Message From jl

Hi Everyone!

WELCOME to all of our new subscribers, this week! We truly appreciate you! "Trade Journal Subscribers are THE BEST!"

Twitter: Does This Make Me a Twit?

Since I rolled over and joined Twitter, I’ve been amazed at how FEW iCop members have accounts. I took some time to use the search function to find out.

The good news is those folks must be tending to business, rather than whatever it is we do on Twitter. I must say, it has me fairly fascinated. But, more on that next week.

If you would like to join me, here’s the link:

http://twitter.com/jlscott_iCop

Flash Cookies

I get SO sick and tired of these jack-legs who invade our privacy and our computers. Every time we think we have something under control, they find a way to beat the control!

Now, I’m not particularly paranoid about privacy online, except for children. That isn’t even the point for me.

But, by damn, when I set my computer the way I want it, I don’t want some dirt-bag coming along and changing it. It’s MY computer – I should get to say what’s on it and how it works!

This article’s an eye-opener:

“You Deleted Your Cookies? Think Again”

tinyurl.com/l2gqaz

How Do I Start an Online Business? Pt 4

Part 1 - www.OnlineBusinessTradeJournal.com/08-10-09.htm

Part 2 - www.OnlineBusinessTradeJournal.com/08-17-09.htm

Part 3 - www.OnlineBusinessTradeJournal.com/08-24-09.htm

Today will be the final input on this subject from a few iCop members. (I may put in MY two cents worth next week.)

Dennis Gaskill of BoogieJack.com has been around the Web since even before me. I found him early on and learned from him then. Here's what he has to say ...

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Oh sure, jl, put me to work for you without pay! ;)

(1 & 2) What steps would you take? What actions would your plan include?

1. The first thing I'd do is decide what topic I'm building a business and website around, and what kind of site I want to build. There's a vast difference between building a content site, for example, and a one-page sales site, or a membership site, or an Adsense site, or an affiliate site, or other kinds of sites.

2. Then I'd outline my goals for the site. Without goals, it's easy to get lost in the fuzziness of generalities. Hopping from idea to idea without questioning whether the ideas actually contribute to furthering your goals will often slow down your progress.

3. Then, based on the topic I'm building the site around and on my goals, I'd define my ideal target audience. Defining your goals (the previous step) and ideal visitor (this step) helps focus your thinking as you generate content ideas.

4. Next I'd list all the ideas I have for the site. What kind of content will I feature, what kind of products will I sell, and so forth.

One of the most crucial details to consider is how your new site can be useful and a service to others without them having to make a purchase, and then how you can make money from the site on top of that. You see, I'm a big believer in providing quality free content to build goodwill and trust.

Keyword research is the next step, but the reason I come up with as many ideas as I can on my own before doing keyword research is that the keyword research can frame your thinking in ways that may limit the ideas you come up with on your own.

5. After that I'd do plenty of keyword research. I never make any web pages for my sites without conducting keyword research, and I wouldn't consider building a website without research.

Knowing the exact search terms people are using in your niche is the only way to ensure you're building a site in ways that it can be found and has a chance to rank highly in the search engines for popular search terms.

You may think you know the best keywords, and you probably do know a few, but you'd be surprised at the search terms people use and how popular different terms are that you won't even think of on your own.

For example, the search terms "cheap hosting" and "low cost hosting" may seem similar, but cheap hosting has an average of 301,000 searches each month, while low cost hosting has 27,100. That's a HUGE difference, there are over 11 times as many searches for cheap hosting. How will knowing that affect your website traffic?

Or, if you use the term "web hosting" you may not realize that on average, over a half million people search for "webhosting" as one word each month; or that almost 5,000 people search for "domain hosting registration site web" each month...whatever that means! You just won't know those kinds of things without doing the research.

Cheap hosting is a term a searcher would use, while "low cost" is a term a hosting provider would use. We all think differently depending on our frame of reference, needs, and roles we fill, so don't make the mistake of assuming you know enough already, because I guarantee you don't know as much as you think you do when it comes to how people search for information, products, or services.

6. After that I'd analyze the competition to see if it's likely that money is being made in the field, how much quality competition there is already, and what ideas I can find that I haven't discovered on my own or through keyword research.

7. If it looked like a person could earn money from the idea for the site and the competition level wasn't completely forbidding, the next thing I'd do is analyze my keyword research and ideas and organize my findings into categories and sub-categories, and then plan my content within one overarching theme.

8. Once I have the theme set I'd hunt for a good domain name based on one of my best keywords or keyword phrases for my site theme. This step could take mere minutes if you get lucky, or days if the field is highly saturated. Note that because a field is highly saturated, it doesn't mean there's a high level of strong competition.

Most webmasters know very little about search engine optimization and link building, so blowing past the majority of websites is relatively easy. It's how deep into the search engine results pages the quality sites go that tell you more about the strength of competition (along with other factors).

9. Once I secured a good domain name, the next thing I'd do is design a site structure optimized for my content to rank highly in the search engines. There is a huge difference between optimizing the site structure and optimizing individual web pages. I'd optimize the site structure (and each web page) according to my SEO for YOU manual.

I'd actually diagram the site structure out on paper, as that can help you visualize problems before you build them into the site structure. When designing the structure, it's also wise to consider how your site may grow in the future and try to determine if you need to plan growth into it.

Those are the nine things I'd do before I even thought about building a single web page. There is a minimum of several hours worth of work in that list if you do it right. Only after completing these nine steps would I start designing the look and feel of the new site and start creating content.

I think few people go to that much trouble when they start a website, and unfortunately, rushing into things not only slows their success, but often limits their website's overall success potential.

(3) How would you market?

My marketing efforts would primarily be just as I outline in Industrial Strength Link Building - I'd start creating one-way links pointing from high-value websites to my new website.

In addition, I would offer a valuable digital product (an ebook or graphics or software) for free as an incentive to join my mailing list. I would further offer more valuable digital products to my subscribers for helping spread the word by linking to my site from theirs.

This would also help to retain them, but one has to be careful not to condition them so they expect everything for free; however, incentives for actions are excellent tools to use. I would also offer a contest and get my site listed in several of the websites that list online contests.

And, if I'm selling digital products such as ebooks, I'd start an affiliate program and work to get others promoting my products for me.

With all the list building tactics outlined in Industrial Strength Link Building, and with the web site optimization strategies outlined in SEO for YOU, that's really all I'd need to do. The site will definitely take off if the idea behind it is good.

Best to you, Dennis
www.BoogieJack.com
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Although Dennis did a lot of explaining here, I've read both the ebooks he mentioned - SEO for YOU and Industrial Strength Link Building. I asked if he would consider giving our readers a discount on them because I'd like everyone to read them.

They're awesome! I'm already implementing lessons from those two ebooks. Frankly, I hadn't done some of it sooner because I didn't fully understand HOW. After reading Dennis' lessons, it all made sense - and it was EASY!

So, not only did Dennis agree to give you a discount, he's given you half price! But, you only have through Saturday, September 5th to grab the deal. (No, I'm not getting a kick-back!)

www.BoogieJack.com/icopspecial.html

Have a fabulous week and ... keep on keepin' on!

  jl

P.S. Do YOU have the iCop seal on ALL your web sites? Scammers abound in a depressed economy. You will need the credibility of your iCop membership NOW, more than ever!

Use the iCop Seal on Every Site You Own at NO Extra Cost!

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Online Business Trade Journal™ is published solely by dr. jl scott, Director of the International Council of Online Professionals (iCop) and may not reflect the opinion of all iCop members.

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