According to Wikipedia Social Media is an umbrella term that defines the various activities that integrate technology, social interaction, and the construction of words, pictures, videos and audio.

This interaction, and the manner in which information is presented, depends on the varied perspectives and “building” of shared meaning among communities, as people share their stories, and understandings.

Social Media Marketing on the other hand is the use of this combined technology and social interaction to promote a product or service or website online. There are many social media available to use as tools in your Social Media Marketing strategy. These include but are not limited to forums, message boards, podcasts, video and weblogs.

There are also social media services available through which you can promote your website such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr, to name but a few. These sites provide the medium to promote the media and Internet Marketers use both in combination to develop a Social Media Marketing strategy.

I believe the foundation of any social media marketing plan should begin with a Blog. The Internet Marketer should create a Blog to drive traffic and direct this traffic to the product or service being promoted. The Blog owner should also comment on other Blogs in order to attract traffic to his or her Blog.

Another good technique for driving traffic is Internet Forums. This is a good way to establish your reputation by submitting quality content which is of some service to the reader. This will encourage people to reciprocate and visit your website or Blog to check out your content.

A third Social Media Marketing technique which is a good way to create a buzz online and therefore generate word of mouth is video. Create a video promoting a product which may be coming soon and distribute it to the various video sharing sites such as YouTube. This should contribute to increased traffic to your website and therefore increased sales.

Video can be utilized in many different ways. For example: to make people laugh, to demonstrate how a product works, to illustrate how to do something or to conduct a product review. Video attracts people’s attention and leaves an impression and this is why it is the wave of the future for Internet Marketing.

A fourth technique which you can use to get your message across is social networking. You can accomplish this by joining some of the social sites available such as Facebook and MySpace.

However anyone using these sites as promotion tools should be careful to follow the rules and not spam or promote excessively. Treat these sites with respect and use them as they are intended and the traffic will still materialize.

Finally, audio is another social marketing technique which can be implemented. Create an e-book for example and distribute it to the various audio sharing sites such as Soundboard. Or if you have a talent share it with the rest of the web through audio and your traffic should increase exponentially.

These are five techniques any Internet marketer can implement into their Social Media Marketing plan, but there are many more available to choose from.

The point being you shouldn’t overwhelm yourself with so many methods that you cannot do justice to any of them in terms of the time involved. As with any plan choose the ones you enjoy most and you will achieve your goal of increased Social Media traffic.

Bob Withers is a professional sales and marketing person with over twenty years in the field. He has also turned his sights on network marketing to apply his trade. If you want to get in touch with Bob or get Free Sales and Marketing Advice please visit:

http://makeinternetmarketingeasy.com

Social Media Optimization is an internet marketing technique that includes a number of methods to promote your product, service, business, or website on social media.

Social Media Optimization is associated with search engine marketing, but differs in that the primary focus is on driving traffic from sources other than search engines, though improved search ranking is also a benefit of successful Social Media Optimization.

Social media optimization is similar to viral marketing where word of mouth is created through the use of networking in social bookmarking, video and photo sharing websites.

It is still very much in its infancy and is only one element of being everywhere online. Social Media Optimization is essentially based on quality, or how good is my content?

It presents businesses with a way to connect and interact with their customers and prospective customers that was never available to them before. It is interacting with consumers wherever they are online and in whatever format they want the interaction to take place.

Social media optimization is all about creativity, finding creative ways to get your message out there and using creative tools to have your content easily found, distributed and shared online. It is about improving the linking structure of your website to make it highly visible in social media searches.

Social media optimization is the latest buzzword that is capturing the attention of webmasters and is simply the practice of ensuring that a website, article, or video is primed to become a part of the social media network. Social media optimization is utilizing these social media sites and the social media networks to popularize a product, a service, an organization or a concept.

It’s an excellent technique for website promotion and gives your Website and business more visibility and instant results. It is the process of distributing your content across all available Social Media networks and enhances your internet presence by effectively using these media, including social networking, social book marking, blogs, wikis, groups, and other social sites.

Social media optimization is driven by the technology of Web 2 and is all about forming groups of like- minded people and sharing information. Social Media Optimization is more than just writing content for the purpose of garnering links to your website.

It’s about optimizing your pages to help them connect with online communities and is defined by Wikipedia as a way to optimize websites so they would be more easily connected or interlaced with online communities and community websites.

According to Wikipedia: Social media marketing (SMM) combines the goals of internet marketing with social media sites such as Digg, Flickr, MySpace, YouTube and many others.

Social media optimization (SMO) and Social Media Marketing strategies are employed by empowered Search Engine Optimization to promote the site through the use of networking in social bookmarking, social networks, video sharing sites and photo sharing sites.

Social media optimization is a set of methods for generating publicity through social media, online communities and community websites.

The evolution of social media optimization will take some time in coming and has yet to reach its full potential but has the opportunity to replace Search Engine Optimization as one of the top Internet Marketing strategies in use today.

Bob Withers is a professional sales and marketing person with over twenty years in the field. He has also turned his sights on network marketing to apply his trade. If you want to get in touch with Bob or get Free Sales and Marketing Advice please visit:

http://makeinternetmarketingeasy.com

Recently, I wrote an article explaining my reasoning for choosing BANS(Build A Niche Store) as the main engine for driving my online income streams. Here, I will look closely at a number of powerful features which the BANS script includes and then compare BANS to products from Amazon, Google and Clickbank.

First and foremost, there a three strong features of the BANS script and program. First, it is incredibly easy to build out store after store very quickly after you have spent some time learning the ropes.

Second, you are provided with an enormous number of products from the world’s largest marketplace(Ebay)and you simply choose which subset of these products that you will sell. Third, your upfront expenses are minimal and you can reasonably start your BANS venture for less than two hundred dollars.

All right, let’s look at these features in turn. I began working with BANS around April 1st and within a month I could create a functioning store in under an hour. Now this is not the product that you want the public viewing, however, after this point you will just be adding all the bells and whistles that will separate your store from all the rest.

The second powerful feature associated with BANS is the ability of the BANS script to interface with the Ebay product feed in a seamless manner and provide you with the functionality to create product feeds for different niche markets. Here, it is up to you to decide which market you want to service but the choices are nearly infinite.

The third feature which puts the BANS program head and shoulders above the others is the start-up costs involved. This, of course, is extremely important for everyone but is especially crucial for those just starting out.

All right, let’s now look at some products by competitors which offer affiliates a chance to make money online. The Amazon affiliate program offers commissions across the entire Amazon inventory and affiliates can build “a-stores” in which they can sell the products.

The Amazon a-store is not not nearly as detailed as a BANS website and products must constantly be checked as to their availability on a day by day basis(something not necessary with a BANS store). In addition, your ability to develop stores around specific types of products is very difficult as many of the tools that the affiliate must use to build the store are somewhat primitive and restrictive.

Clickbank offers, by far, the largest repository of information products available anywhere on the Internet. Because you are dealing with information products, delivery is always in the form of a download which is a positive for the affiliate.

However, Clickbank provides no script by which the affiliate can easily build a website to sell these products(as opposed to the Amazon a-store or the BANS script). The affiliates must either build the website themselves or incorporate the selling of the Clickbank products into an already existing site. In addition, you must be ready to strongly market each and every product you intend to sell if you intend to have any chance of success.

Lastly, let’s look at what Google has to offer. Perhaps the single largest affiliate program available today is the Google AdSense program. AdSense provides blocks of advertising material which the affiliate can place in appropriate locations on single or multiple webpages.

The ads are contextual in nature as Google has an algorithm which serves up advertisements that match the content of the page on which they are placed. The affiliate earns money when these ads are clicked on regardless of whether the visitor even purchases a product. Developing websites for the express purpose of earning AdSense money is frowned upon by the major search engines and this product should be used to supplement an income stream that is already in place.

In comparing all these products and then trying each in turn, it became clear to me that BANS stores offered the best chance for success. In fact, the model that I now have in place uses BANS as the primary income stream and I am using the other products in a supplemental way where it is appropriate.

Like all good products, BANS requires a discipline and committment that will have you working hard in order to get it right. But the payoff can be what you hoped for when you got into Internet Marketing in the first place.

The Teacher has been involved in education for over 25 years. On his websites, http://www.coach-fashions.com, http://www.verabradleycollection.com, http://www.katespadecollection.com and others, he uses the BANS computer script to generate websites that sell products available on Ebay.

These are exciting times. Every day the headlines tell us about someone else who made a fortune almost overnight in the new Internet economy.

Of course, not everybody is getting rich, quite the difference. The vast majority of North Americans are actually earning less than they were ten or fifteen years ago. Unless you’re one of the lucky few, the news can be a bit depressing.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. Launching yourself into the middle of Internet success is easier than you may think. In the dynamic of the new economy, the difference between earning $15,000 and $100,000 a year is really quite simple.

I can’t say it is only as easy as changing your state of mind (although attitude is a big part of it). But by knowing some insider secrets and having a solid plan you can work, you can make big, quick strides toward getting your fair share of the new high-tech wealth.

Here are four things you can do NOW:

1. The new wealth is based on people dealing in pure information. Take an inventory of the ways you use or can learn to use information well. Being able to motivate people via email, keeping in close contact with a wide range of associates with your cell phone, and understanding financial statements can all be the basis for a successful career in the new economy.

2. Focus on how you can learn new skills now and in the future. The new economy is a learning economy where your value is based on what you know and how fast you can learn new things. The old idea that people over the age of 25 learn more slowly is pure myth. Adults with lots of work experience are usually the first to find ways to put new knowledge to work.

3. Work with experts to learn insider techniques. We are now beyond the pioneer stages of the Internet. The techniques that work are proven and well-known to experts. Don’t waste time reinventing the wheel. Learn from those who have already paid plenty of dues. Find what works and put it to work.

4. Create a logical plan, work it, and stick to it. Nothing comes to those who don’t work hard. Equally, very little comes to those who don’t plan their work and work their plan. Keep your goals in mind each day and refuse to let yourself become derailed by temporary setbacks or the bewildering crush of new information.

By keeping these four things in mind, you will be firmly on your way to realizing your full potential in the new Internet economy.

As a fulltime Internet marketer since October 2000, Louis Burrows has helped many people get started in the New Internet Economy.
For a complete automated business, visit: http://www.your-publishing-profits.com/ebiab.html
For additional business help, visit: http://www.4-YOUR-SUCCESS.WS

Companies will gladly pay you for taking online surveys because they help create a quality product that addresses specific needs and wishes of its customers. A quality product results in more sales and profits for the company. Companies are paying billions dollars to market research firms to conduct online surveys. Then, those market research firms pay money to anyone that fills out their surveys online.

Online surveys are being increasingly used by marketers and advertisers in understanding user expectations. The advent and growth of Internet has rendered online surveys as an effective and convenient tool to conduct a research. Online surveys are an excellent way to earn money no matter who you are. You fill surveys in comfort of your house and earn $2-75 for each survey. Online paid surveys are best suited for someone who has plenty of spare time such as students, stay-at-home moms and retirees. With the free time, you can sign up for as many market research companies as you wish.

Paid surveys will not make you rich. They are not free money. Paid surveys will earn you some cash from some places, and rewards or tokens at other places that you can accumulate for prizes. Other free paid survey sites will put you into a sweepstakes where you have a chance to win big prizes.

Online survey notifications come in your email box and you can complete them at a time most convenient for you. You can earn up to $50 while drinking your morning cup of coffee or during your coffee break at work. Online survey opportunities are growing at a rapid rate because big corporations need your opinion. Learn how to get paid for online surveys and get the best paid survey sites now. Online paid surveys can last anywhere between 10 minutes and 1 hour, depending on the complexity.

Paid surveys are a terrific way to supplement your income and earn prizes, including gift cards, electronics, small appliances and other items. However, not everyone knows how to maximize their income from surveys. Paid surveys can open exciting new perspectives for people from all walks of life. Whether you choose to complete paid surveys as a hobby, or a part-time job , you not simply earn cash and rewards, but you also gain lots of knowledge about your own consumer behavior and the choices you can make in the future. Paid survey databases provide directories of paid survey companies. These are the sites you go to find companies that will pay you to participate in online surveys.

Companies don’t want to give good money to those that are simply only ever going to take part when it suits them (such as when a big payment is offered). So they will initially test their new members commitment with smaller offers. Companies use screener surveys to tell the reliable survey takers from the ballast, and they oftentimes drop those subscribers who didn’t respond to the screened surveys. So, do not disconnect yourself from the chance of earning good cash and rewards, and start taking paid surveys now!

Taking online surveys for money is probably the best of the simple ways to make money online. Everyone has an opinion so anyone can find companies willing to except them as members and provided you take the small paying surveys you are sent initially you will soon see an increase in the reward of the surveys you receive.

You can learn more about taking online surveys at http://hubpages.com/hub/Paid-Surveys-for-Fun-and-Money

If you really want to make money then see the 6 ways to make money Hub – http://hubpages.com/hub/Six-Easy-Ways-to-Start-Making-Money-Online

Social Media Marketing is the process of promoting your website or business through social media channels and it is a powerful strategy that will get you links, attention and massive amounts of traffic.

Social Media Optimization has been defined as the process of refining a website (optimizing it) so that its awareness and content are easily spread through social mediums and online communities by users and visitors of the website.

Social Media Marketing is a great addition to any traditional SEO work that you do, but it’s not a substitute. It’s an excellent way to get people to come to your site to take a look at what you have to offer and it isn’t difficult to implement. It’s fast becoming one of the most effective ways of marketing online.

Social Media Marketing is the new buzzword online, and social media sites are becoming increasingly more popular. It’s a very effective way of attracting links to your site and is very cost effective when compared with paid advertising and other forms of online marketing. And the rewards can be much greater.

Social Media Marketing is a great way to build long term sustainable, natural social media traffic and search engine rankings. Social networking in particular, creates a conversation with your target audience, providing you the opportunity to virally market your website through the chatter that can be created.

Social Media is better than branding and customer service because of the interaction it provides with your customers. It does not provide instant results and it will take some time before you will realize its effectiveness; however, its power lies in its ability to engage the right kind of participants and is about maintaining your brand and your reputation.

Social Media Marketing provides an easy way to build back links but it certainly doesn’t replace making titles unique or setting up a good internal linking structure. Another way to view social marketing is as word of mouth, but at the speed of sound.

Social Media also afford the long-term opportunity for companies to develop and use online networks for providing information their customers find interesting, or amusing, or useful. Social media shouldn’t be about how many people you can engage, but about how engaged can you make those people.

It changes the dynamics of not only marketing but business and Social Media marketing campaigns can include a variety of components and platforms.

It’s important to remember you can’t simply launch a Social Marketing campaign and assume your target audience will find you and engage in a conversation. It takes time and effort to establish a relationship and eventually gain the trust of the target audience.

Social Media can help you achieve results, either directly, by delivering information that leads visitors to your site, or indirectly, if the links provided are found by the search engines and give your pages a boost in regular search engine rankings.

Social Media Marketing isn’t intended as a replacement for traditional marketing and is not the final frontier of marketing, as we know it, but offers many advantages to the Internet Marketer.

Bob Withers is a professional sales and marketing person with over twenty years in the field. He has also turned his sights on network marketing to apply his trade. If you want to get in touch with Bob or get Free Sales and Marketing Advice please visit:

http://makeinternetmarketingeasy.com

An opt-in mailing list is usually THE essential component when it comes to recording and converting prospects who have expressed an interest in your products. Without an opt-in list any internet business will struggle to fully convert all the prospects that may buy its products.

Therefore the first part in creating a successful internet business is to create your opt-in list we will not be dealing with that subject in this article.
This subject is dealt with in my article “How To Build Your Business with An Opt-In List That Works”. If you would like me to send you this article then please email me.

This article deals with how you can use your opt-in list to make money and up sell higher ticket items to your prospects and customers.

An opt-in list is crucial to 99% of internet businesses, even for small or new sites the opt-in list can make a highly significant difference to the sites income. Use the opt-in properly and it will pay you handsomely.

The opt-in list allows you to establish and maintain communication with your prospects or customers. One point to make here is that a prospect is someone who has enquired about your products without actually purchasing them. Once the prospect has purchased a product from you then they become a customer.

You can use your opt-in list to send information about your products, special offers, newsletters, whatever you think your prospects or customers want and need. Remember your objective here is to get emotional buy in for your products or services. By providing them information, for example via newsletters, you are building up your companies trust and the more your prospect trusts you the more likely they are to purchase from you.

The whole point of an opt-in list is that your prospect has given you permission to send them information on your company and products. This effectively means you have been invited by the prospect to tell them about your products as they have already expressed an interest in what you have to offer. Therefore you cannot be accused of spam mail.

Newsletters are a great way to keep contact with your list and provide useful and informative information to your prospects. They also encourage your list to visit your site regularly and check for new content. As we all know content is king, if your prospects like your content then you are already more then half way to converting them to customers. Newsletters are also a great way to build your list.

The most effective and easiest way to contact your list via email is through the use of an autoresponder. There are many on the market today, most internet businesses use Aweber as do I and I recommend it.

You can set up your autoresponder to send messages to your prospects that have enquired about your products, its very simple to do. Your objective here is to appeal to your prospects emotions as we all know that when making a decision to purchase it is usually driven by emotion first and then justified by logic later.

I would recommend if you are new to internet businesses and to email follow-up messages then you get an experienced sales copy professional to help you compose these messages. It is well known that a prospect needs to be contacted at least 7 times before they will buy, so follow-up is key and the easiest way is through using your autoresponder.

Typically, most internet businesses try and get their prospects to buy something that is relatively cheap, lets say under $40. For most prospects this should not be a problem. Once the prospect has bought from you they become your customer and are now very valuable to you.

They have proved they are willing to get their credit card out and purchase from you. This differentiates them from prospects in a real way. You can now try and up sell your customers higher ticket items. This is where most internet companies make most of their money so you can see how important it is to know who your customers are and what they are interested in purchasing.

Once your list has grown you can make extra money not only by selling your own products and services but by using the following methods, obviously the larger your list the more money you can make:

a) Create and maintain affiliations with other companies that are involved in the same industry or sector as yourself. These other companies provide links on their products and services that you can add onto your site or newsletter. Every click made on the affiliates link will mean money for you.

b) Again by establishing affiliate deals you can ask for a percentage of sales made by your list purchasing products from your affiliates. Once a member on your list clicks through to the affiliates website and purchases goods, this is recorded and you get a percentage of the value of the purchase.

c) Sell advertising space. Many companies will be prepared to pay for banners and other similar adverts on your newsletters or even your website. The amount you can charge will vary on the size of the advert and how many unique users visit your website or how big your opt-in list is. I would strongly advise against selling or renting out your list, it will damage your reputation with your customers and lead to a long term loss in sales and will result in a shorter list.

d) You can sell information products in the form of e-books or even articles that you have written. There is great demand for information products on the internet, many people are willing to pay to gain knowledge. With the trust you created with your list, they will be much more likely to buy from you than someone they have not dealt with.

e) Use your list to its full potential, get your list to recommend you to their friends, family and business associates. You could use recommend-a-friend and offer some sort of free gift for doing so. An increase in your opt-in list will pay handsome dividends now and in the future.

Remember your list is the life blood of your business, look after it, take care of it, nurture it, make it grow and it will reward you handsomely.

After 5 years involved in various interent businesses, having gained some valuable experience, sometimes bitter, sometimes with fantastic results, I hope to share my experiences.

Yunis Khan

http://www.earnmoneydailyonline.com

enquiries@earnmoneydailyonline.com

Youve got your internet business and you have created an opt-in list. Now what?

Well, you have to encourage your list to buy from you. This is a lot harder than you may first imagine. There are series of books written on this subject and it really is an art. Many people have studied for years to perfect this, however Im going to go through some very important rules to follow when you start selling to your list. Email is the preferred method to contact your list as its free and very effective.

Always remember the vast majority of people base their decision to buy on EMOTION. They then justify their purchase through LOGIC.

When selling to your list you must address both these factors in order to maximise the sales from your list. Over the last five years I have been involved in various internet businesses and I have found the following rules to be most effective.

Get your customers begging for more information:

You have to grab the attention of your list, you must create enough interest so that your list is begging for more information on your products.

Carry out some market research for yourself, register with various companies and see how they sell, see how they make their products “sizzle”, this is sometimes referred to as “selling the sizzle” and can be very effective.

There are many ways to present your products and many promotional styles and methods. You have to grab your customers attention and get them to visit your site for more information and therefore buy your product. Content and creativity are the keys here, you are trying to lock in your customer to your marketing and therefore your products.

a) Keep your message simple, light and creative. Your customer does not want a long winded email with loads of facts and figure about your products and their performance. Keep it light hearted, your objective is to get your customer to read the email. We all live in a serious world, add a bit of humour or fun and it can pay off.

b) Add photos and splash some colour into your emails. Send out newsletters previewing your products, make them interesting, light hearted and eye catching. Grab your customers interest.

c) You must have good content and articles about your products. This will build trust between you and your customers. If necessary get a professional copy writer to do this for you in a style that is informative and light hearted, not stuffy. Outline the benefits of your products to your customers, do not talk about features, only benefits. Try not to be too keen here, people dont like products being forced upon them, hold back a little, this often works.

d) A picture is worth a thousand words. If you do have clear and concise pictures of your products then use them! This coupled with clear concise benefits can work wonders.

Grab Your Readers Attention With Your Subject:

This is sometimes overlooked by new internet business owners. They dont realise that just sending an email is not enough. In this day and age there are literally thousands of companies who market their products through opt-in lists via email. You have to realise that you are just one of the many companies vying for your customers attention.

Therefore it is imperative that you actually get your customer to open your email. To some this may sound rather a basic point. But do you realise that on average every 100 emails sent to an opt-in list, the average number of emails that are actually read is approx 30-40.

THE major factor in your customer opening your email is the subject heading in your email, that is why it is so important to get this right.

a) Try and keep the subject short and concise, it should ideally provide a summary of the content of your email. You need to grab the attention of your customer so that they are intrigued to open your email and read further. Tickle your customers curiosity, use emotion and selling words. Remember you only have a few seconds to grab your customers attention before they skip or delete your email.

b) A popular method is to indicate that your email will give your customer some sort of training or tips on certain subjects. You can do this by using such phrases such as “Guide To …” or “How To …” or “Tips for …”. These are known to work well but your email content must reflect your subject heading.

c) Asking a question in the subject heading can also work well. Again you have to get emotional buy in, even from the subject heading. So questions like “Are you looking for financial freedom?” or “Have you had enough of working for someone?”. These types of subject heading get your customers thinking straight away and are known to work well. Again always ensure your email content gives an answer to the question stated in the subject of your email.

d) New product announcements. This is perfect when previewing new products you are about to launch or make available to your customers. Headings like “Announcing great new …” or “2 weeks before launch of …”. Again can be very effective given the product you are selling.

e) Issuing a command or directive. Statements such as “Act now …” or “Limited opportunity apply now …” or “Triple your income, find out how …”. Again you are emphasising the benefits of your products to your customers.

Things To Avoid When Emailing Your List:

Online and email marketing is very common and your customers will be bombarded with many internet companies vying for their money. It is important for you to avoid getting into problems with the law or your ISP or with spamming. However, if you have created your own opt-in list then you should be o.k. and not have to worry from these problems. However there are still some things to avoid.

Remember it can takes years to gain a good reputation and only a few minutes to destroy it.

a) Analyse your email broadcasts, take note of those that bounce, i.e. that are undeliverable. Also get some information on how many were opened. Erase all bounced email addresses. Some autoresponders such as Aweber do this for you. Manually check the email address for common mistakes, it may be that it is a simple spelling mistake which you can correct.

b) Always but always provide an unsubscribe option at the bottom of your emails. Aweber automatically does this as do most autoresponders. It may be that someone used another persons email address so you need to give them an easy option to stop receiving your emails.

c) Do not send shocking or disturbing pictures or video, absolutely no pornographic content should be sent. You cannot be certain of the age of the person who has opted in to your list, therefore always keep your content respectable and above board. Always stick to the content of your site or your products.

Follow the above golden rules and you should be successful at marketing your products to your list and getting a favourable response. Remember, cultivating the relationship between yourself and your customers is key in establishing trust and thereby getting your customers to purchase from you.

After 5 years involved in various interent businesses, having gained some valuable experience, sometimes bitter, sometimes with fantastic results, I hope to share my experiences.

Yunis Khan

http://www.earnmoneydailyonline.com

enquiries@earnmoneydailyonline.com

You got together some images, worked on link building, and created content that would do any Web site proud. Yet, somehow, traffic remains slow. Are you getting the most out of your web site?

Web Site… Or Internet Experience?
These days, the internet is about more than information. Web sites are used to find mates, to meet friends, to be wildly entertained by wacky videos, to expound on opinions and to do pretty much everything else under the sun. Simple content alone is not enough to push a Web Site over the edge in todays multimedia age. For small business owners, the Web site is more than a place to talk about products and services. The Web Site should draw in new business and customers, create great word of mouth, and offer business applications to make your job that much easier. The business Web site is not just a piece of the Internet, it should be an online experience for every visitor who comes to call.

Business Applications and Tools
The Web site very directly reflects the business it represents. As such, it is important to present a professional, polished site that gives visitors the interaction Internet users have come to expect. Beef up a business Web site with applications and tools to push pages to the next level.
Content Management. This handy little application allows Web sites to be constantly updated with new products, specials and company information. Content is king on the Internet, as search engines rely largely upon a sites content to assign rankings to pages (where the site appears in a list of results). The more content you have, the better. A good content management system makes it easy to update and add new messages quickly.
Subscriptions and Sign ups. You have already been inundated with this type of marketing, though you might not even be aware of it. Many Web sites offer subscription and sign up services. Visitors simply type their email address into a box, hit Submit, and that is that. What the Web site ends up with is a comprehensive list of visitors, email address they can then use for marketing and promotions of all kinds. Many business sites have a mailing list for visitors to join, or offer subscription services such as newsletters. This is a great way to find out who is visiting the site, and a perfect way to get email addresses for all marketing purposes. Online forms and surveys. Want to hear what your website visitors are really interested in? Online forms, which pose questions to users, give you a great way to find out what Internet users think of your site. Giving traffic the chance to leave feedback is beneficial to all parties. The users gets the interaction they crave, you get valuable opinions, and you even get an email address to add to your growing list. Not too bad for some simple online forms and surveys.

Auto response. It is easy to set up an auto response email address that will reply to users whenever they enter information onto the site. Auto response emails give your site professionalism, and let users know their opinions are not going to be ignored.

Share. Everyone has seen those links that let you email this page to a friend or share with a friend. You click on the link to send a quick email, and all the friend has to do is click on the mailed link to go straight to your Web site. Remember, Internet users are looking for two things: simplicity and interaction. Make it easy for them to spread information about your Web pages, and they probably will.

Get the Most Out of Your Site
There are many different tools and applications which can add depth and interest to your Web site, but they are not all easy to implement. For those who are less versed in code and page-building, it might be a good idea to solicit the help of a professional Web designer. They will know everything about the most current and happening Web applications and tools, and can easily put these devices onto your site. Web designers know the ins and outs of page building, and help everything on the site hang together cohesively. Business Web sites can definitely benefit from these professional services, which will give your site a polish and prestige that is hard not to notice.

Ratu Lewis is one of Australia’s most respected Internet solutions consultants to Australian businesses. Director of Margin Media Ratu and his talented staff can create a valuable online presence for any business. Visit http://www.marginmedia.com.au for more information.

You’ve got a business. You’ve heard about this great thing called the Internet that the entire world is surfing. You figure, “Hey, if the whole world in surfing the Internet, maybe I ought to create a website and get people to surf my way!”

But there’s a problem. You have no idea how to create a website! Relax. Modern website builder technologies make building a website a snap!

The Early Days of the Web

Back in the early days of the Internet, you practically needed an engineering degree just to be able to get online. In fact, so few people even knew about the existence of the Internet (much less how to connect to it) that only the super geeks of the world were connected. Even then, Internet access was so expensive with providers charging by the minute that it was only the geeks with money to blow that were online.

But in the 90′s with the advent of the “super information highway,” better known as the World Wide Web, and improving browser technologies that made web surfing more enjoyable and productive, the Internet suddenly became much more popular place to be. Internet access providers began charging less and less until flat-rate access became available and an explosion of web surfers occurred.

Development of Website Builder Technology

At first, creating a website required knowing how to setup a web server and how to program in HTML. Website building was still for the geeks. But as more and more people started getting online and more people wanted their very own website, the opportunity for geeks to provide a simple method for the non-technically inclined to build their website was created.

A few smart people started selling space on their web server, allowing other people to host their website on their computer. This opened up the market for people who wanted a website, but didn’t have the technical savvy or high-speed lines needed to setup their own web server.

But if you didn’t know HTML, you were still left out in the cold. WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) HTML editors made it possible to create webpages without knowing HTML. Taking things a step further were companies offering HTML editors that were combined with prebuilt webpage templates and integrated web hosting.

This created a “one-stop shop” of sorts for anybody, even the non-geek that couldn’t even program a VCR (that a video cassette recorder for you younger folks), to easily build a website and have an immediate presence on the web.

Website builder technology today has developed to the point where just about anybody can quickly create a great looking website with dynamic, animated content, web forms, shopping carts, and more at affordable prices. Even if you still can’t program a VCR — or figure out how to get your DVD player to work — modern-day website builders mean that you’ll still be able to create an attractive website in minutes flat.

Doodlekit (http://www.doodlekit.com) provides a powerful and easy-to-use website builder. Create a personal webpage or a full-blown eCommerce site with ease and with virtually no technical knowledge needed. The author, Art Gib, is a freelance writer.