Sitemaps are time savers, similar to the contents of a book, and are useful for visitors that are in a hurry to quickly scan the contents of your website.
Search engines also look to sitemaps when keywords or keyword phrases are being searched for.
Anyone can learn how to create a sitemap with relative ease using a notepad, a program editor, and a bit of patience. You don’t need to be a guru.
- First create your listing on a notepad or any other word processing program.
Make a rough draft and type in all the parts of your website, including all web pages and links. It should look like the contents of a book when you’re finished with it.
- Next, create a sitemaps page.
You can either insert your sitemap an existing web page on your website, or you can create a new page for your sitemaps page.
Incorporate all the necessary tags to make another webpage. Using a website creator program such as Kompozer, tag your sitemap page. This should be relatively easy if your created your own website.
- Next, create a link for the sitemap.
Create a link for your sitemaps page, and place it on the front page of your website where both your visitors and the search engine robots can easily detect it.
Make sure you test each and every link that you created on the sitemap. Each and every page of your website should be accounted for and have active functioning links. Check your work and fix any errors, or dead links that you find.
- Use any ftp program to upload your work
Use Filezilla or some other FTP program to upload your sitemap. Double check it on your browser for functionality and correct any errors.
That’s it. Your generic sitemap is complete.
I’m sure that if you search Google, you can find an online program that will do the work for you automatically by simply typing in your website URL; but either way, the end result is the same.
If you have the time, and have already created your own website; you can produce a more personalized sitemaps page by doing it generically.
It’s just like creating any other web page on your website, plus you can organize the links on your site, and emphasize them any way you desire when you do it yourself.
This is important if you are selling your products or offering your services online.
Sitemaps are vital to websites, regardless of how you generate them. They lead your visitors to where they want to go without any distractions, and get your site seen on the web through the search engine spiders.
Here are some eBay selling secrets you need to know about, that successful power sellers implement to ensure that their auctions stay profitable.
There are secrets to selling successfully on eBay that many newcomers aren’t aware of, that can make their selling experience more profitable, and enjoyable.
Profitable auctions don’t just happen, you need to work at it.
Always be fair with with your transactions and the people you deal with and you’ll be one step ahead of the game.
- First of all, List The Lowest Starting Price Possible.
Decide on the lowest price you will accept for the item that you are listing, and use it as your starting price. A low starting price always attracts more bids faster. Usually the first day that your item is listed, you will start attracting bids, especially if you begin with a $.99 starting price.
Many established power sellers set a low starting price on vehicles and other high value items. Unless it’s a bad week, the low starting price will attract hundreds of bids, that will end up with an acceptable result to the seller.
Users are more likely to bid on an auction that already has people bidding on the item, and a low minimum starting bid will generate the bidders needed to increase interest in your item.
Just like a “store front” auction, a congregation of people generates curiosity and interest in what is being sold, so take advantage of the bidder’s curiosity when you can.
- Don’t Place A Reserve Price On Your Items.
A reserve price is the minimum price you will accept for an item, and unless it is met by your seller, you are not obliged to sell the item.
Although many sellers place a reserve price on their items; a reserve price will substantially reduce the number of people who will bid on your item. Many people will not bid on an item that has a reserve price placed on it, regardless of how low it may be.
Unless you are placing an item up for auction that is extremely valuable, or auctioning a business that is for sale; placing a reserve price on your item will only put off bidders.
EBay has already removed the reserve price option from parts of it’s site.
- Always Use Descriptive Images
A picture is worth a thousand words, so take clear descriptive pictures of your item to accurately show it’s condition.
Unless you use your own image hosting service, eBay currently allows you one free photo, and charges you for additional pictures.
Including as many pictures as necessary to adequately detail your item, is one of the eBay selling secrets that will get you the most profit from your auction.
Many people will not bid on an item without a picture description.
You might consider using the gallery option, so the item image will appear within the search listings.
Promote your other items while your viewers are looking at the current item, by including a link to the other items you have available for auction.
Cross promoting is allowed, in addition to the “View other sellers’ items” link. You can use Anadale, or other services to include descriptions and images of your other items.
You can establish your credibility as a seller with the “About Me” page.
Include details about yourself and your business. Tell your potential buyers how long you have been registered on eBay, what you specialize in, where you’re situated, and even include a picture of yourself if you’re up to it.
The main reason people hesitate buying from someone online, is because of lack of credibility.
You can check out other eBay “About Me” pages for some good ideas.
- Clearly State Your Return Policy
You can instill confidence in your buyers by establishing a clear return policy.
Spell out your policy on returned damaged items, the duration of your return policy, your shipping costs, etc.
You may incur re-listing and reshipping costs on returned items, but in general, very few buyers will return their purchases.
As soon as your item is paid for, leave positive feedback for the buyer.
It’s considered unprofessional for sellers to wait for feedback from their buyers, before leaving their feedback.
Don’t be afraid of getting a neutral or negative comment on your feedback record. Most users consider all your feedback before bidding, and will discount one or two negative comments.
If you get bad feedback for shipping an item late, accept it as your fault and apologize to your buyer. You may even consider giving a bonus or some other compensation to your buyer for the delay.
You should always email the buyer if there is an anticipated delay in shipping and apologize for it. Stay on good terms with your buyers.
- Be Attentive And Follow Up
Provide your bidders and prospective bidders with immediate attention. Don’t delay responding to emails or phone calls, and follow up with your transactions.
Let your buyers know when you ship your item and when it is expected to be delivered. Be prompt and attentive. Never give your bidder a reason to doubt your professionalism.
If you become a medium sized seller, open up an eBay Store. It’s cheaper and you get longer listing within your store.
You can also more easily cross promote your items, establish your “brand”, and get more coverage for your listings by appearing in the eBay Store directory.
- Be Fair With Shipping Charges
Don’t try to profit from excessive shipping costs. Not only is it against eBay’s policy, it will permanently scar you as a seller.
Always spell out your shipping and handling costs within the item listing, so the bidder knows exactly what to expect if they are the successful bidder.
These eBay selling secrets will help you earn the most profits from your listings
Discover How To Profit From eBay’s Recent Policy Change With The eBay CD Sellers Toolkit.
Affiliate marketers love testimonials for a variety of reasons, but mostly because they influence the purchasing behavior and decisions of consumers.
The main role of testimonials in affiliate marketing, is to promote an affiliate site.
There is no doubt that a carefully chosen testimonial can be extremely helpful in convincing a prospect to try out an affiliate product, a membership, or some service.
Testimonials can definitely influence behavior and a consumer’s buying decision when used properly.
Affiliate marketers love testimonials and regularly publish them from satisfied customers on their web pages for other visitors to view.
There are many fairly new affiliate marketing programs in the industry that are quietly operating under the radar. Because affiliate marketing is so competitive, their relative anonymity can often work against them.
In order to stand out from the crowd, these affiliate marketing programs invite famous personalities or gurus to speak for them, and through testimonials increase their credibility.
This can be quite expensive if the celebrity has a large following, regardless of the testimonial’s effectiveness. And many affiliate marketers just can’t afford to pay celebrities to use their name on their site.
In order to effectively compete, affiliate marketers have turned to using testimonials from customers and family members who have achieved some degree of success in the program that they are promoting.
A well written testimonial from a satisfied customer that is based on a first hand experience or event can be just as convincing as that from any celebrity.
This is why affiliate marketers love testimonials; they are cost effective and extremely effective.
