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If you’ve been online for any amount of time, then I’m sure you’ve heard many of the success stories about internet entrepreneurs, and how they’re making millions every year, and you’ve probably heard how easy it is for you to do it, too.

And the truth is, it actually is kind of easy, but not as easy as most salesmen would have you believe. There is a little bit of work involved, and anyone who’s really been successful has put in the time and effort to get there. And they’ve managed to avoid the pitfalls on this list.

If you’re trying to start your online business and things haven’t gone as well as you’ve hoped so far, then hopefully, these suggestions will help.

Here are the five most common reasons that most internet businesses fail that I’ve seen, in no particular order:

1. Information Overload

You’ve probably already been inundated with emails explaining how some new money making scheme is the hottest thing on the planet and you need to get in now so that you’re on the cutting edge of internet marketing.

The problem is that you haven’t finished working on the previous hot new thing yet, and as soon as you start this one, yet another hot idea will hit, and so on, and so on.

In every legitimate email you get, there should be an “unsubscribe” link at the bottom. Start clicking on it, and just stick with a few of the people who you know are giving you good information about building your business from start to finish in the right order without any distractions.

And make sure that you see every task through to completion before moving onto the next one. It’s the only real way to get anything done.

2. The Curse of Perfection

Speaking of seeing tasks through to completion, also consider that not everything on your website and in your sales process has to be absolutely perfect before you can unleash it on the public.

So many home business owners who are just starting out have a habit of obsessing over every little detail forever before they’ll allow themselves to launch their site.

Stop it. It doesn’t have to be perfect. That doesn’t mean that you don’t need to make sure your website is working properly first. It means that you can work on adjusting small details, such as the color scheme, the sales copy, the images, later on. In fact, if you’re planning to do any proper testing (and you should be), then you should be constantly working on those items anyway.

So get your website out there, get some traffic, make sure the big things are working right, and then worry about adjusting the small details.

3. Waiting for the “Magic Bullet”

Let me just start by saying that there is no magic bullet when it comes to running your own business, or doing any kind of work online.

I know that a lot of salesmen make it sound that way when you’re reading their sales letters, but it simply isn’t true. They’re lying to you. And even if they’re not lying to you, and let’s say their system does work, it’s only going to work for a short period of time, and it’s only going to make you a little bit of money. Not the millions they’re promising.

That’s why I constantly warn people away from the “business-in-a-box” opportunities. The result is never very good. Maybe you’ll make a small bit of side money, if you’re lucky. Besides, why would you want to sell the same thing everyone else is selling anyway?

The only way to have lasting success online is to have your own website that is unlike anyone else’s, that you’ve built up into a success, with a loyal customer base, one step at a time.

4. Being a Shopaholic

This goes along with #3 above. Stop paying for every new scheme that comes along because they’re promising you instant riches. All that’s going to do is drain you of your money.

And then, if you’re like so many others, there’s a good chance you’ll get frustrated and give up on the whole thing, because you don’t know who you can trust anymore, and you don’t want to take a chance. So your dream of working from home is over before it began.

Or, maybe they’re not selling you a scam, but in fact have legitimate programs that many people use successfully in their businesses. That’s great, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s right for you right now. It might be something that will be a good investment for your business later on, but you should really concentrate on getting your website up and running first. Otherwise you end up with information overload as described in #1 above.

5. Fear of Technology

Just because you’ve never tried something before doesn’t mean that you can’t learn to do it. Think about pretty much everything you’ve ever done, especially the things you’re good at. Did you always know how to do that, or did you learn it over time?

I’m guessing that you learned it, and you can learn to do a lot of the work on your website, too. I constantly have to tell the people I meet that it’s in their best interest to learn at least a little bit of the technical stuff that comes with having a website.

I’m not saying you have to be a programming expert. In fact, if you need heavy duty programming done, then you should definitely get someone to do it for you. It’ll save you a lot of time, for one. But there’s no reason why you can’t learn some of the basics of HTML so that whenever you need to make a small change to your website (such as the testing we talked about earlier) you won’t have to pay someone to do it for you. And you won’t have to wait for them to have the time.

It’s not as hard as you think. It just takes a little time to learn it.

Conclusion

The most important point I’m trying to convey is that, in order to be successful online, you need to remain focused on one task at a time. Finish that task and move onto the next one. Finish that task and move on. And keep going until you’re done.

Stop investing in every fancy new program that comes along. There are no “magic bullets” anyway. Stick to the plan from the beginning, and see it through to the end.

Starting a new website does require a bit of work at the beginning. There’s no way around that if you want to succeed. But the great thing about working online is that once you have everything set up, you can put almost all of it on autopilot and bring in money 24 hours a day with a minimum of work.

So get started now, don’t be afraid that you can’t do it, don’t get frustrated, and don’t let anything distract you. You could be making very good money in very little time if you do it right.

By Mark Yarrobino

The act of Googling oneself has become the digital age’s premiere guilty pleasure — an activity enjoyed by all and admitted by few. The phenomenon has even been the subject of scholarly research. Last year, a team of Swiss and Australian social scientists published a study concluding that the practice of self-Googling (or “ego-surfing,” as it’s sometimes called) can partly be traced to a rise in narcissism in society, but that it is also an attempt by people to identify and shape their personal online “brand.” The authors of the survey no doubt returned to their cubicles and Googled themselves to see if the study was posted online

The folks at Google are well aware that their site handles millions of vanity searches every day, and that users aren’t always thrilled about the results that pop up when they Google themselves.

“The reason people search for themselves is that they’re curious about what other people see when they search for their name,” says Joe Kraus, Google’s director of product management. “One problem is they don’t have any control over the search results. Either they don’t like the search results, or what happens most of the time is, they’re not listed on the first page. If your name is Brian Jones and you’re not the deceased Rolling Stones guitarist, you don’t exist.”

To give people a bit more control over search results, Google introduced a feature this week it calls a “Google profile,” which users can create so that a thumbnail of personal information appears at the bottom of U.S. name-query search pages. Once users create a Google profile, their name, occupation and location (and photo if they choose) appears in a box on the first page of the search results for their name. Next to the thumbnail info, there’s a link to a full Google profile page that in many ways resembles a Facebook page.

The similarity to Facebook is no accident. Google profiles are the search giant’s fiendishly clever attempt to turn your ego-surfing pain into their gain. By giving users a modicum of control over the results that appear on a search for their name, Google hopes to establish a social network beachhead and take on wildly popular sites like Facebook and MySpace. Facebook users who otherwise couldn’t be bothered to set up a separate profile page on Google might find the idea appealing if it gives them some control over the Google search results for their name. And if you’re already using Gmail for e-mail, Google Maps for directions and Google’s Picasa for photo-sharing, you may wind up spending more time with your Google profile than your Facebook or MySpace page.

The Google profile lets you set up a personalized page on which you can include links to your blog, Twitter feed or company website, plus share online photos and link to your other profiles on sites such as Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn. There’s room for a brief bio, along with a place to list your current interests, places you’ve lived and schools you’ve attended. There’s also a space that asks you to list your “superpower,” proof that the engineers at Google have a sense of humor. Or think they do.

Like Facebook, your Google profile doesn’t display any private information unless you’ve explicitly added it. You can share info with friends and family and control who sees what. There’s no Google profile feature that lets you “friend” another user — at least not yet. But there is a “Send a message” feature that lets anyone with a Google account e-mail you without revealing your e-mail address. Another feature called “My places” displays all the cities you’ve entered on your profile and your current location on a map. A Google map, of course.

The more information you add to your profile, the higher your page is likely to be ranked on a Google search for your name and associated keywords, such as the name of your hometown, your job title or where you work or go to school. And the more richly detailed your Google profile is, the more Google knows about you. There’s no advertising attached to Google profiles, but in the future, the company could easily sell ads targeted to your personal details, much as they’ve already done on Gmail.

These days, Big Brother isn’t just watching you — he wants to know your superpower and the name of your childhood pet. And he already knows you like to Google yourself, so don’t try to deny it.

By Tom McNichol

Believe me, in spite of the current financial turmoil, there has never been a better time to generate an online income stream!

And yet it seems that so many budding Internet marketers are finding it hard to break through VNB – the “Visitor Numbers Barrier.”

When I started, I thought there was some magic elixir or secret technique that would transform my visitor numbers! If only I could find THE ONE successful method!

Well, this article is to let you know that while there may be hundreds of ways to get visitors to your website – I’ve selected some of the techniques that work best for me.

And they can work for you, as well.

Because, if there IS a secret of success, it is this: “Don’t rely on ONE way to generate traffic. Become familiar with MANY.” Better to have many visitor doors to your website, rather than just one, don’t you think?

I’m still surprised how many serious Internet marketers neglect the basics. And one of the most basic ways to increase your visitor traffic is to be absolutely certain that your website is listed by the search engines.

Don’t trust the search engine spiders to do your work for you. All the major search engines have detailed and easy-to-follow instructions on site submission, as well as how to create and submit site-maps.

I don’t think Facebook needs a great deal of introduction, does it? But you can mine value for Facebook if you look for opportunities to include your website on information that you provide.

Then, there is what I call the secret power of blogging: search engines LOVE blogs. The search engine spiders thrive on novelty and change, and if you write or post a new entry to your blog every day – or every other day – the search engines will recognize what is going on and begin to rank your website blog higher than a website that doesn’t change its content from month to month. And a high ranking means visitors to your site.

Don’t forget that you can leverage your signature in online communities or discussion groups. If your product is specifically niched, then you know that there are loyal and relevant online communities or discussion groups who want to hear from you.

And, your forum signature could be a goldmine once you have thought through the best way of expressing your product’s unique feature so that readers find your website irresistible.

Would you like your web address to be seen by ten million people in ten minutes? Well, it’s possible – if you’re careful! Because there are three kinds of people: those who love Google Adwords, often known as Pay Per Click, those who hate it – and those who haven’t tried it.

Many people just go nuts trying to get their advertisement absolutely perfect. And, if you don’t read the small print, you could find that your budget is exhausted quickly. But if you follow the guidelines and budget sensibly you could attract many, many hundreds of paying visitors on a daily basis.

Do you remember those kid’s stories where the fairy Godmother tells the child to repeat a word three times for magic to happen? Well, here’s that word: “eBay”, “eBay”, “eBay”.

There – I’ve said it. eBay is perhaps THE most underestimated visitor generating resource. Ignore eBay at your peril. There are many, many resources available on the web where you can discover how to sell products on eBay. Until recently you could sell digital products (i.e. eBooks, which you can download) but the rules have changed and you can now only sell physical goods, so your eBook will have to be on a CD. Personally, I think it’s a good move, and opens up many possibilities.

Don’t forget that Ezines and Newsletters are the Grand Daddy and Grand Mommy of all website visitor attraction and list building activity. The thing is this – Ezines and Newsletters work!

If you love your niche product, you’ll have LOTS to say about it, and there will be people who want to hear what you have to say. I built an opt-in subscriber of almost 3,000 with a business coaching Newsletter.

Another way to get visitors to your websites is to write your own ebook. I’m not embarrassed to say that we’re not talking great literature here. We aren’t talking about the Pulitzer Prize. We’re not even talking more than, maybe, 30 pages, double spaced, and size 12 font.

But the fact is this: your eBook will attract visitors to your website single-handedly.

Later, you can offer your eBook to affiliates so that they send visitors to your site as well! If you’re more of an audio expert than a novelist, why not create your own podcast? Uh? Well, a podcast is a series of audio files that is distributed over the Internet to iPods and other music players and personal computers. This is the future – and it’s fun!

The fact is, everyone loves information but don’t always find printed pages the best way to get it. If you can provide the same information that can be played on an iPod or similar media player, or a mobile phone, you’re offering a higher value product.

You needn’t start from scratch – you can plug your product or service almost immediately by converting your existing articles or eBooks into .mp3 recordings. (.mp3 is the industry standard audio format that is widely accepted for iPods, mobile phones etc.) Remember, you have, on your hard drive, stuff that you have written, or will write, that you can add value to by converting it into an .mp3 recording.

Again, it’s the basics that are often the key to increasing your visitor traffic, so you might need to shine your light on your meta tags. (To put it briefly, a “meta tag” is used by search engines to allow them to more accurately list your site in their indexes.

To be honest, it works most of the time, but not always! Search engines are always changing their methods, and some use Meta tags a lot, while others don’t, but I would not want to neglect this technique. It is a small piece of the mosaic that completes the whole visitor traffic picture.

How many times have you wanted to speak your mind? Well, now you can – and it’ll help drive visitors to your website. How? Leave testimonials on other people’s sites. This won’t take you a second, but your web address will be around for years. Go for it. It is so simple, and so little done.

Another technique I used to attract visitors was to write a priority email to opt-in customers with an attention-grabbing subject such as “The Top Ten Myths In Your Industry.” Or, offer something like this as a freebie. Make certain that there are clear links to your website, and a compelling reason for the reader to visit.

Finally, I don’t think YouTube needs much introduction! It’s simply one of the largest websites devoted to online videos covering every single subject you can think of – and more! So how can you use the power of YouTube to get more visitors? Simply this: upload a video of you talking about your niche.

Many cheap digital cameras have a video option – and you do not need a high-end movie camera. You could get a friend to film you. Or, you could use a built in camera on your PC or Mac, if your model has one. Aim to talk for not much longer than 10 minutes maximum, and sign off with your website address. Again, this is much easier than you would think.

Remember, so many people focus on one traffic building technique, and one only. I hope I’ve shown you that there are many ways – and you should have fun with all of them. My best to you.

It’s no secret that a continually updated website with new content being added regularly stands a good chance of doing well in Google. One of the long standing methods to regularly expand a site’s content is through the use of a blog.

While there are numerous platforms to choose from for managing a blog, few can compare with the immense flexibility offered with WordPress, and at a cost of free, the price can’t be beat either.

Google likes fresh new content, and setting up a blog on your site, assuming it is updated often with interesting and relevant material, can be one of the best things you can do to help out your search rankings. The beauty behind WordPress is that there is a wide array of totally free plug-ins you can easily install that will make your blog totally search engine friendly.

The following are some basic guidelines and essential plug-ins you should consider when you install your WordPress blog.

Template Design

The first configuration you need to do is work on customizing the design template to match your existing site. I suggest finding a template that matches as closely as possible to the look you are going for then work on tweaking its graphics, colors, and other particulars till you achieve the desired appearance.

Most of your changes will occur in the header.php, footer.php, index.php, and page.php files in the theme editor, however, the theme you install will dictate which files actually need to be updated. You will also need to make some adjustments to your CSS file. These changes all involve working with code and graphics, and are most likely left to a professional.

Once you have your design set up, the rest of the customization is considerably less technical. The following are suggestions that most people can do themselves and you probably will not need an expert to help you here.

Settings

Permalinks
The next thing you need to do is customize your URL’s. You do not want the default post URLs (“pageid=#”) as they are simply not search friendly and you want your default names to have some meaning to them. While you can customize your URL’s with various plug-ins, you may not always think to do this, so be sure to have a default you can live with.

Under the settings tab in your dashboard, click on permalinks. Here I suggest choosing one of the settings that includes the post name. Including the month and year is totally optional as it will have little to no impact on your search rankings, but you definitely do want to include the post name.

WWW or no WWW
With WordPress, there is no need to worry about the www vs no www redirects. It is handled for you, but you do need to select which variation you want, and it’s very simple to do. Under “General Settings” you will see two fields; one for “WordPress address” and the other, “Blog address”. Ensure that both these fields include the “www” (or not), whichever you prefer, and that’s it. (I always recommend using the “www” version of your URL as most people linking into your site will use it, and this will help keep a consistency among your site.

Required Plug-ins

There is an almost endless supply of free plug-ins out there that you can add to your site ranging from photo galleries and spam protection, to social media integrators for Twitter, Facebook, Digg, and others. While many of these others will benefit your blog and search rankings, the XML Sitemap, and SEO plug-ins are truly essential.

SEO Plug-in
When setting up your new installation, the first plug-in you need to install is one that will allow for totally customized title, meta description tags, and page URL’s. There are a number of tools that do this ranging from the widely popular “All in One SEO Pack” to a relative newcomer “HeadSpace2″.

While I personally have yet to try HeadSpace2, it is high on my list, as it has been recommended by many industry professionals as the best WordPress SEO plug-in. For any new blog installation I highly recommend this plug-in be installed right away.

XML Sitemap Plug-in
To the best of my knowledge, HeadSpace2 does not have an XML sitemap option, and as such I highly recommend “Google XML Sitemaps” . This plug-in will automatically generate XML sitemaps for you on the fly and submit it to Google every time you add, remove, or update a page or post. This helps ensure that Google has the latest information at all times. It’s a very simple plug-in to install and configure and once setup, you can forget about it and it will do the job for you.

A well optimized site loaded with relevant content can do very well in Google if setup correctly. The power of WordPress can make this process incredibly easy so all you have to worry about is writing those great articles and selling your customers. The plug-ins and functionality of WordPress are endless and when installed correctly can make the optimization of your blog considerably easier, increasing your chances for top rankings.

By Scott Van Achte