FlightHotel's Blog

These custom cars are amazing and a dream for all petrol heads. All of these images were taken at the D1 Grand Prix at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, CA on May 2nd and blow my mind with their sheer creativity.

Some of the results aren’t aesthetic wonders, but there is no doubt that immense creativity and dedication was poured into these beloved vehicles by the car owners.

2. Ensure your link is anchor texted with your keywords e.g. Virtual SEO consultant

Though this is well know, it is seldom done effectively

3. Try to use different text combinations and keywords in your links. e.g. London dentist, dentist London, W1 dentist.

4. Ensure the link will be a permanent/static html links. Links from forum signatures for example will only last a few months.

5. Create links in text format only, do not use any form of graphics that might hinder the search engine bots from following the link.

6. Do not create links in framed pages. Google and other search engines do not like them.

7. If someone says they will put a link on their website for you, make sure the links are not in JavaScript – check the source code of the site. This can sometimes be hard to spot. Search engines will ignore this type of link.

8. The websites you are putting your link on must be live. It must also be cached by Google (Another devious method to hide your link is for the webmaster to use cloaking...when Googlebot comes sniffing it will be shown a different page with no links on).

9. Check Links do not go through a redirect script – your link may be on a page, but when you click on it you are taken to another site entirely.

10. Try to avoid Flash sites – though Google is getting better at spidering them now.

11. Links cannot include a rel=nofollow tag - they must be DOFOLLOW to get the link juice. Though sites like MSN are reported to be ignoring this tag. Get hold of some good software to check this quickly – going through source code is very time consuming.

12. Avoid automated techniques – there are NO short cuts, well not many ;)

13. DO NOT use link exchange programs or web rings – Google knows them all and you will get penalised

14. Ensure the Page is not excluded by robots.txt

User-agent: *
Disallow: /cgi-bin/

This entry tells the spiders to avoid any file located in the cgi-bin directory. If the web site owner places your link on a page inside this directory, it’s worthless.

15. Get links from different Class-C IP addresses – 200 from one IP is not great. Again use an ip checker on the website your intended links are going.

16. Do not buy links – Matt Cutts will sniff them out. This includes sponsored ads etc.

17. Avoid websites with Scraped content, you do not want links from a bad neighbour. Though they may not harm your website, they are worthless.

18. Try to get links from sites that are highly ranked by Alexa

19. Do not go all out for .edu and .gov websites – it is a myth that these pass more link juice. Though they often have good Pagerank.

20. Ensure you manually submit links to directories – getting into DMOZ for example is hard enough these days.

21. Avoid reciprocal links...well in moderation. These are out dated and frowned upon.

22. Build your links slowly...organically...like producing a fine wine. Don’t go all out and get 1000 in 1 week.

23. Stick to English language sites only, unless it is a foreign language site

24. Avoid pages with a high number of outbound links – if you are blog commenting and there are 200 comments, your link juice will be heavily diluted.

25. Keep your link pages relevant to your site. A link from a dog breeding website to your SEO Consultancy will not have much link juice.

26. Do not outsource link building to third world countries just because the prices look cheap. Quality control is vital you may end up with a 1000 links from porn sites which could have a negative effect on your SERP rankings.

27. TEST the link actually works!

Keep a log of all your hard work...go back and check things have been done properly. Also use quality backlink checking software to review your existing links. They should show you the Pagerank, IP address and dofollow tags. Think of all your links like an investment portfolio - a good link portfolio will add value to your website.

It was two weeks later, while I was sitting at my day job, that I received an email from a reporter with the USA Today. She wanted to interview me regarding the Snuggie craze. The next day, January 28, 2009, my Snuggie Sightings website was mentioned in this article in USA Today. That same morning, Robin Meade discussed my warm and cozy website on her Headline News Morning Express Show. Both the article and the mention on Headline News highlighted the "Snuggie Drinking Game"...a precursor to the Snuggie Pub Crawl phenomenon that has swept through the country in a matter of months.

By January 29, 2009, the term "Snuggie Sightings" reached the top of Google Trends (meaning that it was the most searched term on Google for that time). Here's a Tweet from an astonished bystander who noticed this. My silly website had gone from concept and zero matching results to the top of Google Trends in less than three weeks.

Are you overwhelmed with the massive amounts of information you are getting on the Internet about money-making opportunities? Maybe I can help you simplify things because I’ve already slogged through ALL of it in my own search.

Step One: Pick Your Category

Basically, there are three major categories of legitimate home-based Internet business opportunities you can plug into...

Affiliate Marketing: In a nutshell you will have a website that will sell various products directly to the end user for you. Your only involvement is a) setting up your marketing website, b) choosing your products, c) registering as an affiliate, and d) driving MASSIVE traffic to your site. Once you have your site all set up, your job is to become an EXPERT marketer IF you want to make any money. This type of opportunity requires the least interaction between yourself and your customers. Your website and your online marketing tools do all the selling for you. Can you make any serious money? Some people do. It depends upon how great of a marketer you become. IF you do become great at it AND make some serious money – well, you’ve just qualified yourself as a guru and now you have credibility. Time to consider rolling out some “how to” information products of your own!

Consider Affiliate Marketing if you don’t have much money to get started and are unable to talk to people.

Multi-Level or Network Marketing: These would be your traditional home-based business companies such as Amway, Melaleuca, Herbal Life, Prepaid Legal and Usana that are promoting themselves on the Internet but are not necessarily Internet businesses but become Internet business when they are marketed primarily over the Internet. MLM companies require you to a) sign up as a distributor, usually for a fee that includes a package of start-up materials, b) begin placing monthly orders for products, and c) enroll large amounts of other distributors to do the same through expert marketing. Can you make any real income with MLM? A few become fantastically wealthy, the vast majority of folks spend far more than they ever make. You will have to develop yourself into a true leader and have a lot of patience to pull this off.

Consider MLM if you are looking to build residual income steadily over time, have some money to get started (usually under $500 plus marketing costs), want to consume products on a monthly basis (an ongoing expense), and are willing to talk to large numbers of people and develop yourself into a leader.

Top Tier Companies: Top tier companies are the newest kid on the block and there are really only about five of them on the Internet to consider. They are called Top Tier because they market high end products to people who can afford to buy them and to entrepreneurs with the resources to invest in their business.

Coastal Vacations and Global Resorts Network are top tier travel companies; Liberty League International and LifePath Unlimited are top tier self-development companies, and Wealth Masters International is a top tier company that sells financial products. To get involved with a top tier company you would a) enroll as a distributor, b) purchase one or more of the high end products, and c) start direct selling the products to others, keeping a huge commission for yourself with each sale, with exceptional marketing strategies. There is usually an incentive to purchase ALL of the high end products up front but this is not necessary. You can start by purchasing the entry level product and “earn your way” to your purchasing the next product.

Consider top tier companies if you want to make executive level income in the next 90 days or so, have a budget of at least a few grand to get started, and are willing to talk to like-minded people and develop yourself into a leader.

If you are leaning towards a top tier company, and want more information about which top tier company to choose, try www.CitizenCorps.com.

Step Three: Choose the Team with the Most Effective Marketing System

Marketing is the key to success on the Internet, outside of your own personal development. You can have the best product and the most awesome comp plan, but if you don’t have an effective marketing system, you are going to go nowhere fast. If the team you are considering does not have a proven and powerful system for generating leads for your business already up and running that you can plug right into, run away.

So, compare marketing systems that are being used by the various teams or organizations within the company you like best. If the marketing system drew you in as a prospect, it will probably work well for you. If possible, show your top choices to some of your friends and get their opinions. Or, join some forums and ask around.

Also, what are they using for lead generation? Are they generating their own leads with their own lead co-op (best) or do you purchase generic biz opp leads and cold call them or put them into your autoresponder (works, but not optimal).

And, finally, will this team teach and mentor YOU on how to become an effective marketer so you can generate your own leads?

Step Four: Choose Your Mentor and Sponsor

Once you’ve chosen your particular company, and the team with the marketing system you like best – you now have to choose WHO you are going to sign up with. This is particularly important with MLM or Top Tier companies. Your mentor should a) be accessible, b) be committed, and c) be a leader or developing into one.

They need to be accessible because you want someone who will answer the phone when you call, or call you right back, so you can get your questions answered quickly so you can keep moving forward. Aspiring entrepreneurs are naturally attracted to mentors who have established themselves as leaders but it could be a mistake to flock directly to the biggest, most prominent one. Why? Because they are so successful that they probably won’t have much personal time for you – they tend to do their training on a mass level. Find someone on the guru’s team closer to your own level, who has time for you, but still knows the ropes so to speak.

They need to be committed because you don’t want your mentor jumping ship before you have gained confidence in yourself. Nor will it be good for your business if your mentor jumps ship or quits because some of your team might get discouraged or decide to follow them. In fact, there are some unscrupulous MLM leaders who make a regular practice of cashing in by jumping ship on a regular basis and taking their group of followers with them. So beware!

And finally, your mentor needs to be a leader – someone who can confidently handle 3-way calls to your prospects for you and can answer your questions. If your direct sponsor isn’t quite the leader you want them to be yet, find out if you have direct and immediate access to their upline. Talk to their upline. Ask them if they could mentor you while your immediate sponsor works on developing into a leader. Either way will work: your direct sponsor or your direct sponsor’s upline needs to be able to provide you with the one-on-one support and training you need to build your business.

Step Five: Get Started!

What are you waiting for? You will never achieve your goals if you don’t take action. If you simply know you want to do something but don’t know which Internet business to choose yet, perhaps start by learning and developing yourself into a marketer. You are going to have to market no matter what – so start learning everything you can about marketing. You will have a HUGE head start when you do find the perfect opportunity.