The ultimate librarian

In ancient days of long ago, if you wanted to find out about something, you went to your local library and asked the librarian for help with your learning project. She or he would then point you in the direction you needed to go in order to quickly find the learning reference materials that would help you in your project.

Think of a search engine as the ultimate friendly librarian. A search engine is more than that, of course, but for the time being it is helpful to use the librarian metaphor.

When a person turns on the computer and connects to the internet, he is interested in one of three things. He wants to learn, he wants to shop, or he wants to be entertained. Your job as a proud website owner (internet store entrepreneur) is to provide all three of these things. You need to teach, you need to entertain, and, of course, you want to sell something along the way.

In order to begin his travels on the internet, the user will type in an address in his browser (or he will click on a button which types in an address for him.) If the address he types in is Walmart.com, or any other merchant's address, you as an internet store owner are out of luck. But if he types in the address of a search engine instead of a direct website address or one of his favorites, you still have a fighting chance. That is to say, the search engine might recommend your website to him.

Fat chance, you say. Fat chance indeed. But the truth is, there are truly several things you can do that might influence the gatekeeper librarian. Doing these things is what is known as Search Engine Optimization. SEO. For starters, it wouldn't hurt you to study up a little bit about how search engines work, how they rank websites, what they are looking for. Armed with that information, you can begin to rearrange and remodel your website accordingly. There will be more written about this later, of course.

Before we talk about how search engines work and how to optimize your website's profile with them, you should begin at once to do things which change your website from just a selling place to a delightful place which educates and entertains as well. Why restrict yourself to just selling? I do understand why you have a website--to sell things and therefore make money. But first you have to get the customer to walk into your store, right? In order to do that, you have to catch his--and the search engines'--interest. More to come.

Repeat after me: "Content is king. Content is king. Content is king..."

Traffic

Ah, yes. Traffic.

The key to making money on the internet, regardless of what you are selling or advertising, is traffic. You already knew that. If you have a ton of traffic, that means tons of people are already clicking on your ads--and that means you are making money.

There are two ways to get traffic (people) to your site. Either you advertise or you rank highly in the main search engines. Preferably both. Advertising your site can mean many things, of course, but it usually means buying sponsored ads on Google and Yahoo. You need to do this if you are serious about making money on the internet.

Basically, you brainstorm and come up with keywords and keyphrases you think people are likely to be searching for (with regards to the subject of your website) and then you bid on some of those words or phrases. When people see the ads and click on them, they arrive at your website and you get charged for the click. There is no guarantee the visitor will buy anything or even click on one of your ads. All you are paying for are eyes showing up on your website.

The other thing you should be working on to increase traffic to your website is Search Engine Optimization. SEO. This is a little less straightforward than simply buying advertising, but it is also more fun. For some of us, anyway. With SEO, content is king. You have probably heard those words before. Believe them.

More about content later.

First way

Already I have concluded that there are only two main ways a person can make money on the internet. You either sell a product or you sell somebody else's product.

Well, that seems obvious, but I never really thought of it quite that way before. It sounds simple. Apparently it's not, though, or else we would all already be rich.

The first one is pretty straightforward, like having your own store down on the corner in Yourtown, USA. Here's how that works: you rent a building for your store, you stock the store with merchandise, you hire employees, you advertise. Customers come into your store, they buy, you get rich. Easy, right? Sure.

You can do the same thing on the internet if you've got something to sell. Your business address is the domain name of your website; the merchandise you sell can still be pretty much anything you want to deal in; you advertise; your customers look at pictures of your merchandise instead of the real thing; they buy online; they can't carry it home from your store, so you ship it to them; you get rich. In the old days before the internet, even before they had computers, they had a name for this: mailorder.
Don't take this lightly. It works for zillions of people on the internet, from Walmart down to Mom's Gift Shop. It really, really works. (Did I mention you have to advertise?)

Second way

The second main way to make money on the internet, selling somebody else's products, is a little less straightforward.
Selling the products of other people is called Affiliate Sales. **Affiliate Sales** are two words you need to add to your vocabulary if you are thinking about going into business on the internet. Millions seem to be doing it. Only about three are making any money. No, that's not exactly true (don't run away--come back here!), but it really does take work. Work, work, work. Now, most of the people who will be wanting to sell you their **Get Rich Quick on the Internet** books and manuals will tell you just the opposite. They will tell you there is no work involved at all. So perhaps I am just being stupid.

Anyway, Affiliate Sales, like the sales of your own products, can take place in real life or on the internet. In real life they call this being a traveling salesman or a newspaper publisher. Almost always it takes place on the internet, though. Basically it entails you setting up a website that is cute and catchy and putting advertisements on it. In essence, you become an online newspaper or magazine that advertises things for sale. Unfortunately, most would-be millionaires forget why people buy newspapers and magazines. It is because they have something inside them besides ads.

On the internet, though, it takes more than just having an interesting or clever website. You have to know how to play the Search Engine game. Oh!--it boggles the mind!

Humbled

I want to gather information about some of the ways people are making money on the web from home. Then I want to post my findings on this website as a sort of resource for my fellow investigators (you) to peruse.

I admit that I will probably try some of these things from time to time. You probably will too. If I ever get rich doing it, I’ll let you know. Of course, if you find something that works for you, I hope you'll share your discovery with the rest of us.

You will find many off-topic posts and personal posts. This is because (1) I am interested in other things besides how people make money on the internet, and (2) this is a personal blog.

I am humbled that you are reading this.