How to find keywords

Three tips for finding keywords specific to your website

Working at home can be exciting, but you need to make sure you are doing the work properly. This is when you should know some tips for selecting the best keywords. Once you have this information, it is easy to find the best keyword and know it will help draw in traffic to your website on a regular basis, instead of not getting any visitors at all. 

The first tip for finding a keyword is to use Google Instant. When you start typing in a search term, this is the annoying box that comes up and helps you finish your thought. If what you want to write on or target is already listed, then you know other people are looking for this. So you can finally know you are targeting the proper keyword and know people are actually looking for it enough to be included in Google's search results. 

The second tip you may want to use is to review the external keyword tool from Google. When you use this tool, it can provide you with keyword ideas, but also give you some of the latent semantic index keywords as well. So you know what other words the search engines look for while reviewing your site. So you can include one to three of those words and know they will help you rank for your targeted keyword. 
 
The third tip to help you in finding the best keyword is to look at the different competition you have. You want to do this in a broad search and also with an all-in-title search. With the all-in-title aspect, you will know how many sites are specifically targeting your words, but also learn how well they are doing. The broader search allows you to know how much competition you have on a direct basis. 
 
Working online can be exciting, but it is also a challenge. This is when you need to have some tips on selecting the proper keywords. When you have these tips and use them to their fullest potential, it is easy to begin ranking higher in search engines for your specific keywords and know it will help drive your online business to new heights. 

Working distracted

Avoid distractions with these helpful tips

When you work at home, you often face distractions the typical office worker doesn’t face. Whether it’s kids, pets or door-to-door salesmen, every distraction can take you off of your game and make working from home more difficult. To work better from home, it’s necessary to take steps to avoid as many of those distractions as possible.If you have children or work while others are at home, find a place in the house where you can shut the door. Not only will the door block out some of the noise others cause, but when the door is shut, it will signal that you’re working and should not be bothered.

Find other ways to block out the noise and focus. Put in a pair of headphones to block out sounds such as the doorbell ringing, neighbors doing loud yard work or others in the home playing loud music, watching TV and enjoying other loud music. If you work best with specific types of noise, a pair of headphones will give you control over the noise, allowing you to listen to a specific type of music or play nature sounds or white noise.

Track your productivity throughout the day. Are there certain times of the day when you are more productive than others? Is it just the time of day or are there other factors that come up during the day to hurt your productivity? Knowing when you are most productive can help you identify distractions and help you choose the best times to get your work done.

Outsourcing work

When you work from home, you often get to choose your assignments.  As a freelancer, you decide how much work and what types of work you are willing to accept.  This works out pretty well because you can pick the amount of work that is most compatible with your schedule. 

Every now and then, a problem can occur.  Unexpected life events can make it difficult for you to finish all of your accepted assignments by their due dates.  What are you to do then?

There are two things that you can do when you are at risk of not finishing your assignments on time.  You can explain the situation to your client, and hope that they are able to give you an extension on the deadline.  The other choice is for you to outsource your work.

Asking for an extension on the deadline is not always the best thing to do.  Your client might think that you are not serious about your work because of it.  Therefore, it is often better to just outsource your work.

When you outsource your work, you are basically paying someone else to do the work for you.  Most clients will not mind you doing this.  However, to be sure, check your contract agreement with the client. 

Before you submit the outsourced work to your client, you need to check the quality of the work.  It needs to be at least the equivalent of your own work.  Otherwise, your client is not going to be very happy with you.

Set Your Working Hours

When you work at a brick and mortar place, the hours that you need to work are pretty much defined for you.  However, when you are at home working for yourself, no one is there to actually tell you when to clock in and when to clock out.  The responsibility of knowing when to start and end work every day lies entirely with you.

At first, you are probably tempted to just wait until you are done sleeping in to finally get up and go to work.  Then when you have an invitation to go somewhere with a friend in the middle of the day, your automatic response might be to go since you can always do your work at home sometime later on in the day.  Before you know it, half of the day has gone by, and you have yet to get started on your work.  That is not good, since it might cause you to stay up late just to get everything done on time—unless of course, you are a night owl, and actually prefer to work well into the wee hours of the night.

In order to prevent the above situation from arising, your best bet is to layout a plan for when you are going to sit down and actually do your work.  Then try your best to adhere to those working hours that you have set for yourself.  It will keep you well on track to getting your work done. That means you can finish your work, and go to bed at a reasonable time.

The Need for a Defined Working Space

Are you new to working at home?  Then you probably have yet to find your working space.  I know when I first started working at home, it took me a while to figure out the best place for me to work at inside my house.  One day, I was working at my computer desk.  Then the next day, I was typing away on the chaise with my laptop.  On another day, I decided to work while staying in bed.

In those early days of working at home, I think the reason I switched up my working space so often was because I was not sure where the appropriate place to work was.  When I worked at a brick and mortar job, I was simply told where I should sit and work.  So when the decision was up to me, I got excited with all of the different possibilities, and had a hard time deciding.

Moving around so much was not good for my work.  I felt distracted and off somehow.  I guess it was because a work space is similar to a bed in a way.  How is that so?  Sleeping in the same bed night after night, makes it easy to fall asleep in that bed.  Meanwhile, sleeping in a strange bed can definitely make it harder.  I have a tendency to get distracted by things easily when sleeping somewhere new, and it keeps me up.  The same seems to be true with my working space.  If I work at the same place every day, I don’t get distracted.  Move me away from there, and I will find it hard to focus.

Give Yourself a Break

When you switch from a commuting job to a work at home job, it is easy to get overly excited about working from home.  What I mean is that you can get so into your working task that you do it nonstop for hours at a time.  You do not take any breaks because you feel like it is not something you really need.  Plus you do not want to waste time that you personally feel is better utilized to make money.

As a freelancer who works from home, I sometimes feel like I should push myself to work nonstop.  There is so much to do, and I won’t be getting paid until I do them.  So why not push away the thought of having a break in the middle of the day?  I could get so much more done if I don’t interrupt my work.

Even though I might sometimes think that breaks get in the way of working, deep down I know better.  When I spend too many consecutive hours working without a break, my brain tends to get a little foggy.  I become unable to think as clearly as I should, and ideas come at a much slower pace.

There is no doubt about the fact that taking breaks reduce the amount of time that I spend working on my work at home job.  However, it allows me to have better focus during the time that I do work.  In the end, I find myself being able to get more done when I do take time out for a break.

3 Top Businesses to Start from Home

You Can Start Making Money This Week in Some Cases

In days gone by, you had to have a ton of money to start your own business. There were expenses such as buying or renting a space to put a physical store, money to buy inventory, money to advertise, money to hire employees, and plenty of other things that had to be paid for before you could even start to work, and being successful was a long shot. While it's still a challenge to become successful in any business you start yourself, be it online or offline, the chances of making a success for yourself online are much higher than if you went the traditional route of opening a store, simply because there is far less overhead and you aren't competing with other people offering similar products or services in your local community....you have the whole world as your oyster from which to draw clients, so competition isn't nearly as intense as it would be if you were limited to one geographical location. Plus, the old kind of entrepreneurship wasn't really working at home, because you had to leave the house to go to your store.

Today, it is much different. There are millions of successful work at home entrepreneurs all over the world, and many of them make their money in their pajamas before lunch each day, then take the rest of the day to do what they like. Even if they work all day, they're still working from the comfort of their own homes and calling all the shots. Wouldn't you like to have a lifestyle like that? Well, you can. There are literally thousands of ways to start working from home using the Internet. However, the following three suggestions are some of the easiest, quickest, and most profitable ways to get started. You can make a full-time business out of any of them, or use them as a starting point to get funds to build the home business of your dreams.

1.  Freelance Writing

This is a tried and true stand-by of many people who want to start working from home. If you have any kind of writing ability at all and time on your hands to do it, you can find a multitude of places online that will hire you to write for them. Websites always need content, and as long as there is a need for content, there is a need for writers to write it. You can apply to companies directly if you know they are hiring. You can also write for private clients, such as individual website owners who need content for their sites but who don't want to do the writing themselves. You can find private clients on webmaster forums, Craigslist, and even by contacting the website owner directly through their site's contact page. You can find companies that need writers in many different places online, such as http://www.freelancewritinggigs.com, http://www.freelancewriting.com, and http://www.writersweekly.com.

2.  Blogging

If you've got something to say, why not say it to the whole world and get paid for it, too? Blogging is an excellent opportunity to earn a good living online while being totally in control of every aspect of your business. You may think that blogging is just a hobby for people with nothing better to do, but it is far more than that if you know what you're doing and approach it with a business mind-set. If your chosen topic is something you are passionate about and can write about regularly (at least a few times a week, but the more, the better), and other people are interested in it, too, you can make good money as a blogger. All you have to do is build up a following of readers....which won't be hard to do if you're blogging on a popular topic....and then monetize your blog. You can do this in a variety of ways, such as using Google Adsense ads on the blog, selling ad space on it, using contextual link ads, or by promoting other people's products as an affiliate. With Adsense and contextual link ads, you get paid every time someone clicks on one of the ads. Selling ad space on your blog gets you money up front from the merchant who is buying the space. Selling products as an affiliate will get you a commission each time someone buys that product through the links you place to it on your blog. The more people who read your blog, the greater chance you have of getting clicks and sales. Some people make six figures a year with their blogs, so why not you?

3.  Selling on eBay

Yes, it's an old standy-by, but it still works. You can sell just about anything on eBay to anyone in the world. Like with the rest of the Internet, you've got a global marketplace you're dealing with, so your potential for customers is huge. Plus, eBay gets lots of traffic, so you don't have to work for it as hard as with some other ventures, like blogging. You can sell things you already have around the house, or get into drop-shipping products from other suppliers directly to your customers. You can also sell services on there like writing, website design, and other internet-related things if you have a skill you'd like to market. The possibilities and potential for income with eBay are pretty much limitless.

So if you're looking to start working from home, these are your three best options for getting started quickly and putting some money in your pocket right away. You may branch out into other things later and just use these three methods as seed money for your passion projects, or you may make one or all of them your full-time income. It's certainly possible. Just get out there and get started!

Working from Home--Do You Have What it Takes to Succeed?

Know Your Strengths BEFORE You Take the Plunge!

Everyone says they want to start working from home, but not everyone can actually pull it off. Sure, working from home is a common dream. We would all love to be able to say good-bye to our overbearing, demanding bosses, make our own schedules, get rid of our commutes, and spend more time with our families. Starting to work from home can accomplish all of these things for us and make us masters of our own destinies. Beginning the work at home journey also puts us in charge of our own incomes, which are obviously limited by the whims of others as long as we are working for anyone other than ourselves. While some people genuinely do like their jobs and want to keep them, many more would prefer to work for themselves. Let's face it....it's a good dream, and in today's economic downturn, more and more people are finding themselves without regular jobs and in the perfect position to start their own business at home.

While anyone CAN start a business at home, not everyone SHOULD. It takes a certain kind of personality and temperament to successfully work from home. Plenty of people who do take the plunge find they are not suited to it at all and quickly return to the regular working world as employees. However, for those who possess the characteristics it takes to run a home business successfully, the rewards are tremendous, and most would not go back to their old way of life in someone else's office for anything.

Here are the top 3 traits of successful work at home entrepreneurs.

1.  Organization

To successfully work from home, you've got to be a master organizer. Remember, as your own boss, you're in charge of everything that goes on in your business. That means you've got to keep everything organized so that you always know exactly what you need, when you need it, where it is, and where to put it when it's finished. You've got to keep track of customers, orders, invoices, accounts payable and receiveable, due dates, contact information, receipts, licenses and permits, and so much more. If you lose track of anything, it could spell disaster for your company. This can be a challenging task even for someone who is working completely alone. If you bring on employees to work for you, it becomes even more complicated. The most successful work at home entrepreneurs are highly organized and realize the importance of organization. For the few who are not naturally organized, they still understand the necessity of it and usually hire someone, such as a secretary, to keep things organized for them.

2.  Self-Motivation

When it's all on you, YOU have to be the one to motivate yourself to get things done. It's not like when you were working for someone else and you were given tasks to complete on a certain time schedule (with known consequences for failing to meet deadlines). Your boss kept you motivated with either incentives, threats, or both. When you're your own boss, you are respsonsible for your own motivation to get things done. This is the biggest stumbling block for a lot of would-be business owners. They find that the temptation to simply sit around and watch TV, talk on the phone, or surf the internet and not do any actual work when there is no one there forcing them to do work is too great, and they never actually get anything done. As you might imagine, people like this never have businesses that take off, because they never do anything to get them going. Without someone telling them what to do and when to do it, they have no driving force within themselves to work. It may seem incredible, since without doing any work, they won't get any income, but even the income incentive isn't enough for some people. There are those who simply need to be guided and directed in everything to get anything done. Successful entrepreneurs motivate themselves in a variety of ways, but they all have one thing in common....they do what is necessary to make their businesses successful and they don't need anyone but themselves to tell them how or when to do it.

3.  A Clear Separation of Work and Home Life

This is a problem area for many people who are working at home. They may be great at organization and have plenty of self-motivation, and they may be thrilled to be living their work at home dream. Yet there is still something that is causing them a lot of stress and making them unhappy and not as productive as they would like, and that is the fact that they have not set clear boundaries between their work and home lives. When you work from home, other people have a tendency to think that you are available to do anything at any hour of the day or night. People who don't work from home don't understand that it is a business, the same as any other, and that you have a schedule you must adhere to in order to make things work. They don't respect your time. This goes for family and friends alike. You'll often find when you're first starting out that you get calls, visits, and requests for favors (like babysitting) from nearly everyone you know at all hours during your work day, because they assume you're not busy because you're at home. Most of us, trying to please everyone, will be polite and accommodating to these unreasonable requests, all the while trying to work in spite of the distractions. Lots of entrepreneurs find that they end up working irregular hours, often late into the night, just to get things done that they weren't able to attend to during the day due to constant interruptions from family and friends. This blends work and home life to an unreasonable degree and causes burn-out and loss of interest in the business in a lot of people. Successful people who work from home set clear boundaries with their family and friends from the start, have set working hours when possible, and never bring their work time into their family time.

If these traits describe you, or if you think you can successfully cultivate these attributes in yourself, then you may just be the ideal candidate to start working from home. While other elements definitely go into the success of any home based business, it all starts with having the right personaly characteristics for running a business from home in the first place. Once you've got the foundations down, you can start building a successful business working at home and be on solid footing to make it the enjoyable and lucrative company you always envisioned it to be.

Legitimate Work at Home Jobs

With high unemployment rates and a sluggish economy, most of us are eager to make a few extra bugs. If you are having trouble finding a job or cannot leave the house due to lack of transportation, children, inconvenient schedule, or other circumstances, consider pursing a career in the home. There are many scams advertising high earning potential jobs from home. Although you can make a decent living working from home, it is important not to fall victim to get rich quick scams. All work at home jobs require you to actually put in the work. It takes commitment, dedication, determination, persistence, and a niche to succeed in the home at home industry. 

Choose the Right Field

When seeking a work at home job, narrow down the fields that interest you the most. Some women have been successful selling items such as skin care products, jewelry, makeup, candles, crafts, scrapbook kits, and even food. If you are interested in sales, there are telemarketing positions through reputable companies that hire people to make and receive calls. Some of these companies pay an hourly rate, while others are solely commission. If you are crafty, consider selling your items on auction websites or other marketplaces. Etsy.com is a free website that allows people to sell various handmade items. Data entry, medical coding and billing, and customer service jobs are also available online. 

Never Pay for a Job

A legitimate work at home job will never require you to pay any money upfront to begin. However, certain jobs may have equipment requirements. Research any job before applying or giving personal information. If it is a scam, chances are other people are already posting complaints on the internet. 

Network With Others

There are boards dedicated to helping people find work from home. Whether it is starting your own business, working as an independent contractor, or getting hired as an employee, networking with others can provide potential job leads, ideas, application tips, and even a reviews of various companies and their reliability. The Work At Home Mom forum (WAHM) is a free site that has extensive information for anyone interested in jumping into the world of working from your home. Don't let the name fool you...the information is definitely not exclusive to moms. There are other forums, blogs, and websites that can also help you get started. 

Feng Shui for the New Year

One of our annual New Year’s traditions is to use a bit of feng shui in our home. I am no expert in feng shui by any means, so don’t go by my tips if you are looking for advice from a strict, seasoned expert in the art of energy balance. But I have read many books on the subject over the years, and I know some very easy, instant things you can do to help balance the energy in your home; here are some of my favorites.
  • Clean! It seems boring enough, and when you think of feng shui you probably imagine something creative, but this is probably the most important part of feng shui that you can practice. Dirt and clutter block energy and keep things stagnant and may even make you chaotic or depressed—not to mention encourage allergies! Cleaning out everything from top to bottom and purging yourself from all of that clutter is one of the best things you can do. For example, if you want to straighten up your finances, clean out your bills.
  • Repaint and repair anything in need of it—especially leaky faucets, which can symbolize your money going down the drain.
  • Make this super cute good luck goldfish, with children or on your own. Just be sure to not put them in the kitchen or the bedroom; we put ours in the living room. My daughter is especially excited about this project!
  • Put a bowl of fruit on the table to symbolize abundance.
  • Hang a wind chime in a dark corner, or in between your door and staircase, to stir up stagnant energy.
  • Put two lovebirds in your bedroom to help your romantic life flourish. I have two tiny white lovebirds kissing on my bedroom bookshelf.
  • Place photos of children in your family in the living room to help the energy flourish there.
  • Be sure to incorporate the five elements throughout your home, in both color form as well as their tangible forms: wood, metal, water, earth, and fire. If you can get these in every room—and it really isn’t hard to do when you think about it—all the better.
  • Tie a red ribbon or string around the bills you have paid and file them. This creates positive energy around bills you’ve already paid, making it easier to pay more in the future.

What are your best feng shui tips? Share them below!