Jim Orr of Traffic Geyser is featured in this episode of the IBAUSA Podcast.  Recorded live from the Internet Business Beginners MeetUp in San Diego CA, Jim discusses the opportunities available as an Internet Marketing Consultant for small businesses.  His main points are:

• First, that most small businesses do a poor job at defining or accomplishing any business objectives for their website;

• Second, that most small businesses are unaware of the power of Internet Marketing when done correctly.

• Third, that many small businesses are struggling and not getting adequate results with traditional advertising and marketing methods.

This opens up a wonderful opportunity for individuals who have gained even a modest amount of Internet Marketing knowledge, and who are willing to apply that knowledge to help small business owners get results through online marketing.

Check out Jim’s accompanying PowerPoint presentation for this presentation (in PDF format) in the Member’s section.  For instant access, just sign up for the free membership!

Here’s Part 2 of Sandy Swain’s informative presentation on the topic of affiliate marketing.  In this episode, she picks up from where she left off, providing even more how-to guidance for beginners just getting started with online marketing and Internet Business.  Useful links from Sandy’s presentation are contained in the Member’s page, so sign up for free access today.

Mick Moore concludes his presentation on AdSense Basics in this episode of the Internet Business Association Podcast.  Sign up for complimentary access to the Members area to get a copy of Mick’s PowerPoint presentation.

Veteran Internet entrepreneur, Mick Moore of  killergraffix.com gave us a great presentation on Google AdSense at our recent MeetUp here in San Diego CA.  As expected, Mick wow’d the audience with his insight, and his pragmatic approach to the topic of making money online.

The biggest take-away I got, and that I hope the attendees understood, was there’s no such thing as a “magic bullet” when it comes to making money online with AdSense or anything else.  Realistically, if you can generate a few hundred dollars per month on AdSense as a supplement to your regular online business, then you’re doing better than most.  AdSense, on its own, would require massive effort to generate substantial income – Mick gave us an example of an extremely successful entrepreneur making “millions” with AdSense, but he does it with a voluminous number of websites that most of us would be unwilling or unable to manage.

I’ve personally not used AdSense on my regular sites, simply because I want my targeted visitors to stay on my site as long as possible.  Clicking an AdSense ad on one of my sites, would take them away to another site.  Sure, I would get a few cents from Google, but I’ve lost a potential client.

To learn more about AdSense, Mick recommended reading Joel Comm’s book about AdSense.  According to Mick, although its a few years old, much of the information is still valid.  Finally, a copy of Mick’s PowerPoint presentation (in PPS format) is contained in the Members Area, so if you don’t have free access yet, go ahead and sign up.  The short form is on the top right corner of the home page.

This episode features a member of our local Internet Business Beginners MeetUp Group.  Sandy Swain is a full time Affiliate Marketer and consultant with six years of marketing experience. As well as maintaining over 50 websites of her own, she has also taught affiliate marketing workshops both in the USA and the UK. Sandy has been the “secret weapon” for several high profile Internet Marketers, authors, and speakers. Her love for the Macintosh computer has people referring to her as the “MacChick”.  The PowerPoint presentation Sandy used for her live presentation is available in the Members Area.  Sign up for complimentary access on the right side of the home page at ibausa.org.  Enjoy!

You’ve probably been wondering when I was going to cover building your website! Its very common for new Internet entrepreneurs to rush to website design, without ever considering the topics I’ve covered thus far in the previous lessons. Keep in mind that business on the Internet is very competitive, and getting even more competitive with each passing day, so you must to go through some critical steps which have been proven to give you the greatest chance of success. I’m talking about doing your keyword research for your business idea, and from the results, defining your target market or niche, and then fine-tuning your product or service offering to establish your unique selling proposition or USP. So, a lot of work goes into preparing, before you even think about setting up your website. Well, we’re finally at that point, because now, its time to set up your website in seven easy steps.

• Determine the business objectives your site will serve.
• Based on your business objectives, determine the type of site you wish to establish.
• Select your domain name.
• Select your server host.
• Design your site.
• Construct your site.
• Optimize your site.

Resources mentioned in this podcast, such as domain name provider and server hosting, are available in the Tools page.  Additional links and resources are contained in the Members Area.

On page website optimization is discussed in this episode.  Specifically, it is what you do on your website’s pages that cause it to be properly indexed, and highly ranked by search engine spiders such as Googlebot.  Discussions involve:

a.  Choosing a domain name.

b.  Title, Description, Keyword Tags.

c.  Textual content.

d.  Use of graphics and Flash elements.

e.  The danger of frames.

f.  Search engine submission.

For additional resources regarding this episode, sign up, then go to the Member’s area.

Keyword research is essential to maximizing the chances of succeeding online, yet so few people do a good job at it.  Assuming you have already decided on a business concept or theme, you can now begin to validate whether your business idea will have a chance of success online. I like to use acronyms to remember key concepts, so in this discussion, I’ll use G.A.S.:

Generate Keyword Phrases

Analyze Keyword Phrases

Select Keyword Phrases

By doing a good job at keyword research, you will be able to determine the level of competition that exists online for your business idea. You will also be able to narrow down your theme into a less competitive, but still profitable niche. So, enjoy the podcast, and don’t forget to sign up for complimentary membership, and get a copy of the Keyword Analysis Spreadsheet I refer to in the podcast.

What does the Internet have in store for you? Will you pursue some ideas you’ve had churning in your head? Are you just now starting to think about some possible projects you can do online?

In this episode, I discuss the top ways people are making income online. Some are the more traditional methods, like selling your products or services on a website, while others are emerging methods that have appeared as a result of the social networking phenomenon.

I hope the discussion spurs some “aha’s” and prompts you to take action!

With hundreds of millions of websites on the Internet today, one may wonder if business opportunities still exist, especially for the small business entrepreneur.  True, the Internet has become an increasingly competitive place to do business, but the statistics shared in this podcast episode may surprise you.  So, if you understand the tremendous benefits of having a profitable online business, then you must commit – even on a part-time basis – to learn all you can about how to succeed.  Imagine creating the lifestyle you know you deserve, on your own terms.  Let me tell you, there’s nothing more challenging, or invigorating!