A special invitation from Derek Gehl...

If you're a long-time subscriber, you probably recall that I "retired" from public speaking engagements last year.

(Frankly, I was sick of traveling every weekend, and I wanted to spend more time with my team in the office -- and my family, of course!)

HOWEVER, for one weekend only, I'm coming out of "retirement" to host a rare two-day "Internet Wealth EXPLOSION" clinic in Los Angeles -- and I want you to join me!

For the first time ever, I'll personally reveal ALL the latest secret wealth-building strategies my team and I have discovered in our "underground" testing labs over the past year.

You'll learn....

1. The 4 most profitable Internet business models
2. Simple website design strategies that convert up to 700% MORE visitors into buyers
3. Traffic secrets for driving 1,000s of qualified buyers to your website
4. How to market both local and global businesses online
5. Strategies for ranking #1 in the most popular search engines like Google, Yahoo!, and MSN

... plus tons more!

This event is going to be the last one I host in North America for the next 1-2 years -- which means it's going to sell out quickly!

So if you don't want to wait that long to discover the strategies my most successful students are using to rake in $8,750 to $12,500 every month online, claim your ticket today by visiting:

www.marketingtips.com/oncealifetime

I look forward to meeting you in person!

To your financial freedom,

Derek Gehl

Editorial: Overcoming the "Technical Learning Curve"
By Derek Gehl

Here is just one example of an extremely common question that arrives in my inbox on a daily basis...

"WHAT IF YOU DO NOT KNOW YOUR WAY AROUND A COMPUTER? What if that is why you are sitting with $1,000 worth of products and cannot use them because you just do not understand the technical stuff and do not find any material or help on the subject... and it just takes so long to teach yourself that you just give UP???

Wouldn't it be great if someone would write a step-by-step manual for newbies telling them what to do and how to do it AND translating everything that their webmaster is talking about!"

Does this sound familiar?

If you are new to computers, the learning curve involved in starting an online business can seem insurmountable. On top of trying to figure out all the business and marketing stuff, you're also faced with technical challenges around every corner.

So if you are a complete newbie with very little computer experience -- but are desperately eager to start a business on the Internet -- where do you begin?

Here is a step-by-step action plan that will give you the technical knowledge you need to get your business up and running as quickly as possible:

Step #1: Assess and build your general computer skills!

If you are reading this newsletter, it's probably safe to assume you have basic computer skills and know how to use common programs (such as Microsoft Word and Internet Explorer), send email, and navigate to different files on your computer.

If you are not comfortable with these basic tasks, then you need to brush up on these skills -- and the easiest way to do that is pick up the following books:

• PCs For Dummies (Or Mac for Dummies)
• Windows for Dummies (Or Mac OS X for Dummies)

Don't take the 'Dummies' theme personally :-) -- these are great books that will teach you the fundamentals, so you can spend less time banging your head against your keyboard and more time building your business.

Best of all, they can typically be purchased for less than $20 each on Amazon.com!

Alternatively, you can also take an "Introduction to Computers" course at your local community college.

Either way, you need to acquire these basic computer skills.

The good news is, it shouldn't take you long to learn them. If you spend an hour a day reading one of the books mentioned above, you'll be able to acquire a solid foundation of skills in just a couple of weeks.

Step #2: Assess and build your general Internet skills!

Once you're comfortable with your basic computer skills, it's time to move on to your Internet skills. You need to know your way around the Web if you want to build a successful online business!

This doesn't mean you need to know the technical details of how the Internet works. (For example, you're not going to fail if you don't know what the initials "http" means!)

But you should understand the basic principles of how websites work and how they fit into the big picture of the Internet.

The best way to figure this out is to buy the book "Internet for Dummies." It'll give you the fundamental knowledge you need to proceed to the next step.

Step #3: Build a Basic Website!

Some people will say you don't need to know anything about building websites in order to have a successful business on the Internet. All you have to do is hire web designers to do it for you. (If you're able to afford it.)

Personally, I don't subscribe to this theory.

I believe it's important for you to have at least some basic understanding of how to design and set up your own website. These skills will give you a significant advantage when communicating with the designers you hire to build your site for you in the future.

(And obviously, these skills are even more important if you decide to design and build your website yourself!)

If you choose to get someone else to build your site -- and don't have any web design skills of your own -- then you're totally at the mercy of your designers whenever you want to make little changes on your website in the future.

Every time you want to change your salescopy... or your images... or your price point... you'll need to get THEM to do it. But if you know how to make the changes yourself, then you'll be able to save yourself both time AND money.

Now, you could learn basic web design skills from a book like "Web Design for Dummies."

However, since the skills you need for building a good website are more technical than the others we've covered, I suggest you look into taking a web design course at a local college. It'll help you fast-track the learning curve and bring you up to speed much faster than simply reading a book would.

Most community colleges offer web design courses take place one or two evenings a week over the period of a month or two. If you can afford to take a course like this, I strongly recommend it. It'll give you the knowledge you need to be a truly savvy website builder.

Step #4: Get your business started!

Now you're ready to start building your business on the Internet!

Fortunately, for this step I can give you a complete step-by-step manual that will walk you through all the steps of starting and growing a successful business on the Internet, building on the technical skills you developed in the previous steps.

For more information on this manual and to try it for the next 30 days for only $2.95, click here to continue:

www.marketingtips.com/businessbuilding-tips

So my parting comments would be this... Starting a business on the Internet without any technical skills is a daunting task. But like most challenges in life, if you break it down into bite-size goals and conquer them one at a time with a combination of patience and perseverance, you will be surprised at how quickly you progress.

All the best!

Derek Gehl

Sub-domains vs. sub-directories -- which are better for building link popularity?
By Nicole Ephgrave

Do you want the search engines to LOVE you? Then you've got to become an online "authority figure" in your industry.

The best way to do that is to build a large website filled with lots of content-rich pages your audience will want to link to from their websites, blogs, and pages on social media sites such as Facebook.

(As you probably know, the more links pointing to your website from complementary websites, the better! All those links tell the search engines your site is a valuable resource in your niche market -- and that will help you skyrocket to the top of the search engine listings.)

But how do you add all those content-rich pages to your site?

Well, you have two options I'm going to tell you about in just a moment...

... But first, I want to go over some basic Internet terms -- such as URL, domain name, sub-domain, and sub-directory -- so the rest of the article makes sense to you.

Now, as you may or may not know, "URL" stands for "uniform resource locator," which is just a fancy way of saying, "web address."

For example, the URL for IMC's main homepage is http://www.marketingtips.com.

A URL is different from a domain name because it includes all the characters of the web address (including the "http" and the "www"), while a domain name is simply the "root" part of the address -- e.g., marketingtips.com.)

... Are you still with me? ;-)

Okay, let's say the URL for your sales site is http://www.yoursite.com. When you add new pages -- such as articles -- to your website, you can do so in two ways:

1. You can create a "sub-domain" URL for it, where the name of the new page comes BEFORE your main domain name --- such as: http://articlename.yoursite.com.
   
   -- OR --
   
   
2. You can create a "sub-directory," where the name of the new page comes AFTER your main domain name -- such as: http://yoursite.com/articlename.

With a sub-domain -- e.g., http://articlename.yoursite.com -- you have the advantage of being able to put one of your top keywords before your domain name, which means you stand a better chance of getting the search engines to index the page for that keyword.

(Provided you've also strategically placed the keyword throughout your site code and content, of course!)

For example, if one of your top keywords is "dog training tips" then you can set up the sub-domain, http://dogtrainingtips.yoursite.com.

However, the downside of a sub-domain is that most search engines will tend to treat it as its own separate web address. And that means any external links pointing to a sub-domain won't count as links to your main domain -- which sort of defeats the purpose, don't you think?

On the other hand, a sub-directory (http://yoursite.com/newsletter) is a folder within your main site, and is considered to be part of your main site. So every link that points to a sub-directory page will count as a link to your main domain.

In fact, with sub-directories, if you already have a keyword-rich domain name, you can use that keyword in your sub-directory name AND in the name of the file itself, like:

http://www.mykeyworddomain.com/keywordrichdirectoryname/
keywordrichfile.html

Talk about a "keyword punch!"

That's why -- in most cases -- you'll want to use a sub-directory when you create new content to help build up your site's link popularity and gain better rankings in the search engines.

This rule also applies to any blog you start. You'll get a huge boost in the search engines if you set up your blog as a directory of your main site. (Such as: http://yoursitename/yourblogname.)

And don't forget to include one of your top keyword phrases in the blog name! This will go a long way to helping you build up the brand and authority of your website.

That being said, there IS one particular instance where it's better for you to use a sub-domain -- and that's when you're running a pay-per-click campaign.

Sub-domains work really well for pay-per-click ads because you can create a separate keyword-rich sub-domain name for each ad you run. For example, if your keyword is "dog training tips," you should send people who click on your ad to the sub-domain, http://dogtrainingtips.yoursite.com.

This will carry a lot of weight with your target market because they'll be able to see the keyword in the ad copy itself -- as well as in the URL at the end. And that will make your web page seem like a more credible and authoritative source of information.

(And of course every use of your keyword in the ad copy will appear in boldface, which will really grab people's attention!)

So if you've been wondering which is better to use -- sub-domains or sub-directories -- here's the answer: For link-building, use a sub-directory -- and for pay-per-click campaigns, use a sub-domain.

Happy search marketing, everyone!

[Ed note: Nicole Ephgrave is our in-house SEO "wizard." You can meet up with her in our exclusive "members-only" Search Marketing Lab forum.]