I Advice - Internet and Businesses Online

Teaming - How to Build a Team
Team building takes work but the results are worth it. The essential ingredient is time and patience.If you really want to build a team that will achieve outstanding results you can.The HypeOver the years team work has been the flavor of the day with many businesses spending considerable money in trying to achieve a positive and harmonious team structure.Some have found the results they looked for but many have not.Why is this so?Team building has a number of foundation building blocks that are essential for a team to function.Commitment of the Manager or OwnerSome managers and owners get excited about team possibilities only to weary over time where the pressures of business and day to day life grind them down.Your commitment by way of your action and time are critical to your team’s success.TimeIt takes time to build teams. Trust and respect need to be earnt and there are no short cuts. Make a decision to pay the cost and demonstrate your commitment.PatienceLife sometimes throws us a curve ball and not all of our plans go according to the script.Make a commitment to be patient and as long as you see incremental progress realize progress is progress.Celebrate Success and do not condemn failuresLearn to celebrate your successes as a team as you go along and learn from failure. Failure is a fantastic teacher if you look at it that way. If you own the business or are a manager realize that you are particularly under scrutiny of your team more so when failure occ

ifferent search terms.

How does this help us?

Well, as long as you keep producing highly-targeted, quality content that is relevant to the subject of your website (and acquire natural inbound links from related websites), you will stand a good chance for ranking high in SERPS. It sounds ridiculously simple, and in this case, it is. As search engine algorithms evolve, they will continue to do their jobs better, thus becoming better at filtering out trash and presenting the most relevant content to their users.

While each search engine will have different methods of determining search engine placement (Google values inbound links quite a lot, while Yahoo has recently placed additional value on Title tags and domain names), in the end all search engines aim to achieve the same goal, and by aiming to fulfill that goal you will always be able to ensure that your website can achieve a good ranking.

Escaping from the Google Sandbox

Now, from our discussion about the Sandbox theory above, you know that at best, the Google Sandbox is a filter on the search engine's algorithm that has a dampening influence on websites. While most SEO experts will tell you that this effect decreases after a certain period of time, they mistakenly accord it to website aging, or basically, when the website is first spidered by Googlebot. Actually, the Sandbox does ‘holds back' new websites but more importantly, the effects reduce over time not on the basis of website aging, but on link aging.

This means that the time that you spend in the Google Sandbox is directly linked to when you start acquiring quality links for your website. Thus, if you do nothing, your website may not be released from the Google Sandbox.

However, if you keep your head down and keep up with a low-intensity, long-term link building plan and

Seven Signs That Work Exchange Site is Sketchy
Having some doubts about that work exchange site you pay to belong to? If you're seeing the Seven Deadly Signs, maybe it's time to cancel that membership. Here's what to look for.1. No one ever answers your emails.The first clue that you've stumbled upon a quality company is if they've provided customer and technical assistance. If you've sent numerous emails and clicked the Submit My Question button to no avail, that's a good indication that there's nobody on staff. Is this what you pay that monthly membership for?2. Seems like you're always getting invoiced.You've contracted a total of one jobs through the site, and yet your credit card is being charged at every turn. First they hit you with your monthly dues, then they get you on the percentage of the total job cost, then they invoice you for the cut they take out of your client's paycheck... when you think about it, who's getting the raw deal here? I suspect it may be you.3. You often find yourself "lost" on the site.A good website, even if it contains a large number of pages, should navigate logically and you should always be able to get back where you started. If you've visited the site on more than a handful of occasions and yet you still get Lost in the Labyrinth, maybe you should click your heels together three times and stay the heck out of there.4. Some of the job bidders give you the willies.It shouldn't be that difficult to find qualified professionals on a site where you pay $50 a month for a standard membership. Yet, seems

Ok, so over the past month or so I've been collecting various search engine optimization questions from all of you. Today, I'm going to answer what was the most frequently asked question over the past month.

You guessed it... What is the Google Sandbox Theory and how do I escape it? When you finish reading this lesson, you'll be an expert on the good 'ole Google Sandbox Theory and you'll know how to combat its effects. So, pay close attention. This is some very important stuff.

Before I start explaining what the Google Sandbox theory is, let me make a few things clear:

The Google Sandbox theory is just that, a theory, and is without official confirmations from Google or the benefit of years of observation.

The Google Sandbox theory has been floating around since summer 2004, and has only really gained steam after February 4, 2005 , after a major Google index update (something known as the old Google dance).

Without being able to verify the existence of a Sandbox, much less its features, it becomes very hard to devise strategies to combat its effects.

Almost everything that you will read on the Internet on the Google Sandbox theory is conjecture, pieced together from individual experiences and not from a wide-scale objective controlled experiment with hundreds of websites (something that would obviously help in determining the nature of the Sandbox, but is inherently impractical given the demand on resources).

Thus, as I'll be discussing towards the end, it's important that you focus on ‘good' search engine optimization techniques and not place too much emphasis on quick ‘get-out-of-jail' schemes which are, after all, only going to last until the next big Google update.

What is the Google Sandbox Theory?

There are several theories that attempt explain the Google Sandbox effect. Essentially, the problem is simple. Webmasters around the world began to notice that their new websites, optimized and chock full of inbound links, were not ranking well for their selected keywords.

In fact, the most common scenario to be reported was that after being listed in the SERPS (search engine results pages) for a couple of weeks, pages were either dropped from the index or ranked extremely low for their most important keywords.

This pattern was tracked down to websites that were created (by created I mean that their domain name was purchased and the website was registered) around March 2004. All websites created around or after March 2004 were said to be suffering from the Sandbox effect.

Some outliers escaped it completely, but webmasters on a broad scale had to deal with their websites ranking poorly even for terms for which they had optimized their websites to death.

Conspiracy theories grew exponentially after the February 2005 update, codenamed ‘Allegra' (how these updates are named I have no clue), when webmasters began seeing vastly fluctuating results and fortunes. Well-ranked websites were loosing their high SERPS positions, while previously low-ranking websites had gained ground to rank near the top for their keywords.

This was a major update to Google's search engine algorithm, but what was interesting was the apparent ‘exodus' of websites from the Google Sandbox. This event gave the strongest evidence yet of the existence of a Google Sandbox, and allowed SEO experts to better understand what the Sandbox effect was about.

Possible explanations for the Google Sandbox effect

A common explanation offered for the Google Sandbox effect is the ‘Time Delay' factor. Essentially, this theory suggests that Google releases websites from the Sandbox after a set period of time. Since many webmasters started feeling the effects of the Sandbox around March-April 2004 and a lot of those websites were ‘released' in the ‘Allegra' update, this ‘website aging' theory has gained a lot of ground.

However, I don't find much truth in the ‘Time Delay' factor because by itself, it's just an artificially imposed penalty on websites and does not improve relevancy (the Holy Grail for search engines). Since Google is the de facto leader of the search engine industry and is continuously making strides to improve relevancy in search results, tactics such as this do not fit in with what we know about Google.

Contrasting evidence from many websites has shown that some websites created before March 2004 were still not released from the Google Sandbox, whereas some websites created as late as July 2004 managed to escape the Google Sandbox effect during the ‘Allegra' update. Along with shattering the ‘Time Delay' theory, this also raises some interesting questions. This evidence has led some webmasters to suggest a ‘link threshold' theory; once a website has accumulated a certain amount of quantity/quality inbound links, it is released from the Sandbox.

While this might be closer to the truth, this cannot be all there is to it. There has been evidence of websites who have escaped the Google Sandbox effect without massive link-building campaigns. In my opinion, link-popularity is definitely a factor in determining when a website is released from the Sandbox but there is one more caveat attached to it.

This concept is known as ‘link-aging'. Basically, this theory states that websites are released from the Sandbox based on the ‘age' of their inbound links. While we only have limited data to analyze, this seems to be the most likely explanation for the Google Sandbox effect.

The link-ageing concept is something that confuses people, who usually consider that it is the website that has to age. While conceptually, a link to a website can only be as old as the website itself, yet if you have don't have enough inbound links after one year, common experience has it that you will not be able to escape from the Google Sandbox. A quick hop around popular SEO forums (you do visit SEO forums, don't you?) will lead you to hundreds of threads discussing various results – some websites were launched in July 2004 and escaped by December 2004. Others were stuck in the Sandbox even after the ‘Allegra' update.

How to find out if your website is ‘Sandboxed'

Finding out if your website is ‘Sandboxed' is quite simple. If your website does not appear in any SERPS for your target list of keywords, or if your results are highly depressing (ranked somewhere on the 40 th page) even if you have lots of inbound links and almost-perfect on-page optimization, then your website has been Sandboxed.

Issues such as the Google Sandbox theory tend to distract webmasters from the core ‘good' SEO practices and inadvertently push them towards black-hat or quick-fix techniques to exploit the search engine's weaknesses. The problem with this approach is its short-sightedness. To explain what I'm talking about, let's take a small detour and discuss search engine theory.

Understanding Search Engines

If you're looking to do some SEO, it would help if you tried to understand what search engines are trying to do. Search engines want to present the most relevant information to their users. There are two problems in this – the inaccurate search terms that people use and the information glut that is the Internet. To counteract, search engines have developed increasingly complex algorithms to deduce relevancy of content for different search terms.

How does this help us?

Escaping from the Google Sandbox

However, if you keep your head down and keep up with a low-intensity, long-term link building plan and

Small Business, Big Business
The internet has been deemed as an equalizer that gives small businesses as much marketing power and reach as their larger business counterparts online.But is this really true?Can a Mom and Pop operation reap the same level of success by creating a website as a larger business?The truth is that online, no one knows the size of your business…unless you choose to tell them!Success online is for small and large businesses alike and is a question of:1) the nature of the products you are selling2) the target market - who you want to sell to3) Special, unique product characteristics4) the existing management structure of the small businessLet’s get some examples.Exactly what do you plan on selling? Take this example.A grocer that retails oranges and eggs and flour is probably better off running ads in his local newspaper than expecting to generate sales online….of course there is always the question of ‘unique packaging’ that we will discuss further on! Just the cost of packaging and delivery will make such a service a bit prohibitive since these items are relatively inexpensive.Considerations when deciding what to sell online include – the shelf life of the product, cost of packaging, availability of the product elsewhere verses the worth of the product. Selling an inexpensive product is practical only if you intend selling hundreds of them or there is no delivery cost attaches!Of course larger businesses will be able to save if they do bulk shipping and special packaging at wholesale

fect. Essentially, the problem is simple. Webmasters around the world began to notice that their new websites, optimized and chock full of inbound links, were not ranking well for their selected keywords.

Some outliers escaped it completely, but webmasters on a broad scale had to deal with their websites ranking poorly even for terms for which they had optimized their websites to death.

Possible explanations for the Google Sandbox effect

How to find out if your website is ‘Sandboxed'

Understanding Search Engines

How does this help us?

Escaping from the Google Sandbox

However, if you keep your head down and keep up with a low-intensity, long-term link building plan and

Web Affiliate Programs - Experiences from the Frontline
After two years of relying on Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising, organic search engine results, web directories and word of mouth, I finally decided to give web affiliate programs a try.From my research, I knew that there are a lot of affiliate marketers (as affiliates like to refer to themselves) who are making a decent to good living steering customers to online stores. When I'd investigated adding our site to one of the programs, I always felt that the reputable sites were too expensive and that the cheaper sites were too risky.Recently, I read some good feedback about Shareasale and took a look. Shareasale is less expensive to get into than Commission Junction or Clickbank, but has developed a reputation for having a well-run program.I'd also heard that most of the many of the major affiliates that produce results are signed up at Shareasale, so I was eager to see what results I could expect. I handed over my $150 signup fee and $50 affiliate payout deposit and hoped for the best.The site I wanted to promote is a designer and manufacturer of women's fitness wear. From ongoing research, I was already familiar with most of the high traffic sites with a readership that would be highly targeted to our store. I didn't expect to see many (if any) of them signing up as affiliate marketing is not a major source

of time. Since many webmasters started feeling the effects of the Sandbox around March-April 2004 and a lot of those websites were ‘released' in the ‘Allegra' update, this ‘website aging' theory has gained a lot of ground.

How to find out if your website is ‘Sandboxed'

Understanding Search Engines

How does this help us?

Escaping from the Google Sandbox

However, if you keep your head down and keep up with a low-intensity, long-term link building plan and

Risk Taking, Risk Avoidance & Risk Management
Only a few years ago my approach to business was very much along the lines of risk avoidance. I didn't want to take risk, not at all.In the last few years I have spent more time than ever with risk takers. Talking and meeting with these people has been, and continues to be, extremely stimulating. Through conversations I realised that, despite my previous perceptions, there was an ounce of entrepreneurship within me. In fact, not an ounce but a seed and like all seeds it needed nurturing to grow. I have been focussing on this ever since and channelling my energy and time toward this. One key skill that I realised I have is that of risk management. Through avoiding risk for so long I have a great eye for identifying risks in the first place. What is different now is that I want to take risks. Risk is stimulating and challenging. It breeds uncertainty which takes us back to challenges again. I see more and more that;[a] taking risk is an absolute necessity in today's world. There are far too many people out there competing with you. They are not just in your geographic location, they are global.[b] taking risk can certainly reap rewards in much the same way that gambling can. Few people though want to gamble.[c] the role of the Risk Manager will be key to all organisations from start-up to global. It's not the traditional risk manager role though. This is about the literal translation - managing risk. To be explicit, it means that you need to take risks and mitigate them where possible and monitor them closely where no

ing concept is something that confuses people, who usually consider that it is the website that has to age. While conceptually, a link to a website can only be as old as the website itself, yet if you have don't have enough inbound links after one year, common experience has it that you will not be able to escape from the Google Sandbox. A quick hop around popular SEO forums (you do visit SEO forums, don't you?) will lead you to hundreds of threads discussing various results – some websites were launched in July 2004 and escaped by December 2004. Others were stuck in the Sandbox even after the ‘Allegra' update.

How to find out if your website is ‘Sandboxed'

Understanding Search Engines

How does this help us?

Escaping from the Google Sandbox

However, if you keep your head down and keep up with a low-intensity, long-term link building plan and

The Valuable Role Of The Income Statement
Starting a business of your own is one of the most important things any person can do to take charge of his or her own financial future.There are few things in life that can provide the financial security as having your own business, but it is important to know what to look for, and to understand how to prepare the many financial documents that will be needed as the business goes forward.==The Business Plan Is One Of The First Things Investors Will Want To View==For instance, no business will be able to get the startup funding it needs to get off the ground without a solid business plan and income statement behind it.The business plan is the first thing the lender will examine when determining whether or not to give the new business the loan it needs to rent or buy property, hire employees and buy equipment.==Include Information The Investors Are Looking For==Likewise, any potential business partners or investors will want to carefully examine the income statement and business plan before deciding to invest.Professional investors and business partners are very careful with their money, and it is important that the income statement include the information they are looking for.==Use Mentoring Programs==While some new business owners will already possess the skills needed to create a great income statement, others will lack those skills.If you are unsure just what goes into the income statement, it is important to learn as much as you possibly can before starting the business.

ifferent search terms.

How does this help us?

Escaping from the Google Sandbox

However, if you keep your head down and keep up with a low-intensity, long-term link building plan and keep adding inbound links to your website, you will be released from the Google Sandbox after an indeterminate period of time (but within a year, probably six months). In other words, the filter will stop having such a massive effect on your website.

As the ‘Allegra' update showed, websites that were constantly being optimized during the time that they were in the Sandbox began to rank quite high for targeted keywords after the Sandbox effect ended.

This and other observations of the Sandbox phenomenon – combined with an understanding of search engine philosophy – have lead me to pinpoint the following strategies for minimizing your website's ‘Sandboxed' time.

SEO strategies to minimize your website's ‘Sandboxed' time

Despite what some SEO experts might tell you, you don't need do anything different to escape from the Google Sandbox. In fact, if you follow the ‘white hat' rules of search engine optimization and work on the principles I've mentioned many times in this course, you'll not only minimize your website's Sandboxed time but you will also ensure that your website ranks in the top 10 for your target keywords. Here's a list of SEO strategies you should make sure you use when starting out a new website:

Start promoting your website the moment you create your website, not when your website is ‘ready'. Don't make the mistake of waiting for your website to be ‘perfect'. The motto is to get your product out on the market, as quickly as possible, and then worry about improving it. Otherwise, how will you ever start to make money?

Establish a low-intensity, long-term link building plan and follow it religiously. For example, you can set yourself a target of acquiring 20 links per week, or maybe even a target of contacting 10 link partners a day (of course, with SEO Elite, link building is a snap). This will ensure that as you build your website, you also start acquiring inbound links and those links will age properly – so that by the time your website exits the Sandbox you would have both a high quantity of inbound links and a thriving website.

Avoid black-hat techniques such as keyword stuffing or ‘cloaking'. Google's search algorithm evolves almost daily, and penalties for breaking the rules may keep you stuck in the Sandbox longer than usual.

Save your time by remembering the 20/80 rule: 80 percent of your optimization can be accomplished by just 20 percent of effort. After that, any tweaking left to be done is specific to current search engine tendencies and liable to become ineffective once a search engine updates its algorithm. Therefore don't waste your time in optimizing for each and every search engine – just get the basics right and move on to the next page.

Remember, you should always optimize with the end-user in mind, not the search engines.

Like I mentioned earlier, search engines are continuously optimizing their algorithms in order to improve on the key criteria: relevancy. By ensuring that your website content is targeted on a particular keyword, and is judged as ‘good' content based on both on-page optimization (keyword density) and off-page factors (lots of quality inbound links), you will also guarantee that your website will keep ranking highly for your search terms no matter what changes are brought into a search engine's algorithm, whether it's a dampening factor a la Sandbox or any other quirk the search engine industry throws up in the future.

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A bad hire can cost you a lot of money and waste you a lot of time. You do not want to make a mistake in hiring a prospective employee. As much as possible you want to get it right the first time. This is especially true if you are looking for someone to fill in the crucial position of an executive accountant to handle the money, the lifeblood of your company.

With the evident skills shortages in search engine marketing, this article explains the benefits of both working with a specialist agency and complementing this by training businesses existing staff in the discipline of search marketing.

As you have probably heard over and over, keyword research is a pivotal step for success. Taken a step further, it can develop your product lines for you.

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