A good friend of mine, Pam Splitt of the Beginners Guide to Internet Marketing, wrote to me yesterday. She mentioned reading the Whole Truth, the ebook by Stephen Pierce. Both of us agree, it is an ebook worth reading. Both of us agree that he tends to bash ezines. Both of us agree that, in this instance, he is wrong about ezines *smile* but the world is full of differing opinions.

What I'd like to explore today are two different aspects to the ebook and the current trends online to generate traffic.

SMART PAGES

Many people have written to me lately asking my thoughts and advice on using Smart Pages to generate traffic to their website. Some were under the impression you submit them directly to the search engines - NO! - and some sent me controversial forum debates on the pluses and minuses of using Smart Pages at all.

Actually, I'm all for using any legitimate method that increases ones popularity at the major search engines such as Google or Yahoo. Who wouldn't want higher rankings? Lots of the traffic that comes to My Wizard Ads comes directly from people searching for advertising in these same places. This is good.

But, I also suggest that you be smart about your Smart Pages.

There's an outstanding program just recently released, the SmartPage Generator, created by Armand Morin and Raymond McNally. In fact, I've got it listed at http://www.marketingwebtips.com and I use it myself.

I'm for it - with caution. For instance, the program I mention above can spit out Smart Pages in the blink of an eye. The creators also plan updates on a regular basis to keep the program fresh and in line with what is acceptable with the search engines.

Use it? Sure, but I suggest going a step further. Once you've created a FEW - not hundreds! - of your own smart pages, open them up into your HTML editor or notepad and add some true content to these pages.

Now, this may be causing some to groan a bit. Maybe the originators of the idea, and maybe those who were truly looking for an easy way out. BUT, nothing really good comes without a bit of extra work.

The beauty of smart pages is you NEVER submit them directly to the search engines. You tie them into your website and allow the spiders to find them on their own. A HUGE plus.

I just suggest you go a step further and make sure that when the spiders do find them, they also read true content, maybe just a paragraph or two of your own making (it doesn't take much to suggest content to a spider) when they find them.

Hey, safe is better :)

EZINE ADVERTISING

My last remark for today is about the comments made about ezine advertising. Ever wonder why it is so inexpensive? Even with larger ezines the ratio of your dollar spent to the number of subscribers is usually dirt cheap. Often, these low, low prices are questioned or even held suspect in the eyes of some - they wonder, "What so cheap?"

Competition my friend. Pure and simple, competition. I'm faced with it every day at the My Wizard Ads coop. I've been told the prices are just too darn low. Sure I'd love to raise them. Can I? Maybe. Will I? Most likely not... because of the competition.

Fair market value and outstanding customer service rewards the site owner with new and repeat business. New customers having heard about your website by "word of mouth" is the ultimate compliment!

High prices, low prices, middle of the road prices - does it really matter?

Your ability to make money online hinges on one thing and one thing only - YOU. Put yourself behind your product or service, put 110% of yourself behind it all, and you've got yourself a winner.