Are Keyword Spammers Stealing your Online Income?

Most of us know what keyword spamming is: The relatively harmless, if a bit unethical, placing of random, highly searched, keywords in hidden areas of a webpage in order to get more traffic. Well, if you weren't already aware, there is another version of keyword spamming that will steal those eHow profits (and other residuals as well) that you worked so hard to create.
So, how do you know if you are being victimized? Unfortunately, there's no quick and easy way to catch those keyword thieves. In order to protect your online income, you will have to manually check each and every article you have published to see if traffic is being stolen.

1. Remember those Google searches you did when you were researching the keyword to begin with? It's time to go back and do it again, just a bit differently. This time, you are searching for the exact title of your article. Make sure you put quotes around it!

Custom Search

2. Look at the results- if you see any results other than your article that quote your title and the text of your article, you may be the victim of keyword spamming!

3. Doublecheck to make sure that they aren't backlinks to your article. If you open the page, and there is no reference to your actual article, they've stolen your keywords and probably a good chunk of your profit!

OK, so you've found out your keywords are being stolen- what do you do about it? Report them to Google, and get their page pulled. I know, there should be a greater penalty, but that's really all anyone can do!

Increase your Work at Home Income

Work smarter, not longer or harder, and you will increase your work at home income with simple efficiency and organizational skills.

Get Organized to Increase Your Work At Home Income

Are you organized? Do you have a work area set aside, with nothing else cluttering it up? Perhaps you should, if you don't. If you are able to go and sit down in your work area, and concentrate on the job at hand, how will it affect your work at home income? (answer: your income will go up)

Create a Schedule For a Stable Work at Home Income

Do you set aside a certain time each day to work, or do you just try to fit in a few minutes here and there? It's easier to stay on a schedule if you have a schedule to begin with, so if you want to have a stable work at home income, it's best to create a schedule and stick to it.

Get a Babysitter to Increase Work at Home Productivity

How about those kids? If they're young enough to need constant supervision, you're going to need some help. Instead of trying to work in between bouts of 'Mommmm, he took my toy' and 'Mommmm, she ate my cookie', consider hiring a sitter to come and play with them while you work. During the summer, especially, there are lots of teens who are looking for extra money. You would be there for emergencies, but since the sitter would be there to help with the minor stuff, you would have more time for increasing your work at home income.





Final notes:

• Get out of the house once in a while, if you want to retain your sanity.
• Set aside some time every day for fresh air and sunshine, and you'll be more productive overall!

SEO: Positioning Matters!

Part 3 of the SEO tutorial will address Search Engine Optimization, or SEO positioning. Your goal, as you know, is to have your article, website, or salespage end up high in lots of people's search results. In order to do this, you've found some great keywords, evaluated your competition, checked to see if people are actually searching for those keywords, etc. Now, we're going to get a little deeper into details so you can make some real money.

First of all, when you're looking for an easy keyword, you may want to avoid search phrases that have a lot of competition. You pick your keyword, and enter it into Google Search with quotes around it, see something like 522,988 search results for that phrase, and immediately assume that it's not going to work for you- too much competition, right? Your SEO positioning will never be high with that keyword or phrase, right? Not necessarily.

SEO positioning is a matter of how well your article, etc. is positioned in the search results, and is affected by a number of factors, but the most important (after you have completed search engine optimization for your article) is competition. We've already discussed the competition as far as volume, but let's talk about quality... What are the other search results like? Articles? News Results? If the first page is full of Yahoo Answers, and 3 year old News Articles, it doesn't matter if there are 5 million search results- a well optimized article or webpage will hit the first page of those search results with no problem.

Key factors in SEO Positioning:

• Little competition for the front page- this can mean that there are few search results, or that the front page results are weakly optimized or not optimized at all.

• Keywords with:
• Lots of Advertiser competition
• High Cost Per Click
• High Search Volumes

Understanding SEO Positioning

Next article in this SEO Tutorial Series: A Well Crafted Title

What's My Credit Score?

Now that credit card companies are tightening their belts, so to speak, it's getting a lot harder to get credit. (Just when we consumers need it the most!) It's also getting more difficult to keep credit, and to keep it at interest rates that aren't punishingly high. In order to get the best interest rates, you need to have a high credit score. We're all entitled, by federal law, to a free credit report every year. The information found in those reports is invaluable when it comes to preventing identity theft- but does it help to answer the question, "What's My Credit Score?" Nope. Those credit reports help you to understand why your credit score is where it is, but that's it.

Your best bet, if you want to get your "What's My Credit Score" answer, is to go to each of the credit reporting bureaus, and check out their offers. At any given time, one or all of them will be offering a package deal that provides all three credit reports and a composite score for free**.
(The asterisks denote the fact that it's not really free, but you have fine print to read down below. In this case, you will have to sign up for a free trial of their credit reporting service, and if you don't cancel during the free trial period, you're on the hook for much more money than it would have cost if you had just bought the credit report straight out. Watch out for this!)

A good credit score is an important part of your overall financial health. If your interest rates go up, due to a lowering credit score, it can adversely affect your monthly budget. If you know your score is low, you can work on improving it- but first you must ask, and answer, the question: "What's My Credit Score?"

What's My Credit Score?

You want to get a freelance job? Promote yourself!

One of the most difficult parts of a job interview for most people is the need to talk about how great they are. Most of us were raised to be modest, and told not to brag- and then the next thing we know, we’re being asked to explain why we are the best person to do a certain job! If you want to get a freelance job, or any job, really, you will need to unlearn modesty, and learn how to brag.

First, make a list of all you good qualities, your skills, and your experience. Don’t leave anything out, not even the fact that you always keep your car spotlessly detailed. Everything you do can translate into a job skill that is valued by employers. (spotless car = attention to detail, dedication to quality, etc) This really applies to any job, not just a freelance job. In reality, however, trying to get a freelance job is just like trying to get a long-term job. As a freelancer, however, you have to go through the interview process for each new client. That is where your list of skills will come in handy.

Once you have your list of skills, translate each skill and talent into something work or business-related. You wrangle 5 kids to and from lessons, appointments, and playdates all day, and still have time to clean the house, cook meals, and shower once in a while? Excellent Time Management Skills! You do all of this without anyone standing over your shoulder, telling you what to do? Extremely self-motivated. You do all of this, including gourmet meals, are always on time, and the kids are washed and brushed? Detail Oriented!

Now that you have a long list of skills and talents that look impressive, even to you, read them out loud to yourself. Keep repeating them, until you feel comfortable saying these things about yourself. Work them into a sentence. “I am extremely detail oriented, a self starter, and I have excellent time management skills.” Write them into a paragraph about how great you are. Once you believe it, you can start evaluating your own skills, to decide which jobs are right for you.

When you have found some freelance jobs that look inviting, apply. Some will require a resume, some will ask for work samples, some will want an interview by phone, etc. Your resume should reflect the skills you outlined in this exercise, and you should feel comfortable enough with them that a phone interview will go smoothly. Remember- you have to sell yourself if you want to get a freelance job!

Play the Freelance Game