One of the most vital aspects of online marketing
commonly unclear to new users are backlinks. If you are not sure what a
backlink is, here is a small explanation that should make sense to you,
even if you have no thought about Internet marketing terms:

A backlink is a hyperlink pointed to your website from another site,
or it can also be a link you give yourself from any pages within your
site. Backlinks are the bread& butter of online marketing for
die-hard webmasters, and the key to ranking high in the search engines.

Why are backlinks vital?

The answer is simple. Backlinks are vital because they are seen
as a type of credit given to you from other webmasters. Search engines
give you more status for quality backlinks, especially if they are from
other sites within your niche. The more status a site has, the higher it
will rank (this is especially right in competitive niches).

If for example your site is geared for travelers, a backlink from a
cruise site will give you fantastic “bonus” points in the eyes of Google –
especially if that site has a strong PR.

When you receive a link from another site administrator it is like a
token of appreciation that they appreciate your content. The more of
these links you get, the higher your website will rank. If those links
contain proper anchor text, featuring the keyword(s) you want to rank
for it is even better for you.

Can you rank a site without many backlinks?

You bet you can! But, if you manage to rank a site with only a few backlinks it usually is because:

• there isn’t much competition to start with, or
• the daily search terms for the keyword you rank for is very poor

So while it might feel fantastic to see your site pop up on the first
spot in Google, it means nothing for your bottom line if no one is
looking for the information in the first place (no/low searches).

Is it possible to compete with established authority sites?

Yes and no. Ultimately, given enough backlinks AND quality content
you can beat just about any ranking site in the search engines with a
few exceptions. But to do so takes time and patience. Plus you need to
know a thing or two about SEO and how to “tweak” your content with white
hat optimization methods.

Most people experience problems when they try to game the search
engines. They go off in search of work-today, get rich quick solutions
and bomb their site with backlinks from dodgy places and then wonder
when Google slaps them at the next PR update (or sooner).

All the auto-publishing features for blogs and websites will
eventually come to haunt you because logically they can simply not
function long-term. Neither can black hat marketing methods or any other
weird and not-so-wonderful marketing practices. More than ever quality
content is key. Google has been doing some heavy weeding out in recent
months and I suspect they will continue to do so in order to get rid of
all those crappy autoblogs you see pop up everywhere you look.

Patience is key

Whether you like it or not, Google will favor webmasters who practice
patience. These are the marketers who publish top quality content and
build links “naturally” over time. Since it is hardly possible to build
links naturally (meaning, you wait for others to link to you at will),
most webmasters do some form of link building.

This is fine, as long as you build links bit by bit and not buy
10,000 links today (for a groundbreaking new blog) and then nothing for the next
year. Google’s algorithm is sure to pick up on that and your site will
be branded negatively by bots you don’t even know exist.

What about costs?

If you are actively learning about online marketing you would have
already found a lot of services that offer backlink promotion for your
site. Many of them come at a healthy cost. Here is the thing, you will
always pay a price:

• You could pay the price of being bone idle
• You could pay the price of having no discpline
• You could pay the price of not knowing
• Or you could end up paying the price of stupidity by choosing the incorrect provider

There are two types of marketers online; the first group is the
person with no money, but with a resonable amount of time at their
disposal; the second group is the established marketer with plenty of
money but small time.

Type one would be best advised to do most of the link building
themselves to save money, gain knowledge and increase their website’s
ranking over time, whereas type two is probably best served by hiring a
capable SEO professional to do the link building for them.

You will know what’s best for you, based on your current situation.
But you look at link building, you really ought to make it one of
your regular activities if you want to see results from your online
marketing efforts.

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This is a cross-blog post from Network Solutions Solutions Are Power website that I guest wrote. Originally posted on SolutionsArePower.com on April 21, 2010.

For companies interested in getting into the conversation on social
networks and going where their customers are, the one area to certainly
consider is Facebook.
One of the most well loved social networks, the one advantage of going
onto Facebook is that you’re able to interact with the customer’s
profile and also make your own presence. A couple of years ago,
Facebook did something quite ingenious…rather than just setting up an
account and having company employees respond to customers using their
personal accounts (or even making up new accounts – which apparently is
against Facebook’s policy), now you can make what’s known as Facebook “fan pages” or business pages,
as they are sometimes referred to as. Basically you’re establishing a
Facebook entity where it’s your corner of the social network that your
company can use to promote your own brand and get better acclimated with
your customers.

FACEBOOK FAN PAGES, GROUPS & PROFILES? I’M CONFUSED.

Before we get any further, it should be vital to note that
Facebook does already have multiple options for people to make their
presence known, including profiles and groups. So what’s the huge deal
about using a Facebook fan page? Well I’ll clarify…if you have a brand
like Coca-Cola, Kohl’s, American Airlines, etc, you don’t really have a
individual that represents your brand, like you would with Mashable (which has Pete Cashmore),
Mr Clean or another company that has a imaginary or real spokesperson
that people can readily identify and associate with your brand. So
unless you meet this qualification, then the best bet is to go with a
fan page. Moreover, you’re probably going to want to curate more than
5,000 fans to your page, right? Setting up a profile won’t satisfy your
needs since there is a limit on the number of fans you’re able to have
on your profile. Score another point for the fan page. Now what about
groups? I reckon of Facebook groups has more customer-made and not
something that a brand would necessary make. Look at the types of
Facebook groups out there – in fact, just do a search for “I despise” and
you’ll see some fascinating ones like “I despise Hannah Montana” or “I despise
the new Facebook” or even “I despise Coca-Cola”. Reckon of these Facebook
groups as your communities that you, as a brand, should look into and
evaluate whether you should be involved. But it’s over there that you
won’t be able to manage what’s being said – they’re a unionized group
and you’re only there as an observer…

WHAT YOUR FAN PAGE MEANS TO YOUR BRAND.

So
if you’re not allowed to properly play in their playground, then may I
suggest Facebook fan pages? Set up shop on Facebook and essentially
make your own “profile”. It’s here that you can post your press
releases, blog posts, videos, photos, etc and share with your customers.
People on Facebook will flock to your website to leave comments about
how cool your product is or provide you feedback when they reckon you’re
doing something incorrect. You can also leverage your soon-to-be growing fan
base by enticing people to join through contests run through your page.
Just look at what Sears is doing on their page.
In order to get exclusive discounts to their Sears store, all you’re
going to need to do is to be a fan of their page. As a result of that,
the company can now send you messages on a periodic basis alerting you
on new things, sales, discounts, coupons and other news related to Sears
– it’s nearly like a opting-in for email, but on a social network!

IT’S MORE THAN JUST A DULL FAN PAGE.

Facebook
fan pages will also let you make other sections on there using a
special programming code called FBML and you can embed special pages
just for your own use. In Sears’ example, they’ve set up a whole tab
promoting the NCAA basketball tournament. And it’s not all static text
and images. Instead, they’ve made it a bit more interactive with a
custom look complete with video (see image on left). Sears has converted
a regular, probably dull, fan page into something where it will
entice customers and fans alike to come back and check out what’s new.
The new tabs serving a variety of campaigns is something that should be
regularly refreshed so people won’t be coming back for the same dull
thing over and over again. On Kohl’s Facebook fan page,
they have leveraged it by making tabs to promote a line of clothing
by Lauren Conrad, along with contests for recipes and even a PR section
to tout the company’s green initiatives.

CAN YOU SEE YOUR FAN PAGE? WILL OTHERS?

One key thing to point out in order to maximize your Facebook fan
page is to make sure that it’s FOUND. Yes, just simply setting it up and
telling your friends and co-workers about it doesn’t make it an instant
hit. That is, unless you’re verbally telling a million friends. But
realistically you’re going to need to find some way to promote it
without it sounding intrusive or pushy. The first thing you should do is
to place links on your website and blog clearly and conspicuously so that
people know that they can be friends with you on Facebook. And don’t
make it marketing speak either. Make the copy clear and explicit:
“Follow me on Facebook”. If you make it too wordy or full of buzz, then
you’re going to confuse people and they won’t know what you’re talking
about. If possible, include the Facebook logo next to the link – people
will automatically associate the Facebook logo with your Facebook fan
page. Bonus! Oh, and did you know that Facebook even has custom widgets
that you can install so people can be fans of your page right from
other sites you own – including your company website? All without going
to Facebook directly! Make it simple for them!

INTEGRATE OTHER CONTENT. SHARING IS CARING.

In a Mashable post a year ago
about five elements of a excellent Facebook page, one recommendation is to
leverage existing content produced by customers and fans. They reference a Coca-Cola duo
who loved the soft drink so much that they produced some fascinating
content and made their own fan page. It has, in fact, become such a
hit that not only is it one of the largest product fan pages on
Facebook, but it also caught the attention of the folks at Coca-Cola who then chose to work with
the duo instead of demanding the page be turned over to them. Rewards
and VIP treatment was bestowed upon the creators and Coca-Cola did a
fantastic thing by deciding to work WITH the duo to make sure that they both
reaped the benefit. If you’re seeing a fan page that promotes your
brand or product better than yours, then don’t be in a rush to quash
them. In fact, you might be smart because you don’t want to rage
someone who has been an ardent fan of yours. That negativity could sway
others to go the opposite direction causing you more grief than excellent.
Work with other content creators and curate their information on your
fan page and make it a resource for people to find.

INTERACTION AND CONVERSATION SHOWS YOU EXIST.

Once you’ve started getting people to interact with your fan page,
then you should look closely at what people are saying and what types of
people are interacting with your site. Washington, DC’s tourism fan page
has ballooned to include over 140,000 fans so there are some clear
demographics about who visits and what types of things they’re
interested in. Facebook also includes statistics that you can look at if
you’re an administrator to gauge how many new fans are there, who’s
leaving, the gender balance, etc. Very informational things that you can
use to tailor your content to meet their needs. Maybe you’re going to
talk about cars, beer and sports on your fan page, but then look and see
your demographics leaning predominantly female. That would be a huge
shift in your strategy, but you can easily make corrections on the glide
or in near real-time to find what suits a majority of your fans. In
Washington, DC’s case, they are posting photos, news and links to things
people are interested in concerning the city – whether it’s new
exhibits, cherry blossoms or television movies that involve the city.

Other brands that have seemed to maximize their fan pages are finding
success in engaging in posts people make on their fan pages. Take
Kohl’s page, for example (shown above). As you can see, they have nearly
a million fans on their page, but in practically every example shown
above, a representative from Kohl’s (using the Kohl’s profile to post)
is responding to anything negative or positive in a way to show that
there is someone behind the browser showing concern about people’s
feedback. There are examples where Kohl’s has responded even to people’s
post on the Facebook wall about how they scored a deal shopping at the
store or to thank someone for shopping in preparation for their
vacation. It’s customer appreciation and Kohl’s is certainly leveraging
it in their situation. But on the opposite end of the spectrum, they
are also responding to people’s complaints about issues relating to
coupons or store complaints in a way to give customers another excuse to
show why they’re fans – that Kohl’s is a company that cares.

STILL NOT SURE ABOUT USING A FACEBOOK FAN PAGE

If you want to basically place a stick in the ground and let people
know that you’re serious about talking with them in a social network,
then I’d suggest you get a Facebook fan page. Don’t worry if your
numbers don’t happen straight away. But if you’re not sure that Facebook is
right for you, then I leave you with these statistics taken from their website and included in Steven Fisher’s post on Grow Smart Business regarding this very topic:

• More than 400 million active users
• 50% of our active users log on to Facebook in any given day
• More than 35 million users update their status each day
• More than 60 million status updates posted each day
• More than 3 billion photos uploaded to the site each month
• More than 5 billion pieces of content (web links, news tales, blog posts, notes, photo albums, etc.) shared each week
• More than 3.5 million events made each month
• More than 3 million active Pages on Facebook
• More than 1.5 million local businesses have active Pages on Facebook
• More than 20 million people become fans of Pages each day
• Pages have made more than 5.3 billion fans

——————————————————————–

There are many ways we use to make money online from our free and
self hosted blogs like Google Adsense Widgets, in-text advertising
options like Kontera or Infolinks, paid blogging websites like ReviewMe,
PayPerPost, selling text & banner ads, product selling through
affiliate websites like Amazon, Commission Junction, LinkShare,
ClickBank etc.

It was around one year back, when I made an account with ClickBank (CB)
which is a marketplace for selling and buying digital products in
various categories. CB has thousands of products added focusing
different kind of problems and their solutions. I chose to promote
other people product through ClickBank and make some money because I
don’t have time and resources to make a product of my own and sell
that through CB marketplace. It is always better to sell other people
product if you cannot make a product of your own.

I did not manage to give much time for promoting ClickBank products.
So far I tried promoting 4-5 CB products only. And with most of
products, I made blogs around them and just forget about them. Bu
still sales are continuously coming in my ClickBank account for those
products. In the last one year I managed to make $1350 (approx) with
ClickBank with small efforts. I don’t reckon this is a huge money, but
can be used as additional revenue stream. But if you have some spare
time, you can earn much more than what I’m able to earn. Here are some
steps that you can follow to make money online with ClickBank using free
blogs from Blogger.com (Blogspot):

Account creation on ClickBank

If you don’t have an account on ClickBank
by now, make one immediately to start making some money by selling
products that ClickBank have. If you are aiming at making money through
ClickBank (CB) selling your own product, sign up a Vendor. And in case
you don’t have your own product to sell, you can still make some money
by promoting other people’s submitted products. Click on this link to
make an affiliate account on ClickBank.

Once you have successfully made an affiliate account with
Clickbank, browse CB marketplace to find some products in a niche you
are most interested in promoting. In the beginning you can start with
one product only which interest you and have decent payout. Now spend
some time understanding that product because you must have some
knowledge about the product you are going to promote and write about.

Account Creation on Blogger.com (Blogspot)

Once you have chose a product and studied that product, its time to make a blog around that product on Blogger.com
which is a free service provided by Google for making blogs. Choose a
Seo optimized URL and title for your blog focused around the product
you are going to promote. And if you are thinking of promoting multiple
products from the same category, you can reckon of making a general
blog about that niche and promote multiple products on the same blog.

Write down 4-5 articles at least about the fist product you selected
and publish them on just made blogger blog. But don’t forget to
include your affiliate links with banners within these post bodies. But
don’t include too many affiliate links in the same article. And keep
your affiliate links nofollow and if possible use some services like
tiny.cc or tinyurl.com to shorten your affiliate links.

Blog Marketing

Once you have added some content on your first blog with affiliate
links, it’s time to market that blog. If you have some additional
budget, you can use Google Adwords kind of services to bring traffic to
your blog. But I would suggest you to go for free services only
initially.

Article publishing

Article publishing is the most vital and most successful
technique when we reckon of our success with any affiliate products.
Make some article about the product you are promoting and submit them
on some of well loved Ezine publishing websites like EzineArticles.com,
GoArticles.com, ArticleBAse.com and AmericanChronicle.com. Write
fascinating and informative articles so that people really read them.
The more people you are able to bring on your articles, there will be
more people really visiting your blog and buying the product you
recommended. You can reckon of writing and submitting 8-10 articles about
a product you are promoting on these article publishing websites.

Note – Never include your affiliate link in your
article body or in your signature section when submitting your articles
on these well loved Ezine publishing websites. You are allowed to include
2-3 links to your blog in the signature section.

Guest Blogging

Spend some time finding top blogs in your niche or blogs someway
related t o your product and write guest posts on these blogs with links
to your blog. Guest posts are really helpful in promoting your blogs in
the blogsphere and search engines.

Social Media submission

Submit some of your articles from your blog and Ezine publishing
websites to some of well loved network websites like Digg.com,
Propeller.com, Tasty.com, Humsurfer.com etc

Do follow commenting

find some Dofollow blogs in your niche and leave valuable comment on some of them with a link back to your blog posts.

ClickBank earning statistic

After doing all the blog creation and promotion work, it’s time to
check your ClickBank account. This month, so far I have been able to
generate 1,497 hubs, with products sales being 7, one sale refunded and
total earnings for this month after one refund is $157.63. This is the
money I have been able to make money with Clickbank this month while
investing a single penny. If I get some more time from my busy schedule,
I want to try and spend more time in promoting other Clickbank products. Here is the weekly earnings snapshot from my ClickBank account:
 

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Each week I see multiple products launched targeting bloggers wanting to improve their blogs. I’ve tested many of them in my time and the reality is that most don’t deliver what they promise and I don’t promote them. But from time to time – some hit the mark and present unique and helpful information that delivers real value.

This week there were two of these such products that hit the market. Both are quite different in their focus but both are from experts in their field and will help bloggers improve two vital aspects of their blogs:

1. Jon Morrow’s Apprentice Program for Guest Bloggers

Jon is someone who has built a career for himself as a copywriter and blogger using Guest Posting. He’s been a guest poster here on ProBlogger numerous times and is a regular on blogs such as CopyBlogger.

Over the last week or so he’s release a series of fantastic videos (here and here are two) on the topic of guest blogging and this week launched a comprehensive program that literally guarantees to get you a guest post on a high profile blog (if you don’t you’ll get your money back).

Jon’s course is a mix of video, private forum, Q&A calls and one on one interaction with Jon.

Guest blogging is a technique many bloggers have used to launch their blogs to fantastic things and Jon’s the perfect person to talk you through how to do it. Sign up Today Here.

2. Gideon Shalwick’s Rapid Video Blogging

Gideon Shalwick has also taken his blogging to the next level by being prolific at one aspect of online discipline – VIDEO. He too has released a series of fantastic videos this week that talk you through different aspects of using video to make money online (check them out here, here and here – they are free and whether you buy the course or not offer fantastic insights) and today launched a fantastic product – Rapid Video Blogging.

Gideon’s course is massive and comprehensive. It includes 125 instructional videos and transcripts/audio version as well as a heap of fantastic tools and resources including videos with fantastic video bloggers, live interactive sessions for Q&A.

Video is an incredibly dynamic medium and mastering it is something many bloggers need to learn – check out Rapid Video Blogging for more information on just how to do that.

Which one is for You?

Both of these resources come from experts in their fields and will present different value to different bloggers. Neither are super cheap entry level products (you’re getting a heap of content with both) and so you’ll want to consider your needs carefully and view some of the free videos that the guys have produced – but if you’ve been thinking about how to take your blogging up a notch lately and want to make an investment into your learning – do give them both consideration.

They both do come with money back satisfaction guarantees and both Jon and Gideon are people I trust to honour that promise.

I’m looking forward to hearing how you delight in these courses and seeing how they help you improve your blogs.

Post from: Blog Tips at ProBlogger.

2 Products Worth Considering to Improve Your Blog Today

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Everyone seems to like twitter
these days which is a really cool way of staying in touch with your
customers, friends & colleagues. Basically twitter has
presented itself as a micro-blogging platform where a user can shout
out anything they want to his ‘followers’ within the limit of 140
characters.

I have just started twittering since last
month (*yes I’m pretty late starter!) because initially by looking at
it for the very first time, I couldn’t find any ‘value’ that it has for
my work & my social life. But after reading a convincing post by Aaron Wall,
I thought of giving twitter a try. Since then onwards I have been using
twitter all day long, just to keep track of some of the leading experts
in the Internet & Search Marketing field as well as to have
some ‘fun’ with my online buddies.

Anyway the whole point of
doing this post is to highlight some of the key monetization elements
that an individual can explore using twitter. I assume you have the
basic knowledge of what twitter is and how it works, so I will directly
deep into some thoughts which can make you earn money from your twitter.

• Direct Advertisement
  – If a lot of people are following you in ‘twitter’ or in other words
  if you have a ‘wide reach’ to a large number of twitter users, you can
  probably look into direct advertisements for monetization.

• Recommendation – You can recommend a particular product or
  service on behalf of your advertisers & peruse your followers
  to take an ‘action’.
• Promotion – You can help your advertiser to promote a new product or service to your twitter followers.

It works pretty much like niche marketing because, say if you
are an Internet Marketer, It is very likely that most of your followers
in Twitter are also from the same area which is why they have
‘followed’ you in the first place.