Dave Easter's - 'Internet 101'
Quick Reference Site
From The Home Biz HelpLine
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This
volume is dedicated to the very basics every internet user, website owner and
internet marketer should review prior to “taking the plunge” into the massive
and (sometimes complex) world of marketing their products, services or
information on the World Wide Web.
This reference
paper has been designed in a “building block” format that will simplify the
entire process of getting that awesome, ready to go 1 Step website of yours
seen by hundreds of thousands or even millions of potential customers on the
internet. This is NOT designed as a “hype” content manual. Rather, it is merely
a foundation of terminologies, strategies, “do’s and don’ts”, and product suggestions
that actually work.
Prelude:
Confused?
Don’t worry. You are part of the majority! This is exactly how I felt when I
took my first steps into “The Big Black Hole” known as the internet.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t a product available like this that would walk me
through the process step-by-step. I had to learn the hard way (and, I might
add, the expensive way)! There are literally thousands of self-proclaimed
“gurus” out there on the internet net today.
I have
bought my fair share of the “I’ll take you to the promise land” programs
only to find out they are selling nothing more than a system with only 3 of the
6 information components intact. You ask; “What do you mean only 3 of the 6
information components intact?” Well, as we all know, information is broken
into 6 basic categories: who, what, where, when, why and how.
Most
people on the internet today sell people their “systems to become wealthy or
increase traffic or whatever they are selling” yet never reveal the 3 most
important elements within the information process. These 3 categories are all
specific to advertising (driving traffic to their site). The reason they do
this is very simple. Think about it. Internet marketing is no different than
running any other business today. Therefore, the laws of “supply and demand”
hold true within this arena as well. If these people were to reveal all 6
pieces of the information process to you, they would have now created a direct
competitor which would then devalue their product.
The 3
most important pieces of information almost never revealed (and they are the 3
most vital components) are:
1. Where the individual advertises their
web site that generates the kind of traffic required to generate that kind of
income.
2. How the individual actually advertises
(tools used).
3. Why they are successful. They never
come right out and tell anyone that the reason for their success is
attributable to the amount of traffic they send to their website.
You see
folks; it is a proven fact that being successful on the
internet is directly related to the amount of traffic
you send to your website. I repeat, inasmuch as having a good concept
or a nice functional website is important, your success will directly correlate
to the amount of traffic you send to your site…PERIOD!
Where Do I Start?
In order
to be successful on the internet, an understanding of the terminology used on
the internet today is important. If you do not have at least a fair understanding
of the terms used on the internet, especially as they relate to marketing your website(s),
you will find yourself perplexed coming out gate number one. So, having said
that, let’s get started understanding those confusing acronyms and
terminologies in laymen’s terms - do not get too worried about the detail here
- this can be used for reference, OK?
General Terms
Internet - A
global network connecting
millions of computers. More
than 100 countries are linked into exchanges
of data, news
and opinions.
World
Wide Web (www) – (Not to be confused with the internet.) The
World Wide Web is a system of internet servers, specifically designed
computers, which support specifically formatted documents using specific
protocols (language formats) that operate within the Internet.
Side
Note: Most people believe the Internet and the World Wide Web are
synonymous but, in fact, they are not. Without going into too much “technical
jargon”, suffice it to say the World Wide Web is only a portion (albeit a large
portion) of the overall internet. The difference is in the language used to
transfer information back and forth. The World Wide Web uses HTTP as the
language for communication. This is just one of the languages utilized on the
Internet. An example of another language used to communicate is SMTP. This
language is used in everyday e-mail processing software to communicate on the
internet but is not used for communication in the World Wide Web.
Website – This
is your site (or location) on the World Wide Web. Every website has a home page
(also called the index page or the landing page) which is the first page
visitors to your site will see. A website can be made up of multiple pages with
various types of content (text, pictures, graphics etc.).
Domain name – This
is the name you give your website. There are very effective strategies that can
be used for marketing just by choosing the “right” name for your website.
Sub Domain – A
sub-domain is merely a “version” of your main domain name. Sub-domains are a
way by which you can “direct” visitors to your sub-domain to specific pages or
areas within your main site. Example: Let’s say your domain name for your site
is http://www.Isellwidgets.com. And within your site you have a page that you
want to direct your visitors to. Let’s say, it’s the blue widgets page. You can
create a sub-domain from your main and it would be something like this
http://bluewidgets.Isellwidgets.com. This link would then direct the visitor
directly to the blue widgets page within your http://www.Isellwidgets website.
This is done by logging into the back office of your domain registrar and
adding the sub-domain to the main domain.
URL (Uniform Resource
Locator) – In a nutshell, the URL is the global address of
documents and other resources on the World Wide Web. It is synonymous with
domain.
URL Forwarding or
Re-directing – Domain forwarding is much like forwarding your phone.
When a network marketing company provides a page (landing or splash page) for
people to view the business, you can have that URL “re-directed” to a URL
(domain) you have chosen. This is done through the back office of your domain
registrar.
Domain Registrar – A
commercial company licensed to register domain names. These names are then
registered in the WHOIS database. The average cost for a domain name is around
$10.00 per year. A couple of domain registrants are GoDaddy
(who I use) and RegisterFly.
Webmaster – This
is a reference to people who make and maintain websites.
Depending
on the size of the site, the Webmaster might be responsible for any of the
following:
- Make sure the Web server hardware and software is running properly.
- Design the Web site.
- Create and update Web pages.
- Reply to user feedback.
- Monitor traffic through the site.
Web Hosting – A
service provided by various commercial companies, generally for profit. Every
entity (person or company) that has a website must retain a web host to provide
server (like your hard drive on your PC) space for you to post your website to.
Guru – This
is a term that defines those people working on the internet making a full time
living. It is slang for “expert”. These people, for the most part, earn
significant incomes utilizing the various marketing strategies available to
them on the Internet.
Web Browser –
Browsers (short form) are software applications your computer uses to locate
and display web sites and their pages. Internet Explorer & Fox Fire are
examples of a web browser.
HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer
Protocol) – This is the underlying protocol (language format) used
on the World Wide Web. This protocol determines how the information to be
transmitted will be formatted and what actions web servers and browsers should
take in response to the commands.
SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer
Protocol) – This is the protocol (language format) for sending
e-mail messages between servers (computers).
POP (Post Office Protocol) – This
is the protocol (language format) your e-mail server uses to receive e-mails
coming from an SMTP server.
IMAP (Internet Message
Access Protocol) – This protocol (language format) is simply another format
to receive e-mails coming in from an SMTP server.
ISP (Internet Service
Provider) – ISP is an interchangeable term with IAP (internet access
provider). This is a company that allows the user to access the internet
through the use of their software and hardware. They provide the “gateway” to
the internet from your PC to the internet.
NAP (Network Access Points) – This
is a public network exchange facility that allows the ISP’s to connect to one
another. These are the points where the information “meets” allowing the
receiver to access info from the sender.
IP (Internet Protocol) –
Without becoming too technical, the simplest way to think of the IP is that it
assigns addresses to individual computers and servers in order for them to
communicate back and forth in the “direct” transmission of data. Your IP
address is, in essence, like the street address of your home. It is a means of
determining where your computer resides.
For the
most part, these are the most familiar general terms used on the internet
today. You should familiarize yourself with the basics of these terms. Once you
have a firm grasp of these terms, you will have a significant start to
understanding the marketing terminologies below, as well as an excellent start
to understanding the strategies explained in the second book of this series.
Now, let’s look at
“marketing and advertising specific” terms. Again, these are very basic
definitions in layman’s terms, for the most part, in order for you to gain a
basic understanding. This is what I call the “building block” process!
Marketing and Advertising Terms
SE (Search Engine) –
Specifically designed software that searches for documents containing user
defined specific keywords. The search engine then returns a list of documents
where these keywords were found.
SEO (Search Engine
Optimization) – This is one of the most vital aspects of marketing your
website today and is arguably the most effective way to get your website seen
by literally millions of potential customers. Optimizing your website to make
it “SE friendly” is a MUST and is not as difficult as most
people think.
Keywords –
Keyword(s) are index entries used to identify very specific documents or
records within the internet. Search engines use keywords when searching for
relevant websites.
Meta Tags – This
is nothing more than a fancy description of keywords. The term “Meta” is
used in the computer world and simply means “describes or descriptive”. The Meta tags
themselves are keywords that describe the content of a website when using HTML.
Hyperlinks – This
is the element that links one page of a website to another page within the same
website for navigational purposes. Hyperlinks are also used to link one website
to another separate website on the World Wide Web. Hyperlinks are a piece of
code written into the website document which redirects or points to another
location on the Web.
RSS (Really Simple
Syndication) – This is also referred to as “Rich Site Summary”. RSS is
a document that is formatted in a specific format called XML which is used for
syndicating Web content. A website owner who wants to allow other website
owners to use some of their content would create an RSS feed for that content.
It is then registered with an RSS publisher thereby protecting the original
author. This provides the “user” with fresh, updated information on their own
website, which in turn keeps the “search engines” visiting your site on a
regular basis.
Adsense – This
is a marketing strategy that can be used by any website owner. Basically, you
place “relevant” paid ads on your site. When a visitor comes to your site and
they see the ad and click on it, you get paid. This has its advantages and
disadvantages.
Banners –
Again, this is a marketing strategy used by website owners to get their
“advertisements” displayed on other websites. Banners are graphic type displays
that are developed in different formats. They can be either static (“still”) or
they can be designed to change their appearance.
CPC (Cost per Click) – This
is a paid form of advertising. The way it works is quite simple. A website
owner places an ad (usually a text ad of a couple of lines but could be a
banner type ad) on a website that allows CPC advertising. These are generally
search engine sites. You would place your advertisement on the page and define
the keywords you will pay for. When a visitor completes a search relevant to
your keyword(s) your ad would be displayed on the right side of the window
(Google and Yahoo) in the “Sponsored Links” section. If the visitor likes what
they read in your text ad, they would click on the ad containing a hidden
hyperlink to your website. You would then pay for that click based on the
amount you agreed to pay per click regardless of whether or not the visitor
actually purchases anything from you.
CPM (Cost per Thousand
Impressions) – This is a paid form of advertising similar to the CPC
above with some minor differences. Again, as above, you would place an ad
(either text or banner) on an external site. You then determine the price you
are willing to pay for every 1,000 times your ad appears on the external site.
So, the difference in CPM vs. CPC is that you pay based on the number of times
your ad is displayed rather than the number of times someone clicks on the ad.
Niche – Niche
is a term that has been around for years, but has become more prevalent within
the “Internet Marketing community” in the last few years. “Niche” is synonymous
with the word “specific”. Some call it “a market within a market”. Let’s look
at an example of a niche product. This will help you get a better
understanding:
Example: Let’s say you have a website in which you sell
shoes. Shoes themselves come in many different sizes, styles, shapes and
colors. Now, let’s say you only sell “oversized red shoes” on your website.
This is an example of a niche market within the shoe industry. That is, it is a
specific market within the shoe market.
Viral – Viral
marketing itself has been in existence for centuries. Years ago viral marketing
(before the internet age) was simply word of mouth advertising. You know, “you
tell two friends, and then they tell two friends” and so on. In today’s world
of internet technology, viral marketing of a website is one of the most
effective and inexpensive ways to “get the word out”. Recent technologies
combined with some old technologies have found “excellent” methods of spreading
your site around the internet to literally thousands if not millions of
potential customers for pennies.
Spam – The
word “spam” is basically used to define the “unwanted or unsolicited”
E-mail
people receive. There is some debate as to where the word actually originated,
but suffice it to say it is any unwanted e-mail communication.
Auto-responders – Auto
Responders are a MUST in any internet marketing business. An auto responder is
just an automatic e-mail system that allows you to set up e-mails that will go
out automatically at pre-determined intervals. The e-mails are sent from the
auto-responder company’s server which eliminates any “spam” concern.
Auto-responders range in price anywhere from about $15 to $35 per month. Aweber is
great because they are consistently ranked as one of the top
companies for message
delivery, customer service and reporting. Their service runs about $20/month.
Pop Ups – Pop
ups are a form of “high impact” marketing. While some people believe this
technique to be somewhat antiquated (and annoying, I might add), there is still
a place for it on the internet today. Pop ups are controlled by a piece of
script placed on your website which, when activated, tells your site to open in
the browser of the viewer thus displaying your ad or website.
Pop Under – These
work basically the same way (written script) as a pop up window, but the window
itself actually pops “under” the page currently being viewed by the user
instead of on top of their current window. When the user closes the window he
is currently viewing, your ad or site is now displayed on their browser.
Affiliate –
Affiliate is a term used for someone who distributes another person’s products,
services or information for a commission.
Affiliate Program(s) – This
is a program whereby the author of a product, idea or service offers it to
other people to market for them.
JV (Joint Venture) – This
is a marketing strategy used in situations where someone has a new product,
service, or idea they want to share with the rest of the world but are unsure
how to effectively market it. They would enter into a “joint venture” with a
person who has exceptional marketing skills and access to large safelists.
Opt-in E-mail – This
refers to promotional e-mails sent out by advertisers to individuals who have
requested them. Opt-in e-mail recipients request this from the advertisers for
items they wish to receive and are interested in learning about.
Safelist or Safe List – Safelist is merely a collection of opt-in email addresses
(“Customer list”) that advertisers safeguard as there own. Having your own safelist is an excellent way to market your new or add on
products. When signing up to any safelist -
use your primary email address for the 'contact' email
and use a different email address
(which you can expect to recieve
lots of junk email) as your 'subscription' email.
Blog – Blog is an abbreviation for web log. A blog
is a public webpage that serves as a personal journal for an individual
(somewhat like a diary). A blog can become a very
powerful marketing tool when utilized in the right manner. So a “blogger” is an individual who journalizes in their blog. All details at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog
Forum –
Sometimes called a newsgroup. Bulletin board services providers have created a
means by which participants with common interests can exchange open messages.
This can be a very effective tool for marketing!
Press Release – A
press release about your opportunity is becoming more and more appealing to
network marketers. With the latest in technology, a good press release company
is able to distribute your word to well over 1,000,000 readers at any given
time. A couple of examples of PR companies are Internet News Unlimited, News
Wire etc. There are hundreds of these companies out there.
Remember,
whatever it is you need, you can usually find it on one of the major search
engines just by typing in the keyword or keyword phrase that you are looking
for.
CONCLUSION:
Congratulations!!
You are now on your way to a better understanding of “The Big Black Hole” known
as the internet. I hope you have learned at least a couple of things that will
assist you when using the internet and/or marketing within it.
Now that
you have a basic understanding of the terminologies used within the internet
community and are ready to get a start to marketing your commodity on line, you
will need to start with a website or webpage and a marketing
strategy. Without a proper strategy, you will end up like all the
others who failed within their first year!
Many
people marketing on the internet today seem to limit themselves to only one or
two strategies out of the multitude available to them. For most people, this is
because they may only be aware of one or two strategies. This is, for the most
part, why most people attempting to run their business on the internet fail
within the first year. They simply have not maximized the amount of traffic
visiting their site. Our team can help you cut through the gobbly-gook
and set you on the reasonably priced marketing fast track.
Internet
marketing is mostly a “numbers game”. Simply put, if you are sending 100
visitors to your site each month and your sales percentage is 2 out of every
100 (2%), then each month you would make 2 sales…correct? That's the worst to
expect.
Start by
applying the help and strategies at my Home Biz HelpLine - free
home biz software tools and tips - no deception, no lies.
The
internet really is a global marketplace that is growing by leaps and bounds
each and every year. There are over 300,000,000 users on the Internet today. By
the end of 2008, experts say there will be one-half as many again. WOW…what a
business owner's dream!
From Dave Easter
www.DaveWEaster.com
Free Home Gifts: Click