She craves but to savor a tender lovers` kiss,
and sense the rush of rapture it could bring;

Masked behind the cloak of marital bliss

Unfettered fervor latent lay below a wedding ring.

After the dowry came a deluge of deepening disturb

In-laws enter with contrived smiles ready to unfold

Her starving heart’s feelings she can never curb

Her frozen gaze reveals a million truths untold

Her ravenous eyes are famished

The honeymoon has vanished
A thorny contract for life of ill-design

From whose fate she cannot resign

Her yearning lips and a throbbing heart need ignition

Ill-begotten in-laws perform a fake rendition

From fiery claws a smoke is bellowing

If only she could get rid of them with a magic spell

Existence’s affliction may become a bearable living hell

Eyes utter the words that her husband is blinded to tell

A suppressed mind conceals what the spirit knows too well

Smiles on her lips disperse the glower of a heart’s desire

Laughter on the lips spread the tears that eyes conspire

Oh, chaste wither away! And set her lust free–

held incarcerated, long ago a romance ceased to be
to whisper a hymn of infidelity,

Making love to another spiced her spirit, tickled her soul
Veiled passions, secreted attractions taking on their toll
A forbidden conjugal intrusion

Vows from an altar mere rhetorical illusion
Yesterday’s torment of a paranoid delusion

Till death do us part, for better or for worse?

Ringing hollow promises echoing a nuptial curse

He brings home the living. He controls the purse

Alone, this naked jewel shivering of cold

No one to have. No one to hold.

Woman might be fickle; yes this is true

she`ll eavesdrop on her heart to justify
the lusting for a flame to flicker anew

of a poignant passion she can`t deny.

Vows have anchored and subjugated many stormy seas,
She`d steer them all away for feelings just like these.

Ozer Khalid has trekked the 4 continents of our globe and has dabbled in investment banking, the law, enterprise and events management. Ozer is an avid linguist, traveller, cineaste, and horse-back rider.

This is part one of ten in this search engine positioning series. In part one we will outline how to choose the keyword phrases most likely to produce a high ROI for your search engine positioning efforts. Over this ten part series we will go through ten essential elements and steps to optimizing a site. Some steps take a few hours, some may take months depending on the competition, but in the end and if done correctly you will have a well optimized site that will place well and hold it’s positioning.

Of course all website’s fluctuate up and down however well optimized sites will spend more time on the upper end of the rankings than poorly optimized or spammy sites which may see high rankings but which will lose those rankings over time.

The Ten Steps We Will Go Through Are:

Keyword Selection

Content

Site Structure

Optimization

Internal Linking

Human Testing

Submissions

Link Building

Monitoring

The Extras

Step One - Keyword Selection

Arguably, keyword selection is the single most important stage in the entire optimization process. If you do not choose the correct keyword phrases you will not maximize your ROI on this campaign. I mention ROI and use it as a reminder that keyword selection is not necessarily about looking for the most searched phrases. A profitable optimization is one which produces the greatest return on investment for the time and money that are available to put towards it.

Bigger Is Not Always Better

If you are a web designer in Seattle who has just started your own business, you could make “web design” the targeted keyword phrase for your site as it certainly has the highest number of searches with 707,962 in September 2004 according to the “Overture Search Term Suggestion Tool”. If you have thousands of dollars and many months to dedicated just to attaining those rankings it could be done however, would that be the best use of your time? Alternatively you could target “seattle web site design” with 5,070 searches in September. A Google link check shows the number of links for the top three competitors for the Seattle search had 132, 21, and 47 respectively whereas for “web design” the top three had 18,700, 5,420, and 1,310 incoming links each.

With a good site you would get more work than you could handle with 5,070 searches on Overture alone if you were ranking well on the major search engines. This would clearly provide the highest return on investment for the small business owner who most certainly does not have the time and money available to target “web design” and who wouldn’t have the manpower to take advantage of the rankings even if they were attained.

This is an extreme example however it clearly illustrates that sometimes the phrase with the highest number of searches is not necessarily the best target for your business.

Phrases That Sell

Another consideration you will want to make when choosing your keyword phrases is whether or not they are “buy phrases”. Phrases with a high number of searches that are not “buy phrases” will tend to bring a lot of traffic, however the conversion ratio will be far lower. Should you choose to target “buy phrases” you may not get the same number of visitors however your ratio of visitors to sales will be much higher.

In this example let’s assume you are the marketing director for a well-known accounting company. There will be many choices you can make for your targeted keyword phrase. The top searched phrases in September 2004 that were accounting-related are:

“accounting” with 156,095 searches

“accounting software” with 54,621 searches

“accounting job” with 32,015 searches

“accounting services” with 19,260 searches

“accounting firm” with 13,089 searches

Many might go with their gut instinct and attempt to target “accounting”. The problem with this phrase (other than the competition for it) is that the people doing that search are not necessarily even looking for an accounting firm. They may be accounting students, small business owners not interested in hiring an accountant but just looking for tax information, etc. “Accounting software” and “accounting job” are irrelevant, which leaves us with “accounting services” and “accounting firm” as the two main options.

From this point an evaluation of competition should be performed and the pros and cons of making each the primary target should be weighed based on the amount of work it will take to attain the phrase vs. how many searches there are for that phrase.

Often promotions that target multiple “buy phrases” will end up far more successful that those targeting phrases based solely on the number of searches due to the increased conversions and generally decreased competition.

Tools To Use

Armed now with knowledge on how to recognize and choose between different phrases there remains only one question, how do you know which phrases are even searched? Fortunately there are a couple great resources out there to help you find out how many searches are performed for specific phrases. They Are:

The Overture Search Term Suggestion Tool

A decent tool for researching keyword phrases. It indicates which phrases had the highest numbers of searches on Overture during the previous month. The biggest weakness it has, as far as applying it to the natural search engines, is that Overture counts singular and plural as the same and also corrects misspelling so the totals are all lumped together in this tool whereas on the natural engines they are considered differently.

WordTracker

WordTracker is very similar to Overture’s Search Term Suggestion Tool except that this tool differentiates between plural and singular searches, does not correct spelling (i.e. it gives the number of searches for misspellings rather than correcting them and giving a total for correct and misspelled words) and gives the results in predicted numbers of searches over all the engines per day rather than just one engine over a month.

They have a great free trial that doesn’t give you as many results but which can be very useful.

When using these tools I recommend beginning with the Overture Search term Suggestion Tool and once you’ve narrowed down your choices, switch to WordTracker to insure that you’re getting the right information in regards to tense (singular vs. plural) and also that the numbers match. Sometimes you will find that the numbers are completely different from each tool. In this event you will have to use your best judgment.

Don’t forget to check misspellings when using WordTracker!

Tips & Tricks

There are no real “tricks” to uncovering the keywords you should target however there are a few tips. A few pointers that will help you maximize your keyword selection:

Think like a layman. Just because you know your industry terms doesn’t mean that everyone does. Don’t just think of the words you use to describe your products/services, think of the words you would use if you knew nothing about it other than the fact that you needed it. You may want to recruit a friend and have them run some searches for you.

Think like an expert. On the other side of the coin, there may be phrases used specifically in your industry that people “in the know” would use to search for your products and/or services. Be sure to look into these phrases. You just may find some hidden gems that no one else has thought to target.

Don’t target too many phrases. Some SEOs and webmasters target dozens and sometimes even hundreds of phrases. The end result, they often miss the ones they most wanted to attain. Keeping yourself and your keyword list focused will keep your site focused. If your site is focused you’ll rank higher for the phrases that will produce the highest return on investment.

Testing

Test your phrases. If there is any debate about whether a search phrase is worth targeting it’s often a good idea to test the conversions through pay-per-click engines. Set up an account with a PPC engine and bid on the phrases that you would like to target.

You have to remember that the PPC engines do not provide for the same amount of traffic as the natural engines. Test the initial phrases, test alternative phrases, and see which produce the best results. Something else to keep in mind is that PPC are not natural engines. If your ROI is not as high on more costly phrases that doesn’t mean they won’t produce the higher return on the natural engines where a top ranking does not cost money per click.

In the end you will have confirmed a solid list of keyword phrases and if the PPC campaign is providing a good return on investment you might as well keep it running and enjoy the “bonus” traffic that it provides.

Next Week

Next week in part two of our “Ten Steps To an Optimized Website” series we will be covering content. This will cover everything from the optimization of existing content to the creation of new content for your website.

About The Author

Dave Davies is the owner of Beanstalk Search Engine Positioning (http://www.beanstalk-inc.com/). He has been optimizing and ranking websites for over three years and has a solid history of success. Dave is available to answer any questions that you may have about your website and how to get it into the top positions on the major search engines.

info@beanstalk-inc.com

It was a relatively quiet night in college basketball on Friday. South Florida (0-8 in Big East) lost at home to DePaul 80-66, the school’s 10th straight loss. In the Ivy League, Penn remained unbeaten in league play (3-0) with a 68-51 home win over Brown and Dartmouth fell to 2-16 (0-5 in Ivy) with a 63-47 loss at Cornell.

I mention these scores because Penn is one of 10 remaining Division I schools still unbeaten in conference play entering this weekend’s action, while Dartmouth and South Florida are two of EIGHT schools which are still winless in league games!

My free play for Saturday is Michigan over Iowa in college basketball (5:00 ET). After a couple of hard-luck losses on Wednesday, I’ve bounced back to win THREE of four packages Thursday and Friday. In Saturday’s CBB action, I’m featuring two 20* GOY plays plus an exclusive Las Vegas Insider Play on an early Saturday tip. Check back after 10:00 ET for more possible BKB in both college and the NBA.

The family of ESPN networks will televise nine CBB games on Saturday, with CBS giving us one of just two matchups between top-25 opponents, when No. 1 U Conn visits No. 22 Indiana (1:00 ET). The Huskies are 19-1 and have won eight straight games. They are 6-0 versus top-25 opponents this year and under Calhoun, are 32-5 in games while ranked No. 1.

For the Hoosiers, this will be the second time this year they’ve hosted the nation’s No. 1-ranked team. In the Big-10/ACC Challenge, Indiana lost at home (11/30) to then-No. 1 Duke, 75-67. U Conn is favored by four points with a total of 137.

The only other game on Saturday involving top-25 opponents is No. 21 Michigan (ranked for the first time since 1998) at No. 23 Iowa (5:00 ET). The Wolverines and Hawkeyes join Illinois (6-2) in a three-way tie for first place in the Big-10. Iowa is 13-0 at home this year, winning by an average of just over 16 PPG and has already beaten four ranked opponents in Iowa City this season. The Hawkeyes are favored by 3 1/2 points with a total of 130.

Speaking of Illinois, the sixth-ranked Illini, who became the first school to reach 20 wins this year by winning at Wisconsin on Tuesday, hosts Penn State at 9:00 ET. Penn State has lost four straight games (all to ranked opponents) and enters the game having lost 18 consecutive games to top-25 foes. Illinois has won 33 straight games at home and is favored by 20 points with a total of 131.

Joining Illinois at 33 straight home wins (longest current streak in the nation), is No. 5 Gonzaga. The Bulldogs host Santa Clara at 11:00 ET and can match a school record by winning their 34th straight home game tonight (set from 1992-95). Gonzaga, a 20 1/2 point favorite (total is 147 1/2), has beaten Santa Clara 11 straight times, including an 81-69 win back on January 9.

ESPN will keep us busy with games throughout the day but ESPN2’s 9:00 ET game with Kentucky visiting No. 8 Florida, might be the most interesting of all the day’s televised games. Florida has been one of the year’s major surprises, while Kentucky has been one of its biggest disappointments.

However, the Gators are struggling with some key injuries to Brewer and Humphrey, while the Wildcats have suddenly caught ‘fire’, winning five straight. During the winning streak, Kentucky has shot 51 percent, including 40 percent from the three-point arc. Florida is 13-0 at home this year and enters the game on a 19-game home winning streak. Florida beat Kentucky in last year’s SEC title game, just the Gators’ 26th win over the Wildcats, in 110 all-time meetings. Florida is favored by seven points with a total of 138 1/2.

Friday night’s NBA highlights saw the Charlotte Bobcats end their franchise-high 13-game losing streak by beating the Lakers, 112-102. The Pistons won (87-80) but did not cover at Philadelphia, which again played without Iverson. Detroit is now 39-6 on the season, easily the league’s best mark. However, before handing the Pistons the championship, note this fact.

Teams owning the league’s best record on Groundhog’s Day since the 1976 merger with the ABA (including teams tied for the best record), have advanced to the NBA Finals only 14 of 29 times (just 48 percent). Think that’s low? Only NINE (just 31 percent), have won the title!

Saturday’s NBA games of interest start with Miami at New Jersey at 1:05 ET. The Nets enter this game on a nine-game home winning streak, yet find themselves 3 1/2-point underdogs to the Heat (192 1/2). Detroit tries to win its 40th game of the year tonight at Indiana (8:00 ET). Due to numerous Pacer injuries, no line has yet been posted.

Finally, the Mavericks host the Sonics at 8:35 ET. Dallas is 36-10 on the year (half-game behind SA for the league’s 2nd-best record) and enters on a 10-game winning streak (8-2 ATS). Seattle is off a 100-77 loss last night in Houston but can solace in the fact that while the Mavs are 17-4 SU at home, they are just 10-10-1 ATS!

I’m told there is a football game being played tomorrow and I’ll check into that for tomorrows notes, available by 9:00 ET.

Larry Ness is a documented member of the Professional Handicappers League.
Read all of his articles at http://www.procappers.com/Larry_Ness.htm

Some people who sell items online use drop shippers. Drop shippers are people who have a product to sell and allow you to sell it for them. They often offer the product to you at a lower price so that you can make some profit off of the sale as well. They will ask you to either email, fax, phone in or order the product from their site. Then they will ship the product to your customer for you. Most of the time the drop shipper will send the package with your information instead of their own as a courtesy to you so that their customers don’t know that the product was drop shipped and also so that the customer has your information for returns and other customer service issues.

Finding drop shippers is really no secret. There’s no need to purchase an e-book or other “list” just to find a drop shipper. Here’s how I found products to sell…

1. I “Googled” for the product that I was looking for and added “wholesale” to the search. For example, you would search for “widgets wholesale”.

2. When I found the widgets that I thought would sell really well I looked for drop shipping policies on the website. They can usually be found under “wholesale” if they don’t have a link of their own. If they were listed, great! If not, a quick simple email to the site owner was all that was necessary.

Here is a sample letter that you can use.

Hello.

I am very interested in widget xyz. Do you offer drop shipping? If so, can you inform me of your drop shipping policies?

Thank you,

Me

It’s REALLY that easy! There are some things that you need to be aware of when using drop shippers. They more often than not, charge you a fee. This could be higher shipping or just an extra amount added to each order. Check to make sure you can still profit with this fee included. Ask for references! Just because they say they are a drop shipper doesn’t mean that they will actually ship the product and offer you the customer service that you and YOUR customer deserve. Be sure to find out everything you can about the drop shipper that you would like to use and read any fine print.

About the author:
Barbara Stubblefield is a WAHM and owner of http://www.WAHMCrafter.com , Where Crafters Unite!

To keep wood garden sheds, arbors, or trellises looking their best, consider using a wood finishing product such as sealer, stain, or outdoor paint. Wood finishing protects exposed wood from sun, water, insect, and fungal damage.

Here’s a list of some common wood finishing products:

Wood Sealer: Wood sealer blocks the pores of the wood, while still allowing natural fading and weathering.

Stain: Stain penetrates the wood, and unlike paint, it does not trap moisture and cause blistering or peeling. Stains come in many colors, and in transparent or solid applications. Reapply the stain every other year to keep the color fresh.

Paint: Exterior paint protects the wood surface and is available in every conceivable color. The garden shed or arbor must be sanded and primed before application. Remember that aging paint flakes and cracks, so you’ll need to scrape and sand again to refinish the wood down the road.

If none of those appeal to you, there are some other low maintenance wood finishing options:

Vinyl Siding: For wood garden sheds, you can use vinyl siding instead of wood siding. Vinyl siding is ultra low maintenance, comes in many colors, and only requires periodic cleaning (once a year) with water to keep its fresh appearance.

Unfinished Cedar: If your wood garden shed or arbor is made from cedar, (such as Western Red Cedar), you can choose to leave it unfinished. Cedar does not warp, and it contains natural preservatives that prevent rot. Natural weathering over time turns unfinished cedar a lovely sliver-gray color.

Applying wood finishing products is easy with the right tools
Stains and sealers can be applied with a brush roller, pad, or spray gun. Check the wood finishing manufacturer instructions. Apply two coats and expect to reapply every two the five years.

Leanne Tremblay is the author and publisher of http://www.gardensheds.greenhouses.arbors.learnabout.info where you can find great ideas on garden sheds, shed plans and shed kits, greenhouse kits, arbors, and trellises.

Spam is a term used to describe the sending unsolicited messages indiscriminately in bulk by means of electronic media. E-mail is the usual vehicle for Spam often advertising products like cheap prescription drugs and discounted computer software.

Confidence tricks have also found as new lease of life through e-mail. I think many of us know of the email from a government official, usually from Nigeria asking to use your bank account to move money and promising a big cut.

The first traces of unsolicited e-mail date back to 1978 and the term itself has its roots from a Monty Python sketch on TV. In the sketch set in a café’s, every item on the menu comes with Spam Luncheon meat. When a customer asks for something without spam, the waiter merely reiterates the Spam filled menu. So now you know. They even made a song about it.

Even though there has been media coverage of the problems with spam, there is little legal recourse to stop spammers targeting you. So what do you do?

Never ever respond to a spam e-mail:

Spam e-mail may often contain a link along the lines of “click here if you don’t want to receive these e-mails in the future”. Rather than removing you from the list it confirms to the spammer that your address is valid and that there is someone reading the messages. Once a spammer knows this it makes your address valuable if they sell it on, and will result in you getting even more spam e-mails.

Never publicise your e-mail address:

By only giving out your address to trusted family and friends you can keep email address safe. This will make it harder for spammers to get hold of it. If your are posting to forums or the like, never use your real address. Many spammers use programs that trawl through web pages harvesting all of the e-mail addresses that they find. If you have to enter an e-mail address when posting on a discussion forum, disguise it. For example, remove the @ symbol, instead spelling the address out as your name (at) your domain com.

Set up a new public e-mail address:

When signing up for online services or forums create a new public email address to use. There are many companies that provide free web mail addresses. By using your public email address when signing up for services online, any spammers that capture the address will send email here and not to your private address. You only need to check the account when you are expecting something, for example a confirmation email from a website, and the rest of the time it can safely be ignored.

Report Spam Abusers:

Spammers are using very sophisticated techniques to hide their true identities, which makes it very difficult to hold them to account for their behaviour. One thing that you can do is report them to the ISP where the message originated from (be careful this may not be the same as the domain the spam purports to be from) Hopefully , the ISP will close the spammers account, or take action to secure their systems against future abuse. Spam cop provide a handy service on their website to help you report spam emails to their originating ISP.

Block images being displayed in HTML messages:

Very often spammers will send HTML email messages with images embedded into the text. These images are called web beacons and are not actually sent with the email, but are linked from a website. When your email program tries to display the message, it goes to the web server hosting the image and requests that it is sent. The spammer use this request to confirm that you r email is valid and is being read this makes it much more valuable to them. Many email programs have a facility to prevent images from being displayed unless you specifically request to see them.

One final piece of advice is use the filtering tools provided by your email program to set up black and white lists. On the black lists you put known spam addresses and have them sent to a specific folder, such as Junk, the white takes addresses from your address book as those you would like to receive mail from.

Nothing is ever fool proof against spammers but following the rules above considerably reduces your vulnerability to spam.

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Note: You may use this article in your e-zine or on your site as long as the article and resource box remain unchanged

Copyright Mike Morris 2005

This is a time of year when many people take stock of all that they are grateful for — or at least when we should do so. But this should also be a time when we take stock of all those people who contributed to those gifts — especially the intangible ones. Those gifts such as our self-esteem or confidence, our love of sports or music, and our spine. What person or group do you owe the greatest debt? Was there a special person or group that really helped you become the person you are today?

Was there someone who helped you believe in yourself and your ability? Was there someone who taught you to appreciate life in a new way? Was there just someone who was there so you could count on them no matter what?

Most of us have been fortunate to have not just one person but a whole team of teachers, coaches, and mentors who helped us grow and reach our potential. We should remember to thank those people again and again as we live the lives they helped us shape. Even more important we need to repay that debt — not to those individuals but to society. How is your debt? Have you paid it yet or are you still pretending it doesn’t exist?

We often hear the expression as it relates to criminals. It is sometimes used as a euphemism for incarceration. The truth is though that we all owe a debt to society. Not because we have done some harm to the community but instead because we have benefited from someone else doing good.

I am a Presbyterian and our expression of the Lord’s Prayer includes the phrase “And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors”. Obviously no matter how good we are and how exemplary our lives we can never repay our debt to God or his son so that part of the meaning is rather clear. I also think this means that we should do good for goodness sake rather than any potential benefit we may reap from the act.

I also think there is another level of meaning and this comes back to the central idea of our debt to society. I think when it comes down to acts of kindness there cannot be a one-to-one relationship. Obviously in many cases when a person is in need of help they may never be in a position to return that help in kind. But it isn’t really what we want or need when we offer help or kindness in any case.

Whenever I do something charitable, helpful, or kind, I tend to view the act as contributing to a vast fund of kindness. Many times in my life I have profited from this fund and very likely I will continue to profit from it.

One of the reasons I like this concept is that I do think of it as a sort of fund or bank. The value grows exponentially rather than incrementally just as money would do if similarly invested. We should all be grateful for this because the truth is that we usually don’t pay our debt to society.

Most of us will write the occasional check, buy a ticket for some raffle, and/or spend a few hours working here and there on some pet project. There are a few who will go much further than this and spend a large portion of their time, energy, and/or money for the greater good but they are far too few.

Often whenever we face pressure on our time or finances then it is our philanthropic activities that are the first to be sacrificed. I have been all too guilty of this myself. I wonder what would happen if we reversed this and instead put helping others first rather than last?

My challenge to you this week is simply to find a way to add to our goodness fund. Borrow from the concept of “Pay It Forward”. When someone offers you a helping hand then be sure to pass the favor along at the first opportunity. Don’t pick and choose. Don’t balance your checkbook first. Don’t take the easy path. Do what is right. You will know it when you see it.

Deanna Mascle is an inspirational freelance writer. You can find more inspiration at Inspiration by Dawggone and her inspirational ezines Words of Inspiration Online and Daily Quote Online.

A Secret Way of Getting Traffic: Submitting to Online Directories

If you are reading this article, more likely than not you own a website that you would like to see be a success. To achieve that level, you need traffic to your site. But where does traffic come from?

One of the better ways to get traffic for your site is to submit your site to the many directories that exist online. Online directories are similar to your phone book yellow pages: These directories are categorized (education, entertainment, health, etc.), and when you submit your website, you suggest a category for your website. Often, you will even be able to submit to a sub-category within a major category. For example, suppose your website is about aromatherapy.
In your submission request, you would suggest “Health” as your main category, “Alternative Medicine” as your sub-category, and “Aromatherapy” as a further sub-category.

Some of the leading online directories are Yahoo!, MSN Small Business, and the DMOZ directory. Unlike search engines, however, listings in online directories are usually not free. As of this writing, you can submit for free to the Yahoo! Directory (http://dir.yahoo.com), but there is not guarantee on how quickly your website will be reviewed for listing. If you need your site reviewed faster, you can pay Yahoo! $299 US for “expedited” service and they will review your site within seven days. However, this fee is a yearly recurring fee. Your website is subject to a yearly review, and is guaranteed neither initial inclusion or to remain listed year after year.

The MSN service is $49 US, and it functions more like a search engine submit service. Their submission service includes inclusion in their own small business directory. DMOZ, on the other hand, is free, but because it is operated by volunteers, it could be awhile before your site is included. Your best options are to submit to DMOZ and pay for the MSN and Yahoo! services.

But why should you spend money? Can’t you just optimize your site for the search engines? You can, but not everyone goes to a search engine for what they are looking for. For example, if someone is searching for gourmet dog treats, they may not use a search engine. Instead, they might go to one of the online directories and look at the listings, much like someone would use the yellow pages in their phone book. Your investment in gaining inclusion in the online directories will pay off for you in a multitude of ways.

1. You will increase traffic to your site. Your site will be included in the online directories, as well as the search engines, and this will help you gain traffic as people search directory listings and find your website.

2. You will increase the number of backlinks to your site. If the directory pages are listed in search engines, the link they provide for your site will be listed in the search engines. This benefits you by creating more ways for people to find your site. Ultimately, this will provide more traffic for you.

3. Submitting to directories is a quick way to gain links. Optimizing your site for the search engines is very difficult and time-consuming.
It can take a lot of time to learn how to write for the search engines. In the meantime, any links you can get will help you with the search engines, and submitting to directories will get you links.

4. Submitting to directories is relatively inexpensive, and a good investment. As stated earlier, you can submit to Yahoo! and MSN for less than $350. DMOZ is free. If you run a search for online directories, you will find many more where you could submit inexpensively, or even for free.

In short, submitting to online directories is one of the best ways for you to build traffic to your website. In the end, you need traffic to survive online. So get started!

Adrian Lawrence is the webmaster of a leading internet directory called http://www.indexplex.com.

Please feel free to re-publish this article provided this resource box remains intact together with a working hyperlink.

In order to achieve any amount of success in your life, it is
important that you understand four basic characteristics. Let’s
call these four attributes the four D’s of success, and they are
vital no matter what level of success you want.

Desire - Decision - Determination - Discipline

Desire is the most essential of the D’s. Without desire, the
other fundamental things just don’t matter. There are many
things we might like to have, and perhaps, we envy someone who
already has something we like. However, we are not very likely
to have these things for ourselves without desire. Not just a
feeling of wanting something or thinking it would be nice, but a
deep-down burning desire, a do-it-or-else attitude and a
willingness to make sacrifices to reach that goal. By
sacrifices, I mean things like giving up the extra servings to
lose weight, watching less TV to have more time available for a
special project, doing without a few things to be able to save
money for a down payment on a new house. Without a strong
desire, the sacrifices may become more of a dreaded chore than a
means to an end, in which case we are more likely to just give
up and abandon the goal.

Decisions need to be made once you have a clear-cut desire. You
want to accomplish a specific goal and now you need to decide
how to do it. Decide on a method to reach your goal and how long
it might take to get there. You can usually find valuable
information that is related to your goal in a bookstore, the
library, or on the Internet. Other times, you might need to talk
to someone who has accomplished a similar goal. Also, decide
what sacrifices, if any, may be necessary for you to make in
order to reach your goal. Reaching a goal is often easier by
breaking a major goal into mini-goals, each one being a
milestone in itself.

Determination and willpower are the traits you need to reach
your goal when you have a burning desire and you’ve made the
decision to take action and make something happen. There may be
obstacles on the way to your goal, but strength of mind and
fortitude can help keep you on track. It doesn’t matter how fast
you are moving toward your goal as long as you keep moving in a
positive direction. You should be resolved to turn your desire
into a reality no matter what it takes.

Discipline can sometimes be the hardest D to handle. We may have
the best of intentions, but a moment of weakness can throw us
off track. It takes self-control and restraint to make
sacrifices and stick to the plan we decided upon. Every so
often, we have to be strict with ourselves and remember that the
goal we seek is worth the effort. If it becomes too hard to
follow the plan, we might need to revise the plan or the time it
takes to get there.

Usually, what we desire most, is not the goal itself, but the
benefits that we experience when the goal is reached. The
following is a list of some goals and possible benefits:

Goal: lose weight Benefit: look/feel better, more energy Goal:
plant a garden Benefit: fresh food, exercise, nature Goal: learn
to play golf Benefit: exercise, recreation Goal: buy a motorhome
Benefit: travel, family outings Goal: work at home Benefit:
freedom, more time with family Goal: make more money Benefit:
better lifestyle, prestige

Take a moment to think about your desires. Chances are good that
you have desires that are strong enough for you to make the
decision to take action and make things happen!

The idea behind viral marketing is that you include your ad with
the freebie people giveaway or use. Use the following special
tips in order to get more results.

Allow people to use your online discussion board for their own
web site. Some people don’t have one. Just include your banner
ad at the top of the board.

Allow people to provide your free online service to their web
site, visitors, or e-zine subscribers. They could be free
e-mail, e-mail consulting, search engine submissions, etc.

Allow people to use any of your freebies as free bonuses for
products or services they sell. Include your ad on all your
freebies.

Allow people to sign up for a free web site on your server.
Since you are giving away the space, require them to include
your banner ad at the top of the site.

Allow people to give away your free web design graphics, fonts,
templates, etc. Just include your ad on them or require people
to link directly to your web site.

Allow people to place an advertisement in your free ebook if, in
exchange, they give away the ebook to their web visitors or
e-zine subscribers.

Allow people to add their link to your free web site directory.
Just require that they return a link back to your web site,
advertising your directory.

Allow people to give away your free ebook to their visitors.
Then, their visitors will also give it away. This will just
continue to spread your ad all over the internet.

Well… I love these techniques.

Viral marketing is something you need to use in order to
multiply your successful results!