Why Search Engines Fail

Imagine asking a stranger for directions to a clothing store. Chances are, the stranger will tell you one of two replies. They'll direct you to the nearest clothing store they know of, or they'll send to to the last one they just passed. But you're looking for the latest Spongebob Squarepants kid's shirt. You didn't tell the stranger that, did you? Probably not. So, you got directions to the local Disney store, which of course, would not be selling any competitor's clothing.

How did this happen? Simple.

Like most of us, when we type something into a search engine, we just assume that the search engine knows what we mean. A computer can only do what we tell it to do, so that's why we may not get the desired results that we are seeking. Back when the 'Net was young (1990), you could get away with such simple phrases because there wasn't much content on the Internet as there is now. This is why when you're searching, be sure to be as specific as possible. The Search Engine's entire existance is to provide relevant and specific results to you, the user. Tell the engine more relevant phrases, and you will be rewarded accordingly.

Even when searching for a singular or plural version of something, you will get different results. Some words are even more complex. For example, if you enter "wheelchair", Google will tell you there are about 1.4 million results. Add a space, and now you have "wheel chair" and Google will tell you that there are about 4.6 million results! Now to even complicate matters more, if you enter "wheel chairs" there are only 760,000 results. Remove the space and for "wheelchairs" you now get about 1.2 million results.

How does this happen?

Remember, the search engines are programmed to try and deliver the best document for each given keyword/phrase. Through a complex algorithm, they mathmatically determine which page has the most relevant content. They do this for every possible keyword and phrase that they are aware of. This why you see such a disparity in the search results.

How can I rank for all of my similar keywords?

Glad you asked. One of the many factors used in determining keyword relevancy is proximity. By using the variations of the spelling in a logical manner - such as the example I presented above, describing the different ways it can be spelled - the search engines will use this to determine that since your page talks about these variations of wheelchairs, this page must be relevant. Of course there are many other factors involved, but for the sake of this discussion, that's all we need.

Why You Need Outbound Links

Just in case you've forgotten, an outbound link is a url that you have on your site that points to another website.

In today's Google PR obsessed Internet world, everyone is completely focusing on getting in bound links to your site. While you should always be on a mission to get more sites to link to yours, you must not forget their polar opposites.

Remember, by having outbound links from your site, you are in essence "voting" for the site you link to. This is part of the entire ranking algorithm process for all the search engines. The idea is, that if two sites are similar in content and design, a site with more links pointing to it would be considered more important by the search engine.

So then, why should you help out any other site? Actually, by carefully linking to other relevant sites, you are increasing the relevancy of your own site.

Pretend I have a pizza shop, and I am located in Anywhere, USA. It's a typical site that displays types of pizza, store location, hours, and coupons. I also know the power of outbound linking. For this case, I am going to link to 10 sites: Domino's, Pizza Hut, Little Ceaser’s & Papa Johns. Next, I link to 6 sites that are physically located in Anywhere, USA. (And their physical addresses are listed on their sites.)

Now, I will switch roles and view the site as a search engine spider. I navigate through the site, and determine that this site is about pizza. Then I find a resource page and discover some well-known links (Domino's, Pizza Hut, Little Ceaser’s & Papa Johns - and as the spider I know that these are major players in the realm of pizza). Next, I find 6 links to sites located in Anywhere, USA.

So, as a happy spider leaving the site, I now know that the site I just visited is about pizza (site content and links to the major players of the pizza industry), and that it is located in Anywhere, USA.

Next, I visit one of the 6 sites listed as a resource in Anywhere, USA. I find the local address, and it has the same zip code as the pizza site I was just at. Now I know how these two sites are related to each other.

Taking into account the fact that this local pizza shop has also linked to the major pizza chains, as the spider, I am lead to believe that this shop has relevancy to the zip code of Anywhere, USA.

So, as the spider returns the information to the database to be processed in the algorithm, it has pre-sorted some search results based on the links your site points to.

Another benefit of outbound linking is Geo Targeting, or Local search. There is a lot of speculation that local search is the next big trend in Search Marketing. While only time will tell, it won't hurt to have your physical address listed on your website for those who will be embracing local search.

As an experiment, I created a site with a very unique url (to avoid the possibility of people finding it by accident), and I made it only 1 page long. The only thing the page consisted of were 80+ outbound links to relevant sites in the SEO industry, tools, forums and some tutorials. When the PageRank was first updated for the site, it came out of the box with a PR of 3. It has since fallen to a PR of 2 (now that I’ve pointed a few sites to it!).

The whole point of this experiment was to see how outbound links affect your own rankings of your site. I was able to generate a PR of 2 based entirely on linking to authority sites in the SEO industry. So, take the time to link to some relevant sites, the big names (if any), and enjoy the power of the easy, outbound link.

Search Engine Breakdown

Ever notice that performing the same search on the major engines gives you different results? Yes, some of it is because of the algorithms and how the engines use different factors in their rankings, but pay attention to the results and a pattern has emerged.

For the sake of being fair, Ask has been included since they do serve up results in a slightly different manner. So here's how the engines shake out:


Google:

• Information Engine
• Loves Wikipedia and the results show it
• Relies heavily on trust factors (see Google Trustrank)

Yahoo:

• Social Engine
• Many results have ebay listings (a Yahoo partner), del.icio.us (Owned by Yahoo) and Flickr results (Owned by Yahoo)
• Tries to incorporate Yahoo Answers into many results

MSN:

• Product Engine
• Almost always has results for product based searches not found in the other engines
• Starting to use more Wikipedia results as their algorithm matures

Ask:

• Clustering Engine
• Their results try to give you all the surrounding information around your search term
• Trying to get into the mindshare of America

So, as you can see, each engine does provide a different slice of information depending on your search need. Keep this in mind when you are not only looking for something, but when selecting the keyphrase you want to be ranked for.

-To your online success!

What are YOU Worth

No, I am not talking about how much you make, or what you're assets are worth. I am not talking about how much you could get freelancing out in the big bad world either.

What I am talking about is how much do you bring to the table.

Thank about this scenario:

You want to start your own SEO/SEM conference event. So, you start to call all the speakers at past events. Almost everyone turns you down because they've never heard of you. You may get some people who feel bad and will sheepishly commit if other "big names" do the same.

Now, pretend you're Danny Sullivan. When he contacts people to speak at the conferences, the only pushback he might get is limiting people to how many sessions they can speak at.

See the difference?

Sometimes deals are made based on what you are known for (reputation capital). These opportunities do not happen by accident. When a deal is completed because of the "You" factor, think about the time you've spent responding to emails, posting to forums and blogs that have lead you to building up your name.

All those actions shaped your reputation capital.

I know in today's word it's easy to bash the silly questions and make fun of others who aren't as technically advanced - but keep in mind that just about everything that gets posted to the web leaves a trail, and when a major deal is taking place, big companies hire plebes to find any dirt they can about who you are - just to disqualify or discount you.

So remember, no one is an overnight success; it takes years of persistence and a belief in what you are doing and most importantly, consistency in delivering your point of view.

It's not always easy, but don't ever let your value decrease.
-To your online success!

Gut Genug SEO

For those unfamiliar with the German language, "Gut Genug" translates to "Good Enough".

Ever run into this situation? Maybe you've been fortunate enough that you are swamped with client work, and you have to do the bare minimum to get by. Instead of getting 50 links for the keyphrase that is most important, you only get 10.

Many times, when trying to get some work done, it is the client that impedes the progress. At that point, it's not your fault. But if you know that you could be doing more, are you really servicing the client?

The arguement could be made to say that if a client is only paying a certain amount, they should only get a certain amount of service. I can't argue that. But at some point the question needs to be asked: Are you providing value to your client? Or just taking their money?

So, enough about the rant. These situations do occur, and as I thought about it, I came up with a list of what would be gut genug:

(All of these are on a per month basis)

• 10 keyword-rich text links for each keyphrase
• 5 directory links for each keyphrase
• A review of the copy on the targeted pages
• A review of the page titles and meta tags
• Inform client on any changes in the search space
• Provide insight for client's search marketing strategy
• Be a protector of the client brand

I know this is not a complete list, but it's certainly "good enough" for most clients...
-To your online success!

Manage and Monitor Your Online Reputation

ust this past week, another strong brand was caught in the midst of an online controversy. The brand victim, Starbucks. Employees at a Miami Starbucks posted inappropriate photos of Starbucks customers online using the social media tool Flickr. Now, Starbucks is well known in the social media space, they have several followers on Twitter, so how did this happen?

A few months back the same thing happened to another company. I won’t go into details, because if you didn’t see the video, I don’t want to make you lose your lunch – let’s just say there were two employees of Domino's Pizza doing very unhygienic things to the pizza they were preparing. It made national news and the video on YouTube received over 1 millions views. The video threatened the reputation of a brand that had been developed by a company for 50 years.

Don't be mistaken,just because you are a business and you are not using social media, don't think that your brand can't be hurt by it if you are not paying attention. The reality is, whether or not you are participating in social media - you are playing. Your brand in some way or another is being represented,either by you as a company, by your customers or by your employees.

Monitoring major social media platforms and solving issues that reflect poorly on your brand is one of the most important parts of any company's social media effort. As a business, the most important thing to remember is that even if you are not using social media, you need to be aware of what’s going on in the social media realm when it comes to your brand. It doesn’t pay to turn a blind eye and, by doing so, it can, ultimately, be a detriment to your success.

We've all heard of brand monitoring and many of us, especially small to medium sized businesses, in the past haven't seen the need. We'd just treat customers well and give them what they need and they'd tell their friends and family. Now that we have the internet and social media, it’s even more important to monitor our reputations, especially as business owners. I always remind the clients with whom I consult that it’s not just seven people one person will tell about your services, now it’s in the millions. This is especially true with the social media tools that are available and widely used, such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

I don’t care if you don’t want to use social mediums to market your service or products, it’s more vital than ever to at least have an awareness of what’s being said within the social media realm about you, your brand, your products and your services. Sticking your head in the sand will only hurt you not help you.

How Can You Monitor and Protect the Reputation of Your Brand?

• Step 1: Understand how the social media platforms work. Learn how to use Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and MySpace. Become familiar with their platforms. Take a few moments and read the terms of services and watch and learn how people are using these social media outlets.
• Step 2. Don’t assume that social media doesn’t affect you. When it comes to social mediums, there are not just thousands of users, there are millions. These users consist of your customers who are bloggers, influencers, columnists and public figures. These people are talking about companies. Are they talking about yours? You need to know this and you need to know whether the chatter is negative or positive.
• Step 3: Actively Protect Your Brand. There are many steps that you can use to do this. Register your brand names with the various social media platforms, (add comma here) this way you avoid the chance of them being hijacked by someone else.
• Step 4: Create a social media policy for your company. This means creating a plan that informs and educates employees on the company policy and guidelines of using social media. This policy should inform them as to what they should and should not discuss when it comes to the company. And other appropriate practices and procedures to follow, especially in the event of a crisis.
• Step 5: Always be aware. There is no excuse not to know what is being said. It’s important to always have your finger on the pulse of what is being said, whether it be positive or negative. You always want to know when someone is talking about your and your brand – ignorance is no excuse. Monitor the social media platforms.
• Step 6: Embrace the negative when necessary. Social media is a conversation and a dialogue, so be willing to embrace the negative and dialogue in public regarding the situation. This gives you credibility with other consumers.

There is still no action after audit slams SABC

Auditor-general Terence Nombembe has proved an exemplary example of independence, displaying fair-mindedness in his auditing decisions. No more so than when he found hundreds of millions of rands worth of alleged financial mismanagement and corruption in his special investigation into the SABC.

What a contrast he is to members of the parliamentary communications committee, who insisted this week on closing a hearing with the SABC - supposedly the public broadcaster - over which it has insight. While members of the parliamentary press gallery were squatting on the floor outside of the meeting room - waiting for a court order to end the closed meeting - I couldn't help thinking what a mockery it was to call it a "communications" committee.

What an irony that Parliament used the police to protect the MPs - from journalists! Whereas, they should have been deployed to protect transparency and the public pursuit of truth by MPs.

It is just short of a year since the damning auditor-general's report. Only in February was the Special Investigating Unit - headed by state crime buster Willie Hofmeyr - roped in to probe these allegations. One of the more extraordinary auditor-general's findings was that senior managers had notched up millions of rands of misuse of SABC petrol supplies, some surely requiring vehicles to be lined up all day to be filled up. It makes hiding behind closed doors by MPs deeply suspicious.

It has been a rough year for the SABC, with an interim board appointing - at the eleventh hour - Solly Mokoetle, as the chief executive, just before its handover to a new board headed by chairman Ben Ngubane.

Now it appears that all board members, with the exception of Ngubane, have turned against Mokoetle. He has been given notice of his suspension, in spite of protestations all along by Ngubane that "the factual situation is that all the non-executive board members accepted the new group chief executive", as he was reported saying to Sapa in January.

Then there is the saga of the appointment of Phil Molefe, a former parliamentary press gallery member, as the head of SABC news.

Before she left office as interim board chairwoman, billionaire businesswoman Irene Charnley said at the handover meeting that the interim board's core focuses were to stabilise the corporation after a severe financial crisis, leaving the broadcaster with a deficit last year of R900 million. She noted that the government had stepped in with a R200m additional injection and a guarantee of a further R1.4 billion. It was her board, however, which thrust Mokoetle into office.

The auditor-general's report last year was damning. He found 20 employees were directors or members of 20 companies or close corporations which received payments from the broadcaster to the tune of R3.4m. Few if any heads have rolled since. Four senior managers were suspended but their heads never rolled. What a pickle.

Upward mobility is no distraction for Woolworths

Good news, just in time for Women's Month, is Woolworths' decision to shed (no pun intended) several layers of its historically conservative approach to underwear. It will be displaying a new range of provocative lingerie soon.

Whether Distraction - as the new range is aptly named - will contribute towards lifting the share price to new levels has not yet been determined. But the lingerie goes a long way to satisfy female customer demands, especially plus-sized women who have asked for "sexier, glamorous" offerings, according to Ian Moir, the managing director of retail at Woolworths.

While its retail sales have climbed, Woolworths has lost market share in the lingerie section, Moir revealed at the group's results presentation yesterday.

Some 16 stores will be kitted out with a new lingerie set-up. A Distraction ad campaign will appear on television and in print publications.

Woolworths is on a mission to fine tune its customer-centric strategy and place emphasis on customer segmentation, a loyalty programme, getting store formats right and cultivating a sustainable online strategy - all in the interests of convenience for the consumer.

Customers can look forward to a tiered loyalty programme which will be designed to, among several things, build more profitable long-term relationships with customers, and provide a platform to use customer insights to drive sales. Smart.

It is maybe not all that innovative but still an effort from the company whose displays 10 years ago resembled a downtown men's outfitters, judging from photographs outgoing chief executive officer Simon Susman hauled out as evidence that Woolworths had indeed evolved.

Woolworths makes a convincing case for this continuing facelift, producing data showing more South Africans are drifting from the lower to the higher end of the Living Standards Measure and it wants to be well-positioned for that shift.

It will aim to have "the mind of a supermarket and the soul of a deli", according to the charismatic Moir. We'll see.



China

China has reached an important turning point in its development this year. Citi, the research arm of Citibank, says the country's ratio of dependants to total population is likely to reach a trough of just over 39 percent this year. Dependants include children aged up to 15 years and people of 65 and over. Citi predicts the ratio will be rising steadily for the foreseeable future as the population ages.

This has all sorts of implications. China has a limited social security system and its one-child policy has placed an enormous burden on the single child to care for ageing parents. As the population ages, the burden will rise.

However the good news for the workers is that they are likely to earn more.

China has had virtually unlimited resources of labour over the past few decades. As a result labour's share of gross domestic product fell from about 50 percent of gross domestic product in 2002 to 42 percent in 2005, possibly the lowest of any major country in the world, says Citi.
Now the success of the one-child policy is moderating labour force growth. At the same time rural development will reduce the flow of workers from rural to urban areas. The New York Times reported recently that big manufacturers were "moving to raise salaries because they are desperate to attract new workers at a time when many coastal factory cities are struggling with labour shortages".

And it is not just market forces that are at work. The newspaper said: "Beijing is supporting wage increases as a way to stimulate domestic consumption and make the country less dependent on low-priced exports."

Moreover, Citi says the emergence of more independent labour unions will improve the bargaining power of labour.

The news will cheer the hearts of workers all over the world. Goods imported from China have been competing successfully in most countries, including South Africa. The playing fields are levelling out.


Nafcoc

The National African Federated Chamber of Commerce's (Nafcoc's) plans to acquire 15 percent of one of the local banks before the end of this year looked set to be a modern miracle: controversy-free and peaceful.

This was in view of the fact that the new leadership at the 600 000-strong business chamber had promised stability in the organisation going forward.

But that expectation is now suddenly tinged with anxiety as we were recently informed Nafcoc's members were concerned they might not get their cash payouts promised when Nafcoc disposed of R1.5 billion worth of shares in Tsogo Sun.

Nafcoc had promised qualifying members would receive cash payouts for the value of their shares.

But it turns out some members think Nafcoc is not going to pay them this money. It would invest it all into purchasing a 15 percent stake in The Employment Bureau of Africa (Teba) Bank.

Some members claim that the deal has already been concluded and they were not made aware of this.

They feel they will be indebted to Teba Bank as the loan still had to be paid back. They want their money and nothing else.

But earlier this month, the chamber confirmed it had been in talks with the aim of obtaining a stake in Teba Bank. It, however, said this was not the only bank it was talking to. And nothing had been finalised.

The president of Nafcoc, Lawrence Mavundla, has been at pains in the past few weeks, trying to explain that this deal had not been struck.

Who exactly is stoking the fires at this organisation? Is it the bitter individuals who think they were pushed out of the organisation? If this is the case, then we have not seen the end of controversy and conflict at this trail-blazing business organisation.

Understanding Health Care and Free Insurance Quotes

The following lines will demystify all about Health Care and how to get the insurance by getting a Free Quotation for the best plan that fits you without that feeling of taking a big load on your shoulders and easy to suit on a month's budget for every family in USA. Health Care has become a precious asset in the contemporary life due to all of our harmful habits mostly forced by the inescapable unhealthy way-of-life. Therefore, health is a mandatory concept to overcome the obstacles nowadays and that's what we most have to care for.

To understand how to get the best rates available to assure an extraordinary Health Care and get it unleashed despite whichever bad experience you have had on this sort of painful research you will be led to an easy and trustful online process which will doubtless clear your mind up to get your ready to make your best choice ever when it comes to look after yourself and your family.

Browsing around on the internet you may find many sites where you can get a Free Insurance Quotation whose provider should deliver a proper Health Care service but unfortunately in most cases you are requested to turn your personal information inside out. However, in the genuine cases, before disclosing personal details, you simply enter your name, some information about past medical diagnoses and email to find out more about the process before being committed to anything. This makes the process safe and easy, and gives us no reason to take a little look deeper at how we can benefit.

Take advantage from this clever and easy engine that will help you get rid of the villain of most middle class US families. Health Care is no longer something that will haunt your dreams from now on. Get the quotation with the best rates available to assure an extraordinary long and joyful life for you and your beloveds.

Hopefully, you will be more encouraged now to take advantage of this greats offers, and see how you, your family, working friends and personal friends can benefit from it once you will be saving money and enjoying a new Health care service that will attend all your expectations and don't ever forget - Health is what we most have to care for.

Visit us at http://www.free-health-insurancequotes.com to see more about how to get an online Free Quote Request and gain a little more understanding about how you can benefit with all that is being offered for you.

Home insurance quotes: For the unpredictable future

With the passage of time there has always been a tendency in the man that he has learned from his experience. This has made the man the most successful species on earth. It is hence always in the best interest of the person to learn from his experiences and be well prepared for the unforeseen future well in advance. The home of the person is the place where the person actually seeks to obtain the desired level of rest after working for hours. It is hence very important for the person to timely understand the role of the insurance policy.

The home of the person is the place where the person seeks to get the desired rest after working for hours at the work place. at the same time it is the home of the person that enables the person to keep his certain belongings. It is hence always in the best interest of the person to get the home insurance policy. The home insurance quotes vary from one region to another. It is hence always in the best interest to timely go for the most desirable home insurance policy quote.

It is the home insurance policy that enables the person to get the sigh of relief. The home insurance policy quotes are subject to various factors. it is hence always in the best interest of the person to compare the various different quotes that are being offered by various different firms. This would enable the person to easily choose the best suited home insurance quote. The home insurance policies have been able to gain a lot of importance from the consumers in every part of the world. It is the home insurance policy that has always been able to gain a lot of importance in the recent times.

With the passage of time there has been countless number of people in every part of the world who have been able to gain a lot of advantage by relying on to the home insurance policy. it is the home insurance policy that has always provided the consumer with what he has been looking for. The future can never be predicted it is hence always in the best interest of the person to timely going for the desirable home insurance quote. It is the home insurance quote that can always lead to great sense of psychological relief for the man.

Home insurance quotes: Choose carefully

Today there are countless number of people in every part of the world who rely heavily on to their work in order to earn the decent level of living. It is always in the best interest of the person to be well prepared for the unforeseen future in order to ensure that he is able to contribute his very best at the work place. The home is the place where the person seeks to get the desired relaxation and relief after working for hours. It is hence always in the best interest of the person to go for the desirable insurance policy for the home.

Accidents can never be predicted. It is hence always in the best interest of the person to be well prepared for the unforeseen future well in advance. This would enable the person to not only get the most desirable deal but at the same time it will prove to be the biggest sigh of relief in the future. The home insurance quotes have been able to play a very important role in determining the overall success of the person. It is hence always in the best interest of the person to be aware of all the desirable quotes.

Today there are countless number of firms in different parts of the world that offer the person with the most desirable quote. it is hence always for the beneficial of the person to get the most desirable home insurance policy. The home insurance policy provides the person with the essential funds at the right point of time and moreover it leads to the overall help for the person. Accidents like a minor short circuit or anything can lead a great shock for the person. Hence being well prepared in advance will always prove to be beneficial for the person.

There are countless number of firms that provide the person with the most desirable quotes. It is hence always in the best interest of the person to be well prepared in advance that is to be aware of all the does and don'ts before going for a particular home insurance quotes. It is the home insurance quote that enables the person to get the most desirable deal. Today there have been many instances where the people have recovered the desired sum of money by relying on to the home insurance policy that paid off in the time of need.

The Most Important Decision You Need to Make When Buying Homeowners Insurance

Nothing is more important when you buy homeowners insurance than correctly calculating how much of your home you want to insure. The figure has nothing to do with the market value of your home; it's based on how much it would cost you to rebuild your home if it were totally destroyed today. So you could sell your home for $175,000, but it would only cost $130,000 to rebuild it, then that's the most you'd need to insure it for. (Remember, you're just insuring your home, not your land.)

I recommend insuring your home for 100 percent of the replacement cost. This is the most expensive type of insurance, but I feel it's worth it. A good alternative is to insure for 80 percent of the replacement cost. You'll still receive the full amount it costs to replace any part of your home that is damaged. And since it's much more likely that part of your home would be damaged as opposed to your entire home being damaged, this is a fine alternative.

What you want to avoid, however, is insuring for anything less than 80 percent of the replacement cost. If you do, you'll only be paid for the "actual cash value" of your loss. That means depreciation is taken into account. So if your 10-year old carpeting is destroyed in a fire, your insurance company will pay you about what you could get if you sold it in a garage sale (in other words, a pittance.). And you'll have to buy brand new carpeting at probably three times what it cost you to buy the original carpeting. If, on the other hand, you had insured the home for at least 80 percent of the replacement cost, you'll receive not what you paid for the original carpeting, but what it would cost to replace the carpeting today.

Also, be sure to get replacement coverage on the contents of your of your home as well. This will guarantee that if the eight-year old sofa you bought for $300 is damaged, you'll receive enough money to buy a brand new sofa of the same type

The Top Ten Insurance Myths You Need to Know!

Myth #1: Hey, You're Paying the Premiums... Insurance Should be Bought and Used for Every Accident and Disaster.

Insurance is designed to protect one from catastrophic disasters. An insurance rule of thumb: If you can pay for the loss or damage without a financial hardship then pay it, otherwise expect your insurance premium to eventually show an increase. Also, buying every type of insurance just isn't necessary. Sometimes the risk is worth taking rather than paying a premium. Learn more at Don't Buy Insurance You Don't Need

Myth #2: If I am Alive, I Must Need Life Insurance!

Life insurance is designed to take care of one's dependants after the caregiver's death. If you have no dependants, then you probably don't need life insurance. This includes children and retired persons... usually they don't have people that depend on their income so life insurance for these groups can, in rare instances, be beneficial but is usually unnecessary.

Myth #3: I'm the Breadwinner in the Home, So Only I Need Life Insurance.

Have you seen the cost of childcare lately? Add that along with housekeeping, food preparation, home accountant, and school transportation. From that list alone one can see how much a spouse really contributes to the household budget. It is estimated a non-working spouse contributes at least, but usually more, the equivalent of a full time job. For this reason it is important to buy life insurance for everyone in the household if the absence of their income would cause a financial hardship.

Myth #4: Whole and Universal Life are the Best Life Insurance Choices Since I Can Get My Money Back.

Term life insurance is probably the best choice for most. Term life is set for a specific term, like 10-30 years, with a much lower premium than whole and universal life. Your best bet? Buy term life and invest the premium difference in a retirement account. Lean more about Term, Universal, and Whole Life at Life Insurance Policy Basics.

Myth #5: Flood Insurance is Only for People Who Live in a High Risk Area.

Everyone who lives in a National Flood Insurance Program area is eligible and can buy flood insurance. These areas are not always prone to floods so even if you think your area is low risk you may be eligible. Check with your insurance agent to learn more or find additional information at Why didn't my policy pay for damage caused by a flood?

Myth #6: My Son Uses the Car for Delivering the Newspaper and His Pizza Delivery Job. He's Not Self-Employed So Our Auto Insurance Will Cover Any Accidents.

If your vehicle is used for anything but personal use, then you will probably need to extend your personal auto policy to cover business use of your vehicle. Don't think just because you were unaware of your coverages this will get your accident paid for--your insurance policy is a contract that you agreed to adhere to. If you don't understand all the coverages in your contract you need to contact your agent about the questions you have.

Myth#7: I Don't Need Disability Insurance... If I Become Disabled Social Security Will Take Care of Me.

Don't count on Social Security to take care of all your needs if you become disabled. If you are able to get Social Security for your disability (not all get approved to receive disability benefits so don't assume you will) then you will still have to wait months before you receive benefits and your disability needs to be long-term to qualify. And even if you qualify for benefits, will it match your current salary? Probably not. Find out more why disability insurance is important at Considering Disability Income Insurance.

Myth #8: If I Need to Stay in a Nursing Home When I am Older, The Government Will Pick Up the Bill.

Again, don't count on Medicare or Medicare Supplemental Insurance to pick up the bill. If you can qualify, Medicaid may pay up to half of the cost. Choosing long term care insurance can help you pay for the costs of a nursing facility or home care if the need arises. Also, do you really want your family to have to pick up the bill if you acquire a long term illness or disability? Long Term Care Insurance is a great option and if started early in life the premiums can be very reasonable. Find out more at Who Should Consider Long Term Care Insurance?

Myth #9: Umbrella Insurance Coverage is Just for Rich People.

Umbrella insurance is not just for the wealthy. With the common occurrence of lawsuits, umbrella insurance is a must for every home, auto, and watercraft owner. Umbrella insurance is designed to give one added liability protection above and beyond the limits on homeowners, auto, and watercraft personal insurance policies. With an umbrella policy, depending on the insurance company, one can add an additional 1-5 million in liability protection. Learn more about umbrella insurance at Why Every Policyholder Needs Umbrella Insurance

Myth #10: People Who Decide not to Purchase Health Insurance Don't Affect Others.

People who choose not to purchase health insurance eventually affect the lives of every American. There are many reasons why some Americans are uninsured. Regardless of the reasons, having so many uninsured individuals drives up the cost of goods when people get sick and cannot do their job. In addition, when many people in a company choose not to purchase health insurance, it sends a message to the employer that health insurance may not be an important benefit which in-turn could cost other workers a loss of their health insurance benefit. Also, when healthy people choose not to be a part of their company's health insurance pool, it raises the costs for everyone else because the risk is spread through less people. And, when people make such low wages that they cannot afford health insurance, the number of people eligible for Medicaid rises (which is paid by your tax dollars!). For these reasons, many have encouraged the government to switch to a Universal Health Care System where the government would help manage health care. Learn more at What is Universal Healthcare?

Life Insurance for the Stay-at-Home Spouse

For various reasons there has been a shift in the way families determine their income needs. After a few decades of mostly two income households, there has been a trend in America back to the one income household.

Today's One Income Households are Different

These one income households are different than the "Leave it to Beaver" days... we now sometimes see fathers staying at home and the stay-at-home parent has chose to add many more responsibilities than was typical in the past one income households. Stay-at-home parents are now managing bills, being taxi drivers, and sometimes even are the main educator of their children such as in home schooling families. All of these tasks are in addition to the traditional tasks such as meal preparation, laundry services and house keeper.

All Families With Children Should Have Life Insurance

Many families now know that life insurance is important for both parents in a one income household. It is not hard to see how much of a financial loss the stay-at-home parent would cause if they died. For example, add up how much it would cost for a family to provide daycare, housecleaning services, taxi services, meal preparation services and after school care... and this is just a few of the many tasks a stay-at-home parent performs.

Who Will Take Care of the Emotional Needs of the Child?

Unfortunately though, most families just minimally insure the stay-at-home spouse. The family feels the minimal insurance they have would be sufficient to take care of the above mentioned tasks, at least until the youngest child was out of school. But what about the child's emotional loss from their deceased stay-at-home parent? Can hired help really take care of those needs? What if the working parent realized they needed to be the stay-at-home parent for a while... would there be enough life insurance to cover the working parent's lost wages?

The First Few Years After a Loss is Critical

Sadly, most families don't carry enough life insurance to supply this need. Obviously loosing a parent is very tragic and can have complicated and lasting effects on a child. Usually the first few years are very tough. In most families the best situation would be for the surviving parent to be able to devote themselves full-time to their children for the first few tough years. This can be possible with the proper life insurance coverage.

I have read tragic stories of families in this exact situation... the stay at home parent dies and although the family had life insurance, financial they were fine as long as the surviving parent still worked. But the children were an emotional mess and tragic consequences followed such as bad social choices. The working surviving spouse wanted desperately to be with their children full-time to help them better through their loss but could not survive financially since they did not purchase enough life insurance.

Adding Extra Life Insurance to Cover the Surviving Spouse's Income is Achievable

Life insurance, especially term life insurance, is relatively inexpensive and if a family already has a policy on the stay-at-home parent, the family probably would not experience a financial hardship by adding to the existing life insurance amount to cover a few years of time off for the surviving parent to be with the surviving children.

All families with children should have life insurance on both parents, regardless of weather they work or not. In addition, those same families should seriously consider adding on to their life insurance policies to take into account the potential loss of income if the surviving spouse would need or choose to devote themselves full-time to their children during the fragile grieving process.

Finding Online Jobs

There are many avenues to home employment on the Internet. If you look for jobs at home or work at home jobs on a search engine, you will find many Jobs at Home Websites with Job Listings. Some offer Free Membership and some charge a Monthly, Annual or Lifetime Registration Fee. Many offer Free Trial Memberships or Trial Memberships. Some jobs at home websites you will see on the Internet are: 2Work-At-Home.com, Bassador.com, HomeJobStop.com, Homeworkers.org, LegitJobs.net, SohoJobs.com, SpeedySecretarial.com, TJobs.com, Work-At-Home-Land.com and WorldWideWorkAtHome.com.

Staffing Services, No Fee Work At Home

However, there are also many more companies online offering home employment directly with no cost to you. Some of them are Outsourcing Services hiring home employees from their own websites. You will also see help wanted advertisements from temporary and permanent employment agencies looking for workers. You might consider employment agencies, staffing services, freelance websites, recruiters, help wanted classifieds or jobs search agents. An online search for virtual staffing services should provide many helpful online virtual staffing services that are looking for employees to work for their clients.

Outsourcing Services No Fees

You will find many more work at home opportunities on the Internet with Outsourcing Services. They already have a large clientele and marketing system and are looking for more employees to help their clients. There are call centers, customer support providers and customer relationship management firms that pay people for customer support work done from home, telesales specialists looking for salespeople, virtual assistant agencies looking for virtual assistants, data processing services looking for data entry typists and many other outsourcing services are advertising for employees to work online. You will also see many online Outsourcing Services that advertise editing services and recruit editors to work for their online services, or writers, typists, accountants, etc. Many temporary agencies and freelance websites also advertise for workers who will work on outsourced projects for them.

Help Wanted Classifieds

For recent help wanted classified advertisements look at http://FreshJobs.com and http://ExpertNetSurf.com. Recent classified advertisements with titles like Now Hiring, Help Wanted and Job Openings are posted in newsgroups, job boards, forums and message boards too. JobBoardMagic.com, Job-Search-Engine.com and JobLine.net check many job boards in their job search. You could also post your resume at http://HelpWantedSite.com and apply for jobs you like with your resume from their website. CareerBuilder.com, a large job and career website, and Jobvertise.com also provide this service free.

Jobs At Home Newsletters

There are also many helpful jobs at home websites that will send you recent job advertisements in a newsletter or ezine. You can join their mailing list or subscribe to their newsletters free at their websites. ExpertNetSurf.com is recommended for recent jobs at home advertisements in their free newsletter. Bassador.com, HomeJobStop.com and Telework-Connection.com also provide free jobs at home information in their newsletters. Email Alerts are also available from many job and career websites including CareerBuilder.com, HelpWantedSite.com and IHireAccounting.com

Internet Newsgroups

Another resource for job search and help wanted advertisements is Internet Newsgroups. Jobs are posted in Newsgroups at http://Google.com in newsgroups like alt.jobs.offered, misc.jobs.offered, biz.jobs.offered, us.jobs.offered and misc.jobs.offered.entry. You can find many recent help wanted advertisements in newsgroups and messages about them. You can also search for jobs. Many more jobs at home opportunities are listed in Yahoo Groups and MSN Groups.

Jobs At Home Search Engines

You will also find many jobs at home search engines and jobs search engines that you can search for jobs. You can search for home employment with jobs search engines using keywords like at home, home, homebased, job at home, outsource, remote, telecommute, telemarket, telework, virtual, work at home, and work from home. JobLine.net will do a Job Search and/or Resume Distribution for a charge. These websites have jobs at home search engines:

How To Find SEO Consultants Who Get Results

If your web site is a major source or revenue, or could be, then you should have a formal search engine optimization program that monitors and improves rankings on a daily basis. Now you might be thinking that you don’t have the resources necessary to implement a productive SEO program, but the costs of not doing so are significant.

Starting an SEO program for your business is easier than you think. There are numerous SEO consultants and experts that can show you how to radically improve your rankings for much less than you might think. In fact, many search engine optimization consultants can save you significant dollars if managed properly.

Getting the most from your SEO consultant requires a number of considerations. I have found that the most productive engagements around optimization and SEO all have these same factors in common. By adhering to these principals, mutual expectations are set and each party has a clear understanding of what is being delivered by whom.

The first step is finding a credible source. There are many people out there who claim to be search engine optimization experts but have nothing to show for it. Find a legitimate company, ask for references, or find someone who has a proven track record and is an authority on the topic. A good bet is to find someone who has achieved number one rankings for their website or the web sites of their clients.

The second step is to mutually agree upon what’s being delivered. Most clients feel that by paying a search engine optimization consultant a sum of money that their site is going to instantly rank number one on Google, Yahoo!, and Bing. I can tell you first hand that‘s not the case. The purpose of an seo consultant is to help you construct an effective strategy for the long term optimization of your web site.

The third and final step is to assemble a team to work with the consultant and implement his findings. Seventy percent or so of the companies I’ve worked with were very interested in learning how to optimize their websites but couldn’t or weren’t willing to follow through on what it takes to succeed. Commit time and resources dedicated to implementing the consultant’s finding and you will see the true value of your investment.

Whether you’re launching new website or trying to improve the rankings of an existing site, it’s important that you find a reliable resource that can help you succeed. Define what success looks like for both you and the consultant you will be working with. By doing so, you’re creating a mutual understanding of the work that’s being done and clearly understand what it means to your business.

Improve Search Engine Rankings With Proper Keyword Research

The best way to achieve search engine dominance is by focusing on keyword research. As a search engine optimization consultant, I’ve worked with hundreds of companies that miss this very important step. Achieving top search engine rankings is largely based on the competitiveness of the keyword phrase you are trying to optimize for. If your competitor is in the top spot with a well entrenched web site, then your chances of out ranking him may be limited.

In addition to focusing on a keyword phrase that doesn’t have strong competition, you need to find terms that are frequently searched on. I recently finished a consulting assignment for a foundation trying to optimize their website. They had top rankings for a keyword term that seemed to be somewhat desirable. However, keyword research proved that the term received less than 100 searches per month. As a result, top rankings for this keyword phrase were nearly meaningless.

Once you have found a keyword phrase that isn’t too competitive and receives an adequate number of monthly searches, the next step is to thoroughly check out your competition. Google the keyword phrases you want to optimize for a run a back link check on the top three ranked web sites. This indicates the strength of those web sites relative to their search engine ranking. The more links, the more difficult it will be to rank higher than they do without some type of sustained link building campaign.

After doing your keyword research and confirming your choice of keywords and keyword phrases, it’s time to focus on improving your web pages around the keywords you’ve selected. Enhance your meta tags, titles, and web copy to include your keyword phrases. This helps to tell the search engines what your web site is about so it can rank your site appropriately. In addition to the on page factors, Google weighs off page factors to determine web site ranking.

Off page optimization requires a sustained effort that uses new content and additional links from third party websites. The most effective strategies are the most basic. Begin with a link building plan. Focus on article directories, web site directories, blogs, social bookmarking sites, and other resources where you can establish in bound links.

Your plan should include daily, weekly and monthly tasks that can attract links from authority websites consistently over time. Your goal should not be to generate thousands of inbound links quickly because Google will penalize your website. Rather, focus on steady link building.

If you want to improve your organic search engine ranking, begin with keyword research. By selecting the right keywords, you’ll be able to optimize your website more quickly than your competitors. After choosing the right keywords, focus on integrating your chosen keywords into your web site. Then you’re ready for link building and other off page optimization tactics that significantly improve rankings.

Top 5 Search Engine Ranking Factors: Pay Attention!!

as someone who makes a living improving search engine rankings, I can tell you that there is a lot of bad information out there about SEO. What if I were to tell you that the road map for achieving top rankings was within your grasp? The holy grail of rankings is not imaginary. As is true with any major success, it leaves clues.

By working with literally hundreds of small and medium sized websites, I have found that top ranked sites have a number of factors in common. What are they? I’m about to share these factors with you and explain what separates those in the top Google positions and those that are never found on page one of search results.

The first search engine ranking factor has to do with the anchor text of all inbound links to your website. Google and other search engines use the anchor text from other sites linking in to determine what your site is about and what it should rank well for. If websites link in only using a URL, and not your keywords in the anchor text, email them and ask them to update your link. The link should always appear with your most important keywords.

The second most important ranking factor is using keywords in your title tag and other meta tags. Meta tags still have an impact on your search rankings. Although the weight of meta tags may be minimal, they are effective in categorizing your page and identifying what search engines should expect to find when they spider web site pages. Make sure your tags are constructed properly and include you keywords.

The third ranking factor to consider for your web site is link popularity. This phrase has been talked about in search engine circles for a while but can be equated with Page Rank. The concept of Page rank or link popularity for that matter take a number of factors into consideration to identify the quality of web pages from an external perspective. The largest factor that influences search engine rankings is the number and quality of links that are pointing to a web site or web page.

The fourth ranking factor is the diversity of domains that link to your web site. For many search engines, it’s not only what links you have to your site but making sure they are from different domains. This represents more popularity associated with you web site and therefore is judged to be a better search result. When link building, try to focus on generating inbound links from different websites.

The final ranking factor is keyword use in root domain. Although it's possible to use subdomain or dedicated pages to get your keywords in a URL, nothing beats having them in your root domain.

All of these factors are important for top search rankings. Don’t overlook any of them if trying to improve your search rankings for particular keywords or keyword phrases. Also, be sure to continually read up on the subject or consider any one of a number of SEO training programs that can show you how to have more impact with your optimization efforts.

Answering Service for Small Business

If you are a small business owner, you sure must know what a client call means to your business. Almost every client call presents an opportunity to make money and take your business to another level. However, if your business requires you to spend long hours outdoors, your client calls are likely to go unanswered. More so, if you do not have a full time receptionist. Often, small businesses run on a strict budget, hence are low on staff. Employing a full time receptionist can cause a dent in the budget. However, not employing one can cause you to lose on business opportunities, thereby resulting in financial loss. An answering service for small business could be your answer to this problem. So, what are these small business answering services? How does an answering service for home business work? Let us find out answers to all these questions.

What is an Answering Service for Small Business

Answering service is different from answering machine for small business. Answering machines may not be the best option for small business. Some people find them perfectly annoying and refuse to speak to a machine. You may have experienced that potential clients often hung up, if they are greeted by a computer generated disembodied voice! The irritating 'on hold' music and the never ending automated instructions asking you to press several keys before you can reach a human voice, truly test one's patience. If your potential clients have to go through such an ordeal even before they make a deal, they are bound to have second thoughts regarding the quality of your business. Besides, an answering machine often projects an amateur and unprofessional image of your business. This could be detrimental for you and your business. Every business, irrespective of its size, has to look after its brand image. Hence, you cannot afford to lose your clients just because you are single handedly running a company and you cannot afford a staff to take care of your incoming calls. An answering service for small business helps you to create a professional image of your company and that too without the expenses of a full time receptionist.

Live answering services for small business are companies that specialize in answering calls on behalf of their clients. These companies have dedicated teams of receptionists who often work round the clock answering calls, taking messages and reporting to their respective clients. When you register for such a service, all the incoming calls are automatically directed to the answering service center, whenever you are unable to receive them. The receptionist at the service center speaks to your client on your company's behalf. Then, you receive an email regarding the details of the client call, which enables you to act accordingly. Some services even text you on your mobile number, so that you can immediately call the client, without turning on your computer.

Answering services or call centers provide a range of services such as fax, toll-free 800 business number, voicemail box, etc. The biggest advantage of this service is that you can now run your business 24x7, since your client calls will be answered even when you are away. This will help you to build a professional and customer friendly image amongst your clients. The virtual receptionist also performs additional tasks such as scheduling appointments, taking orders online and customer support. This type of services cannot be achieved with the help of any automated machine. Besides, these services come really cheap, meaning, you would only be spending a fraction of what you would on a full time receptionist.

Thus, you would make a wise decision by hiring an answering service for small business. These services have helped several small businesses to flourish into bigger organizations.

Walmart Online Job Application

Formerly known as Wal-Mart, Walmart Stores, Inc. is world's largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000 of the year 2010. Walmart is a large chain of discount departmental stores and membership required warehouse stores, in the US, which was founded by Sam Walton in the year 1962. Being such a large public corporation, Walmart employment opportunities are there in various fields like store management, pharmacy, marketing, optometry, retail store associate, web designing, logistics, web developer, etc. Job opportunities in these sectors are largely attracting the youths and unemployed people. Walmart jobs also provide you several Walmart employment benefits like incentives, store discounts, profit sharing, 401k plan, health insurance, education and many more. However, you need to know everything about Walmart online job application format, in order to gain all this and more.

Process of Walmart Online Job Application

As I said earlier, Walmart job opportunities are actually endless and you can definitely get the desired job at Walmart, after you finish their enrollment formalities in the correct manner. First of all, you need to have a clear idea that Walmart employment application is completely an online procedure and hence, you will not get their printable versions. You can get more information about the Walmart employment opportunities at the nearest Sam's store or directly on Walmart hiring website itself. Let me tell you that Walmart online application process differs by the respective job for which you are applying. Well, here are a few steps that you can do to apply online for Walmart.

Sign Up
You cannot fill Walmart online job application if you are nor a registered member with Walmart. Hence, to do that, you need to sign up with them on their website. Before the registration process begins, you need to accept the terms and conditions of of the company that clearly mentions the drug testing and background checking policies of Walmart. Acknowledgment of the fact that omission or misrepresentation of any information in the form is bound to bar you from appearing for the Walmart employment test. Once you agree to some of these basic yet important terms and conditions, you will also need to present your social security number while registration. Afterwards, you can easily get the access of the Walmart online application form.

Fill Out
Filling the online application form is quite simple, wherein you are asked to fill out the basic information like gender, education, nationality, qualification, special skills, email address, contact number, two reference personalities with their addresses and contact numbers, etc. However, you can withhold information like your ethnicity and gender, if you wish. Amongst the rest of the mandatory information is the type of Walmart service that you wish to join. For instance, Walmart transportation, Sam's club, Walmart retailing or distribution, etc. Make sure that you clearly mention your employment specifications, in order to avoid future misunderstandings. In short, you need to be really frank and truthful while filling out the Walmart employment form online.

Take Care
Once you are done with filling out the Walmart online job application, you need to wait for some time, before submitting it for the final time. Well, you need to check the form twice in order to check a few things that you might have missed out while filling the form. The most important thing is that you should not leave any mandatory field empty. You also shouldn't leave any field empty even if you are afraid of filling in the correct information. In short, Walmart maintains utmost transparency and expects the same from its future associate aspirants. It is the reason why, filling previous employer's name is not enough but you also need to mention the time span of your unemployment after you left it.

Once you are sure that you have filled the Walmart online job application form without bluffing or without leaving any blank fields, then only submit the form for further processing. In the mean time, (before appearing for the test), you need to constantly stay into touch with the latest disclaimers from Walmart to become aware about the currant requirements. The company responds within two week's time span and if not, then feel free to contact them for further follow up. All the best!

Forex Trade: Main Drawbacks of a Forex Trader

Why is it that very few traders succeed in the Forex trading environment while the grand majority of traders fail to achieve success? Although there is no hard answer to this question, there are a few things that will put you one step ahead and will definitely put the odds in your favor.

The main purpose of this article is to guide you through some important aspects of Forex trading. But in a different way, instead of telling you what to do or the best way to do it, it will tell you what to avoid. Sometimes it is better to identify the main drawbacks on a discipline and then isolate them so we have the best results at a certain level of development.

The search for the Holy Grail

Many traders spend years and years trying to find the Holy Grail of trading. That magic indicator or set of indicators, only known by a few traders, that will make them rich in a short period of time.

Fact: Well, there is no magic indicator, nor a set of indicators that will make anyone rich in a short period of time. The main reason of this is because market changes, every single moment is unique. Every Forex trading system will fail from time to time. Our work here is to find a Forex trading system that fits our personality as traders, otherwise the trader will find it hard to follow it.

Looking for Easy Money

Unfortunately most traders are attracted to the Forex market for this reason. Mainly because of the publicity showing or rather trying to show how easy is to trade and make money in the Forex market.

Fact: Yes, it is very easy to trade, anyone can do it. It is as hard as one click. But the second part of it isn't that easy. Making money or achieving consistent profitable results is hard. It requires lots of education, patience, discipline, commitment, and this list could go to infinite. In a few words, it is possible to have consistent profitable results, but definitely it is not easy.

Looking for Excitement

Some other traders are attracted to the Forex market or any other financial market because they think it is exciting to be a trader.

Fact: Yes, it is very exciting to trade the Forex market. But if this is the main reason you are still trading the Forex market, sooner or later you will discover the most expensive adventure you have ever known. Do some thinking on it.

Not Using Money Management.

Most traders forget about this important aspect of trading. They think they shouldn't be using money management until they achieve consistent profitable results. They totally forget about the risk side of trading.

Fact: Money management allows your profits to increase geometrically, but also limits your risk on every single trade. Money management tells you how much to risk on each trade. Using money management is a must if you want to achieve your trading goals. By using money management you make sure you are going to be able to trade tomorrow, the next week, month and the following years.

Not Being Psychology Tuned

This is one of the most underestimated subjects when it comes to trading. One of the main principles of financial markets is that the price of each instrument is based on the perception of each individual participant "the crowd." In other words the price of each instrument is determined by the fear, greed, ego and hope of all traders.

Fact: Being aware of all psychological issues that affect the decisions made by traders will definitely put the odds in your favor.

Lack of Education

Education is the base of knowledge on every discipline. As lawyers and doctors require several years of college until they get their degree, Forex traders also require long years of study. It is better to have someone experienced to guide you through your trading, since some information could take you in the wrong path.

Fact: The market teaches us invaluable lessons on every single trade made. The process of education for a Forex trader could take for ever. That's right, we never stop learning. We should be humble about the markets and our knowledge; otherwise the market will prove us wrong.

These are some of the most important barriers every trader faces when trying to trade successfully.

Trading successfully the Forex markets is no easy task, it requires a lot of hard work to do it right, but with the right education, you will put yourself closer to your trading goals.

Forex Trading

So what is is Forex trading you may ask? Forex is the exchange you can buy and sell currencies. For example, you might buy British pounds (by exchanging them to the dollars you had), then, after pounds / dollar ratio goes up, you sell pounds and buy dollars again. At the end of this operation you are going to have more dollars, then you had at the beginning.

The Forex market has much higher liquidity, then the stock market, as much more money is being exchanged. Forex is spread between banks all over the planet and as a result it means 24 hour trading.

Unlike stocks, Forex trades are performed with high leverage, usually it is 100. It means that by investing $1000 you can control $100,000, and increase potential profits accordingly. Some brokers provide also so called mini-Forex, where the size of minimum deposit equals $100. It makes possible for individuals to enter this market easily.

The name convention. In Forex, the name of a "symbol" is composed of two parts — one for first currency, and another for the second currency. For example, the symbol usdjpy stands for US dollars (usd) to Japanese yen (jpy).

As with stocks, you can apply tools of the technical analysis to Forex charts. Trader's indexes can be optimized for Forex "symbols", allowing you to find winning strategy.

Example Forex transaction

Assume you have a trading account of $25,000 and you are trading with a 1% margin requirement. The current quote for EUR/USD is 1.3225/28 and you place a market order to buy 1 lot of 100,000 Euros at 1.3228, expecting the euro to rise against the dollar. At the same time you place a stop-loss order at 1.3178 representing a maximum loss of 2% of your account equity if the trade goes against you, 50 pips below your order price, and a limit order at 1.3378, 150 pips above your order price. For this trade, you are risking 50 pips to gain 150 pips, giving you a risk/reward ratio of 1 part risk to 3 parts reward. This means that you only need to be right one third of the time to remain profitable.

The notional value of this trade is $132,280 (100,000 * 1.3228). Your required margin deposit is 1% of the total, which is equal to $1322.80 ($132,280 * 0.01).

As you expected, the Euro strengthens against the dollar and your limit order is reached at 1.3378. The position is closed. Your total profit for this trade is $1500, each pip being worth $10.

Forex The Future Investment

There are many many advantages over the various other ways of investing. First of all it is a 24 hr market, except for weekends of course. You have the US market then the european and then the Asian. One of the great times to trade is during the over lapping periods. The USA and european overlap between 5am & 9am eastern and the Euro & Asian between 11pm & 1am eastern. Usually the busiest time and best to trade.

The is also the risk factor for the accounts. With futures and options you can get margin calls that can wipe you out. If you get caught in a bad trade not only do you lose the money in the account but you may have to come up with alot more from your pocket. It can be very risking. But not in Forex. Worst case senerio you could lose whats in you account. But you would have to do something really stupid. Like making a big trade on a Fundamental day and leave it alone. If market takes a bad move and you weren't there. OOOPS. But That wouldn't happen with a smarth trader.

Then there are the demo accounts which is an account where you can trade using all the right things, platform,charts,and information. But you are using play money, or what we call paper trading too.

Plus with Forex you have a mini account. Instead of needing thousands of dollars to get into it. You can open an account with as little as $300.00. Now of course you will be trading at 1 tenth of a trade. IN other words you controling 10,000 instead of 100,000.00 These are call lots. Which also means you will only risk 1 tenth too!

So if you would love to learn to do investing and not have near the risk you really need to take a closer look at Forex trading.

Reverse Mortgages: Understanding the Pros and Cons

Older citizens may want to consider a reverse mortgage, which borrows against the equity in a home to give you cash in hand month after month. For a vast majority of older Americans who own their homes and get a reverse mortgage, this would mean a steady source of income for the remainder of their lives. The proceeds from sale of the real estate after the passing of the mortgage holder is used then to pay the lender, the remainder still owed on the mortgage.

A reverse mortgage may be a good solution that will provide you with reliable income and eliminate the stress of paying a mortgage on a fixed income. Reverse mortgages are not a good solution for everyone wanting to overhaul their mortgages to make them more cost-friendly. Take a closer look at the pros and cons of reverse mortgages to help you understand the benefits and risks.

The Pros of Reverse Mortgages

• You have the flexibility of choosing whether to take payment from the equity in your home in a singe lump payment, or as month payments and even a line of credit you access as needed. You can also combine any of these options which may be especially helpful to you when unexpected household repairs, or illness and injuries occur and you need a large amount of money quickly in the short term.
• The money is exempt from taxes and a guaranteed income that continues until your death.
• You can remain in your home which is very important to many of us, as we get older.
• You can never owe more than your home’s value, regardless of the balance still owed on a mortgage at the time of your passing.
• Home owners are not required to own their homes outright in order to qualify for a reverse mortgage, which helps if you are still paying on a mortgage.
• At the time of your passing if your home’s value is more than the remaining balance still owed on the reverse mortgage that difference will be paid to the heirs of your estate.
• If you decide to repay the money you have received with a reverse mortgage, you can do this without having to sell your home.
• Medicare and Social Security incomes are not affected by income from reverse mortgages. You will not lose your benefits by obtaining a reverse mortgage.
• The title of your home remains in your name.
• There are no monthly payments for you to make such as you would need to by taking out a home equity line of credit loan.
• In a reverse of the typical considerations for determining a loan like your credit score, income, and savings: your health, age, and your home’s net value and the equity it has built up are how reverse mortgages amounts are determined.
• You have a three day ‘buyer’s remorse’ clause of protection in case you decide against a reverse mortgage within three days of its closing.


The Cons of Reverse Mortgages

• Fees, interest rates, insurance, and closing costs can culminate together into quite an expensive mortgage that you may not want to carry at this stage in your life.
• You must be at least 62 years of age in order to qualify for a reverse mortgage.
• The heirs to your estate may receive less because there was a greater balance owed on the mortgage than the proceeds from the sale of your real estate netted.
• Failing to keep up with your property taxes, home insurance, and repair costs could lead to you having to pay back your reverse mortgage early.
• If you are the holder of a mortgage at the time of acquiring a reverse mortgage, the amount you still owe on your mortgage is added into the amount of your reverse mortgage.
• If you sell your home or move to another residence, you will have to pay your reverse mortgage back. A reverse mortgage loan is paid prior to heirs receiving money from your estate upon your passing as well.
• There are caps in place that limit how much you money you can borrow with a reverse mortgage.
• Reverse mortgages are typically more expensive than other types of mortgages.
• You must meet with a mortgage counselor prior to getting approval on a reverse mortgage loan.
• Refinancing a reverse mortgage after the three day ‘buyer’s remorse’ period has expired can be expensive and difficult to accomplish.

Find Customers

To find your ideal customer, you first have to know them. Other than the fact your future customer wants your products, what else do you know about them? Ask yourself some of the following questions:

1. What hobbies do your customers have?
2. Do they have children?
3. Do they prefer buying online or offline?
4. What are their fears/concerns?
5. What makes them happy?

Step two: Finding Your Ideal Customer

The next step is a piece of cake! Once you discover what your ideal customer's interests hobbies, and lifestyle is, finding them is the easy part. There are TONS of message boards, groups, newsletters, and websites dedicated to specific groups of people. You can do some research to find these places on Yahoo Groups, Ezine Directories, or just by searching.

Step three: Discover Your Own Interests

Take a minute to realise your own hobbies and interests. Do you like to read and sell coffee or candles? Join a message board that talks about books and get to know others there. Make sure to put your business in your signature line! Use a creative ad such as "Relax with a cup of (your company's name) coffee and a good book", or "Relax with a (company name) scented candle and a good book". Try and get as creative as possible so your signature line really stands out and makes other want to click.

Also be sure to ask yourself why you joined this particular business to begin with (aside from the money!). Sometimes this will give you ideas of where your customers could be. For example, if you joined a bath and body company because of your concern for the use of store brand soaps on your children, you may consider seeking out a group or message board of other mothers that share your same concern. Again, be sure to use signature lines targeted to those who your products are targeted to!

Of course this is just the beginning. While you may choose to pay for simple advertising on some websites and newsletters (and this is fine!), if you are involved in the community be respectful to the current members. Don't just place ads and leave, but instead get to know those in the community. Follow the rules as you should within any community - don't post with the assumption everyone will automatically buy from you. Build relationships, be helpful, and the sales will follow!

Effective Internet Writing

Effective Internet Writings

The websites that are most famous and mostly visited by the users include the ones, which show the most effective Internet writings. By effectiveness of the writings we mean that they have written with all of the factors of writing in mind like the writing styles and the other writing skills. For writing such creative writing the writer needs to have the complete grip on the linguistics and also know the rules of the grammar and other related aspects. The content should be also refined and the methodology should be very formal so that it can be followed by all of the readers. Although there are different rules and the patterns to write the effective Internet article yet if the writer follows all of them he can come up with the quality and the well-organized article.

Guidelines To Write Effective Internet Writing

There are various types of text available on the Internet like the fiction, non-fiction, literal, professional, traditional or the formal or informal. All of these texts available on the Internet are available in the different writing styles and formats. The most important thing in most of the articles is the quality of the content and also the research. But there are many other facts to be known like some of them are as follows:

1. Description Should Be The First Paragraph

In all of the Internet Writings the writer should include the description paragraphs on the top because this paragraph will be explaining the readers about the whole theme of the particular article. The description should be attractive enough so that the reader many not skip the article. For this the use of the keywords and also the whole theme of the article should be very prominent.

2. Bulleted And The Headings

Another important thing is that most of the users make the research on the basis of the headings and so is the case with the search engines which also prefer to take out the information on the basis of the headings. Therefore, the first preference of the writer should be the heading.

3. Selection Of Keywords

One of the main tasks before writing the article is the selection of the keywords, because most of the users and the search engines make the research by using the keywords. Therefore, select the keywords, which are mostly, search by the users and for this you can get the information from the websites. Also get very specific about the selection of the keyword because the more general it will be he more will be harder to find that topic. Hence, Internet articles are seen by most of the Internet users therefore, the language either English or any should be very simple.

Is This Any Way to Stimulate Global Trade?

As the global economy slowly finds its footing in the wake of the credit crisis, regulators are tightening risk standards for banks. Though this response is understandable, keeping a close hand through tighter regulations also requires a closer eye to avoid disruptions in global trade. Broad-brushstroke regulatory changes should come with a warning label-and with sufficient time for informative exchanges between affected parties.

At the encouragement of the G-20, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision drafted recommendations for changing bank capital and liquidity standards (often called "Basel III") in an effort to promote a more resilient banking sector that can be a foundation for sustainable economic growth. The fundamental goals of stronger capital and liquidity are on target, but some of the recommendations work at cross-purposes to those goals.

In comment letters to the Basel Committee, BAFT-IFSA outlined some of our key concerns that focus on trade finance, which has historically maintained a low risk profile in comparison with other financial transactions. As background, trade finance transactions generally involve fixed, short-term instruments that cover the movement of goods. They are not automatically renewed or extended upon maturity and they are self-liquidating by nature. In stress situations, countries and banks have traditionally continued to prioritize the repayment of short-term trade finance obligations as they fall due because these obligations are fundamental to commercial exchange. Failure to honor them can put at risk invaluable trading partner relationships. And, as a result of the short-term, self-liquidating nature of trade finance transactions, banks active in this business are generally able to react swiftly to deteriorations in bank and country risk.

This notwithstanding, the implementation of the Basel II accords, concomitant with the global recession, put more pressure on banks to not only meet additional capital requirements under Basel II, but also to reconsider certain proposed transactions because of global risk deterioration. This dynamic propelled deleveraging even further during the economic crisis.

Recent surveys conducted jointly by BAFT-IFSA and the IMF indicated dramatic changes in the volume and value of trade finance transactions during the crisis. In particular there was a growing sense among banks that the value of transactions had declined because of decreased demand for trade activities.

Trade underpins the prospects of global economic recovery, and any measures that potentially restrict the willingness or ability of banks to support trade have the potential to disrupt global economic growth. Take the Basel Committee's latest recommendations regarding capital. For the purposes of calculating a leverage ratio constraint under Basel II, the committee would require banks to hold a higher quantity and quality of capital, and proposes increasing the credit conversion factor (CCF) for trade-finance instruments and other off-balance-sheet items to 100 percent. Currently, the most frequently used value for trade-related contingencies is 20 percent. Increasing the CCF by a factor of five for trade-related contingencies does not account for their intrinsically safe structure and could disadvantage banks that are focused on trade finance. Such a high leverage ratio may encourage the diversion of capital to other financial instruments, resulting in significantly reduced lending or increased cost of providing trade finance for customers.

The Basel Committee also proposed specific tests designed to improve liquidity management. Banks engaged in transaction banking generally support creation of a framework for a quantitative liquidity regime. Recent indications that the timeframe may be extended for implementing some of the liquidity recommendations have been well received; allowing for a greater understanding of the impact the liquidity proposals will have on banks' ability to provide transaction banking services is crucial.

The financial crisis was not driven by transaction banking, and just as too much risk is undesirable, regulations that go too far in their attempt to purge certain risks from bank loan portfolios have the potential to hamper recovery. Global trade relies on cost-effective and accessible financing for trade transactions. And as global trade has grown, trade finance has grown with it, facilitating the reliable and secure movement of goods and services across the globe. That is well worth preserving.