Online, one of the most significant keys to success is getting website traffic.  The more visitors you have, the better your sales and profits.  Presumably you have a niche and you know your keywords, and regularly conduct keyword research to stay on top of what’s popular.  Based on those assumptions here are five quick and easy tips to get website traffic fast!

Tip #1  Make sure you’re actually tagging your keywords.  

Do you spend a lot of time optimizing your content and then neglect to tag them on your webpage?  Tags are where search engines look and if there are no tags they’ll pass right by your web pages.  Here’s a quick brief on tags.

There are a number of tag types including,

* Title tags.  Title tags are quite possibly the most important place to situate your keywords.  Here’s what they look like – <title>Primary keyword phrase here. </title>

Your title tag is where you place your primary keyword or keyword phrase.  The sentence will describe your business in less than 90 characters.  

* Header Tags.  Header tags are next in order of importance to search engines.  They’re ranked in order of importance and look like this – <h1>Primary and/or Secondary keywords here</h1>

      The “1” designates this header as the most important header on the page.

* Meta Tags. Meta tags provide the small descriptive text found underneath the title tag on the search engine results page.  Like title tags these should be kept brief, informative and up to date.

* Alt Tags.  Alt tags are used to provide a text description of a graphic.  Each graphic on your site should have a description and an alt tag.  

Tip #2 Add content to your site daily

Content is essential for traffic and a top search engine ranking.  Content is what search engine spiders look for and index – without it there’s nothing to index or rank.  Give visitors and search engines a reason to visit and index your site. Make a commitment to provide daily, optimized content and your traffic will soar.

Tip #3 Procure valuable and relevant incoming links

The more websites which link to your webpages the more valuable search engines perceive you to be, though not all links are created equal.  Search engines give more leverage to links from sites which are popular and credible and from sites which are relevant to your website topic.  

There are different types of links.

- A direct link looks like a basic website address, for example, www.yourwebsite.com

- A text link occurs when the webpage address is embedded in the text.  Readers simply click on the link and are redirected to a new website page.  

- If the link is to an internal web page, for example an article published on a website, rather than the home page, it is called a “deep link.”

You can encourage linking to your website by:

* Adding content to your site.  
* Submitting to article directories.  
* Publishing press releases.  
* Blogging and participating in social networking forums, chat rooms and social networking sites.  

Tip #4 Be Social!

Now more than ever before, internet marketing is about building a community.  Whether you offer a forum on your website or you participate in social networking sites, social networking is a valuable traffic generating tactic.  Sites like Facebook and Twitter can be powerful tools for generating links and traffic to your site – create a profile and then post comments, links to your site and ideas which generate conversation.  

Get involved – many chat rooms and forums are industry specific, find those which cater to your industry, and begin participating.  Speak to and connect with a highly targeted audience.  

Tip #5 Advertise for more exposure and traffic

Advertising, when handled strategically, can be used to promote your content and products or services.  PPC advertising is often the tool of choice because you control the advertising budget on a daily basis and have the tools to test and track your advertising efforts.  Once you’ve honed your PPC ads the return on investment can be phenomenal in terms of traffic and purchases.    

For maximum results, create a traffic and SEO strategy.  Outline your plan and your goals and then take the necessary action.  Take advantage of these five traffic and search engine tips to boost your business.

So you’re interested in using WordPress as your business site – smart move!

But before you dive right in to planning and designing it, you’ve decided to do a little research.

WordPress is most commonly known as a blogging platform but it’s grown in popularity as a website platform for both large and small businesses.

Why Use WordPress For Business Websites?

Easy to Install – With a good hosting program you can simply install WordPress with a few clicks.

Easy to Update – One of the features of WordPress is the easy to use visual editor. It’s called a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editor. You could compare this type of editor to using Microsoft Word to edit your website as it’s very easy to use and many people catch on to using it quickly.

Plenty of Add-Ons (Plug-ins) – With WordPress you can get add-ons (plug-ins) that increase the functions and change the look of your website. Compared to having customized features added to a site designed specifically for you, the cost will be highly reduced.

Customizable Look – There are many ways to customize a WordPress website so that it matches your business and branding. You can add your own logo or header, change the background, add your own colors, add links and more.

Built in Blog – What many people who are not familiar with WordPress are unaware of is that you can use the program to create both a website and a blog all in the same spot. This is so much more convenient than having them separate.

Search Engine Friendly – Another great feature of the program is that it helps you optimize your pages and posts.

Building a Community – If you choose to also have a blog on your website you can work on building a community around your website. Writing blog posts that build relationships with your target market is an effective way to build trust and earn more sales in the long run.

Easy To Change – As businesses grow and change so do their website needs. It’s silly to assume that the first website or design you start with will be your last. Most businesses go through a large number of changes. WordPress makes it easy to change your look with themes. A theme is added over the top of your content and when you decide to replace a current theme, it doesn’t affect your existing posts and pages.

I hope these points will help you decide if using WordPress as a business website is the right choice for you.

If you have made your decision, I’d like to invite you to join me as I teach you through my online video, webinar and email coaching program how to Marketers Toolkits – WordPress Services” title=”Using WordPress For Your Business Website”> design your own business website with WordPress.

Thanks to Angela Wills the author of this article for being a guest on my blog!

Recently, in an interview, I was asked this question:

“Can you explode any misconceptions that stop people from using PLR content?”

Here is my answer.

There are four main myths that I run into regularly.

1. The biggest misconception that people have is that all PLR is crap.

2. The second biggest misconception is that ghostwriters are not good writers. We can even take that a step further and add that people assume they are stupid, taken advantage of, and/or they don’t speak English as their native language.

3. The third misconception is that using PLR takes away from your expert status.

4. The fourth misconception is that PLR and ghostwriting are somehow dishonest.

Let’s run through those one by one.

Myth #1: All PLR is Crap.

If you go back to about 2003, then I’d say that you are absolutely correct. Nearly all PLR at that time was junk. There may have been a few exceptions, but I wouldn’t touch most of that PLR content with a 10-foot pole.

We’ve made great strides in the last few years to raise the standards for what is acceptable and what is not in the PLR world. I’d like to think that I was one of the leaders in that movement.

Myth #2: Ghostwriters are Stupid.

I’ve got to tell you that I’ve worked with some ghostwriters who are brilliant in many ways. Oftentimes, they’re fabulous communicators, smart marketers, and hard working entrepreneurs. And, yes, they’re qualified to write quality information on many topics on the internet.

For instance, for a long time, I had a nurse writing my health PLR articles. I’ve also got a writer who graduated from Stanford University, who writes for several popular print magazines, and is a published author. Yes, she has her own book. And, another who had a career as a Political Speech Writer (before having children). That’s just three of my writers. They’re all amazing people, each with a variety of skills and life experience.

To assume they aren’t capable of writing quality content would be just silly.

I don’t just go to eLance.com and take the lowest bidder. To think that’s how all PLR sites work would certainly be a misconception.

Myth #3: You’re Not a “Real” Expert if you Use PLR.

The other misconception is that using PLR articles takes away your own value as the expert. That you are somehow cheating, plagiarizing, or that you’re a phony if you use PLR.

If ONLY you could see my customer list. It reads like the “Who’s who of Successful Online Business Owners”.

Business is all about cutting costs while increasing the bottom line. What better example is there than PLR content?

If you use PLR articles as drafts, they are delivered to you, ready for you, as the expert, to add your unique thoughts to them.

If you look at PLR like that – you can still keep your personality in your brand – and your sanity at the same time.

Myth #4: Using Ghostwriters or PLR is Cheating.

Most biographies in the bookstores are written by ghostwriters.

Most of the famous orations from our history were written by someone other than the public figure who gave the speech.

It’s not cheating to get help. It’s smart business.

Nicole Dean is the owner of www.EasyPLR.com – where you’ll find high-quality PLR articles sold in very limited quantities. The PLR articles at EasyPLR are professionally written and professionally edited — top quality at an affordable price.

I would like to Thank Nicole Dean for writing this article. I have purchased some of her PLR Content to help me with my article writing content and I know of several other Virtual Assistants that have as well and she comes highly recommended. I know also know that if you are like me and don’t really care to write articles then for sure you should go and check out Nicole Dean’s PLR content just like I did!

Building a business is a fantastic and challenging experience. You can wake up exhilarated to begin your day and go to bed feeling overwhelmed and frustrated. The key to success is to maintain a positive, yes you can do it, mindset.

Easier said than done, right? Here are 5 keys to help you create and sustain a positive mindset so you attain the success you desire.

1. Surround yourself with successful and positive people. The influence people have over our own personal energy is amazing. Moods and attitudes are so easily spread – think about how much of a difference a simple smile from a stranger can make for your day and then magnify it 1000 times to demonstrate the power of positive and successful friends, family and associates. When you have people around you who inspire you, believe in you and want you to succeed, there’s no room for doubts and even when they creep up, they’re quickly swept away.

2. Create a mantra or an affirmation. Repeating positive affirmations has been shown to get people through tough times and to actually help them truly believe what they’re saying.

For example, “I am building a powerful and profitable business.” Many of the most esteemed business professionals have used the same affirmation strategy to attain their success. To find the right affirmations for you, consider writing a quick list of your doubts, insecurities and complaints. These can then be quickly turned into affirmations.

For example, if you write that you’re always feeling disorganized then your affirmation would be, “I am organized and in control.” Repeat your affirmations several times a day and feel the power of positive thinking.

3. Capture negative thoughts. We all have negative thoughts from time to time, however, negative thoughts and emotions can derail us and prevent us from achieving all we desire. Of course catching those negative thoughts takes practice and persistence. When you find yourself thinking negative thoughts or having negative emotions, find a trigger to turn them around. The affirmations mentioned above are a great way to turn the negative into the positive. You can also find quick pick me ups like a favorite song which I do almost daily, a walk outside in the fresh air, or try doing some exercising to help improve your mood.

4. Set goals/intentions and then be willing to let it go. The law of attraction says that we attract what we focus on the most. However, desperation, needing your business to be a success, sends mixed messages and a lot of negativity into the universe. Set your goals and intentions and then let them go. A certain amount of faith in yourself and in the power of attraction is necessary. Give it a try.

5. Be grateful. Gratitude is perhaps the single most powerful and positive tool for success. When you’re grateful for all of the wonderful things and people in your life the challenges you have ahead of you seem significantly less important and are more easily dealt with. And it also helps to have wonderful clients like mine to work with! I just love what I do!

Consider keeping a gratitude journal and make a practice of entering into it daily. That way, when you’re facing challenges a quick peek at all the amazing things in your life will make you feel as if you can tackle anything. Additionally, an attitude of gratitude helps you maintain a positive perspective and to tackle challenges as opportunities rather than obstacles.

Success is within your reach and with the right attitude you can accomplish anything you set your sights on. Embrace these five powerful mind success strategies and you’ll build a better business and live a happier, more satisfying life.

Virtual assisting is an industry that has partially grown out of the need for getting important jobs done but with less overhead. To that end, virtual assistants take on a number of roles for the online business owner as well as large corporate companies. But, as you strive to achieve business success, beware of burnout.

A virtual assistant has to wear many hats. He or she is not a secretary but a fellow business professional that has developed a skill set that is in demand by other business professionals. You may start off with a few services that you offer: database creation, newsletters, word processing, creating reports. But, depending on your background you will add other services to stay competitive and also to utilize what you know: website design, Internet research, article writing and submission, event planning and etc.

While you are building a client base, you are going to be quite busy. As most virtual assistants work out of their home, that means many hours spent in your home office getting the job done. You make your money based on the number of hours you bill and the quality of your work. Burnout can severely impact that quality. No one wants that.

So, if you have to start turning down work because there are not enough hours in the day, it’s time to take a different tack. And look into hiring your own Virtual Assistant!

Communication is the foundation on which any business relationship is built. This is especially true with your subcontractors. Fail to communicate effectively with them and you risk the success of your project, your business and your ability to work with that subcontractor.

More than Just Giving Instructions

Working with subcontractors requires that, not only can you give instructions, but you must also be able to give and take feedback and constructive criticism. It’s the give and take across the spectrum of communication that makes for a successful working relationship.

And that’s not all. As the project manager, you’ll need to be able to communicate with your client as well. You’re the middle man and if you can’t communicate back and forth, then the project is likely to fail.

For example, when you subcontract out a web design project, you will need to make sure you understand your client’s goals and you want to make sure you can communicate this to your subcontractor. In essence, you’ll need to be able to speak your client’s “language” and your subcontractor’s as well.

There are several ways that you can improve your ability to communicate with your subcontractors and your clients.

Clear and Organized

The first thing you want to do is make sure that all communication is clear and organized. While verbal communication may seem easier, written communication is more professional and more easily tracked, especially if you and your subcontractor never meet. Ways to communicate in writing include:

1. Email. While email is the most familiar form of conversing in writing, it’s also one of the most unreliable. If you haven’t already, you’ll realize this the first time a subcontractor fails to complete a project, and states that she couldn’t because you didn’t answer her questions in the email she sent three days ago – but you never received.

2. Project Management Software. One of the best solutions out there is a project management software called Central Desktop, Basecamp, or Dropbox to name a few. This software allows you to brainstorm ideas using an online whiteboard and also allows you to communicate via messages with your subcontractors and your clients. Each party in a particular conversation receive email notifications of updates. Even better, you can login at any time to see if there are updates. And everything is kept on the website for you to access anytime, anywhere.

Once you have a system setup for maintaining communication, you’ll need to develop a communication policy for your company.

Staying Professional

When we work closely with people, it’s easy to get frustrated and sometimes even angry. We’re all human and sometimes we don’t think. One way to help you remember what to do in these situations is to have a communications policy. The policy needs to outline appropriate methods of dealing with various situations in which you might be overly emotional.

For example:

• How do you handle a subcontractor disappearing for a few days, right in the middle of a time-sensitive project?

• How do you handle a subcontractor who completely misunderstands the instructions that you gave her, even though they are clearly written in your project management system and she read them and said she understood them?

• How do you handle a subcontractor who wants to talk on the phone, and is very chatty about non-business related topics?

These policies can also apply to how you treat your clients and how you allow your clients and subcontractors to treat you.

Follow Through

Making sure you follow up on your communications is just as important as a batter following through on a swing. If the batter stopped her bat as soon as she hit the ball, the ball would barely pass the batter’s box. (It’s called a bunt!) Likewise, if you don’t follow up on your communications, you often won’t get much effort from your team.

So, give your team instructions and then request feedback. And when your team has followed through on your instructions, give them feedback. If necessary, throw in some constructive criticism. And then follow the process in reverse with your client. Follow through will make or break or relationships and ultimately your business.

If you have an online business then you know how important traffic is to you. Without people viewing your site, how can you hope to find buyers for your products? One way to get them to come running is through search engine optimization.

What is SEO?

This is the abbreviation for “search engine optimization.” It is the process of using keywords to bring targeted traffic to you. Ideally, when people enter their search keywords into any of the most popular search engines, your website content, videos and audio media should pop up in the first page of search results. That is what everyone wants to achieve. The better the search engine rankings the more likely you are to get buyers who are ready to spend their money on what you have to offer.

How to Use It

Now, there are courses that teach search engine optimization. There are also SEO firms that will gladly take your money in exchange for their help in outfitting your website for the traffic that you want. They can promise front page Google and Yahoo rankings within web searches. But, all of this costs money and it’s not pennies we’re talking about here.

It may take you longer, but you can learn how to use SEO yourself. As a student of Internet marketing, you have to be willing to do the legwork required to gain the knowledge you seek. It sounds a little Zen but it works.

1. Know how to use the resources available to you. If you don’t have any keywords in mind, you can use free online keyword tools to help you discover the viability of keywords in your niche. They will also rank them for you. Keep a spreadsheet of all the words you use so you can track how they work at increasing your visitors, sales and search engine rankings. Here are two free keyword tools you can start with:

• http://freekeywords.wordtracker.com/
• https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal
• http://www.marketsamurai.com/lvsolutions
• http://www.domainsamurai.com/c/lvsolutions

2. Pick a keyword or two and use it on your website. Website optimization is a bit trickier than optimizing content (we’ll get to that later). For your website, these keywords can appear in web page headlines, picture tags, taglines, anchor text (the words that hide a hyperlink within the text of an article) and other places. When your website is registered with search engines, the bots and spiders crawl each page. You want them to find your keywords and rank accordingly.

3. Use the keywords in your content displayed on your website. Keyword density is the number of times that a certain keyword appears in a piece of content of a certain size. Optimal keyword usage is between 1% and 3%. Going over that could be considered “stuffing” and get you reprimanded.

Search engine optimization is trial and error. Others can do it for you for a price. But, if you are dedicated and want to increase your skillset, you can learn to use it for yourself and drive traffic to your website and increase sales.

The relationship between you, as a service provider, and your subcontractors is beneficial on both sides. The fact that you’re making your clients happy and your subcontractors are getting work is just the tip of the iceberg.

Growing Your Business with a Team

One of the most important lessons you learn as a home business owner is that you can’t grow your business alone. If you’re working alone and you can’t outsource projects to others, than all you have is a job. If you get sick, have an accident or just want to go to Disney World, you’re stuck, because you’re the only one who can run your business.

Additionally, if you’re the only one doing the client work in your business, you’re not going to have enough time to do the marketing necessary to bring in more clients. You need more clients to replace those that move on and to continue to grow.

When you hire a subcontractor, you can hand off portions of your projects, or even the whole project and take a management role, freeing up your time to grow your business, while still maintaining quality and timeliness.

Your Management Role

If you are a virtual assistant, you’re role is to serve as a manager for your clients projects. You most likely have a lot of experience with your target market and with individual clients. So you know what is expected in terms of work quality and deadlines.

Your subcontractor is most likely new to the VA business. She may have many years experience in providing administrative assistance or in other positions similar to what she is doing for your team, but needs experience as a business owner and time to grow her own portfolio.

Here’s another example. Let’s say you’re an affiliate manager. Your role is to make sure your affiliates have the materials and answers they need, and to find out what those are. Your subcontractors will work with you to produce the materials or give those answers.

So not only are you growing your business, you’re helping your subcontractor grow hers. Total win-win-win for everyone involved.

Increasing Profits and Capacity

As you become more comfortable working with subcontractors, you’ll be able to add more people to your team. For example, if you’re a VA who provides web content to your clients, you might subcontract to a VA who specializes in audio and video. The content you write is turned into a podcast and a video cast, which then helps grow your client’s business. You might even subcontract a VA with web design experience to provide another dimension to the services you offer your clients.

The more you help your clients, the more services they will hire you for and the more income you’ll be able to bring in.

Not to mention, you won’t be tied down by the number of hours you can work in a week. You may be able to only work 20 hours a week, but if you hire three subcontractors and each of them works 10 hours a week for you, you’ll be able to complete 50 hours of work per week.

When you bill your client, you’ll charge for the time your subcontractor spent working and for the time you spent managing the project. Or perhaps you’ll setup a per-project fee that will take into account the amount of money your subcontractor charges for her services and the amount that you charge for your project management services.

Because more than one person is working on the project and each person is focusing on what she is good at, the project quality is better and the deadlines are easier to meet.

As your business grows, you can serve clients that you would have had to turn away if you were working by yourself. Your subcontractors will have more opportunities to grow their businesses under your tutelage.

Exercise is an important part of our lives.  Staying in shape is one way to increase your life expectancy.  Weight bearing exercises are important also for increasing muscle mass and bone density as you age.

Most of us have learned what to do when it comes to exercising.  The problem is where and when to get the job done.  With a busy lifestyle, making time for exercise is a challenge.

Weight bearing exercises aren’t just for bodybuilders.  As you age, especially once you hit the age of forty, you begin to lose muscle mass.  For women especially, bone loss becomes a problem.  When the body is in need of calcium it can rob it from your bones.  Building muscle not only increases their mass but your strength.

Here are five easy toning exercises that can be done anywhere and whenever you have time.  At home, at the office, or on vacation, you can do these easy yet extremely effective exercises.

1. The Bridge Butt Lift – Sounds like a plastic surgery technique but it is an easy way to tone your buttocks.  Lay down with feet flat on the floor, legs shoulder width apart.  Place your hands, palm side down, on either side of your body.  Pushing with your feet, squeeze your gluteal muscles and lift your butt off the floor.  Hold the position for a count of five to ten and release down to the floor.

2. Squats – Squats work the butt, the hamstring muscles and the quadriceps.  If you aren’t sure of proper form, you can use a chair.  Stand with feet shoulder width apart and feet firmly planted.  Push your butt back as if you were preparing to sit in a chair.  Keep your abs tight and your upper body straight.  Once you reach chair level stop and hold the position for a count of two to five and release.  At the lowest point, place all of your weight on your heels for balance and maximum toning.

3. Reverse Lunges – Lunges work the quadriceps muscles.  They can be hard for people with knee problems.  A reverse lunge still tones the right muscle groups but with less pressure on the knee.  Stand with feet together and arms at your sides.  Take one leg and move it backwards until you are in lunge position: front leg bent at a 90 degree angle and back leg extended until you are on the ball of your foot.  From this position lower yourself down until the back knee almost touches the floor.  Hold for a count of two and return to starting position.

4. Push-ups – This is a classic toning exercise that works all areas of the arms plus the chest muscles.  If you aren’t comfortable or strong enough to perform a push-up on your toes, lower your body to your knees.  Be sure your arms are tucked into the body and your back straight as you lower and lift your body.

5. Crunches – Abdominal muscles can be worked every day to build strength and muscle tone.  Lying on the floor in sit up position, lace your fingers behind your head.  Squeezing your abdominal muscles, lift your upper body until your lower back is about to come off the floor.  Hold for two to five counts and return to starting position.

These five exercise moves can be done whenever you have time.  The best thing about exercise is that its effects are cumulative.  Even five or ten minutes at a time will work to your advantage.  And lately if you are like me with your work and family it is hard some days to work in exercise in to your day!  So, I have been trying out my new Wii that I got on my birthday this year and having lots of fun with it too!  This is another suggestion that I have for exercise if you think some of these other ideas aren’t for YOU!

As a successful home-based service provider you will soon realize, if you haven’t already, there are not enough hours in the day for all the projects you could be working on. You also may have discovered that you don’t have the skills necessary to complete every task your clients – or potential clients – need.

You may have already turned away clients when your project calendar filled up, sent clients to a colleague or tried to meet their needs with disastrous results. Have no worries, it’s happened to the best of us, but that doesn’t mean you’re stuck with too much work, not enough time and There is a better way.

1. Subcontractors Can Take the Extra Work

By hiring subcontractors, you can increase your workload exponentially. For example, let’s say you schedule twenty hours of work in one week for two clients. By hiring a subcontractor, you can schedule in two more clients for another twenty hours of work that week.

Because the subcontractor charges less than what the client is paying, you still make a profit on those extra hours, even though you did not do the work yourself. In this situation, you serve as a project manager, quality control officer and client liaison. In other words, you hand out assignments, inspect the work to make sure it’s up to standards and communicate with the client and with the subcontractor.

2. Subcontractors Can Add New Skills

Hiring subcontractors with a complementary skill set can also help you expand your services. For example, if you are a virtual assistant specializing in writing blog posts for your clients, you could hire a web design subcontractor to help those same clients set up new sites or change the design of existing ones. This way, the client can continue to work with you, the trusted VA, and you can meet more of the client’s needs. This means more money for you, money for the subcontractor and happier clients.

3. Subcontractors Mean Less Paperwork

Subcontractors also come with a special set of benefits that you wouldn’t get from hiring employees. A subcontractor comes with her own office, her own equipment and her own training. She often is running her own service business and therefore has a stake in making a good name for herself – and for you. The subcontractor is also responsible for her own taxes, sets her own hours and is usually self-motivated. You only pay her for the actual work she does and you are also usually not her only client.

On the other hand, an employee needs space in your office and you need to provide her with equipment and training. While there are good employees available, you could easily end up with someone who simply wants a paycheck, regardless of whether or not she worked for it. You would also need to set her hours and pay her for the hours she is “on the clock” even if she’s reading a book half the time. In other words, if there is no work, you still have to pay the employee. And then there is the whole business of withholding taxes and Social Security and other paperwork that goes along with employing someone.

Growing Your Business with Subcontractors

Hiring subcontractors can be a relatively inexpensive way to grow your business quickly and efficiently. It’s a win-win situation for you, the service provider who gets the help she needs, and the subcontractor, who gets the work she needs.

So why don’t you Please give Lighthouse Virtual Solutions a chance to service YOUR subcontractors needs.  Please contact us at 704-995-3048, Monday-Thursday 9am-5pm & Friday 9am-noon EST for your FREE 30 minute consultation.