This page will henceforth be structured as follows:
Research in the following areas:
1) Understanding the online business landscape
2) Funding: obtaining funding for small business acquisitions
3) Finding internet businesses that are for sale
4) My case study
You can access these pages from the "pages" section on the right hand side of the page.
Friday, 6 July 2012
Wednesday, 4 July 2012
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
If it is your mission to run a business online, you have to know a little bit about Search Engine Optimization (SEO). That is my theory at least. How else would you know if a target business is sustainable, and solid? So today I did a little research about SEO, and this is what I found.
This page has a good article about where to start. Apparently key word research is the um... key here. It is important to find out what key words are getting searched, and how relevant they are to your business. It is also important to know what sort of competition there is in that word.
I learned an important concept here. It has to do with "marginal cost versus marginal benefit". The cost is what you page a search engine to bring people to your site based on a click, and the benefit is the average profit you make when that person hits your site. So for example, Google charges you 50c per click for a given word, and you get 1000 clicks from that particular word. If the profit from people who find your website through that word is greater than $500 you should keep the campaign. Simple really.
This has raised a few questions for my amateur brain though. Firstly, how do you tell Google that you are willing to pay 50c a click. Secondly, how do you know if a person came to your site through searching for that word? Thirdly, what the hell is an adword campaign anyway, and how do I get started? And isn't there a way of getting exposure without paying for ads?
Hmm... lets investigate this some more.
Other sites I came accross which I found to be useful:
Webceo
This page has a good article about where to start. Apparently key word research is the um... key here. It is important to find out what key words are getting searched, and how relevant they are to your business. It is also important to know what sort of competition there is in that word.
I learned an important concept here. It has to do with "marginal cost versus marginal benefit". The cost is what you page a search engine to bring people to your site based on a click, and the benefit is the average profit you make when that person hits your site. So for example, Google charges you 50c per click for a given word, and you get 1000 clicks from that particular word. If the profit from people who find your website through that word is greater than $500 you should keep the campaign. Simple really.
This has raised a few questions for my amateur brain though. Firstly, how do you tell Google that you are willing to pay 50c a click. Secondly, how do you know if a person came to your site through searching for that word? Thirdly, what the hell is an adword campaign anyway, and how do I get started? And isn't there a way of getting exposure without paying for ads?
Hmm... lets investigate this some more.
Other sites I came accross which I found to be useful:
Webceo
What is an internet business anyway?
This is an important question! How do people make money on the internet? Well it's a good thing I found this link about business models!
It's sets out quite nicely the ways in which people make money online. There is one other area which I'd like to consider, and that is the mobile app industry. Mobile apps are a big deal these days, with a new story every day about how someone has made a ridiculous fortune by releasing or selling an app.
It's sets out quite nicely the ways in which people make money online. There is one other area which I'd like to consider, and that is the mobile app industry. Mobile apps are a big deal these days, with a new story every day about how someone has made a ridiculous fortune by releasing or selling an app.
I must begin this blog by explaining how little I actually know about this, and my motivation for wanting to get involved with internet businesses. Let's start with the easy bit, the motivation.
Having thought long and hard about what type of lifestyle is appealing to me, the life of an online/internet based business has come out on top. My reason for this is that the business can be run from anywhere with an internet connection. The idea of having that much freedom is incredibly appealing to me. It also makes the business scalable.
A person has an enormous amount of control over how many hours they put in versus the amount of revenue they generate. Coming from an auditing background where your revenue is based on hours billed, I know how working by the hour can be the devil. This is my attempt at sidestepping that, and at the same time gaining the freedom to enjoy life. Having said all this, I must confess that my knowledge about internet based businesses is limited.
At this point, I have had this idea for about two weeks, and I have done some research. The research revealed to me that the only way to really learn about a few things is to do them, hence this blog has started to take shape. The only thing I know about SEO is that it exists. It is even an ordeal get this blog to look anything like I want it to! I really am an absolute amateur at this. All I have is a dream and a willingness to learn.
The quest is as follows:
1) Find out what kinds of web businesses there are out there
2) Learn about the vital aspects of tracking internet businesses
3) Find internet businesses, and brokers
4) Learn how to finance an internet business
5) Find out what comes next, and how to decide on a business, and a strategy to follow
6) Whatever else I come across that needs to be explored.
Enough blabbing, let the journey begin.
Having thought long and hard about what type of lifestyle is appealing to me, the life of an online/internet based business has come out on top. My reason for this is that the business can be run from anywhere with an internet connection. The idea of having that much freedom is incredibly appealing to me. It also makes the business scalable.
A person has an enormous amount of control over how many hours they put in versus the amount of revenue they generate. Coming from an auditing background where your revenue is based on hours billed, I know how working by the hour can be the devil. This is my attempt at sidestepping that, and at the same time gaining the freedom to enjoy life. Having said all this, I must confess that my knowledge about internet based businesses is limited.
At this point, I have had this idea for about two weeks, and I have done some research. The research revealed to me that the only way to really learn about a few things is to do them, hence this blog has started to take shape. The only thing I know about SEO is that it exists. It is even an ordeal get this blog to look anything like I want it to! I really am an absolute amateur at this. All I have is a dream and a willingness to learn.
The quest is as follows:
1) Find out what kinds of web businesses there are out there
2) Learn about the vital aspects of tracking internet businesses
3) Find internet businesses, and brokers
4) Learn how to finance an internet business
5) Find out what comes next, and how to decide on a business, and a strategy to follow
6) Whatever else I come across that needs to be explored.
Enough blabbing, let the journey begin.
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