Happy New Year. Need Motivation For 2013 ...

This time of year many people choose to reflect on what theyve done and set some goals out for the next 12 months.

I’m not particularly one for resolutions, but after browsing around the Internet for the last 90 minutes and coming across more than a few really sad stories relating to people’s experiences over the last year or two while we have been in this crippling worldwide recession, I thought I’d put together a list of things that might be worth considering.

It’s not a “blueprint to success” or anything, and I know a lot of it is simply common sense. But if in the last year just one person has turned their business online around – even partially as a result of what they have learned here – then that will put the cherry on top of 2012 for me.

Without further ado, a quick list of ideas to consider to get your Internet marketing or SEO campaigns moving in 2013:

Analyse your website.

• When was the last time you took a really good look at your website? Perhaps run it through a free utility or just use a word processor to check your keyword density.
• What about your images and their alt tags?
• When was the last time you added any new content?
• It is sometimes a little slow to load? Is there anything you can do about this?

Your website is – in a very real sense – your real estate. your business capital.

Nobody else is going to look after it for you. It’s the one thing on the Internet that you actually own. Perhaps give it a bit of TLC in the New Year.

• Are you happy with your internet host?
• Are they offering you good value for money?
• Do you know the months it is until your hosting account and domain names expire?

I’m surprised at how many people let this just drift and then suddenly caught out by seven or 14 day notice and need to find cash really quick to renew a domain name registration or hosting account. Have a look now, make sure you’re covered.


What’s your websites security like?
When was the last time you did a full site back up?
Ask yourself this question…

How long would it take you to recover your site if you were hit with a sitewide virus that wiped out your site, your content and the databases that support it?

If you’ve got a big site could it be days, weeks or even months to get it back going again?
Don’t take chances – Google will have lost interest in a lot of the good work you have done over the last few months if you are out of commission for weeks on end. A simple full site or even full control panel backup just once every week will take no more than 10 minutes and means that your site can be back up and running within an hour of being hit by a crippling virus.
Many hosts offer control panel backup, though some require you to pay a couple of dollars a month for access to it. This is essential, factor it into your budget in terms of the cost, and into your working week in terms of the time taken to backup your site.
What bad habits have you picked up over the last few years that you could maybe lose in 2013?

• “Blast linking” is a thing of the past for most SEO strategies, are you still tempted by those big numbers and hollow links?
• Do you spend too long browsing niche forums and blogs rather than getting on and working?
• Do you have a daily, weekly or monthly plan of work? Goals you would like to achieve over specific time period?
• If you are employed by a normal business, they would set you goals, strict hours to work too, and would measure your performance periodically.

This is your business now, your profit and your ability to become wealthy in a relatively short period of time doing something for yourself.
Don’t sell yourself short!

Set goals, set milestones and do your darndest to stick to them. I know you’re not lazy, but working for yourself as most of you who visit this forum seem to do, requires a great deal of self motivation. It’s not something that is taught at many schools. “You can do it Duffy Moon!” (kudos to anyone who remembers this form the 70's)

• What specific SEO activities are you going to improve over the next 90 days?
• Are you concerned that the back-link profile to your URLs is too focused on specific keywords or platforms?
• Has it been a long time since you added content to your website?
• Is your keyword density and little to high?

With a little hard work all of these errors can be corrected. Take charger of your future success in 2013, take that “Massive Action” that will make all the difference to your online success.

Just because there are several things that need doing there is often a temptation to do none of them. It’s almost like “task constipation”. Don’t be a victim.
Set Goals “If you don’t have a dream – how you going to have a dream come true?”



A good tip here is to speak to somebody and tell them in layman’s terms about the tasks you think need doing.Then say to your friend or business partner, which should do first?
There’s a chance that won’t even understand your terminology so break it down into something simple. I need to add to my business, alter the way people view my business or alter the way people find my business in the first place. Which do I do first??

If you want my answer, (and I’m going to give it to you whether you want it or not), then you should start internally and fix your website or business first.
There’s no point in inviting more people to a site that is not performing properly.
Start at the core and work out.

There. There’s your priorities for 2013 sorted. (Ahem – sorry)
Finally, what are your financial goals for the long-term. By that I mean where do you expect to be in 2015 or later?
Some sample answers here are;

• Earning twice what I now
• Earning a minimum of $100 a day
• Making a living wage for less than 20 hours work a week
• Saving “X thousand dollars” towards my retirement

Are your goals similar to this? Perhaps there is a specific event or activity you are saving for that would normally be way out of reach. An all bells and whistles wedding, a three-month cruise, quitting work and learning to play the guitar and forming your own rock band.
Whatever. Make a mental note of what your real goals are and whenever you find yourself unfocused and unable to get on with the tasks at hand, picture your goals clearly. Do you really want them? Of course you do. Then get on and work to achieve it.

Here’s a fact for you. I had a picture of a 1975 Les Paul Custom Guitar stuck to a cabinet by my desk between 2002 and 2004. It cost £2,400 ($3,600) or almost a months net salary at the time. No chance!
I now own it, and a ’77, and a selection of other guitars including a couple once owned by some very well known rock guitarists, pedals, amps, a Vox bass, a top of the range drum kit a 16 track mixing desk, professional sequencer…

I didn’t “luck out” and get them. I worked 60+ hours a week for several years until my lifestyle was such that I could afford to by them without wincing – or resorting to a really expensive loan. I still work 60+ hours a week now. I have new goals, and a great way of life, as well as the satisfaction of knowing I worked my ass off for it. It’s a great feeling, and a feeling YOU should have!