Archive for November, 2008
« Previous EntriesIt’s Classified – How to Utilize Free Classified Ad Sites to Boost Business
Saturday, November 29th, 2008Classifieds are usually the first place you think of when you are getting ready to make a purchase. Whether you want to purchase a vehicle, bed, or pet, the classified section of your local newspaper can be one of the best resources available. With the emergence of the web however, many sites are being developed to host free classifieds. More and more people are using the web daily; making these classified sites some of the most popular sites around. Free classified ad sites are great for other things as well however. If you are an owner of a business, you may consider utilizing free classified as sites to boost business. There are many advantages to this idea, so take a look below to learn how to make use of this efficient resource.
Using free classified ad sites are great for every business owner, but they are most appropriate for the business owner with little or no advertising budget. By using free classified sites, a business owner can reach thousands of potential customers. People who look in classifieds are often those consumers who are prepared to spend money. These types of customers are those that are most likely to make purchases, which are the best consumers you can possibly attract as a business owner.
Reaching thousands of potential buyers however does take a little more than simply posting your business’s name in the classified site’s general section. To get the best response possible, you should use these tips when posting.
First, think about your business and what you have to offer. Then decide which section of the classifieds your business would most appropriately fit into. By posting in the most appropriate location, you will be reaching those consumers that you most likely want to reach. For instance, if you own a dog collar company, then you likely should post in “pets” or “pet supplies”. This will help you gain the attention of pet owning consumers. If you were to post your dog collar business in the general section, it is likely it would get lost among the other ads in that area. By posting in a specific area, your ad will get more valid attention.
Next, think about how much attention you want your ad to receive. If you want to get as much attention as possible, you may want to post your ad on several free classified sites. This will allow you to get more exposure at no extra cost. Sure, it may take you longer to set your ads up on several different sites, but it will be worth the extra effort by gaining more business. Try to find at least five sites to begin with. If you have a local business, consider using sites that are heavily advertised in your area. This will allow you to gain more local business as well.
When you are developing your ad, you will need to consider the approach you want to use. The best way to get eyes on your ad is to use simple text tactics. These can include using “bold” text or text in colors like blue or red. Any way you can make your ad different from those around it is the best way to get attention. If the site offers extra “frills” for a small fee, you may even want to consider it. With very few people using the extras, your ad would certainly stand out.
After you decide the basics, you need to choose exactly what you want to say in your ad. You can state the basics such as your business name, address, and phone number to begin with. Make sure you also state an email address however or website address. Many people who use the web often would much rather contact your business via email or your website. By neglecting to add these bits of information, you will likely lose some interested consumers.
There is no argument that when you are looking for an inexpensive way to advertise, free classified sites are the best approach. By choosing the most appropriate sites, areas to post, formats, and text, you are likely to gain a great deal of attention to your business. Utilizing these free sites is a great way to save yourself money as well as reach an audience you might not reach without using the classified sites.
Increasing Website Activity through Email Signatures
Thursday, November 27th, 2008Making sure your website has a steady amount of activity is one of the most important aspects to maintaining a successful website. Increasing website activity is one of the easiest ways you can make your site more popular as well as help your business if it is ran over your site. By using specific tools, such as email signatures, you can passively increase your website’s activity with no extra effort required. Even if you have been using email for years, you may not be aware that you can add signatures to your emails. Email signatures consist of a few lines of text that are automatically added to the bottom of each email you send.
You can usually create these signatures using a “preferences” tab on the email program you most often use. After you create an email signature, each time you send an email, your email program will automatically add whatever you saved as your signature to the bottom of the email, without you needing to do anything.
Before you can enjoy the increase in website activity through email signatures, you will need to create an appropriate signature. To do this, you should consider two things. First, consider how much space your email program allows you for your signature. This will be important, as you may need to condense your content to fit the program you use. Secondly, and most importantly, you need to think about what you want to say with your signature. If you are running a business it is probably best to use your name, the business name, address, phone number, and website address. This is a very professional and passive way to promote your website.
If you have a more casual website, you may want to include your name, the website link, and a nice quote or two that you find inspiring, entertaining, or relevant to your website. Think about the overall feel of your website and try to keep your signature in the same tone of writing.
There are a few “rules” in creating an email signature to help website activity. The first rule is to keep your signature limited to four lines or less. If you create long signatures, it is likely the reader will completely tune out and not remember anything in your signature. There is also that possibility that they will not even read it because it “looks too long”. This can occur frequently. Keep in mind that most people use email because it is easy to use as well as fast. Therefore, they will not be prompted to read areas of email that are long because they will feel they take up too much time. Another rule is to make sure your email signature is appropriate for all ages, genders, and ethnicities. The last thing you want to do is offend someone with your signature because this will not attract website activity, but deter it.
After you successfully create your signature, be sure to save it in your email program so that it is added each time you email someone. You may have to “check” a specific box in your “preferences” to get to this point. You can check to make sure it is working correctly by sending yourself an email. Your signature should show up exactly how others will view it on the email. After everything is working properly, all you need to do is send emails like normal. The more emails you send, the more often your website link will be viewed. When you send emails that are forwarded by the recipient, your signature will be viewed even more than expected.
The chain of email is a complicated one with many viewers, so you will likely get viewers that you don’t expect, which is great for your website. The more the link is viewed, the more traffic you will have on your website.
Increasing website traffic through email signatures is one of the most effortless and passive ways of advertising. You will probably even forget that you are advertising because you don’t need to do anything to do so after the initial setup phase. Email signatures are a great tool that cost nothing and can deliver results. Those who don’t use them are often those that have no idea how to use them. By learning to set up your own email signature you can immediately begin seeing an increase in traffic to your website.
WordPress 2.6.5
Tuesday, November 25th, 2008WordPress 2.6.5 is immediately available and fixes one security problem and three bugs. We recommend everyone upgrade to this release.
The security issue is an XSS exploit discovered by Jeremias Reith that fortunately only affects IP-based virtual servers running on Apache 2.x. If you are interested only in the security fix, copy wp-includes/feed.php and wp-includes/version.php from [...]
Increase Website Traffic with Links to Your Website
Tuesday, November 25th, 2008The sole purpose for having your own website is for having people visit it. In order for people to know that your website exists, you must advertise to show the online community who you are, what you do and what you can do for them. Advertising your website to create more website traffic is possible by having a number of links to your website posted through other sites of similar interests. Nowadays having a top quality website is necessary for small businesses and promoting your website to increase the traffic can make or break you. After all, you do not create a website for it to just to sit there and have no one look at it. The purpose of having a website is for optimal viewing.
If you want to increase website traffic with links to your website, there are a few things you can do. Since most of the web traffic generally comes from directories and search engines such as Yahoo!, Google, Dog Pile, and Ask Jeeves, you can register your website with many of the most popular search engines to ensure you are web site is found in searches. Although some search engines can find your web site on their own, it is best to submit an eye catching, detailed listing yourself to increase your chances. The more directories and search engines you register your website to, the more your chances increase of traffic from the online community.
You can create a sign up list for those visitors who visit your web site and want to receive email newsletters about your site. Creating a mailing list for Internet newsletters is a great way to keep in touch with your web site visitors and to offer special promotions or send weekly or monthly news and updates.
People like to be abreast of what is going on with your website and they like to receive special promotions that can drive them back to your website to make a purchase of products or services. When creating a sign up list, a visitor must request information sent to their email address, therefore avoiding the pitfalls of spam. No one likes spam emails; regardless of whether it is, a product that you think might interest them or not.
Message boards, chat rooms and other forums with subjects relating to your web site work as great ways to promote your site. Although you should never directly advertise on any of these forums, you can make your presence known and make yourself available to answer questions and build up your credibility. You can also include your signature file at the end of your posts. Using a signature file with all your contact information and a link to your website in every email and forum post is a great way to increase traffic to your website as well.
Everyone loves freebies. Promotional freebies can encourage traffic to your website that can be of considerable value. By offering freebies related to your target audience such as software, downloadable forms, consultation, newsletters, articles and other resources full of valuable information, you can draw people in. You may also consider a sweepstakes, where an entrant must sign up for the newsletter in order to enter into the sweepstakes.
Buying ad space on more successful websites in the same field as yours can also increase website traffic with links to your website. There are many websites with ad space available at affordable rates. You can also choose to place your ad within a search engine or directory, or even in a local newspaper or magazine for a slightly higher advertising price. You can have your website and contact information on personalized stationary to use with all your transactions made while you are not on the Internet as well. By using business cards, letterheads and envelopes, you can advertise your website while paying a bill.
There is a huge variety of ways to advertise and to increase the traffic to your website. Regardless of the field of interest, there are people out there surfing the Internet that will be interested in what you have to offer them. Creating the website was only the first step, now you must find your audience; do not expect them to find you. You must help guide them to you through advertisements and relentless promotion.
How to Use Sponsor Ads to Increase Website Traffic
Sunday, November 23rd, 2008How many times have you surfed the Internet and noticed that most e-zines and websites have advertisements posted all around its pages? Flashing ads that are popping up and blocking your view are often hard to get rid of. Even some search engines and directories carry sponsor ads. Sometimes those sponsor ads can get in the way, but sometimes the ad appears too tempting not to check. If it was not for those sponsor ads, you might not have realized a specific business or website existed.
The two primary goals of sponsor ads are to increase awareness of a product, brand, or business and to enhance the image of the business or brand. These goals are very important to the success of small businesses and their websites. In order to strive, small businesses need to spread the word on what products and services they have to offer in order to increase their profits. They also need to stay in communication with customers and potential customers to what they have and why you need it. This may even mean they have to send out an emailed newsletter. People like to know what is out there that they can benefit from. To achieve these two primary goals, consider using sponsor ads to increase the traffic to your website.
Using sponsor advertising can be a great way to increase traffic to your website and encourage more product and services purchases. Sponsor advertising has become increasingly popular among web site owners, allowing the businesses to develop relationships with the online community by providing information and becoming a part of the online community. Many online business owners who are looking to promote their website may be interested in using sponsor ads to increase the traffic to their website.
More website traffic can mean more sales and increased profits. Sponsor ads can be free, bought, traded, or sold. It all depends where you look, and whether you are looking for free opportunities or can afford to pay for them. It will also depend on where your business stands financially and how much you plan to advertise or invest in advertising.
Sponsor ads can offer many different advantages to both the sponsor and the website. The sponsor may be able to benefit as attitudes that are more promising evolve with trust, leadership, credibility, and enhanced customer service. When the sponsor or website is able to develop good customer relationships, this may prompt the sales to grow faster. Customers want to know they can depend on a business for their wants and needs. Customers want reliability and outstanding customer service.
The business website can benefit by providing secure, updated information at no charge to the customer. Visitors may also see the website as more active and responsive to their interests and therefore develop a kind of relationship with the website.
E-zines offer great sponsor ads that will be of benefit to your website. There are varieties of E-zines from which to choose. It is important to make sure you choose the ones that compliment your website or that have similar content. In this age of computer technology, there are many different types of E-zines out there.
The Internet has become the fastest growing form of having an online business. There are literally millions of people online everyday searching through websites, E-zines, directories and search engines. The more sponsor ads you have in popular locations, the more likely customers will find our website and look at what you have to offer them. Making your website business available to the world and easy to find is the best way to increase the traffic to your website.
You have a purpose for having a website, so why not use every opportunity to promote your website and reap the profits. It is up to you to use sponsor ads and be the next flashing, pop up, blocking your view, hard to get rid of advertisement online. You want to be that online advertisement that gets in the way and that is so tempting, others just have to check it out. Once you increase the awareness of your product, brand, or business, you can generate more traffic to your website and receive a Return on Investment (ROI) to make all your hard work worth all your time and effort.
How Exchanging Links with Other Sites Improves Your Own
Friday, November 21st, 2008Business websites are a necessity in today's society and the internet is only as good as its links. Without links, the internet simply would not be able to exist. To ensure a quality World Wide Web continues, you must provide links that your customers might be interested in. Linking to other sites helps tell the customers which products you use and trust. It also forms a bond of trust between you and other sites. Moreover, it can improve your own site by associating with other products that customers both know and trust and by giving you an increased level of visibility.
There are two kinds of links you should include in your site. You should include a general links section for the benefit of your customers, and you should include a reciprocal links section to help you and other businesses as well as your customers.
There are several ways to decide which general links to include in your site. You might start by visiting competitor’s web sites. Check out their links section to understand what sites they provide links for. This might help you figure out what your customers are looking for. It might also provide you with a good base for a reciprocal linking system, which will be discussed in the next lesson.
Another way to decide what general links to include in your site is to consult with your customers. Internet-savvy customers will be able to tell you what they look for in a professional site and what they like and do not like about your links. This can help you control the quality of your links section. You could do this through a survey or by simply informally interviewing your clientele.
Be sure to provide general links that have a high page rank with internet search engines. This will increase your web traffic. You can do this by typing a key phrase in a search engine and look at the highest ranked pages that match your results.
General links are great, but reciprocal links are an essential part to the promotion of your website. You have a strong site that offers your quality product and you want people to know about your site. To make sure that you get the traffic you need, you must have other sites directed toward yours with links.
This process is fairly simply, but there are many ways to engage in reciprocal linking.
First, research the sites you might want to link to. You might start this process by making two lists. First, list the sites you think your customers might be interested in. For now, just write, you can consider narrowing your list down at a later time. Next, create a list of sites that would benefit your site. You can then compare the two lists and see what they have in common. Compile a list of common subjects, and list out three key words to fit with each subject.
After the research phase, it is time to go online. Find a Meta search engine and input all three words for each subject. Any site that comes back with all three keywords should be high on your priority list.
Once you've done that, it is time to start sifting through your results. Bookmark any sites that look promising.
When you've made your final choices, it is time to draft a letter to the webmaster of each site you're considering. Get to the point quickly and sell your site to them. Do not follow up if your original letter was not responded to.
The final step in this process is to negotiate the link and location in terms of both sites. As soon as possible, get their link on your site and send them a note letting them now you have a live link to their site. Check their site frequently to ensure they are upholding their promise to you as well.
The entire process of choosing links and reciprocal links increases your visibility to customers. Not only will they be able to find you through the use of a search engine, they will now be able to find you through the use of other websites. This can mean nothing but good things for you and your website.
Have a Banner Day – Three Reasons Why Banner Ads Pay Off withIncrease Website Activity
Wednesday, November 19th, 2008The idea of using a banner ad for your website is a good one. The real money is in ads on the Internet. If you are unsure about the real benefits of using banner ads, take some time to read more about what banner ads actually are and how to use them so you can make some real profits with your site.
Banner ads are nothing more than simplified HTML code with a link embedded in the code. Banner ads come in all different sizes. Some are as large a 486×60 and some are as small as the tiny size of 88×31. The graphics combined with the text information is what makes banners ads shine. Clicking on it will bring a potential customer right to your site, and then you have a chance to make a sell. Having a well laid out website and clearly written instructions is the next key to selling. Even if your advertising efforts don’t pay off immediately – don’t despair. If your ad is intense enough graphically and texturally, it will leave them with a memory of it, and they are likely will return and purchase your product.
How do you get a banner ad placed on the Internet? First, you need to understand that it does cost you money in most instances to place a banner ad. You can pay a company to post it or arrange to have it posted on an independent website. Other advertisers such as you will evaluate if your banner ad will be successful at their site. They look at page views and how many hits your website receives per month. They might also evaluate click through rates as well, depending on if you have a pay per click program. They will take into consideration how much it is going to cost them too. Remember they have to pay for bandwidth, and if does not benefit them economically, they might not add your banner. You’ll have to post at a 2 to 1 ratio. In other words, you will have to place two of their banners in exchange for them posting one of yours. You can also start your own affiliate program, which has minor click through cost.
Now that you know a little more about banner ads, you need to realize their importance for your website.
By posting banner ads, you will rise up in the search engine rankings. Your product, with enough ads and strategic placement, will silently push your page up in the engine ranking. You will get more visitors and more exposure, thus increasing your chances of selling a product.
After exchanging banners with a few quality sites, more sites will want to exchange or let you buy advertising space with them. It will definitely increase your website visitors and increase profits at the same time.
Using banner ads as advertising space helps you get more visitors to your website.
These three ideas are primary for increasing website site traffic. You will need to be aware of some general rules of thumb though. Make sure that you have the patience to let your banner ads work their magic. Whether you are saving up to pay a banner ad company to post your banners or if you are trying to sell advertising space at your own website for banner ads, it will take time. You will need extra patience if you are contacting independent site owners and asking for their approval to exchange banners. Always join quality sites that are well ranked and have a relevance to your site content.
There are some drawbacks to using a banner ad to get more website activity. You could end up with so many ads that your site will be a maze that a lot of visitors will just click away from. And, there may be some objectionable ads of an adult nature that you will have to live with. Consider that you will need to have some capitol to create your banners, and that cost varies according to size and complexity of the design. You will need to update and continually post new banner ads as other ads change or they are no longer relevant to your content material. Overall, make sure your site design and budget can withstand banner ad usage.
In the end, you will find that banner ads are worth the work and effort. They have in the past raised website visitations through people looking for products or information online. By working at it, you will find that your profits will increase. In the end that’s the name of the game.
The Results of Project Icon
Monday, November 17th, 2008The community has voted, and the votes have been tallied. The winner of Project Icon, with 35% of the votes, is Entry ID “BD,” otherwise known as Ben Dunkle. Congratulations, Ben! The runner-up was VS, otherwise known as Verena Segert, so we’ll be attaching that set to the alternate color palette that is selectable from [...]
Get Traffic Jams with Referral Links on your Website
Monday, November 17th, 2008Are you running an Internet business and looking for a way to boost the traffic to your website? Would you like to increase your opt-in subscribers, get more referrals, quality leads and receive valuable feedback? Well you can, through the fastest growing marketing tool available – referral links. Referral links may cause traffic jams on your website, but in a good way. Internet businesses need website traffic in order to be successful. The more referral links to your website, the more visitors stop in to look around. The math is simple. Referral links plus visitors equal purchase and profits.
According to a recent online study, over 50% of Internet users have visited websites through referral links. Referral links can bring the best website traffic jams when the referral is coming from a reliable source and can mean a world of difference when it comes to converting a website visitor to a customer. The whole purpose to having referral links is to drive visitors to your website and encourage them to stay long enough to see what products or services you have to offer them. Then it is up to you to convert that visitor into a valued customer.
Most business owners greatly depend on their website to generate a substantial part of their income. Some website business owners depend on the success of their website to supplement their income while some depend on their website for their entire income, whether it is making direct sales or by generating leads to spread interest in your website’s services or products. As with many website businesses, visitors are more likely to zip through your website without reading your site or making any purchases. This happens most often when the website has no eye-catching images or information. This is a common problem among website business owners and can be very frustrating. So, the million-dollar question is this – How do you turn your visitors into customers? The answer to this question can have a tremendous affect on the success of your business website.
Turning your website visitors into customers is a “Conversion.” When someone visits your website and does not provide any real benefit, such as making a purchase, inquiry, or subscribing to your newsletter or any other effects that may become a sales lead. You must convert these visitors into customers by offering them exceptional deals or incentives. Simply put, you must make them an offer they cannot refuse. After all, you have invested a great deal of time and money into getting your website up and running. Now you must invest the time and effort into getting your target audience to visit your website and opt-in to receive future specials and updates. You must think of every visitor as being a potential customer, it’s up to you to convert them, drive them in, and keep them coming back.
Website business owners often measure their success in terms of conversions, not just increased website traffic. Converting a visitor into a customer that makes a purchase of products or services will create a profit. Businesses need to create profits in order to survive or else there would be no business. More customers are more relevant to business websites than mere visitors are, although visitors may eventually become a customer. Not only should you, as a website owner, focus on driving more people to your website, but also you need to focus on getting the right people in there. You need to find your target audience and go after them with everything you have. Lure them to your website by showing them that you have what they are looking for, what they need.
You want those potential customers who will likely become sales leads and create a profit so you can have a great Return on Investment (ROI) for all your money, time and effort you have invested into creating your website. This is why providing referral links on your website is so important. As a business website owner, you need to generate your own traffic and promote your website business to the best of your ability. Although referral links may only account for a small portion of website traffic, they do have a big conversion rate and they are a very wise investment of your time.
WordPress 2.7 Beta 3
Saturday, November 15th, 2008WordPress 2.7 Beta 3 has been released for your testing pleasure. Here are some of the changes since Beta 2 (over 160 changes in total):
Numerous style improvements and refinements.
All admin notices now go under the page title.
PHP Notice fixes.
Dashboard widget options now properly save.
Menu fixes.
New design for Quick Edit.
Canonical feed URL fixes.
Walker fixes.
An update [...]