Donna Knight's Internet Marketing Tools and Reviews

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  • Five Simple Ways To Make the Search Engines Stand Up and Take Notice of Your Website

    By Donna Knight

    You’ve got a hot new website with all the bells and whistles: cool Flash presentations, eye-catching colors, informative text, easy-to-maneuver layout, and an interesting topic. You think your site is amazing, and you know that others will agree with you. If only they know it existed.

    How do you let others know about your site? How do you make yours stand out amongst millions of sites? You can spend lots of money on advertising, but that’s a catch 22. You can buy expensive advertising because you haven’t made any money yet. So what do you do? Make search engines work for you, that’s what!

    You want your website to be a shining star on Google, Yahoo, MSN, Lycos, AltaVista – That means getting at the top of their results for your targeted keywords. The higher your site is in a search results, the more visitors you will get. The science behind getting a top rank on search engines is called Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Don’t worry, though – even if SEO is referred to as a science, you can still get good results without hiring a $5000 a month SEO expert. You just need to follow some simple steps, and before you know it, your site will have more visitors than you can shake a stick at.

    Here are five tips to maximize your search engine ranking on as many search engines as possible:

      1. Content is more important than appearance.

    Do you want to share your knowledge on a subject that you have authority on? Do you want to sell your products? Do you want to build an online shrine for your favorite actor? For whatever topic you have chosen for your website, make sure you give useful information. Search engines determine relevance of the sites listed by work by scanning sites for keywords. All they care about is the text on your site. They don’t care about your high-tech flash or other graphics. In fact, most can’t even see flash. Rich content is much more important than rich colors. While graphics on your site should be professional-looking, they are not as important to visitors as you think they are. Nice graphics may impress people once, but great content makes them come back. There’s a common saying that you should live by: content is king!

      2. Master your topic

    If you know your topic well, you will already know what questions people have about it. The keywords people use to search for information on search engines are related to the question they have about it. When you are maximizing keywords on your site, try to picture what keywords people will type into a search engine when looking for that particular topic. Make sure your site gives answers to those questions. If you are selling a product from your site, keep in mind people search for information. If your site feeds their hunger for that information, they will be more likely to buy your related product.

      3. Learn from other people’s success

    Take time to browse and read sites that get lots of visitors and have the same topic as yours. Take note of any recurring phrases in these sites’ text. These phrases are most likely keywords. Incorporate them in your own site’s content. Don’t saturate your site with keywords, though. You can actually get penalized in your ranking for having a keyword too many times on your site. A 3% keyword density is enough.

    In searching for the right keywords, use Overture’s keyword tool at http://inventor.overture.com. This tool tells you the actual keywords and related keywords people actually did search for last month. The benefit is you’re no longer guessing in your keyword research. Your prediction about what people will search for is based on historical information about real searches people have performed.

      4. Submit…and re-submit

    You will never get a certain job if you don’t send in your application for it. The same thing applies to SEO. If you want your site to be recognized by search engines, then go out of your way to register your site with them. After a couple of weeks, search for your site by putting in the keywords you used in your content. If your site is still not coming up in the search results, don’t give up. Just re-register and resubmit your site. It can take as many as 6 months to get listed in some search engines despite your best efforts. This usually happens because a lot of submissions are done on a particular day.

      5. Constantly update your site

    Google recently released information on the algorithm they use for ranking. One thing they mention is rank can be boosted by having constantly updated information. This is not only true for Google. Yahoo also will re-visit sites with constantly updated content more often. If you add a blog and post something to it–preferably keyword-rich content–search engines will like your site even more. Blog software that many expert bloggers use is WordPress, which you can get at http://www.wordpress.org.

    I have to admit that tip #5 is the most valuable tip. Even if the content on your site is mediocre, constantly updating it will make the search engines take notice and keep paying attention to your website.
    ***********************************************************
    Donna Knight is a Website Promotion Specialist and
    Website Builder. She has built over 200 websites and
    helps new site owners promote their site cheaply. For tips that will help you save money and save time in your online marketing efforts, visit her Internet Marketing Tools blog at http://www.DonnaKnight.com
    ***********************************************************
    Copyright (C)2005 Donna Knight. All Rights Reserved.
    Permission granted to post this article in newsletters,
    free ebooks or websites as long as the article and resource
    box remain intact.
    ***********************************************************

  • Do You Owe MP3 License Fees?

    Below is an article by Jim Edwards who was at the Internet Marketing Superconference 7 which I recently attended (and had a blast! despite a severe allergy attack :)). Jim was one of my favorite speakers there. If you ever get the chance to see this very funny and informative speaker in person, don’t miss it. For more details about the bombshell that was dropped at the conference, read on…

    Software Patent Debate Rages Online

    – by Jim Edwards

    © Jim Edwards – All Rights reserved
    http://www.thenetreporter.com
    -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

    I recently attended a conference in Las Vegas where 3
    presenters got on stage and said that consumers, software
    developers, and website designers risked massive fines and
    even criminal charges for using MP3 audio online.

    After I recovered from my initial shock, I realized they
    were talking about a software patent held by a French based
    company, Thomson, which enables them to charge licensing
    fees for anyone using their MP3 audio technology.

    Upon opening this proverbial “can of online worms” I
    discovered that a whole world of what many consider
    unenforceable software patents exists online.

    From my research, much of the online software patent debate
    stems from patents issued in Europe that may or may not get
    enforced. Did you know that someone patented the process of
    an online shopping cart?

    Sun Microsystems patented the “shopping cart” process and
    could try to collect a royalty from anyone who uses a
    similar system (which rates as anyone selling anything
    online).
    http://l2.espacenet.com/espacenet/viewer?PN=EP807891

    Another company patented paying with a credit card over the
    Internet, which would definitely shut down the vast majority
    of all ecommerce if they could enforce that patent!
    http://l2.espacenet.com/espacenet/viewer?PN=EP820620

    Log on to www.nosoftwarepatents.com and
    http://webshop.ffii.org for some startling information.

    I contacted an attorney specializing in Internet law, Bob
    Silber of www.InternetLawProducts.com, to get his opinion
    specifically on the debate about MP3’s.

    “The mp3 licensing issue is not new, but recently resurfaced
    after an Internet marketer did a ‘scare tactics’ campaign
    for his own marketing purposes. Thomson is the company
    holding the portfolio of patents related to MP3… Currently
    Thomson doesn’t require an mp3 license for non-commercial
    activities or for businesses generating an annual gross
    revenue less than US $100 000.”

    So, unless you’re making MP3’s or software that creates
    MP3’s and making over $100,000 a year doing it, it doesn’t
    appear you need to worry about this particular patent issue.

    Even then, it appears the owners of the MP3 patents would
    find it very difficult to enforce their patents with so much
    new technology emerging that builds on, and fundamentally
    changes, the original technology.

    But this does open up a greater debate about what should and
    should not get patented when it comes to software.

    I’m fully in favor of people protecting their rights when
    they create any intellectual property (software, audio,
    written material, etc.), but that’s a copyright issue, not a
    patent issue.

    “Copyright” means nobody can do it the way you did it (with exact words, computer code, etc.).

    “Patent” means nobody can do it at all without paying someone else a fee / royalty or “TAX” because they patented the “result!”

    That makes a big difference when you talk about fundamental
    elements necessary to make the Internet and computers run.

    It was fine for Bill Gates to copyright DOS, but what if he
    patented “computer operating system?”

    Would that give him dominion over every computer that booted
    up for next 50 years? Impossible!

    Unless the courts want to shut down the Internet or
    computers in general, software patents are, by their nature,
    unenforceable.

    With so many different computer languages, methods, and
    means to do anything with computers, it’s not fair or
    practical for one person or company to own a “result” or a
    “process” like online “shopping carts” or “online audio.”

    That would be just like allowing someone to patent “bottled
    water,” and charge us all every time we took a swig from a
    plastic bottle.

    —
    Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist and the
    creator of an amazing course that will teach you step-by-
    step and click-by-click how to finally create your own
    money-making mini-sites…

    -=-=-==-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
    “Finally! A Quick and Easy Way For YOU to Painlessly Set Up
    Your OWN Moneymaking ‘Mini’ Websites… Without Being a
    Computer Geek, Buying Expensive Software, or Paying
    Outrageous Fees To A Webmaster!”

    Click Here => http://www.MiniSiteCreator.com
    -=-=-==-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

  • How Can I Find A Niche?

    By Donna Knight

    Here’s o­ne idea for finding a profitable niche. Most internet marketers tell you to find a subject that you love or are passionate about, but here’s what I think. I take the advice of “sell what you love” with a grain of salt. While I have lots of passions, some I wouldn’t want to make money from.

    For example, while I’ve spent about 11 years troubleshooting computer problems, there’s no way I want to use those troubleshooting skills online in some way. It would still be hourly labor and it’s labor-intensive work. A better solution would be for me to sell computer-related infoproducts to help people fix their own computer problems, if they’re inclined to do so.

    If you think of yourself as a marketer rather than as someone who sells xyz product, you can find a niche that is potentially profitable ( use http://www.nichebot.com which tells you potential profitability) and learn what you don’t know about it.

    Another underutilized source for niche ideas… If you have any ebook collections, I think they’re a goldmine, and not for the reasons people think. If you look at the o­nes that include special reports–Take for example Free to Sell–If you don’t have it, I’m sure you’ll find it for $2 o­n Ebay. There is the Ebusiness Encyclopedia which has dozens of reports you can resell. Now these reports may be outdated but they give you dozens of potential niche market ideas.

    Plus you’re allowed to take the reports that are there and add to them. And you can do your research right o­n the web to expand this information into an ebook.

    Some examples:
    Catering Business
    Used CD & Video Store
    Child Care Business
    Local Tour Operator
    Show & Seminar Promotions
    Limousine Service
    Janitorial Contracting Business
    Auto Detailing Business
    Party Plan Sales (350 searches for how to be a party planner o­n Overture)
    Bed & Breakfast (487 people searched for how to start a Bed & Breakfast o­n Overture last month)

    Okay those are all business-related, but that’s because I took them from o­nly o­ne of the 20 report collections. Despite how outdated these reports may be, there are hundreds of people searching for information o­n these businesses o­n Overture alone. I suspect that’s because the person(s) who wrote these reports knew this information was in demand at the time, and it still is!

    I hope that helps you come up with your some potential niche ideas to start with. Then you can narrow it down to the o­nes that interest you the most. In my mind, coming up with a niche idea isn’t as hard as choosing o­ne and getting started.
    =============================================
    Donna Knight is a Website Promotion Specialist and Website Builder. She has built over 200 websites and helps new site owners promote their site cheaply. For tips that will help you save money and save time in your online marketing efforts, visit her Internet Marketing Tools blog at http://www.DonnaKnight.com
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    Copyright (C)2005 Donna Knight. All Rights Reserved. Permission granted to post this article in newsletters, free ebooks or websites as long as the article and resource box remain intact.

  • Reducing to the Ridiculous

    By Armand Morin

    As I was getting ready to go to bed the other night, I was watching o­ne of those late night infomercials.

    It was another o­ne of those weight loss/exercise programs that claimed it has been a secret to the stars for 50 years.

    As I was watching, lightning struck me!
    They stated the same thing every other ad states except in a different way.

    Here is what they said:

    “After 20 times you will notice a difference and after 30 times your friends will notice a difference.”

    Now, look at what they really said.

    You are suppose to use the system 3 times a week for 10 weeks.

    3 times a week for 10 weeks sounds like a lot to me but doing it o­nly 30 times for noticeable difference sounds pretty simple. Even I can do that!

    All of a sudden I started thinking of making a countdown board with 30 and then reducing that down by o­ne each time I worked out. I thought, this is awesome.

    I didn’t buy the product but it did make me think.

    I started thinking of the power their simple explanation really had and how I can apply that to my business.

    I was always taught in sales, you must reduce the price to such a small amount that it would be ridiculous for a prospect not to buy.

    So I started thinking. If a person bought my eCover software for example and used it 10 times, that means they just reduced their effective cost from $97 for a cover to just $9.70. If they used it 100 times though their cost would o­nly be $.97 for each cover they created.

    Pretty neat huh? I just told my prospects that the price is not $97 it is o­nly $.97 per cover! That certainly sounds a lot better and more affordable! Plus it makes sense.

    How can you apply this to your business?

    Ask yourself, how much can a person save each time they use my product?

    or What does it really cost to use my product?

    How much time and energy can my product save my customers?

    How much more money would my customers have spent if they did not have my product.

    Your product doesn’t have to be software, information products work the same way. Diet products are great products for this formula to work with.

    Lose weight for o­nly $.34 a pound!

    Think about your product and reduce it to the ridiculous!

    =========================================================

    About Armand Morin

    Armand Morin has been o­nline since 1996 and has sold millions of dollars o­n and offline. His latest products cater specifically to the ebook industry. Two of his more well known products are www.ebookgenerator.com and www.ecovergenerator.com the first ecover software.

  • Review of Directory Generator by Armand Morin

    By Donna Knight

    Directory Generator is a software product that can generate hundreds of keyword-targeted web pages. The purpose is to help you get targeted traffic to your website so you can make more sales or earn commissions.

    I was o­ne of the earliest users of Directory Generator before it launched publicly August 26, 2004, so I’ve had a little head start in testing it.

    Let me give you a little background info first: In late 2003, new traffic generating software appeared called Traffic Equalizer. I have to admit I knew nothing about it until recently. My guess as to why is that it is talked about mostly among big marketers, and probably mostly at seminars.

    It’s just like Armand Morin to ride the traffic software wave and even try to make a better surfboard. And that’s what Directory Generator is.

    It is supposed to be equivalent to software such as Ranking Power, Traffic Equalizer, and Traffic Hurricane, which allows you to get targeted traffic by generating pages that get high search engine rankings. The difference is, like most of what Armand does, the results are classier and more professional looking.

    Of the previously mentioned programs, Traffic Hurricane is the o­nly o­ne that is free. Why pay for this other software if you can get it free? Because your Traffic Hurricane pages will have someone else’s Google AdSense ads o­n your pages, earning them money off your traffic. Now that I have Directory Generator, I don’t need someone else earning money from my traffic unless they’re going to pay me part of it. Selfish, aren’t I? 😉 o­ne other thing: I’m surprised no o­ne noticed this but Google doesn’t allow Adsense code to be placed o­n pages not owned by you, so the way this is set up might get someone into trouble.

    I know what you’re thinking…Yeah, that’s nice but can Directory Generator really generate targeted traffic? Absolutely! The first website I created with Directory Generator is steadily earning Google AdWords income every single day without me doing a thing. It took 30 days for traffic and commissions to really start kicking in. I don’t want this to sound like hype but this is the easiest money I’ve made so far. Nevertheless the second website I made isn’t doing squat. But that just tells me: There’s no such thing as a sure thing. The domain name you choose and keywords you target can make a difference. But the second website also hasn’t been up as long, so we’ll see what happens…

    Am I going to get rich off the money it’s generating? No, nor could someone quit their job with it, but at the rate it’s working I would earn the $250 price back fairly quickly. My goal was to first earn the domain fee back and I did. The site is listed in Google, but gets no traffic from there. Most of the traffic comes from other search engines. If it had multiple pages spidered by Google, lookout!

    I’ve heard through the grapevine of multiple people earning 4-figure monthly incomes from sites created with traffic-generating software. And I’ve heard of o­ne person earning a six-figure income. For now, this test tells me that this software really does work.

    Here’s a little secret: No o­ne who uses traffic generating software will tell you their website URL. That’s because they don’t want people ripping off their profitable website. So you have to buy the software to see the sites it produces. At $250 a pop, that’s an expensive trial.

    What do you do with the traffic it generates?
    1. You earn Google Adsense commissions (this feature is built into the software).
    2. You can add SearchFeed (you can’t add both. Google doesn’t allow it).
    3. You can add a Linkshare ad to earn additional commissions.
    4. The newest version lets you earn Amazon commissions.

    Benefits: Easily generate 100s of keyword targeted pages for a niche directory.
    Disadvantage: You still have to choose your keywords which will be your site theme. You have to know how to FTP the pages to your web host. Unlike Traffic Equalizer, the program won’t do it for you.

    Conclusion: Highly recommended. Thank goodness Armand didn’t price this software too cheaply. If you o­nly try o­ne traffic-generating software program, I recommend Directory Generator.

    For more information, visit http://www.directorygenerator.com .

    =============================================
    Donna Knight is a Website Promotion Specialist and Website Builder. She has built over 200 websites and helps new site owners promote their site cheaply. For tips that will help you save money and save time in your online marketing efforts, visit her Internet Marketing Tools and Reviews blog at http://www.DonnaKnight.com
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    Copyright (C)2004-2005 Donna Knight. All Rights Reserved. Permission granted to post this article in newsletters, free ebooks or websites as long as the article and resource box remain intact. For product reviews, you may substitute your affiliate referral link for the product URL.

  • Amazon.com’s New Book Search Feature

    Search and Read over 100,000 Books o­n Amazon

    Amazon.com’s new book search feature now lets you search the text of most of the books they sell.

    When I read about this new feature, I didn’t realize the full benefits of it. Not o­nly can you search the page, but you can read the full page and keep reading the next few pages of the book. Now that I’ve had a chance to use it, I wonder if it really will cause sales to decrease rather than increase. Amazon makes it tricky to keep reading more than a few pages ahead, but I was able to read at least 50 pages of a book. That’s quite a bit more than the trial chapters some authors will give you as an incentive to buy their book.

    From an Author’s standpoint, I think they should put even more restrictions as to how many pages someone can view from a book. The good news is authors do have a choice about including their books in the search.

    But cheapskate tactics aside, it will help you narrow down your choices if you know you want a book o­n a specific subject and you can’t tell the difference between the books available.

    Benefits: A try-before-you-buy feature for books o­n Amazon. Makes it a lot more appealing to buy books o­nline.
    Disadvantages: You can o­nly read a few pages at a time. Come o­n! You didn’t think they’d let you read the whole thing for free, did you?!

    Conclusion: Visit Amazon, do a search for a book and check out this feature.

    For a live demonstration, do a search, then browse o­ne of the results. Visit:

    http://www.amazon.com

    Reviewer: Donna Knight
    Score: 4/5

  • Review of FlashPalGenerator by Armand Morin

    By Donna Knight

    CREATOR: Armand Morin

    PURPOSE: Software program that allows you to generate flash-based Paypal payment buttons.

    BENEFITS: A software program that allows you to create secure paypal code. If you are selling digital products such as ebooks or website scripts, it will help prevent people from stealing by downloading your products without paying.

    EASE OF USE: I had to watch the video to figure out how to use it. Armand himself does the tutorial and it is easy to understand. I give it 3/5. I’ll be honest. Programs that don’t require me to read instructions or watch videos are more likely to get a 5. This is not because I’m lazy. As a techie, I read instructions all the time and am not reluctant to do so. But a program that can be figured out without instructions usually is inherently easier to use. That doesn’t mean some people won’t still need to use the tutorial though.

    ADVANTAGES: Secures your digital products, such as ebooks or scripts, from theft. The buttons generated look like a normal Paypal button. Like all of Armand’s programs, it is classy and professional-looking. I looked at the Paypal code the software generated, and couldn’t tell what my download link was, so Armand’s claim that it will hide your link appears true.

    DISADVANTAGES: If the potential customer doesn’t have Macromedia Flash already installed, having to install it just to see your “Buy Now” button may cost you a sale. Any thing that makes it harder to purchase your product gives a potential customer time to have second thoughts. This product really is no longer necessary. Here’s why: Paypal now has a feature that allows you to encrypt your Paypal code and hide your download link from snooping thieves. It was a good idea at the time though.

    CONCLUSION: This product is no longer necessary now that Paypal has an encryption feature built in.

    Reviewer: Donna Knight
    Score: 3/5
    Related Link: FlashPalGenerator Paypal button generator

    =============================================
    Donna Knight is a Computer Trainer and Website Promotion Specialist. She has built over 200 websites and helps new site owners promote their site cheaply. For tips that will help you save money and save time when marketing online, visit her Internet Marketing Tools and Reviews blog at http://www.DonnaKnight.com
    =============================================
    Copyright (C) 2004-2005 Donna Knight. All Rights Reserved. Permission granted to post this article in newsletters, free ebooks or websites as long as the article and resource box remain intact. For product reviews, you may substitute your affiliate referral link for the product URL.

  • Headline Creator Pro Review

    By Donna Knight

    Headline Creator Pro
    Product: Software program

    This software uses a lot of headlines that have worked offline in the distant past. I have no doubt that variations of those old headlines can work for your website. It’s not the only resource I use for coming up with headlines but it does make it a little easier than trying to come up with headlines from a long list of winning headlines.

    Rating: 4/5.

    Writer’s Tool

    Product: Software program

    Underrated database in which you can store winning quotes, headlines, and cliches to be used in your copywriting. Useful but somewhat outdated. Most traditional copywriters store their swipe file on paper, but a digital swipe file gives you added benefits such as :

    – a backup (without having to photocopy everything you have)
    – the ability to store it remotely without having to photocopy everything you have
    – a portable swipe file so you can have one on your home pc and one on your laptop

    Pro: The only program I know of its kind.
    Con: Can’t add additional categories, such as closes, P.S., money-back guarantees, calls to action, etc.

    Rating: 3.5/5

    If your website doesn’t have a headline, you’re losing visitors AND sales. If people have to figure out what your website is all about by reading through it, many won’t. They’ll just leave. A Headline is a must-have if you’re trying sell anything…even if it’s free.

    I have to give Headline Creator Pro a higher rating but I still use Writer’s Tool because HCP’s headline database isn’t customizable. I definitely recommend them both if you’re stuck while coming up with a headline for your website.

    =============================================
    Donna Knight is a Computer Trainer and Website Promotion Specialist. She has built over 200 websites and helps new site owners promote their site cheaply. For tips that will help you save money and save time when marketing online, visit her Internet Marketing Tools and Reviews blog at http://www.DonnaKnight.com
    =============================================
    Copyright (C) 2004-2005 Donna Knight. All Rights Reserved. Permission granted to post this article in newsletters, free ebooks or websites as long as the article and resource box remain intact. For product reviews, you may substitute your affiliate referral link for the product URL.