What is Broadband?

Defining broadband can get complicated There are many different takes on how to actually define the word: broadband. The first and most obvious way to define it is a transmission medium that allows for multiple pathways and types of data, far exceeding simple voice communication devices. Simply, put it is the ability to access a variety of data through one connection at a reasonable speed. Where a phone line severely limits the amount of information it can transmit, a broadband line, which has bandwidth greater than 2 mbps, unlike a standard dial-up connection which will only have 56kbps, can allow for a variety of different frequencies and channels to travel down its wide pathway. This makes it optimal for those who play video games on the Internet or are involved in heavy graphics work that they need to import, send and receive along the information superhighway. The minimum width of a broadband line has become a matter of debate. While initially, the broadband definition was a line that was greater than 2 mbps in width, other experts began asserting that it should be at least 3 mbps wide. Still others complain that at least 20 would be appropriate. But now, broadband services start as low as 1 mbps, for those who are trying out broadband for the first time. So who really knows what the minimum level of bandwidth is needed in order for it to be called broadband? One thing is certain though. DSL service which an range from 256 kbps capacity on the downstream and upstream side up to 1.5mbps, or even higher, is considered a broadband service as well. So are cable television modems, which have similar speeds. So, in reality anything with greater capacity than a narrow line, like a telephone line, which can only hold up to 64 kbps, is technically considered a broadband service. broadband services have become all the craze in the past few years. When the Internet started to become more mainstream in the 1990s people were content with simple dial-up Internet services, which used only narrow lines. But as the need for speed became important, especially as files and Web pages became more elaborate, requiring more computer storage space and memory, the need for larger bulks of information being able to be sent and received at a quicker pace became essential. Hence, we have the broadband revolution. Today, hardly anyone uses narrow band service, or dial-up. Broadband Internet access is the name of the game. And if you work in an office it is absolutely essential, as larger chunks of information are frequently sent to and from Businesses on a regular basis. Simply put, if you don't have broadband today, you are probably a person who does not need the Internet for a living. With the number of telecommuting jobs available today, the need for broadband services is only likely to expand greatly.

The Sub-Domain - An Affiliates Friend

It's surprising, at least to me, the amount of Affiliates who aren't aware of the value and flexibility that the 'sub-domain' can give their promotional website activities. Set up in the right way, a single domain through a host who includes multiple 'sub-domains' in their hosting package can fill ALL the online needs of even the busiest and most diversified Affiliate. Firstly, for those who need to know, a 'sub-domain' is simply a separate, individual web folder, which can be attached to a 'main' domain and treated in all respects as a separate entity online. It is similar to a 'sub-web', which most hosting facilities include except that it is, in it's own right, treated as a separate domain by the SEs rather than a sub-folder under a domain. The way in which they are represented online as URLs is as follows: For instance, if you have a domain name, 'domain.com' and you add a sub-Domain Named 'bubble', the URL to that particular 'website' (which is what each sub-domain amounts to, a separate website) will be 'bubble.domain.com'. No doubt, many have seen these types of URLs online and in promo emails etc. The 'dot' between the sub-domain and main domain is not to be confused with the 'dash' that can be used as part of a main domain. For instance, 'bubble-domain.com' would need to be registered and propagated in it's own right whereas, sub-domains can be created under a main domain in a matter of seconds, with their own FTP password, image, private and cgi-bin folders etc. What makes them so valuable a tool, if it's not so obvious already, is that an Affiliate can create a separate website for totally unrelated products or services, fill each website with the necessary pages of content, links and facilities etc and promote each to the Search Engines and other directories, virtually as if it were a different main domain. As I've said, the SEs treat each sub-domain as a separate entity and categorize them as such. A very handy ability when it comes to Affiliate programs that supply a website or webpage for their Affiliates to use and promote. In such a case, you can basically make that page or site your very own in every respect, optimizing for SEs and presenting it how ever you please (provided no agreements are broken). Obviously, having a 'generic' main domain name is essential to getting the best out of this cost, time and trouble saving method of creating multiple websites. If you have a main Domain Name 'pillshop.net' (perhaps your initial Affiliate endeavor involved promoting this type of product) it is really only going to be useful for the one type of product or service. Alternatively, something more generic like 'online-plus.biz' is going to be useful for promoting almost anything because it has no specific meaning. For instance, in the case of promoting a Singles dating Affiliate program, something like 'singles.online-plus.biz' would work as well as 'pills.online-plus.biz' or even 'dogs.online-plus.biz'. However, 'singles.pillshop.net' just doesn't work, does it? (Although, I have seen some pretty weird URLs around!) The only problem you will be presented with, concerns the traffic ranking facility Alexa. Alexa will read all sub-domains as their parent 'main domain', so the traffic ranking for each website will be the same, as will all the other Alexa information. However, this isn't such a great problem when you consider that the total traffic indicated for each website will actually be the total for ALL of them. In my opinion, not so much of a problem, at all. So, for the Affiliate at least, choosing the right type of Domain Name and a hosting facility that includes multiple sub-domains in their package is very important, especially if there's any possibility that you're going to be venturing into promoting unrelated products and services. The firsthosting facility I was involved with a few years ago, charged $10 to create each sub-domain. The one I've been with for the last couple of years, allows unlimited free sub-domains (contact me at one of my websites if you want to know who they are). The 2005 Edition of Steve Brennan's popular ebook title 'The Affiliate Guide Book' is available now. He also operates a number of Affiliate wesbites which include Hair Loss Remedy and Diet & Weight Loss Place.

How to Get Broadband

Getting broadband services getting easy, but research still required. Broadband Internet services have become more the norm today, unlike the dial-up days of the late 1990s. With greater amounts of information needing to travel at faster and faster speeds over the Internet and the greater number of telecommuters every year, the need for broadband Internet has stretched beyond the board room and into the Home office. So it is clearly more important than ever for everyone to know how to get broadband. Getting broadband service, like, for example, DSL, is not difficult. There are many providers, and even many phone companies are getting into the game today as well. But finding a service provider, while not being very difficult, also requires a self-evaluation first. One must ask themselves before seeking out a broadband service provider, just what they'll be needing broadband service for. For most people who work from Home, they may only need reliable and speedy Internet access. They may need to transport documents, maybe some graphics to and from clients and employers. But they will likely not need to transmit video or graphics. But if they do need to transmit the latter, they may need to seek out higher bandwidth. But, again, if they are only sending documents that are not graphic intensive, a smaller bandwidth at a lower cost may be all they need, and then they can spend their savings on other aspects of their Business or work. After doing this necessary self assessment when looking at how to get broadband, it is important to check pricing on at least three broadband providers. Also, ask users of these providers about their experience. All of these broadband providers may boast the same thing, but the people who use their services are the true indicator of how they really perform. After you match your needs with the best price and testimonial, the decision is yours whether you want to spring for a broadband provider. But chances are pretty good that even if you only spend a few dollars more a month for broadband, after awhile, you will wonder how you ever existed with dial-up service. Another thing some people must consider when looking into how to get broadband is whether you have providers in your area. In some rare instances, certain providers do not have the infrastructure in place to give you their service yet. So while you may be hearing the raves from a friend across town about a particular provider, you may still have to wait and see if their service is present in your area. This has been the case, particularly, for cable companies getting into broadband Internet services. As they expand their infrastructure, some sections of major metropolitan areas have had to wait longer to get their broadband.

Find the Best Broadband Provider for You

To find the best broadband provider for you takes some effort. Like anything in life, doing the research is critical to getting the best product at the best price. And this holds true for shopping for broadband services as well. To find the best broadband provider for you you must know your needs first. Someone can tell you how great a service is for them, but if it's too much or too little for you, you could be wasting the two most valuable human resources - time and money. To find the best broadband provider for you it is advisable to get a good feel for what you will really need from a provider. Do you just need Internet service? Or do you maybe want a bundled Internet and phone service. There are some great deals out there for the latter from companies like Homecall Broadband, Wanadoo Broadband and BT broadband. These are three very established companies in the U.K., and while fighting for market share from each other, are also being touted for their service and price. But back to your needs - are you a home Business? Is the service for a company you own, or is it for personal Home office use? Answering these questions can help better position your research efforts to find the best broadband provider for you. Once you've done this research you will know what kinds of packages you are shopping for, and your will could be a little stronger because you know you won't need to be talked into something you don't need, as you've done your research. Now you can talk price with all of the companies vying for your Business. Once you get a list of prices, it is best to talk to people who have used the service. If you can, go beyond testimonials you may see on company Web sites. Find out what your neighbors may be using, and even better, find some people who own the same service as you. This could help you weed out the ones who may have great deals, but don't offer the best service. Finding the best broadband service for you could be the key to a better Internet experience, and could also save you money on your phone bill as well. One thing is for sure, most people who get away from dial-up for the first time, even if they have a very small bandwidth service, can't believe the difference. Because of the success of broadband services in the past few years, it could be very likely that dial-up service will eventually become extinct around the world. Especially since broadband deals are so good now, and becoming more and more affordable each day for the average person. But again, finding the right one for you is key to having a better Internet experience.

How to Attract Visitors to Your Site1-3

Go from having zero visitors to attracting thousands of qualified buyers with these 8 easy steps for creating a knockout traffic-generating campaign. I see it time and time again: The number-one challenge faced by brand-new internet Business owners is a lack of traffic. Obviously, if your website isn't getting any traffic, you're not generating any sales. And what's worse is that without traffic, you can't test the key components of your sales process. And if you roll out a large traffic campaign before you've tested your site to make sure it converts maximum visitors into buyers, you risk losing sales and looking unprofessional to potential Business partners and affiliates. So you're caught in a vicious cycle: Before ramping up a big traffic campaign, you need to test your sales process, but without any traffic, testing is difficult--if not impossible! In this article, I'm going to give you an eight-step action plan that will show you: *How to get cheap, instant traffic to your website so you can test key components of your sales process--your sales copy, order form, navigation and opt-in offer--before rolling out a large-scale traffic campaign; *How to ensure that every element of your sales process is optimized to convert maximum traffic into maximum sales; *The most effective strategies for attracting thousands of highly qualified potential buyers to your site right away; and *The secret to putting your entire traffic campaign on autopilot. So even if your site is getting no traffic right now, you can be testing the key elements of your sales process tomorrow--and as soon as two weeks from now, you can be rolling out your traffic campaign in full. Sound good? Let's get you started off on the right foot! Step 1: Get the traffic you need to test your website fast! When I talk about testing with new internet Business owners, I hear the same two questions all the time: *How do I test my site? *What do I test on my site? As you may already know, there are an infinite number of things you can test on your site to help you increase sales. From layout to copy to design, there are limitless combinations of changes that may improve your visitor-to-sale conversion rate. But what's "enough" when you're just starting out? What elements should you focus on testing before rolling out your traffic campaign? My advice is to stick to the basics. Focus on testing your: *salescopy, especially your headline, benefits, guarantee and call to action *Order process, which needs to be simple enough for a novice web user to place an order *Opt-in offer, so you can determine if you're successfully capturing your visitors' contact information *Site navigation, so you can figure out how many clicks it takes to buy. Ideally it should take less than three. These are the four critical aspects of your sales process that need to be tested before you start driving traffic. Later on, once you've generated sales and have some steady traffic, you can move on to testing other parts of your site. Of course, all this talk of testing your new site raises one big question: How can you test without traffic? Because if you're just getting started, chances are good that your website doesn't get much traffic yet. The solution is simple: Buy traffic through PPC search engines. Pay-per-click search engines are a lot like auctions--they allow you to bid for top-ranking positions under keywords of your choice. For each visitor who searches the keyword(s) you bid on and then clicks through to your site, you pay whatever you bid. Prices typically range from five cents to a few dollars per click-through for popular keywords. There are a ton of PPC search engines out there, but the two best ones to get started with are: *Yahoo Search marketing and *MIVA With PPC search engines, you get cheap, instant, qualified traffic--provided you bid on targeted keywords. Not only that, but bidding on traffic in the PPC search engines can help your site get ranked in the free search engines, too! Here are a few tips to help you start bidding for traffic without breaking the bank: In Yahoo Search marketing, bid to appear in the top three listings whenever possible, since these results are also "pushed" to appear in the search results for MSN, Yahoo, AltaVista, InfoSpace, AlltheWeb and NetZero--reaching 80 percent of all internet users. Bid on targeted, descriptive keywords. So don't just bid on "sock;" bid on "red wool sock." Not only are targeted keywords and phrases usually cheaper to bid on--they'll also attract more qualified potential buyers. Use a keyword selection tool like Google's AdWords Keyword Tool to research targeted keywords that attract maximum traffic for minimal cost-per-click. After you've tested and tweaked your site with a limited amount of purchased traffic, it's time to start generating qualified traffic for your site on a larger scale. But how do you go from some traffic to a ton of traffic? Step 2: Get cheap traffic quickly with PPC advertising. Once you've tested your site with limited PPC traffic, the fastest way to ramp up traffic to your site is to roll out a PPC campaign on a larger scale. Obviously, you should start with Yahoo Search marketing and Findwhat, as mentioned above. But here are some more PPC engines to consider bidding with as you increase your investment: *Kanoodle *Enhance Interactive *LookSmart This is also a great time to get started with Google AdWords --Google's own PPC contender. With Google AdWords, you get instant traffic with no waiting. Because as soon as you put the money down on your keywords, your ad goes up and starts working for you. Step 3: Get free traffic from search engines like Google. Now that you've bid on keywords for a strong showing in the PPC search engines, it's time to tackle the organic search engines and directories. Search engines like Google and directories like Yahoo! can still be a great source of free traffic for your website. The trick is getting a competitive ranking for your best keywords. The first step in getting a top ranking in the search engines is to submit or suggest your site to them. In other words, you have to provide them with details about your site. You want to make sure that the "spiders"--automated programs that crawl the web indexing sites for the search engines--find your site and include it in the search results. While the spiders do index sites and pages that haven't been submitted, you certainly don't want to leave this to chance. A spider might find your website and index it next week--or it might be two years before that finally happens. So take the time to submit your site to be sure you're included. Once your site's been submitted, expect it to take two to six weeks for your listing to appear. Every engine has a slightly different process for site submission, and it pays to follow their guidelines. For example, there's a fee to list your site in the directory at Yahoo!, but Google doesn't charge for their submission process. Here's a tip: If you submit your site exactly as they ask, you stand a better chance of getting a good listing on the first page of search results. To submit or suggest your site to the major engines, follow the simple instructions they provide on these pages:

Website Promotion: 10 Reasons Why People Dont Visit Your Web Site

If you are not getting traffic at your website and wondering what is the problem, here are a few reasons: 1. You don't offer free original content. It's important to give your visitors information they can't find any- where else. If you're the only source for a certain type of information, people will flock to your web site. 2. You don't offer free software. Most people like to find good deals on software for their computers. If the software is free, that is even better. 3. You don't offer a free contest or sweepstakes. It's a fact, people like to win things. If you can fulfill that need, people will stop by to visit. 4. You don't offer a free directory. Create a directory of web sites on a particular topic that is related to your target audience. People will visit because they will find what they're looking for, all in one place. 5. You don't offer a free e-zine. Most people love to get free information that they're interested in emailed to them on a regular basis. This saves them time and money. 6. You don't offer a free community. People like to have a place were they can have discussions with others on a particular subject. You could add a chat room or message board to your web site. 7. You don't offer a free affiliate program. One of people's basic needs to survive is money. When you offer them a free opportunity to make money they'll line up to visit your web site. 8. You don't offer a free online utility. When you offer a utility that can solve a problem, people will visit your web site. The utility could be a free autoresponder, e-mail account, search engine submission, etc. 9. You don't offer free current information. Supply news stories related to your web site. People want up-to-date news on the topics they are interested in. They will also be interested in visiting your web site. 10. You don't offer free samples of your product or service. Have you ever been to a store and you jumped at the chance to get a free sample of food? This same concept will also attract people to visit your web site. May these webSite Promotion secrets help you to make a lot of money and succeed. Warmly, I-key Benney, CEO I-key, a Millionaire CEO from New York City is the creator of "Mscsrrr: Millionaire Secret Cash System", (online trading), program which has helped thousands of ordinary people from all over the world to attain financial security and shining success during the past 2 yrs. Mscsrrr Millionaire Secret Cash System helps you to generate $1,500+/Week for life, from Home or office, part time or full time. No large investment or hassles. Win $1000-$2000 free "cash"?

Identify your Target Market by Tracking and Exploiting Profitable Search Engine Keyword Phrases

There's a very lucrative "marketing formula" to targeting prospects on the Internet with "laser-beam"-like precision. Unlike savvy marketers, most Internet Businesses focus on generic "single-word" keywords, other than keyword phrases (constituted by 2 or more words). If you're not using a keyword tracking software to correlate your customers with the search engine keywords that motivated them to visit your web site, read your sales letter and submit an order, you're missing bits of very critical information. One known method to track your referrals via search engines is by using a cgi/php script. All you need is to place a snippet of HTML, JavaScript or SSI code onto your web pages to track referrals and keywords. You also need to place a tracking code to the "Thank You" page to track the sale and identify the customer. Most Internet customers use two or more keywords to find products / services on the Internet. Critical data can be extracted from keywords that your customers used to visit your web site... How to make Best Use of Keywords to Improve your sales Letters and Boost ROI... Let's assume that you already have a database of customers and in a database-field (let's name it field "K"), the keywords (or keyword phrases) they used to order your product. Now print the "K" field and start studying the keywords. Evaluate your web site and discern the strong points of your sales letter. You can make appropriate adjustments in your sales copy by reinforcing the conceivable value of your product and using the "K" field as a compass. You'll also discover that prospective customers use a variation of keyword combinations. Once you discover your most profitable keywords that customers use via search engines to visit and order your goods, your promotions will start reaping more fruit. Another technique you can use based on keyword metrics, is the addition of "alluring incentives" that compel prospects to take action now! It's almost like reading your prospects' mind! Can you see the power behind this methodology? That's the focal "golden concept" to using the Internet as an Ultimate sales Genie. Hint: Some forceful marketers use Search Engine Keyword Tracking, to produce even more compelling infomercials on TV as well. A Crucial Internet Keyword-Research Tool to Discover what your Prospective Customers are using Now, to Buy Products on the Internet... Stop targeting the wrong keywords to promote your web site on search engines. There's a powerful keyword researching tool which is very accurate and immensely crucial for your online Business. Did you know that the "most popular keywords" are the ones that are will drain your budget on pay-per-click search engines? It is a statistical fact that popular searches are conducted by "freebie" hunters and accrue too much competition. Here's where "Word Tracker" comes in to automate your researches for the most profitable keywords. You can use this tool to optimize your web site, discover "new buying trends" and even outperform your competition on the search engines. Hint: Don't rely on Overture's keyword researching tool. It's often too bamboozled. Here's the URL for Word Tracker : http://traffic-engine.net/keywords If you were asked to describe your product with just one word, that wouldn't be feasible of course. A "description" is always constituted by a phrase and that's where your most profitable keywords originate (from a multi-word phrase). On the contrary a single word cannot describe a product or service. For instance, if you were offering "car quotes" this keyword-phrase would characterize your online Business (not just "cars", or "quotes" - but "car quotes", or "new car quotes"...etc). Recapping the entire methodology to leverage your productivity and ROI (Return On investment): Use Referral Tracking software to Target your Customers Create a Database and match Referrer sales Information with the correlated keywords to Optimize your advertising Campaigns. Automate your researches with keyword metrical tools (like Word Tracker). Improve your sales copy and literature by succumbing emphasis on the most profitable keyword phrases entered in search engines by your customers. Once you start implementing the "exposed" methodology you'll start harnessing biggest "bangs" on your advertising dollars... better ROI and high conversion ratios. More targeted traffic and highly-optimized marketing campaigns. You can even match your optimum keywords with demographic variables using sophisticated databases. The Internet is fairly considered an "Unrivaled Weapon" in every marketing arsenal. Use it wisely and watch your customer base skyrocket!

What The Home Shopping Networks Can Teach Us About Online Marketing

Who would have thought that a TV network dedicated to selling products on a cable network could become a success? Besides most people hate commercials? What would make them sit down, watch a shopping network and, ultimately, buy? Simple? the networks applied principles that have been selling products for hundreds of years. 1. Get targeted prospect's attention. The networks have a matter of seconds to grab those people flipping the channels looking for something to watch. ? Their solution is an excited host and an attractive display. ? These images say a thousand words, but, on the internet, this task is quite daunting. That is why you must have an exciting headline to get people's attention, yet leave out the fancy graphics? they take too long to download, while a headline pops up on the screen in a matter of seconds?just like on the Home shopping networks. 2. Handle the customer's objections. The first thing the prospect sees, after his interest is perked, is the price at the bottom of the screen. He is now asking, "Is this product worth the price and will it meet my needs?" This is where the salesmen and women show their expert sales skills. ? Before they get on air, they have done their research and know potential customer's needs and objections. ? They know that for each need and objection you ignore, you may be missing out on a sale. ? This same concept can be applied to the internet. By writing to your customer in a way that he feels that you have the perfect product for him, you can make a sale. 3. Show the benefits and justify the sale with features. My favorite products to watch being sold are clothing. They have been selling the same types of clothes for years, but they are able to sell thousands and thousands of clothes that would never sell in a department store. ? They do this by citing benefits, like, "You will look beautiful, and you will receive lots of compliments." This gets the potential customer's attention, but they are still hesitant because they want to make sure they are opening up their pocketbook for a quality product. So the sales person will say, "This shirt is different because it has original stripes, and it is a perfect fit." Now the customer will have the justification he needs to make the purchase. ? On the internet, this step is absolutely vital, and the customer must know why he should buy your product. Do this by making him picture what it would be like for him to use your product. 4. My favorite part? testimonials. On the Home shopping network, they always have people calling in to explain why they made their purchase. The customers are doing this so they can justify their purchase to themselves. Everyone wants to make sure he has made the right purchase and so he calls in, so the sales person will say, "Yes, you were absolutely right, and everyone else should take your advice." ? I like the testimonials so much because I always have to laugh at the various reasons people will use to justify their purchase. As I am writing this article and listening to QVC, a woman just called in and gave an extremely detailed explanation of why she purchases from QVC and not from department stores. The woman says she has been buying from QVC since the inception of the network and she likes it because she does not have to go outside to buy her clothes. shows that you need to give testimonials that allow prospects to find reasons to justify their purchase. People want to buy, but they are not going to, unless they have a reason. All this information is just a touch of everything you can learn from the Home shopping networks.

Hurricane Katrina Donations Could be Many Millions More - EBay Sellers Try in Vain to Help

Yesterday I saw a mention in someone's email ezine about a kind person who had an ebay auction with the proceeds going 100% to help victims of the horrible Hurricane Katrina. It struck a chord with me because I had wanted to set up something similar, but found that the "eBay Giving Works" charity program seems to be terribly flawed for us small sellers. I had researched it the day before, ebay goes through Mission Fish to handle the administrative tasks and distribution. Here in a nutshell is how I understand it works. You set up an ebay auction and pledge a percentage of the proceeds to go to a charity. You pick the one you like. If the auction sells, the buyer pays you, and Mission Fish charges your credit card, taking out $3.00 per transaction for their fees, plus 3% to cover credit card fees. That's reasonable, they need to cover their overhead and payroll expenses. Then Mission Fish sends the balance to the charity. The minimum donation per item has to be $10.00. Again, so far so good, I can understand that. Now, I noticed in the auction that I visited that the seller had set up a dutch auction, with 1000 "lots" available, each for $1.00 each, with the proceeds going 100% to her favorite charity that would get food to the Katrina victims. I was about to place a bid for several $1.00 lots (a dutch auction lets you "win" as many of the item as you like, all at the same price). Then it hit me, why couldn't I do the same kind of dutch auction, maybe she had found the way to get around the $10.00 per item restriction, and found that it was a minimum $10.00 per auction. It would only make sense that it would work that way, since Mission Fish charges the seller's credit card, if all 1000 lots sold, that would be $1000 for the charity, Mission Fish would take $3.00 plus 3%, the seller would collect (hopefully) the $1000 from the buyers, and all she would be on the hook for would be the ebay fees. Those fees, plus her hard work, would be her personal contribution. So I went back to ebay and Mission Fish and researched the deal again. I found out that sure enough, in a multiple item auction, Mission Fish requires a $10.00 donation from the seller for EVERY ITEM that sells in a multiple-item auction (dutch auction). So, if the seller had 1000 lots at $1.00 each, and they all sold, Mission Fish would have charged her credit card on file for $10.00 for each lot, a total of $10,000.00! And they would have taken their $3.00 + 3% fee for each of those 1000 lots, more than $3,000.00 for their trouble! At that point, I realized the seller either had deep pockets and was matching contributions 10 to 1, or she misunderstood what would happen to her. I sent her an email, and to end a long story, she indeed misunderstood, was obviously fairly upset at the prospect of paying $10,000, and ended the auction early. Now, I'd like my readers to do one of two things. If you think that ebay and Mission Fish are mishandling the charity program, as I do, please contact one or both and point them to this blog entry, or just write your own letter with your thoughts. You can contact Mission Fish here: http://www.missionfish.org/Help/contactus.jsp ebay is always more difficult to contact, but you can try starting here: http://pages.ebay.com/help/contact_us/_base/index.html The other thing you could do is support the ebay seller's cause, she had to end the auction but she took the trouble to set up a web page for donations, you can access and support it here: http://www.flipidy.com/secondharvest.htm Perhaps with enough pressure on Mission Fish, they'll get together with ebay and allow dutch auctions to be counted as a single donation, instead of multiple individual items, and encourage more charity in the future. For those with Homes, families, relatives or friends in the devasted area, my hearts and prayers go out to you. I hope this information will in some small way help someone somewhere.

Earn Money Now from Selling Childrens Items on Ebay

Kids Items You Can Sell Clothes, toys and videos are good money makers on ebay. Go to ebay and look up a "lot" of size six girl's cloths. You will find they are expensive! The average price for a lot of 20 good conditioned clothes is about $35.00. When your kids grow out of their seasonal clothes do not throw them out. Bundle them into different lots by category. For example bundle girls dresses separate from girls play clothes, but only do that if you have at least six of each different type. Lots of any item sell better than single items unless the item is unique or high priced. For example, a hand embroidered dress that you paid a lot for would sell better by itself instead of bundled with other basic dresses. The next item to lookup on eBay is toys. Most toys in good condition will sell for a lot of money. One idea that works well is to buy hot items in October at Wal-Mart or Toys-R-Us and sell them on eBay. Busy people are willing to pay extra for the convenience of getting the items delivered to their Home. For example, last year a Mega Power Ranger came out in stores around October and sold at Wal-Mart for about $45.00. The same item sold on eBay for up to $65.00 plus shipping. The Yellow Power Ranger is yet another example where the store price was about $6.00, while the same item was selling on ebay for about $20.00. Have your children ever received duplicate birthday or Christmas presents? You can sell those on eBay also. Look at the eBay listings for items of interest to see if selling on ebay is worth more than returning the item to the store. Kid's videos and DVDs are also good money-makers. Bundle about three of these together, and you can usually make about $7.00-$12.00 per bundle. Bundle more and the money goes up. Disney movies in hard cases can go for a higher amount. This also works for other types of movies as well. Save those McDonalds toys. Some Kids Meals toys sell high. Take the new Star Wars toys from Burger King...very collectible. You will find them selling on ebay from $1.00 to $5.00, not including shipping. Ebay has a whole section devoted to dolls and bears. If your daughter doesn't want her collectible dolls anymore sell them on ebay. Kids Crafts You Can Sell Around the holidays, especially, have your children place their hand in paint and make a print on some quality paper. Add a holiday related poem and you have a great craft to sell on ebay. Have your kids make gift jars with ready made mixes. For example, hot chocolate mixes in a jar with a plastic spoon tied to it with a ribbon. Dip the end of the spoon with white chocolate. Baby Items You Can Sell Used baby items are very profitable. Baby items cost a lot of money, especially in their first year. Any "gently" used items are generally good sellers on ebay.

Free Keyword Research Tools Are Not As Effective as Wordtracker

One of the most unanswered questions online today is, how to perform keyword research that gets free traffic from the search engines. Many SEO experts recommends using one keyword or keyword phrase per page, while others recommends using secondary keywords with your main keyword. My philosophy is simple, you simply use both methods and check to see which method works best. You will also have to draw the line and recognize which is working best and continue with that method. For me, I love to use one keyword phrase for review pages and for content pages I use secondary keywords with my main keyword, making the theme of that page much more search engine friendly. Our job is to please the spiders as well as our visitors. My advice for newcomers is to build our first page using only a free tool such as GoodKeywords. I did the same with my first site, which ranked very highly for my choosen keyword phrases, due to the fact that the competition wasn't very high and I also didn't use the highly targeted keywords found in the search results. Now, I must admit that I wanted to take my keyword research to higher heights and even discover a niche of my own with very little competition, and that is where free keyword research tools fails. They don't supply enough data for you to analyze if your keywords are actually worth while or highly competitive. That is where, wordtracker and KRA comes into play. Wordtracker is the number one keyword research tool online, has been for many years and still is. Those who generate five figure monthly commission checks with affiliate programs knows the importance of wordtracker and just can't live without it. KRA, is a tool by SEO expert Andy Williams that you can use to filter out secondary keywords and related phrases. If your into optimizing your pages for better search engines result, then I highly recommend you get yourself a copy. You can reap the benefits of online keyword research by using these tools, and stop fiddling around with free tools. Free tools are for beginners who are testing the waters. It is now time for you to join the rank of professional marketers and stop hoping for success. The best feeling you can get from your online marketing is when you make that first sale, and it doesn't matter how big it is. Stop targeting the wrong keywords and start building much more profitable content pages that only the smart marketers are targeting. My final words: If a keyword research tool is so good, then why would you create a tool with an import possibility for wordtracker data?

Increasing E-Commerce Website Sales: A Guide for the Online Newbie

Because of this encouraging surge in activity, many individuals are now interested in becoming e-commerce merchants. To profit from your online Business, you must first produce a unique website that will intrigue visitors and interest them in your items. In reality, the e-commerce business is not much different than your average offline retail venture. Both vendors have products that he aims to sell, and each retailer must discover the appropriate avenue to market these items. Online shoppers crave the same things that traditional shoppers demand: a pleasant shopping experience, in-stock merchandise, and a courteous vendor. If you seek to please the customer, your e-commerce Business shall prosper. Almost every e-commerce website that is currently profiting has a clean, crisp layout, and effortless navigation. It is essential for you to have several categories featuring your products that are easy to browse. Clear, detailed images should also be readily available. Customers should have the opportunity to examine your products and compare them with others. An ideal e-commerce store will have many WebPages. These pages will be organized into various categories, with searchable properties, and will use thumbnail pictures for faster loading time. Each picture should also have a detailed description of the product. The easier the site is to access, the more likely it is the visitor will purchase a product. Website security has become a major issue in cyberspace. It is up to you as an e-commerce vendor to make each one of your customers feel at ease shopping at your online store. It is crucial for you to have Secure Socket Layering (SSL) on your online payment pages, so you have the capacity to handle encrypted transactions, such as credit card processing. Outwardly demonstrating to your customers that your website is secure will make them more comfortable shopping with you. Customer Service information should be an eminent characteristic on your e-commerce website. It is essential that you have a Contact Us link on your site's menu, and on every page of your website. This link should be directed to another page, which lists an e-mail address, phone number, and mailing address. Customers need to feel that they can contact you at any time if they have any questions or problems. It is also wise to have a Frequently Asked Questions section to your site, which provides answers to common queries. With the e-commerce Business leading the way in the web of money-making ventures, many are racing to join the masses. While building and eventually increasing sales to your e-commerce site may not come easily at first, in time, the rewards will be plentiful.

EBay Feedback, 5 Key Things All EBayers Should Know

eBay's user feedback system is one of the site's most important components. Without the conscientious comments recorded by both buyers and sellers, there would be no way for anyone to build up a trustworthy reputation in the nearly anonymous realm of cyberspace. And without a good measure of trust among users, ebay would be a difficult, if not impossible, environment in which to safely conduct Business. By learning how ebay's feedback system works you can use it to your advantage. Understanding the numbers and feedback comments will go a long way toward making the online trading venue a safer place for you and your pocketbook. 1. How Feedback Works The ebay feedback system operates in a straightforward manner. Every time you complete a transaction as either a buyer or a seller, you leave feedback for the other party. This feedback is made up of a score of +1, 0, or -1, as well as a one-line comment that sums up how smoothly -- or how poorly --- the process was completed. A +1 means that you were happy with the way the transaction ended. A 0 score is neutral, meaning you weren't particularly pleased with the efforts of the other person, but you didn't feel taken, either. A -1 indicates that you were unhappy with the transaction as a whole. In addition to the numbered score, you can submit a short comment that explains the reason for your score. As you browse the scores and comments on ebay, you'll see the vast majority of member scores are positive, and most have form-letter comments that indicate an effortless transaction. Neutral scores are relatively rare. Negative comments are more common than neutral ones. ebay users often don't realize the importance of the feedback system in terms of establishing a good reputation. Not only do users benefit from garnering a lopsided positive-feedback-to-negative-feedback ratio, but they reap rewards by advancing upward through the various star symbols used to designate successful users. 2. You are a Star The star symbols displayed next to a username show, at a glance, how many transactions the user has completed with positive feedback. With fewer than 10 feedbacks, users remain starless. With 10 to 49 positive scores, users will receive a yellow star. There are many other star symbols, but as an example, after an eBay user snags anywhere from 500 to 999 positive scores, will get a purple star. Once a user moves into the stratosphere of eBay, she'll receive a shooting star that indicates she's gathered more than 10,000 positive scores. ebay sellers who reach this level of activity indicate that when they achieve a new star status, their number of sales increases, often dramatically, especially when it's paired with an excellent feedback rating. 3. Feedback is Forever One of the reasons feedback is so important, and so potent, is that once you've left a comment, you can't go back and edit it later. That means your comments, both positive and negative, say online for all eyes to see, for as long as that member is active on ebay. eBay does reserve the right to remove inappropriate comments, such as those that use racist or overtly sexual wording, or those that include hyperlinks. however, ebay does not typically delete most other comments, even those that seem unfair or unjust. When both the buyer and seller agree to retract feedback, there is a procedure called Mutual Feedback Withdrawal, but this option's effect is limited. If two parties initiallyhad a disagreement about a transaction, but they'd like to change the score they left for the other person, they can do this feature. This removes the score from both parties' feedback rating, however, it does not delete the comments that were left, which often makes this option less effective, especially when those comments were damaging to a reputation. You can start a Mutual Feedback Withdrawal request within 30 days of either party leaving feedback or within 90 days after the transaction, whichever is later. To start the process, enter the item number into the online Mutual Feedback Withdrawal form in the Feedback forum. 4. The Negative Curse Negative feedback, or "negs" in eBay-speak, is something to avoid because negs are a virtual curse for buyers and sellers. Serious eBay users evade bad feedback as best they can, and those who depend on ebay for a substantial portion of their livelihood will stop at almost nothing to keep these marks from marring their online reputation. One of the primary reasons for preventing negative feedback, of course, is that a buyer who's browsing for a product is likely to skip a seller who has more than a couple of recent negative comments. When you leave feedback for an ebay user, he has the option of responding in kind, os his comments land on your profile. If you leave a nasty remark accusing a seller of extremely slow shipping, you'll likely see an indignant comment denying any wrongdoing in your own profile, even if your claim was true. This kind of retaliatory feedback is the reason most users think twice before leaving negative comments, even if that comment is true. One user posts a negative comment for another party, and as an act of revenge, the slighted party leaves a neg for the first user - in many cases, the retaliatory feedback has no grounds in truth and is intended only to punish on member for leaving a read mark on another user's profile. Retaliatory feedback is a problem because negative feedback of any kind carries real weight. Not every buyer or seller takes the time to investigate negative feedback, preferring instead to find another user who doesn't have recent angry comments directed at him. On the other hand, the good news is that one or two negative comments aren't the kiss of death. The more positive feedback comments you have, the more unlikely it is that a negative score or two will cause you problems. Remember this as you deal with other users on the site, but also remember the feedback system doesn't work unless you're honest about transactions. 5. Final Feedback ebay's feedback system has its share of flaws, but for building trust and creating a safer buying and selling environment, it's indispensable. however, to make the system work best, you'll have to learn to read comments appropriately to get a better idea of how to discern trustworthy users from online swindlers. Do your research on the items you want to buy and check the feedback of buyers and sellers before you commit to dealing with them. The effort will help you avoid financially draining scams, give you peace of mind, and make ebay a much more productive place for you to do Business. About Adam Selling on eBay and the Internet is still a relatively a new phenomenon with unprecedented opportunity. Adam Ginsberg, recently featured on NBC's Today Show is an author and educator and has built a small fortune selling on eBay. As an early Internet pioneer, Adam discovered a system for generating wealth - through the power of the ebay marketplace. Adam personally sold over $20,000,000 on eBay and the Internet in the last three years. Currently he travels the world sharing his knowledge, expertise and experience with others. Adam's book, "How to Buy, Sell & Profit on eBay", went to #1 on Amazon within 3 days of being released. Learn how Adam has solved the mystery of success on ebay and how you can apply his system to capitalize on this hot new money making opportunity. Adam has also created several best selling e-books and software to enable you to enhance your ability to succeed. You can learn more at http://www.adamginsberg.com

Boosting Your EBay Auction Profits: Just Add Audio

According to a recent report, adding audio to your ebay auctions could increase bids by as much as 22% over auctions without audio. A recent trend showing up on a lot of websites is the addition of an audio clip. The clip is a personal message by the author or the website owner encouraging you to take advantage of what they offer. The psychology behind this technique is really marketing 101. It's called personalization. An audio clip added to your eBay auction allows you to personally tell the potential bidder about the product. Using your own voice allows you to make contact with the bidder on a personal level that written words cannot. Because, that's what your ebay auction really is...It's just a long written classified ad asking the bidder to make an offer to purchase your item. Prior to the advent of the telephone the only reliable way to communicate long distance was by writing letters. It was not unusual back then for lovers to write each other daily or weekly. The decline of letter writing is a well documented event that coincides with the advent of the telephone. With audio you can describe the item, tell the bidder why you are selling it or even communicate with them about your refund policy or provide your contact information. The possibilities are almost unlimited as a way to establish a rapport with the bidder. But, the most important reason to add audio clips is that it makes it easy to convey excitement and invoke emotion, giving you a really powerful selling-edge. How to add audio to a web site: The simplest way is to upload a .wav or Mp3 file to a website and provide a link to the file. When the bidder clicks on the link his or her computer will automatically recognize the file and play it with the audio player on the bidders computer. There are some drawbacks to this method. If the bidder's computer doesn't recognize the file it won't play. The overall effect is not as professional as it could be and it distracts the bidder. If you are a reasonably tech savvy type you can easily deal with the drawbacks of this approach. For the rest of us, there are a number of software solutions and websites that will simplify the task of adding audio to our ebay auctions. Here are two: Audio Maker Pro - http://audiomaker.thynke.com - (The one I use and recommend) Sound Streamer - http://soundstreamer.thynke.com - (Less expensive) Different programs and websites range from charging a one time fee to monthly fees for the use of the program. The good news is that many will let you test them for as little as $1 for a trial basis or let you download a demo version to see how well it will work for you.

Hurricane Katrina Donations Could be Many Millions More - EBay Sellers Try in Vain to Help

Yesterday I saw a mention in someone's email ezine about a kind person who had an ebay auction with the proceeds going 100% to help victims of the horrible Hurricane Katrina. It struck a chord with me because I had wanted to set up something similar, but found that the "eBay Giving Works" charity program seems to be terribly flawed for us small sellers. I had researched it the day before, ebay goes through Mission Fish to handle the administrative tasks and distribution. Here in a nutshell is how I understand it works. You set up an ebay auction and pledge a percentage of the proceeds to go to a charity. You pick the one you like. If the auction sells, the buyer pays you, and Mission Fish charges your credit card, taking out $3.00 per transaction for their fees, plus 3% to cover credit card fees. That's reasonable, they need to cover their overhead and payroll expenses. Then Mission Fish sends the balance to the charity. The minimum donation per item has to be $10.00. Again, so far so good, I can understand that. Now, I noticed in the auction that I visited that the seller had set up a dutch auction, with 1000 "lots" available, each for $1.00 each, with the proceeds going 100% to her favorite charity that would get food to the Katrina victims. I was about to place a bid for several $1.00 lots (a dutch auction lets you "win" as many of the item as you like, all at the same price). Then it hit me, why couldn't I do the same kind of dutch auction, maybe she had found the way to get around the $10.00 per item restriction, and found that it was a minimum $10.00 per auction. It would only make sense that it would work that way, since Mission Fish charges the seller's credit card, if all 1000 lots sold, that would be $1000 for the charity, Mission Fish would take $3.00 plus 3%, the seller would collect (hopefully) the $1000 from the buyers, and all she would be on the hook for would be the ebay fees. Those fees, plus her hard work, would be her personal contribution. So I went back to ebay and Mission Fish and researched the deal again. I found out that sure enough, in a multiple item auction, Mission Fish requires a $10.00 donation from the seller for EVERY ITEM that sells in a multiple-item auction (dutch auction). So, if the seller had 1000 lots at $1.00 each, and they all sold, Mission Fish would have charged her credit card on file for $10.00 for each lot, a total of $10,000.00! And they would have taken their $3.00 + 3% fee for each of those 1000 lots, more than $3,000.00 for their trouble! At that point, I realized the seller either had deep pockets and was matching contributions 10 to 1, or she misunderstood what would happen to her. I sent her an email, and to end a long story, she indeed misunderstood, was obviously fairly upset at the prospect of paying $10,000, and ended the auction early. Now, I'd like my readers to do one of two things. If you think that ebay and Mission Fish are mishandling the charity program, as I do, please contact one or both and point them to this blog entry, or just write your own letter with your thoughts. You can contact Mission Fish here: http://www.missionfish.org/Help/contactus.jsp ebay is always more difficult to contact, but you can try starting here: http://pages.ebay.com/help/contact_us/_base/index.html The other thing you could do is support the ebay seller's cause, she had to end the auction but she took the trouble to set up a web page for donations, you can access and support it here: http://www.flipidy.com/secondharvest.htm Perhaps with enough pressure on Mission Fish, they'll get together with ebay and allow dutch auctions to be counted as a single donation, instead of multiple individual items, and encourage more charity in the future. For those with Homes, families, relatives or friends in the devasted area, my hearts and prayers go out to you. I hope this information will in some small way help someone somewhere. Dennis Becker is author of a regular blog about different ways of earning money on the Internet, titled appropriately enough "Success On The Internet".

So, Can You Really Sell EBooks On EBay And Make Cold Hard Cash?

Selling ebooks on ebay, and making any worthwhile profit from doing so, is becoming more and more difficult. Gone are the days when you could sell someone else's books on ebay, and it's becoming considerably more difficult to sell ebooks that you might have written yourself or via Public Domain Publications. Many people seem to think that ebooks should be freely available (because so many good ones are)and there are some excellent ebooks for sale on ebay but rarely do they sell for more than a few pennies. So purchase ebooks from ebay by all means, there's just no money in trying to sell ebooks on ebay. There's also the problem of who owns the copyright to the ebook you are trying to sell. This has become so much of a headache that ebay has come up with it's own policy to try and deal with this situation. HERE'S AN EXCEPT FROM ebay'S VERO POLICY. * ebay's Verified Rights Owner (VeRO) Program * eBay's VeRO Program was developed to facilitate cooperation between ebay and rights owners protecting their intellectual property rights. * Highlights of the program include: * Expeditious removal of listings reported to ebay by over 5,000 intellectual property rights owners * Specific, detailed warnings designed to deter the listing of potentially infringing items before a listing is posted on ebay * Voluntary daily monitoring and removal by ebay of listings offering potentially counterfeit or otherwise infringing items * Voluntary daily monitoring and removal by eBay of listings that violate eBay policies designed to prevent the listing of infringing items on ebay * Ability to save searches and have the results emailed to you through Favorite Searches * Suspension of repeat offenders * Continuing efforts to identify and prevent previously suspended users from reregistering for ebay * Cooperation with rights owners seeking personal information on alleged infringers. * However, because eBay is not an expert in your intellectual property rights, and cannot verify that sellers have the right to sell the millions of items they post on ebay each day, we need your help in identifying listings which do not appear on their face to infringe your rights. To read the policy in it's entirety go to:- http://pages.ebay.com/help/confidence/ia/protecting_intellectual_property.html KEEP IT SIMPLE AND STRAIGHTFORWARD Now there is a way around this that is easier to achieve than most people believe. The easiest way of making sure that you don't fall foul of ebay's VeRo Policy is: * Create The Products Yourself The easiest way of overcoming peoples beliefs that your ebook should be freely availablen is. * Don't have your ebook look like an ebook! So when is an ebook not an ebook? When it is perceived by the visitors to your ebay sales Page as something else. For example, if you bundled together your ebook with a printed version of the book, and or an Audio CD or Video DVD, your product would have a much higher perceived value. SO. * You create a printed version of your ebook contained in a nicely printed folder. * You take a digital photograph of the cover of your printed version, surrounded by the audio CD and or Video DVD and use this as your Gallery Picture when you start to create your purchase It Now, ebay auction page. * You use the same picture or pictures throughout your ebay Auction sales page. People are used to seeing software generated ebook covers on ebay but by using the above method your product will not be perceived as an ebook. * In your sales page include the information that the entire package can be digitally downloaded by the customer if they wish. Do this and you will be one of the very few sellers on ebay using this technique and take my word for it, this technique is very powerful indeed. Now this might sound like a lot of work or seem over complicated, yet when you come to think of it, most PCs and Laptops come complete with hardware and software for creating Audio CDs and DVDs? and if you don't have this kind of equipment you can get it on ebay relatively cheaply. SO HOW DO YOU DO IT? With this technology it is fairly simple to create Audio CDs and Video DVDs. * You could record or have somebody else record your ebook onto Audio CD or DVD and provide it as an audio product within your product bundle. Many people find it easier to learn by "listening" than by reading. * If the subject matter of your book included information on how to use a particular type of software for example, you could use a video capture program such as "Camtasia" (http://www.techsmith.com) to capture the sequence of steps that would need to be gone through in order to use the software effectively. * If your ebook covered a practical subject like gardening for instance you could use a Camcorder to take actual "videos" of the various aspects of gardening, copy them to DVD and make it part of your "bundle". Many people find it easier to learn by "seeing" than by reading or listening. Remember that your product bundle can be downloaded by your customer (assuming you have set your product up this way) but don't be afraid to provide them with the printed version of your book along with the Audio and Video DVDs if that's what they prefer. Your ebook presented in this way will represent a much higher value than the traditional way of selling ebooks on ebay and therefore you can aska much higher price than you would otherwise. If all this sounds a little daunting to you I suggest that you carry out some research into what you've read here. More information on how to create Books and Videos to sell on ebay can be found at the end of this article.

Free Keyword Research Tools Are Not As Effective as Wordtracker

One of the most unanswered questions online today is, how to perform keyword research that gets free traffic from the search engines. Many SEO experts recommends using one keyword or keyword phrase per page, while others recommends using secondary keywords with your main keyword. My philosophy is simple, you simply use both methods and check to see which method works best. You will also have to draw the line and recognize which is working best and continue with that method. For me, I love to use one keyword phrase for review pages and for content pages I use secondary keywords with my main keyword, making the theme of that page much more search engine friendly. Our job is to please the spiders as well as our visitors. My advice for newcomers is to build our first page using only a free tool such as GoodKeywords. I did the same with my first site, which ranked very highly for my choosen keyword phrases, due to the fact that the competition wasn't very high and I also didn't use the highly targeted keywords found in the search results. Now, I must admit that I wanted to take my keyword research to higher heights and even discover a niche of my own with very little competition, and that is where free keyword research tools fails. They don't supply enough data for you to analyze if your keywords are actually worth while or highly competitive. That is where, wordtracker and KRA comes into play. Wordtracker is the number one keyword research tool online, has been for many years and still is. Those who generate five figure monthly commission checks with affiliate programs knows the importance of wordtracker and just can't live without it. KRA, is a tool by SEO expert Andy Williams that you can use to filter out secondary keywords and related phrases. If your into optimizing your pages for better search engines result, then I highly recommend you get yourself a copy. You can reap the benefits of online keyword research by using these tools, and stop fiddling around with free tools. Free tools are for beginners who are testing the waters. It is now time for you to join the rank of professional marketers and stop hoping for success. The best feeling you can get from your online marketing is when you make that first sale, and it doesn't matter how big it is. Stop targeting the wrong keywords and start building much more profitable content pages that only the smart marketers are targeting. My final words: If a keyword research tool is so good, then why would you create a tool with an import possibility for wordtracker data?

Why Top-earning Affiliates Have Their Own Domains And Websites

Many affiliate programs usually provide special web pages for their affiliates. This is one of the reasons why it may appear very strange, at first, that most top affiliates and the high earners from affiliate programs will most certainly always have their own websites, complete with their own domains specifically for promoting a certain affiliate program that they are involved in. Why should these affiliates spend the extra money for a website, and even a Domain Name that both come with their own heavy demands when they already have so much visibility already through an affiliate program website? Actually there are a number of reasons. Having your own website and domain will tend to attract more traffic than an affiliate site A domain is bound to attract much more traffic than a long affiliate address. When surfers see what looks like a registered Domain Name, they will tend to take the site much more seriously than if they were to see the rather long affiliate website address. The affiliate can even ensure that they select a name that will be quickly picked up by search engines to give the site a high ranking. It is possible to carefully monitor where the traffic is coming from One of the major weaknesses of the vast majority of ordinary affiliate websites lies in the fact that it is not possible to analyze traffic and establish exactly where it is coming from. You would need to install some code and most affiliate sites do not give access to codes of the pages that they supply to their affiliates. The result is that folks are forced to operate blindly. Even as they instigate various advertising methods to get traffic to their sites, there is really no way they can track their visitors. One of the most effective Internet Marketing methods calls for the constant analysis of your traffic to establish where they have come from. The idea here is to find further ways and means of reaching that particular market niches. In this way you will find that your site traffic is constantly on the increase. It becomes possible to harvest email addresses With your very own affiliate website, it becomes a lot easier to collect names and email addresses from visitors to the affiliates independent website. It is usually not possible to do this from an affiliate website. When you do not do this, you fail to make efficient and maximum use of the leads you generate through your website and from all the marketing efforts you make to attract traffic. A person harvesting email addresses and building an opt-in email list is bound to make much more sales from lower traffic than a person with a much larger volume of traffic who does not build an opt-in email list. It has been established that buyers usually need to be exposed to any product or service that you are advertising, several times before they can make a decision to buy. Emails are a great way to do this, and the only legal way to send out mass email is through permission marketing of using safe lists or your very own opt-in email list. This is a list of persons who have opted in to receive the latest updates and developments. This is naturally the more effective option. There are various ways of harvesting email addresses from regular visitors to your affiliate website. You can offer an amazing free e-course or offer to send them some free fascinatingsoftware in return for their email address that you can then use to market to them again and again. It really is not surprising that top affiliates and top earners from affiliate programs insist on having their own websites and domains

Are Your Affiliate Programs Eating Away Your Money And Time

So many times I have heard this. So many examples I do remember. People have left the internet Business after being disappointed with their so called affiliate programs. An affiliate program is an excellent way to earn money especially in the beginning. I said beginning because at that time one does not understand the market and is too nave to bring his own product out in right way. Affiliate programs fill that gap nicely. You have got a ready-made product and a ready-made webpage too (though you can develop your own and you should be doing that). There is only one aspect left to make that money. Making sales. But you need to choose your affiliate program carefully. An affiliate program should be free to join. You should be cautious of the programs that will charge you upfront to be able to become their affiliates. Sometimes you buy a product and get affiliate status as bonus. That is acceptable. But a good affiliate program should not charge you a membership fee monthly or yearly whatever the case may be. There are some programs which charge you a monthly fee for becoming a member and you are expected to recruit more for getting a commission. These are not affiliate programs but MLM programs. Be cautious when you join such programs. They do not offer a good product to sell. The only thing that you have to sell is the membership. Such programs may eat up a lot of your money before you realize their worthlessness. In such programs you sell a membership and your recruit is expected to sell the same in return. This kind of sale is not only hard to accomplish but also associated with high attrition. That means the rate of members dropping out is very high. Also you should get a good commission. Check the percentage offered. Good programs offer 50-60% commissions. Though high priced products seem quite lucrative due to apparent volume of money in commission but selling a high priced product may not be that easy task too. It is because the market for those may not be that large. So you need to select your product carefully. One very important factor that is often ignored is your aptitude for the particular product. Select a product that you can associate your interests with. For example if you like gardening then a product that caters the gardening needs will be easier to sell than a selling a real estate product. Because in sales first of all you need to be convinced about the usability and benefits of the product before you attempt to sell it. If the product is around the area of your interest you can easily identify the beneficial aspects. Then you will find it easier to convince your potential customers. Study the market and demand for that product. If the demand is high the sales are easier. To study the demand go to Overture or Google and look for the search made around the keywords of your product. It will give you a fair idea about the demand. Plan your market strategies beforehand. It is better if you make your own website instead of promoting the copy of the original page laced with your link. Having your own website gives you a unique identification and professional look. The other advantage is that you can promote multiple products on the same page rather than promoting different pages separately. Web hosting is quite cheap now a days and webpage can be easily built in front page. Try and give your full efforts into promoting what you have got. Affiliate programs are good way to learn the market tactics. Learn and try them best to your abilities. Stick with the product you have chosen instead of jumping to the new offer of some other product. New products are being released everyday but being new does not mean that it is better and easier to sell.

3 Simple Steps To Organize Your Critical Online Home Based Business Directory

If You are running an Online Work at Home Business it is very critical that you create a well organized directory structure. The Obvious advantage of an organized Directory structure is it makes it easy to find what you need. A Less Obvious but More Important Reason is it makes it easy to back up your Online Business Files if they are all in the Same Place. A very Simple Directory Structure for an Online Business Mimics a File Cabinet. You would have 3 Level of Directories. Your Top level would be the File Cabinet, Your 2nd Level would be the File Drawers and your 3rd Level would be your File Folders. Step 1 (File Cabinet) Decide where to place your Top Level Online Business Directory. I suggest creating a Directory Directly under My Documents called My Online Business. You may want to think of this Top Level Directory as a File Cabinet with many Drawers Step 2 (File Drawers) Decide what are your 2nd Level Directories (The Drawers of your File Cabinet). Here are some of my 2nd Level Directories or Drawers My Programs My Downloads My Income and Expenses My Text Ads My HTML Ads Step 3 (File Folders) Decide what are the 3rd Level Directories or file Folders Here is what a Finished Directory Structure Might Look Like My Documents My Online Business My Programs My Ad Trackers My Domains My E-mail Accounts My Free Programs My ISP Accounts My Moneymakers My Downloads My ebooks My Programs/EXEs My Zips My Income and Expenses My Income My expenses My Text Ads My HTML Ads Now when you want to backup your Business Files all you need to do is copy your Online Business Directory to tape, CD, DVD or some other back-up Device. About The Author: Mike Makler has been marketing Online Since 2001 When he Built an Organization of over 100,000 Members

How To Use Spyware Elimination Software

Spyware elimination software is designed to detect and eliminate spyware. A large number of spyware elimination software products are available. Some of them are available as freeware and some as shareware. Shareware can be used for a specified period, usually 30 days. One must evaluate and compare the features of different spyware elimination software products before selecting one. Some of the features of an effective spyware elimination software product are: * It should give a list of detected spyware, to enable users to allow them to decide, about which ones they want to delete. * Auto update ensures that the software automatically downloads the latest spyware definition file. * Auto scheduling means that the system is scanned for spyware at defined intervals automatically. * The "undo" facility allows the user to remedy accidental deletion of useful files. * The product should provide real-time protection. It should prevent installation of spyware, instead of just deleting it when it is detected. * The software should be effective in detecting and deleting, the different types of spyware. * The product should be easy to download, install, navigate and use. * Product support ensures that there is someone you can call or e-mail, whenever you have a problem. * The right spyware elimination software will ensure your privacy and keep your computer free of advertisements. Some of the most popular spyware elimination software products are: Spyware Eliminator, Spyware Doctor, MS AntiSpyware, McAfee, Pest Patrol, Spy Sweeper, Counterspy, Ad-Aware, Spybot Search & Destroy etc. The most popular personal firewalls include McAfee Firewall, Norman Firewall, Windows Firewall, Surf Secret, Sygate Firewall, Zone Alarm, Outpost Pro, and Norton Firewall etc. Spyware Eliminator Spyware Eliminator is one of the most popular spyware elimination software products. It also provides you with anti-virus and anti-spam capability and prevents malicious software from entering your PC. It gives users specific threat recommendations and its consumer ware facility identifies legitimate ad ware companies and their software. The user then has the option to delete this software or to keep it. Spyware Eliminator is particularly effective in dealing with cleverly concealed, self re-generating spyware and adware.

A Golf Fitness Coach Equals Great Golf

Golf fitness coach. Have you ever considered one?and if so, what exactly were you looking for? There are many 'general fitness' trainers trying to get a piece of the golf fitness and training market that seems to be rapidly gaining exposure both on the television and in print thanks to Tiger, Vijay and Annika. But the first thing you need to consider when looking into hiring a golf fitness coach or program is the trainers experience in golf. Yes?that is high on the list of requirements. Does he/she know golf? Do they know the biomechanics of the golf swing? How about muscle function during the golf swing? An easy test is during the initial interview or if you're researching it online is to either ask very golf specific swing technique questions; or take a look at the information on the website. You'll find out real quick if this person or program can help your golf swing, game and health. A golf fitness coach or program should incorporate strength, flexibility, endurance, body awareness, balance, stability and even a nutrition component. It's easy for a trainer to have a strength component?but is it specific to golf? A quick test. Take a look at some of the exercises. Are any of them on seated machines for instance? If they are?run! This is NOT a golf fitness coach and/or program. This is considered 'general fitness'. Now stretching. There are dozens of stretches for all people. But take a look at some of them. Do they even remotely look like they will benefit your golf swing? Stretches involving trunk flexibility; lower back; hamstring; and even shoulders specific to the mechanics of the swing are what you want. General stretches are better than nothing, but will delay your results. You want specific stretches. Body awareness. Does any of the exercises resemble golf positions or phases of the swing? Do they look like you would be on your feet and in your golf posture? As stated above, if they are seated on machines, your body will learn nothing in regards to your golf swing. Training your body specific to golf incorporates positions almost identical to what your body would be in during any part of the golf swing. Stability. Training your body to improve stability in your swing can get a little complex if you really want to see results. The swing happens at between 80-100 miles an hour. One of the biggest flaws of amateur golfers is moving in their golf swing. Moving either laterally (sliding), vertically (up and done) or both. This is death to your golf swing. To improve your stability involves specific strength drills most trainers don't even know about. I could go on-and-on about the requirements of a golf fitness coach or program. It is critical you make the right decision. I have heard horror stories of golfers working with 'so-called' golf fitness experts and their game getting worse. With the proper research this won't happen to you. So definitely consider a golf fitness coach. About The Author: Mike Pedersen is one of the top golf fitness experts in the country, author and founder of several cutting-edge online golf fitness sites. Take a look at his just released golf fitness dvds at his golf swing trainer site - Perform Better golf.

What Do the Core and the Golf Swing Have in Common Part II?

In part one of this article we discussed the core and its relation to the golf swing. A quick review of the information in article one will indicate a definitive connection between the "athletic movements" of a golf swing and the core section of the body. Prior to beginning this article let us take a brief moment to review information provided in the first article on this topic. A quick review will indicate that the core is an anatomical region of the body. This region of the body consists of all the muscles, ligaments, tendons, and neural structures, located from the hips to the lower chest. This comprises all of the structures of: the hips, abdominals, low back, and obliques (side abdominals). In addition to describing the anatomical region of the core, part one of this article described the following: the relationship between the core and golf swing in the specific areas of range of motion, coordination, speed of motion, and balance. Part two of this article will discuss core flexibility, strength, endurance, and power. We will relate these three additional topics to the golf swing as we did in part one. Recalling from the first article, range of motion is directly related to distance. Distance that a body moves in a specific amount of time when discussing biomechanics. Relating range of motion to the golf swing indicates that the greater range of motion that the core mechanism of the body can move through, the greater amount of force can be created to deliver into the club head. The second topic discussed in article one was speed of motion. Remember, speed of motion is directly related to range of motion. Speed of motion is essentially adding a component of time to range of motion. The faster that an object or the body can move through a specific range of motion, the greater amount of force can be created through this range of motion. Thirdly, we introduced coordination. Coordination is the ability to time the movements of the body in the correct sequence to perform the activity desired. This requires the body to move through the required ranges of motion with the correct speed of motion. The final topic discussed in section one of this article was balance. Balance is the ability of the body to maintain a center of gravity during a movement. Increased balance allows for greater accuracy with athletic activities. Moving forward into section two of this article, we build upon the information discussed in article one. Relevancy to the core and the golf swing is easily seen when connecting these topics (range of motion, speed of motion, coordination, and balance) to the athletic movement associated with the golf swing. Flexibility Flexibility is the range of motion around a joint and is influenced by skeletal structures, ligaments, muscles tissues, and joint capsule type. Range of motion is a result of the deformation of soft tissues (i.e. muscle tissue, ligaments, and tendons) surrounding a joint. Flexibility is essentially the ability of the neuromuscular to create a desired range of motion by the body. The golf swing requires the core, and the entire body, to move through a specified range of motion to create contact with the golf ball. Limitations in flexibility can create the inability of the body to move through the required ranges of motion at the correct speed to perform a golf swing. This will result in numerous problems as a result of poor mechanics in the swing. A direct connection exists between range of motion, speed of motion, and flexibility. If flexibility is limited the result will be limitations in ranges of motion and speeds of motion. Strength Strength can be defined as the ability of the neuromuscular system (neural system, muscular system) to create and exert force. A lack of strength limits the ability of the body to create force for a given athletic movement. In relationship to the golf swing, strength is a required component of the core. A large proportion of the force created in the golf swing is a result of the lower body and core musculature system. As a result, creating the force neededto develop club head speed is directly related to strength levels within these structures of the body. A lack of strength lessens to a degree the amount of force that can be created in the golf swing, thus reducing the amount of club head speed available to the golfer. Endurance Endurance is the ability of the neuromuscular structures (muscular system, neural system, ligaments, and tendons) to perform the same athletic movement repeatedly over a specific amount of time. The golf swing is a repetitive athletic movement requiring the neuromuscular system to perform the same neuromuscular activity over and over again for a given number of swings, time, etc. This requires the body to move through a specific range of motion, with the correct speed of motion, coordinating the movements in the correct sequence, with the required force outputs (i.e. strength), and correct levels of endurance. A lack of endurance in the neuromuscular system will limit the ability of the individual to perform the components required of the golf swing listed above. Power Power is the ability to create the greatest amount of force in a specified amount of time. Power is contingent upon the combination of strength and speed of motion. These two components working in conjunction create power. A decrease in strength or speed of motion limits the ability of power production by the neuromuscular system. The golf swing requires the body to produce power to deliver into the club head. The amount of time to perform this is limited and contained within the ranges of motion through which the body moves during the golf swing. The point to be made is that a direct connection exists for power production between range of motion, speed of motion, and strength. These three components working together determine the power outputs created by the body during the golf swing. Summary This article discussed an additional four components that are relevant to the core structure of the body and the golf swing. The key point to make between the topics discussed in this article and article number one is the connection between all of these components. Range of motion, speed of motion, balance, and coordination are contingent upon the points discussed in this article. The ability of the body to swing a golf club requires the ability of the body to have the required ranges of motion, speeds of motion, balance, and coordination to perform the swing. The development of flexibility, strength, endurance, and power within the body allows for these activities to occur. Thus all eight of these components (range of motion, speed of motion, balance, coordination, flexibility, strength, endurance, and power) are interconnected to perform a golf swing. The relationship to the core and these activities is a follows: the core region of the body is a main component of the golf swing. It is utilized greatly in all aspects of the golf swing from maintaining balance to creating power. The core can be considered to be the "engine" of the golf swing. Please visit our website at www.bioforcegolf.com to get more information.

What Are the Best Exercises for the Golfer?

With all the talk about the players on tour getting stronger and more flexible, we hear a lot about exercising for golf from television commentators and read about it in the golf publications. But what exactly are the best exercises for the amateur golfer? A great question that has a good answer, but before we give you the answer let us provide some background so the answer makes a little more sense to you. First of all, discussing the golf swing for the time being will get us rolling. What exactly is the golf swing? The golf swing is an athletic movement that requires using of the entire body from "feet to fingertips" in order to complete the swing. Realize that the golf swing is not about the club, not just about your grip, or where your head is during the swing. The golf swing is a movement that requires your entire body to move through a sequence of movements with the correct timing. To perform the "athletic movement" of the golf swing requires the body to begin at address, move through the actual phases of the golf swing and complete it with the follow through. In order to perform this activity with efficiency and repetitively, the body must have certain physical parameters. These parameters, as I call them, are actual physical categories of the body that need to be developed to a certain level. These categories of the body are the platform from which the body is able to perform the athletic movement of a golf swing efficiently. The categories are probably familiar to many of you, but for the purpose of this article let us briefly run through them. The body is required to have certain levels of flexibility, balance, endurance, strength, and power to complete a golf swing. If the body lacks in any of the above categories, then the results will be seen in the golf swing. The results are usually in the form of poor mechanics, bad shots, or poor scores on the course. So, now that we know what the connection is between the "body" and the "swing" let us address the question about the best exercises for golf. The Best Exercises for golf Let's say you walk into your local health club and see all the fancy machines and aerobic machines at the facility to get you shape. What ones would choose? Would you choose running on the treadmill for 30 minutes, or would it be better to push out a couple sets of bench presses? Well, the answer to our question really lies within the connection between your swing and your body. I will tell you that exercises meant to "pump you up!" or give you that "six pack" are not necessarily the correct exercises for your golf game. Neither is that weight training program you used back in high school. So, with those thoughts in mind what do you think the best exercises for golf are? Right now we know, in general terms about the golf swing, what is required of the body for the golf swing and what exercises are not good for the swing. Armed with that knowledge we can decipher what the best exercises for golf are for you. Beginning with flexibility, we know that the entire body must move through certain ranges of motion to perform an effective golf swing. And what happens if your body is not able to move through the required ranges of motion of the golf swing? The answer: the golf swing will mechanically suffer resulting in shots that are less than optimal. So part of the exercises that are good for golfers are flexibility exercises and, even more so, flexibility exercises that work the muscles used in the golf swing through the movements involved in the golf swing. So first and foremost flexibility exercises should be on the top of your list. The second category of exercises that would be conducive to the golf swing would have to do with balance. We hear about balance in reference to the golf swing all the time. "Stay balanced through the swing; transfer your weight to maintain balance duringthe swing?" But what does balance exactly mean? Balance is the ability to control your body through a specific movement pattern. The movement pattern we are discussing just happens to be the golf swing. We know the importance of balance in relation to the golf swing, so how do we train our body for better balance in the golf swing? Before we answer that question we need to know a little more about balance. Balance in relation to the body has to do with the connection between your nerves and muscles. Essentially your nervous system, as a result of messages sent from your brain, tells your muscles how to move to maintain the body's balance. The more efficient your nerves and muscles are to these messages the greater balance abilities the body develops. So balance exercises train both the nervous system and muscular system to become more efficient at this function. Summing it all up, balance is the second category of exercises that will assist your golf game. The third category of exercises that are beneficial to golf have to do with your muscles. The golf swing requires the muscles of your body to move through a specific range of motion (flexibility) and help with your balance capacities. In order to perform these actions and others, your body needs certain levels of strength and endurance. The definition of strength is the ability of the muscles to exert force for the given "athletic action" (simplified definition but a good working definition for us). Endurance is the ability of your muscles to do the same activity over and over again for a specific amount of time. First off, let us discuss strength. The golf swing has one intention of developing club head speed while maintaining balance through the swing. The muscles in your body must have enough strength in them to do both. Now, when we discuss building strength for the golf swing it is NOT the type of strength needed to bench press 250 lbs. Or squat 500! It is strength geared towards the improvement of your swing. I refer to this type of strength as "golf strength." So when you get to the gym, performing strength exercises like bench press will not help your swing. Exercises that train the body in the positions and through the movements of the golf swing will help your swing. In addition to strength, we need to develop endurance in your muscles. Think of how many swings you may take over the course of 18 holes. In order for you to be able to swing the club the same way on the 18th hole as you did on the 1st hole. Your body has to have high levels of endurance. This will allow your body to perform the golf swing without getting tired. You develop endurance similar to how you develop "golf strength." Utilize exercises that train the body in the positions and through the movements of the golf swing. Lighter loads with higher repetitions will be used for these exercises. The end result will be the development of "golf endurance." The final segment of exercises beneficial to your golf swing is power training. Power training is geared towards the ability of your body to generate high levels of club head speed. Power development by the body is what allows for greater distance on your shots. Clubs help, golf balls help, but it really comes down to the piece of machinery, your body, swinging those club and hitting those golf balls. Development of power for the golf swing is very similar to the development of "golf strength and endurance." It is the utilization of exercises that place your body in the positions and move you through movements similar to the golf swing.

Golf Club Componets: Playing Golf The Lego Set Way

To understand how to buy golf club components, you first need to know how these parts work and what they are in the first place. So let's begin in this way. If you know the parts already, treat this portion as a short review of golf 101. The Grip The grip of the golf club is important because it is the extension of the golfer's hands. According to the rules of golf, the grip has to be round, without obvious pockmarks which detract significantly from the roundness. The Shaft The shaft of the golf club connects the grip to the head and, like the grip, must also conform to accepted roundness rules. Most modern golf club shafts are made of either steel or a carbon-fiber and resin composite. Now it's about time to explain the concept and the theory behind a golf club component. The operant word is assembly type. It's like playing Lego set. So let's say you want to fit your choice of shaft to the rest of the club components, you'll be running into a vendor that sells a golf component kit. Now you've got to be careful about whom you trust in this Business. It's easy to ruin your investment. It can get scratched or worse, broken. It's not a simple glue or Epoxy situation. Some unscrupulous golf component vendors use a sacrificial laminate process, involving grinding the outside of the shaft. By cutting the fibers on the surface, energy and feel are lost. Solution: Look for a high grade modulus shaft fiber which results in very little loss of energy from your hands to the clubface.

Questions You Must Answer Before Buying a Treadmill

Who is using the treadmill? It is important to know the number of people using the treadmill, the weight of the heaviest person and how everyone will exercise using the treadmill. The number of people using the treadmill will directly affect the durability that you will need in the treadmill. If two people are using it on a regular basis it will wear out twice as quickly as if only one person is using it. If three people are using it, it will wear out three times as quickly, and so on. Durability is loosely related to price, the more durable a model you need, the more you must be prepared to spend for it. The weight of the heaviest person using the treadmill fits into a spec that most of the treadmills have, the maximum user weight. If you exceed the maximum user weight for the treadmill, you can expect to have problems much sooner than you normally would. How everyone will use the treadmill is also important. Treadmills are generally designed to fit one of three types of users: walkers, walkers/joggers, and serious runners. As you move from walker to serious runner the treadmills will become more expensive. What features do you need? As you select a treadmill you should consider the following features: Maximum speed, running area length, track cushioning, and horsepower. Maximum speed is very similar to user type. People usually walk between 2 and 4 miles per hour. Joggers will often jog between 5 and 7 miles per hour. Serious runners may run from 8 to 12 miles per hour. As the speed you need goes up the price of the treadmill will go up, so not overbuying on the speed of the treadmill will allow you to reduce the cost of the treadmill. The running area length needed is a combination of how you will use the treadmill and how long your stride is. As you move from walking to running your stride gets longer and you need a longer running length. Also, taller users will tend to have a longer stride and will want a longer running area. I would always recommend cushioning for the treadmill track. It takes strain off of the knees and back. That being said, cushioning becomes more important as you move faster on the treadmill. It is much more important for runners than for walkers. Horsepower is the trickiest feature. Bigger is generally better; a more powerful motor will tend to last longer. However, the construction style and quality of the motor is also important, so a bigger motor will not always outlast a smaller motor. Because of the difference in motor quality you may have to rely on the reputation of the manufacturer to put an appropriate motor in the treadmill. How much can you afford to pay? If you are strictly going to use the treadmill for walking you should be able to find something appropriate for under $1,000. If you are going to use it for walking and jogging the price will probably be between $1,000 and $2,000. If you are a serious runner you will probably need to pay more than $2,000. Greg Carleu is the founder of Treadmill Select.

5 Sure-Fire Tips To Save You $1000s On Your Home Gym

It always amazes me when people say "Home Gyms are expensive! I just don't have $1000's of dollars lying about" These people obviously haven't looked very hard because nowadays Home gym equipment doesn't have to cost 2, 3 or even $4000 dollars. Below are 5 great alternatives that won't cost you the earth but can do just a good a job as many of the commercial fitness equipment found in local gyms. 1. Dumbbells For resistance weight training you can't go past dumbbells for their practicality and versatility. You can perform any number of exercises with dumbbells that even the more expensive weight machines can't do. These days you can get adjustable dumbbells which allow you to use add or remove weight from a single dumbbell with a simple pin, just like with traditional pin loaded weight machines. This feature means you don't have to buy different weight dumbbells for different exercises and you save on floor space which can be used for cardio equipment like ellipticals or treadmills. You can easily get a good quality quick change dumbbell set for less than $500. At that price you'd be silly to spend money on larger, muscle specific equipment even if you did have extra cash floating around. 2. Remanufactured A lot of people these days are buying remanufactured exercise equipment, and for good reason. Remanufacturing involves taking a used machine and completely restoring it with new parts to make it look, feel and function like a new machine. Often the only part of the equipment that is not brand new is the frame. By buying remanufactured or refurbished fitness equipment you can realistically save 50% off the normal, new retail price. 3. Used Buying used or second-hand equipment can be a cost effective way of setting up your Home gym. The only problem is you don't know how the previous owner treated the machine and if it has any problems. The last thing you want is for the machine to breakdown 6 weeks after buying it and finding out that it's not covered by warranty. Sometimes the actual machine may seem like a bargain but future unforeseen expenses may make you regret your purchase. If at all possible get to test drive the machine and ask about the warranty. 4. Buy direct from the factory Some online stores offer factory direct fitness equipment. By doing this you cut out the middle man and save big time. Remember just because it is cheap doesn't mean its poor quality. With so much competition online these days online suppliers are cutting costs to get market share. That means more money in your pocket!! 5. Added bonuses from reputable online suppliers Some online suppliers will include free shipping with their products. This can greatly reduce the cost of piece of equipment if you add delivery to it. Also make sure you check out the machines warranty. You can save yourself a lot of heart ache down the road if you make sure you're covered by a decent warranty which included motor, parts and labor. Look for at least 6 months for parts and labor and 1 year for the motor for remanufactured equipment and 1-2 years parts, labor and motor for new equipment. Now that you are armed with this information go and have a look around yourself you'll be surprised at what you find! Dean Iggo is a keen fitness enthusiast and home gym user. He is also the webmaster of Home-gym-buyers-guide.com. A website providing unbiased Home exercise equipment tips and reviews.