In this grand old world of search engine optimization, technicians, advocates and clients alike all tend to get caught up in the terminology, the latest analysis of the Google “slap,” an interpretation of the most complex algorithms and the tactics necessary to jump ahead of your closest competitors within the search engine rankings. Many snake oil salesmen will tell you that you should just focus on following their techniques and opening their bag of tricks and you can get your latest “made for Adsense” masterpiece way up there on the rankings.

As the Internet market as a whole has become more and more mature and as search engine mechanics develop accordingly, we see that it is far less likely for an artificially enhanced webpage to achieve good rankings. So much emphasis is now placed on quality of content as opposed to pure technicality that it behooves each one of us within the Internet marketing arena to strive for top quality content.

Those of us who have been around a while sometimes get frustrated when they see sites that have little to contribute appear within higher positions on search engine results pages, but as time goes by they are becoming fewer and fewer. In short, you need to make sure that your site contains remarkable information and is designed as part of an overall marketing initiative to provide something of significant value. Once you are able to do this and to demonstrate that you go above and beyond, then results for you will naturally follow. We know that authority sites have no problem in linking to other authority sites, or to sites that provide significant value and you should really be sure that you deserve your place at the top of the search engine results before you strive to get there.

We often hear that the cream rises to the top and this is appropriate here as well. You should not spend too much time fretting about your search engine optimization unless or until you are sure that the product or service that you have to offer, or the information that you are trying to disseminate is first class and worthy of a position ahead of its peers.

As the search engine engineers hone their skills we are likely to see even more emphasis placed on quality of content and social proof. Reputations will be more important and you should spend more of your time developing and perfecting your Internet reputation as part of an overall search engine marketing approach, rather than through egocentric search engine optimization efforts!

How have you got noticed?

Matthew Toren

Many people are being lured to the world of Internet marketing as our new age unfolds before us. People are now becoming multidimensional and looking for multiple streams of income, once only touted by those late-night infomercial gurus. But is there room for everybody in the Internet world? Will this process of jumping on the Internet bandwagon lead to oversaturation and the headlong rush into something else? Of course this is highly unlikely if not impossible as we see the growth of the Internet and the explosion of social media platforms, only seeking to solidify the online experience for thousands of people, who are discovering the phenomenon on a daily basis.

The question still remains in many minds however – how is it possible to make money through Internet marketing? The short answer is that you should select a product or service as something of a compromise, bearing in mind that you should ideally be passionate about what you do but also be fully aware that there is a market out there to enable you to sell whatever that product or service should be.

Experts, such as Matt Cutts of Google, advocate that you should always be passionate about your Internet endeavors. This will enable you to keep at it, maintaining enthusiasm for those daily blog posts or those regular site updates, the creative content provision necessary to ensure that your presence is relevant and welcomed. It is reasonably argued that without an element of passion for your work, you may not be able to maintain it over the long term or worse still, the lack of passion will come across in your creativity.

Coupled with this passion for what you do, the Internet entrepreneur must ensure that there is an adequate market for his or her wares. It is true to say that we are all passionate about something and most of us have more than just a passing interest in many different spheres. Does this translate into a good business plan? This is where adequate research comes in prior to launching a project and the selection of expertly targeted keywords to ensure that your research provides you with information which is totally relevant to your concept. If you can see that large numbers of people are often searching for information on your subject and that the market is not overly saturated by other individuals or companies, then you are off to the races.

There are many ways of earning money online, through e-commerce, affiliate marketing, service provision, various advertising platforms. Whichever approach you choose, create value or you’ll never earn the income you desire. For instance, it is no good creating a website around a keyword with the sole intention of driving people immediately away from that website to a revenue earning alternate. This approach is sometimes known as “made for Adsense,” as these webpages are composed of nothing but adverts provided by the Google advertising company. There’s nothing of value on the pages and the visitor has little choice but to click one of the ads to move forward. When the click is made, the site owner earns a commission.

There is no longevity in “made for Adsense” sites and they are not recommended. Whatever your niche, make sure that you create your own value. As long as you have something different to say you have a good chance and will, over time, build your presence, creating your role as niche expert and making long-term money through having supplied something of value.

Have you found your niche?

Matthew Toren