Articles by Scott Oliver on ArticleSnatch.com

The Three Reasons Why You Need to Read your Traffic Reports

Thu, 06 Dec 2007 00:00:00 -0500

If you're not normally a computer person, the entire process of setting up a business website can be a terrifying process. Not only is coding difficult to understand, but it can take months or years to learn. With new site building services, you don't have to worry as much about how to put the pieces together; however, you still need to think about what happens once your site is up and running. How many people are stopping by to see your site is imperative for your success. Your website needs to be an active part of your business. Think of your site as a virtual shop where visitors are the customers who come in to browse your selection. If you don't have a steady stream of people coming in, you won't have anyone staying to make a purchase. This is measured as traffic on your website. When you have a lot of traffic, you have a higher chance of getting more revenue. This makes sense, but how does reading about your traffic report help you?** End Summary**

About the Author:
Scott Oliver offers free video coaching to help you build a profitable home business FAST. Get an hour of "Website Traffic Secrets" and "Minisite Creation Tactics" for FREE -- immediate access here: http://www.InstantWebsiteBusiness.com

Growing Your Online Business in Three Easy Steps

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 00:00:00 -0500

Getting your website up and running is an exciting thing at first. You get a lot of people coming to visit your site, they're buying things and you seem to be doing pretty well. But after a time, the initial excitement wears off and you begin to ask yourself, "Is this all there is?" Before you get to that point, you need to learn the three basic steps to take in order to grow an online business and stay relevant in the ever changing virtual marketplace. Thankfully, most of this information is common sense, but that doesn't mean you can't learn a thing or two (or three). Get People to Come to Visit Your main concern in the beginning year or so of your website is getting people to come to your website. You can do this by employing a number of basic tactics: 1. Learn about search engines - When you begin to learn what search engines are looking for in a site in order to rank it higher, you will begin to get more hits on your site. 2.** End Summary**

The Top Five Things You Need to Know about SEO

Wed, 21 Nov 2007 00:00:00 -0500

Whether you built your business website or not, you need to learn about SEO. Search Engine Optimization is the key to getting your website in the forefront of visitors' minds. Based upon the idea that the more keywords you have in your site, the more likely you will match the visitor's query, SEO is the hot topic of debate among those with websites. And with its ever changing rule system, you need to find out what the rules actually are and how to use them to your advantage. SEO is More Than Keywords It seems simple enough ' add more keywords and you will rank higher in search engine listings. This used to be the main rule for websites, but things have changed. Though you are still ranked according to how many keywords you have in your site, it's also ranked according to how many other related keywords you have as well as other factors. In the 'old' days, websites used to just stuff their sites with keywords, making the text unreadable and often unrelated to the visitor's search.** End Summary**

Five Things to Watch Out for with Merchant Accounts

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 00:00:00 -0500

Money is a tricky business, it seems; especially when you want to make some for yourself. When you're running an online business, you need to make sure that the way you're handling money not only is secure, but also makes sense. When you're using merchant accounts to help process financial transactions, you need to be wary of what you're signing up for so that you can make the most of their services. A merchant account is a system through which a customer gives their financial information to the account company, they check the information and then deposit the funds into your account. By acting as a intermediary, not only can they help verify the account, but they will also help create a seamless flow of funds into your account ' if you watch out for these five things. The Fees Can be High When you're a smaller business that doesn't have a lot of cash flow, some merchant account companies may charge higher fees than you can handle. With each transaction, the account company is going to change a fee in order to do the processing (which is how they make money).** End Summary**

Three Ways to Automate Your Online Business

Sat, 10 Nov 2007 00:00:00 -0500

If there was a way to keep your online business running at all hours of the day, you'd jump on it right? But the high payroll costs and sleep deprivation just don't seem to be a good trade off for this always-ready business idea. Is there a way to automate your business so that you don't have to work at all hours of the night? By automating your online business, you can not only free up your days, but you can also increase your profits all around. Instead of having to make your customers wait for you to open, the website will be ready to greet them no matter where and when they are shopping. Have Someone Else Do the Shipping One of the easiest ways to handling your online orders is to have someone else do the shipping for you. In the beginning of your online business, you might have thought that handling the packaging yourself allowed you to see that the order was indeed shipped and that it got to the post office on time. But as your orders grow, this becomes less and less reasonable for you to do.** End Summary**

Six Ways to Add a Personal Touch to Your Website

Sat, 03 Nov 2007 00:00:00 -0400

Setting yourself apart from your competition should be first and foremost in your mind when you're starting an online business. Whether you realize it or not, it's not always about the quality of your products or your services that gets people interested in you – it's how you make them feel once they're on your site. What you need is to add a personal touch to your site that makes a visitor feel like they're the most important person in the world to you. Here's how: Add Your Business History By telling the story of your business and how it came to be, you begin to show the customer that you're not just another seller that wants to make money. You began as a person with a dream that you wanted to see fulfilled, you worked hard, and here you are, showing what you learned along the way. Talk about any inspirations that you had as you were growing as a business – and if there is a personal anecdote you can share, that's all the better.** End Summary**

Three Simple Steps to Security on Your Business Website

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0400

Sometimes it seems like nothing is safe anymore. Whether it's the airport or the local shopping mall, everywhere you look there is risk upon risk. But when it comes to your online business website, this surely isn't the case, is it? The truth is that more theft than ever is taking place on the internet in the form of data stealing. Credit card numbers and identities are being stolen from business websites that don't know how to secure their financial transactions or that don't know how to verify information in the first place. Here are three simple steps to help secure your business website: Get the Latest Security Software In order to secure your website, you need at least SSL encryption software on your site. This can be managed by an outside security company (like VeriSign) or you can work with a website designer to create your own configuration. What this software does is encrypt the information that is being sent from one place to another so that hackers can't find out what the financial information is.** End Summary**

Three Things to Keep in Mind When Using PPC

Wed, 24 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0400

Chances are good that even if you're not using PPC for your business, you've probably used it in your shopping or research time on the internet. These are those little links that line the sides of pages, beckoning you to find out what they have to offer. Whenever you click onto one of these links, the PPC company charges the person who places the ad for the click. But with well placed PPC campaigns, you can often get a lot of clicks that turn into sales. That's the key with PPC – conversion. Here are three things you need to keep in mind as you investigate this marketing tactic. The PPC Advertisement Needs to Be Exciting In order to get someone to click onto your PPC advertisement, you need to make sure you are telling them exactly why it's important for them to find out more. For example, if you are selling a weight loss product, you might want to advertise how much weight someone can lose in a short amount of time (Lose Ten Pounds in Two Weeks With No Exercise).** End Summary**

Three Secrets about Working with Affiliates

Tue, 16 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0400

If you've been around the internet for even a short period of time and you've started to research ways to grow and develop your online business, chances are good that you've stumbled into affiliate marketing. This way to promote other websites for everyone's benefit is being used by everyone it seems - even if you don't realize it. Affiliate marketing works by creating a system between the buyer, the seller and the affiliate. The seller asks an affiliate to promote their product or website and then the affiliate does what they can to encourage the buyer to go to the seller. With every purchase made because of the affiliate's promotion, the affiliate gets a part of the profits. It's Easier Than You Think Since there are affiliate programs out there that you can sign up to be included in, all you basically need to do is pay a fee and then let the company do the work for you. If you don't have the money to join one of these affiliate systems, you might want to start by looking for affiliates on your own, though this can be slightly more complicated.** End Summary**

Four Ways to Create Trust with Your Business Website

Sat, 13 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0400

When you're in business to make money, you need to establish a sense of trust between you and your customer. You need to make sure they trust you are providing them with a quality product or service; you need the customer to trust that you will be available for questions and concerns; and you need to be sure your customer trusts you to be available in the future for things they need. This is a heavy burden to carry on your online shoulders, but there are plenty of ways that your business website can begin to establish this trust today. Have Superior Contact Options People are being taught these days that if websites don't have contact information, they are not to be trusted. You should be sure that all of your contact links and options are all functioning properly and are available whenever you have said they will be available. This will help a customer trust that you are someone who genuinely cares about them and their queries. If you are unable to available at all hours, you may want to include an extensive Help system or a FAQ section that will address smaller questions as they come up.** End Summary**

Five Ways to Give Great Customer Service Every Time

Tue, 09 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0400

When you're not actually seeing your customers face to face, it can be difficult to create a personal connection with them. Although you want each of your customers to feel right at home with your business, you need to work harder when your only interaction is through your website. Thankfully, there are plenty of ways to establish both strong customer service and a true sense of caring for your customer â here's what you need to know. Acknowledge Your Customer One of the worst mistakes you can make in your customer service arena is to act as though you don't need to acknowledge the presence of your customer. When you don't have some sort of greeting on your website, it can say to the customer that you only care about them if they're spending money. Instead, try to use casual language to greet your customer in some way. This section doesn't have to be long, but it should have some sort of introduction to your site that helps a customer feel at home.** End Summary**

Five Reasons Why the Number of Web Pages Does Matter

Sat, 06 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0400

With all of the things you need to know about starting and running an online business, the details can seem overwhelming. Many new online business owners would rather ignore certain things until they become problematic but that's not necessarily the best way to be as a business owner. Instead, you need to start looking at things that doesn't seem to matter, as they are often the things your competitors are ignoring as well. For example, when you consider the number of web pages you have, there are some specific reasons why you should be counting these up. Reason #1: More Pages is More Work When you have an idea to add a number of web pages to your site, you will inevitably be causing more work for yourself. It will take a longer time to create these pages, resulting in a possible delay in the finishing of your website. This means that you might not be getting all of the profits your website deserves. You might want to start out with only a few web pages to see how your visitors respond, adding more only as the number of visitors and return visitors grows.** End Summary**

Three Simple Ways to Create Value on your Business Website

Wed, 03 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0400

Whenever you go to a website, you're looking for one of two things: to buy something you've bought before or something new that you will buy. When you visit a website for the first time, you want to see that there is value in coming to that website over the others that are on the internet. So, knowing this, as an online business website, how can you offer this value to your next website visitor? Here are three ways to make their visit worth their while. Give Good Information for Free If you create a website that offers only the basic amount of information, you're going to have visitors that are confused. While they can get to your products and to your contact pages, they're wondering what else you can offer them for free. The truth is that website visitors want to get as much as their can from a website before they even spend a cent in most cases. For example, when you visit a news website, you look at all the stories before you would even consider signing up for a subscription to their forums or up to date news, right?** End Summary**

Should You Pay for Your Website Hosting?

Mon, 01 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0400

Whether you're in the beginning stages of website building or you already have a sit up and running, web hosting needs to be on your mind. When you're running or planning to run an online business, whether or not you can reach your customers is going to help in predicting your success. With a good web host, you should be available to your customers and visitors at any time of the day, no matter the traffic. But the prices for web hosting can seem pretty high when you're a fledgling business. And those offers for free web hosting or low cost shared hosting can seem pretty tempting. Should you give in? What Shared Website Hosting Is When you see advertisements for shared website hosting, you first want to find out what it is in order to decide if it's right for you. Just like regular website hosting, these companies will help get your website out onto the internet so that it can be seen by your prospective customers. But unlike traditional hosting services, you aren't going to have your own server at the hosting company you are going to be on a server with other websites, hence the name 'shared.** End Summary**

Are Blogs Worth Your Time?

Thu, 27 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0400

Everywhere you turn these days, business websites seem to be adding blogs to their promotional fare. Whether these blogs are quirky notes from people on the staff or written by a professional copywriter, there is a debate in the market as to whether or not these blogs are even worth your time. When done well, blogs can offer a new insight into a business' dealings, but if not done correctly, they can often harm the image the business is striving to create. What Kind of Business are You? Simply throwing a blog up on your business website or as a link on your website and waiting to see how popular it is isn't the best first step in having a business site blog. You need to begin by determining the audience you are addressing with your business. Are they even blog readers? Most people are fairly aware of blogs and their place on the internet, but in relation to your business, do they even make sense? If your typical customers and site visitors are coming for new products or to make return purchases, chances are pretty good that a blog isn't going to matter to them.** End Summary**

Three Simple Steps to Making Your Website User Friendly

Tue, 25 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0400

If you were to walk into a business establishment, but you couldn't find the products that were being offered for sale or someone that could help you, chances are pretty good that you would leave, right? When you look at a website that's poorly designed, the same things happened. Visitors who can't immediately figure out a website are more than likely going to go back to the web search page to see what other sites are available. It's a matter of creating a user friendly site and here's how you can do it. Step #1: Think Less is More Many businesses think that adding a lot of bells and whistles to a website is the way to increase their customer traffic. When you have a lot of graphics, Java applications, and other add-ons, you're not only going to confuse your visitor, but you are also going to overwhelm them. These are distractions that will make your website load slowly and, for some visitors, it may not load at all. You need to start thinking about creating a website where less is more.** End Summary**

The Secrets to Creating Strong Website Content People Will Actually Read

Sat, 22 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0400

How many times have you gone to a website, only to discover that the content was filled with nonsense phrases and words that seemed to be repeated over and over? While this website may have been up in the search engine ranks; the content was weak and probably turned off other visitors as well. If you're concerned that your website might not be making the best first impression, you need to learn the secrets to creating strong website content that people will actually want to read. Here's what you need to know. Find Out What People Want to Read Instead of simply posting articles that include a lot of keywords, you need to determine what your customers are looking to read about. Whether it's current issues related to your product and services or perhaps it's a problem that your product or service addresses, those are topics that you want to include on your website. These articles will show that you want to help your website visitors, not just sell to them. To find relevant topics, you can head to your favorite search engine and type in your market category and 'news.** End Summary**

Ten Simple Ways to Promote Your Website

Tue, 18 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0400

If you're in business, you're in business to succeed. Instead of simply hoping for the best, you need to take action in order to guarantee long term growth and profits. But for some reason, many business owners seem to think that online business are different. Actually, running and promoting an internet business is more difficult. With these ten tips, you can make sure to promote your business and make internet retail look easy. 1. Pick a simple domain name When you're building your website, make sure to pick a website name that is easy to remember and that clearly indicates who you are and what you sell. You want to always be in the minds of your customers and prospective customers. 2. Put your domain name in your emails When you want people to find out about you, you need to make sure they know where to find you. Have your website name at the bottom of your email signatures for everyone you email. This will help you spread the word, even though you're not directly selling. 3.** End Summary**

Should You Change Your Website Often?

Sat, 15 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0400

It seems like some websites are changing as often as every few minutes. And while this seems to make sense for news sites and those that want to provide readers with up to date information, does this necessarily make sense for your business website? You want to show your visitors that you're constantly innovating your business, but at the same time, does changing all the time seem like you just can't make up your mind about what you have to offer? Here's what you need to think about before you build your business website. The Case for Change There is certainly something to be said for always being fresh and new. When your visitors are looking for the latest and greatest fads in clothing, for example, you need to be able to deliver these trends as soon as they're on the red carpet or the runway. Change also shows your visitors that you are always looking out for them and their needs. You can include a daily blog, for example, that gives up to date information on the state of affairs in your business or perhaps on trends in the products you are selling.** End Summary**

Create a Professional Looking Website in One Day

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0400

Being in business for yourself means that you don't necessarily have a lot of time to waste in creating plans or developing your website. But the good news is that you don't have to spend long hours creating a professional website. All you need is one day, one webpage building program, some background in webpage building, and a clear vision for your company. After that, you can sit back and watch your visitor totals climb. Clean and Simple Does the Trick The first thing you need to keep in mind is that you don't need to include a lot of fancy details and programs in order to create a nice website. In fact, if you look at other professional websites (law firms, for example), you will notice that they are actually quite simple. The main page is a simple center article or introduction with a side or top column menu that directs the visitor to other places of the website. You might find some simple pictures on this main page as well as a list of services and products.** End Summary**

Three Easy Ways to Get More Traffic for Free

Sun, 09 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0400

The key to any successful home based internet business is the traffic that you drive to your site. After all, if you don't have anyone visiting your website, you're probably not making any profits either. But while the quest for high traffic counts seems to be the elusive goal, there are plenty of easy ways to drive traffic to your site even if you don't have a lot of experience with the internet. All you need to do is follow these three traffic building tips. Article Distribution Still Works When you want to make people listen to what you say, you need to create the impression that you are an expert. This is why so many diet pills will employ the services of a doctor that attests to the value of the drug. But when you are a home based internet business, you will want to go about this in a different way than medical school. You can create the expert image by contributing articles to article directories on the internet. These articles will be read by interested parties on the internet and then you can include a link to your website at the bottom.** End Summary**

How to Find Your Online Niche

Thu, 06 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0400

To the casual observer, the internet looks like it already has every topic covered. But that's certainly not the case. When you're trying to figure out what you might be able to do as a home based internet business, your first job is to find out what people are looking for on the internet, but not finding to their satisfaction. This is called finding your niche, or your place in the sea of websites and business. And while it sounds like an impossible task, this is certainly not the case when you follow this advice. The trick with finding your niche is that you need to be as specific as possible about what you are going to sell and promote. When you choose something too big (i.e. coffee), you will definitely become lost in the shuffle of the others around you. But if you specialize more (i.e. coffee that's organic), you will address an interested audience. What Do You Already Enjoy and Know About? Sometimes, finding your niche is as easy as finding out what you already want to do. Let's take the example of beauty products.** End Summary**

Take Time Out For Your Home Based Business

Sat, 25 Aug 2007 00:00:00 -0400

Sometimes when life is busy, its difficult to find time to step back and analyze what you're doing with your life and whether it's going in the direction you want it to. You know you want to set a home based business, but you never seem to have a second to think about it. Here are some ideas to help you find that time. 1. Take time to dream; somewhere, in the back of your mind, a little voice is telling you that you want a new start. You want to be independent. You want your own home based business. Take 5 minutes to sit back, close your eyes and dream about it. Does your dream appeal to you? If it does it's time to look into it further. 2. Family; parents, partner or siblings tend to be more perceptive about us than we are. Ask them what they think. Would it be the right thing for you to do? What areas should you look at? 3. Social life; in the early stages of you home based business it is important that you realize your social life will suffer.** End Summary**