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I'm a relatively new member here but i have read several other forums similar to this one. This is intended for those looking to start up an e-commerce business.
I have been in business online for a little over 6 years now. I own an office equipment business selling copiers, fax machines, printers, shredders, and electronic copy boards. We do a pretty decent amount of volume with over 18,000 unique visitors a month.
65% of my traffic is derived from Google, 13% from MSN, and 9% from Yahoo.
It took me one year to even get my website up and running. Meaning it took one year before i was really listed well and ranking well in the searches and that was back in 2001. In the beginning i did this all myself. Writing each individual page with specific terms that i wanted to be seen with. Early on i showed up for very specific search terms like for a Sharp AR-M207. This was ideal at first because i did not have the hassle of having to lead my customers by the hand to find a particular machine. As time went on i decided it would be necessary to start showing up for specific terms like "copy machine" and now we currently show up number 2-3 on Google. This has given us the ability help guide the decisions our customers make on office equipment.
We now currently spend a little over $1500.00 a month in advertising fees. Not for adwords or other advertising gimmicks but for someone who knows what Google and the other search engines are looking for, to make changes to our site that would allow better placement within their rankings and writing articles for us. I tell you this because the old proverb "it takes money to make money" still applies. Sure i could do it myself but who has the time to do everything.
I'm not at all writing this post to boast about my site, what i'm trying to say is, all of the people who come to these forums looking for information on how to make a quick buck, might as well pack their bags and live under a bridge. I'm thankful my site is already up and running. It seems to me getting listed and becoming a force on the internet is becoming harder and harder. Those who don't mind a long journey into the internet world, don't be discouraged because if you put forth the time, it is well worth it.
Its all about information. Search engines are not designed to bring "YOU" revenue. They are designed to provide information to their users.
What you need to ask yourself is, "What am i bringing to the world that would be useful? How could this information help someone?". That is what the search engines are looking for. You do that and the monies will flow.
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