How To Generate Traffic To Your Website For Free
Before I begin I need to make it clear that there are different types of traffic and lots of traffic doesn’t necessarily equal big bucks. You see, when people connect to the internet they have different ideas of what they want to achieve. Some people simply want to be entertained and to connect with friends. Whilst there are others who use the internet in order to buy products.
Imagine that a very famous celebrity (for the sake of example let’s say it’s Britney Spears) was involved in some sort of scandal and thousands of people start searching for information about the scandal. When they find the information they are looking for they just move onto other things, whether it’s checking the email or whatever. Basically they are looking for information and entertainment (infotainment?) and that’s it.
However the person who wants to buy perfume by Britney will type something along the lines of “buy Britney Spears perfume.” So if you’re selling Britney Spears perfume you will want this sort of traffic rather than the traffic where people want to know about the scandal she’s been involved in.
Anyway, if you just want to learn about methods of generating traffic to your website for free then here are some great ideas. Some of them might attract people who are looking to spend money whilst other techniques might just attract browsers. At the end of the day, you might as well give it a go and see how you get on.
YouTube
We all know that YouTube is the ‘net’s most popular video sharing website with millions of people using it to watch music videos, funny videos and also “how to” videos. There are loads of people who go straight to YouTube to find what they are looking for however there are also loads of people who find the site via the search engines. For instance, if you do a search for Britney Spears on Google you will see that YouTube videos appear.
If you create a video and upload it to YouTube you can tap into the traffic from the site itself plus traffic that come in via the search engines. What kind of video you create really depends on what your website is about. If you own a florist in Delaware you could create a video about you and the flowers that you sell. You could do a demonstration on how to arrange flowers and the likes. Just make sure you give the video a title you think people would search for. For example “Florist in Wilmington, Delaware.”
Google’s Local Business Results
If you have a “brick and mortar” business such as a florist or accountancy firm then you can create an account with Google and register your details here: www.google.com/local/add . Before the internet really took hold on society people just looked up their local copy or the yellow pages or their local news paper to find companies. However these days more and more people are using the internet search engines. So sign up with Google’s Local Business Results to get free exposure to your business’ website.
StumbleUpon (SU)
This is a very popular social website where people submit web pages they like and other people can vote them up or down. You can pay SU for traffic however you can also get it for free, especially if your website is very good and other people like it. The more frequently people vote it up the more traffic you will get. The problem is that the people who use SU have a short attention span and usually are not interested in buying anything. However if you still want pursue this method of traffic generation you should submit webpages that are informative or entertaining. Don’t just submit a product page with sales copy on it because people don’t find this of much interest to them.
Search Engine Optimzation (SEO)
If you want a constant stream of well-targeted visitors to your website learning SEO is a must. A lot of people try to make out that SEO is very difficult. However the people doing this are usually trying to sell SEO services so they want to make it sound as scary and complex as possible. However it’s actually quite simple. What it comes down to is including as many different keywords as you can within your website, especially the title of your website. Although it’s quite simple, there is a lot to learn so you will need to do further research on this topic.
Google Trends
If you are just looking for as much traffic as you can and don’t care about whether they will buy anything, then you should look at google.com/trends/hottrends. Basically it’s a list of the most searched for topics on the net. Usually people are just wanting to know about celebrity gossip and politics. However sometimes they also want to know more about new products that are being released. If you write about these subjects you should start to get a lot of traffic, the problem is trying to make money from the traffic you get.
Conclusion
There are actually quite a lot of other techniques that you can use. Some of them are legitimate whilst others aren’t. There are methods coming out all the time whenever there is a new craze on the internet. In the past people were going crazy over MySpace whereas now it’s more about Twitter and Facebook. There’s loads of free info on the web so don’t waste your money by buying an ebook claiming to make you rich. They’re just a waste of time and money.
Pros and Cons of Outsourced Payroll
If you are a business owner, you are already up to your ears in work that has to be done just to get the business off the ground and legal. The last thing that you need to worry about is running your payroll as well. You can't be expected to do everything yourself. The easiest and wisest solution is to delegate. And not only that, but delegate it to someone who has experience in this area. There are several companies that specialize in outsourced payroll. They handle all the work for you, you turn in all the information to them and they handle the rest, on payday your employees have their payroll and you are not under the stress of making sure that it is done on time and correctly.
When dealing with outsourced payroll however, there are a few things that you need to be aware of up front. First, make sure that the company in question is reliable and is not a “here today gone tomorrow” establishment. The other thing that you will need to be aware of when dealing with outsourced payroll is any fees that the company will charge to process the payroll for you.
Some companies charge a small amount while others can be quite expensive. The best thing to do is make sure you know all their fees in advance. In my experience. the number of advantages when using outsourced payroll greatly outnumber all the negatives, including the fees you will incur. Outsourced payroll services are a great way to relieve a great amount of the stress that a small business owner suffers from and in a way it gives the business owner their own payroll department.
In the end, the best advice to any small business owner is to research local outsourced payroll places and find the best one that you think is qualified enough to handle your payroll needs. This will make everyone in your business happy and you will know that payroll will be done the correct way and on time. Your employees will be happy knowing that they will be paid on time and with the correct amount. In the end it is a win-win situation.
Good Ways For College Students To Make Money
Donate Blood For Money
There are a number of articles floating about on the internet telling you that you can donate blood for money however if you look at the Red Cross website they tell you that they don’t pay for blood. So what do you do if you want to sell your blood? Well, there are two good websites you can look at which are BloodBanker and BioLife where you will find details of blood banks near you. Generally you can be paid between $20 and $50 per donation meaning if you go every week you could earn up to $200 a month. Of course, you need to factor in the expense of visiting your nearest blood bank which could potentially be several miles away.
Create Websites and Blogs For Other People
Everyone wants to get involved in having their very own slice of the internet however most people either don’t have the technical knowledge or can’t be bothered to create their own site. If you have any experience of creating websites and blogs you might be able to set something up very easily. Of course, how much you charge depends on your own level of expertise. If you can create really amazing websites with custom themes and graphics then you can charge a lot more than creating something very simple and basic.
Create Websites and Blogs For Other Yourself
There are so many people busily creating their own sites for profit. What you need to do is create sites with helpful articles explaining to people how to do things. It might be that you write about the different methods of getting rid of vermin or it could be what products to buy if you have greasy hair. You can then place affiliate ads for eBay, Amazon and other merchants on your pages. Alternatively you could place ads by Google Adsense on Chitika.
Create T-Shirts And Other Products
If you are an artistic sort of person you could start a shop at CafePress and produce logos for printing on various products such as t-shirts, mugs and aprons. Once you have decided what products you want in your store and what price they should be sold at you can leave the rest to CafePress who will take the orders and ship them out.
Sell Second Hand Items on eBay
We all know how much folks love spending money on eBay. Often people go straight to eBay and don’t even bother looking elsewhere. The result is that people go nuts bidding against each other pushing the price right up. If you are an expert on a particular niche and know the prices inside out you could try and source items locally at garage sales and bric-a-brac shops. Then sell them on eBay for an inflated price. Make sure you take plenty of good photos and write up a good description of the products.
Become a Tutor
Every time there are exams coming along, kids all over the world groan at the thought of having to study. Often children have a hard time of understanding their subjects and need a little helping hand. If you are a whiz at a particular subject such as math, English or music you could advertise your tutoring services. Create a website with details of who you are and what subjects you tutor in. Alternatively you could advertise in your local paper, print up leaflets and generally let people know that you are offering tutoring.
Rent Out a Driveway or Garage
If you are a student that is lucky enough to have a driveway or garage then you can rent this extra parking space out to people. Just sign up with the website Park at My House and enter your details. The sort of person who would want to park their car at your house will vary. Some people are commuters and want their car parked whilst they are working. Other people might be going to a stadium to watch a concert. How much you can earn from this will depend on the demand for parking in your area. If parking is scarce then you could easily make very good coin.
Sell Ad Space On Your Car
Yes, you really can earn money whilst you are driving your car about. There are a number of advertisers out there who want to get their brand across and car advertising is becoming fairly popular. Basically, vinyl decals called “auto wraps” are placed on your car. How much you earn really depends on the kind of car you own and where you normally have it parked. If you park your where it’s busy then you’ll get a lot more money than if you leave it parked in the middle on nowhere.
If you’re a student and leaving your car parked in the college campus then you might find yourself having advertisers promoting gadget-related products because students are their target market. Often you will have a GPS system placed in the car so that the company knows where the car has been parked and to make sure they are getting a good deal from you. Just make sure that when signing up with a company that you don’t pay a fee. It should be free of charge and if they try and charge then they are just trying to scam you. Drivenmediaonline.com is a good website to look at for more info.
Become A Nude Model For Art Students
If you don’t mind a room full of art students looking at your naked body then this is a good way to make extra money. There are loads of art schools that urgently need nude models and it’s not always easy for them to do so. Naturally, a lot of people are embarrassed about their bodies but if you are fine about yours then you could make very good money. You don’t have to have the body of a Greek God or Goddess. You can be bony, fart, short or tall. It doesn’t matter. As long as you can hold a pose for extended periods of time then you’ll be fine.
Conclusion
If you’ve been wracking you mind trying to come up with ideas for making money but without doing the usual boring jobs such as waiting tables then hopefully the above list will be of use. Just make sure you don’t fall for any of these get-rich-quick schemes that are out there. Remember, you want to make money, not be scammed out of money!
How To Make Money With A Website
You’ve probably heard people talking about how easy it is to make money with a website. But if you have never even set up a website before it can be really confusing to know where to start. You will find all sorts of different websites telling you about the “perfect” way to make money and how easy it is.
Fist of all, you should know that making money with a website can take in various forms. Some people set up what is known as an e-commerce site where real products are sold. Basically you need to find products that you can sell for a profit, is in demand and can easily be shipped out to the customer. This is much easier said that done. Here are the problems with setting up an e-commerce site:-
1) A lot of companies require you to spend a minimum amount of money with them yet if you don’t have much money to spend you might not be able to afford the minimum order.
2) Many companies don’t provide photographs of the products which means if you are selling something like fashion accessories you will need to take the photographs yourself . This isn’t very easy if you are not familiar with product photography.
3) You’ll have to compete with the larger stores that have really professional photographs and website design which make the products look amazing. If you are on budget and have to do all the website work yourself you might not be able to create the professional image you are looking for.
4) What if you don’t get enough people to visit your store and you are left with loads of stock you can’t sell? You could therefore end up losing a lot of money.
5) What happens if you want to take time off for vacation or illness? If you are working on your own you might not have anyone to run your business which means shutting up shop for that time. Resulting in loss of revenue and customer trust.
So is there a way of making money with a website that will offer you the following benefits?
Requires no start-up money
Requires no technical knowledge
Will earn you passive income 24/7
Actually, the answer is yes. Here at Word Wolf you can easily make money by writing articles on any subject you wish and in return you will receive the majority of the advertising revenue. Here’s what you need to do:-
Get Yourself a Google Adsense Publisher ID
For those of you who are not familiar with Adsense, Google displays targeted ads on your webpages and you then receive a percentage of what the advertiser spends. Thousands upon thousands of advertisers from all around the world advertise their products and services with Google which means you don’t have to worry about finding these advertisers yourself. All you have to do is write the articles and Google will then display the most appropriate ads.
How to Create An Adsense Account
If you don’t yet have an account with Adsense you need to create an account with Word Wolf by clicking here. Then you need to add at least 6 articles which are about 400 - 500 words in length. Make sure that these articles are helpful to visitors and will help them find what they are looking for.
You can then sign up for Adsense here. When signing up for Adsense they will ask you for your website address. What you need to give them is your author profile page which will look something like: http://wordwolf.com/author/myusername.html.
What Should Your Articles Be About?
They can be pretty much about anything, however it’s a good idea to write about a topic that you are familiar with. If you have a dog you could write about dog training or the costs involved in owning a dog. If you’ve just been on vacation you could write about that.
When giving a title to your article make sure you think about what someone might actually type into the search engines. There’s no point in giving your article a title of “Why I Love Barbados” because it’s unlikely anyone will search for that. Instead something like “Where To Stay in Barbados” would be more appropriate.
Hopefully this article will give you some ideas about how you can genuinely make money with a website, no matter what level of experience you have. How much you earn will entirely depend on how much work you put into it. You might only have an hour a day which means you’ll possibly earn enough to buy a few treats for yourself. Whereas if you have several hours a day you can easily make a full time income. You can also work wherever and whenever you like as all you need is a computer with an internet connection.
Creative Ways To Make Extra Money
Let’s face it. We all would like to make an extra buck or so. There seems to be so many bills to pay off and once you’ve paid them there doesn’t seem to be very much left for extra treats and such like. So if you want to find some creative ways to make extra money then hopefully you’ll be able to find them here:-
Rent Out Your Driveway/Garage
If you have a car garage that’s just sitting there not being used or you have a large driveway for some extra cars then you can actually make pretty good money by renting this space out. There are different ways to go about it but one way is to sign up at parkatmyhouse.com.
A big reason why people might want to rent your garage or driveway is because they are wanting to go to a stadium, airport, train station, ferry terminus or some other place like this. In built-up areas parking can be very difficult and if you simply leave it in a random street or public car park you might worry about your car being stolen or vandalised.
However if they pay you to keep their car in your driveway or garage they will feel a lot more comfortable. I mean, if you were going somewhere by ferry for a couple of weeks and you had to leave your car in a public car park, would you feel comfortable? Personally this is what I do most years when I visit the island of Canna and I always worry about leaving the car. I would be happier if I was leaving it at someone’s house.
When you sign up with Park At My House it doesn’t cost any money at all. They just take a 15% commission which isn’t all that much. The amount of money you can charge for renting out car space can vary greatly depend on where you are. If you live in the middle of nowhere then you might struggle (although it’s still worth signing up anyway). If you live in a major city near to a stadium or transport link then you could make quite a lot of money.
Alternatively you could look to advertise space in your local paper because there might be someone in the area who doesn’t have a garage and wants to keep their car safe at night. Or perhaps they are a commuter and you live near to where they work.
Rent Out Garden Space
I was reading in my local paper some time ago about a lady who had a large garden that she really wasn’t interested in maintaining. She knew that there was a long waiting list for people looking for allotment space to grow fruit and veg so she decided that she would allow people to grow produce in her garden.
She didn’t mention anything about charging any money for it but you could try and see how you get on. A lot of people these days are wanting to grow their own produce because they want to eat food that is healthy and organically grown.
To advertise your space you could simply put up a notice board saying that you are looking to rent out plots of your garden for x amount of money. You could also place an ad in your local paper. Even if you don’t charge any money for the plots, you could always do a barter system by asking for some produce in return.
Become a Secret Shopper
There are companies out there who really want to make sure their business is being run properly so they hire the services of a secret shopper. Basically, you’re given an assignment to go into a particular shop and carry out specific tasks such as ask questions, buy products and look at how clean the shop is.
A lot of people will say that by doing secret shopping you will get paid to shop. But I haven’t found this to be 100% true. I have had a couple of hair cuts, a pizza and also a couple of cheap bars of soap. But the other things I bought such as Cds and shoes had to be returned. (What’s the fun in that?!). The pay wasn’t all that great either. Every job is that bit different and you need to make sure you read your instructions carefully. You also need to fill in the forms with detailed information about your experiences.
Over all I didn’t really think secret shopping was worth it but if you don’t have anything better to do it’s still worth signing up with some companies to see what sort of assignments you get. You might be lucky and be given some cool jobs.
So yes, there are some very creative ways to make extra money besides the usual ones you read about such as pet sitting, car washing, gardening and selling stuff on eBay. You might as well give them a go to see how you get on. Just make sure you remember to declare your earnings to the tax man otherwise you might get into a spot of bother!
Interactive Web Conferencing
If you are a business person and would like to look for ways of saving both time and money then you should look at the benefits that interactive web conferencing can provide you. Despite the fact that there really is no actual substitute for meeting with business associates face-to-face, web conferencing can offer the next best thing. Basically they allow you to interact in terms of being able to share computer documents, desktop screens and also sound (VoIP). However please bear in mind that if you want more features, you will have to pay for it.
You might think that it will be incredibly difficult to set up a web meeting like this however you'll be pleasantly surprised. In the past you may have experienced technology at various business conferences and witnessed how many technical difficulties there are. However these days it's much better. The basic costs to set this sort of thing up will be about $50 a month. Compare that to the cost of having businesses contacts around the world or the globe travel to a meeting. No air travel tickets, hotels, meals out etc. That's a lot of money that can be saved.
Browsing the internet for interactive web conferencing, you will see that the major players in the market are Gotomeeting and Webex. Please make sure you compare the prices and services of each company. If you only have a relatively small number of people taking part (i.e. 15 or less) then Gotomeeting might be the better option. However if you have a larger party (i.e. 25 or less) then Webex will be better. Even although you are limited to the number of people you can have using the systems, you are able to use them as often as you wish.
There are also free trials that you can use so that you can get an idea of whether interactive web conferencing is for you. You might feel that it simply isn't for you or that you wouldn't make enough use of it. There are free services such as Skype and Yugma which you might want to use instead, even although they are pretty limited in terms of how many people you can use it for etc. However they are still worth checking out.
When trying out a company for your web conferencing needs, make sure you consider how easy it is to use. There's no point in using a system that is cheap or offers lots of features, if you simply don't like how it is set up.
Of course, there are also different types of businesses out there and if you are in the video gaming business then a company such as Fuze Meeting can be a great choice due to the High Definition (HD) communication abilities. However for many people who only want basic facilities and are on a strict budget then Skype may well be perfectly fine for your needs.
Another option is to use Real-Time Collaboration HUB (RHUB) appliance approach to conferencing and remote support. You can get web conferencing, remote support, remote access, and webinars all in one. You own the system and control how you use it. Although it can be pretty costly to set up, you won't have any monthly fees so you can get your money back in only four months typically.
How College Students Can Make Money Online
It’s not easy being a student is it? There are so many different things that you need for your schooling and an ever increasing mountain of debt that you will eventually have to start paying off. Many students therefore find themselves working in bars and restaurants at weekends in a bid to make ends meet.
However with the internet, is there a better way? All students know how to use a computer and surf the ‘net as they were brought up with it. Now you don’t want to go letting your studies suffer but when you’re on your summer break or some other holiday, you’ll find yourself with some spare time on your hands.
The wonderful thing about making money online is the lack of start-up capital needed. In most other businesses you need to rent premises, hire staff and a whole host of other things. You’d end up taking out even more loans on top of the student loans you already have.
No, the internet is certainly the way to go for a college student to make some extra bucks without the crippling costs of a conventional business. As long as you have access to a computer with internet connection you are pretty much good to go.
Of course, don’t think for one moment that this is going to be easy sailing. You’ll have a lot of hard work and learning to do. Making money online is like a craft that needs to be practiced and honed.
There are many companies online that allow you to start making cash quickly because they will allow you to host content on their sites. Sometimes you can receive all the money whilst others will give you a share of the profits. These companies include Blogger, Squidoo, Hubpages, InfoBarrel, Weebly, Xomba and BlinkWeb.
Often people place Google Adsense on these websites because Google is a huge company and many businesses with online stores set up an account with Google to promote their products. So if you set up a website on a particular subject, whether it’s games consoles or cooking, you’ll find that there’s lots of potential advertisers out there willing to pay you money for each time a visitor clicks on one of the ads. It’s very easy to implement as all you do is set up an account and then place some code onto your website.
Other alternative ways of monetizing your website is to use Chitika, Yahoo!, eBay and Amazon plus there’s loads of others but these are the main companies.
Another way is to do surveys with Cash Crate, Project Payday and other companies like that. Bear in mind that there are mixed feelings about these companies and how easy it is to make money with them. Some people rave about how great they are whilst other people complain bitterly. Make sure you do your research because it may or may not be right for you.
Ultimately there are a number of ways that you can make some extra bucks online but not all of them are as easy as some people make out. Be very careful about buying an eBooks and software that promises to make you loads of money. Unfortunately there are many scammers out there who only care about making money from you without giving you anything concrete in return. There are many free and excellent resources on the internet that will allow you make an extra income without you being ripped off.
Cheap Small Business Ideas
Many of us simply cannot bear to work for someone else. This is why so many people decide to set up their own business and therefore become their own boss. But what ideas are there? There are simply so many it's difficult to know which one to choose so it's a good idea to do as much research as you can and think carefully about it.
First of all, getting business finance can be pretty tricky in a recession, especially if you don't have much of a track record. However there are many ideas that you can ponder that require little or no money to start up. So let's have a look at some of them now.
Become a Private Tutor
If you have lots of experience on a particular topic you can set yourself up as a tutor. You don't necessarily even have to have any qualifications; it all depends on what you want to teach. It might be that you have been an artist or musician for many years and have the ability to teach other people what you have learnt.
Of course, not everyone is a natural born teacher. It might be that you are really talented at something but lack the communication skills. Most of us can drive a car but how many of us would be any good at being a driving instructor? Not many.
Some private tutors choose to travel to their students' homes whilst others work from home and have students travel to them. It really depends on what you want to do. Obviously travelling time and expense needs to be factored in and you won't be able to teach as many people if you have to travel about a lot.
Dog Walking
It used to be that the husband would be the bread winner and the wife would stay at home to look after the family, but this has changed so much over the last couple of decades. Some people leave their dogs in the house for hours on end whilst others choose to hire the services of a dog walker.
It's no wonder that you see so many dog walking services these days. You can't go out to the park anymore without seeing people walking a dozen dogs. It's big business that's for sure. How much money you invest in your business will really depend on how much work you want to take on. You frequently see dog walkers with a small van which will cost you a bit of money.
Buy and Sell on eBay
We've all heard of eBay and there's a good chance you know at least one person who has sold items on eBay whether for fun or for profit. eBay is such a popular website and often you will find buyers go straight to eBay rather than look elsewhere.
The most difficult thing is to buy products that are in demand and can easily be shipped. If you sell large bulky items such as furniture it's going to be quite tricky to send. Items that should be considered include iPods, printer ink, jewelry, car parts, vacuum cleaner bags and photographic accessories.
Arts and Crafts
Often people stumble into starting a business because of their arts and crafts hobbies. It might be that you enjoy making soaps, candles or greetings cards. Frequently what will happen is that friends and family want to buy your crafts so that they can give them to their own friends and family. Before you know it you're struggling to keep up with demand whilst also working at your day job.
The biggest mistake that arty people make, however, is to price themselves too low. They simply don't appreciate their own skills and price their products so that it's the same as a mass-produced item from China. Do yourself a favour and look to see what handcrafted products are selling for and calculate your pricing from that.
Freelance Writing
If you are the sort of person who loves to write then you should consider becoming a freelance writer. There are a number of different options available to you however one of the best ways to start is by signing up with elance.com, rentacoder.com or odesk.com and create a profile with information about your skills. What you write will depend largely on your skills and what clients are looking for.
This article really only scratches the surface for business ideas. I'm sure you'll be able to find loads more if you spend time looking. Other ideas include photography, children's parties, lawn care, house sitting, website design and interior decorating. In addition to looking for business ideas you need to also think about practicalities such as liability insurance and accountancy.
