How To Build Successful Website

Do you want to know how to build a successful website? Maybe you've decided to start your own home-based internet business, but you don't know where to begin. After all, it's a BIG job. And you may be new to the idea of working online. Don't let that stand in your way. With this 20 tips, you can build a successful website. Let's start at step #1.

1. Brainstorm an idea for your business. The internet is called the information superhighway. What do YOU KNOW that others will benefit from? Could you teach about it... be an expert? Think about this step as the foundation of building the successful website. Learn to recognize your perfect internet business idea in your day to day life.
2. Describe your site idea. Once you have a basic idea, think about what words other people would use to describe it if they were doing a web search. Those words are called keywords. These are the words that you enter into a search engine to get information. Brainstorm as many of them as you can. Get family and friends to help... make this step fun!
3. Next use these words to do a search on google or another search engine. See how many related sites there are. There's probably millions, isn't there? Don't worry, you'll just have to find a “ niche market ” in your main area. By narrowing it down a bit, you'll be able to build a successful website too!
4. Decide whether the site concept you have will be profitable for you. Do another search using demand number/supply number with your favorite search engine. Only use free tools now... no investing any money yet! Decide before you build it how you'll “monetize” it? This is SO important to know now. Look online to see what other similar sites are doing to make money. How did they build their successful website? Look at their ads to see what's possible for your website.
5. Get back online again, and spend more time snooping around different websites and forums. Your job now is to learn what people are buying or looking for. Compare these with your site concept words. You may have to do this several times to find a site concept that matches your basic business idea. When you're done with this step, you have a niche market or product to build a website or other business around.
6. It's time to write your own business plan. Please don't skip this step- my easy business plan can help you get started. Plain or fancy. DIY (do it yourself). No hiring someone else to do it for you. Plan on using your business plan often to be sure you stay on track.
7. Choose a name for your business. Take your time on this step. Hopefully you'll be using that name for a LONG time! You want a name that people can remember, and associate with you. Your name will be a key part of your business brand identity. This is a good time to work out a logo. And don't forget business cards. You ARE a business owner. Just because your business is online doesn't mean you won't promote it to people you meet. Here's some tips about naming your business and choosing your domain name.
8. Decide if you want a website or a blog. You can build a successful website with either. You have a lot of choices about how you build whichever you build. Once you've decided this step, you're ready to set it up and get online. The next question is... do it yourself or get help? Click here for more info about starting a web business.

Whew- you're halfway there!

A lot of those steps apply whether you're building an internet business or a simple home-based business. The rest of these are more internet-focused, but aren't only meant for online businesses.

9. Go back to your main keyword list. Build traffic to your site by using those carefully selected keywords in what you write. This is called SEO, (search engine optimization) where you're harnessing the power of google, bing, or others. It's one of the ways you drive traffic to your site. Take time to learn this now because it's a main key for building a successful website.
10. Social media... yes or no? YES! Skip this step at your own peril. It will help you build relationships with and become real to people. You need to be present online. It's called creating an online presence! Start to socialize on- Twitter, Facebook, linkd-in, whatever you like. And don't be "Spammy" by over-promoting. It's not appreciated by anyone. Here's some tips for using twitter.
11. Blog. If you're building a blog, post new content as often as you can. Set yourself a schedule to keep it happening. If you're building a website, you should have at least a basic “freebie” blog” and write on it often. Work at it!
12. Figure out how to get some links to your site. Links from other sites to yours are noticed and liked by search engines. This may take a while but be patient. If you build good content, someone will like it and link to it.
13. .Build your own e-mail subscription/permission list. You want to be able to communicate with potential customer. There's laws about this you must obey to stay legal. More on this later.
14. Monetize when appropriate. Take your time. Too soon can make the search engines unhappy. You DON”T want that. Research your options for making money while you're waiting. Will you use Google Adsense? Investigate affiliate programs for more ways to make money. Again, look at other sites to see what's being done. Pick and choose the things that work for your site.
15. Pick payment processer to receive payment from customers.
16. Keep work on driving traffic to your site. You can be writing articles that link to your site. Try leaving comments on blogs and forums with a link to your site. Keep it real- no spamming allowed!
17. Wow, you're on step 17 already? You've been busy and have learned a lot. Have you kept your blog up to date about your efforts?
18. Keep watching the other sites like yours. Who's your competition? Are you subscribing to their blogs? There's some very smart people that are already successful doing what you're learning about. They share what they're doing in their blog posts. Subscribe to their RSS feeds.

    And look around at other websites to see what's new. There's many ways to build successful websites. Looking at other sites should inspire you to try new things. Have some fun! Follow their lead but don't copy them. It's a huge internet with plenty of room for us all to earn a living.

19. Learn about tools to help you follow stats, and keep your site up-to-date and safe from the bad guys. This is a tedious but necessary step for keeping your site running well.
20. Repeat steps 9-19.

By following these steps, you should be able to build successful website. Of course, success is relative. Step by step planning can only help. But how successful and how much money you make depends on your basic choices and the effort you put in. Good luck- I hope I see you online soon!

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