Site of the Month for September 2011 is concerned with Business Resources. Keep Business provides links to business, automotive, computers & internets, education, government, industry, real estate, small business, telecommunications, translation services, travel & transportation and more.

1. I Took the Risk of Starting an Internet Business

The best decision I ever made in this industry has to be taking the decision to take of risk of starting an internet business.

Back in 1998 few people had heard of the internet. So it was not surprising that no one supported my decision when I told my friends and family I was starting an internet business.

That fateful decision has enabled me to live and work around the world. I now enjoy a lifestyle that I would never have dreamt possible in my old job as a waiter. Don’t get me wrong – I’m not living a millionaire lifestyle. But I have the freedom to do things that I would never have afforded on my waiter’s income.

2. I Switched From a Pay Per Hour to Pay Per Performance Business

After I released my SEO book (no longer for sale) in March 2002, I was inundated with SEO work. After three months I realized that I would be better off optimizing my own websites than other people’s. There are only so many hours in a day so if I were to work on a pay per hour basis, I would severely limit my income potential.

I understood the true value of a top 10 Google rankings, and realized people just weren’t willing to pay what it’s really worth. In 2002 the typical market rate for a SEO campaign was only a few thousand dollars, and that was what website owners were expecting to pay. There were firms charging tens of thousands and even firms charging a few hundred dollars.

The fact is a top 10 ranking is potentially worth tens of thousands of dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars. In some niches, a top 10 ranking is worth millions of dollars.

I felt the full power of being paid for my performance instead of by the hour, when I increased my income by 207% in 18 months in 2006. I achieved that not by working harder, but by working smarter.

3. I Do My Own SEO

I have always hand coded my HTML webpages and SEO (Search Engine Optimization) just came naturally to me as a result. I am so glad that I decided to do my own SEO all those years ago. The power of being able to create webpages that rank highly in Google is priceless. I probably would not have achieved half the success that I have without that skill set.

SEO delivers targeted traffic for free. That allows me to reduce the average cost per acquisition of a customer. As a result, I am able to increase my AdWords bids which is sometimes the difference between my ads being shown for a particular affiliate offer, and a competing affiliate who does not have the benefit of the free SEO traffic.

4. I Embraced Google AdWords

Google AdWords as we know it today was introduced in February 2002. I started advertising in AdWords in July of that year. Next to SEO, advertising in Google Adwords is the next best form of marketing I have used. AdWords allows me to micro-target potential customers by keyword and location. Aside from word of mouth marketing, which is pretty difficult to control, I don’t know of another form of marketing that is so powerful and yet cost effective.

I have spoken to small business owners who are still skeptical of the power of AdWords. I am astonished as to why they feel that way. If you are reading this article and are one of those people who are still hesitant about advertising on AdWords, let me give you some friendly advice: don’t procrastinate any longer. Make it your top priority to learn about AdWords and start a campaign as soon as possible.

Google offer everything you need to know about AdWords on their website. Now they even help you set up your first campaign. You can run a test campaign for as little as $50. If that is too much of a risk for you, then maybe building a business isn’t right for you.

5. I Continually Expand My Knowledge

I don’t think I read an entire book at school. I used to think I didn’t enjoy reading books. That was until I started reading books on self improvement, business and internet marketing. I’m not sure just how many books I’ve read in the last ten years. I have about 150 self improvement, business and internet marketing books on my bookshelf behind me and I’ve probably read over 95% of them.

Do you read books? If not, why not? Don’t have time? Rubbish. We don’t have time to do everything we want, but we can all make time to do all the important things. Expanding your knowledge is so important that you cannot ignore it. Make the time for it.

I make time by reading when I’m waiting for downloads to complete, just before I go to sleep, on the plane, on a train, in the car while waiting for my wife or son, and so on. If you drive to work, listen to audio books and podcasts instead of the radio or CD.

You can find time if you really want to. I have learnt so much from the wisdom found in books that I can honestly say a large part of my success is because of what I learnt from them. I read regularly and plan to continue to expand my mind for the rest of my life.