Entries Tagged 'Louie's Best' ↓

I got an email yesterday from a reader asking me a little bit more about the unified niche relationships I talked about in a previous posting. I think I really should explain a bit more in-depth what exactly I mean by Unified Niche Relationship and the ramifications when it comes to making, marketing, and profiting from websites.

Many people have made money online using a funnel approach. They set up many feeder blogs. These feeder blogs all funnel into a main blog where the niche is ultimately monetized. This funnel approach tends to concentrate the traffic and the money making on a single site. This is a successful approach for many but one that I have never been able to master.

My unified niche relationship idea is like the funnel approach, but instead of funneling the traffic to one single site, every site funnels to several different sites, on the same level. For example, I have a TEFL blog and I get traffic on that site from people interested in the profession. A unified niche relationship would allow me to target that traffic towards a travel site for those interested in travel, to a jobs site for those interested in jobs, a business abroad site for those interested in self employment abroad, etc. Each site would do the same thing, pushing the traffic out to sites that will ultimately satisfy a particular need.

I haven’t been able to implement this idea yet, but I am hoping that in the next couple of weeks I will be able to implement it and see just how successful it is.

No other rank is talked about more than Page Rank. Everything from advertising rates to web site bragging rights are based on a site’s page rank. It’s not surprising that many people value a website solely based on its page rank.

Page Rank is that ubiquitous ranking that Google gives to every web page in their index. It’s not based on the popularity of a page or even the quality of a page. No, it’s based on the number and quality of links pointing to the page. More than that, the actual page rank of a page is never divulged. Instead a toolbar Page Rank is published for each page every 3 to 4 months. Instead of being a completely algorithmic way of ranking sites, Google tweaks the results to fit their own business needs, opinions and prejudices. As a pure ranking system, it is dubious at best.

Research has shown time and time again that toolbar Page Rank has nothing to do with rankings in the search engine results page and nothing to with search engine traffic. With or without a toolbar page rank, you will pass link quality onto other sites and help other sites rank well in the search engine results.

Don’t get me wrong, I think there is some value to Page Rank. You can get better offers when someone wishes to have a link from your page to their page. Advertisers that misconstrue Page Rank with popularity will also pay more for an ad based on your site’s Page Rank.

If you notice, one of the only values of page rank is that having page rank will give you more advertising opportunities. It’s simple really, advertisers consider a link to a site with a higher page rank to be more valuable.

But herein lies the big problem. If you sell a link that is more valuable because of your page rank, Google will take away your page rank. In other words, if you sell a link without a nofollow tag on your site, Google will strip away your page rank. Let’s put it in a little different terms. If you sell your page rank, ie the only way to access the value of having page rank, Google will take it away.

I had an epiphany about 8 months ago. I realized that Page Rank has no value unless it is being used and once you start using it, it will go away. I decided that I could make a choice. I could let Page Rank sit on the shelf giving me no value or I could use it now and access the value in it. I chose to access it now and I have never regretted it. The traffic on my sites have increased and I had immediate access to the Page Rank value I had built up.

I am thinking about going abroad again and I have come across many sites that are eye opening and give a lot of pertinent information. I found a Paraguay site that seems to give a lot of information. I don’t know how dated the information is, but the information is useful none the less. The site can be found here. Here is some of the information that can be found there:

Cost of Living
It’s fairly inexpensive to live here. As in most all latino countries services (medical, mechanic, house worker, etc) are inexpensive and imported goods are more expensive (than in the USA). In my last house I paid $200/mo rent for a huge 3 bedroom house with an enormous lawn and shaded barbecue area and two servant quarters. And I paid $80/mo for my houseworker who worked 54 hours a week.

And this:

Is it hard to get citizenship there? It’s relatively easy. Actually much easier than in 1st world countries. They just don’t accept poor people or escaping banditos. See the requirement list on our Living-In-Asuncion-Details page. Legally you can stay here indefinitely as a tourist as long as you leave the country every 3 months (or pay a small fine before leaving if you’ve stayed more than 3 months).

In other searching, I came across a site today about internet in Paraguay. The site is in Spanish, but it isn’t too hard to navigate. You can find the page here. The costs seem quite high, US$55 for a 64k microwave link and a little less than US$30 for unlimited dial up. Prepaid internet seemed cheaper, but still on the high side. International calls seemed pretty cheap through a VOIP prepaid card so it looks like they do have a somewhat competitive communications infrastructure.

I do like finding out more information and this site has done that. It sure makes me think that I should take a look at Paraguay and what Paraguay has to offer. The only drawback I can see so far is the general dearth of information about Paraguay. Look forward to more information, coming soon.

It seems like everyday there is another great job opportunity to work from home. It used to be that work at home opportunities were a borderline scam job. Stuffing envelopes? Give me a break. I could never believe that stuffing envelopes could be a genuine work at home job.

Now there many legitimate opportunities for work that allows you to make ends meet and not go into the office. Some of them pay even more than a regular job would pay you.

1) Virtual Assistant. These are jobs that involve doing online work that others might find too tedious or not as profitable. Pay for quality virtual assistants can be very competitive.

2) Internet Marketing. This is a huge area and one where you can utilize many skills.

3) Freelancing. Whatever skills you have, you can sell your services as a freelancer.

4) Ebay Selling. It’s possible to buy stuff at garage sales very cheaply and then sell them on ebay for a profit.

5) Consultant. If you know how to do something or you have indepth knowledge about a product, service or process, then you can make money as a consultant.

In beautiful Orange, Texas, just off Highway 90 near the Louisiana border, you can find one of the most interesting western art museums in the US. It truly is a gem of a museum that is like a hidden treasure. At the Stark Museum of Art, you’ll find Western art, American Indian art, and even rare books and manuscripts. Their collection truly capture the spirit of the region.

The Stark Museum of Art is run by the Stark Foundation. HJ Lutcher Stark was a prominent Texas businessman who worked tirelessly to promote education and cultural in the southeast corner of Texas. He was an avid art collector specializing in southwestern art that he and his wife would discover on their frequent trips to New Mexico throughout the 1940’s and 1950’s. In 1961 established the Nelda C. and H.J. Lutcher Stark Foundation which later became simply the Stark Foundation in order to promote cultural education in southeastern Texas.

The Stark Foundation has worked to improve educational and cultural opportunities in Orange, Texas. They’ve restored the Shangri La Botancial Gardens, the HW Stark House, and built the Frances Ann Lutcher Theater for the Performing Arts. The city of Orange has become a cultural lighthouse in southeast Texas.

Some of the impressive collections of the Stark Museum of Art are available right on its website. Anyone interested in Western or Native American art would do well to check out their online collections. It’s an enriching experience just clicking through the online collection of art. One thing is clear, the collection is truly one of a kind.

Of course, the best way to experience the Stark Museum collections is in person. It’s only a few hours away from Houston by car and it’s definitely worth the visit. The Stark Museum is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10am to 5pm. Admission is free so you have no excuse not to see this great cultural asset.