Can The Little Guy Still Make A Living On The Internet?

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Figuring out how to get and keep an income by building a website or websites seems to be a constantly changing battle.  The most recent Google search engine algorithm changes have many webmasters up in arms.  It seems that what used to work as far as gaming the SERPS no longer works as well as it used to.

The ideas that most of the purveyors of internet riches are selling in their "$30,000.00 in 90 days" Clickjunk Crap Programs aren't working so well anymore.  Google is on to the game and is working hard to identify the spammasters and kill them off.  The big G really does not seem to care all that much if all of these "updates" kills off a big chunk of their income as long as they can make the "search experience useful for their users".

Great!  Now what am I supposed to do?  Build an actual website that can help someone?  (more on that later)

The internet (with regard to SEO) has been up until this point (2011) been free and open, much like the days of the old wild west.  The Search Engines have been like the banks that sprouted up in every little town and anyone with enough guts, determination, and persistence could break into the bank and take as much money as they pleased.  (well... not as much as they pleased, but enough to make a living at it in many cases)

Those who have been working tirelessly to optimize their websites and build links, links, and more links in order to get on the first page of Google are starting to realize the jig is just about up.  Many of these folks have had their "business" cut out from underneath them.  But was it really a "business" in the first place?  Not according to a guy named Fraser over at Keyword Strategy.

Just look at the recent Google updates. They have come fast and furious and many of those with "thin" sites have all but been knocked out of the SERPS never to return again.  The time it takes for the Search Engine Masters of the Universe to realize that they are getting robbed is getting shorter and shorter.  Splork has a good article about one recent technique that spammers used to work the "trends" recently.

While I am quite sure that "bank robbing techniques" such as these aren't going away anytime soon, I am quite sure that this one in particular won't gain any traction and make anyone any money for very long.  Yahoo is way too smart for that.  Besides, it is embarrassing to them.

Having been in business my whole life, (paper route at 8 years old, chicken farmer at 12) I have learned a thing or two about advertising, and when I realized that I could get "free advertising" from the SERPS it seemed almost too good to be true.  Many of those who built up a nice internet income from all of this free advertising provided by Google seem to think that the big G owes them something.  Nothing could be further from the truth.

I remember one time committing to $12,000 worth of radio advertising (for one of my local "brick and mortar" businesses) because it seemed like a good idea at the time (and the sales gal was really cute) only to realize 60 days or so later that I had completely wasted  my money.  Who's fault was that?  Did the radio station owe me?  Hell no.  My fault.  Take your lumps and move on.

All of this being said, another thing I am quite sure of is that 10 years from now there will still be plenty of guys hawking e-courses that promise "Internet riches of 1 million in 90 days" and there will be plenty of anxious buyers, even at the incredibly low price of $19,997.00.  (inflation you see)  I also know that even if there is some semblance of an ability to actually make that kind of money from a course like that, that less than 1/10 of 1% will actually follow it and make any money with it.

So where to go from here?

Having built some semblance of authority type sites over the last year and a half and not really having taken a big hit in income due to the last "updates", I am going to side with Fraser Cain and say that the days of thin spammy type sites that are relying on adsense and even Amazon products are going to have a hard time maintaining position in the SERPS for any length of time, even if they have thousands of backlinks.

I'm not saying that "back links" are not important anymore, but they sure are a lot less important than some people would have you believe.  Quality is key, not only with the content on your site, but also with where your links are coming from.

So if you have not yet wasted your money on a "10,000 back links for $20" deal, save your money.  That shit stopped working over two years ago.  Now even sites with "better back links" from original content articles spread across the web on high quality blogs are getting killed off.

I'm not saying that these sites deserved what they got in the recent update, and if they are truly genuine original content that actually helps people with their search query then they should and probably will come back to rank quite well.

Those of us who have been building websites for a while now and ranking them in the SERPS with little difficulty are now realizing that it won't be so easy in the future to do so with our current business model(s).  This in not to say that there won't be a place for certain kinds of niche sites and such in the future, but for a real long term sustainable income from the internet I think that a larger perspective is in order.

Those of us who have had some monetary success by way of the internet for the last couple of years or so have a lot of talent as far as how to build a website, optimize it, gain the attraction of the SERPS, etc., but we really need to take a good hard look at what we are "building" and ask ourselves if it will last.

I'm personally going the way of building an internet business model that will capture the attention of, and gain long term returning visitors and customers.  Something that won't bend to and fro with the whims of the likes of Google and whoever else is going to replace them.  I am looking ten years out to 2021 and building something that will be worth 10 million bucks (in today's dollars) at that point.  What are you going to do?

Filed Under: Internet Marketing Tagged With:

The Categorization of Electrons – New ERIAL Project Goes Bananas

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It seems that the only people who are really able to appreciate the value of a good internet search engine are over 30 years old.  With the likes of Google, Yahoo, and hundreds of others, the Search Engine Masters of the Universe are doing everything that they can to figure out how to categorize all of the quintillions of electrons floating out in cyberspace and organize them in a way that people can understand what the hell they all mean.

Some of those electrons are gathered in such a way that they are a lot more desirable than other clumps of lesser quality ones.  It is the former of those that get listed at the top of the SERPS.

But I digress.  Check out this article written by Sarah Kessler about a recent ERIAL study where they tested college kids on their ability to conduct a meaningful search for topics with meaningful interest. (meaning they were thought to be important)

I first read about the study via Yahoo News.  You can do your own search and find plenty of other results too.

It seems that this current generation of 20 somethings (and I would imagine ages 8-17) can't figure out how to find the things they need on the internet when using the top search engines.

I am imagining the study was funded by Google.  But I'm not really sure because I was to lazy to check that out.  It's mentioned in one of the articles that Ethnographic Research in Illinois Academic Libraries project  carried out the study, but I have not taken the time to check out who funds them. Nor do I really care to.

Maybe it is the cynical side of me that just assume that Google funded it because the gist of the article (written by an unbiased Google staffer of course... in my mind) seemed to blame the college students for their lack of ability in this very important matter.  It is very important after all.  wink, wink.  There are better search engines than Google after all.

Perhaps I'll debate (later on) whether or not it is important or not.  Maybe people can get by without the instant access to any fact they could possibly want to know about.  Maybe it's not important.  Probably it is not as important as the multi-billion dollar Google would like it to be.

Maybe, just maybe, the reason these smart college kids couldn't find what they wanted in order to gather facts for important research articles is that Google (and others) still haven't figured out how to categorize all of those electrons in a proper way.  Meaning that other than things that people are shopping for (where the money is made) the ability to categorize things in a meaningful way, and ability to comprehend way, is still a long way off.

Or maybe it's true (as the Article mentioned above suggests) that college aged kids are just stupid and Google is doing a fine job.

I don't know.  I never went to college.  It seemed like it would be a waste of my time.  20 years past my college aged prime years I am quite sure I made the right decision.

Not to rip on college.  I think it's a great place to waste a half a decade.  Especially if mommy and daddy are paying the bill.  Who knows... you might come out with something important to do.  You might even make some great discoveries.  Either way, college is important for those who need it (and are focused and smart enough to actually use the time their wisely).

What I do know is that I am 42 and I use Google and Yahoo a lot and find them quite useful for anything I wish to find.  But I am an internet marketer.  And I see what I want to see.  Meaning I comprehend what I see differently than other people who don't spend their time online looking for stuff.

The search engines are important to me because I use them to make a living.  Sometimes it seems that the Masters of the Universal Search are doing everything that they can to make my job harder.  They say that they do this to improve the quality of the top showing results.  I am not yet convinced, because democracy is always doomed to fail.

I think that Google especially will be around for a while as a relevant search engine, but in its current form, which seems so big, will be relegated to a mere app that you download 1st into your smartphone, (which already has happened), and in 50 years into that chip you (voluntarily) placed in your head.  Just a tiny bit of code, and Google will be down to a couple dozen engineers and programmers to keep the power on, the electrons properly categorized, and the viruses and worms at bay.

 

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Search Engines That Are Better Than Google

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Many people have found several search engines that are better than Google.

UPDATE: January 1, 2013

Sometimes I'm a little late to the show, but I just came across this excellent article on Forbes (from September 2012) that expands quite a bit what I talked about in the article below (that I wrote in June of 2011)

The rest of my original article below:

For those who don't already know, Google has dominated the search engine landscape for many years, and most likely will continue to do so for quite a few years to come.

However, we live in an ever changing world.  While the big G is not going away any time soon, the desire for better search engine results, and the desire to not be constantly tracked across the internet, and constantly being shown the same or similar ads for things that a person recently searched for is growing.  Besides... this sort of thing creeps a lot of people out.

There is an excellent article regarding people's thoughts on the matter over at Splork's Lost Ball In High Weeds Blog.

If you do a search on Google for the phrase "Search Engines That Are Better Than Google" the top result leads you to another excellent article on the subject.  The article "The top 100 alternative search engines", was written in early 2007  (nearly five years ago as of this writing), and you will find many names that I am sure most people have never heard of.

I did not check to see if all of them are still in business, and I won't copy the list here as you can follow the link above, but in this ever changing world you can be sure that many of them are either not in business any more, or they have completely changed their business model.

You might also want to check out a more recent post at the Big Oak Blog called 5 secret search engines way better than Google.

Google's search results do have some benefits in many ways, but many people find it a bit creepy that the adsense ads shown on many sites seem to follow them around.   The other thing about these "cookies" is that they can skew your results based on what you searched for in the past.  What I have found is that if I want access to Google's results without them knowing it is me I can use the Startpage Search Engine.  Startpage will hide your IP address.  Check them out.

You might also be interested in Cocoon if you want to not only hide your I.P. address, but to also remain completely anonymous.

Ages in the Internet

In the internet age, a generation, or lifetime, seems to be around ten years.  If this is true then here in 2011 we are just entering the third generation of the internet  (as far as the public at large being able to access and use it).  There are very few companies still around that do business on the internet with the same model and in the same way that they did in 2000, and even fewer companies (maybe none?) from the early/mid 1990's.

The generation of children that have just graduated from high school in 2011 is the first generation where having multiple conversations at the same time was a mainstream phenomenon.  From instant  messaging on the computer in early 2000's, to facebook,  and sms/text messaging and the like now.

The question for marketers in the future regarding the current generation of youngsters is how to satisfy their desires for instant and multiple gratification(s).  That is where the big money is going to be made, and it more than likely won't be done by the likes of Google and many of the other big players today.

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How To Get Things Done

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I want to talk about the best way that I have found to get things done. A long time ago I read a book called Think and Grow Rich.  Then I read another book called How To Win Friends and Influence People.  I read them both several times.

I am not sure which book had the following paraphrased story in it, but it is the one thing that has really stuck with me and helped me. There were a lot of other things in each of those books that were pretty good.  I should go back and re-read both of them.  Here's the story as I remember it.

Andrew Carnegie (the big shot behind what eventually became U.S. Steel, and the richest man in the world at the time) hired a consultant to come in to help him be more efficient in getting things done.   The consultant gave him the following list:

1) Write down on paper the five most important things you want to get done today in order of their importance.

2) Begin your workday with the first thing on your list.  When you are done with it cross it off the list and move to #2.

3) Continue on down the list until you have completed all of your tasks.

Carnegie could not believe the advice he was given. He was almost outraged, but the consultant told him to try it and if he saw no value in it then he should not pay him.  If he did find value in it then he should send a check for whatever he felt it was worth.  Carnegie gave it a shot.  After one month he sent the consultant a check for $25,000.00, a huge amount of money in the 1920's.

I have found that this is the absolute best way to get things done too. It helps to keep you focused. In this day and age of the internet and cell phones and all of the other shiny things available to capture our attention it is a wonder that anyone gets anything done at all in a day.

If I make a list of things to do, those things get done.  Period. Even if I ignore the list for a while.  It has a magical power of drawing me back to it.  I may not do all of the things on the list in one day.  I may not even accomplish all of the tasks I have written down "in order of importance", but I get the list done.  When that list is done I make another list.

I keep one of those cheap spiral notebooks that kids use in school open on my desk where I work.  On that open page the list sits.  And sits.  And slowly I get into it.  I find that once I have one thing done, the second thing on the list gets accomplished much faster.  As I cross each one off (or put a check mark next to it to tell me it is completed) I have a sense of accomplishment.

Sometimes I can complete the list in a few hours.  Sometimes it takes three days.  But the list gets done.

If you are frustrated with your inability to really get the things that you want out of life and you are not using a list then you may want to try this.  Don't be fooled by it's simplicity.

Jack Folsgood

Filed Under: Internet Marketing, Make Money Tagged With:

Boosting Your Profits with the Ideal WordPress Theme

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Potency, Capabilities and a Hindrance

What started as a convenient foundation for blog writers currently is a highly acknowledged content management system. We're referring to WordPress, a zero cost application that can change anybody into an efficient web based writer.

WordPress makes it easy to produce websites. It makes it easy to add or modify content and articles. It's internet search engine oriented, extremely reinforced and is versatile enough to deal with almost any sort of job. As a result, its acclaim keeps growing at a rapid speed. It includes a number of themes, giving its end users the option to build websites with an boundless variety of looks and structures.

Although WordPress is fabulous, it isn't perfect. You are able to use it to do practically anything at all, some functions are harder than others are. WordPress hasn't entirely escaped its roots as a blogging platform. Consequently, some of the sites people produce with WordPress seem much less like static web-sites and more like blogs. That can be really troublesome for online marketers, tend to have several different distinct requirements that don't easily fit in the templates desired by a large number of WordPress themes. That has triggered the invention of customizable theme engines like AuthorityPro.

Gaining More from WordPress

You can get a variety of WordPress themes that copy the look and feeling of fixed internet sites. They are an acceptable solution for a few tasks. However, these types of themes don't offer the flexibility required to handle various online marketing purposes. They may also lack the visual appeal one would expect from a superior internet site.

That leaves web entrepreneurs who would like to harness the strength of WordPress with just a few choices. Either they might develop into expert theme developers or they might utilize a strong theme development engine to build the type of websites they require to obtain the best final results.

Mastering the ins and outs of WordPress and coding doesn't excite most entrepreneurs. They're more excited about rapidly making and implementing lucrative projects. They're not necessarily interested in the idea of becoming designers or programmers. Only those people who already have quite a bit of experience in these topics will be interested in generating tailor made themes for projects.

A theme engine is a better option. A theme engine is a very customizable WordPress theme that can be fine-tuned to serve any number of particular tasks. A marketer can utilize a quality engine to create themes with different web page layouts and designs, making use of required applications.

If you've ever before tried to create a engaging squeeze page with a typical WordPress theme, you understand that it's practically impossible. Even many of the more adaptable premium themes cannot get the job done. A superior theme engine, in contrast can make it simple and easy to make a strong squeeze page, a dazzling sales page, attractive supporting internet pages, sign up documents and everything else required to turn a new idea into a money maker. The appropriate theme engine makes it easy to make the most of sign up forms, online video media, audio tracks and additional marketing elements, as well.

The Very Best WordPress Theme

The very best WordPress theme is far more than one particular theme. It's a resource that will make it possible for you to create the internet sites you require to be successful. A great theme engine will deliver customizability, superior design elements, flexibility, full compatibility with critical tools, and tremendous simplicity of use.

The WordPress Authority Pro Theme, as an example, is able to do well on every one of these levels. It can make it achievable for entrepreneurs to create site layouts by dragging and dropping customizable factors. It comes with collection of powerful custom widgets, functions well with just about all of the most well-known Internet marketing resources and maintains the simplicity newer WordPress users demand.

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E-Book — Easier Affiliate Commissions Formula

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-

Click The Link Below To Download

Jack Folsgood's E-Book and Guide To "Product Name Hi-Jacking"

Jack Folsgood's Formula

For (Easier) Affiliate Product Commissions

"Product Name Hi-Jacking"

Filed Under: Internet Marketing

Multiply Your Profits with Joint Ventures

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Beyond Selling Your Own Product

Marketing your own product is a great way to generate an online income. When you combine a good overall marketing and promotion plan with a nice product, sales will inevitably follow. If you find a sweet spot in the market, your product can become relatively successful.

However, you won't really make the big money if you're out there alone. The most successful internet marketers realize that it's easier to achieve success if you're traveling with joint venture partners. It's easier to post huge profits when you're working with others.

How many more sales could you make if you had a team of big-time marketers aggressively promoting your product? How big could the numbers get if you had top marketers backing your product just as diligently as they would their own? Now, think about the impact having several top marketers as partners could mean to you!

The Power of JVs

You must have an affiliate program if you have your own product. When other people are pushing your product, the sales figures naturally inflate. The standard-issue affiliate program won't do the trick, however. You want to do more than attract a few other marketers to your cause. You want major players to line up with you to transform your product into a best-seller.

That's why building joint ventures should be a top priority. There's no better way to post sales than by creating JVs with top marketers. That's why forging successful joint ventures is the most important step anyone with an interest in moving up into the ranks of the top marketers can take.

Unfortunately, it isn't always easy to create those JV partnerships. Unfortunately, it can be tough to reach out and build solid JV relationships. It can be hard to build top-notch JVs if you and your product aren't already well-known. Top marketers are constantly receiving requests for JVs. You need to have an interesting, attention-grabbing, smart JV offer to make something happen.

Many marketers make the mistake of approaching joint venture partners as if advertising their existing affiliate program is enough. That's a doomed strategy. You'll never put a great joint venture together unless you work harder. You need to approach the process the right way.

What You Need for JV Success

Building joint ventures the smart way requires a few things. First, you should have a strong understanding of the different ways to structure a joint venture. Second, you need to understand how to put together a plan that will be truly beneficial for you and for your JV partners. Third, you need to know how to get your foot in the door and to make the connections necessary to tap the power of joint ventures. Fourth, you need to know the fine details of building a JV proposal that will really take off. Fifth, you must have an iron grip on the details of JV organization and implementation.

If you fall short on any front, you're unlikely to experience optimal JV success.

Put simply, you need a formal education in the world of joint ventures.

You could try to figure out all of the details on your own. Be prepared to experience at least a few failures before things get moving if you take that route. You can ruin an otherwise great JV plan with a single misstep.

That's why those who understand strength in numbers will want to learn from someone who knows the world of joint ventures inside and out. If there's one part of internet marketing that screams for a quality, paid education, this is it. You should make a point of finding proven JV recommendations and information. Once you've learned the ropes and have a good blueprint in your hands, you can use internet marketing joint ventures to transform your product into the next Big Thing!

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