So, you’ve found some great keywords for your website. (If you don’t know how to find good keywords, I suggest you check out this training here). The question is, do you know how to add keywords to your website the correct way?

It’s really pretty simple, however there’s a lot of outdated/misinformation out there on how to do it. Read further as I reveal how to properly place keywords into your content in order to receive good search rankings!

Keyword density, meta tags…what?

You may have heard things like “keyword density”, “meta tags” or “hash tags” But do the search engines like Google really use such factors in determining what is relevant to the search? The truth is, no. Search engines want relevant content, they want the searcher to have the best experience possible and would like the chosen results to actually help them. Things like keyword density and meta tags used to be a determining factor in the ranking process, however they are no longer used as part of the formula in determining a good search result–therefore you need to net worry about them!

What you really need to do is relatively straightforward and there are only 3 steps. This is so simple it will blow your mind.

1. Include your keyword in the title of your page/post. For example, if your keyword is “how to stop smoking” you could make your title something like

• Learn how to stop smoking easily in 5 steps 
• How to stop smoking once and for all

You ideally want to make the title catchy and grab your reader’s attention. I’m sure you could think of something even more interesting but those are just off the top of my head.

2. Include your keyword in the first paragraph.

Have you been desperately seeking advice on how to stop smoking but nothing ever seems to work? Have you tried and tried and failed? Quit failing and kick the habit once and for all with this easy step by step guide.

3. Write the rest of your content naturally.

Don’t worry about how many times “how to stop smoking” appears within your content. Too many instances of a keyword is seen as “keyword stuffing” and that will not help your rankings at all.

If the phrase how to stop smoking enters the content again after the first paragraph that is okay as it flows smoothly. A good rule of thumb is to read the article back to yourself and if it sounds unnatural you probably have too many instances of your keyword.

Okay, 1, 2, 3 – you’re done! That is the correct way to add keywords to your content and really, that is all there is to it. 

What you want to aim for are LSI keywords (Latent Semantic Indexing)

LSI keywords are simply words that are relevant to your keyword–like “cigarette” “smoke” “nicotine” or “quit”, for example would all be related and relevant to how to stop smoking. Using lots of these types of words will help the search engines better understand what your content is talking about. However, LSI isn’t something to really over-think or worry about, it’s really just something that will happen when you write naturally!

Keep writing content for maximum rankings potential

The thing about search engines like Google is, well, they’re not always going to rank you for the exact key phrase you want. They may examine your writing and decide it should be better ranked for different keywords, and give you better rankings for those ones instead. It also could just take a lot longer for your content to be picked up and ranked for the exact keyword you were hoping for.

However, don’t get discouraged–just keep writing. Write lots of articles and keep them coming. Some will rank easily, others will take some time, others will never rank for the exact phrase you were hoping for — but what I find is that they all end up ranking in some way or another. And as long as you keep writing content, you will keep ranking.

Watch this being put into action!

If you’re still not convinced this process will actually be enough to get you ranked within the search engines, check out this live case study here and see for yourself (plus while you’re there, feel free to sign up for a completely free account to get more awesome material like that).  If walks you through the process of researching a keyword for an article, writing the actual article around the keyword, and having it rank in Google within 20 minutes! No keyword stuffing or meta tags required!
Wendy
Owner, SurvivingAfterCollege.com

What is Niche Profit Classroom?

Niche Profit Classroom is a training program for internet marketers founded by Adam Short. It consists of in depth video based training that will walk you through the process of how to make money online; it concentrates on things like setting up niche websites for affiliate marketing, email marketing (list building) and developing your own products. There’s also an active community forum, and occasional webinars and teleseminars set up for personal help.

So, is Niche Profit Classroom a scam? Let’s take an investigative look and see what it has to offer!

Let’s take a further look…

The program says they train individuals to produce websites that have 3 qualities – “evergreen, automated, and simple” – meaning; they’re easy to build, require little maintenance once they’re up and running, and they will continue to generate revenue for a long time to come. While these types of websites may be able to pull in a profit, the emphasis on “push button software”, automation and no further maintenance make me question the quality of these types of sites, and how long they could sustain themselves within places like Google.

Ready Made Niche Packs… Yay or Nay?

They provide ready made niche packs every month to all the members. These are claimed to be able to be used for “model” websites, to give beginning members a guide as to how they should be putting together their website and further materials for email marketing, but Adam also says they can be “tweaked” to use as your own website to make money from.

While there’s nothing wrong with providing sample websites for your members as it can be valuable to see the process of how it is done, if a member actually does try to “tweak” a ready made niche site and put it up for profit they will most likely face duplicate or spun content issues within the search engines as they are providing these ready made niches to EVERY member. Most likely they will find their website to either not rank or not be very successful long term.

Let’s take a look at the tools offered within Niche Profit Classroom and see how they fare…

Included Tools:

• WordPress website builder and web hosting – allowed to host up to 15 of your own domains (note: these domains are non-transferable–you have to keep your account with NPC in order to have access to them.)

• Market Profiler Tool – assesses a niche market’s profit potential–however I can’t see this tool being all that useful. The profit potential for any niche is based on your effort and skills, not the specific market you pick.

• Keyword Tool  – definitely a necessary tool, although I don’t know how accurate it is. (some are better than others).

• 15 minute newsletter creator + 15 minute sales letter creator – automated creation for email newsletters to people on your list. Anything “automated” like this is going to produce something of poorer quality.

• “Done for you” niches – 2 niche packs given out every month to members which include pre-written articles, keyword lists, a 75 page ebook (PLR type) that you can claim as your own, along with various other tasks that are already done for you.

 Support:

• Once per week live Q&A teleseminars
• Active community forum
• Coaching webinars twice per month

Cons:

I think while there is some good training offered within this program there are a few cons that make it a deal breaker–at least to me!

• Domains are non-transferable – once you buy a domain and set it up with NCP’s hosting, you cannot transfer it to other web hosting if you decide to discontinue your NPC membership. So while you are able to host up to 15 of your own domains on their server–I’d advise NOT doing so–this means you don’t truly own your web content, and unless you stay with NCP forever you will lose all your sites eventually.

• Many complaints about bad customer support – while I have no personal experience with the customer support offered by this program I’ve come across countless negative reviews online that range anywhere from people complaining they were extremely rude or dismissive – to that just took several days or weeks to even get back to them, and when they did they offered no real help at all. There were also several complaints about people cancelling their membership under the free trial, yet still getting charged the $67 for the program (yet still being locked out).

• Emphasis on automation and push button software–anything that is automated isn’t going to be good quality. It is obvious when you read something online and it sounds more programmed and mechanical than if an actual human wrote it, and that in itself is going to turn a lot of potential customers away.

• Questionable long term potential of the way they emphasis site building. Once you do get a site up and running, it’s best if you keep it “fresh” and update it often, sites DO require ongoing maintenance for longer term success–even if you end up having to outsource the work.

Price

Monthly fee is $67, plus around $10 for each domain you set up. This is quite expensive for a recurring monthly fee, especially considering there are way better programs which are significantly cheaper.

Conclusion – NPC scam or legit?

Niche Profit Classroom isn’t a scam, they do provide some valuable training and support to their members. However, I think there are definitely some aspects it could improve upon. I wouldn’t want to join into any program that wouldn’t let me keep my own websites after I left, that’s for sure! Plus, they are just too expensive in my opinion for what they offer.

There is a $1, 14 day trial, however, so if you still want to consider giving it a shot, you don’t have that much to lose.

Consider a better, cheaper alternative…

What if I told you there was a program that offered way more support (24/7), had a greater variety of training resources, UNLIMITED web hosting (plus lets you transfer the domain if you quit the program or go elsewhere), and one that focuses on building a long term, successful business online – rather than just creating several “websites”. What if I told you this program could save you $435 a year when compared to if you signed up with Niche Profit Classroom?

They have a fresh approach, one that focuses on you starting out in a niche you are interested in, rather than a “profit niche” because ultimately, you can pick the most profitable niche and not make anything if you aren’t motivated or interested in what you are doing enough to stick with it.

Better yet, skip the $1 trial, you can try this out for free–no credit card is even required. How can you say no to that?

–> Read my full review of Wealthy Affiliate here.

Any further questions or comments? Drop me a reply down below!
Wendy
Owner, SurvivingAfterCollege.com

Well, sure, there are lots of sites that will let you take surveys for free and in turn, give you cash. But are any of them actually worth your time?

Let me share my experience with online surveys…

I’ve tried a few different online survey sites in my day, and while taking surveys online isn’t a scam, I’ve found it to be a huge waste of time. Originally it was a few years ago during my junior year of college, I cannot remember which site I signed up for, but I remember making the mistake of using my actual email address and basically plagued it forever with spam. I pretty much had to stop using it, I think I ended up with 100,000+ unread spam emails in that account.

So, if you do decide to sign up for some survey taking, DO NOT USE YOUR REAL EMAIL! It’s really easy to create an alternate email address so definitely do that beforehand.

Anyway, besides receiving an endless amount of spam, I remember spending hours and hours taking online surveys. The payout for each survey was incredibly low, sometimes just a few cents, and I had to actually wait to be selected to take each survey. Sometimes I had to wait days just to take a single survey that would pay me 50 cents. The surveys that paid more were way more selective, and I never got chosen for any of them. You have to fit the correct demographic in order to qualify, and even if you do, you’re more than likely not going to consistently be chosen for high paying surveys.

So after a few weeks at putting much effort into online surveys, what did I get? I ended up with endless spam and a $10 gift card to Target…

A few weeks of effort and all I got in return was a $10 gift card? Yeah, that was the end of my survey taking days…

Well, until recently at least. A few months ago I stumbled across this new survey site called Paidviewpoint.com. Now, their approach was a bit different–instead of signing up for many different sites and being redirect all over the internet, you simply take their easy surveys whenever they email you a new one. They’re pretty short as they only take about a minute to complete. I figured what the heck, so I signed up (using an alternate email, of course).

So let’s check out PaidViewPoint. Their surveys look like this:

They’re pretty simple and ask you about 10 questions each, take about a minute overall. But they also only pay 10 CENTS per survey (most of them) and they only offer one every couple of days. I think one time I was selected for a special survey that paid FIFTY CENTS. Woot!

They also claim you can earn up to $25 for each person you refer to the site, but that’s only if they stick around long enough to complete $25 worth of surveys too.

And let me tell you, I’ve been there for 2 months and I’ve made a whopping $5.37. How many people will you refer will make it up to $25?

You also have to have a minimum of $15 to cash out. Geeze, it’ll probably be next summer before I can receive my fifteen bucks! A few years later, different survey program, same result.

Paidviewpoint is probably the best survey site I’ve found. There are tons of others, too… Swagbucks is pretty cool. Yes they are legit (mostly) but they just really aren’t worth your time!

Warning: Never pay money to join a survey site! Some actually are scams, so if they ask for your money, run away.

Websites like GetCashForSurveys are complete scams, so do not get fooled into thinking you have to spend money to access some sort of survey database. You don’t. There are plenty of websites out there that offer the same databases of surveys for free. These paid survey sites are out there to take your money and try to upsell you with training that has nothing to do with taking online surveys.

The reality is, you’re never going to make tons of money with online surveys

There are tons of survey sites out there-Mysurveys, Swagbucks, SurveyMonkey, the list goes on and on. Sure they’re all free and easy to sign up for, but remember — you’re going to be putting in quite a lot of time when you will receive very little in return. In fact, you’re working for a whole lot less than minimum wage here. You can go get a job at your local fast food joint a few hours a week and make a whole lot more money for a whole lot less time. However if you enjoy this kind of thing, make it a hobby, just don’t try to make it a job!

Instead, put your time and effort into something that could really benefit you and give you more than mere pennies in return.

What are your experiences with online surveys? I’d love for you to share your story.

Wendy
Owner, SurvivingAfterCollege.com

Quit Working For Pennies…

Find Out How To Build A REAL Business Online And Start Earning Passive Income!

Most likely, you’ve arrived here because someone has invited you (since they are only letting invited members into their inner circle), and you are doing your due diligence research! I cannot provide a complete review of this product yet because, well, technically it doesn’t even exist. What I can do is provide you with my opinion, so take it for what it’s worth.

So what is Rippln all about, anyway?

This product hasn’t even been released yet, but they’re telling everyone it’s going to go viral like Facebook and Twitter. That’s a high promise that even the Rippln creators couldn’t be positive would happen.

Here’s a video (kind of long) but it explains what Rippln is (well, sorta.)

If you don’t want to sit through an 8 minute video, essentially what it is, is an app that you use to recommend products and programs you like to your friends and “ripples” so you can earn commission from recommending them. The theory is, when you first heard about products such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc, you probably told your friends. The theory that the Rippln creators stand behind is they think you should get a commission from that, since word of mouth is a big part of any marketing effort.

Which isn’t really a bad idea, but there are some general flaws behind a program like this. First of all, it isn’t even launched yet and they’re promising BIG things. This app would have to go viral, and really popular apps would have to be approved for sharing via the commission system. I’ve been keeping an eye on the Rippln Facebook fan page. As of August 23, Apple approved the first Rippln sharing app called Photo Guessaroo. It’s currently in beta testing mode in Australia and New Zealand only. The point behind this is theRippln system has been in the public circulation since earlier this spring 2013, and has yet to deliver anything of substance.

I don’t understand why they are calling it the “next big thing” when they can’t possibly know this for sure, and they’re hoping you’ll invest money into it!

You’re going to have to pay money to join in on the Rippln “inner circle” (terms like this are usually involved in MLM and pyramid schemes). I can’t tell you how much it costs, it’s hard to really get any straight facts about this since it’s still an exclusive invite only system, and they aren’t releasing any sort of public information on it. But however much it costs, there is no guarantee it will end up making you any money.

My opinion of Rippln – save your money and invest in something real.

However cool Rippln seems, I wouldn’t recommend joining in. It’s basically just a MLM scheme designed for app sharing, but you know how I feel about those types of programs. It probably won’t deliver on anything it promises, and you’ll end up with nothing but losing all the money you “invested”.

If you want to put your money into something that will be a good return on investment, try something that has a proven track record!

Read my review of Wealthy Affiliate here, the learning system that has brought me success! No secret inner circle here, just an amazing training community that will help you start a business online. It doesn’t take long and is completely free to sign up!

Wendy
Owner, SurvivingAfterCollege.com

If you’re looking for an online data entry job, whether you’re a college student, stay at home parent, or just needing a way to work at home – you may be in for a sorry surprise. Most of this type of work you’ll see online is either deceptive advertising or a downright scam. While there are a few legitimate companies that hire for this type of work, the need is not desperate and you’re probably not going to find it within the paid advertising space of Google, Yahoo or Bing.

Virtual data entry jobs are extremely popular for those wanting to work from home. If you do a simple search for data entry work from home, you’ll see the results will be plastered with ads practically screaming for applicants. You’d think these companies were desperate, but you have to as yourself, why? The reality is, most work home data entry jobs are scams.

Many of these scams are disguised to lure you in with the promise of data entry work, yet are trying to get you involved in something completely different. Many are really affiliate marketing training programs in disguise, which isn’t a scam in and of itself, (it’s what I do for a living) but unfortunately the internet marketing business is packed full of tricks like these You really have to watch out.

If you’re wondering whether or not that hot looking data entry job is legit or just a false promise, ask yourself a few questions

Is the job promising a high rate of pay? 
Data entry and transcription jobs are not high paying fields. If they’re telling you you’ll make a questionably high salary, I would guess it’s not real. Most online data entry jobs pay per piece which is pretty low, and often times averages to less than minimum wage.

Is it asking you to pay a fee to get started?
Think about it, when was the last time you had to pay to apply for a job? Usually this isn’t the case, and if they ask for money before you even know you’re in the door, don’t fall for it.

Is it trying to promise you a job with no skills whatsoever?
You don’t need a PhD to do this type of work, but you do have to have decent skills for typing and data entry. Companies will normally make you take a test along with your application.

Do they seem desperate?
Legitimate companies offering this type of work keep relatively few employees on hand and have long waiting lists of people wanting in. They have no reason to be crying out for help!

However there are a few legitimate companies that hire data entry employees to work from home

Companies such as VirtualBee, Capital Typing and Accutran Global hire home workers for various tasks such as transcription and data entry. The common theme among all these types of jobs remain the same, though. They don’t hire that many employees, and the waiting lists to get hired are long. Your chances of ever getting in really aren’t very good, and even if you do, they don’t pay well at all. It’s usually paid on a per piece basis, which is quite low. A lot of these companies are outsourcing such work for overseas too, so many times they don’t even pay minimum wage.

If you’re really set out on wanting a job in the data entry or transcription field, you’d have a better chance trying for a physical (in office) job. However if it’s the online job aspect you’re after, there are better alternative which pay more.

Alternatives for virtual data entry work?

You could try looking into freelance work on websites like Fivver and Elance. People lists all sorts of jobs they want outsourced, from data entry to article writing. These are usually legit job listings, but you may struggle to find work in the beginning if you’re just starting out. It takes a bit of time to get established as a freelancer and have people recognize your quality work.

An even better alternative I would recommend if you want to get started out earning money online would be to develop your own online business. It may seem like an overwhelming task, but really all you need to start out is your own website, and with the right training and resources you can take small steps to build up to great success over time. It takes a lot of dedication, determination and positive thinking, so you have to go into it with the right attitude.

Remember, any advertisement that promises overnight success is lying to you. If you want a job that will make you rich, data entry will never be the answer.

Have you ever been mislead or scammed by a “data entry” opportunity? I’d love to hear your story!

Wendy
Owner, SurvivingAfterCollege.com

Interested in making real money online?
Find out how to build a REAL business. 100% free to start.

Did you know that those with social anxiety are more likely to be unemployed or underemployed than those with depression? A clinical psychologist at Brown University by the name of Ethan Moitra did a study comparing unemployment rates between those with depression, generalized anxiety, social anxiety, and other similar types of disorders. He found that those with social anxiety were more than twice as likely to be unemployed than the others.

While it is possible for some people to overcome social anxiety, it’s easier when treatment is done early. For those who have suffered for a long time, treatment may not help significantly. Even so, not everyone will always be willing to reach out for help. I truly believe that internet marketing is a fantastic career field for people who suffer from social anxiety disorder and cannot get adequate help. As an internet marketer, you have the freedom to create your own business with very little real world interaction.

You can work from home or wherever you feel the most comfortable. Unlike a real world business, you don’t have the in person customer interaction. The ability to talk to your customers over the internet takes away most of the social stress. And if you go into affiliate sales, your actual sales and customer complaints are taken care of by the merchant, not you. It’s actually a perfect scenario for people who hate or intensely fear interacting with the real world.

My struggle with social anxiety and how it affected my career

Something I don’t like to talk about is my social anxiety. It’s something I have been quietly suffering from my entire life. Most people who know me or meet me just think I’m shy or very quiet, but the truth is, it goes so far beyond that. Unless you suffer from it yourself you really have no idea what I and many others with social anxiety disorder have to deal with on a daily basis.

Let’s Talk about Shy vs. Social Anxiety

Being shy and having social anxiety are similar, but are on entirely different levels. While there’s quite varying degrees of social anxiety, even the mildest is above the point of simply being a bit shy.

Being shy is having a few butterflies in the tummy before meeting someone new, being a bit scared to make friends or speak up, or not liking being the center of attention. However, if those feelings are so intense they causes physical symptoms and get in the way of your life, it’s a sign you might have social anxiety. SA can make you fret over little things involving any form of social interaction for literally days, weeks, or sometimes even months before. Some people suffer so severely they have a hard time going out or interacting at all with others.

While my personal situation isn’t that serious, being involved or just thinking about certain social interactions can make me hot, sweaty and sick to my stomach. And still have to fight battles in my head every single day of my life.

I basically coasted my way through high school, college and all my past jobs with as little social interaction as possible, greatly hindering my ability to make connections and form relationships with my professors and supervisors. (These days I’m sure you know how important connections are when getting hired).

My situation was so bad I realized it had been nearly three years since I graduated college and I had nothing of importance to show for it…

I had hit a wall. I was letting my struggle with social anxiety take over my life, and I realized I had to do something. The whole career world out there was really hard for me to deal with, and I couldn’t keep working a crappy job forever. The bad economy made my already terrible situation just 10 times worse. Now not only was I struggling to try and be a normal person in the employment world, the job market was officially crap and even regular people who were friendly, outgoing and knew tons of people were having trouble finding a job. How was I going to ever compete with that?

That’s when I decided to try out online business

I thought about it for a long time and considered all sorts of possibilities, but then I had it. Everything is going online these days, I figured the internet was an excellent place to start making money, and best of all I could do it on my own. I spent countless hours researching and training myself how it all worked, I was absolutely determined to make it happen. I found an online training program and support community for internet marketers like no other place out there, and it did wonders to help me succeed.

I wish I had started this years ago, because lord knows how much time I wasted and how much farther along I could be now.

I would love more than anything to be able to effortlessly interact with everyone around me, but unfortunately I’ve been struggling with it from 27 years and I know it will never be something that comes easy for me. For me, the online business world was the perfect solution.

Do you struggle from social anxiety? Have any questions or comments? I’d love to here from you, so drop a reply down below or get in touch with me personally if you want, you can send me an email at wendyjane@survivingaftercollege.com. I’m always willing to offer my help and support.

Wendy
Owner, SurvivingAfterCollege.com

The Google Adsense Program is the most popular PPC ad network within the online marketing industry. As long as you own your own domain name, it’s fairly easy to get approved. And once you are approved, you don’t have to bother reapplying if you want to use it on additional sites.Many, many people are making money from Google Adsense, but if they’re using it as their only source of income they could be missing out on some serious money.

#1. It’s not the best way to monetize every type of website.

If your audience is looking to buy something, using Adsense is not the wisest idea. Why? Well, if they see your ads and click, you may be getting a few cents here and there, but you’re losing out on the real money. If you were using affiliate ads, you’d be able to earn commission from those clicks if they go on to buy. You don’t get money for every click that way, but you’d be making dollars per sale, not cents

Think about it, if you need to have at least thousands of unique monthly visitors for Adsense to start making you any type of money, you could potentially turn a portion of that traffic into affiliate sales rather than losing them to a few cents per click. That way you’d be making several dollars for each sale instead. With that type of traffic you could earn A LOT more money!

#2. You can be banned at any time, for no apparent reason.

Google has a habit of banning seemingly innocent people from their program and not giving a clear explanation as to why. It seems there are may, many unsuspecting victims getting this message from Google:

The email seems pretty vague, right? No mention of what type of “invalid account activity” and no mention on what websites the activity was suspected on. The likelihood of getting your account back once this happens is pretty slim, once they decide you’re gone, you’re probably gone for good.

But the truth is, it doesn’t matter how long you’ve been using the program or how much money you’ve previously earned, Google has the right to terminate anyone who they feel are in violation of their code of conduct. Being banned for things like clicking on your own ads is fair game, but even if you don’t knowingly violate any of their terms of service, you could still be just a moment away from getting an email informing you of your sweet departure.

The worst part of it all is you aren’t even entitled to your last paycheck. They give it back to the advertisers!

#3. You don’t have exact control over the ads it places on your site.

Basically it does its best to place the ads as it sees fit based on your content, however, you don’t really know what those ads are going to be. If it’s something you dislike or wouldn’t recommend to a friend, do you really want it being advertised on your personal website? Yes, you do have the power to block certain ad types and URLs, but there are so many advertisers it’s probably impossible (or at least not worth your time) to block everything you wouldn’t want appearing.

#4. Their ads are just, for lack of a better word — UGLY!

I can’t be the only one that thinks their ads look like crap? They should revamp their ad style, it’s kind of embarrassing.

#5. You don’t want to make it your only source of income online.

Adsense can be a great way to earn extra money, but I’d recommend not using it as your sole source of online income. Not only could you be using better programs that would earn you more money, but you wouldn’t want your entire income source to come crashing to a halt if they did decide to exclude you from the program.

If you do get banned, there are alternatives to Google Adsense such as Chitika, Kontera and Infolinks. You could even sell ad space on your own websites. That way you could charge what you wanted and get to control what was advertised (and they can’t ban you!)

Better yet, try incorporating affiliate programs. Join networks like Commission Junction, Linkshare and Amazon and promote their products instead. You’ll get higher commissions!

In conclusion…

Google Adsense is a good option for some types of websites, but definitely not all. For informational or entertainment type websites that aren’t selling any sort of product, Adsense (and alternatives) could be a good way to attempt to monetize the traffic. However if your niche has a buyers market, I’d recommend affiliating with companies and marketing their products instead. That way, you’ll receive a decent chunk of commission when someone buys a product. Plus you have control over what you’re marketing!

Do you have any personal experience with Google Adsense, if so was it good or bad? I’d like to hear about it! And as always if you have any additional questions, comments or concerns please leave a comment down below!

-Wendy

So it’s referenced a lot that “quality content” is what Google is really looking for when it decides what gets good placement within the search rankings. But what exactly is quality content, and what does it really mean?

Original content that provides useful information to the reader!

It doesn’t necessarily mean writing longer content, or content with “big” words, or content that is perfect. You don’t have to be a professional writer to produce quality content. What does matter is you write from your view, in your own words and with your personal style. Give your opinion. It’s fine to reference other pieces of work and get ideas from elsewhere. Just make sure to put your two cents into the picture!

Remember you’re trying to help someone, or offer some sort of value to the reader, so ask yourself if it accomplishes that in your own unique way. If the answer is yes, you’ve probably produced something of substantial quality!

Don’t outright plagiarize content or think using an article spinner will somehow produce “unique” content. It won’t! While the words may be mixed around, it isn’t unique no matter how you look at it.

People tend to think quality means ‘perfect’ writing. And I agree to the extent that it shouldn’t have grammatical or spelling errors plastered throughout because that certainly takes away credibility from the author. But that doesn’t mean it has to be flawless. It’s OK if your content has a few errors at first. The great thing about writing for your own website is once it’s published you can go back and edit it! It isn’t like submitting something to a magazine or newspaper. Your content is always a work in progress! I find myself publishing articles all the time and going back when I catch an error or find something I want to add. It’s ever changing but at least I have it out there!

It’s also important to realize it doesn’t have to sound like it was written by a scholar. In most cases it’s probably a negative thing to use language that most people can’t understand anyway. You have to think of who your audience is. You want to connect with them and not lose them because they have no clue what you are trying to say.

Write content in an engaging way and use conversational speak.

The casual aspect of it will appeal to the vast majority of people and they’ll be able to connect with what you’re saying, and maybe have something to share on your post as well as share with their family and friends.

The truth is, good content leads to more engagement, and that leads to sharing. Sharing attracts social attention which brings in more traffic, readers and potential sales. This is the QUALITY way of getting back-links to your site. When people share, it creates natural links, which Google looks at in a positive light. These are things that matter today after the more recent Google updates, not 10,000’s of back links that create no value to anyone.

I was just reading an SEO company’s sales page the other day. I came across it from a spam link that got posted on my site. (Now of course I have my spam comments filtered, but occasionally I’ll take a peak out of curiosity). Well, this particular SEO company was boasting about how they’re the first search result of Google for such and such search terms, and they’re “experts” in the field. They were advertising their services for thousands and thousands of dollars. But then when I went to check Google, they weren’t anywhere to be seen for such terms, not even the company name brought up any results! Guess they didn’t really know what they were doing after all.

People need to stop chasing every black hat trick way to get to the top and start focusing on value. It’s the only way to assure you won’t be punished, and that’s what’s going to lead to a lasting online presence.  Google isn’t going to stop liking quality content, so when you make it your own, there’s no need to worry.

If you have to ask what article spinning is, that’s probably a good thing. However, those of us involved in the world of internet marketing are all too familiar with this practice. It’s a terrible idea in this day and age yet people are still trying to use it left and right. Article spinning software is still readily available on the market, and many so called reputable internet marketing training programs are still encouraging the practice!

What is article spinning?

To get around Google’s duplicate content policy, internet marketers started using any means necessary to get away with doing as little work as possible. Article spinning is simply taking an article, whether it’s yours or written by somebody else, and copying it into a software program that will provide you a “new” article. This can be done many times, so the same article can be spun into hundreds of variations.

There’s tons of different article spinning software on the market, ranging from free to rather expensive. The worst ones turn the article into useless garbage basically unreadable to humans, and the very best may resemble well written content. Either way, it should never be done.

But there are several problems that arise from article spinning no matter how “good” of a spinner you use!

• First and foremost,Google recognizes spun content, and you will be penalized for it.

• There are many, many “internet marketers” out there who use crappy article spinners to post the same article hundreds of times across the internet, some without even bothering to modify the article to make sense. This creates a very negative user experience.

• If you’re using spun content to submit hundreds of articles to directories for back-links, Google penalizes sites with too many low-quality back links. If you’re back-linking to the same crappy spun articles, those are seen as low-quality.

• The articles are often times very awkward to read and don’t make complete sense. It usually requires a lot of manual tweaking in order for the article to be somewhat coherent

• Even the most sophisticated article spinning software is still going to output the same article. It’s not going to offer any new or unique information.

• It can ruin your reputation as an internet marketer when people realize you’re spinning content

• Recently, more emphasis is being put on social media attention in regards to search engine placement. No one is going to comment, like and share content that is garbage!

Think about the experience you want to create for the user

Imagine you’re a normal person trying to Google information on something, let’s say, “how to get rid of ants”, yet the only source of information Google is providing you is a hundred different versions of the same spun article someone plastered all over the internet on “how to get rid of ants.” That isn’t providing the searcher with any new or alternative information they may be looking for. These 100 different spun articles on ‘how to get rid of ants” shouldn’t be the only source of information available on the topic, as there are always unique perspectives and solutions to any problem. Yet, a spun article isn’t able to offer a unique perspective, ever.

Google knows this, and has cracked down on it. They WANT to provide a positive experience to their searchers. Its algorithm is a lot more sophisticated than you might think, they can and do detect article spinning. They may not catch spun content tonight, tomorrow, or next week–but once you’re caught, you’ll be punished and de-ranked from search results, and most likely sand-boxed.

Your brain is the best article spinner, and it’s free!

If you’re going to take the time to spin articles, you’ll still have to tweak them manually in order for them to be acceptable (if you care about your user experience). Why not use all that time to just write a new article? There are so many related topics you could write about to provide new engaging information, or at the very least you could re-write the article from a new perspective. I guarantee the content will come out better than any article spinner. And best of all, you won’t get punished for it.

Okay, I just entered that last paragraph into an article spinner to give you an idea of how these things work. This is what it gives me:

If you’re going to take enough a chance to rotate material, you’ll still have to modify them personally to be able for them to be appropriate (if you proper worry about your customer experience). Why not use all that a chance to just create a new article? There are so many relevant subjects you could create about to offer new interesting details, or at the very least you could re-write the material from a new viewpoint. I assurance the material will come out better than any material generator. And best of all, you won’t get penalized for it.

The sad part is, I see content on the internet that looks like the above paragraph in question more often than I’d like to. The next time you read something online that sounds robotic or like it was written by someone who can’t speak proper English, it’s most likely the result of article spinning.

Is that really the type of content you want to encounter when you’re searching for information online? Probably not, and neither does Google!

First let me make it clear the type of “jobs” I’m about to discuss aren’t the kind where there’s a direct exchange for your time and money. You’re not going to “clock in” and “clock out” and receive a paycheck 2 weeks later. I’m talking about money making opportunities that are available to you to take advantage of online. The internet is a great place for business and there’s tons of money to be made. Yes, legitimate money! So I’ve put together a little list of online jobs for college students–ones which I think you’d actually enjoy doing, could fit in well with your crazy schedule, and could earn you extra cash in the process.

The thing that’s great about these types of jobs is, while yes, they require a lot of hard work, at least you are able to do it on your own time. You don’t have to “go’ to work, work happens where ever and whenever you want.

Create your own website/blog

Go buy up a .com and create a website or blog. The theme could be something you love or are really interested in, but keep the focus on a particular niche. You want this to be something for the public to be interested in, not just your friends. So create a website with a target audience in mind. People make blogs and sites about anything these days, I’ve even seen many blogs reviewing different kinds of beer and malt beverages! It really can be anything!

The point is, if you can get people to see your website, you could be able to take advantage of the traffic flow and monetize it, whether it’s relying on ad revenue or affiliate programs. It may seem like it’d be impossible to develop a large enough following to bring in some cash, but with the help of SEO, social networking, and your unique engaging content, it’s not as hard as you might think. Keep in mind, there’s people making full time income doing this sort of thing, so it’s nothing to snuff about.

Start up a Youtube channel

You know how people create Youtube videos of just about anything these days? Like from makeup and hair tutorials to reviewing video games? People do this because it’s fun, AND they earn money!

It also helps to have a unique, like-able, or interesting personality for this, along with decent quality camera or webcam. No one likes watching someone talking in monotone on a bad quality webcam. Make them interesting! As with the blogs, if enough people watch and like your content, you can put ads on and it’s another source for revenue! You could also tie in the affiliate marketing with this if you have a relevant website to link back to. (Creating a Youtube channel AND a blog would give you the potential to make way more money.)

Advertise your services on Fivverr.com or Elance.com

If you are skilled at anything, you may want to check out Fivverr.com or Elance.com. With Fiverr, basically you advertise your personal services starting at $5. These can be anything from writing a 400 word article, putting together a resume and cover letter, to designing a Facebook timeline cover. You can up-sell your offers to include incentives or additional services if you want to charge more per offer (Like, “I’ll have it done in a day for an additional 20 dollars.”) After people have hired you for their service, they can leave a recommendation for you, so others can see you are a trustworthy candidate.

If you spend any time on the site, you’ll notice people are offering to do some pretty bizarre services! But in all seriousness, despite the weird offers, there’s people looking for legitimate services on Fivverr all time time, so put yourself out there! Just make sure you upload a video for each service you want to advertise, so people know you are a real person and serious about it. The downside of Fiverr is they charge a 20% fee per gig.

Elance.com is quite similar to Fiverr in theory, although it’s a bit more professional and they charge less, just 8.75% commission per gig. It can be a bit harder to get decent work on the site though. On the upside you have the potential to earn a lot more for each job you perform.

Don’t bother with online surveys!

Oh, and one last piece of advice– don’t waste your time taking online surveys. I know there’s a lot of hype out there talking about the great cash to be made from survey taking, but it’s not really true. Websites like Swagbucks and Surveymonkey may be popular, but they’re mostly for fun more than anything. I attempted to try and make extra cash from survey taking during college. I spent hours of my time filling them out, and all I got in return was a 10 dollar target gift card mailed to me a month later. Now, I could have spent 1,000 hours of my time and perhaps upgraded to the 100 dollar gift card, but would that really have been worth it?

Purchasing your own website is my #1 recommendation because when you have your own site, you have more control and the ability to make money however you want. In addition, you can work when YOU choose, as little or as much as you want. If you’re interested in a great online training community that will help you get started profiting from your own site, you can read all about it here!

If you have any questions or comments please leave them down below.