There are various ways to promote your website online, some of which just need a bit of your time, while others burn a small hole in your pocket. Needless to say, if you can own and build a website, promoting and marketing for it online won’t be much of a pain.So basically, my online marketing strategy revolves around these few points:SEARCH ENGINE MARKETINGSearch Engine Marketing (SEM) refers to an internet marketing technique that involves the promotion of websites by increasing their visibility in search engine result pages. It basically involves two methods:a> Pay Per Click (PPC) advertisingb> Search Engine Optimization (SEO)Pay Per Click is a method of paying a search engine to show your website more frequently in search results as a user searches for a content, while SEO is the method where you actually modify or rewrite your websites’ content manually to achieve higher rankings in the search engine result pages.CONTENT MARKETINGIt is a form of marketing where media and contents are created and published in order to communicate with and acquire prospective customers. The content may be in the form of images, newsletters, how-to-guides, case studies, etc. The main aim of content marketing is not to sell a product directly, but to keep in touch with existing and to-be clients and provide them with needed and helpful information so as to earn their loyalty. The most common and traditional way of content marketing is to write descriptive articles or ad-content on sites like EzineArticles, Squidoo, ArticlesBase, GoArticles, etc. Some of them even pay for writing articles.SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETINGSocial Media Marketing is a way of popularizing an event, product, service, brand or a company with the help of social networking sites. It is an unpaid marketing method because it depends upon the quality of the content and the how much the readers share it. The most common platforms of social media marketing are Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+, MySpace, etc. Most of these sites offer a dedicated page for your business that can be used to promote your company, product or service. Furthermore, words of mouth and shares by the users play important role in doing the same.MOBILE MARKETINGMobile Marketing, as it’s obvious from the name, is the form of marketing where cell-phones are the bridge between a company and their clients, or future clients most of the times, where customers are provided with personalized and customized information, offers, or deals about the product or services. There are quite a lot of ways of mobile marketing, but we will keep it just to the most common and most effective methods here.a> SMS: There are a lot of bulk SMS providers that, unlike the telecom companies which have a cap on the maximum number of SMSs sent, allow users to send a large number of SMS and guarantee a delivery. So this bulk SMS service may be used to send messages related to products and services to a large number of users in a very short time, plus, it is highly cost effective.b> App-Based Marketing: As the usage of smartphones increases, use of mobile applications have also increased proportionally. So the concept is to make mobile applications for iOS, android and symbian platforms and distribute them free over the online apps market. Sending Push notifications adds to the advantage as the users receive alerts and notifications on new products, services or information instantly.E-MAIL MARKETINGIt is a method of direct marketing where commercial messages are sent to a group of people using e-mails. The mails may be sent to a database of existing or potential customers with a view to promote a new or old service or product, or to provide a deal or offer so as to solicit repeat business, or instant business. Most of the times, companies send out promotional e-mails where a deal is provided for a limited time and the customers get a discount if they avail of the services or products within that period. Sending online newsletters at periodic intervals also brings a sense of loyalty into the existing customers.ONLINE CLASSIFIEDSThere are a number of online classified sites where we can post advertisements about our products and services for a very small or no price at all. The classified sites may be recognized or active on a local, national or international level. Keeping in mind the Indian online market, the ones that come to my mind are Quikr, Click.in, Olx… and the list never stops. Locanto and Craigslist are two of the giants in international online market, needless to mention that there are a lot more in this category. Each of the ads that you publish in these sites remain active for a certain period and then you have to either renew/repost them, or publish another ad if still required.LINK EXCHANGE PROGRAMSLink Exchange refers to the method where the administrators of two(or more) websites agree to display each others advertisement or link on their own site for their mutual benefit. The method also implies to the process where a number of administrators, or Webmasters register their site on a central website that serves as the host and provides reciprocal links to the participating websites to show on their pages, So, if you register yourself for link exchange programs on such a site, the link to your website will be placed in a number of other similar ranked websites, and in turn, you need to place their links in your own site, simple, isn’t it? Generally, this service comes free of cost as it runs on the principle of reciprocity, both of the parties benefit mutually and almost equally, but at times it needs a bit of your fortune if you opt for premium and fast services.FORUM DISCUSSIONSDiscussion forums are a great way of advertising yourselves to a group of targeted customers. Online discussion forums/boards are present for almost every topic you can think of, so at this place you get a group of people that are actually(and only) interested in the same topic, product or services that you are offering. Thus, all the people present in that discussion are your potential customers, pitch high and bang at the right moment is all you need to do. Google and yahoo also have their own dedicated discussion/Q&A forums, writing and promoting your articles where can fetch good results.VIDEO UPLOADWritten, printed or messaged media are good ways of marketing, but short videos on your services or products are great way of marketing. Here, people just need to look at your video for a few seconds, or maybe minutes, and understand what they are actually meant to. In this way, they quite easily omit the traditional and comparatively boring way of reading the advertisement, newsletter, or promotional messages. The most common platform is YouTube where you can upload your own custom made videos for free, or opt for paid promotion where very short promotional videos are inserted(by YouTube) between other videos which may already be a bit known to people and thus there are more chances of people seeing the promotional videos.DIRECTORY LISTINGWeb directories or link directories are the directories on the world wide web(www) that link to other web sites and categorize the websites according to their content. In simple words, directories are not search engines, but just an online directory showing the list of websites based on categories and sub-categories. There are a large number of web directories that offer free, paid, reciprocal and affiliate linkings depending upon your choice. If categorized correctly, directory listing is a great way of online marketing. DMOZ, Yahoo, Digg are some of the most famous directories online.ONLINE DEALSDiscounts always attract customers, even if they have not much to do with the product. They stop to have a look on what is being offered. Sometimes this paves the way for the person to think deeply and consider availing the deal just because they are getting it at a great price. There are a lot of websites where services/products are offered at discounted rates. Consider visiting Snapdeal, Groupon, Timesdeal and few others.AFFILIATE PROGRAMSAfter all these efforts, if there is still a hitch left in the sales process, affiliate marketing is always there to promote direct sales of the product or services where a small share in the profit is given to the publisher or vendor that promotes sales. It is a performance based marketing system and the affiliate gets a percentage of profit for selling or helping in selling an article by applying any of the above listed or his/her own marketing techniques. One of the common ways is to place advertisement links or banners on others’ sites upon their permission, and if a sale occurs from their website, we need to pay them a definite amount or percentage.Having a bit of experience in publishing and promoting websites, I hope these factors may be actually helpful when you try to do some marketing for you new website. Forgive me if I forgot to mention something important, of course you can comment and rectify if I have committed any errors. Good day.

In this day and age, many people are wary of investing in the unstable stock market which requires a lot of time and expertise. Unfortunately, leaving excess money in the bank is hardly an attractive option given the current rock bottom interest rates. One avenue of investment which hasn’t lost its charm is real estate.Real estate investments in Israel create both a passive and active income for the investor. If the investor chooses to rent out his or her property, they may collect rent money, as well as reap the benefits of the steadily rising value of their property. Given the nature of the real estate market in Israel, this kind of investment provides both stability and relatively high capital gains.Many people fear making an investment while the market is down, but low prices shouldn’t deter. The right investment will be profitable at any time. Of course, an economic crisis holds greater risks, but it also holds greater opportunities for profit than other times. In Israel, recent years have brought about many changes: new railways, roads, infrastructure, schools and many military headquarters moving to the southern part of the country mean many great opportunities for wise investors. A small property in the periphery of Israel will usually mean higher yields from rent, while at the same time, investment in real estate in one of the major cities is still a good, reliable and more secure option.So how does one choose where to invest? In what? And whether to do so in Israel or some other country altogether? The most important advice is to research and thoroughly check all the options. Independently investing in real estate requires knowledge, understanding and information. Many people opt out of investing in this field although they have the required capital, just because they lack the necessary knowledge; they know they are missing out on golden opportunities. This article aims to highlight a few of the important things one must consider regarding real estate investments in Israel.Before beginning the search for the perfect investment, it’s important to plan and define the details of the investment, including the following subjects:- The purpose of the investment: if you are aiming for maximum returns, you might consider investing in housing units in the Tel Aviv central bus station area, where the rent potential from the foreign workers who inhabit the area will probably be higher than other alternatives. However, you should ask yourself whether you are prepared to deal with the inevitable day to day maintenance that accompany such a choice: collecting rent on a weekly basis, working with different populations. You should also take into account future needs: will you want to live in the apartment or to make it available for family at some point? In that case the character of the neighborhood, and vicinity to the center should also be taken into consideration.- Partners: Will you be investing alone or with a partner? A partner may be a family member, friend or business acquaintance. There are many advantages to investing with a partner: risk dispersing (for instance, you could invest in two halves of two apartments in different locations), shared planning and research etc. But shared investments are not for everyone, and come with the dangers any joint venture naturally encapsulates.- Level of risk: How “risk averse” are you? Someone who is “risk averse” will prefer a solid investment in an established location such as central Tel Aviv or Jerusalem, whilst a “risk taker” may prefer to invest in less “conventional” areas with less predictable prices but more potential for profit, such as Sderot, Ariel and more peripheral areas of Israel.- Correct financial planning of the investment:- Is your investment based on private equity? Or will you be taking on a mortgage? The level of equity you have will impact the amount of leveraging and the quality of the loan you get. These factors should be considered before searching for the right property, as they will determine the optimal amount for your investment.- Risk management: what are the potential risks associated with the investment, and how would you deal with them should they be realized? Although Israel has enjoyed financial stability compared to other countries across the globe, and has escaped the last global economic crisis more or less unscathed, there are inherent risks to investing in any market. A few examples include sudden inflation, an abrupt change in the dollar-shekel exchange rates, a deceleration of the renting market. You should leave a margin of equity that will enable you to return any debts and loans you have taken on, bearing in mind such scenarios and others.- Defining the nature of the property: this is one of the most challenging aspects of the investment process. For maximum gains, this stage must be carried out with due care and thought. Some of the most important aspects influencing the potential revenue from a property are:- Location of the property (central areas are the most popular, but are also the most expensive. A small property on the outskirts of a major city may yield higher returns)- Size of property (most renters live alone or with a partner. 1-2 bedroom apartments are popular amongst renters, while larger apartments usually incur bigger utility costs and municipal taxes)- Accessibility (vicinity to public transport routes, availability of parking etc.)- PriceApart from these issues to consider, it is important not to fall into the following “traps”. What NOT to do:- Investing in a property in your “comfort zone”: Israel holds many opportunities for the wise investor. But it is important not to choose an investment based on your fondness for a certain “comfort area”, be it because it is a favorite holiday location, close to family members, a job etc. One should choose an area to invest based on cold hard and objective returns potential, unless the investment will be a place of residence.- Full reliance on personal capital: It is better to consider leveraging your investment, even if you could afford it on your own. This decreases the risk and allows you to make further investments.- Not leaving an emergency “cushion”: Do not acquire a property for a total cost that leaves no room for unexpected payments and costs. Take into account additional costs such as purchase tax, payments to a realtor, an attorney, renovation funds etc, as well as additional unforeseen costs.Once you have properly outlined the nature of your investment, its purpose and scope, you are ready to invest. But there are still many more questions to consider: whether to buy a new apartment from a contractor, or an existing apartment (and what to look out for in each type of deal), the crucial tax implications of investing in different kinds of properties (which may affect the entire profitability of the investment), and once you have decided upon a property – what are the necessary legal precautions you should be taking. In order to protect your interests at all times whilst making the best investment, it is always recommended to consult an attorney who specializes in the field.http://www.aharonilaw.com

An investment property is becoming a more popular choice for those seeking to create a revenue stream and also achieve capital growth through the investment property value increasing over time.This can also be part of a strategic financial plan and should be considered by investors as part of a diversified portfolio. When considering an investment purchase you should also source the best investment loan structure for you. With any investment your investment loan can make a difference to your return. If you are negatively geared through an investment loan the cost to you of that investment loan can effectively be reduced.If you purchase wisely, once there has been capital growth in the investment property over time there is the option of using this built up equity to move into another investment property, take out another investment loan and thereby continue to further increase your investment portfolio.Aside from the traditional belief that tax advantages are the key driver for taking out an investment home loan there are many other factors to consider when purchasing an investment property.Below are some key points for your reference, by using these points as a guide in conjunction with a detailed discussion with your accountant or financial planner you will be in a better position to ensure your investment purchase and investment loan is a financially sound decision for the long term.In relation to property enquiry therefore, you should consider:* What is the infrastructure like in the area? Are there enough schools, hospitals, shopping centres, doctors and dentists, freeways or main roads?* What has the historical capital growth been in the area over the last two decades?* Is the local council planning to increase housing density or add a new road to increase traffic flow?* If you are purchasing in a new subdivision, are there more new land blocks and house and land packages planned nearby. New developments can impact on the value of your home as purchasers often prefer a new home to one that might be 2 or 3 years old in the same area.* What length of time will the investment be held? And will this tie in with planned infrastructure development which will in turn accelerate capital growth?There has been recent press to suggest that investment and home property values in Sydney have a potential capital growth of 18% over the next 3 years so buying off the plan as an investor may be an attractive option in the current market. If you find a good property development, suitable for investment, which has a completion date in say 2010 – 2011 then you can exchange contracts with either a 10% cash deposit or a deposit bond (as a guide the cost of a deposit bond of around $86500 for say settlement September 2011 will cost you approximately $9000- $9500 (significantly less than the interest you would pay over the period if you borrow $86,500 at current interest rates of 9% p.a). The general feeling is that direct investment into property as opposed to into managed property funds is a better way to go – you are in control of your investment and avoid the high management fees so often charged by share and property investment funds.Do some research on the internet to see which areas have the greatest potential for capital gains – remember if you are looking for an investment property you should invest with your head not your heart. An investment property needs to be well located to transport and other facilities so that those renting can easily access these services.When considering which investment loan would suit you best take the following into account:1. Does the investment loan allow you to split it into a number of investment loan accounts. This is a good feature to have in an investment loan because you are positioning yourself for the future – if you use the investment property at a later date to gear into another investment purchase then you can split the account so that the investment loan portion relating to the new purchase is clearly identified. This allows you, and your accountant, to easily track the costs associated with the new purchase.2. If you use your home property (with an existing home loan) as security for the investment loan then it is imperative that you do not mix any home loan debt with your investment loan borrowings. The ATO in Australia requires you to apportion any additional repayments to a loan where the borrowings are “mixed”. You want to apply any additional repayments to your home loan before your investment loan. You are paying your home loan off in after tax dollars – whereas you can deduct the interest you are paying on your investment loan against the income form the investment property.3. Does the investment loan allow you to capitalise interest? It is always a good idea to include a capitalising feature as a part of your investment loan to protect you against any unexpected costs in relation to the property. It also means that instead of subsidising the investment costs and interest shortfall on your investment loan you can capitalise these and make additional repayments to your non-deductible home loan debt.4. If you have sufficient equity in your home then you may be better to consider a 100% + costs investment loan for the investment acquisition and use any savings you intended for the investment purchase to pay down your home loan debt.If you consider all these points your investment loan will be working in your favour at all times.