All Hits Are Not Created Equal

After all the debate over website design, shopping carts and credit card processors,every website owner eventually comes to the startling realization that they need one more thing to survive - website traffic!

Without website traffic it's the same as building an expensive billboard and, instead of placing it alongside a busy highway, you hide it in your basement where nobody can see it.

Upon realizing they need traffic, most website owners run out and start blowing chunks of money and time trying to get "hits" to their sites, but they fail to realize that all "hits" are not created equal.

In their quest to get eyeballs to their websites, most online operators don't realize there's a big difference between driving "general" traffic to your website and driving "targeted" traffic.

Just getting any traffic is the same technique TV advertisers use. They flash ads on the screen in front of people who can't afford or don't need the advertised product.

Since general advertising can't hit specific targets, they hit everyone and hope that someone in their target audience is actually watching at that moment. Spam, banner ads, "safe-lists" and similar traffic techniques fall into this "general" category.

"Targeted" traffic is made up of people who are genuinely interested in what you have to say or sell online. These people either share the same interests or have an immediate need or problem they are trying to solve.

"Targeted" traffic is best because the people hitting your website have a much higher likelihood of actually making a purchase.

Targeted traffic comes from people following recommended links on other sites, typing in relevant keywords into the search engines, or even reading articles you've written on a particular subject and then clicking over to your site for more information.

If you don't already know where to find the best sources of targeted traffic for your website, you will need to experiment with lots of different sources to find the ones that bring visitors who give you the most "bang for your buck."

The fastest way to determine which avenues provide the most targeted traffic is by using an "ad tracker". An "ad tracker" is a simple program, residing on your web server, that tracks how many visitors your site gets from a particular source and how many of them purchased.

Though it sounds simple, most businesses don't do this! Most businesses can't tell you their visitor to buyer conversion percentage and, therefore, don't know exactly how much they can invest in traffic generation and remain profitable.

Whether you pay for your website traffic with cash (pay-per-click search engines, ezine ads), or you pay for it with the sweat of your brow (article distribution, free search engines), you must identify your best and most profitable sources of targeted traffic that convert into buyers, subscribers, or leads.

Failure to identify and track where your buyers come from and then calculate how much they really cost you ultimately translates into failure for your online business.

Is A Work At Home Business Opportunity The Right Thing For You To Do?

A lot of people are starting to work at home. They do this by finding the right work at home business opportunity for them. Not all of them will start their business with a work at home business opportunity but majority of them will. However, before you start a home business you will need to evaluate yourself and what you want for your life.


Working at home is not as easy as it sounds. There are all kinds of things that can make it more difficult than a job would be. You may have kids that you are trying to raise and this is hard by itself. However, when you have kids and are trying to do a home business it can be even more difficult. There may also be other things in your life besides kids that can make this even more of a challenge for you. So this is why you need to figure out if this is what you really want to do.


First, you need to figure out if you are a self motivated type of person. This is definitely something that you want to be able to do because of all of the things that can get in your way of working on your business. You will have to be able to work when you can find the time and do it without anyone telling you to.

Second, can you keep your expectations realistic? This is something that you will need to realize is important. You can become very discouraged very fast if you are not able to be realistic about your home business and the income that you can make to start. It is possible to become rich with a home business but you need to remember that it will take hard work and time to make this happen.

Third, can you set goals and stick to them? This is important for any business to help you stay focused.

Fourth, can you treat your business as a business and not a hobby? When you treat your business like a hobby you will be disappointed with the results that you get. A business needs to be worked at like what it is, a business.

Fifth, are you financially responsible? This will be important for you when you only have a certain amount of money to your budget for your business. It will also be important when you start making money because for a while you will want to put that money back into your business to help it become more successful.

These are just a few of the things that you need to ask yourself before you try and start a home business. When you are not sure what you want or can do you will not have much success. So take the time to evaluate what you want.