Preface

Ok, let me give it to you straight. Here are the questions you need to answer to be able to create a web site and make money from it:

•  What to sell (products, services, advertisements or a brand)?

•  How to sell (web design, copy writing, technology, getting paid online)?

•  How to get visitors to your web site (generating traffic: free and paid)?

•  How to get them to buy your stuff (conversion through pre-selling, brand building, information give-away)?

•  How to keep them and their friends coming back for more (up-selling, cross-selling, affiliate program, joint ventures, self-sustaining lead generation)?

Master these 5 areas, one item at a time, and you are golden.

But the real secrets lie in knowing not just what to do, but more importantly, how to do it.

The web is full of information, but the problem is, the web is full of information ! No, that was not a misprint – half of what is in this book is probably out there somewhere on the web, distributed among millions of pages. The problem is that the good information is hiding out there along with the bad information, and there is no easy way to find it.

All of that information is of absolutely no use unless someone collects it, reviews it, filters it and validates it. Yes, that last part – validating it - is the most important one. It is so easy to publish your thoughts online, that it has become almost impossible to cut through the clutter and get to the good stuff.

For instance, if you did a Yahoo! or Google search on “Yahoo SEO” or “Google SEO”, you will get millions of web pages that supposedly have information about optimizing your web site for Yahoo! or Google. That information is buried within thousands of blog posts, forum postings, newsletters, reports, and niche sites.

If it is all sitting out there for free, then why is it that there people pay Yahoo a one time fee $299, and an ongoing yearly fee of $299 (forever) to get their web site listed in Yahoo's index (on top of that, if you stop paying them, and they will remove your site from their database)? And then there are others who pay hundreds, if not thousands, to Search Engine Optimization (SEO) companies or to buy high-priced commercial tools, in order to get top rankings on Google.

Are these people crazy to pay so much money to others to get their sites ranked on these search engines, when all of that information is available for free? Or are they just too lazy to do it themselves?

The truth is they are neither crazy, nor lazy. The problem is one of validation.

There is no practical way of finding out whether all that information available for free is any good at all, unless someone puts them all together in context, in a meaningful, consumable way - someone who can be trusted as a source, someone who is an authority on the subject, and someone who has done it all themselves - someone like yours truly.

In this book, I will teach you spectacularly simple and completely free ways to get a spanking new web site (with absolutely no PageRank, no incoming links, no visitors) not just listed on Yahoo! and Google within days, but also get a top ranking on both these search engines (along with the rest) without spending a single dime on SEO, without exchanging a single link, without building a single list, without sending out a single email, without buying a single piece of software that promises “top rankings”.

In fact, I will show you how to use the very same techniques to get not one, not two, but three top Google listings for the same web site, without using even one black-hat or gray-hat technique.

Do I have your attention now?

Just the two chapters on Traffic Generation and Link Popularity alone will be worth 10 times the price of this book. But I'll let you be the judge.

But first things first…

This book is more about the “What” that comes before the “How”.

This is about what you need to know to start and run an e-Business even before you begin to think about how to do any of it; this book details the ground-work you need to do before you begin the actual work.

This book gives you a blueprint, but won't build a house for you.

This book is a roadmap, but can't actually drive you there.

This book is your shovel, but won't dig a foundation for you.

If you have ever wondered how to start your own web site and sell a product or service online, then this is the only no-hype, no-nonsense, no-fluff book you will find anywhere, that not only gives you the facts as they are, but also points you towards an un-biased list of resources - from the very best products and services to the cheapest, most inexpensive and the most efficient formula to run your e-Business.

Having been in e-business myself for over 11 years, I have discovered and discarded many products and services. During all those years of building my e-business by trial and error, I've gone through many trials, and committed a lot more errors than I would have liked to.

In hindsight, I am glad that it happened the way it did, because I wouldn't know what I know today without all of those experiences, and I would never have been enough of an expert to write this book.

But the price of figuring it out all on your own is far too great . This price will be a lot less, and the learning curve a lot less steep, if you learn directly from those who have explored the rough seas before you and provided you with a map.

Know that saying about smart people learning from other people's mistakes? I have spent countless hours and thousands of dollars purchasing and using some awesome products – while running into many duds along the way. This book is a culmination of everything I've learned; and also a laundry list of everything I've had to un learn.

Simply absorb what I have shared here, and I promise you will be miles ahead of the rest of the pack.

In this book, I frequently provide examples of my experiences in building some of the web sites that I own. It is not a cheap plug for my web sites or products, but a practical and tangible way of explaining to you why I made the choices I made, the thought process behind them, and the results I got.

This book is a manifesto about everything that needs to be done to launch and run a successful e-business. But remember: there is a big difference between knowing and doing . Not everyone can become successful simply by watching the successful. That is why there is only one Michael Jordan, one Seth Godin, and one Mother Theresa.

This book will empower you with an insider's overview about all components that go into the making of a successful e-business. But it is up to you to take it to the highest level, on the strength of your passion, hard work, and perseverance.