You've built a website. Wonderful! The next question to ask is this: Once you get a visitor's attention, how can you bring them back?

Of course, you don't want every visitor returning, but rather customers and potential customers. Articles and other content published on your site should be relevant, interesting and well written. Unique content will give your site a better chance of reaching targeted visitors through search engines.

Here are seven ways to keep customers coming back to your website:

1. Run short-term specials.  Internet users love a bargain, and sales are a sure way to capture attention. Use short sales periods to motivate people to act — giving them three months to make a decision will just help them avoid making the decision to buy. Let users know that the items on offer are always changing to encourage them to visit your site regularly. And get creative with your specials. For example, consider giving away a free gift rather than just cutting the price.

2. Make your site topical.  Internet users often look online to learn more about interesting topics in the news. Creating a link between your business and a hot news story can be a great way to attract visitors to your site. This is a common tactic used by public relations firms to get media coverage, and could work equally well for you.

3. Update information regularly.  Why would a user want to return to a website that rarely changes? Keeping your information up-to-date sends a message to visitors that your company is current and serious about doing business.

4. Hold a competition.  This is a great way to get visitors excited about your website and what you do. Consider asking users for feedback, so that it doubles as a market research tool. Prizes don't need to be extravagant, but should be fun and appropriate for your target market.

5. Send out an e-mail newsletter.  This popular promotional tactic is an effective one. Don't expect to build a list of thousands of subscribers, but focus instead on building a high quality list of targeted readers. When sending a newsletter, keep it short and informative. Promotions are expected, but don't overdo it.

6. Join niche e-mail groups.  If you have the time, participating in a targeted e-mail list is a great way to connect with potential customers and keep reminding them about your business. Participation in a group works best when your company services a niche market. For example, the owner of a pet store might join a mailing list for pet owners. By participating as an expert, the storeowner is able to promote his business to a community of prospective clients.

7. Know your customers.  An understanding of the needs and goals of your clients is the best way to ensure that your marketing efforts are effective. Statistics and tracking reports will help you gauge the interests of visitors to your website. Website usage statistics will help you understand how people come to your site, and what they do once they have arrived. Are they finding what they want, or do certain pages on your site trigger them to leave? Was the contest you ran successful? This understanding will help you hone your online marketing efforts.

Where your website or blog is concerned, it is extremely important to add new content continually, not only to please the search engines, but to add interest and excitement to your site also. You can expand your site by adding relevant but different keywords to new pages,this will attract new visitors,and ultimately new sales. Continually monitor your keyword rankings in the search engines, and keep a watchful eye on your competition. Make adjustments and improvements where necessary.

Over time-as the presence of your home based business increases-so will the total volume of traffic to your website. As a rule of thumb - a goal of 400 unique visitors per day can be achieved by using the methods in this article.

Maintenance For Your Website

To be effective in maintaining your website,you need to regularly check that all your links are working,check download times, remove broken links,add different graphics,add fresh content. Keep your website up-to-date.

Making Changes To Your Website

There may be a time in the future that you are receiving thousands of targeted traffic to your site-but you are not making a steady stream of online income. What do you do. Take a very good look at your site. Are your adverts relevant to your products. Can your visitors find what they are looking for easily. Is your website easy to navigate and search. Is your website displaying other people's ads or banners.Is your sites colour scheme very bright or too dark,or are you offering out of date information or non-relevant content.

Join a home based business forum,and ask to submit your site for an online review.There are also many forums dedicated to search engine optimisation, link building, writing and submitting articles. These forums will give you honest and precise feedback on your particular query or problem.There will be always someone to help you.

Making A Great Income Online

As you can see from above, there are many aspects involved in building a successful home internet business,but over time your business will grow and develop to where many thousands of people will view and buy from your website on a daily and ongoing basis. These people will have searched through Ppc ads, read your own articles, clicked on your website links etc to arrive at your site. Only then will you start making a great income online.

Best Ways to Choose a Credit Card Processing Company

One of the most critical decisions for launching an online business is deciding on which credit card processor to use and how you will choose to process your customer's payments.  There are two primary methods to choose from: You can use a true merchant account and do it yourself or you can use what is known as a third-party processor.  The credit card processor method you select can possibly effect the execution of your entire Website.

Probably the best way to choose a credit card processor is by simply listing your needs and then comparing the various available plans.  Will cost be the most important element and what other factors will be involved?  Try comparing both a true merchant account to third-party credit card processors side by side.

How is a true merchant account different from a third party credit card processor?

True Merchant Credit Card Processors

With a true merchant account, you are the merchant and you have the option of applying directly through a bank.  However, this is often done through a sales agent.  The account will be dedicated to your business only.  You, as the merchant will have total control over the account and be totally responsible for it in everyway.  You will have to provide a gateway for the account because this will not be included in the account.

Note: Some companies that offer credit card processor plans will extend a bundle that includes a gateway as an enticement.  You are free to choose any gateway you prefer since they are totally separate entities.

Basically, your merchant account for a credit card processor is a direct account with MasterCard, Discover Card and American Express.  If you resolve to accept payments from their members, you must abide strictly by their rules.

Third-Party Credit Card Processors

A third-party credit card processor company has it's own merchant account and they allow individuals and businesses to accept credit card payments through them.  A third-party credit card processing company has all of the power since they make the rules, which you must adhere to since they are allowing you to share their merchant account.

When should you consider using a third-party credit card processing company?

-If your business isn't registered

-If you have been blacklisted

-If you or your mechanize is considered high risk

-If you have poor credit or no credit

-If you only process a small amount of transactions

If you are a non-programmer and can't carry out a complex API.

Additional considerations concerning third-party credit card processing

1. They will not charge higher rates for high risk businesses

2. They don't perform credit checks

3. They can't be used with a separate gateway

4. Their name appears on your customer's credit card statements

5. It can take up to a month to receive deposited funds.

6. You can't negotiate rates for third-party credit card processing.

Most reputable online merchants understand they will be accepting credit cards online and that they will need a merchant account and a payment gateway.  There are good reasons for assuming this:

-If there are large volumes of transactions to be processed, the discount rate will be far superior with a true merchant account than with a third-party credit processing company.

-The merchant will have 100% control over the account.  The merchant can deal directly with customers and it's the merchant's name that appears on the customer's credit card statement.

-Transparent checkout feature - Allows the customer transaction to be processed directly on the Merchant's Website, rather than being redirected to a third party site.

-Portrays a more professional image - A true merchant account is a more seamless process which is expected from customers.

When you apply for a true merchant account, you will have to go through a full credit check and you may not use the account in anyway for your own personal use.  The rates are always negotiable but high-risk products will garner much higher rates.  You may use a separate gateway of your choice for credit card processing and your business name will always appear on the customer's statement. Funds will be deposited within 1-3 days and you may be locked into a contract for several years.

Most online businesses that are just starting out have small margins and tight budgets.  Cost will be the single most important factor in choosing a credit card processing company for most of them.  The needs of each business will vary, as will the offers they receive for credit card processing.  In making a comparison, it's almost like comparing oranges and oranges and can be quite difficult.  One way to approach the comparison process is to collect the data on fees associated with both third party and a true merchant account first.

-Setup fee: how much you need to pay to establish the account

-Discount rate: the percentage of sales that the processor takes

-Transaction fee: the flat fee the processor charges for each transaction

-Monthly fee: the monthly fee associated with keeping the account active

-Setup fee: the cost to set up a gateway

-Gateway monthly fee: the monthly fee charged by the gateway provider for use of their payment gateway services

Next, list the number of transactions you will make each month and how much the average customer will spend on your Website.  There is a multitude of third-party processors and true merchant providers for credit card processing that may be compared.  For example, Papal and Verisign are two well known companies, but are completely different.

Conclusion

You may ultimately use both of these methods to use credit card processing online but the way in which they are implemented are very different.  Each has it's own particular advantages.  Since every business is different, you must consider all of the factors involved with accepting credit cards online, not just the costs.  Sometimes, paying a few additional costs in fees can enhance your customers experience and the overall appearance of your Website.  Take ample time to explore all of your options in order to find the best cost-effective credit card processing company that fills the needs of your online business.

Miami is currently one of the richest real estate area in the United States. Buying a property there will allow you live near the most famous beaches in the world, and in the same time you will be enjoying the urban comforts that a city can offer you.

The Miami Real Estate recently received a boost from the constructions made by some of the most notable real estate investors, like Donald Trump plus many others. If you are looking to take luxury living to the next level you should definitely buy Miami Beach Condos.

Just imagine the benefits that you will get by living in such a Miami Beach Condo. You will have the opportunity to spend your time on world's most famous beaches, do shopping, and join high quality restaurants just by walking a short distance from your condo. Another great thing is the view that your new condo is going to give you.

The city has changed a lot in the last 10 years, thanks to the premium real estate investment made there, right now the city is full of life. Its population has grown significantly during the last years. Be happy, enjoy life, your first step to happiness could be buying a Miami Beach Condo.

Miami is famous for the beaches, the nightlife, the history, the style, and can be a perfect destination for anyone. You will have the opportunity to purchase some modest condos or ultra luxury condos. No matter what you are after, living there it's going to make your life a dream. Just imagine the glamorous life style that this city is going to offer you. This is the reason why many Hollywood celebrities love Miami.

Cold calling, the old way, has to be the most painful form of sales work you can experience. There’s a lot of rejection, fear, and deflated hopes.

But there’s a new way to make cold calling as pleasant and relaxed as picking up the phone and talking to a friend. Just follow these steps, and your cold calls can become an enjoyable part of your day.

1. Rip Up Your Sales Script and Start a Conversation

If you’ve been selling for a while, you’ve probably used a sales script. Perhaps using a script is the only way you know to start a cold call.

But people can almost always tell when you're reading from a script, even if you think you’re pretty good at it. There's just nothing personal about it, and people pick up on that.

A script isn’t a conversation. It’s a linear process designed to move the other person toward a sale. You’re not having a real dialogue when you’re using a script. So nothing is "real" about the whole encounter.

A conversation, on the other hand, is a living, breathing relationship. You’re two real people, talking normally and naturally.

So when you’re just being yourself, the other person’s walls can come down. Because you’re not coming at them with one-way sales strategy. So your cold calls typically last longer. You’ll make fewer calls, and have better results.

2. From "Dreaded Salesperson" to Trusted Advisor

The old cold calling strategies teach you to polarize the roles of buyer and seller. You’re trying to coax "prospects" into buying your product. You’re not thinking about their world – their budget, problems, or time constraints. You’ve been taught to think about the sale.

Well, suppose you were to focus instead on the things that matter to the other person. For example, their problems. What if you were to become a problem solver?

That’s exactly the place you want to be when making your cold calls. Imagine approaching someone with the idea of finding out whether you can help solve a problem. Imagine the kind of attitude this would convey to the other person.

You’re no longer trying to persuade. You’re not even thinking about the sale. You’re thinking about whether you can help someone solve a problem. You’re relaxed, comfortable, and authentic.

When you make your cold calls this way, you’ll find that others will engage you more. And you’ll also be able to really enjoy what you’re doing.

3. Gain the Respect You Deserve – Stop Pushing and Chasing

The old-school sales gurus teach the essentially the same approach. "Focus on closing the sale. Keep pushing forward. Overcome objections. Your job is to turn every no into a yes."

Persuading and coaxing has always been considered a normal and necessary part of cold calling. But it’s rooted in a kind of macho selling image. If you don't keep pushing, it means you're giving up. So you keep trying to move things forward, and you keep "chasing" with follow-up calls.

Even when your focus is on solving a problem for the other person, you can be coaxing and cajoling. But if you do this, how can you become the trusted advisor I spoke about earlier?

It’s really simple. Just let go of your attachment to the sale. When you do this, you can relax into being the professional that you are.

When you stop focusing on getting the sale, you can become a trusted resource. You’re no longer chasing, pushing, and cajoling. You’re helping. And that makes a world of difference in how people respond to you.

Follow these guidelines, and cold calling can become surprisingly enjoyable. You’ll find yourself spending much more time with each person. You’ll also see more positive results, whether or not a sale unfolds. Others will tend to respond to you more graciously. And your whole cold calling experience can become a pleasant one.

Quick update! Buzzquotes is a company we reviewed a few years back. They started off with excellent ratings, and then dropped a bit. But now they are back on the radar. You can find out for yourself by filling out their information request form. They will send you free information on their lead generation programs. We are very impressed with their customer service, and they are excellent at lead generation. Leads they provide: Auto Insurance, Homeowners Insurance, Health Insurance and Life Insurance.

"This lead resulted in a $25,000 annuity sale on the first appointment. My commission on this sale was enough to pay for 100 leads." - John W.

"It is much easier to leave the home with a check when the potential client is ready to buy. That is what buzzquotes.com gives the agent, a client that is done shopping and ready to buy." - Ben P.

"Sold another one! Out of about 16 leads so far, I've sold 4 that have yielded approximately $6700 in first year commissions. Great return on investment!" - Mark R.

"One appointment close. Good, easy sale." - Matt R.

"I have been using buzzquotes since last November (2006). I have sold 20 policies for 36 leads since november. If the info on the lead is correct I have a better than 50/50 chance to sell them. Part of my success is quality companies that I represent, part is my ability, and part is the excellent leads from buzzquotes.com. Thank you very much" - Adam F.

"This was my first one million dollar term insurance policy I have sold! Thanks to buzzquotes." - Lance V.

"Sold $500,000 term life policy. Picking up $45,000 SPDA next month from maturing CD's, plus three Roth IRA's. Will write additional $250,000 of life in February after birth of baby, and are starting discussion of voluntary, payroll deducted retirement plan for 200 employees. Great results from one lead." - Dick L.

"I sold a policy on the husband and wife and got two referrals." - Bradley W.

"Thanks buzzquotes the leads are great, keep 'em coming!" - Shawn B.

"Sold a pair of Health policies, replacing their old Health plans. Buzzquotes led me to a knowledgeable consumer whom I closed 2 days after getting the e-mail. Way to go!" - Jason C.

"Thanks for this lead. I was able to help this prospect obtain life insurance to fund his business buy-sell agreement. Thanks." - Lucy C.

You can buy any type of Insurance leads. Auto Insurance, Homeowners Insurance, Health Insurance and Life Insurance.  You pay as you go, and they do not have time commitments or sign up fees. That's always good.

Buzzquotes philosphy of providing leads to no more than 3 industry professionals in any area keeps the competition down, they are not spread to thin, and their leads produce results. So, you should give them a test drive. To get more information from buzzquotes fill out this no obligation form, and they will email you a free info pack.

The only way to know for sure if buzzquotes is the right choice is to give them a shot. Buy a few leads, and if they are not what you wanted in a lead generation company, try another one. We are getting great feedback, and they have been very consistent.

With the hundreds of millions of websites populating the Internet, it's a challenge to carve out a niche and drive traffic to your site. You can certainly spend thousands or tens of thousands of dollars in pay-per-click advertising, but unless you the CEO of a huge company, you'll never get a return on your investment. In particular, homebased business owners rarely experience success with pay-per-click advertising, primarily because they don't have the money to purchase the number of hits they need to make their businesses profitable.

Luckily, there are many methods of marketing online that don't require a huge investment. In fact, experts generate leads and sales using a variety of tactics. Success lies either in learning how to use these methods yourself, or in networking with experienced marketers and having them implement a system for you.

Many people choose to pursue an opportunity that brings together a cadre of experts who understand both the art and science of marketing online. In this way, homebased website owners don't have to go through the nightmare of trial and error in order to find the best online marketing methods. Instead, they can concentrate on promoting their websites in other ways and, hopefully, create wealth in the process.

These multi-level marketing (or MLM) opportunities generally offer distributorships that are essentially replicating websites. The opportunity usually consists of a product and a suite of marketing efforts that are performed on your behalf. For example, six different companies may provide six different services. One company might design an advertising banner for you and place it on sites that are viewed by the people who are most likely to visit your website. Another company may write an email advertisement for you and distribute it to a hundred thousand people, half of whom will click on the hyperlink to your site. A third expert might implement a ezine advertising campaign on your behalf, while a fourth might endorse your website and send his endorsement to his own opt-in email list.

The theory behind this type of marketing online is that pooled resources produce greater results and more success. When every person in the networking system contributes to the pool, more leads are generated and each person receives more traffic to their website. In other words, the money is leveraged to everyone's best advantage.

Income generation - and in many cases, wealth - is also accomplished through an MLM-like compensation plan. For example, if you were to sign up for the program, the majority of the money you pay would go to your distributor, as would the money paid by your first referral. After that, you would receive the money from your referrals, as well as the money generated from your downline's first referral. Given that the efforts spent marketing online generate leads, and some of those leads convert to sales, the system is set up to pay out quickly and efficiently. Best of all, you don't have to be a marketing expert to make it work, which exponentially increases the chances of your success.

If you've always dreamed of earning a part-time or full-time income online from your home, gifting might be the solution. Gifting offers a tremendous opportunity to work from home, reduce your taxable income, and gain wealth for your future. Through gifting, many Web entrepreneurs are discovering benefits they didn't realize were theirs.

Gifting Explained

Gifting is a unique home based opportunity in which no company is involved, there are no payroll checks, and there are no overhead expenses. It relies on the "act of giving" and the reap-and-sow concept - giving results in receiving. Gifting is beneficial to everyone because gifts within certain monetary value limits as set forth by the government are considered tax-free. These gifts come directly off the top of your income, thus, decreasing your taxable income and possibly your tax bracket.

The beauty of gifting is you can give and receive as many gifts as you want all the while helping others to become a giver and receiver. There are many ways to give gifts and benefit from giving on your taxes. Some acceptable gifts are monetary gifts, real estate gifts, mutual funds, gifts in kind, life insurance gifts, income gifts for heirs, charitable donations, and retirement assets. Churches, charity organizations, companies, and even royal families have been benefiting from giving for years. There are even medical insurance alternatives called medical share programs in which participants send money as gifts to individuals according to monthly medical needs. But many individuals don't realize they can benefit too, even if they don't own a business or charitable organization.

Giving and Receiving for Income

To establish a full-time or part-time income, there are home based gifting opportunities that act as a liaison between the parties on both the giving and receiving end. The givers and receivers all benefit by recommending others, but unlike pyramids or network marketing plans, those who are recommended are not on bottom levels trying to work their way up. Also, there is no selling involved. Web resources, videos, and other avenues make explaining the process easy. And unlike most business opportunities, there are no products or services to sell. Everyone gives and receives the same gifts, so everyone benefits.

Benefits of Gifting

Gifting is growing in popularity as a home based opportunity for several reasons. The benefits of giving are not commonly known to the general public; therefore, there's a good opportunity to educate others about gifting and its many rewards. Also, there are many others online who would like to share in a gifting opportunity but aren't sure how or who to trust. This allows new gifters to introduce many people to the concept without a lot of advertising.

Another benefit is anyone can participate in gift giving from their home, enjoy freedom from a 9-to-5 job, and spend more time with their family. Gifting also brings many interesting people together to form lifelong friendships. Everyone involved has a sense of giving back to the online community while also enjoying the benefits of receiving extra income for enjoyment, bills, retirement, college tuition, savings, and other financial needs.

Gifting allows many people to stay at home while building tremendous wealth. The gifting income levels vary from one individual to another, with some earning thousands of dollars each month. For those who realize success through gifting, the "joy of giving" becomes much more joyful!

With the advent of the Internet as an effective social and business enhancement tool, the rise of search engines has enabled social organizations, interest groups and businesses to increase their visibility, as well as their profits.

Search engine optimization (SEO) refers to the process of improving the volume and quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via "natural", which would mean either organic or algorithmic, search results. Generally, the earlier a site is presented in the search results, or the higher it ranks, the more searchers or web users will be enticed to visit that site. An SEO can also aim for different kinds of search types, including image search, local search, and industry-specific vertical search engines.

For most small businesses, a search engine company may guarantee top rankings for keywords with a short or low monthly search volume or get rankings for higher volume keywords in smaller search engine sites that are not relevant and probably create a very minimal amount of search engine through traffic.

According to observers, currently there are really considered the main three search engines for businesses’ or firms’ to focus on their lead generation and keyword rankings through, and these are MSN, Google and Yahoo. With these three search engines combined, analysts say a firm could cover approximately 70% of all web traffic that could potentially come through their site.

The history of search engine optimization began when webmasters and content providers began optimizing sites for search engines in the mid-1990s, as the first search engines were cataloguing the early web environment. At the beginning, all a webmaster needed to do was submit a page, or URL, to the various engines which would send a “spider” to "crawl" that page, extract links to other pages from it, and return information found on the page to be indexed.

The process involves a search engine spider downloading a page and storing it on the search engine's private server, where a secondary program, also called an indexer, would extract an array of information about the page, such as the words it contains and where these are located, as well as any weight for specific words, which are then placed into a scheduler for crawling probably at a later date. Currently, SEO’s like jump2top.com and 7seo.com perform accurate searches or website visibility enhancement modes that are attuned to a company or organization’s preferred objectives or desired reach.

The owners of most websites recognize that obtaining top search engine rankings for their top keywords is fundamentally important for their firm’s continued success. However, the large majority of does not yet fully understand the process of a small business SEO company’s process of achieving these keyword rankings through targeted search engine marketing and most are not aware of free SEO site appraisal. It is very important to not only invest in search engine optimization specialist techniques, but also pay-per-click management techniques also.

By 1997, the majority of search engines recognized that some webmasters were working double time in producing efforts to rank well in their search engines, and even manipulating the page rankings in search results. Early search engine startups, such as Infoseek, fine-tuned their algorithms to prevent webmasters from manipulating rankings by stuffing pages with excessive or irrelevant keywords.

However, due to the high marketing value of targeted search results, there is a potential for an antagonistic relationship between search engines and SEOs. In 2005, an annual conference of the AIRWeb, or the Adversarial Information Retrieval on the Web, was formed to confer and minimize the harmful effects of aggressive web content providers.