When it comes to building websites you need to understand what you fundamentally wish to achieve. This should be front and center. This way you stay focused on your overall goal which will help you stay on track when it comes to research.

One thing a lot of people fail to remember when building a site is that you will need to effectively communicate with people. Sure you will be doing a lot of keyword research but behind those keywords are people who need something and you need to communicate with them.

The mechanics of the site will be based upon the keywords you choose. This will determine the navigation and overall theme of your site. Getting this right is really important. This will also help you to achieve good rankings on the search engines.

For effective keyword research you will need to visit multiple sites to determine how best you can position your new site. Everyone will tell you that you need low competition keywords with high volume searches - while this is sound advice it can be tuff to achieve but that does not mean that you should not do it.

Where I change the game a little is by starting with the article directories and looking for keywords with articles that achieve high number of page views, this way I know I can write an article and get immediate quality traffic without having to wait for the search engines.

This can bring you advertising revenue and sales. When it comes to building the site itself there are lots of site building software out there. The one I had the most success with starting out helped me to get into the search engines and took care of hosting and good link development along with a solid site structure.

To learn how you can put this work for you select any of the following links.

I am using the time I alloted today to work on the real estate investor marketing in the Learn To Be Rich on-line game to lay out a framework of the steps we need to follow to get this new feature implemented into the game.

First, I will need to access the Php MyAdmin control panel and manually add in some of the sample types of marketing so that I begin to play with those with my test player in the game. My intention is to add 3 or so different ones like classified ads, bandit signs and door to door flyers.

Next, once I have those three in the database, I will need to add some code so that there is a chance each turn to learn that from our in-game Marketing Consultant. This includes adding the type of marketing to that players database table as something that is available. It also includes making sure that it shows up on the Real Estate tab as something you can work on.

Once I have it in the players database table, I need to add the code for the player to be able to modify how much to spend each turn on that type of marketing.

Next, I will need to write the code to determine the number of new houses that appear for you to look at based on the marketing you are spending money on.

Once I have this basic system working, then I will go back and add more types of marketing and tweak the interface to get the right balance in the game.

So, that is the plan right now to make the game have that new feature for modeling the marketing to find motivated sellers.

Pay for a web designer or do it yourself? Can small business owners really design a website or is it a job for the pro's?

Most consumers look on the internet before going to a store. Sometimes it is their only stop: they research, compare and buy online. It goes without saying then that for a small business to reach its potential market, it should have an internet presence.

Small business operators do not often have a dedicated IT person on staff - in the past this is the person who would be given the job of building a website. It's great news then that there are now beginner-friendly website building packages on the market which are perfect for the small business person's use.

Data is entered into your web pages as one would using a word processor - with modern easy to use web builders, there is no need to know any html whatsoever.

The tutorials provided with almost all software suppliers take the novice through the process of building a website in a non-technical, easy to understand way. Having completed the tutorial, one is equipped with more than enough knowledge to launch straight into a website build.

Not all website software programs are easy to use. Small business operators do not need fully blown web design industry solutions due to the steep learning curve. One feature to look for is a WYSIWYG (What you see is what you get) editor. This simply means you type on the page as you see it.

There are expenses involved in publishing your own website - you get nothing for nothing. Apart from the cost of the software (there are free web builders however they are more difficult to use or too basic in features), a small business (or an individual or a large company) will need to register a domain name (less than $10) and find a web hosting service (around $8 per month).

Businesses should also set up a merchant's account from an organization like Paypal (free). Having a third party handle financial transactions is always reassuring for consumers and takes away an administration burden. When an item has been ordered via your website and paid for, Paypal advises you, with delivery instructions so that you can fulfill the order or if it is an electronic delivery, this part can be automated.

In any small business time is money, and the time spent learning a new skill like website building with easy to use software must be seen as a good investment. It is possible to build multiple websites so that you can have a website network feeding a central business. This is ideal for multi-brand retailers and multi-branch operators. This degree of control will reap rewards as your business grows and you build different websites to cater to changing needs.

Because you have built and are managing your website yourself, you are able to instantly react to changing trends and new opportunities. Avoid delays by not having to wait for your webmaster to make changes. Fresh content on your website is highly desirable.

Some website programs are specifically designed to assist the business person become an internet business marketer, and as your knowledge of web design grows, the more you will value search engine optimization and site map generation tools. Having a correctly designed site map helps search engines easily match your site to search requests.

If you decide to look at other ways to earn money through your website without doing a thing, you will no doubt look at including on your site some affiliate marketing and advertisements from non compete companies.

Features to look for:

Ideally you will have an instructional video, help desk support and forums. Look for testimonials from other business owners to see how they have applied the software.

Getting started is the next step once you arrive at the conclusion that a website is no longer a luxury - it is essential!