7 Tips to Be a Successful Online Marketer

Perhaps a quick introduction and a handy disclaímer is the best way to start this article on Internet marketing. Mainly because you should know who is talking and you should definitely know what you're getting yourself into...

I have been a full-time online marketer for over 5 years now, and I run 9 or 10 sites on the wwww - wonderful world wide web. I make a very respectable living and I enjoy every minute of it. But if you're under the impression that all you have to do is to slap some content together and place it on a web site and watch the money roll in; then you are sadly mistaken. Don't get the wrong impression, you can become a successful online marketer, but it will take a lot of time and work on your part. It just doesn't happen overnight, at least, this has been my experience and we can only write about our own experiences and views.

Over the years, I have also found it helpful to get pointers from someone who is actually doing what we want to do. So below I have put together 7 Tips for becoming a successful online marketer.

1. Knowledge Up

The whole concept of marketing online may seem quite simple, just place some content or product onto a website and you're in business. The reality is quite different. It may take you years to learn all the complex techniques and tactics to compete in the online marketplace, which is becoming more and more competitive as more companies and individuals discover its great potential. Sure we have all heard stories of people who come up with a great idea and make an online fortune very quickly. People also win the lottery... but if you want to become a successful online marketer you first have to learn your trade.

You have to acquire all the knowledge you can on Internet Marketing. Read articles and ebooks, take online e-courses, study and examine successful websites and/or marketers... there is a wealth of marketing information on the web. Just find it and use it. When I was first learning all the ropes, I made tons of mistakes but I was fortunate enough to come into contact with some successful online marketers who were actually doing what I wanted to do. People like Marlon Sanders, Ken Evoy, Corey Rudl, Neil Shearing, Brad Callens... I quickly became acquainted with these individuals and learned everything I could from them.

This was not out of the ordinary or hard to accomplish, since all these marketers have comprehensive affiliate training programs to show even the most novice webmaster or marketer the ropes. Most of these programs are free because these marketers want to teach you how to sell their products. This is a very simple way to get a quick education on how to market online. I personally liked the numerous free ebooks offered thru Ken Evoy's SiteSell program... many of these will drive you bonkers, especially if you're new at this game, but only because they are so comprehensive and thorough - all the information can be a little overwhelming to say the least. But if you can work you way through some of SiteSell's free marketing manuals and ebooks, you will get the basic knowledge to further your goal of becoming an online marketer.

2. Find Your Niche Market or Subject

Unless you already have a product or business you wish to market online, then your first task will be finding a good niche market or subject which you can explore and exploit on the web. Best advice, find something that you already have a strong interest in such as a favorite hobby or past-time, an area where you already have special training or something you always wanted to study and examine. This niche market or subject will take up countless hours of your time, so you have to really pick something you like doing. The major point here, if you're doing something you like, it won't seem like work.

No matter which subject area you choose, you must check out the commercial viability of your topic. In other words, if you want to be successful, there must be enough commercial interest in your market or subject. There must be enough people searching for your product each month so that it's viable. Use a program like WordTracker or Google Adwords Keyword Tool to find the number of searches made each month for a keyword. Keywords are words or phrases web users type into search engines to find what they're looking for on the web. You must have plenty of good searchable keywords relating to your subject in order for it to be workable.

Another Keyword tool I like using is Microsoft's Detecting Online Commercial Intention, which tells you the probability a certain keyword or site will have enough commercial potential customers who will purchase a product or service. http://adlab.msn.com/Online-Commercial-Intention/Default.aspx

3. Google Up!

Google is the most important player on the web. While you shouldn't ignore the other search engines, I would suggest you learn everything you can about how Google both indexes and ranks pages on the web. Getting a number one or even a top 5 listing for your chosen keywords in Google, can make or break your online business. Google simply sends/controls the majority of the quality search traffic on the web. Get those top rankings in Google and you will succeed.

Now Google gives webmasters many valuable webmaster tools and devotes a whole section to help webmasters with their sites. One valuable resource which is loaded with helpful information is Google Webmaster Tools. Use it! Also, if you're just starting out, another good resource is Google's "Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide", which is a handy pdf file you can download.

Always, keep in mind, Google is like any other company supplying a product and in this case the product is their SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages), so the higher the quality of your content and pages - the higher your rankings in Google will be. Of course, seasoned webmasters know quality one-way backlinks are one of the most important keys to getting high rankings in Google. But it all comes back to quality. If you have quality content, people will bookmark it in all the social media sites, and related webmasters will link to your quality content. This does really happen, so creating high quality content should be your first and most important SEO strategy.

4. Building Your Site

Regardless of what kind of site you're building, you must follow some very simple SEO rules. Make sure your site's structure can be easily navigated by both your visitors and the search engines. Try to keep your site's hierarchy simple, with all your pages reachable from the home page. Most webmasters just use three levels - homepage, topics and sub-topics - with all pages linking back to your homepage and no more than 3 clicks away from it. It is also a good idea to have a sitemap link on each page so that you don't leave your visitors stranded. Check with Google's Starter Guide for more information on how to create a proper lay-out.

Read the rest of Titus's article at SiteProNews.com
"7 Tips to Be a Successful Online Marketer"

About The Author


The author is a full time online affiliate marketer who operates numerous niche sites, as well as two sites on Internet Marketing, where you can get valuable marketing tips for free: www.marketingtoolguide.com or try here www.bizwaremagic.com. Copyright (c) 2010 Titus Hoskins. This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.