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How Your Testimonials Will Change in 2010

The year 2010 is going to be a year of change for Internet marketers. In fact, the changes began as of December 1, 2009, and these are changes that you need to be aware of and fully participating in, so that you can enjoy a profitable year, in compliance with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

You’ve probably heard about this already, but if not, the FTC has made some changes regarding the rules on testimonials – for Internet and offline marketers alike. The days of posting a fantastic testimonial on your sales page with the words “results not typical” buried in the small print somewhere are over.

We’ll look at the basics of what the new FTC rule means for you, the Internet marketer, but I strongly urge you to visit the FTC website and read their new guidelines for yourself. You can find them here: http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/10/endortest.shtm, and then download the “Text of the Revised Endorsement and Testimonial Guides.”

While the rule changes cover a lot of important ground, I’d like to point out a couple of key points that may affect how you are using testimonials right now.

First, you can no longer use testimonials that a) you cannot substantiate, and b) that are not reflective of typical results. The keys here are being able to substantiate claims that are made via testimonial, and results that are typical.

As an example, if you’re marketing an eBook on getting your ex back, and someone who has bought and used the eBook emails you saying that he used your eBook and got his ex back within one week and now they’re planning the wedding of a lifetime, that would make an awesome testimonial, right?

But you might not be able to use it because the results might not be typical, and you also can’t substantiate whether other eBook users will be able to have the same wonderful success. Your eBook might not work at all for one person, and for another, it might have taken three months to win an ex back vs. one week.

You probably don’t know what typical results would be, and the FTC is saying that you can’t use that glowing testimonial and just a note that the results aren’t typical anymore. So what are your options?

You can not use the testimonial, you can risk using it and possibly getting into trouble, or you can spend money on market research to find out what typical results would be, and then make it very clear on your sales and other pages what kind of results most people can expect.

Another issue centers on affiliate products. If you’re promoting someone else’s product, you could be held liable for the product owner’s non-compliance with the new FTC rules regarding testimonials. And furthermore, if you have affiliates selling your products, and they aren’t in compliance in their own sales pages and websites, you could be held liable, right along with them.

Don’t despair! You may have to make some changes, but this certainly won’t put you out of business. A possible answer would be to have market research done, which is costly and time consuming, but would actually add credence to your advertisements, and allow you to still use the fantastic testimonial.

Or you could pull the testimonial (which you don’t want to do), or leave the testimonial up, but use it as an opening for a discussion on why the eBook worked so wonderfully for this person, and how it might work differently for others – you could even ask people to let you know their result from using your eBook, whether it was good or bad. This could keep the FTC happy with you. A bad idea is to leave the testimonial, and risk being caught and fined.

If you’re involved in affiliate marketing, it might be time to start an application and vetting process for your affiliates to make sure you’re dealing with people who are willing to be in compliance with the FTC rules.

Finally, don’t forget that you need to be careful with your own testimonials that you let other’s use. The rules have changed for that, too. These new guidelines are changing the way the game is played, and if you want to avoid an altercation with the FTC, you’re going to have to make sure you’re playing by their rules.

Read the FTC guidelines, because they cover more situations and are more in depth than what I’ve outlined here, and they also give lots of good examples. Then check with your own legal counsel, and finally, do what you need to do to make sure you’re in complete compliance.

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Traffic Pump System -  Get Googled with Adwords to Boost Website VisitsThe Google Adwords program is a very popular new program. Mainly people who have products to sell on the Internet use it.  If you want to sell products, it might be a good idea to check into the Google Adwords program to give you web site more exposure. Besides, it is not hard to learn and it can mean big profits for your business too.

The Google Adwords program is a PPC, a pay per click program. It combines the use of an ad with text as advertisement for a product. You can write your own ad or have Google write it for you. Many people prefer to write their own ad. The ads consist of top keywords that are important to a website. More than likely you have seen the ads and not even realized what they were. They are usually vertical ads on the right hand of a computer screen you will see after you have done a search for something on the Internet, although occasionally the ads are horizontal.

It does cost to place an ad with Google Adwords. This cost depends on what you are willing to pay for a CPC, a cost per click. If you have done a good keyword search before you write your ad then it is possible to use those keywords that will help your site and the ad will cost you less. Overall, it will cost you less because you have targeted your keywords to create an ad that draws in customers that will buy your products. Remember the less you are willing to pay for good keywords, the lower your ads will appear on the computer screen.

You need to consider that you will be in competition with other websites that use PPC and there might be times that you will have to adjust what you pay for your ad. Finding relative keywords does take some work on your part.  So, others that have found the relative keywords first, in order to bump out competition, are willing to pay a higher click through premium. Be sure you know what you are willing to pay for this ad text service from Google Adwords before you get started.

Once you are at the level set by Google to stay in the rankings of valid PPC sites, you will need to maintain your listing. You cannot just create them, then forget about them and move on. You’re ranking will fall because of tight competition for keywords and therefore ad placement. The ranking in a Google Adwords program is based on how many times a person clicks on your ad. The CTR, click through rate, is the life or death of your ad on Google Adwords. What else can you do to remain in the top rankings besides having good relevant keywords? The use of solid attention grabbing copy is another key to keeping your site prominent in a Google Adwords ranking.

The Internet has changed dramatically in the last two years. For example, the domain names that were consider once high ranking and were very easy to get are rare to find today. So an acceptance of longer domain name extensions was created because of competition between websites. Banner ads became very popular and for a while, people were able to make money with them on the Internet. Banner ads are still used but more so as a linking tool to several different sites of an owner. This is done in the hopes to make more money covering many unique sites. There were a billion sites but trying to find customers is getting much harder to do.

That is why the Goggle Adwords program was developed. Mass keyword targeting was the first step in trying to find a way to find an audience, but that proved too inefficient.  There were just too many words on the Internet! Now, Google has created a marketing concept of site targeting for consumer searchers. This makes it a real benefit for you as a searcher or an advertiser. Information is much easier to find and because of targeted keyword use, it is what you need to find. As an advertiser you can target specific sties that you want to advertise on.

Google Keywords does have its detractors. So if you are not sure if you want to use it, take it for a test run first. Go online and find out first everything you can about it. Use the extensive learning center at Google Adwords. Talk with others that use it to see what they thought about it. Read about some of the problems that others have faced and overcome with Google Adwords.   It might be the key to your success online.
Traffic Pump System -  Get Googled with Adwords to Boost Website Visits

- Traffic Pump System  http://isobios.com/?p=137

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Traffic Pump System – Chatting your Way to Increased Website Traffic

Millions of people are drawn to the websites every day just to chat.  Chatting is one of the most popular activities done by those using the web.  Many people admit that once they begin chatting, they become almost addicted to it.  The average online “chatter” will log on at least once a day for a chat.  Although there is no definite reason why people love this form of communication, there is something to be learned by their behavior.  When it comes to your website traffic, you may be able to utilize this chat “addiction” to increase website traffic.  There are two main ways you can use chatting to help your site.  One involves less startup time, but more maintenance time by you.  The other involves a longer startup time, but less maintenance.  Consider these ideas and begin using chatting to help your website increase traffic immediately.

If you are interested in using the chat audience, then you can certainly log in a few hours a day delivering advertisement to them.  This basically means that you can go into chat rooms with the purpose of posting your website link into the chat.  You can do this randomly, hitting a room, posting the link without prompt from other chatters, and leaving to another room.  This is the best way to reach the largest number of chatters. The best way to do this is to join rooms that relate in some way to your website and its content.   However, by doing this, you will likely annoy some chatters, which is not good for your website.  You can decide whether the risk is worth it or not.

You can also be more personal about your advertisements.  This will call for going to rooms where you think the most selective targeted audience may be located.  For instance, if your website is about music, then you may want to visit chat rooms with music themes.  Once you engage in conversation a bit, you can freely and casually bring your website link into conversation.  You may gain more respect with this approach but you will likely not have as large of an audience as with the random posts.  If you are an avid chatter, then also consider adding your website link to your chatting profile.  As you chat, others in the room will be looking at your profile, without you even knowing they are doing so.  This is a subtle, but effective way to use chatting to help increase your website’s traffic.  Those that view your profile will likely want to check out your site and may even tell others about it as well.

Another way to use chatting to increase website traffic is by adding a chat element to your website.  This will likely take quite a while to set up.  Adding chat to your room is not the simplest thing to do.  It can however be a great way to draw people into your website.  This is especially true if your website is about a specific hobby, passion, or job.  If you have a retail site, it is unlikely that chat would be appropriate.  However, if your site is about stock tips, then a chat room would enable traders to discuss tips and information with each other, which would likely keep them and their friends coming back frequently.  One thing to remember however is that you should always monitor your website’s chat area every once in a while.  It would be unfortunate to have chatters using your room inappropriately or abuse certain policies you have placed upon chatters.  This would only make your website look unprofessional.

Using chatting to help increase website traffic is a free way to advertise.  If you do chat often, you have likely seen other chatters using this delivery as well.  Take note on which methods of chat delivery is most attractive to you when you see others doing the same thing.  This will allow you to have a view on both sides of the issue and likely help you to create a plan that is more effective.  The more time and effort you put into this task, the faster you will see results, so go ahead and start right away!

- Traffic Pump System  http://isobios.com/?p=137

Traffic Pump System – Chatting your Way to Increased Website Traffic

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Increase Website Traffic with Links to Your Website
- Traffic Pump System

The sole purpose for having your own website is for having people visit it. In
order for people to know that your website exists, you must advertise to show
the online community who you are, what you do and what you can do for them.
Advertising your website to create more website traffic is possible by having a
number of links to your website posted through other sites of similar interests.
Nowadays having a top quality website is necessary for small businesses and
promoting your website to increase the traffic can make or break you. After all,
you do not create a website for it to just to sit there and have no one look at
it. The purpose of having a website is for optimal viewing.

If you want to increase website traffic with links to your website, there are a
few things you can do. Since most of the web traffic generally comes from
directories and search engines such as Yahoo!, Google, Dog Pile, and Ask Jeeves,
you can register your website with many of the most popular search engines to
ensure you are web site is found in searches. Although some search engines can
find your web site on their own, it is best to submit an eye catching, detailed
listing yourself to increase your chances. The more directories and search
engines you register your website to, the more your chances increase of traffic
from the online community.

You can create a sign up list for those visitors who visit your web site and
want to receive email newsletters about your site. Creating a mailing list for
Internet newsletters is a great way to keep in touch with your web site visitors
and to offer special promotions or send weekly or monthly news and updates.
People like to be abreast of what is going on with your website and they like to
receive special promotions that can drive them back to your website to make a
purchase of products or services. When creating a sign up list, a visitor must
request information sent to their email address, therefore avoiding the pitfalls
of spam. No one likes spam emails; regardless of whether it is, a product that
you think might interest them or not.

Message boards, chat rooms and other forums with subjects relating to your web
site work as great ways to promote your site. Although you should never directly
advertise on any of these forums, you can make your presence known and make
yourself available to answer questions and build up your credibility. You can
also include your signature file at the end of your posts. Using a signature
file with all your contact information and a link to your website in every email
and forum post is a great way to increase traffic to your website as well.

Everyone loves freebies. Promotional freebies can encourage traffic to your
website that can be of considerable value. By offering freebies related to your
target audience such as software, downloadable forms, consultation, newsletters,
articles and other resources full of valuable information, you can draw people
in. You may also consider a sweepstakes, where an entrant must sign up for the
newsletter in order to enter into the sweepstakes.

Buying ad space on more successful websites in the same field as yours can also
increase website traffic with links to your website. There are many websites
with ad space available at affordable rates. You can also choose to place your
ad within a search engine or directory, or even in a local newspaper or magazine
for a slightly higher advertising price. You can have your website and contact
information on personalized stationary to use with all your transactions made
while you are not on the Internet as well. By using business cards, letterheads
and envelopes, you can advertise your website while paying a bill.

There is a huge variety of ways to advertise and to increase the traffic to your
website. Regardless of the field of interest, there are people out there surfing
the Internet that will be interested in what you have to offer them. Creating
the website was only the first step, now you must find your audience; do not
expect them to find you. You must help guide them to you through advertisements
and relentless promotion.

- Traffic Pump System

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