It has been a couple of weeks since my last post on Google filters and I wanted to continue the series today by talking about the Co-Citation Filter.

How It Works

With its most recent updates, Google is focusing not only on the links you have to your website and their Page Rank but also how relevant they are to the content on your site. For example, if you have a website that deals with small business issues and a website that focuses on home renovation links to you, it will not help you rank for the small business keywords and will potentially classify your website as a home renovation page (probably not what you want!)

Google’s Link Evolution
In the old days of search engine optimization any link would do and the more you had the better. As Google evolved they put a much heavier focus on high ranking pages. Websites with high Page Ranks that link to you carried far more value than those with low Page Ranks. Now Google wants to see that you have not only high Page Rank pages linking to you but high ranking and relevant pages.

What You Can Do

Link building is one of the two key elements to an effective SEO strategy (along with creating unique, targeted, optimized content) and business owners should continue to pursue linking opportunities. However, with Google’s new approach, entrepreneurs should be focusing in on getting links from the high Page Rank sites and the pages that are relevant.

Look for who runs the top ranking webpages that surround your topic. Some will be competitors while many will be potential complimentary providers. Make a list of the top 20 complimentary high ranking and relevant pages and focus your efforts on getting links from these pages. Connect with the owner or website manager, think outside the box on how you can potentially work together, and get that all important link back to your site. It will make a world of difference for your Google rankings!

Evan Carmichael

Corey Kossack is the 23 year old founder of profitbuildersoftware.com has sold over $1 million in eBay products in less than two years and now has written a book to help others do the same.

Corey’s book, “eBay Millionaire or Bust: Hidden Strategies That Maximize Profits and Create Wealth,” looks at the $4 billion a year eBay marketplace that has 1.3 million sellers and gives practical advice to succeed online.

It all started when Corey was in university and was looking for a memory disk for his girlfriend’s digital camera. “I had always thought of eBay as the online yard sale, a place where people got rid of their junk. Then, I spotted someone selling hundreds of memory cards and I suddenly realized eBay was a perfect place to conduct a business.”

Corey decided to get in on the game by selling DVDs online through eBay. He took $1,000 from his bank account in January 2005 to get started and sold over 500,000 DVDs by the end of the year. His title list began at 1,000 then moved to 10,000 and now he has incorporated video games and iPod accessories into his product mix.  “Some of our most popular TV shows were ‘M.A.S.H.’, ‘Sex and the City, and “Schoolhouse Rock”.”

His advice for would-be eBay entrepreneurs? “Focus on profits, not the number of sales. I don’t want to become the biggest seller on eBay. But I want to continue increasing our profit margin. That’s the secret.”

Evan Carmichael

One of the blogs I like to read on a regular basis is by John Chow. He has gone from zero to over US$10,000 in monthly income all through blogging. Yesterday John released a free ebook that shares his secrets to success. Among the interesting chapters in the ebook are John’s Recommended Money-makers which outlines how he makes his money. His top sources are:

• Kontera Content Link
• Text Link Ads
• Google AdSense
• Bidvertiser
• AuctionAds
• ReviewMe
• TTZ Media (John`s company)
• Feedburner Ad Network
• AGLOCO

From my own experience, Google AdSense has been very kind to me. I also sell direct sponsorships to advertisers who are interested in connecting with the target audience of my site. I am currently experimenting with a number of the other initiatives that John lists but have not found that they compare to AdSense and direct sponsorships. To add to the list, this blog also uses AdBrite which is another alternative.

The beautiful thing about online marketing is that you can quickly test what works and what does not. If you are looking to make money from your website try different programs and see what generates the most money for you.

I would love to hear your experiences using AdSense versus some of the other programs and what results you have found.

Evan Carmichael

Venture capital can be a critical component of an entrepreneur’s growth plans if you want to build a really big company quickly. Most venture capital firms, however, tend to prefer to fund companies who need expansion capital instead of startup capital. They want to see that you have done it before, have proven yourself in one market, and are now ready to tackle a new territory.

Why do venture capitalists love these kinds of deals? Because they are not as risky. It is a lot safer to go with someone who has already generated results on the assumption that they can do it again than to take a chance on someone who is just getting started and has no track record of success.

So what do you do if you are a young entrepreneur and do not yet have the experience of building up a big company? Turn to the venture capitalists who like early stage companies.

It takes a special type of venture capitalist to fund startup companies. From 2005 figures, here are the top 12 venture capital firms who are most likely to give you a shot:

• Maryland Technology Development Corp. - # 2005 Startup Deals: 23
• Draper Fisher Jurvetson - # 2005 Startup Deals: 17
• Maryland Dept. of Business and Economic Development - # 2005 Startup Deals: 14
• Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers - # 2005 Startup Deals: 11
• U.S. Venture Partners - # 2005 Startup Deals: 11
• Accel Partners - # 2005 Startup Deals: 8
• Band of Angels - # 2005 Startup Deals: 8
• BioAdvance - # 2005 Startup Deals: 8
• New Enterprise Associates - # 2005 Startup Deals: 8
• North Bridge Venture Partners - # 2005 Startup Deals: 8
• Redpoint Ventures - # 2005 Startup Deals: 8
• Sanderling Ventures - # 2005 Startup Deals: 8

Evan Carmichael

I chose to do this profile because it shows that you can start your business part time while you are in school or have an existing job. You do not have to go full throttle right away to get a company started. Zelly’s Babysitting Service is a tutoring business focusing on children that was founded by Zelma Prentice, a 21 year old entrepreneur. She is currently studying Business Management and has always wanted to start her own business. Rather than waiting to complete the program she launched her business on a part time basis.

“After doing some research, I realized that a lot of parents, especially those working in the hotel industry such as Four Seasons often have to work late into the nights and may not have access to a sitter. A lot of kids are behind in their schoolwork for various reasons, and as an ardent believer in “Education is the key to success” I believe that kids should receive as much help as possible to improve academically.”

Zelma began marketing her service in December of 2006 through the distribution of business cards and fliers at local business events. She landed her first client in February of this year and has not looked back since.

“Now, I’m tutoring three days a week. For a new business I would say that I’m quite successful thus far. I have also been getting calls from persons wanting to know more about my services. So the feedback has been great.”

It just goes to show that with a little old fashioned networking and hard work you can get a business off the ground. As she finishes her education, Zelma will have a great opportunity building for her that she has started on a part time basis rather than waiting to get started.

Her advice for young entrepreneurs?

“From the age of 15, it has always been my dream to be an Entrepreneur. I would encourage young adults to not rely on just having one job; be go-getters. If your passion is fashion, learn how to sew and start your own clothing line; if your passion is cooking, become the most-talked-about Chef. Never underestimate yourself! Let your desire for success be greater than your fear of failure.”

Evan Carmichael

Following my post from yesterday on when an entrepreneur’s peak is, I came across this YouTube video that definitely made me feel old! It is of Anshul Samar, a 13 year old California native who is the CEO of a new company, Elementeo. His product may not be ideally suited for venture capital but he gives a presentation that puts many entrepreneurs to shame.

Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CD5zs-XJxgs.

What were you doing at 13?

Evan Carmichael

Last week the popular Silicon Valley blog, Valleywag, put together a list of the hottest technology entrepreneurs and how old they were when they started their companies. The result was that most of them were in their 20s. Some venture capitalists are also now suggesting that they will not fund anyone who is over 30 years old and trying to launch a new technology company.

The blog notes that most of the biggest technology success stories have been made by founders who were in their 20s and that the peak age was 26.

Bill Gates was 20 when he started Microsoft. Steve Jobs was 21 when he created Apple with Steve Wozniak (25). The Google guys were both 25 when they launched their business.

The hypothesis is that while older entrepreneurs mail fail less often because of the experience they have gained, they are also less likely to achieve spectacularly positive results.

Having just turned 27 on the weekend am I now over the hill?

Evan Carmichael

The Germany company SISTRIX conducted a study of 10,000 random keywords and then performed an analysis of the top 100 Google results for each keyword. Now that is a lot of data crunching! They looked at what on site factors were most likely to generate top rankings in Google. The results were as follows:

• Keywords in the title tag are important as well as in the body of the text but title tag keywords carry far more weight
• Keywords in H2-H6 tags can influence your rankings while keywords in H1 tags do not appear to have an effect (a very different view from most SEO experts)
• Keywords in bold or strong tags can positively impact your rankings
• Keywords in image file names and image alt attributes also improved a site’s rankings
• Keywords in the domain name often ranked higher
• Keywords in the file path did not help the rankings of the sites that were analyzed (again, a different view from standard SEO thinking)
• File size does not seem to have an impact on your rankings
• The number of inbound links and PageRank value had a significant impact on rankings (not surprising). They found that the number one result had 4 times as many inbound links as the number 11 result (on to the 2nd page of Google results)

The original report is in Germany but you can check out Google’s translated version.

I would encourage webmasters to test changes out for yourself. You may not be doing some of the above recommendations and it could be a good time to start. Some of the information flies in the face of traditional SEO thinking and I would not jump ship immediately. Try a few combinations out and see what works for you.

Evan Carmichael

I learned about Kari Herman through the Colorado Springs Business Journal (CSBJ). Kari is a 20 year old entrepreneur and owner of Synergy Dance Academy.

Kari went to a prestigious dance school, gained experience in teaching classes, and lined up a roster of clients for her new business. She then ran into a problem that many young business owners face at some point - the business world did not take her seriously.

Despite having clients ready to pay, she could not find a landlord who would treat her like a businesswoman. They all said she was too young and would not succeed. She finally found someone she could work with but had to pay a full 8 months rent in advance to get her location.

Not having the money needed to pay the massive rent payment she turned to traditional lenders who turned her down because did not have a long credit history and few assets to her name.

Like most young entrepreneurs who succeed, Kari had to think outside the box. She turned to 10 of her clients and spoke with their parents to explain the situation. She managed to convince all of them to pay for the lessons of their children one year up front. Kari used the money to secure her location and start her business.

Just three months after writing her business plan Kari was up and running. “I was sanding the wood floors and putting on the finish the night before we opened. I was 20 years old so I could stay up all night,” she said. “In some ways being young worked against me. In other ways it was an advantage because I had a lot of energy and a lot of time to invest.”

Evan Carmichael

This weekend is a Canadian holiday (today included) and yesterday was my birthday. I like to take time every year to think back on my goals and look at what I am working on (in addition to testing out the Wii that I just got). One of the things I have come to realize and try to remind myself of is that your time is your most important asset. If you look at what you do for your business, chances are there are a few tasks that generate most of your income and the rest play a very small role. It is the old 80-20 rule. 20% of the work you are doing generates 80% of your income. So why not focus in on the 20% that brings in the real money?

When I made my list this weekend I was again surprised to see how many “other” tasks have been eating into my time. The plan going forward?

• Outsource more of the work I do not enjoy doing.
• Stop doing many of the tasks that are not bringing in income.
• Ramp up on the activities that are generating the bigger money.
• Run a few tests on new ideas that have strong potential.

The goal of every entrepreneur should be to automate their business so that they can remove themselves from it eventually. The sooner you can get to that point the sooner you can free up your time to do the other things in life that bring meaning to you beyond work. There is a difference between being self-employed and being a business owner. By focusing in on the work that brings you the highest income for your time you can build up your company to support the lifestyle you desire instead of buying yourself a job.

Evan Carmichael