Now that you've designed and launched your website, you have a powerful marketing tool for your business. But, your website is only as useful as the content is current. The process of keeping the content on your site current is called website maintenance, and it's important to keep both visitors and search engines supplied with new information. Just like regular maintenance on your car, you have to make changes on your website every few months to make sure that things run smoothly.

If you update the content on your website on a regular basis, potential clients will be drawn back to your site to find out "what's new". The search engines pay visits to websites in their queue regularly. The catch is that you'll stay in the queue only if you update your site regularly. If the search engines visit your site several times in a row, and don't find anything new, they may decide not to come back-which can be a blow to your search engine rankings.

So, when is it appropriate to update your website? You don't want to waste time and money nitpicking at your site if you don't have updates of real value to add. You should update your site if you've:

- Grown your skills. Have you gotten a new accreditation? New licensing? Improved your skills? Any change in your skill set is a great reason to update your website-and your potential clients-with your new capabilities.

- Expanded your products or services. Do you have a new offering? Add it to your website and start making new sales in that area.

- Completed a successful project. If you've just finished a project, include it on your website. Create an online portfolio, add a case study-build a section on your website to use as a place to show the world your success.

- Gotten more testimonials, or added to your client list. Including more feedback on your offering helps to build your credibility. Be sure to get a testimonial from each of your successful client projects. Updating your testimonials regularly will also show clients who have visited your site a few times that your offerings are "up to snuff".

- Written an article. Writing articles is a great way to keep your website up-to-date and to put more content on your site. Search engines love content-rich sites, and visitors will love to see the new information. So, if you write articles to educate your clients and promote your business, be sure to place them on your website as well. They're likely to be full of keywords related to your area of specialty, which will help your ranking in the search engines.

- Press releases. You should post all press releases and other information you publish about your company to your website. You never know who may be visiting, and you may get written up for your accomplishments.

- Changes in your business. Have you hired someone? Changed your business structure, and you're now required to notify the public of that? If so, you should probably review your website and evaluate how you can add that information.

- Yearly check-ups. You should do a basic check on your site at least once a year, to make sure that the content is current. Some things to check on include:

- Your copyright statements should be updated yearly

- Test and validate your links, to ensure that they still work

- Your time references should be changed. If your "About" page says how many years you've been in business, this is the time to change that!

- Your pricing and offerings-do you have new products or services? Have your prices increased over the past year?

Spotlight any major updates on your home page as well, so that people will learn of those updates as soon as they enter your site. The search engines will also discover the new update as soon as they enter your home page if you leave a bit of information, with a link to the full story, on the home page. That will act as a breadcrumb for the engine to follow-the engines will follow your link to learn more about it.

Any of these reasons, and dozens of others, are great reasons to make changes to your site. If you make keeping your website current a priority, it will pay off with better search engine rankings and increased sales and leads through your website.

Once you've decided to make your changes, the next choice is how to go about doing that. There are two steps involved in maintaining your site:

1. First, decide whether you prefer to edit your content on paper or online. This can be done in a couple of ways. You can start by printing the pages that have outdated information and then updating that information on paper first. Or, you can copy and paste the outdated content from your website into a word processing program such as Microsoft Word and then edit that file on your computer.

2. After you have updated your text content you can choose either to make the changes yourself or to hire a web designer to make the changes. There are several tools that you can use to make changes to your site yourself. We recommend an easy-to-use tool called Macromedia Contribute. It's fairly inexpensive, its simple to set up and learn, and it allows you to back up to older versions of your site if you make mistakes.

We suggest that you use this tool to make only simple text changes. More complicated changes-for example, to the overall design or navigation-are more difficult to make, and having a professional make those changes will save you energy and frustration.

If you are comfortable with a more complicated software program, then we recommend a professional-grade tool such as Dreamweaver. With a better software package, you'll be able to make some of the more complicated changes yourself.

By building more-and more current-information into your website, you will also begin to build trust with your potential clients, since they will have a snapshot of what's currently happening in your business and available to them. Your website can go a long way towards making sure that your online prospects know, like, and trust you-which can lead to more sales from your website.
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By: Erin Ferree

Erin Ferree is a brand identity designer who creates big visibility for small businesses. Her workbook, "Design a Website That Works", will walk you through all of the questions that you need to answer in order to create the best possible website. www.elf-design.com/http://www.elf-design.com/products-webWorkbook.html

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My name is Sue Huss and I live in Oregon, Ohio. Like many other people, I found myself looking for a way to make more money. I heard a lot about online marketing and I decided to see what it was all about.

I began searching online for a business opportunity when I came across this site advertising a company called Predator. For those of you who have never heard of Predator, its just a business opportunity much like hundreds of others. They all basically have the same central idea. The way they work is like this, you join by paying them money. Then you find suckers, I mean prospects, and when they join you make money. Most companies also have your first two sales go to your sponsor. The only difference that I now see is the amount it cost to join. If your asking yourself now, I thought this article was about One Step, be patient I'm getting to that.

So, Predator's deal was this, you invest $1,500 or $3,000 whichever amount you felt like flushing down your toilet. My words not their's, and when you happen to find someone who is sitting on their brains and also likes to flush, you make money. Although I was sitting at the time, I can't believe I was actually considering it. The sound of easy money was very alluring. Attempting to connect with my rational side, I decided I would at least do a little research online about this company.

So I typed Predator on Google and waited for the results. What was I thinking I found tons of websites telling me how great Predator was and why I should join them. Among all these ads that promised to make me rich, I came across an ad that said "Thinking of Predator get the facts first." I clicked on this website and it happened to be an ad for the One Step System. Here I only needed $597 to invest. I would then make $500 on every $597 sale that I made. Sounds great right? If you said yes to that, stop, do not read any more but go directly to my website to sign up. For the rest of you who are still functioning in reality please read on. The ad also said that I could be making $500 in as little time as 3 hours. Wow, I said, I think I have that much on a credit card what am I waiting for?

I found myself drifting, lost in my fantasy of expensive cars and homes. A place where I didn't have to go to work everyday and had money for every thing I desired. Lost deep in my trance, I barely noticed when I clicked on the pay button.

At that point much like a hypnotist snapping his fingers. I felt reality suddenly come back as a sick feeling in my stomach, like what have I done? What was wrong with me? $597 was so much money.
I could have paid my car payment and my gas bill with that money. After about 30 minutes of telling myself how stupid I was, I decided the only thing to do was going to be a lot like pulling a rabbit out of a hat. What I mean is, it will be a great trick. I will magically find a positive attitude to put on. Unfortunately it was a bad fit, it felt like putting on a pair of jeans that you have to lie down to zip up. That's a comparison that only women will understand. But just like magic the jeans fit.

Since this was my first online business venture, I found one lone thought echoing as if I were on a mountain top. Now what?....
.......Now what?....... Now what?....... I ask myself what do I do know? Support from anyone in the company is definitely not a word in their vocabulary. My sponsor was very nice and tried to help but you could tell he was new also. After wondering around the back office of One Step's web site. I discovered I had to pay another $29.99 so my website would be live. Not only that but I would be billed that much every month. Without this no one sees what a great opportunity they will be missing. Thinking I have no choice at this point, I pay my $29.99 only to find myself on that mountain top again, hearing that same question echoing in my brain. Now what?

Well, Im told you really need to create a landing page. A landing page is like a enticing sales letter to grab their interest and a way to get their e-mail address if they decide to leave your website. You see its all a game of numbers they tell me, if you get their e-mails and they're not convinced about joining One Step, you will be able to e-mail them later and tell them how great One Step is and how much money your making etc. "Don't worry though," Im told, "One Step provides you with all these great tools to help you create your landing page."

After some time of intensely studying these tools, I had only one response. Huh? Me create a web page? I'm no writer what would I say on this landing page? As these doubts raced through my mind I came to the only logical conclusion. I will just pay someone to create this landing page for me.

So I hired this company to create this great landing page and they would even host the page for me. It turned out really cool and it only cost me $169. Only one more little thing though, I needed a domain name. "Dont worry" they say, "you can get one for as little as $9.00." Wow a name, that's an important thing, I'll have to think of a good one. If you've ever looked for a domain name for your potential business you already know that all the good names are taken. And if you do happen to come across a great name and its for sale the price they want will support a family of 4 for a year. After several days of brainstorming I did finally come up with a name I liked. Success4everyone.com.

Now all that was left to do was to get people to my site to see what a great opportunity it was. I have to tell you this process took much longer than 3 hours. If you remember the ad boldly said I could make $500 in the next 3 hours. Well it took a little longer than I anticipated but now I'm ready, nothing can stop me now.

I decided to take their advice and advertise in my local newspaper. Within no time I started to get traffic to my website but hardly anyone registered for the teleseminar . The teleseminar was what gave them all the information about the company and convinced them to part with their money. Without listening to that sales pitch you dont have a prayer. Three weeks went by and I struggled not to get discouraged . My sponsor reminded me that it was all a game of numbers. I just never expected the numbers to be so high.

In my spare time I submitted to every free classified sites and placed adds on traffic exchanges. This did accomplish one thing I got tons of e-mails everyday from other people telling me about their great business opportunity. I never knew there were so many scams, I mean opportunities out there.

I decided to try something new and paid $79 for 10,000 visitors to my site. Don't ask me how they do it, I guess your page just magically appears on someone's screen while your surfing the web. The results of this, more visitors no buyers.

I decided to buy some e-mail lists, I don't really remember what I paid for those leads. Thats when I came across 2 other people who were involved with One Step previously. Their stories were pretty similar but the one gentleman told me when he finally decided to call it quits he found it impossible to cancel his $29. monthly fee. The company had no valid phone number on his credit card statement. No phone number on the web site could be found either. He sent several support tickets to the company with no response. For those of you who don't know what a support ticket is, it's just like customer support without a phone number. You send them an e-mail and perhaps get a response when hell freezes over. I guess it wasn't cold enough to freeze because they continued to bill his credit card for his monthly fee of $29.99. After trying everything he could think of he ultimately came to the conclusion the only way to stop from being billed was to report his credit card stolen.

Wow, I thought is he talking about my company, the company I've invested so much in already? Even though this had created a unsettling feeling I continued my futile attempts to make it work. Another week went by and I remember the promise made by One Step for $750 worth of free advertising if I didn't make any sales in the first month. I comforted myself with the thought at least I had that.

The next day I sent them a support ticket in my attempt to claim that prize. Not receiving any answer after several days, I sent them another. I presumed they would e-mail me with their response and only by chance did I figure out that I had to log in to read their answer. They said my account was at the QA status of the offer. Whatever that meant, I'm not sure. I don't think communication is their specialty either. The answer to my 2nd support ticket asking why my 1st ticket was not answered was you have to log in to read the answer. If I wasn't smart enough to log in the first time why would they presume I would log in for the answer to the 2nd question. Is it just me or does that make any sense to anyone else. Several weeks have since passed and I havent seen any advertising yet, but Im not holding my breath any longer.

In my recent searching on the web I wasn't even surprised when I seen one of the great recruiters of over 100 people in One Step with his new ad that said Better than Pas and One Step. He has gone of to recruit for other companies. His new ad claims to make 10,000 in days. Woah! Follow your mother's advise if it sounds to good to be true it usually is.

Sure theres probably people out there that have made money with One Step, Im not disputing that fact. I just feel all the facts were not given to me nor was the support there.

If you just happen to be a casualty of One Step or some similar opportunity please don't be too hard on yourself, I know nobody likes to admit failure but sometimes we just have to cut our loses. I sincerely hope that you do not give up on your dream to have your own business and be successful. Just tell yourself your now just one step closer to success, no pun intended there.

When pursuing any business venture, Id like to share these 5 points that I have found very helpful to consider. Number one and most important on your list is the product. You see companies like One Step don't really have a product it's more like a plan. The plan is if you can get people to join you'll make money.
Sure they tell you they have a product, its all these audios and tools in their back office. Many of them as I said earlier were of no use to me, and I'm sure you could find better marketing information at the library. So ask yourself the following questions.

Product - Is the product in demand and is it something people will want even if there not interested in the opportunity?

Company - Is the company committed, funded, ran well, etc.? Is it truly committed to its distributors?

Compensation - Does it make sense or is it confusing? Is it something that anyone can do if they work at it?

Training/Support - Are you going to get training and support? This will be one of the biggest concerns for your prospects.

Timing - Is the timing right? Are you trying to market something there is a decreasing demand or are you in front of trends at the right time with the right thing?

If you take the time to consider these 5 steps your path to success will not be littered with companies like One Step. Hopefully you'll realize there are no shortcuts. It does require work and determination. But it can be done. Don't sell yourself short with these other systems. The reason they are so popular because they play on our insecurities that we don't have what it takes to have a successful business.

Consider the 5 points above and choose a company whom you can be proud of. One that with a little work and determination you will find the success you've been dreaming about. Don't every give up on your dreams for they are who we are.

After much searching I have been able to find a business that meets the criteria above and works for me. Its in the travel biz . It's definitely not a business for everyone there is a lot to learn. But it is a business that's easy to promote and something you can really be proud of. But thats information for my next article.
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By: Robert Palmer

After trying and failing at several different programs which included mlm, forced matrix plans, free store club, dollar randomizer and One Step, Sue has decided to stop chasing get rich quick schemes and found a business that has proven all five of the points above. The product is travel, everyone loves to do it. If people you meet aren't interested in the business side they always want to save money on travel. YTB has proven to be a great company and will be right up there with Travelocity and Orbitz in a few years. The support the company gives you can not be found anywhere else. There are conference calls 5 days a week to help you grow your business. Now as more people book travel everyday online the timing couldn't be better. For less than it cost to join One Step you too can have your own travel website and book travel. You'll also be eligible for great travel deals for you and your spouse. For more information you can e-mail her at info@harmonytravel.net or call 419-691-4676 To check out the business go to www.travelpropower.com/SueHuss

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Consolidators or wholesalers are companies that buy airline tickets at very low prices in bulk and then sell them off to public at a discount rate than the original price set by the airline. They are the cheaper means to buy airline tickets from, because even after they have deducted their profit on the tickets, they are still cheaper for normal people like us. You must be wondering why airlines sell tickets at low prices. Actually, not all flights are booked seat-to-seat by the passengers. Because of this reason the airlines or air travel agencies have to sell tickets in order to make a full flight. And of course everyone involved in this game makes a profit this way.

You might have heard of brick & mortar travels or B&M Travels as they are commonly called. They are the offline consolidators specializing in providing cheap airfare to their customers whenever the demand for a certain flight grows. Online consolidators are also available and they are becoming increasingly popular these days. They are called online travel consolidators. Many websites that you will encounter while searching for cheap airfare are of these consolidators or air travel agencies. They are there to help you out in finding the cheapest flight, whether its national or international, and they also advise you on choosing the right time for booking these flights.

Consolidators in the field of international air travel are the most helpful and useful source of saving a lot of money on airfare. Of course people are always looking for these consolidators or online cheap travel agencies to benefit from the services they have to offer. However, there are some points you should keep in mind before booking with one of these agencies. First of all, keep your options open. Consolidators all around the world offer different discount rates. Sometimes, you save only 10% and at other times, if you are lucky, you can even save up to 70% on your airfare! But it needs a little research and careful investigation before you can find such a consolidator. Furthermore, it also depends on the time of your flight and some other considerations including the destination location and the popularity of an airline.

Secondly, check the price of the airline ticket offered by your consolidator and see if it is inclusive of tax and other fees. Sometimes these companies list only the ticket cost and exclude taxes until the time of payment. This way they can advertise themselves quite cleverly, but do not fall in their trap. Check with other companies and compare their prices. Some websites let you compare prices only through a few clicks and a little information you provide. If possible, wait for a whole season and then see if the ticket rates have reduced. Then book yourself in advance to enjoy affordable and cheap airfare when the time is ripe.

You can tell the agent about the frequent flier program if you are enrolled into one. The consolidator will see if they find a matched price on one of the flights and will book you on it. If time is not of importance then tell your consolidator how flexible your dates are. They can find a good flight for you at the lowest possible price on a weekday or when there is little rush. This way you can travel safer and cheaper. Last but not the least, always check and double check you name and date of the flight and reservation after you have been handed over the ticket by your consolidator. Like every other business, there are traitors and dishonest persons out there so you need to keep an eye open.

Follow these steps and you will find a good consolidator very soon whether you are planning to fly national or international. Here are some consolidator websites to help you start your search from: Travelocity (travelocity.com), Hotwire (hotwire.com), Expedia (expedia.com), Cheap Travel (cheaptravel.com), and Airfare Choice (airfarechoice.com). However, do not rely on just these sites, as already said, keep your options open and keep looking for better and more reliable websites and consolidators to fly cheaper on your next trip.
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By: George Wood

George Wood is an accomplished author who has published a variety of fascinating articles about airfares & travel on a shoestring budget. Check out his airfare website that the airlines DON'T want you to see. Stop the big airline companies from fleecing you of your hard earned money, and discover cheap travel cheapest airfares to wherever your imagination takes you!

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An aviation headset is commonly one of the first pierces of aviation gear that most students buy. You might have the ability to rent or even borrow one from your flight school but you will likely discover that their equipment is worn and may not be available all the time. Either way you will need to purchase your own aviation headset eventually.

When this time comes you will quickly find that selecting the right headset can be extremely confusing. This is a mater of personal taste, so it is wise to check out different types before choosing one. There are a few factors that you need to look at, such as if you want an active noise reduction (ANR) headset or a more standard passive noise reduction model. ANR is a new technology that is highly effective at lowering frequency noise such as the engine and the propeller in small aircraft.

ANR works when a small microphone in the ear portion of the headset picks up a noise inside the ear cup. This information is then transmitted through the headset which then drives a speaker to produce a noise that is the exact image of the original noise. This means that one sound wave corresponds to the anti noise created by the headset. When these sound waves collide they cancel each other out, leaving you with silence.

This doesnt mean that selecting an ANR headset leaves without the ability to hear the air traffic controller and other important sounds because ANR works on low-frequency noise. Low frequency noise is the type that causes permanent hearing loss if you are subjected to them over long periods of time.

If you are going to flight school then you should consider purchasing wither a Telex or a Peltor headset that will protect your hearing and allow you to communicate efficiently. Telex headsets come in a large variety and is a well known name is aviation headsets. There are of course those pilots that will swear that nothing compared to a Bose headset, but Telex offers them much cheaper, and work just as well.

Another well known name is aviation headsets are Peltor headsets which also comes in a large variety of styles. All Peltor headsets are comfortable and reduce noise. There are more sophisticated Peltor headsets that include music and cell phone capabilities which are very useful and incredibly convenient. Peltor is one company that sets the standard for aviation headsets.
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By: Natalie Aranda

Natalie Aranda is a freelance writer. An aviation headset is commonly one of the first pierces of aviation gear that most students buy. Telex headsets come in a large variety and is a well known name is aviation headsets.

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