The Internet has now become an important medium for product and service advertisements. Almost every company that can afford print, radio and TV advertisements have also ventured into placing ads on the Internet.

But with millions of websites out there being visited by millions of computer users, how can you make sure that your ad can be seen by your target customers and that your leads will be followed by these users? Here are a few tips.

1. Place an ad on the websites frequented by your target customers. Before doing this, you need to define who will be your target customers. Placing an ad on sites that they usually visit will increase the possibility that your ad will gain the attention and will be followed your target customers.

Also, consider the website's search engine placement, traffic, external linking and the other ads placed on it. External linking will determine if there are other sites that link to this site. This will mean that people can get to the site where your ad is placed, even if they are browsing a different site. Check if many of your competitors have ads on this site.

2. Placing ads on some sites cost some money. However, there are also sites that can place a link to your site, product or service in exchange of having their link being displayed on your site. This is also true about the newsletters sent by site owners to its mailing list members regularly.

Also, having helpful links placed on your site and having sites link to your pages help in boosting search engine ranking. This is similar to making a statement that your site's content is important that other sites have links to your web pages.

3. Pay-per-click (PPC) is also a good method in Internet marketing. You will only need to pay for the ad if the link is clicked. If you prefer this method of advertisement, make sure that you are using services that set limits on daily expenses. There are also services that help you determine effective keywords and monitor the PPC results.

4. Choose your domain name wisely. It is still being debated if domain names matter when it comes to search engine placement. Whether it does or not, having product related domain names help consumers remember your domain, that they can go back to your site even without the links.

5. Make sure you have useful content on your sites. While keyword density is important in search engine placement, having useless information or annoying repetition of keywords will not increase your customer's confidence in your site. It may even affect your sites traffic and can get your site removed from search engines. So make sure that keywords are used strategically.

6. When thinking of keywords, think like your target customers. What do you think are they going to search so they can get to your site? Also, use specific keywords or key phrases. Submitting a single word or a very general phrase to a search engine will not get you to the top of the search results compared to submitting specific keywords that describe your product and services perfectly.

7. Track your ads. Always check how much you have spent on placing links on frequently visited sites and on PPC. There are services that allow you to monitor PPC transactions and how many of these end in sales. You always need to consider if the ads that you have placed on these websites are getting you to your target consumers and if these ads can lead to revenue.

One final tip on marketing products and services, sell the benefits. It will help your marketing strategies a lot if you highlight the benefits of choosing your products and services instead of merely discussing the product specifications. Product specifications may not mean much to customers, unless they know what these stand for (how these specifications affect the quality of the product or service).

Many people say getting to the top of search engine results is difficult since millions of websites exist, which can be using the same keywords. While this is true, this doesn't mean that your website has to stacked under your competitors' websites when presenting search engine results. Strategic advertising and linking, together with useful content, can also get you to the top of the search results.

Summary:
This is a question that most people grapple with from time to time and it has largely been on my mind this past week.


Keywords:
inspiration, motivation, self help, pet, loss, grief, dog, canine, love, family


Article Body:
This is a question that most people grapple with from time to time and it has largely been on my mind this past week.

You see one of the best people I know -- my Uncle Carl -- had a very bad accident this week. While working on the wood lot with his son, his hand got caught in a log splitter. In the end the damage was so severe that his left hand had to be amputated.

Although no longer a young man, my uncle is very active and enjoys working with his hands. He is right handed but clearly the use of two hands was an important part of his former life and just as clearly that will have to change.

I was devastated when I heard the news and am still shaken by it -- even more so when I think about how much worse the accident could have been. My whole family is upset, especially Uncle Carl's wife and children, most notably my cousin John who was with him at the time.

As I worked through my worry and grief I kept asking myself that question: Why Do Bad Things Happen To Good People?

I know people often say this when tragedy occurs, but this is not simple lip service -- it is fact. My uncle is a good man.

He is a very strong family man who is still married to his high school sweetheart. He loves his four children as well as his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He was a devoted son when his parents were alive and is loved by his siblings, nieces and nephews. He and his wife opened their home to many children and young people over the years and continue to open their home and hearts whenever family, friends, or community require it.

He has worked hard all his life -- using his hands to service the land and master machinery and using his broad shoulders and strong muscles to complete every task set before him.

He has played an important role in his community serving as a volunteer firefighter as well as a cornerstone of his church congregation.

Yes, he is a good man, but his life has not been easy though and I had to question why one more burden needed to be added to his heavy load.

Many Christians will say that God sends us trials to test us. And there might be some truth in that. Many of us are stronger than we think and it takes difficult challenges to make this clear. But I didn't think this applied to my uncle -- he has had many challenges over the course of his life and I think he has a good handle on his own strengths.

However loss also highlights what we have and perhaps have taken for granted. Yes, my uncle has had a difficult life but he has also had a tremendously rewarding one. I don't think there really is much that my uncle wishes for or envies in others. Yes, his siblings may have more money and professional success, but I am confident that Carl would not trade his wife and family for that money any day of the week. And I secretly suspect that if he did in fact have more money that it would be spent in large part on his loved ones.

And he is greatly loved by a great many people. Not just by his immediate and extended family but by the many people whose lives he has touched. I know there are prayers on his behalf winging from coast to coast. I don't think he'd trade that love and the respect that accompanies it for all the professional success his siblings have enjoyed.

We can grieve with him for the loss of his hand, but we can't pity him when we look at the many gifts that God has given him.

What is more, when you step back and take a look at the man he is then you do not even notice the missing hand. He is so much more than the simple sum of his parts and in the end it is the size of his heart that one notices most.

It is important to note that it was his right hand that was preserved -- the very hand he has extended so many times to others to offer love, friendship, and help.

Summary:

Every day you are talking to yourself in your head. Often you are doing this unconsciously without really being aware of what you are doing. Discover how this affects your life and how you can change it.

Keywords:

goals, goal setting, motivation, success, living motivation, jason e johns, sanjo, hypnosis, achieving your goals

Article Body:

There are many things that drive people to success, and a key factor is what is known as ‘internal dialogue’. This is the dialogue that is constantly playing inside your head. It’s the voice that starts talking as soon as you do something, meet someone, or think about anything.

In many cases, this voice can be destructive and knock you down, though it is possible to quite easily harness his internal dialogue and use it to propel you to the success you desire and deserve.

You may notice that on occasion the voice is negative in what it says. For example, you see something you really want to buy and it says, “You can’t afford that.” Or you see someone you are really attracted to and the voice says, “They’re way out of your league, they’ll never go for someone like you.”

Quite obviously, this does nothing to make you life any better. Therefore, why not change the content of the voice? When it says something negative, counter it with a positive suggestion. For example, when the voice says, “You can’t afford that.” Respond mentally in a firm and positive voice with something like, “How can I afford it?” A question that empowers you and propels you into positive action.

This may take some time, and you may notice initially you do not always catch the voice and correct it. However, keep it up and before you know it, you will have changed the negative dialogue into a positive, empowering one.

You can also change the tone of the voice. What would happen if instead of the usual tone of voice saying, “I can’t afford it” you hear the voice of Homer Simpson, or Donald Duck, or any comic character saying it? You certainly wouldn’t listen to the voice and take it seriously, you would laugh at it and it’s power over you would be broken.

This technique can be extended to helping you motivate yourself to do something. When faced with the washing up, what do you hear in your head? Do you hear a whiney voice saying something like, “You really ought to do the washing up or you’ll get into trouble” or a commanding and scary voice saying, “Wash up NOW!”?

What would happen if the voice were a soft and really seductive voice speaking in your head? The sort of voice that gives you shivers down your back. What if it said something like, “Let’s do the washing up big boy.”? How would that motivate you?

Stephen King, the author, uses this technique with his writing. When he has to write he hears this very loud and powerful voice shouting at him as if through a megaphone saying something like, “WRITE NOW!!!!!” It almost scares him in to writing.

However, you don’t need to scare yourself into action. You can change your internal dialogue to be anything you want; whatever works best for you to motivate you and help you to get where you want to be.

Listen to your internal dialogue and play with changing the tonality, volume and tempo to find the type of voice that works best for you. Create a number of different types of voices, one for motivation, one to stop you doing things, one to make you feel loved, one to make you feel happy and so on.

Mastering your internal dialogue is a major key in mastering your life.

Summary:

If you think you are a loser, you train or work like a loser i.e. sloppily and half-heartedly. If you think you are a winner you train like one i.e. with maximum focus, great expectations, excitement and consistent effort. This article takes a look at why people think like winners or losers and what they can do about it.

Keywords:

self-image,winner,loser,champion,talent,desire,effort,focus,world class,mediocre

Article Body:

If you think you are a loser, you train or work like a loser i.e. sloppily and half-heartedly. If you think you are a winner you train like one i.e. with maximum focus, great expectations, excitement and consistent effort. This article takes a look at why people think like winners or losers and what they can do about it.

Steve Siebold describes in his recent book -"177 Mental Toughness Secrets of the World Class" - how he wanted to be a tennis champion. He had all the talent and the desire necessary but at times he lacked the belief that he was a potential champion. He writes:

"When I believed I was a champion, I trained like a champion. When I believed I was washed up, I trained like a loser."

When he was only ten years old, he defeated nearly everyone he played and, as a result, was thinking like a champion. He expected to win and so he trained and worked hard as winners should.

As he grew older his rankings started to drop and he no longer expected to win and so he started training like a loser instead of a winner.

He still had the desire to be a champion but so do lots of people. He believes that what made the difference was his belief in himself or his lack of it.

He lost some of his belief in himself through associating too much with what he calls the 'middle class' instead of the 'world class'. The middle class are too easily satisfied with mediocre results. The world class are only content when they become champions in whatever they are doing whether it be playing tennis or making money.

When I went to school at the age of 11, I worked hard and did all the work set with full attention and the desire to do well. I did so well that the principal of the school suggested I move up a whole year.

This was a mistake. I now came under the influence of class mates who did not like the fact that I had jumped a year. Some of them called me a swat and a bighead. Maybe they were right but I don't think so. Working hard was frowned on by this bunch.

They changed my thinking about myself so much that instead of thinking of myself as a champion student, I saw myself as some kind of a freak for working so hard. My effort dropped along with my self-image. Never underestimate the influence of those around you. I was lucky in the end to pass my exams and get to university.

It has taken me many years to regain belief in myself. I was helped by the great American positive thinkers like Norman Vincent Peale, Frank Bettger and William James.

One English writer who has also helped greatly in this is the multimillionaire Stuart Goldsmith. His book 'The Midas Method' explains how most of us are brainwashed at an early age into thinking there is an invisible ceiling to our progress which we will never break through.

Once we realize that this ceiling is only a figment of the imagination of ourselves and our so-called 'friends', we will be able to break through our limitations and achieve world class results which will astonish us.

We need to re-examine our beliefs about ourselves and to realize that many of them originated in the beliefs of people who thought that great results were only for the few and that our dreams were just 'pie in the sky'.

Instead of listening to the middle class or the poverty class (those who are not even aware of the possibility that they could be champions), let's start listening to the world class. Let's replace negative beliefs about ourselves with empowering ones and then start working hard to achieve our dreams.

We don't need a degree in psychology to do all this. A little bit of commonsense and observation can show us the way. It also helps to read the books of people like Steve Siebold and Stuart Goldsmith and - if I dare say it without being called a bighead - myself!

You may or may not have access to world class neighbours or friends but you do have easy access to world class writers and thinkers through the media of books, audios and video tapes. The internet has, of course, widened that access exponentially.

It is high time you and I joined the world class and made the most of the championship potential which is there in all of us.

Working might not seem like all fun and games, but sometimes you have to be silly and make work fun. Valentine's Day is a time to do just that. There are many activities you can incorporate into the work world. If your office is particularly close-knit, that opens the door to even more activities.

Start with the basics. Valentine's Day is all about the chocolate. Buy a big glass jar with a lid and make clear this chocolate is not for eating (a big sign on the front might help make this clear). Have everyone guess how many items are in the jar. You can fill it with just about anything, but Hershey's Kisses seem to make the most sense. You can fill with a mix of Kisses (hugs, regular, etc) or with just the classic chocolate kiss. In any event, have people guess how many kisses are in the jar. Their guesses should be written on a slip of paper and put into a box near the jar. The winner gets the jar of kisses on Valentine's Day. If your office is a bit more generous, a small dinner gift certificate could accompany the jar.

Another fun idea is V-day bingo. Create Bingo cards with various Valentine's Day pictures on them. There might a heart, a cupid, a couple kissing, and so on. These are clip art pieces that can easily be printed off the computer. Each day, someone will call out a square. It might be "HEART!" or "KISSING!" and everyone marks their bingo card. Start the game perhaps 3 weeks or so before Valentine's Day so someone has a chance to win before Valentine's Day. This is something that will take literally 30 seconds a day but will be fun and is sure to create some silly tension. The winner gets a prize. Perhaps free lunch in the company lunchroom, or a kiss from the boss, or something else silly.

If you have a few cooks in your office, you can suggest a "heart a day". Each day, someone must bring in something shaped like a heart, a food item, that is. One day it could be cookies, and another pancakes. A truly original thinker might figure out how to bring a heart-shaped lasagna or something else. Perhaps little finger sandwiches cut into heart shapes. To make this extra entertaining and challenging, you could require that the foods actually be good for your heart (therefore, cookies might be out, but heart-shaped chocolates? In.).

Often officemates become more like family. Why not use the holiday of love to share your memories of your own loves? Have everyone write a quick story of how they met their wife or husband and put it in a jar. They shouldn't include names and shouldn't identify their spouse either. One day at lunch, when everyone is sitting together (this could be at a Valentine's Day lunch with your homemade goodies), read the stories and have everyone try to guess which one belongs to which office friend. Some of the stories might make you think it actually happened to someone else. Some of the stories are surprising and sometimes even funny,

Since email is often the communication of choice in offices, have some fun with a Valentine's Day email quiz. You can ask historical questions about the holiday or questions about co-workers. Some questions might look like this:

1. Who married their spouse in Yosemite National Park?

2. What does the word Valentine mean?

3. Which of the following animals mate for life? (You'll want to provide multiple choice answers for this one, of course.)