Archive for December, 2007

by pnisbet
Traffic generation is of extreme importance to your online business, and affordable SEO services are equally important in securing that website traffic.

In order to help you achieve the type of traffic you need to make your online business a success, we shall look at each of these statements separately and discuss what options are available to enable you to attract the visitors that are essential to your online future. Although there are ways to attract traffic other than through search engine optimization, it is definitely to your benefit if you can secure traffic by means of the free advertising that a high listing in search engines such as Google and Yahoo can provide you with.

There are many ways in which you can make your website as search engine friendly as possible and improve its capacity for traffic generation. Did you notice the mistake I just made there? I mentioned websites in the same sentence as search engine. True search engines look at web pages, not web sites. More on that in a minute. In order to make it easier for me (and you) I am going to apply the name Google whenever I write about ‘search engine’, since although Yahoo, MSN, Altavista, Ask, etc are important, no one can deny that Google is the biggest search engine.

Not only that, but it was the first true search engine. Yahoo started life off as a web directory, and if your site was not in the Yahoo directory, it would not be listed in a search. Now, however, in addition to being a website directory, Yahoo, MSN and Ask are true web search engines, the same as Google. I will explain the difference later from my website that you can access from the link in my Resource Box.

For the moment, accept the fact that Google and the other true search engines crawl the whole World Wide Web for the web pages that are most relevant to the search term that your customers are using to find the information they are seeking. Did you notice what I just wrote there? ‘Web pages’? Not ‘web sites’ but web pages, as I mentioned earlier. Google and the rest list individual web pages in order of relevance to its interpretation of the words that your potential visitors use to find their information. That is very important to keep in mind.

How do they do that? How do the search engines decide what is relevant and what is not to a character string — that is all that your search term is. That is another story really, but it is connected with what is commonly termed ‘Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI)’, a misnomer for a mathematical statistical analysis of the vocabulary on each of your web pages.

I say misnomer, because LSI is not an indexing technique, but an analysis method that uses character strings and known juxtaposition of characters, to determine what you are writing about through the use of contextual relevance of the whole passage of your text to the keyword, or theme, that you have highlighted by means of the search engine optimization techniques available to you. Nobody can make a web page LSI compliant, or ‘use’ LSI on a website.

It is akin to saying that you can use probability equations to write an article on fly fishing. It is a nonsense that even the best known internet gurus believe, unless they are lying to us and I sure that they would not do that. They must therefore be more ignorant than we believed them to be, which explains quite a lot all things considered. Which of the two options would they admit to I wonder.

You no longer need the oft-quoted 1% - 3% keyword density on your web page, but instead more vocabulary and content on your page that makes the topic of that page clear, without any doubt, to software that parses our page for its meaning in additional to human readers who can tell that at a glance. You have to use more vocabulary than just repeat the keyword or Google and the rest of the search engines will not list your page.

The most affordable SEO services will provide you with the small things that you do to your individual web pages to improve your listing position and traffic generation capability. Such services need not be expensive, although the sites you find online that offer them tend to charge high prices since they are targeting large companies rather than individuals with single small websites of a hundred pages or less. One technique that they all mention, however, is the use of meta tags. Many get it wrong!

The only important meta tags are the Title and Description tags. You should also point out to the spiders what your more important vocabulary is by use of H tags, bold text, italics and underlining. Google appreciates that, but while you might be rewarded for doing so, you will not be punished for not doing so. There is a massive difference between breaking the rules and failing to give a helping hand.

Your linking strategy is of critical importance, and you must have a good number of links back to your web page from other relevant web pages. Take note of the two important words I have used there: ‘pages’ and ‘relevant’. I could write 10 pages on Google PageRank without doing it justice, so won’t start now. Just believe me that you get a share of the Google PageRank of a page linking to yours (not of the home page of that site), and since most linking pages are designed only to hold URL links and consequently contain masses of other links on them, then your share is practically zilch.

Do not therefore give a website a link from your home page that reciprocates with one from deep inside the directory structure that provides you with absolutely no benefit. You cannot lose PageRank by providing a link, but why should you give more than you get. Come to an arrangement: you will provide a link from your PR 5 page if the other party reciprocates. Not if their link is from a PR 0 page.

There are many more ways in which you can legally attract search engines to your website and achieve high listings and to generate loads of traffic. There are also many illegal methods of doing so. It is the end result that counts, but before you can even begin to understand what the term ‘black hat’ means, you must first understand what SEO means!

Traffic generation is critical to your success, and if you can find affordable SEO services to help you to achieve that, then you are most of the way there. The effect that good search engine optimization has on the generation of traffic to selected pages within your website cannot be over-estimated and will likely determine your future over the next year.

Peter enjoys the game of contesting the search engines with his SEO techniques, and this article is continued on his web page Traffic Generation. His site Seociousalso provides screenshots of how he gets his sites in Google’s top 10 only a few days after submission using one of his simple website designs.

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by Leo Marques
By now you would have understood that affiliate programs are a very popular channel for making money through your home. In essence, the mode of operation of affiliate marketing does not need you to even get up from your computer at all. Please note that you could make money if you understand how affiliate programs work. A lot of people get carried away with the hype of affiliate marketing.

You must take note of affiliate marketing tips if you wish to survive and excel in affiliate marketing. Please note that these marketing tips do not guarantee you to multiply your money. These tips are not guide for you to get rich quick. Affiliate tips are merely basic rules and guidelines one has to remember to be successful in affiliate programs.

How do Affiliate programs work?

Let’s say your company develops a product A. You wish that product A is marketed to a wide customer base. One of the best ways you know to do it would be to have a direct affiliate program. Essentially, you ask/invite people to join your affiliate program to promote product A.

Let us assume that an individual Resource B joins your affiliate program and agrees to promote your product. Once he signs up as an affiliate, you would need to give him his affiliate link. Resource B would utilize the affiliate link to market the product. Resource B can choose to market the product either through emails, website or through social networking sites. Please note that Resource B would need to comply with the rules and guidelines of the company that has launched product A.

When Resource B starts marketing product A, chances are that quite a few of them would be interested in buying product A. When they wish to buy product A, they would need to buy it off the link given by resource B. Once the sale is completed with the help of the link, it is logged against Resource B. Now, Resource B is liable to paid commission on the sale made by company that developed product A.

Tools that make Affiliate programs work

One of the most critical tools that make any affiliate program work is the reporting tool. You need a tool that will track sales made by affiliates. At the end of the day, every affiliate marketer would want to know how many sales has he made and what is the total payout eligible to be paid to him. I know of many affiliate programs that have a good product but do not succeed because they are undone on the reporting front.

Analyze before choosing the Affiliate program

Affiliate programs work on a very simple principle — You market the product, you close the sale, you get paid. Most affiliate programs work almost on the same basis. But this does not alleviate the need for you to identify the correct program for you.

It is not too difficult for you to understand the working of affiliate programs. Even if you are a newbie, you can be assured that you will take a liking to the principle of affiliate programs.

Did you find those Affiliate Marketing Tips useful? You can learn a lot more about how Leonardo Marques can help you making money online at www.makecashguide.com.

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by Matt Bacak1
What is butterfly marketing? Butterfly marketing comes from the butterfly effect. The butterfly effect involves going back in time and changing one little thing. This would change everything in the current world. Butterfly marketing is similar. Butterfly marketing is based on the theory that one little marketing act can change your entire marketing results.

There are small things you can do in your marketing that have a dramatic affect on your marketing plans and results. For example, one change could grow your opt-in list from 30,000 members of 400,000 members. These small changes can make a difference by attracting more list members. And a bigger, targeted list can lead to more sales. And more sales lead to higher profits. As you can see, small changes can change your bottom line in a chain of events.

Too many people only focus on the major marketing changes. This is a mistake. They don’t realize that it is the little changes in marketing that make the difference.

The butterfly effect works with viral marketing. Viral marketing breaks down to two things: generating traffic and converting traffic.

Viral marketing has three components which include:
1.) You can buy it. (Google AdWords, ezine ads, etc.)
2.) You can borrow it. (Different forms of joint ventures.)
3.) You can create it. (Optimize your website to get a rank in Google and Yahoo, submit press releases, submit articles, put a signature on your email and in a forum, etc.)

Viral marketing falls in between borrowing traffic and creating traffic. Too many people focus on just getting traffic to their website. Then when these customers do come to their website, they focus on getting the next customer. What you should do is focus on the customer that has already come to you website.

You have to focus on your X factor. Your X factor is a tool you use that will bring a certain number of visitors to your website each day. For example, this X factor will consistently attract 100 visitors to your website each day.

An example of an X factor is to use a tell-a-friend strategy. This means that you don’t just ask for their name and email address. You go above this. While they enter their name and address you give them an incentive to refer three friends. If they do refer these friends, and the friends sign up on your list, you will earn more than just 3 new people. How? These new people will refer other new people who refer even more new people and so on.

The key is to offer something to the original website visitor so they will refer their friends. For example, you can give away a free report and/or an audio file.

Caution: Any name and email address the person puts into the tell-a-friend script is not added to your list. The purpose is to use this information to send an invitation to these friends asking them to join your list.

There are many strategies out there to make money on the internet but nothing makes sense unless you have a big list. Email Marketing is a the most profitable way to make money on the net. When you build a list of hot and hungry prospects you control your future. Discover how to use the internet and turn your computer into a cash gushing machine. Sign up right now for my newsletter to find out how to do exactly that - Go here: PromotingTips.com

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by Matt Bacak1
Learning to make videos and edit them is the first step of DVD product creation. It is easier than you think to create and edit videos. You can use simple software to make television commercials and video product creation.

Just how much can you earn from videos? Look at this case study to find out.
Case Study: One Internet business owner sold a 9 DVD home study course about making videos. How much money did he make? He sold over $250,000 worth of sales in 8 days.

How did he achieve this goal? He let people sample the product and view video testimonials. The use of good video, marketing techniques, and copywriting made the DVD product fly off the shelves.

Did you know that you can put video on eBay? You can take a camcorder and take a picture of your item from every angle. For example, let’s say that you are selling a camera. You can show how the product works through a video. A video is a much more effective selling tool than just writing a print ad.

Let’s say that you only referenced a video in your eBay description. Your eBay listing didn’t contain any text. It only contained the link to the video. Do you think this will work? Yes, it can work. Video allows you to utilize the 5 modalities of video.

Wait, what are the 5 modalities of video?
The 5 modalities of video that you can use to affect people include:
1.) Tell a story with pictures and angles.
2.) Read verbal sales copy.
3.) You can superimpose text. This will support what you are saying with text.
4.) Use music to create suspense and/or whatever emotion you want them to feel. You can change their mood quickly through music.
5.) You can use sound effects to affect emotions as well.

If you do your research on eBay and sell products that people want and at a price they will pay then a video can speed up the selling process into just a couple days or even minutes.

Video is an excellent way to connect with customers. Plus, videos are easier and faster to create than to write the eBay listing copy. Your video doesn’t have to be perfect; it just has to convey what you want to your potential customers. Your videos can be short at 1 to 2 minutes in length. Try this tactic on eBay today.

There are many strategies out there to make money on the internet but nothing makes sense unless you have a big list. Email Marketing is a the most profitable way to make money on the net. When you build a list of hot and hungry prospects you control your future. Discover how to use the internet and turn your computer into a cash gushing machine. Sign up right now for my newsletter to find out how to do exactly that - Go here: PromotingTips.com

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by Albert Ryan
If you find your life is going too fast to be able to sit down and read a book, why not try an audio book? They are perfect for those long car rides or flights and can go wherever you go. You do not have to clear an entire weekend just to read the latest spy novel. You can take it with you on the way to and from work each day or you can load it onto your MP3 player.

An audio book is a cassette, compact disc or MP3 version of a book. It is a way for someone to know a piece of literature without having to sit down and read the actual book. Many times in our lives there is simply not enough time to devote to reading. It is a shame but at least the audio book is a better compromise than trying to watch an adaptation onscreen.

There are many ways to listen to an audio book. The audio book player can be anything from a car radio to an Ipod. Audio books for children are great ways to provide entertainment on long car rides and offer an alternative to putting in a movie. So how is an audio book created? The book is read aloud. It is that simple.

Not all books are transferred from print to oral communication. The more common audio books are those from bestsellers. Take for example the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. Her books have been converted over into a listening format. Once a book has been marked for transformation into an audio book, the publishing company may try to acquire the use of a famous actor or actress that has a distinct voice. This association lends a face to the anonymous voice being heard through the speakers or earphones.

Several years ago the audio books cassette was the most popular form found for listening to books. Today though, with the mp3 player and the compact disc player, the audio book player has become more advanced and capable of so much more.

An audio book does not have to be just listened to by itself. Children can read along as the voice spins the story. They can track each word, line and paragraph with a finger. If there are any words that might be unfamiliar, this is an excellent tool to teach them. The audio book has been used for this method of instruction for many years and many adults remember going to the library to find a storybook with an accompanying record or cassette.

Most music and book stores carry vast selections of audio books. The prices will be higher than the print version though so be aware of these price differences before you go to the register. If you find yourself wanting an audio book but you do not want to pay a lot for it, consider going to the local library, thrift shop or Ebay to find some of the titles you are searching for.

Albert Ryan is the founder of audio book cassette. He can be reached for more information at his website http://audiobookcassette.blogspot.comAlbert Ryan has been a contributing author for this websiteand is an acknowledged expert in the field of audio book. He can be found on the internet at this website:http://audiobookcassette.blogspot.comAudio book cassette (Albert Ryan’s company) is our recommended resourcefor all types of tips on how audio book function on the internet. Get your own audio book tips before you bid at:http://audiobookcassette.blogspot.com

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by Matt Bacak1
The Internet is a broadcast media that is a hybrid between print media, direct response, and audio and video. Technology over the last 20 years has become affordable and powerful for common users. In the old days technology was out of reach for most people. The technology was difficult to use, expensive, and cumbersome. Internet businesses today are lucky in that they can use inexpensive, easy to use, quality audio and video on their website.

Let’s look at using video in your online business. Online video is so powerful that someday it could replace long sales letter copy. Using audio on the Internet has been used for many years. Video is a much more recent reality in the Internet business world.

New technology and broadband has made it possible to use video online. Video is effective because it is what most people are used to. Think about it. We are used to watching television. Video enables you to convey emotions and information at the same time. Video enables people to see and hear you. They will become more used to you and trust you.

Video enables you to communicate your message quickly. A traditional long sales letter, on the other hand, may take 15 minutes for the person to read. Video enables you to promote and show people how your product works in just a few minutes. Video works off of the infomercials that people are already used to watching on television.

Video can help your website visitors make a decision. The decisions can range from signing up for your opt-in list to buying one of your highest ticket products. Video can teach, touch, and build a relationship with your customers. You will snag more customers and earn more money using video.

Another example is the use of video testimonials. Customers will believe other customers more than they believe you. Video testimonials allow potential customers to see, hear, and believe current customers. You are much more likely to buy a product if you listen and see somebody talk about it than if you just read a printed sales letter.

There are many strategies out there to make money on the internet but nothing makes sense unless you have a big list. Email Marketing is a the most profitable way to make money on the net. When you build a list of hot and hungry prospects you control your future. Discover how to use the internet and turn your computer into a cash gushing machine. Sign up right now for my newsletter to find out how to do exactly that - Go here: PromotingTips.com

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by Matt Bacak1
You have to use a hook to grab people so they will sign up for your list. They have to know what is in it for them. You can convey your hook more effectively through audio and video. Set up an audio and/or video that demonstrates your marketing message and what people will receive when they sign up for your list.

Some people will put in fake addresses on your opt-in list, but this is normal. Just ignore those fake email addresses. Focus on the legitimate people that do want to be on your list. This is targeted traffic that desires to know more about you and your products.

When a person signs up for your opt-in list you have a captive audience. This is the best time to ask them to refer friends. Not everybody will refer friends, but your list will grow even if only a few use the tell-a-friend script. It will always be better than if you didn’t use the tell-a-friend script at all.

Use the butterfly marketing concept of running an affiliate program. Affiliate programs are an excellent way to make small changes to your marketing campaign that has a huge effect on your promotion and bottom line. Read on to find out tips and tricks for affiliate programs.

When you set up an affiliate program it has to be simple. If you don’t then people won’t do what they are expected to do. If you think that people will promote your website after you give them an affiliate link then you are sadly mistaken. Instead, you need to provide them with promotional tools that automatically have their affiliate link embedded in the promotional tools. You should provide them the copy and promotional tools they need to promote your website. Make it simple for them. The affiliate will be much more likely to promote your website and products if they are armed with your information.

Provide multi-promotion tools for affiliates to use which include: email copy of several offers and email communication, Blog reviews, ezine ads, articles, press releases, banner images they can use, pay-per-click campaign, form signatures, email signatures, and the list goes on and on. Make sure to tell them how to use each specific promotional tool.

Create an affiliate program that has instructions in steps. People want a complete program to follow. They want to go through each step until they are finished. You don’t want them to pick and choose which promotional tools to use. Instead, you want them to use all your promotional tools so that you can maximize their affiliate efforts.

If you don’t take the time to create this material for your affiliates then they won’t take the time to create them either. If you want affiliates to spread the word about you and your products then you have to give them a promotional package about you and your products. This will create active affiliates and earn your more money.

There are many strategies out there to make money on the internet but nothing makes sense unless you have a big list. Email Marketing is a the most profitable way to make money on the net. When you build a list of hot and hungry prospects you control your future. Discover how to use the internet and turn your computer into a cash gushing machine. Sign up right now for my newsletter to find out how to do exactly that - Go here: PromotingTips.com

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by S.L. Davis
With so many online business opportunities on the web, how do you choose the best one for you? The best place to start is to evaluate the various types that are available. In this article we will look at two:

#1: Digital Information Product Reseller

With this type of online business opportunity you are given the right to resell one or more digital information products such as ebooks or downloadable software. The seller will typically provide you with a professionally designed sales page and graphics. Setting the website up will require some - you do not need to handle sales or returns time, money, and effort on your part.

For example, you will usually need to register a domain name and sign up for hosting so you can upload your sales page on the web. You will also need to set up a merchant account to accept online payments. Next, you will need to set up a “thank you” page where your buyers will be re-directed to download the info-product they purchase from you. In addition, you may also want to purchase some security software to protect your download link.

Once your website is set up you will want to put together a marketing plan to drive traffic to it. As part of the marketing plan you will want to have an ezine newsletter customers can subscribe to. The easiest way to do this to get an autoresponder service which automatically enrolls customers who want to subscribe, and unenrolls those who wish to unsubscribe.

If customers have problems downloading their information product, or want a refund you will also need to take care of these items. So you will want to check your email periodically.

The advantage of this type of online business opportunity is that you usually get to keep 100% of the profits from any sales. In addition, you begin to build a list of customers (that subscriber to your ezine) that you can sell to in the future. So while this online business opportunity takes some time, money, and effort to set up and maintain it can be rewarding.

#2: Turnkey Online Business

With a turnkey online business all of the “heavy lifting” has been done for you in most cases. For example with a number of them:

- you do not need a website

- you do not need merchant account

- you do not need a download link or “thank you” page

- you do not need to create products

- you do not need to pay monthly fees

Your main job will be driving traffic to your link in order to generate sales, which is where the money is made. How? You sign up to be an affiliate for the products the turnkey internet business sells and receive an affiliate code. This code is included in your affiliate link. When a visitor clicks on your affiliate link and buys something, you receive a commission.

So which internet business opportunity is better? They are both good if you deal with a reputable company. What it really comes down to is what works best for you. For example, if you have the time, money, and expertise to set up a reseller website then as I mentioned earlier it can be a rewarding experience.

However, if you do not have a lot of time, money, or expertise then a turnkey online business opportunity can be an ideal way to get started. Since most of the work has been done for you on the technical side, you can focus on driving traffic to your link.

Hopefully this article has provided you with an idea of the online business opportunities that are available; as well as some guidelines you can use to determine which one is right for you.

For more information on turnkey internet businesses, visit: Turnkey Internet Business Center

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by S.L. Davis
Can you really start an internet business under $100? Yes, with a number of turnkey internet businesses you can. Of course, you still have the additional costs associated with starting and maintaining business in general. Examples could include telephone service, business licenses and/or incorporation fees, etc. But in this article we are only going to focus on the cost of purchasing the turnkey internet business itself.

If you are not familiar with a turnkey internet business here is a brief description: An internet business where all of the “heavy lifting” has been done for you. For example, with a number of turnkey internet businesses you do not need your own website, you do not need a merchant account, you do not need your own products, etc.

Compared to setting up your own internet business from scratch, a turnkey internet business can be much less expensive. Here are five areas where it can save you money when getting started in internet marketing:

1) No website is required. This can save you about $50-400 a year in hosting and other fees depending on which provider you use. Most turnkey internet businesses have a professionally designed site you can send visitors to. That means a savings of up to $250 (or more) in web design fees - unless you have the time, software and skills to design your own website.

2) No merchant account is required. If you have a turnkey internet business you probably don’t need to set up a merchant account to accept credit cards online. This can save you up to $50 or more.

3) No reseller rights to purchase. The better turnkey internet businesses will come with links that direct your customers to existing info product sales pages. You don’t need to pay any “reseller” rights fees, etc. each month. This can save you roughly $25 or so a month.

4) No fulfillment expenses. If your turnkey internet business is directing visitors to your affiliate link then you don not have to worry about setting up a secure download link and “protecting” the information product from theft. If you did, you would probably pay around $100 or more for security software.

5) No autoresponder is needed. Autosresponders allow visitors to your website to subscribe (or unsubscribe) to your ezine newsletter - and you definitely want one if you have your own website. A reliable autoresponder service runs about $20 a month or $240 a year. If you don’t have a website then you will not need an autoresponder.

So as you can see, setting up and maintaining a website can run as much as $450-800 up front and about $45 a month for additional services (actual costs may be higher or lower). However, with a number of turnkey internet business you can get started for a one-time payment of less than $100 in some cases - and no other monthly fees (unless you decide a specific service is worthwhile).

When you compare the turnkey internet business’s price tag of under $100 to the cost of starting and maintaining your own website, the turnkey internet business doesn’t look like bad deal at all.

At this point may be asking: “Why would someone bother creating their own website instead of simply purchasing a turnkey internet business?” That’s a valid question, and here’s one answer: If you set up your own website, you have more control over how it looks, what products to sell, marketing options, and the potential for more revenue.

So if you’re skilled at setting up a websites, writing sales copy, setting up a payment processing system, choosing the right products, writing an ezine newsletter on a regular basis, and installing security software to protect your download page - then setting up your own website may be the way to go. Provided you also have the money to set up and maintain your website.

However, if you’re just starting out in internet marketing, and don’t have much time or money then let someone else take care of the technical (and costly) aspects - so all you have to do is focus on driving internet traffic to your turnkey internet business. And if you can purchase a turnkey internet business for less than $100, why not?

For more information on turnkey internet businesses, visit: Turnkey Internet Business Center

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by Mikhail Tuknov
The current proliferation of social media sites is the most pervasive phenomenon on the Internet today. Not since the dot.com explosion has the there been an Internet trend that is so widespread in its popularity. The comparison with the dot.com growth is in fact one that is made by many industry observers, and while there are a number of clear similarities, there are also some important differences.

It is expected that by early 2008, all the various social media sites will have more than 230 million members. That number is predicted to grow until 2009, with a leveling off on the number of new members expected by 2012.

The combined revenue from these sites, which in 2007 reached almost $970 million, is estimated to balloon to a whopping $2.4 billion by 2012.

Membership growth in social media sites varies greatly from region to region. The Asia Pacific region accounts for the lion’s share of users, with 35% of the total users expected by the end of 2007. EMEA accounts for about 28% of all users, North America follows closely with 25% percent, and the Caribbean and Latin America trails behind with 12% of all users.

With the inevitable crowding of the social media site industry, many observers feel that consolidation of the market is a sure thing. This has given rise to some predications that the smaller individual social media sites will be swallowed up by the bigger players in the field. Some experts feel however that this is not necessarily the case. In particular, social media sites with a focus on special interests are expected to survive the trend towards consolidation.

The extensive hype and excitement currently surrounding social media sites is perhaps what inspires the comparison to the dot com boom, but in the midst of all the buzz, there is a certain degree of trepidation felt by many as well. While many investors are naturally excited about the potential of social media sites, the fact that these types of web sites have not been proven for the long term is causing some hesitation. The promise of riding on the wave of the next big Internet phenomenon is a tempting prospect, but it is tempered by the uncertainty of social media sites as a long term sustainable industry. The most cautious industry observers have even gone so far as to suggest that most social media sites would do well to hold off on an IPO for the time being.

The founder and chief executive of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, has officially stated that his despite his company’s spectacular growth, Facebook is still many years away from flotation.

While there is no doubt that social media sites are a genuinely groundbreaking innovation that is changing the way we communicate in many significant ways, past experience with similar Internet phenomena shows that the hyper charged atmosphere of excitement cannot last indefinitely. The industry is currently characterized by easy capital, plenty of media attention and widespread user curiosity–all of which directly boosts creativity–but all that will come to an end eventually.

This does not mean that there is no future for social media sites. On the contrary, the future is just as bright as ever and at this relatively early stage of the game, it is hard to predict just how huge the whole industry can get. What companies and investors should do however is to adapt their approach to be prepared for the changes that will inevitably come in the future.

In a report published in 2007, Ri Pierce of Grove Technology and an analyst at U.K.-based Datamonitor has detailed a few suggestions that will help companies deal with the changes. Many of these suggestions revolve around understanding market strategies and various technological developments.

One of the most important things that companies can do to roll with the punches is formulate a two pronged approach to deal with the hothouse atmosphere that the industry is currently experiencing as well as the eventual cooling off that is sure to follow. This strategy will involve companies becoming more heavily involved in establishing and maintaining the infrastructure that is needed to run these types of web sites. They would also do well to find effective means by which to support social-networking services especially in the aspects of scalability and availability.

As for the social media sites themselves, the most effective means of ensuring continued popularity is through social media optimization. There are a number of ways commonly used to do this but five rules have been particularly effective in attaining this goal. Formulated by Rohit Bhargava, these rules are: Increasing the linkability of your social media site, making the tagging and bookmarking process easy for your audience, rewarding inbound links, helping your content travel, and finally encouraging mashups, which are web applications that combine data from more than one source into a single integrated tool.

Mikhail Tuknov offers ppc search engine marketing services

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