When you start your blog with the purpose of making some money online I will not focus on design issues. From my experience – it will take time (much more than you expect) and it will cost you money. The sound decision is to choose some free blog template on the Internet and start your blogging process.

Once you achieve some success and see that your idea to start blogging was not too bad and it generates some income it is time to make your precious online resource look more professional. This is the time to think of the design changes. It does not matter if you do the changes yourself or hire a professional designer – you need ideas how you would like to see the outcome of the update.

I suggest you bookmark these blog designs that are called top, but no doubt it is a matter of taste. You can find more ideas by browsing Technorati.com blogs and similar resources.

[tags]blogs, blog design, technorati, design, webmaster, web developer, designer, work from home, home business[/tags]

New product from Google (yes, another one) – cost-per-action [Beta] – a direct competitor of affiliate networks like Commision Junction, Shareasale, LinkShare, etc. Google wants to become everywhere on the Internet.

Some webmasters report they have got an invitation from Google AdSense team:

The Google AdSense team would like to invite you to test a feature that provides you with a new way to earn revenue from your website by hosting ads that are compensated based on a Cost-Per-Action [CPA] basis. These ads are very different in that you will be able to choose amongst a selection and you will also have more flexibility in promoting them…

The attachment is sort of FAQ. The key Q/ A:

How do I get paid?

You get paid whenever a site visitor clicks on the ad on your site AND performs a specified action, such as generating a lead or purchasing a product.

[via: internet.seekingalpha]

Summary: yes, Google is a great company that offers a wide range of great services to webmasters and ordinary Internet users. But they irritate with their desire to cover all niche on the Internet, to be in control of all online services.

[tags]google, stock, money, investment, internet, search, AdSense, cpst-per-action, cost-per-click[/tags]

Does your home business aimed at your local community? You need to advertise your products and services at your home city? Well, in addition to Yellow Pages and local classifieds you should have a look what three top search engine (Google, Yahoo!, MSN) have to offer. They have much improved the options for marketing local businesses and I am sure will help with your efforts to expand your market. Check the guide links and options (Matt compiled a short, but ultimate list of the current local Intenet marketing options):

• Guide to Google Local Search – Google Maps and Google Adwords. Click-to-call should be up and running soon.
• Guide to Yahoo Local Search – Local Listings Center and Yahoo Search Marketing Local Sponsored Search
• Guide to MSN Local Search - MSN Search Local
• Other Local Search Marketing Options – CitySearch, InfoUSA, MerchantCircle

The question is: do your prospects search for your products and services on the Internet?

Summary: I think that great majority goes the old tested and trusted way: open your local Yellow Pages and make a call. But the situation is likely to change within a couple next years. It is better to start early to fill the niche and to feel comfortable in a few years when the competition in local Internet marketing will get tough. Have a look at the traditional Internet search scene: those websites that were started 5-8 years back did not gain much profit at that time. And now they are on top of Google and generate very nice income. Do not miss your chance.

[tags]Internet marketing, affiliate marketing, local marketing, home business, work at home[/tags]