Managing your Twitter stream by unfollowing disengaged people will improve your overall Twitter experience. The quality of the tweets that you see will be better and you will be interacting with people who want to interact with you. To follow or unfollow? It's not that difficult of a question.

General twitter

When you have your own internet business, the amount of traffic that visits your site is what determines how much you will earn. It is the lifeblood of that business and in order for you to be successful, it is imperative that you generate a constant flow of traffic to your site. Basically, the more visitors you receive at your site, the greater the likelihood that you will generate a viable revenue stream.

If you're a relatively new internet entrepreneur, this guide will give you an idea why sufficient traffic to your website is so important. Additionally, you will find information throughout the report regarding ways to develop streams of visitors to your site, as well as how to convert it into sales so that you profit from that traffic.

Here's something that is even more important where getting traffic to your website is concerned. It isn't just the quantity of traffic that matters, it's the quality of it combined with how well you convert that traffic into sales. You could be getting a million visitors a day to your site, but if those visitors aren't buying, you won't be in business very long. No matter what type of online business you are involved in, website traffic (or the lack thereof), can be the life (or death) of an online business.

First of all, you want to make sure that your site is optimised for the search engines. SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is the single most important technique you can employ in order to get traffic to your site. When someone is searching the web for what you are selling, keyword rich advertising and content is what will bring those visitors to your site to investigate your products. SEO content increases your chances of being noticed when someone is surfing the web to find the products that you are offering.

Secondly, traffic exchanges are an often used form of advertising, and if worked properly can bring tons of traffic to your site. TE's, as they are often referred to, are "websites that provides a service for webmasters in exchange for traffic". The benefit to these sites is that they are a cheap form of advertising for the novice entrepreneur to market their businesses, products, or services online.

Article content is another traffic generator as well. You have numerous opportunities based on the type of content and subject matter that you write on to generate traffic to your website. You can write eBooks, publish newsletters, and post at forums. And forums should be taken advantage of whenever you can, provided that they are related to your business endeavor. You are usually allowed to post your links in a forum, so why not take full advantage of that opportunity as well.

TE's take a lot of work and that is their downside. Basically, the more you surf the different exchanges that you're a member of, the more credits you build up. You use these credits for ad banner, text link, and website impressions. Once you have enough credits built up from surfing, you convert them to impressions so other people will see your banners, links, and site URL's

Understand that it doesn't matter what type of business you're engaged in. You could be an Adsense Publisher, an online reseller, or a traffic exchange owner. Just be aware that there are certain ways that you can drive traffic to your website. There are all kinds of marketing options and techniques for building a constant flow of traffic to your website, but one of the best methods is affiliate marketing.

According to Wikipedia, "Affiliate marketing is a web-based marketing practice in which a business rewards one or more affiliates for each visitor or customer brought about by the affiliate's marketing efforts." It's basically a web-based marketing technique wherein one website is used to drive traffic to another.

Shortly after the onset of internet advertising, affiliate relationships between websites began to develop and the concept of affiliate marketing was born. Other terminologies often used when referring to the subject are:

• Pay-per-performance
• performance-based marketing
• referral-based marketing
• revenue-sharing

There are two basic truths about affiliate marketing. First, it is one of the easiest and safest online businesses you can start on a paper-thin budget. Secondly, when it comes to selling any products, there is usually no inventory to purchase, stock, or ship to your customers. The parent site does all that for you. Your only investment is your monthly membership fee (in most cases). Some websites have different levels of membership with different fees attached to them. Technically, the higher your membership rank is, the higher your membership fee will be, and consequently, the higher your earnings will be.

When people come to your site, they see the parent site just like you did when you first investigated being an affiliate of the site - with one small exception. Your site has an identification factor in the link/URL wherein the parent site identifies you as the one sending the traffic. Normally, you have two opportunities to earn revenue from an affiliate business.

First, the sale of products results in a commission for you because they used your link to get to the parent site and purchase them. Or when you get visitors to sign up under you, and do the same thing that you are doing, this also results in revenue for you. When you sign up new members, it is usually referred to as your downline.

Secondly, affiliate marketing is the epitome of Multi-Level Marketing, or MLM as it is most often called. It creates residual income for you because you receive a percentage of their paid membership fee each month. As long as your downline members stay active and pay their membership fees, your earnings don't dissipate.

Technically speaking, the more members you sign up, the more your income increases. Some affiliate programs let you earn commissions more than one level deep, therefore, affording you more income as a result. In other words, you receive commissions from your downline's downline, and their downline, and their downline, and so on.

Search Engine Optimisation, Website Promotion website promotion, seo, search engine optimisation, affiliates

You have probably heard about different ways by which you could try Internet marketing. And it is most probable that you have heard about its most popular strategies, search engine optimisation. If you want to know more about this side of Internet marketing, better read along.

What is Search Engine Optimisation?

Popularly known as SEO, this type of Internet marketing strategy involves the control of search engine results. A lot of people use popular search engines if they want to find out things and information. Because of this, proponents of the SEO strategy found a way by which they could tie marketing to the vast web of the Internet.

How does SEO work?

SEO works in several ways. Business owners like you could opt for a number of procedures in implementing SEO strategies. Some of the most tried-and-tested SEO strategies are the following:

Keyword-dominated articles
Keyword-dominated articles seem to be one of the most successful SEO strategies that internet marketers use. The articles are powered by specific keywords that will act as leads to your business.

For example, if you are into the coffee business, you can create an article that will mention the phrase "best coffee in (your business location) several times. The articles are then posted in different popular article depots.  Although a single article would be enough for small businesses, having series after series of keyword-dominated article could do wonders for your business.  This is because search engines classify their results by the number of times that the search word or phrase  appears  in a web page. So if user type "best coffee in (your business location), there is a big chance that the article talking about your business will be placed in the top ten results.

Link building
If your business has a website or blog, why not maximise its use? Link your blog to several related blogs or websites. Doing so will create backlinks that will point to your business' web page or blog. You could also tie your business' web page title to the keyword you will use in your keyword-dominated articles.

Keyword-powered posts
Participate in your target market's online forums by creating an account under your business' name. Be friendly and ask for their web pages so you could link them in your business' web page. You can also make relevant and friendly comments on their messages. To maximise your post, create a key-word driven signature. This way, all your posts will be signed by the keyword-driven signature. This would mean that your keywords will be attached to every topic that you commented on. The strategy will give you the chance to widen your search engine reach.

Is SEO expensive?

No. As a matter of fact, all you will need to have is a trusty computer, a reliable internet connection and a web page. If you can't write keyword-dominated articles and posts, there is no need to worry. There are a lot of online writers willing to create this types of web content at very cheap rates.

Search Engine Optimisation, Search Marketing website promotion, websites, seo, seo tips, search engine optimisation, article marketing