They start with this little nugget, “State of the Internet … Mobile internet will be bigger than desktop internet within 5 years.”

One graph shows internet usage via mobile phone surpassing desktop use within a couple of years, with the gap only growing after that. And Dan Hollings of Stompernet notes on average mobile phone users of the internet are three times more likely to buy than desktop users while Jack Dorsey of The Square reports processing US$3 million in mobile payments PER DAY.

Meanwhile the Google Adwords Keyword Tool has multiple mobile phone search options and information marketing giant Clickbank offers to tailor offers for mobile phones. At least one web host, Hostpapa, offers software to convert existing desktop-friendly pages into mobile phone friendly ones, even sensing device type and tailoring to each.

Of course the trends actually appear more wrinkled and nuanced than at first blush. Purchases via mobile phone tend to run under $5 and iPhone users tend to be on the internet around 9 percent of the time–much of it watching video–while using a mobile phone versus around 3 percent for other mobile phones. Mobile phone users of the internet also tend to browse far fewer pages than desktop users, presumably partly because of on-the-go distractions and the difficulties (so far) of cumbersome pages never designed for mobile phone sized screens and capabilities.

Mobile phones have already been put to good use for local “instant gratification” markets as Hollings notes. Imagine hungry students or business people searching via mobile phone for the nearest pizza joint or likely lunch spot. Below-cost offers get them in the door. Foursquare, and now Facebook.com/places, specialize in linking people where they are with the nearest available thing for which the are looking.

Indeed in 2010, Google said local intent is behind one third of mobile searches.

But what about online affiliates of health supplement companies, of information products, Amazon, retail brands, or even MLM recruiting and sales? On the whole I see two things.

One, affiliate marketers and MLM folks with an online presence are not without existing assets that could be used in reaching mobile phone users. Two, my wet-finger-to-the-wind assessment of the moment is (and has been) that the trends in mobile phone use of the internet are outstripping the response of online affiliate marketers and MLM folks with an internet presence. We are behind the times.

As of this writing, a Google search in quotes of the long tail phrase “affiliate marketing with cell phones” yields all of 8 competing pages. A search for “affiliate marketing with mobile phones” yields zero results.

Of course this is not the whole story. But in any case, a few practical possibilities come to mind.

One, one can purchase services such as Hostpapa provides to convert websites to mobile-friendly formats when a mobile search is detected or set up mobile-only pages, perhaps including the recent “.mobi” extension. Among other things, this probably requires tweet-sized messages for highly targeted audiences and the simplest and easiest point-and-click means of purchase and delivery (or use of 800 numbers) for the types of products that are popular among such customers.

Second, one can use social media with mobile users in mind–not perhaps to pitch and close a sale, but to engage and gain recognition and trust.

Third, we can change business models somewhat to seek to gain our bread and butter via local means, performing online marketing services in affiliation with chiropractors, dentists, local retail store owners, real estate agents, and so on in our local neighborhoods. Netspaceprofits (with which I am affiliated) offers training and resources in such a model.

And since the trend is still relatively new in the US and many part of the world (albeit more developed in Japan), more practical means of reaching mobile customers will no doubt come to the fore … as ad competition increases.

Kim is one of those rare finds in the IM space that consistently provides
tremendous value in everything she does.

Which is why I am proudly affiliated with her.

She’s a country gal at heart but don’t let that fool you…

She’s been beating out many of the big-name gurus with
her southern belle charm.

In fact, many refer to her as the ‘Traffic Queen’. Which from what I’ve seen
is certainly a worthy title.

At the ripe ‘ol age of 25 she’s managed to unlock
the secrets to massive traffic…testing and tweaking
new traffic strategies… plus adding her own little
twists and tricks.

And unlike most other marketers, she spends most of her
time in the trenches, locked up in the marketing laboratory -
cookin’ up more juicy traffic goodness.

But every once in a while she surfaces back up into the
real world to share her latest findings.

If you’d like to see what she’s been cookin’ up in
the lab lately go now to:

http://buzzblogger.com/td/?e=BAF

Kim’s has unlocked her very best traffic strategies in her latest
product called ‘The Traffic Dashboard’. It’s a complete training
center that contains over 20 of Kim’s top traffic getting methods.

Thes traffic techniqes are really quite unique as you can see
for yourself by taking a look inside the member’s area…

Traffic Dashboard – a sneak peek inside…

Inside ‘The Traffic Dashboar’ Kim shows you how to go from nothing
to over 3,000+ subscribers in just 30 days. (all in step-by-step detail).

You literally point and click your way to increased traffic with Kim’s
unique dashboard design. (as seen above)

You have to actually TRY to mess this one up! Because the point-and-click
learning system forces you to take action.

Here’s a sneek peak at what you’ll find inside…

An underground tool for extracting exactly
where your competitor’s website traffic is
coming from. This is like being given the
keys to the kingdom. (I’m really surprised
Kim is sharing this little gem)

(If you thought Alexa was cool imagine knowing EXACTLY
how much traffic your competitors were getting each day
and knowing exactly where that traffic was coming from.)

“James Bond” tactics for spying on your
competitors and forcing them to hand over
all of their hard-earned, battle-tested,
profit-busting strategies.

A super simple method for cramming your opt-in
list with 200-400 subscribers in a single day…
(and NO this has nothing to do with ad swaps)

A really cool strategy that shows you how to get 10x
MORE traffic from EVERY article you write.

As many of you probably already know, traditional article
marketing is becoming less and less effective. What worked
in 2004 simply doesn’t cut it anymore.

So Kim show’s you 10 different ways to repurpose your content
for additional traffic and exposure. Use just a couple of the
strategies in this video and you’ll have no excuse for not
getting AT LEAST a couple hundred visitors for every article
you publish.

… and that’s just the tip of the iceberg!

This thing is packed with over 8 hours of juicy
traffic goodness… NO fluff… NO filler.

With over 8 hours of step-by-step video and
enough how-to information to DESTROY literally
every question, worry and problem you’ve ever
had in regards to traffic.

A Word of Warning: There’s just ONE caveat to this
product. In fact, these traffic methods will NOT work in all
situations. In order for these traffic strategies to reap
their full power – you MUST be creating HIGH QUALITY CONTENT!
(not some auto-generated content that not even your momma would
be proud of…)

If you think you’re going to slap together some useless crap,
throw up some auto-generated sites and have thousands of visitors
pouring in…This course is NOT for you.

This training course was created specifically for people who
are looking to build REAL businesses online… People who are
dedicated to providing top-notch value for their visitors,
subscribers, and customers.

This is something Kim stresses a lot, and I agree. If you’re
not willing to take the time and effort to put together some
really good content and offer real value, then don’t bother
with ‘The Traffic Dashboard’. It will just be a waste of time
for you if you don’t have good content in place.

But…

If you are dedicated to building a REAL business online and
providing your visitors with REAL VALUE then ‘The Traffic
Dashboard’ will help you to grow your business 10x faster.

Plus, at an affordable price to boot!

So, if you’re ready to turn on the traffic tap, then
click on the link below…

http://buzzblogger.com/td/?e=BAF

There are no “tricks”, or “magic traffic buttons” here, just
proven traffic strategies that are designed to generate traffic
as quickly as possible.

Plus, for those of you who are more advanced, Kim combines old
school tactics with new traffic twists and tips that you won’t
want to miss…

http://buzzblogger.com/td/?e=BAF

If you do a search on a major search engine, you find the pages and sites listed in the search engine’s database. Or if you are on a site with a directory, you can search for a topic to find whatever might be listed in the directory. The more directories in which you have a listing, the more likely that your site will be found.

Of course directory searchers do not want to find sites or information irrelevant to their searches or to the categories of the given directory. So when submitting your site to directories, you are usually asked to place your site in an appropriate place so that people looking for what you have to offer are more likely to find it filed in a logical place. And your site will thus not be appropriate for every directory.

Aside from Yahoo!, DMOZ is another large directory, although what the site owners are looking for is unique contributions that make affiliate sites typically unlikely candidates barring a large amount of unusual and valuable content. Not to worry. There are many others. Here is a small sample of some relatively reputable ones (see http://www.seoinpractice.com). Some are free, others for pay or either free or paid versions are offered.

http://www.canlinks.net

http://directory.ldmstudio.com

http://www.directoryvault.com

http://www.freewebsitedirectory.com

http://www.info-listings.com

http://www.linkcentre.com

http://www.newwebdirectory.com

http://www.prolinkdirectory.com

http://www.searchsight.com

http://www.skoobe.biz

http://www.theshoppings.com

http://www.worthwhilelink.com

http://www.wowdirectory.com

http://www.zunchdirectory.com

Probable delays between submission and–if approved–publication to a directory can vary between minutes and months.

Be aware also that the ease of submitting backlinks to directories implies that backlinks from those directories typically is not weighted highly for the Google PageRank or authority of your site (again Yahoo! and DMOZ being common notable exceptions) nor are link exchanges–but why not include directories in garnering traffic back to your site? Even link exchanges can be mutually beneficial to sites and viewers, the former if the two sites are related, but not in direct competition like a site for back-friendly mattresses and a site for a chiropractor linking to each other.

You can find directories appropriate to your site by searching with the following queries or the like:

“submit link” +”your keyword(s)”
“submit a link” +”your keyword(s)”
directory +”your keyword(s)”
directories +”your keyword(s)”
keyword *directory
(or even “free general directories”)

And if you can find a directory for a local area, your competition is usually reduced. Why compete with the world online when you can compete with your local city or county (see wowdirectory.com, above)?

A last word of warning: Do not add too many backlinks from directories all at once, especially if your site is new. That may look suspicious in search engine eyes.

So the second possibility is to look for an established niche, one that has proven to have buyers. That’s good, except for the competition. Trying outranking an established, million backlink, high PR site for the keyword “weight loss.”

Then there’s the niches in between. Those have a track record of buyers, with relatively moderate competition. You still have to rank for keywords in the niche, and that takes work and know how. But it is something that can be done if you are willing to compete.

That is where Kim Roach excels. If you are in the market to learn about tackling such markets. In fact, her training on generating traffic is the best I have seen, though she does not (yet) have an affiliate program for her coaching site.

Here is just a taste I got recently from a webinar of hers: her suggested list of plug-ins for using the wordpress platform. Especially plug-ins that enable on-page seo (search engine optimization), plus a few that are just plain useful, like the ever-present akismet, which minimizes the hassles you have to face with spam.

Of these, the first is probably the most important for seo internal to your site.

platinum seo pack
seo friendly images
wordpress seo pager
seo slugs
backup wordpress (by BTE)
wordress automatic update
cbnet ping optimizer – prevents multiple pinging = spam
wp cache
google xml sitemaps
pretty link
gd press tools
contact form 7
sexy bookmarks

Most of the above can be searched, downloaded, and activated right in the wordpress backoffice under “Plug-Ins” and “Add New.” The remainder can be found by doing a search online, downloading, and transferring via an ftp client like FileZilla.

P.S. For videos on setting up wordpress sites, see http://www.becomeablogger.com/.

SEOLinkVine.com (with which I am affiliated) offers an exchange service.

Content providers offer spun articles with up to three self-serving links to webmasters looking for good and relevant content for their sites. Webmasters not wanting to come up with all their own content find a source here.

Granted, those accepting the content for site publication have to accept the content as is, links and author name included. And granted, content providers have to write content site owners are seeking.

And granted, competition for ranking with the content depends in part on how well the content is spun (variations). Duplicate content may not show up in search engines. But content providers increase their traffic and content publishers get more to please their traffic.

So all in all, its a fair exchange.

Online video tutorials helps you get started on one side of the other.

A little while ago, I listened to a Stompernet webinar featuring economic forecaster Harry Dent. One thing caught my attention in particular.

Dent’s economic indicator graphs and demographic figures painted a picture of the next several years or more very reminiscent of the imagery mapped out by Elliott Wave theorists like Robert Prechter.

Granted, the two sides look at a lot of similar data and use mathematical magic too dizzying for my eye, but Dent’s rock bottom foundation seems to be demographics, whereas Elliott et al. base their theory on mass psychology. Yet their respective projections are alike.

OK. My crystal ball ain’t so crystal, and both camps could be wrong, but at present, I’m buying the forecast they’re selling. We are headed for a deflationary depression deeper and wider than in the 1930s.

There. I’ve just identified the elephant. Some may yawn and mutter “can’t-be-worse-than.” And power-of-positive-thinking gurus may stop their ears. We’ve done well hitherto and we cannot be wrong now.

For copywriters and online sellers in a very real sense, I think the elephant represents a paradigm shift.

Buying habits are going to change big time for a long time.

It isn’t that the fundamentals of human psychology are changing or that the copywriting principles of catering to emotional benefits changes. Its the emotions themselves. En masse.

To borrow from Elliott, mass mood drives market. We humans feel as herds, stampeding toward optimism or pessimism, hope (e.g., greed) or fear, acceptance or distrust, risk-taking or security, toleration or anger, what makes bright colors trendy or subdued colors. Positive moods characterize and dominate bull markets. Negative ones the bears.

None of this denies individual or cultural differences. But both Dent and the Elliott folks are talking about a largely global bear market for our imminent future.

The headlines, the calls to action, benefits, and products that hit the sweet spot in all of living memory may instead strike a sour note to the customer just over the horizon of tomorrow. Or the reasons why customers buy product “X” will change. And so should the copy.

Of course we’ve recently come off the largest and longest bull market in all of recorded economic history in a time of explosive population growth. Bull market euphoria still lingers and reverberates in the herd. And bulls and bears, up moods and down moods, swing in big and little ways in overlapping fractal patterns.

But in a big way, it will take time–years–to reach the final bottom before coming back up. Its just that the lemmings are headed for a cliff.

Granted, most readers are not all the way down the sales funnel on buying these forecasts. They think there may be an elephant in the room, but it must be a small elephant … even though the signs of what’s coming are here, like debt, unemployment, M3 shrinkage in the US dollar, and massive speculative building in China.

In any event, many may lean toward hedging their online betting. In the US, affiliates and providers of products and services with perceived health benefits to aging baby boomers will be more likely to find a hungry market … as Dent reminds us. But luxury products will probably decline in popularity. Ostentation will be out.

Dent went on to suggest services that help debtors reduce their interest rates or overall debt. Or I might add that home security devices are more likely to scratch the bear market itch. Online marketing trainers may be advised to accent the security of an added income stream rather than the blue water and bikini lifestyle it may afford. Popular clothing style will show less skin and be more color-neutral.

Calming beverages may be more popular than energy-boosting drinks … even sugar is less popular in bear markets. Stress management ideas may gain a new edginess. Local (whether geographical or not) may be trusted more than what’s outside the circled wagons. Trust may be harder to earn and easier to lose. The ideal dating mate of 2012 may look and feel less hot, but more solidly reliable.

What would a copywriter write if banks started going bankrupt … all over? What do people want who are losing their homes in foreclosure? If a person can’t afford college, what alternative training can one offer to enable her to reach her goals? How will people want to entertain themselves when they are angry or afraid? What kind of music will they like?

The niche markets we choose to enter today will ideally anticipate tomorrow’s mass moods. The emotional hot buttons we push in our copy will too.

Believe me, I hope the forecast is wrong. And when marketing to stampeding humanity, it is best to think like them. They are not terribly bearish yet. But sometimes entrepreneurs must stick their heads above the herd to see where we’re headed.

Of course, you don’t want just any traffic. You want people to see your site who are more likely to be interested in what you offer. A given market of people buy what they want, and you can offer it.

1. Keywords as Anchor Text

Online, a big way you get targeted traffic is via keywords. The keywords you choose ideally should be:

(i) relevant to your page (and not ambiguous — “shepherd” as in German Shepherd or the guy who leads sheep or a music band),
(ii) have enough people searching for it,
(iii) not have too many other pages on the world wide web using the same one (i.e., lower competition), and
(iv) be of the sort that is more commercially viable. People are more likely to buy when they type in “baby toys” than when they type “George Washington’s birth year.” Or so says Market Samurai.

And use your keywords as anchor text.

2. Relevance

The text of the anchor text should be transparently relevant to the content on your page or site the viewer reaches when clicking on your anchor text. And your anchor text should flow naturally within the content where the anchor text lies. It should be relevant there.

And the scope of your content where the anchor text lies should be relevant, where applicable, to the broader context. If your content consists of a comment to a blog post, your content should be applicable and relevant to the post.

3. Put content and links on highly ranked and varied pages & sites.

One can find PageRank (and many other pieces of information), for example, using the Firefox browser using the free, open source software SEO Quake.

Many links to your site from a single external source may not be as powerful a set of “votes” to your site as many links dispersed on several sites.

4. How to Search Using Google

Do you want to find places to offer content for high quality backlinks?

Aside from reading the post immediately linked above. Here’s some illustrations (from Adam Short).

i) “your keyword” + “post comments” – “comments closed”

ii) “your keyword” + site:.edu + “comments” (or “your keyword” + site:.gov + “comments”) – .edu and .gov sites tend to be ranked highly in search engines.

5. Trust

Trust is hard to earn and easy to lose. It comes by developing relationships in a way that is consistent and provides value to the reader, the consumer, the partner. Trust is built by work ad skill. Trust is built by the excellence of content. Write content and anchor text for the benefit of humans, not search engine robots.

Short cuts and corner cutting may get you farther ahead faster, but if integrity is sacrificed in the process, sooner or later your friends and customers will find out, and you will pay for it.

Joel Comm’s and Dan Nickerson’s Socrates WordPress Theme (of which I am an affiliate) is a new and versatile, seo optimized website building software package with user-friendly and highly versatile interfaces.

After purchasing a domain name and registering with a webhost, use Socrates WP Theme to customize background color, select and customize a header, add sidebar widgets, customize navigation bar, social media slider, RSS feed, rotate affiliate banners, add adsense, and more.

Video training for the quick-and-easy Socrates WordPress Theme is included in the package.

So if you have a need for a variety of professional-looking websites for your own products or for affiliate niches, or if you are into PLR (private label rights), this may be an inexpensive and feasible way to build your business.

And although videos are being downloaded online in hefty numbers, competitiveness for many keywords is not (yet) as stiff as in text-based media. “Tags” to videos in YouTube function as keywords. Other than traditional keyword research, tags can be chosen because they duplicate those of successful/popular videos covering the same or similar topics to one’s own.

Here I suggest procedures for constructing a simple video using a MS Power Point slide show and adding narration in MS Movie Maker. Slides work best when simple (not dense and verbose) and visually appealing.

1. Starting in Power Point, choose a slide design under “Format.” When done with the first slide go to “Insert” to add a “new slide” … and so on.

2. For purposes of making a video out of the slide show in MS Movie Maker, each slide must not be saved as a “.ppt” (power point) document; saving as a “.jpeg” works.

3. After you have completed constructing the slide show and saved each slide as a “.jpeg,” open MS Movie Maker and import the whole slide show into “Collections.”

4. Click and drag the slide from “Collections” into the “Story Board” section of MS Movie Maker. Then switch from “Story Board” to “Timeline” view.

5. Click on your first slide in the Timeline, and stretch your first slide to some reasonable length of time, a little over what you anticipate the audio time to be. Record your presentation for the first slide from a selected microphone or other connected audio recording device.

6. After recording the audio for the first slide, note the disparity in length of time between the audio and the slide. Click on and drag the first slide in the Timeline to match the time length of the audio for the same first slide. The length should be the same for slide as for audio.

Repeat process with the second slide with audio until the end of the presentation.

7. Save the MS Movie Maker presentation as a movie in “WMV” format to your computer. This may take a little while.

8. Upload your video onto YouTube. Note other sites for uploading on Tubemogul (each site has its own formatting and other requirements).

YouTube videos must be informative or entertaining, not mere sales pitches, must be less than 100 MB and not more than 10 minutes in length (barring special arrangement). Statistics also suggest the majority of viewers drop off after the first 30 seconds, one minute, three minutes, etc. The relevance of tags and titles to video content, engaging content, and brevity are recommended. Of course a targeted audience is more likely to watch for longer periods.

On YouTube in present configurations, the first 122 characters of the description are viewable without clicking for more. Putting a relevant link within those 122 characters should be standard procedure for marketing purposes.

Mind you, there are already reporting and taxing mechanisms in place for the same business transactions that the new onerous regulations will address. Sales tax and income tax are already being levied for these. Its just that the new regulations would require businesses to garner information and submit 1099s for every business transaction accumulating to US$600 or more per annum.

That means if–for example–your business buys a computer in 2012, you will need to collect a Tax Identification Number (TIN) for the vendor that sold you the computer before you are legally permitted to pay the vendor for the product. And then you need to go through the hassles and effort of providing a 1099 for the vendor for that purchase, or cumulatively for the year of you bought more from that vendor.

Or in effect, so argues Chris Edwards in Costly IRS Mandate Slipped into Health Bill.

The extra paperwork comprises a kind of tax on labor. The extra gazillion forms will require a large increase in accountant and IRS labor to reconcile the redundant filings. No doubt errors will increase. Risk to identity theft will necessarily increase with wider distribution of TINs.

And while the outcome may increase business honesty and government revenue, at the same time it will decrease efficiency and add significantly to the costs of running both business and government. Whether the bottom line for the government will be an increase in revenue or not is uncertain.

If the regulations kill business, any positive change from the government perspective can only be more dubious. Health care reform apart from new 1099 reporting promises to burden many businesses already on an economic brink. Such businesses know they either cannot afford to hire new employees because of the increase in required employee benefits, or they must lay off workers they could have paid without health benefits. And government control of health care decreases competition in related industries, which historically in various economic sectors has been shown to increase consumer (or patient) costs while decreasing quality.

The recent health care legislation was passed under a mountain of private and public debt. Early news suggests the health care legislation will increase spending requirements for government rather than as promised, reduce it. Interest in government raising taxation must be matched by the opportunity and ability to make a profit. With less profit, there is less to tax. Under a mountain of public and private debt, business, government, and consumers suffer.

And 1099 reporting legislation that has promise to do nobody any good in economic hard times needs closer scrutiny. Am I misguided on this? Please comment.