Fly on the E-Commerce Cyberwall

Just Playing Around
My cold still leaves me at less than peak efficiency. Since I worked only about half the day before succumbing to the need to nap, I didn't come up with a good topic for tonight's weblog.

Yeah, I know. I'm supposed to be this fountain of information. But right now, the only thing that resembles a fountain is my sinuses.

I went surfing in search of something to get my creative juices flowing. But, again, the only juices flowing are... Well, I'll leave that unsaid.

At any rate, I came across a fun little free tool that I ended up playing with for a while, so I thought you might enjoy it, too—especially if you have any inclination to use Google AdSense on your site to get some pay-per-click income.

You can type your keywords or URLs into a search box and have it generate the Google AdSense ads that would appear for those keywords or that URL. I'll have to admit that I've been toying with the idea of getting into AdSense on a limited basis. But I had a lot of fun testing different pages on my site and my clients' sites to see what came up.

It also gives you a good idea of how well targeted your pages are for AdSense. I found that some of the pages I tested are actually way off target for producing ads that would be at all meaningful to readers. Seems there's more work to this AdSense stuff than just slapping it up on a page.

But you might want to try this tool out if you're considering adding AdSense to your site.
Jeff

A Promising New Auction Training Course
I'm a little fuzzy with a cold today, so I'll leave my blogging to something simple. I'll just pass on a little news I learned today. Internet Marketing Center, that created the Insider Secrets to Marketing Your Business on the Internet course that I consider the gold standard for all manuals on online marketing, has developed a similar course for auction business owners.

They got one of the most successful eBay sellers (I'd say that $8 million worth of sales last year qualifies him as successful), Brandon Dupsky, to record all the ins and outs of what has brought him success in Insider Secrets of an eBay Millionaire, a massive 237-page guidebook and over 4 hours of audio recordings.

And during this initial launch, they're offering it at a $50 discount with a more than 100% satisfaction guarantee. If you're not satisfied, not only will they refund your entire purchase price, but will pay you an additional $200 beyond your purchase price. They plan to offer the $50 discount and additional $200 refund offer only until November 15, though. So if your business at all involves selling on auctions, now's a great time to grab this course.

I placed my order right away and look forward to studying mine when it arrives. If it's anywhere near as good as their Internet marketing course, Insider Secrets of an eBay Millionaire will soon be the gold standard of auction courses.
Jeff

Business Lesson From a Flight Attendant
On the trip to and from my wife's home town for her mother's funeral, I hadn't expected to get a business lesson, but I did.

Flying a smaller plane into her home town, we settled in for the usual, predictable flight attendant safety lecture. But the flight attendant was anything but predictable. Her spiel had us laughing from beginning to end. She started with, "Now please take out your safety instructions and pretend to follow along." She reminded us to have our seats locked in the "upright and uncomfortable position" during takeoff and landing. And she reminded us that smoking was prohibited onboard and that attempts to sneak a smoke out on the wing would give us a whole new meaning for the phrase "Gone With the Wind."

In all, the dull, routine safety lecture that nobody pays attention to had us applauding at the end.

The business lesson? As merchants, there's plenty that we do that comes across as bland and predictable to our visitors, too. One sales pitch easily sounds like another and gets tuned out by visitors as certainly as a flight attendant's safety lecture normally does.

But people are curious. Give them something unexpected and you earn their attention—and even their appreciation. Give them a bit of yourself instead of just a rehashed sales pitch. Give them something you put a little passion into. You might be surprised how much better you do with it.
Jeff

Back From Funeral
Sorry for my absence the last couple of days. I've been occupied with my mother-in-law's funeral. As the cliche goes, funerals are the only times my wife's family of six brothers and sisters (and spouses, and children, and grandchildren) get together at the same time anymore and there were a lot of happy memories shared.
Jeff

Using SearchIt! Free Research Tool to Help Name Your Business
The SearchIt! free search tool consists of a window with two dropdown boxes and two text boxes. In the two dropdown boxes, you select the type of search you want to do. In the two text boxes, you select the search criteria (such as keywords or URLs) you want to use.

Rather than repeat the introductory info about SearchIt! that I shared in previous weeks, I suggest that you see the October 2nd blog for this information. Or simply realize that it is important to click all the links and read all the instructions that SearchIt! tells you to do.

You'll find SearchIt! A LOT easier and more valuable to use if you do that.

Using SearchIt!
The last few weeks we looked at using SearchIt! for researching keywords. This week we'll look at the tools that help you find a keyword-rich domain name that doesn't violate anyone else's trademarks.

In the Step 1 dropdown box, scroll down under NAME IT and select Domain Names.
Click the dropdown box for Step 2: Select Search Type. You'll see the following options:

• NameBoy Domain Namer
• Check Domain Availability

(Note: These options may change. The SiteSell people (who maintain the SearchIt! tool) are constantly adding new search tools to it.)

NameBoy Domain Namer
Let's start by looking at the NameBoy Domain Namer option.

This option gives you a list of available domain names that contain your most important keywords. Type one important keyword or keyword phrase in the Step 3 box and another important keyword or keyword phrase in the Step 4 box. Click the SearchIt! button. Read the information page about this search and click the link at the bottom of that page to show your results.

A lengthy list of potential domain names appear alongside the possible extensions (such as .com, .org, .biz, etc.) that could be used with each domain name. Extensions that don't have a check box are already taken; extensions that have a check box are available.

(One word of advice. You can register your domain name for free as part of the SiteBuildIt! package. SiteBuildIt! charges one yearly price for your domain name, hosting, site-building software, templates, training tools to help you succeed, a private forum where you can get help from successful business owners, and, really, everything you need to make your online business succeed, including proven results that I've never seen any other site-building tool come close to matching. I suggest you consider them STRONGLY for any site you're preparing to build.)

Check Domain Availability

If you already have an idea for a domain name that you want to check, click the Check Domain Availability in the Step 2 box.

Type your domain name (without the http:// or the www.) into the Step 3 box. Click the SearchIt! button. Click the search results link at the bottom of the page and you'll see whether that domain name is available.

Again, don't buy your domain name unless you are absolutely sure you will not use SiteBuildIt!.

Using SearchIt! to Research Trademark Information

You can also use SearchIt! to research trademark information so you don't inadvertently infringe on somebody else's registered trademark. To use these tools, select the Site Legalities option in the Step 1 box.

Click the dropdown box for Step 2. The following options appear:

• Trademark Check -- U.S.
• Trademark Check -- U.K.
• Trademark Check -- Canada
• Trademark Check -- Australia
• Trademark Check -- 18 Registers
• Find URL Thieves

Trademark Checks

The first five options are essentially the same; they merely check against the trademark registrations in different English-speaking countries. This step is important to do when you first name your business. If you inadvertently violate someone else's trademark, you can be forced to change your name and start all over again in publicizing your business AFTER you have already developed a strong brand name and domain name that you then have to abandon.

Type your business name in the Step 3 box and click the SearchIt! button. Read the info page about this search option and then click the link at the bottom of the page. You will see any cancelled, registered, or pending trademarks for that country that are similar to your desired business name. Give careful consideration to using a different name if any registered names are too similar to yours.

Find URL Thieves

This tool shows you all the pages that copy significant portions of text from one of your pages without changing it. Type the full URL of the page you want to check (including the http://) in the Step 3 box. Click the SearchIt! button. Read the info page about this search option and then click the link at the bottom of the page. You may have to type your page URL again in the search page. The URL I chose to search for hasn't always carried into the search page. But once you enter the URL again and click the search button, you'll see a list of pages (if any exist) that display any suspiciously similar copying of your text.

Next week

This Sunday, I've covered just the domain name and trademark search options that SearchIt! provides. Next Sunday, I'll show the tools it has to help you find content for your site.
All in all, SearchIt! can find you lots of keywords and much other valuable information. The main thing to remember is to READ THE DIRECTIONS. With as many tools packed into this one interface, you're not going to take one look at it and intuitively understand how to use every one of them. But the directions they give are easy, and they do more than just tell you how to use each tool; they also throw in tips on how to use the results you receive to make your site more successful.

SearchIt! is one of these free tools that really produces value for you. I recommend that you check it out and make it a part of your web marketing arsenal.

Jeff

Latest Newsletter Goes Out Sunday
My latest newsletter is ready to go and will arrive in subscribers' inboxes on Sunday, October 30. It includes the following:

• A special offer on SiteBuildIt! complete website training and building tool
• "The Truth About Search Engine Optimization That the SEOs Don't Want You to Know"
• A review of "Article Announcer" article submission tool
• A review of "How An Overworked, Traveling, Soggy Sandwich Eating Dental Hygienist Made up to $11,212.00 a Month--100% Online
• "7 Keys To Writing Successful Articles" by Jason Potash

If you haven't subscribed, you can do so on the following page:

http://www.onestopwebsupport.com/newsletter-signup.htm

(By the way, I offer over $250 worth of free gifts for subscribing.)
Jeff