Bob's Home Business Blog

If you’re new to Internet marketing and you’re just starting out online with your home based business you’ll soon learn that targeted traffic will be the life blood of your Internet enterprise. I’m sure you’ve heard from other entrepreneurs on the web that content is king and in order to get the people you want on your home page you have to give them the information they want and need.

So with that being said how do you use your website content to drive targeted traffic to your web page? There are several ways to accomplish this including using these 5 tactics:

1. You must post information relevant to your website’s theme and your home business idea. The main objective of your blog is to redirect visitors to your product offer or your business page. You do this by attracting them to your web log by giving them the type of information they’re looking for via articles, written by you or outsourced, pertinent to the topic at hand.

2. Your blog content must be updated on a regular basis for the benefit of your readers as well as the major search engines online. People are creatures of habit and if you add new editorials at certain times during the week your prospects are more likely to get into the routine of dropping by on a regular basis to check out your writing. Also, Google and company are more likely to index your site and visit more often if you’re conscientious about adding new commentaries at regular intervals.

3. Provide your readers with information that solves their problems or answers their questions. If your content helps people with their business they’ll soon begin to view you as an expert in your field which will make it more likely they’ll do business with you and buy your product. Relationship building is an important part of any sales process and the best way to establish your credibility online is by enhancing your reputation as an Internet marketer.

4. Write articles that are timeless and you’ll attract new visitors for many years to come. Make sure you select topics that will be relevant to your blog’s theme not only now but also in the future. This will help ensure a steady stream of new prospects for many years to come.

5. Make sure your content is optimized for the major search engines online. The easiest way to accomplish this is by ensuring your articles are optimized for your blog’s and your niche’s keywords. However, this can have a negative effect on Google and company if you over do it by saturating your website with these key phrases. This may encourage the search engines to ignore your web page which will discourage people from visiting your home page.

In conclusion if you post relevant information which is timeless on a regular basis that addresses people’s problems and attracts the search engines attention your home business blog will attract all the targeted traffic you need for a long time to come.

Bob Withers

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Simply put, copywriting is the creation of a script to sell a product or service from your home business website. Its main objective is to persuade your potential customers to become paying clients. SEO or search engine optimization copywriting involves making the text of your content search engine friendly by adding key words related to your theme or product. When people search for information about your merchandise you want your website to be on the first page of the search engine results, ideally in the number one position, and well written content can accomplish this goal.

Many home business owners online who don’t have the time or don’t feel comfortable writing their own content contract out this task to professional writers who will take on any and all sections of your website and will supply you with the keyword laden text you need to attract the search engines attention. If you’re one of the more adventurous Internet marketers on the web or perhaps you simply enjoy writing here’s what you need to do to get started with SEO copywriting.

First of all keyword research is the key, pardon the pun, to success with writing content that’s search engine friendly. You can use Google’s free keyword research tool to find the most searched for words related to your product or service by your target market. Armed with this information you should now be ready to tackle your script with the goal of finishing first in the search engine results.

Now that you have this all important information where can you place it on your website in order to achieve optimum results? Aside from your web page content you can also add these words to your meta tag descriptions, your title tags and your header tags. The most important point to emphasize when adding these keywords is don’t get carried away and saturate your home page with these words because nothing will repel the search engines from your website faster than overly used keywords on your site.

For example, if you’re writing an article the guiding principle is to have these words make up no more than 1% to 3% of your script otherwise you’ll run the risk of being ignored by the major search engines online.

One vital aspect of SEO and content is to make sure you add fresh relevant information to your website on a regular basis. When adding new content try to update your information at the same time every day or every second day or whatever your schedule happens to be. This helps the search engines find your website and updating at different times every time you do so can make this more difficult. This new information must be related to the products or services you provide and contain the necessary keywords.

Always try to remember the old Internet marketing adage which is: “content drives traffic” because adding fresh, relevant content on a regular basis, and as often as possible, will attract targeted visitors to your home business website who are there because they’re interested in what you have to offer. Always keep your audience in mind when writing your content and first page rankings will soon be the end result.     

Bob Withers

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As the old Internet marketing adage states “content drives traffic” and one way to add more content is by creating a chat room on your home business website. People love to socialize online as demonstrated by the popularity of many of the social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. One way to take advantage of this phenomenon is by jumping on the band wagon and including a chat room or discussion board on your home page. Here are five reasons why you need to become a participant in this online social happening:

1. If you’re new to the Internet and just establishing your home based business online then driving traffic should be your primary concern. A chat room will help attract new visitors and also increase returnees to your site. People who are first time guests and who are pleased with your content will most likely tell their friends who will also visit your site to satisfy their curiosity. These same people will make friends in your chat room and will return to carry on their new found friendships. The more often a guest returns to your home business the more likely they are going to become paying customers.

2. As the owner of this online home enterprise you should make it a point to become involved in these discussions in order to create relationships of your own with some of your potential customers. These new affiliations help to build a feeling of trust between you and your visitors. People are more likely to do business with someone they feel they know and trust rather than a stranger.

3. As your discussion board continues to grow in popularity and your membership increases this opens up other avenues for financial growth for your home business. For example you can sell advertising space to other non competing businesses on the Internet. This has the potential of creating another revenue stream for your venture.

4. You can add a feedback link to your chat area and ask your visitors for any comments or constructive criticism they may have regarding your website or your products. This is an excellent way to pick the collective brain of your guests in order to find more effective ways to market your home business and increase sales.

5. You can create a weekly open forum in your chat room where you welcome any and all questions your customers and or potential clients may have about your business and products. For example, if your website theme is affiliate marketing then this would be a great way to establish you as an expert in the field. By answering affiliate marketing queries from your guests people will soon begin to view you as an authority on the topic. People are more likely to become paying clients if they respect you as a specialist in your particular market.

These are just some of the ways a discussion board or chat room can give your online home business a financial boost by creating additional revenue streams for your enterprise. The potential for additional profits make the time and effort involved to create and maintain a chat room very worthwhile.

Bob Withers

You’ve just finished creating your brand spanking new home business website, you’ve drawn up your Internet marketing plan and you’ve decided what products you’re going to promote. Now all you have to do is convince people to buy your merchandise. This may not be as easy as you may think.

There’s a lot of competition on the web in just about every niche you can imagine and your potential customer’s final decision of whether to buy or not to buy is based on many factors. If your website visitors don’t seem to be taking the bait and aren’t purchasing there may be several reasons why not or perhaps it just comes down to one factor. Here are some of the major causes of the lack of interest in your product or in your business.

In the final analysis maybe it isn’t your product at all. Take a look at your website content and ask yourself the following questions. Does your site contain what people are looking for? Is it attractive? Is there enough content to capture and hold people’s attention? Is your ad copy eye catching and convincing? Have you outlined the benefits for your visitors of buying your offer? Does your website invite people to come back for more? These are just some of the questions you should be asking yourself, so let’s examine five reasons why people say no.

1. Website security is a major concern for most shoppers online. Do you have a secure webpage which has the seal of approval displayed for all to see? You must remind people immediately on your sales page that this is a secure website and their information will not be shared with anyone. Confidentiality has to be impressed upon your guests so they have no doubts or concerns about providing their information.

2. You must remember that you are a home business owner and this isn’t a hobby. If you treat your enterprise as a hobby or a pastime then your results will reflect this attitude. Your website must have a professional appearance and you must demonstrate a professional attitude. If you fail on either of these counts then you might as well take down your web page and go watch TV because people won’t do business with an owner that’s not taking their venture seriously. If you aren’t sure what makes a website look professional then visit some of the more successful home businesses online to get an idea of how your home page should appear.

3. Does your ad copy accomplish what it’s intended to achieve? You must have a title which is going to grab people’s attention and make them want to read more. Have you outlined the benefits or the problems your product will solve for your visitors? Try to include a short story about you or your product to hold the reader’s attention, and don’t forget to ask them to buy. Also including a 30 or 60 day money back guarantee provides an excellent incentive to purchase.

4. Try to establish a relationship by including information about yourself. Add an “About” page on your home page so your guests will have some idea with whom they’re doing business. If your visitors feel as though they know you and trust you then they are more likely to buy.

5. Try to emphasize customer service on your home business web page. Place a customer feed back form on your site, add a “Contact Us” link, advertise a customer support telephone number and place testimonials from satisfied customers on your website. Also provide a money back guarantee and impress upon your customers that you will always follow up to insure the product is working well for them.

If you make the effort to address these five concerns then your online home business sales should increase exponentially along with your customer’s satisfaction and success online shouldn’t be far behind.

Bob Withers

People very rarely purchase your product or service on their first visit to your home business website. According to statistics it usually takes seven or more trips before they decide to become paying customers. For this reason alone you must make a lasting first impression when they drop by the first time. Return traffic can be the life blood for any home business online and if your potential customers don’t return for a second visit you may be wondering why?

There could be several reasons why your visitors aren’t coming back for more. The first thing you should examine is your website content. As the old saying goes on the web “content drives traffic” and the same can be said for return traffic. You have to give them what they want but at the same time leave them wanting and coming back for more.

There is a fine line between these two objectives which sometimes creates a balancing act. You have to provide  what they’re looking for on their first trip but don’t over do it to the extent that they feel they have no reason to return. You can also err on the opposite end of the spectrum by not giving them enough on their first visit so they have the feeling there’s no reason to come back because you just don’t provide what they want.

First of all do you provide free information which is also original content? If you write articles do you make them available to your visitors free of charge? People love information but what they like even more is free information they can’t find anywhere else. So make sure your articles are on topic and available for your potential customers to download at no cost to them.

Secondly, besides free information visitors to your home business website also want and enjoy receiving free software. You should make an effort to find all the free software you can related to your home business theme and make it available for your guests to download free of charge.

Next, people like to socialize online, hence the popularity of Facebook and all the other top social sites on the web. Provide a chat room for your visitors where they can meet and greet and discuss topics related to your home business. It would also benefit your business greatly if you joined in the discussion and asked for suggestions on how to improve your website and your home business in general. Make a feedback form available and have a “Contact Us” link on your home page.

People also enjoy contests and games. Invent a monthly contest or quiz and provide a prize at the end of each month. This is a great way to create return traffic and it also helps establish relationships with your customers and potential clients. The more often someone comes back the more likely they will eventually become a paying customer.

Finally do you offer a free affiliate program? People are always looking for a way to make more money and by creating an affiliate web page you’re not only creating return traffic but you’re also generating new visitors and sales by enlisting affiliates to promote your product. This is also a great way to build your email contact list so you can up sell your current clients and convert your potential customers to paying patrons.

So if your return traffic is declining or non existent take a hard look at your content and ask yourself what need you aren’t satisfying for your guests on their first trip to your home business home page.

Bob Withers 

For anyone just beginning an online home based business one way you can jump start your sales is self promotion. Being new means no one has any idea who you are or what you do. In order to make sales you have to bring people to your website who want what you’re promoting.

A great way to make your home business site well known is by getting yourself recognized online and you can accomplish this through self promotion. By becoming a well known figure on the world wide web you indirectly place your website in the lime light as well which also leads to increased sales.

There are several ways to put yourself out there with one of the most effective being article marketing. You can write a series of articles related to your website theme which you post to your home page on a regular basis. You also submit them to the leading article directories online for distribution. In the author bio box of each editorial you place a link back to your home business site along with a short biography about you and your business.

People who are interested in your topic and who are looking for more information will naturally click on the link in your resource box which will take them to your sales page. This is also an excellent method for becoming known as an expert in your particular niche. Visitors who view you as an expert are more likely to trust you and become paying customers. Once your articles start showing up on different websites online your links will be attached which can create an endless stream of free targeted traffic to your home business.

Another tactic you can employ to get yourself seen on the web is by authoring an ebook. This book should also be in tune with your home business and will also help get you established as an authority figure online. You can sell this ebook from your home business website or give it away in return for your visitor’s contact information which will also help build your customer or potential customer contact list. You can then follow up with your list by emailing other offers or special promotions to attempt to convert them to paying customers. You can also place your business website link in your ebook to create even more follow up traffic to your website.

A third technique you can use for self promotion is conducting an ongoing course on your website, and once again these lessons must be in step with your product and overall business theme. You can teach a lesson each week which will help build return traffic to your site and also help get your name identified in your market.

You can also network offline. Join the local chamber of commerce, become a member of any business clubs in your area and also donate some of your time and energy to a local charity. These business clubs and associations are always looking for guest speakers which would provide an excellent venue for advertising both your self and your home business.

You can pass out your business card at these meetings with your website url included and invite people to visit your home page. Along with volunteering your time to a charity you can also make donations to your favorite causes and list these organizations on your website. This helps solidify your established business relationships and assists with building new ones.

Finally, be sure to place an “About My Business” page on your home business website where you can place relevant information about yourself. Also try to include photographs which again go a long way toward relationship building and establishing trust between you and your clients and potential customers.

As you can see self promotion provides several advantages for your new home business online. Not only does it help establish your identity on the web but your business’s reputation is enhanced as well which of course can only lead to increased traffic and a boost in sales for your home page.

Bob Withers

You’ve created your home business website, you’ve posted your products for promotion and you’ve decided which Internet marketing techniques you’re going to use to drive traffic to your home page. You’ve also created your blog and linked it to your home page to help with traffic generation. Now the only thing holding you back are ideas for fresh content for your website.

I think we’ve all been there. You’ve written article after article and you’ve finally run out of ideas for original information to add to your site. Here are some questions you can ask yourself, when this happens, to help generate some new topics to add to your blog or home business home page.

1. Have you received any new product offers or any out of the ordinary email messages recently that you can talk about?

2. Has anything different or extraordinary happened to you recently that you can share?

3. Have you learned any new Internet marketing techniques lately that you would like to tell others about?

4. What one piece of advice would you give someone who’s just starting out online with a home based business?

5. What new Internet marketing products have you used recently that you can write reviews about?

6. What are some of your favorite Internet marketing products and why?

7. What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned since starting your home based business online?

8. Which Internet marketer do you most respect on the web and why?

9. What’s your favorite website and why?

10. What’s the biggest obstacle you’ve overcome since starting your Internet marketing career?

11. What are some of the biggest mistakes you’ve made since starting your home business on the Internet and what should people do to avoid making the same blunders?

12. What do you find are the most interesting and successful Internet marketing techniques you use to help promote your home business?

13. What are your least favorite Internet marketing strategies and why?

14. How did you research home business ideas in the beginning and come up with the products you’re now promoting? Explain the process.

15. What would you do differently during your startup process and why?

Keep this list of questions close by for those occasions when you have difficulty coming up with new ideas for fresh content for your blog or home business website.

Bob Withers

Webmasters are often told that publishing more online content, on a regular basis is a good formula for success on the internet. A deep, content-rich website boosts search rankings, positions your organization as a trusted resource, and even helps increase sales. Compelling online content is one of the quickest ways of establishing a direct relationship with the potential online customer and to help draw that consumer into a sale.

A new study from the Online Publishers Association (OPA) found that the time Internet users spend viewing online content is up 37 percent from four years ago. This statistic alone should tell us how important content, on our websites, has become.

The new method for easily distributing online content is called a web feed and the technical format that makes it possible is called RSS, which stands for Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary. Really Simple Syndication is a popular technology for notifying users of updates to content in a website, blog, or Internet TV channel. You can monitor news, blogs, job listings, personals, and classifieds.

More and more sites offer feeds, which you can identify by a small button that says either RSS or XML. However, if you click one of these links, you will most likely get a page full of code in your browser. To properly read the feed, you need an RSS reader and you can get one for free or on a trial basis at download.com.

Another form of content increasing in popularity is video. With the advent of youtube this media is becoming a very common and effective means of displaying content on a website. It can be entertaining as well as a great tool to effectively get your message across to your visitors and increase traffic. Video is also easier than ever to produce because of a new wave of tiny cameras, inexpensive editing software and more powerful computers.

Audio content is also very popular and very easy to produce. You can send an audio email, create an audio tape to market as a product or just use it as a means of welcoming visitors to your website. Create Audio Newsletters, Adsense Sites, e-Books and Blogs to increase your online profits, build huge opt-in lists and get repeat visitors.

Internet users ages 45 plus believe online content is focused on younger age segments and so it’s important to design content that is relevant and engaging to all age levels. Not surprisingly, says the Online Publishers Association (OPA) study, younger respondents are most likely to say online content is focused on people their age.

Well-written online content is crucial to a website’s success. The key to making money from content is getting yourself bought by Microsoft or one of the other giants in the industry. But if Microsoft doesn’t come calling don’t despair because you can still do very well for yourself with a website that’s rich in quality content.

One of the challenges, in the beginning, to creating online content is overcoming the fear “what should I write about”? You don’t have to be Edgar Allen Poe to be a successful Internet Marketer. Just take a look at some of the top marketers BLOG’s and this should prove my point. My suggestion is that you write about something you enjoy and the words will flow like tap water.

Also try to write as if you’re having a conversation with a friend. In other words be you. Don’t try to come across as a literary genius. None of us are and we shouldn’t try to write like one because, more than likely, it just isn’t going to happen.

Try to add fresh content to your site on a daily basis. The search engines, like the rest of us, like to be fed on a regular basis. We also should try to make the content as tasty as possible by using keywords throughout but not at the expense of quality.

Most online content is still written as HTML pages and uploaded via FTP.  “But online content is already offering greater interactivity thanks to developments like Macromedia’s Flash and Shockwave plug-ins or software add-ons to Web browsers that allow them to interact with animated graphics. The demand for online content is growing daily and by all indications there doesn’t seem to be any decrease in this demand coming in the foreseeable future.

 Bob Withers

Over the years Search Engine Optimization has become the method of choice for most Internet Marketers to get their home business web page and products discovered by potential clients. More and more Webmasters have discovered the potential writing articles has for driving traffic to their sites after being found by some of the major search engines. Some have even created sites devoted entirely to providing articles for their visitors containing links that lead to their site which would be related to the subjects of their articles.

For example, the sites may feature editorials covering a wide range of topics. As a visitor or potential client reads the article they have searched for, they find at the end a resource box containing a link connecting them to the site that has submitted the article. Of course the commentary would be related to the theme of the website. For example, let’s say the article is about Internet Marketing, the resource box link would connect to your home business site which is devoted to helping Internet Marketers make money online.
 
These resource boxes, found at the end of articles, provide you the opportunity to promote both yourself and your website or product or service. They normally contain the name of the author and a brief profile as well as a short explanation of the sponsoring site and a link to the site in question. If a visitor likes what they read, they will have the tendency to find out where the article came from in order to find more. The resource box will be their link to the source of the article and this will entice them to go to the site and do some more reading or research for the subject or topic of interest.

But like the article itself, the resource box must also be eye-catching in order to command the attention and interest of the reader. While the resource box contains only a small amount of information, providing the right keywords and content for this limited space will provide more impetus for the reader to go to your home business website.

There are many benefits to having a well written resource box with the main one being its ability to drive traffic to your site. Many Webmasters allow other authors to place articles on their sites in order to provide fresh content for their home page. They also create affiliations with other sites that can be beneficial in terms of increased traffic which may translate into more customers and additional sales as well.

So what would be viewed as good content for your resource box? Basically it comes down to keywords. Research and learn what people in your niche are mainly searching for and use the words they are using in the search engines to find the information you are providing. There are many tools you can find online that can help you determine what keywords to use.

Bob Withers