SEO - Who needs it?

Hey, been a busy weekend, so I'm just catching up with things...

A couple of interesting thoughts, for those of you who are looking for the best way to create, develop, maintain and earn from a website...

Firstly...This site now has a live atom-xml feed (see the xml icon, above previous posts menu, on the right) . Please add this blog to your 'news reader' feed list, and keep up with any new posts as they happen.

Secondly, it seems wherever you go, looking for website advice you come upon SEO...'Search Engine Optimisation' (OK so you know what SEO means already...but just in case it is new to you I'm covering my bets!)

And wow, how much can they charge? A packet if you want a comprehensive job done...and some will employ tactics that most 'ethical' webdwellers, site-visitors and business-persons would did rather not exist! And methods which no doubt in a short time to come will be 'penalized' by the search engines...

It's only when I am reminded of this that I realise once again just how lucky we have been to discover the incredible deal we get from our - "host-and-full-website-creation-services-provider". Almost too numerous to mention the stuff we get 'included in our deal' is amazing - to whit:

Function, if bought separately - Current approx cost in USD/year

- Brainstorming and researching tools $200

- Web/html/graphic designer $2,000

- Hosting of your site (with state-of-the Net speed & reliability, no limits) $240

- Domain name annual renewal (Automatic) $15

- Submit unlimited URLs to search engines $120

- Ranking Reports for search engines $240

- Unique Keyword search reports for search engines $120

- NEW! Ranking Reports for Directories $240

- NEW! Unique Keyword search reports for Directories $120

- Search engine optimization $200

- Business news, Tips HQ and Resources HQ $120

- 4 Traffic analysis and comprehensive data HQs $120

- Pay-per-click research and mass-bidding $220

- Click-in and Click-through Analysis $200

- NEW! E-zine Subscription and Delivery $240

- NEW! Real Value Site-Compatible Link Exchange $180

- NEW! Automated Forms and Sequential Autoresponders $400

- JUST RELEASED! Link Fixer (No more bad links!) $120

Total (in USD), if bought separately in the market place... At Least $5,095 per year

That's about 3,910Euros / £2710(Sterling)- (at Feb 1st 2005)

AND IF THIS WASN'T ENOUGH OUR INITIAL ANNUAL SUBS INCLUDES:

A COMPREHENSIVE - Step by Step Website design/development/monetizing Guide - The Best of Breed approach on the Net and totally INVALUABLE... IT Really Works...and there is plenty of REAL PROOF!

In fact 'the deal' just gets better as more and more is added to the list of 'all inclusive' services, and small additional fee 'add ons'...like storefront facility...access to webmaster consultants and much more

If you know who provides all this in one amazing deal...it CAN ONLY BE the same company we use...because NOONE else offers such a complete deal...so you will already know that the cost for all this is UNBELIEVABLY small...(well, we think that LESS THAN $1.00 per day...is unbelievebly small, compared with what it could cost with other providers (above)!)

And all thanks to the philoshopy and ethical approach of one man...the company creator who is being recognized for being a 'true guru'...not just out for himself..but for all us small guys too! ...Who is he?...Answers on a postcard please...or better still, just pay a brief visit to the link below...

If you do not get all the above in one deal already - or if you are lucky enough not to have committed yourself yet - than take a look here now, and see the fine detail:

The Best Website Building Package of All

We are sure you will be amazed...and if you're still not convinced (even by the cast iron money back guarantee) then send us any question you have either via the blog, or via our 'Main Site' contact page and we'll be happy to tell you anything we can:

http://www.visiting-the-dominican-republic.com/contact_us.html

All the best for now

Al

Read THIS ARTICLE first...before YOU waste money!

(continued from Fri. 28th Jan. 2005)...

PART (3)

Maybe you are thinking of the ‘normal’ functions of a business, as they exist ‘offline’ in the ‘real-world’...maybe you are still thinking a business ‘sells’ either ‘products’ or ‘services’. Well to be fair, many ‘online’ businesses do do just this. Many ‘virtual’ shop-fronts exist and allow people to access and purchase specific products, or maybe engage in acquiring the ‘services’ of the ‘website company’.

But, these are not the only type of things an online business may do to produce an income. True, if you develop a website that sells ‘something tangible’, you may suspect that you have to either produce, or buy in wholesale stocks of something in order to receive orders and ‘post out ‘items’ that your customers order. This is, though, only one possibility. In this new electronic age of commerce it is quite possible to ‘sell tangible goods’ but never have to ‘see’ those goods yourself.

Nowadays you can use the services of (a 'carefully selected’) drop-shipping company to send on goods ordered on your website from their warehouses to your customers…you pay for the ordered item out of the money received from your customer and keep the ‘profit’ for yourself…no need to store stock, stock-take, and hope you sell stuff…because you never actually have to hold the stock…the drop shipper (whose business is viable because he provides goods for hundreds of similar ‘small virtual shops’) hold all stock and mails out all orders.

But ‘selling hard goods’ is only one option (and there are things that you would need to do to ensure that you did not experience certain pitfalls with this choice – but that’s covered in another article!)

You could be promoting and selling a service… in fact small service businesses are incredibly short sighted if they fail to develop a ‘web presence’. All small businesses really should develop a website to ensure that they miss no opportunity to bring in the trade that seekers for their goods or services who are regularly using the web might provide them with.

PART (4) COMING SOON TO THIS BLOG

If you want to find out how to build successful, highly trafficked websites quickly and easily, don't just take our word for it take a look at these real-life case studies:

Real life examples of successful website builders


http://www.net-profit.blogspot.com
© Copyright Alan Smith &Ruth Ramos 2004. All rights reserved.

No part, or parts of this article may be reproduced without the express permission of the copyright holders, and without full inclusion of credits and live links to this weblog, and any other live website links included within the article.

A Vacation in the Dominican Republic - All You Need to Know for a Great Holiday.

A Vacation in the Dominican Republic - All You Need to Know for a Great Holiday.

A big thank you to our visitors...in less than 4 months, and in light of new figures, www.visiting-the-dominican-republic.com is currently ranked 129,514 by Alexa...well inside the top ONE THIRD OF A PERCENT most popular sites.

How is this possible:All You Need to Know for a Great WEBSITE!!

Thanks again

AL

See This Article First - Before YOU WASTE MONEY - (Part 2)

(continued from Weds. 26th Jan. 2005)...

PART (2)

The Best ‘Portable’ Low Cost Business

with Potential for Great Returns

Well...I suggest you can’t think of many (truly portable businesses)! But here I want to consider the type of business that has just this kind of flexibility. A business that doesn’t even require any special transport costs to move ‘equipment’ or tools. A business that can continue functioning whether or not you can attend to it every day… Some of you may be thinking what business can it be…others will already have made the connection (so to speak)...

Of course the answer is a ‘virtual business’…or ‘online’ business! True I have made the relatively simple assumption that wherever you are planning to settle you will acquire a phone line, and you will take your laptop, or PC with you, or at least arrange 'access' to one.

Now don’t ‘switch off’ because you instantly start thinking "well that’s okay for the IT boffin, or ‘computer literate’...as they say…but how does an ordinary ‘Joe’ suddenly acquire the appropriate knowledge and skills to make starting, developing and running an online, internet based business a real possibility?"

Well if you can at least ‘log on’ to a computer, if you can open your e-mail, if you can click the ‘internet browser’ icon and if you can do some basic searching on the WWW…then you too can join the ranks of the ‘virtual business entrepreneur’. You too can join the increasing number of owners of real online businesses that can earn you anything from a steady replacement income for a dead-end job…to quite incredible monthly sums (well that’s if you consider that turning over in excess of $100,000 per month is incredible!)

Today, for the first time, it is really possible for a person with very limited understanding of the ‘technicalities’ of computers and computing, to use ‘easy to grasp’ tools and support systems that can allow them to plan, design, launch, develop and run an ‘online business’ with tremendous earning potential. In fact, to launch and run a genuine, ethical, business with an earning potential that is only limited by the vision and enthusiasm of that person him or herself.

And the added ‘beauty’ of this type of business is that neither age, nor education need hold you back. The potential to make excellent income from an ‘virtual business’ is not constrained by gender, by physical capability - in fact by anything - other than your own determination and motivation to succeeed (Oh, yes...you still have to 'work at it' to make it happen..remember if anyone offers you something for nothing...it's generally because they stand to make more out of it than you will). Indeed, this type of 'virtual' business can truly be run by 'virtually' anyone!

So how do you go about it?...

PART (3) COMING SOON

Thinking about starting a 'virtual business' - the most portable kind of business? Take a look at our own 'fledgling' content-rich site here:

http://www.visiting-the-dominican-republic.com/

And find out more about: -

...the BEST way to start a virtual business - HERE!

'Hasta mas tarde'

Al

http://www.net-profit.blogspot.com
© Copyright Alan Smith &Ruth Ramos 2004. All rights reserved.

No part, or parts of this article may be reproduced without the express permission of the copyright holders, and without full inclusion of credits and live links to this weblog, and any other live website links included within the article.

Hello World!- We Just Hit the 'Blog-Time'

NET PROFIT - is the 'business' end of:

http://www.visiting-the-dominican-republic.com/

Here, at NET PROFIT, we try to keep you updated on the progress that VTDR is making...the progress we are making...in establishing the travel website as a premier source of information about the Dominican Republic (the 'best kept secret of the Caribbean')...

For those seeking a vacation in a tropical spot without the cost of most similar places...

For those looking for a TAX FREE business base - YES the DR is a 'free zone'...one of the lesser known (but highly regarded by those in the know) places to set up a business and benefit from 'low and no-tax'...

And for those seeking investment or retirement property...it is still a lot more economical to buy in the DR than most other Caribbean countries

...Why else would the increasing numbers of 'celebs'...and even 'ex-President' Clinton and his family be 'cutting themselves a slice of the action'?...

BUT also, VTDR, is our 'content rich' site that is becoming a regular source of income for us.

If you are interested in building this type of website...or one of numerous other types of 'income generating' site, then I hope you'll keep half an eye here... we will be adding more information, tips and advice as and when we find stuff of interest, to help you 'do your thing' too...

If you want to take a look at 'our secret weapon'...HERE IT IS!

Got any questions?...Feel free to mail us here, or through our contact page on VTDR: Our Contact Page...we'll do our best to help if we can.

Al

See This Article FIRST - Before you WASTE MONEY!

STARTING HERE TODAY!

The FIRST PART of a multi-part article. This article will be published soon on a major article site, but you can preview it here first...

PART (1)

The Best ‘Portable’ Low Cost Business with Potential for Great Returns

How many businesses do you know that you can pick up and take with you anywhere you go? Let’s say you decide to join those lucky folks who ‘carpe diem’ (seize the day) and decide to move to a ‘place in the sun’…what are you going to do when you get there...which businesses are truly portable?

A few examples may seem to spring to mind…especially if they involve a personal skill or talent that you have and that you can use wherever you go. For instance – hairdressing! Can you wield a pair of scissors effectively? Can you feign interest in a customers boring anecdotes? Can you bear to listen to the answer to the question ‘Are you going anywhere nice?’ for the umpteenth time every day? Sure, you can set up as a hairdresser wherever you go…and if you decide to do it ‘mobile’ then you don’t even have to foot the bill for expensive salon set-up costs…have ‘tongs will travel’!!!

And then there’s building…plumbing…joinery…electrickery and the like. Have hands and a bag full of tools and ‘hey presto’ you can set-up in business wherever you go!

In fact…when you have a particular ‘skill’ that people will pay for…you can set up in business anywhere you like BUT…and it is a big BUT…each time you move somewhere new its ‘square one’. You’ve got to start from scratch, developing contacts, stimulating customer interest, getting started…and that’s the tough bit...

How long does it take to ‘start again from scratch’…weeks…months...years? And what if it doesn’t take off what if the locals don’t speak the same lingo...what if that dream of going to work and live somewhere ‘sunny and full of promise’ is undermined by a lack of success, a lack of income...NO money!

And as you sit wondering how to pay the bills in your ‘new home’...who benefits from all the hard work you did in you old place! Maybe you ‘sold’ the goodwill of your old business...maybe you just left your old customers to fend for themselves!

So. I’ll ask again… How many businesses do you know that you can pick up and take with you anywhere you go? The whole business that is...lock. stock and barrel? You don’t lose any customers...you don’t start from scratch…you don’t even lose a days earnings...A business that you can literally run from anywhere you ‘lay your hat’?

...Find out more in PART (2)
COMING TO THIS BLOG...SOON!

See you in a day or two, but if you want to know now how to develop an online business in the most effective way, take a look here: Develop a website that works - 'CLICK' NOW

Al

http://www.net-profit.blogspot.com
© Copyright Alan Smith &Ruth Ramos 2004. All rights reserved.

No part, or parts of this article may be reproduced without the express permission of the copyright holders, and without full inclusion of credits and live links to this weblog, and any other live website links included within the article.

How we built a website and achieved TOP 1% Alexa rankings within 3 months!

Hi

Until the middle of 2004 we only 'wondered' how we might make our own website. We had dabbled with various hosts, even registered some domains...but basically wasted money achieving NOTHING WORTHWHILE.

Then we 'stumbled' upon a genuine company that provides unparalleled support and unmatched products. A company that "talks the talk and walks the walk"...A company that explained to us that the secret of succesful website creation depended on us 'overdelivering' on the expectations of our visitors...and that went on to 'prove its point' by doing just that (overdelivering) to us.

If you have EVER wondered how to build an effective website

If you have EVER built a website but been dissatisfied with the results or support your host/development system provided

If you have ever thought that creating a website that could be a source of income was going to 'COST' you more than you can afford


You have to take a few minutes to examine this...compare it with anything else you have seen, and we are CONFIDENT you will be amazed.

Whether an individual, a small (or large!) business, a 'club' or hobby site is what you want to build...if you want to build a successful and effective website for FUN and PROFIT...we can only say that we genuinely and wholeheartedly recommend this company - the ONLY complete package of guidance and development tools that you will need -

How we built a website and achieved TOP 1% Alexa rankings within 3 months!

This is the only package of website design, creation, building, optimisation and development that can PROVE it works again and again.

Here is our site...it ranks well within the TOP 1% sites (of the 10 million or so sites that Alexa monitors) after only 3 months of operation:

Visiting the Dominican Republic - Our own 'high ranking site'!

Any questions or queries about the site or the company who helped us please drop us a line, via this 'blog' or the 'site'...we'll share any information we have.

A

'Get Rich Quick?'..don't you believe it!

As we may observe here frequently 'if something looks too good to be true, then it probably is!'

When we began that time-consuming process of looking for the best solution for building an effective website we were faced with literally thousands of options.

YOU may well have seen those free-website offers, some basic tools that enable you to get a simple page or two up for little or no cost...but to what effect. It can certainly provide an hour or two of amusement. You can get a few friends or family to look at your efforts by typing your 'website address' in their address bar. Then after the initial amusement passes...what happens. It sits there floating in cyberspace...no longer visited, soon ignored by friends and family, and ultimately by you. Like a child's forgotten toy after the Christmas novelty has passed.

BUT what if you get drawn by the potential of achieving something more with your efforts to develop a website. Maybe like us you have heard numerous stories of those who are beginning to find that they can earn 'piles of' money from their internet efforts.

IT is true. Many people are earning a nice living from the internet. Sadly some of those who have done best have done so at the expense of others...the 'get rich quick' merchants who sell 'a dream'...that only ever comes true for them!

It is perhaps common sense that 'you never get something for nothing', and while we are quoting such adages 'you never get anywhere without hard work'... but it is surprising that many people seem to forget this when they spend half an hour reading one of those 'long selling pages' hyping the latest 'take-the-net-by-storm' and 'earn $1,000's a month' schemes.

The truth is though, that if you keep your wits about you, and take along cool look at what is offered you CAN FIND the 'needle in a haystck' that is a genuine way to develop worthwhile websites, that are FUN to design and make because they are something YOU are interested in (if not even 'MAD about'),

Think about it... whatever is your passion is, it is also BOUND TO BE a passion for others. If you have ever had a frustrating time finding valuable info about your 'favorite topic' on the net... then you may have discovered a 'theme' that could become a profitable website focus. This, as many of you may be aware, is what is called finding a 'niche' .

It is a fact that EVERY DAY new people become intertested in a topic for the first time... and where is the first place many look for information about their new enthusiasm.. of course...THE INTERNET.

YOU CAN REALLY develop a succesful website about a topic you LOVE, that is not only FUN to build but can become a source of income. We are running this 'blog to present a diary of our own progress towards doing this very thing. Do take a look at our site if you haven't already, to see what we mean, promoting our own 'passion'...it already has quite a lot of genuine original FREE information on it... and we're only just getting going!: http://www.visiting-the-dominican-republic.com/

And if you want to see MANY OTHER EXAMPLES of others who have already been successful at creating 'genuine' businesses on the internet - ethical, real business...not just peddling the same so-called 'electronic information' that thousands of others are trying to make a buck out of... but creating site based on real original information they have developed themselves,,, follow our link through this page on our site and discover the ONLY WEBSITE BUILDING METHOD that can PROVE that IT WORKS:

http://www.visiting-the-dominican-republic.com/how-to-build-a-website.html

Drop us a line if you've got any questions...via this blog or our contact page on the site - http://www.visiting-the-dominican-republic.com/contact_us.html.

Back soon,

A

Beware! The Yellow Brick Road is Full of Pot-holes...

When we began seriously working on the free information website:

http://www.visiting-the-dominican-republic.com/

...about mid to late September 2004, we set ourselves an objective of creating a 'content rich' site that would have its own 'voice' and a very personal feel.

Why? Well as you will have seen, if you have read the profile for our blog, one major goal was to do something however small to promote the Dominican Republic. The country is relatively little recognized compared with many other Caribbean resort Islands and Countries, and many folks still wonder just where it is when the DR comes up in conversation.

Like many developing countries the DR has it's own problems to contend with and poverty is a genuine issue that has actually affected the country even more in the last few years due to the dreadful mis-management of the economy during the Presidency of Hippolito Meija. So it is a cause dear to our hearts to do whatever we can to improve the 'PR' the DR gets, by developing our site...but it's also our aim to provide an honest and straightforward source of information...so we are not afraid to discuss any issues that may affect visitors to the DR, good or not so good!

BUT if you were beginning to think we were just nutty 'DR-philes' who had more time than sense, or more money than both, then we can't claim that our aims are entirely altruistic!

NO...we set up our site with a very real aim to begin to develop an income from our efforts to become a valuable information source about the Dominican Republic. We looked at some of the many atrocious 'get rich quick' scams that are out there 'undermining' the confidence of would-be internet-entrepreneurs, as they get 'drawn in' by the lure of 'easy money' and who soon find themselves out-in-the-cold and out of pocket, once they have parted with what can be a ludicrously large amount of money.

Nor is it just individuals who are being 'stung' in this way. Many businesses, both large and small, have found themselves paying through the nose for 'website' - design, creation, hosting, support and optimisation services.

We were LUCKY...we found a real alternative that is helping us achieve a legitimate, ethical and solid business base, and to establish a genuine regular income.

I'm going to try to keep you informed about our progress here through this blog over the coming months, but if you want a preview of what our 'secret' is, well please take a look at our 'free info' site for starters (via the link above), but then also take a look here when you have a minute:

What we know about - "How to Build a Website"

Meanwhile, take care, especially when out there 'swimming with the SHARKS of the internet'...keep any eye on this blog, and we'll let you know how we are progressing, using the only 'website development system' that can PROVE it works...not once, but thousands of times with real life-case studies of real people earning a real living from their 'web-based businesses' TODAY!

Cheers for now,

Al

EVEN THE LONGEST JOURNEY STARTS WITH ONE SMALL STEP...

Another encouraging day on the trail to serious 'Net Profits'

Our first website:

http://www.visiting-the-dominican-republic.com/

Was ranked 65,000th most popular website today...out of some 10 million or so. (Admittedly our monthly average is still around 156,000 - which still implies we are in the TOP 1% of websites in terms of current popularity).

Only running 3 months, so it's not bad going we think.

If you are thinking of taking that 'first small step' towards achieving your own 'additional income stream' by establishing a web presence, keep in touch with this 'blog' for tips and insights that 'net-dunces' like us have picked up on our way to trying to make a living from web based enterprises.

Al

Dear Diary....

To complement our main 'blog' for our website -

www.visiting-the-dominican-republic.com

which is of course

http://www.visiting-the-dominican-republic.blogspot.com/

we decided to open this diary to record our progress in establishing a useful income from developing content rich websites.

Even if you haven't heard of 'content rich' websites before we guess the term is pretty self explanatory...in case this is too much of an assumption (because after all we're familiar with the concept) let me launch this new blog by explaining a little more -

If you're like us you probably think the Internet is generally a brilliant idea! (If you don't think this you're unlikely to be reading a 'blog' anyway, I suppose!) But when Sir Tim Berners-Lee developed his 'master-plan' for 'the World Wide Web', it's maybe unlikely that he envisaged the 'sprawling mass' of information that the Internet has already spawned.

Like many of you may have done, we'd been thinking for quite a long time about the potential to 'develop an additional income stream' using the power of the Internet. But being 'IT' novices (which is still probably claiming too much!!) we thought... "How do you start to do something like this?" ...

Of course e-bay seemed the obvious answer for dabbling at making a 'net profit'. For those, again like us, who have tried e-bay, it can be quite exciting (especially in the last five minutes of an auction, when at least two people want your 'offering') but it is also quite a lot of effort (writing a decent 'sales pitch' for every item, for instance) and rather uncertain as far as what interest - if any - you will get and just how much you will earn - if anything!

We were perhaps fortunate then, as we trawled the murky regions of the net to discover the best way of developing our own 'web presence' in a way that might actually lead to the generation of some income (for us, that is, not just the 'road to web riches' salesmen), that we were lucky to find information, method and means that really answered all our needs.

Now, if you haven't yet visited our 'free information' based website:

www.visiting-the-dominican-republic.com

Then it would be a good time at this point to take at least a quick look.

We'd be first to admit it's not perfect yet by any means. It is also a 'work-in-progress' as we only launched it three months ago, when we started to generate 'content' for the site and began building the sort of informative and varied pages that we thought potential travelers to the Dominican Republic might need.

So why did we choose to develop a site about the DR?

You might well ask...and although 'my profile' will give you some idea, the full answer is a bit more complicated than may be apparent...but if you have a chance to take a look at this page:

http://www.visiting-the-dominican-republic.com/build-a-website.html

...it will save a little time here, and we can carry on with the important stuff when we 'blog' here again soon!

If you are interested in earning a supplementary (or even a main) income from developing a website project, but feel currently disempowered or poorly informed as to how to do this most effectively, then this blog should be useful for you...and if we're not giving the answers to the questions you have about how to do this, then feel free to drop us a line.

The web can truly offer the opportunity to anyone who really wants it to develop an ethical, long-term and substantial income...we hope this diary will demonstrate how, and we have many more examples we will be giving of people all over the world who are doing this today.

All the best for now

Al & Ruth