SEO Tips and Resources

If you are reading this, you are probably just in the early planning stages of starting your web business or you’re considering revamping or expanding an existing business.  I have suggestions that are equally applicable to you regardless of which of those applies to you.

While it doesn’t really matter what order you obtain these, here are the three that I consider absolutely necessary to all beginning e-entrepreneurs:

A short course on starting an e-business.  Sometimes you can even find a free course on how to start an online business.  Whatever course you choose should not promise to reveal some hidden secrets.  It should just be a straightforward, honest overview of the major points to focus upon as you begin your Internet enterprise.

Google Account.  Just go the Google home page.  Below the search box, you will see a short list of links.  Click the link titled “Business Solutions.”  There you will find a list of more than a dozen resources that Google offers to business owners.  I suggest that you simply take a few hours exploring in detail what they have to offer.  Eventually you may find some that will never be useful for your business.  However, many will be.  In my various businesses, I use the following most frequently:

- Checkout (a payment processing system)
- Website Optimizer (conducts tests all of content on your website)–free
- Google Site Search (allows your users to locate content on your websites)–free
- AdWords (the advertising program for Google’s for their pay-per-click alternative)
— Analytics, which data for all of your major website traffic metrics–free

I also use additional services from Google that are available to any Internet user, such as Google Docs and the Google (RSS) Reader (both free).  Signing up for any of the services will provide you with a Google account that is valid for all their services.

If you are able to find one, get a hyperlinked list of necessary resources.  One website has such a list of resources useful for online businesses available in a pdf format for easy access and use.  It includes   a number of highly useful free resources as well as many that have costs associated with them.

Make sure you use these three suggestions, and your business is sure to begin in a way that allows for future growth.

Technorati Tags: free business guide, free course, free resources, start internet business, start online business

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Do you want the bad news about starting a new online business first, or the good news?  Okay, here we go:  The bad news is that you have a great deal to learn.  The good news is that it’s fun and that much of the basic information can be found inexpensively or even free.  The bad news is that you can’t trust everything that you find on the Internet and that there are some unscrupulous folks out there.  The best news is that you’ll be able to distinguish the valuable from the worthless sooner than you now think you will be able.

One sensible way to start your e-business education is to find a free course with the fundamentals of beginning online.  There should be no (or minimal) charge for the rudimentary information.  If you actually follow the lessons and apply what you learn, that will get you well on your way toward distinguishing between the scams and the legitimate offers, between the metaphorical wheat and the chaff.

You will discover that the reality of starting your business will fall somewhere between the extremes of the unscrupulous types who tell you that you can work half an hour per week in your pajamas and retire in a year and the other extreme of thinking it is an impossible task, as you may be thinking now.  Yes, you’ll need to get organized.  You must manage your available time carefully, and don’t forget about life’s priorities along the way (like family, your ethical standards and enjoying what you do).

Browse related topics (those you learned about in your short, hopefully free, course) on article directories, like A1Articles.com or EzineArticles.com.  Consult blogs that you deem to be trustworthy.  Find information about keyword research, business niche selection, design of business websites and other such related topics.

Don’t rush out to buy anything, yet.  The next step is to sit down with some paper and pencil.  From the list of things that you don’t yet know how to do, determine what interests you and and what sounds so boring that you would rather outsource the tasks.  Don’t worry, you can learn to do anything on that list.  It’s just a matter of deciding whether you want to learn a particular skill.

Now it’s time to spend money.  Fight any urge you have to immediately buy an amazing sounding product, whether it’s a course or a remarkable piece of software.  At this point, you should do two things:  1) Add the web page to your favorites list so that you know you can find your way back to it later.  2) Analyze the structure of the sales copy, because eventually you want to be able to write a sales pitch that works as well as that one apparently did on you.  Now, go off to find some comparable products and go through the same process.

I impose a mandatory three day waiting period before I buy something I’ve just found.  That gives me time to consider it rationally, removing myself from the emotional responses elicited by the well presented offer.  I make exceptions in the cases of a few people whose products I know well and always trust.  If I still think that I have found the best solution for my needs after that three day period, I use the bookmark to find the right page, buy the product and get to work absorbing the material.

Beware!  Buying can make you feel good, but your new purchase does you no good unless you use it, and using it means implementing the strategies that you learn about or the procedures for which the software was designed.  In other words, you must act!

Technorati Tags: begin business, begin online business, new business, start e-business, start e-commerce, start online business, start-up, startup

Internet Marketing Resources begin business, begin online business, new business, start e-business, start e-commerce, start online business, start-up, startup