Search engine optimization is definitely an intimidating prospect for most of us, which why there is  a surge in SEO consulting firms and consultants.

Unfortunately, SEO is not an exact science, which makes it easy for fly-by night SEO firms to convince people to spend thousands of dollars while providing only limited results.  Fortunately, if you know what to look for, then identifying lower quality SEO consultants can be fairly simple.

Here are 5 of the scariest statements that your SEO consultant can make.  If you hear any of these then, you might want to look for a replacement, and fast.

Read the rest of this entry

Social Media hit the web marketing industry hard in the past few years, however lots of people are beginning to wonder just how much their social networking contacts are worth.  People shall no longer be surprised that they may have a lot more than 1,000 Twitter followers, but hardly any of them are converting into solid leads.

One of the greatest problems with social media, thus far, is that most online marketers got so involved in creating a massive quantity of followers that they never spent the time to set up the proper metrics to judge precisely how valuable these followers actually were.  Actually, there is a good chance that most of your Twitter followers have no idea who you actually are.  Most of them probably followed you in hopes that you would follow them back.  In fact, some reports have estimated that a social networking contact is worth a maximum of $3.50.  However, in order to build relationships using social media is much more of a one on one task to become truly effective.

To obtain a better concept of how effective social networking contacts are, let’s check out at various other popular internet marketing communication methods.  The most obvious method of communication has been around long before the internet.  List-building, which is now done via email instead of collecting business cards, is infinitely more valuable.  An IBM study reported that a single loyal email contact is worth just under $950.  This is because when someone signs up for you list, they are trading personal information for something else, normally a free resource, such as an ebook.  This instantly builds a more personal relationship, which is a major reason that a person on your list is worth so much more than a Twitter or Facebook follower.

Blogging fits somewhere among social networking contacts and the ones in your list.  Subscribing to your blogs RSS feed takes a little as two clicks, which is much faster than signing up for email, but longer than following someone on Twitter.  Therefore, it is no surprise that your RSS subscribers are more valuable than Twitter followers, but less valuable than an someone who is has subscribed to your email list.  Another reason that blog followers are more valuable than social media contacts is because every time that they visit your blog, you have a chance to make money (even if it is just by selling advertising space).  With Twitter or Facebook, if you don’t get them to click on a link and purchase a product, you don’t make any money.

There are many conclusions that you could combine this and do not require involve ditching social media as a whole.  The first is that to truly monetize your social media contacts, it is vital that you get them to take another step.  It is important that you get your followers to sign up for your blogs RSS feed or email list.  This will give you a greater chance to build a lasting relationship with them, and of course monetize them a little better.  The second conclusion that can be drawn from this is that while social media contacts can still be useful, they should not be the backbone of your marketing efforts.  By having a strong social media presence, you have gain credibility among the community, which can be leveraged in monetized in a variety of ways that are not directly tied to your Twitter followers or Facebook friends.

To your success online,

P.S.  Click here to Learn How to Build your Business Online like never before!

Do you have an internet business that you are trying to build to be successful? Then you need to know why internet business training is vital and where you can easily find all the training you need to become the success you have always dreamed of.

There are many different reasons why training is so important and the following are the most essential reasons you need to know about.

1. There are many different things you will need to know how to do when building an internet business. Without training you will never be able to do even half of the things that need to be completed.

2. Training will give you the essential experience that you need to become the success that you want to. Anyone that has achieved success knows that without the right training they wouldn’t be where they are today. You have to learn everything that is necessary for building a business if you want to achieve success also.

Now that you know the two main reasons why training is so vital to the success of any internet business, you need to know where you can find all the training you need. There are many different ways online to achieve this goal.

Below are some of the best ways to use to get all the training you want and need.

1. Find a mentor – This is the best way to use because you can find someone that has achieved the success that you want to with the type of business you are trying to build and you can learn from them.

There are many people that have achieved success that would love to be your mentor; you just have to take time to find them.

2. EBooks – There are many eBooks online that will give you good training, but you have to take time to be sure you are choosing one of the best to learn from. You can easily do this with a little research and by finding out what others say about a particular eBook.

This will ensure that you will be able to find the eBook that is worth your time and money and not a waste of both instead.

3. Forums – There are many forums online that you can use to learn from others that are building successful businesses. You just need to find them and then become involved to start learning.

4. Business opportunity – If you started your business with an online opportunity, you should be able to get some training to get you started from them. The good opportunities will always give you some type of training because they want you to start making money right away.

Now that you know why internet business training is vital and where to find all the training that will be needed; all that remains is to start your training so you can build your business to be successful. The sooner you get started, the sooner you will achieve the success you have dreamed of.

To your success online,

P.S.  Click here to Learn How to Build your Business Online like never before!