Keyword density is an indicator of the number of times the selected keyword appears in the web page. But mind you, keywords shouldn’t be over used, but should be just sufficient enough to appear at important places.

If you repeat your keywords with every other word on every line, then your site will probably be rejected as an artificial site or spam site.

Keyword density is always expressed as a percentage of the total word content on a given web page.

Suppose you have 100 words on your webpage (not including HMTL code used for writing the web page), and you use a certain keyword for five times in the content. The keyword density on that page is got by simply dividing the total number of keywords, by the total number of words that appear on your web page. So here it is 5 divided by 100 = .05. Because keyword density is a percentage of the total word count on the page, multiply the above by 100, that is 0.05 x 100 = 5%

The accepted standard for a keyword density is between 3% and 5%, to get recognized by the search engines and you should never exceed it.

Remember, that this rule applies to every page on your site. It also applies to not just to one keyword but also a set of keywords that relates to a different product or service. The keyword density should always be between 3% and 5%.

Simple steps to check the density:
? Copy and paste the content from an individual web page into a word-processing software program like Word or Word Perfect.
? Go to the ‘Edit’ menu and click ‘Select All’. Now go to the ‘Tools’ menu and select ‘Word Count’. Write down the total number of words in the page.
? Now select the ‘Find’ function on the ‘Edit’ menu. Go to the ‘Replace’ tab and type in the keyword you want to find. ‘Replace’ that word with the same word, so you don’t change the text.
? When you complete the replace function, the system will provide a count of the words you replaced. That gives the number of times you have used the keyword in that page.
? Using the total word count for the page and the total number of keywords you can now calculate the keyword density.

One of the powerful tools in online email marketing is to build an opt-in mailing list. An opt-in mailing list is a database of peoples’ names and email addresses that have subscribed to an email list via a web form giving that list owner permission to send them periodic emails on the topic they are interested in. The best gift of this powerful tool is the possibility of being able to talk to people who are particularly interested in your product, service or organization.

This gaining popularity of building opt-in mailing list is known as Permission Email Marketing.

There are do’s and don’ts in starting your opt-in mailing list. Here are some of the most important tips worth mentioning:

DO

1.    Put a subscription form prominently on your website. You can create your own subscription form using a software Sign-Up to’s form builder.
2.    Inform people that they can subscribe to your email list on the signature of your normal work emails. This will enable it to link straight through the form on your website.
3.    Ask people permission if they do want to be subscribed on your mailing list. As much as possible avoid being suspected for SPAM.
4.    Open options for subscription especially during your interactions with them. Always be ready with your subscription cards if you run in on events.
5.    Be clear on how people can benefit from subscribing and how often will you contact them. Make them know exactly what they will be receiving.
6.    If you can, contact new subscriber as soon as you can. Welcome them with notes and tell them what to expect.

DON’T

1.    Add everyone who has ever emailed you to your list. Always ask permission first.
2.    Purchase lists that you are not 100% sure that are opt-in. Always have an evidence to prove the legitimacy of the opt-ins.
3.     Abuse people’s trust. This is a sure way to ruin your brand and you. Soon enough they will ignore your messages.

Building your opt-in mailing list is cheaper than in sending direct mails. Printing, envelopes and paper used as material further add up to the cost. Here are some ways to effectively start your opt-in mailing list:
1.    Free Newsletter. One of the most effective ways to build an opt-in list is to offer your online visitors freebies of value such as newsletter which will contain information that they can relate to such as tips, tools, recipes, travel itineraries and others.
2.    Make it Easy to Subscribe. Provide easy steps for subscription so that subscribers may find it easy to do so and would not be discourage. For more subscribers, tell them the exact benefits they can get out of the subscription.
3.    Quality Content. Be sure that what is written inside the newsletter, freebies and information found in your website are all of value to increase visitors dropping by your website.
4.    Forums. Discussion boards and forums are all over the net. Try to actively participate in these boards especially those in the line of your interest or your business. Try to build your reputation with credibility.
5.    Write articles. This makes you an instant expert in your chosen field of interest. You just have to play on it and use it well in your business goal.
6.    Co-registration. A very effective way to build a monster list in a very short time.
7.    Write an e-book. An excellent freebie for those who visited and subscribe in your mailing list. The e-book does not have to be expensively made or elaborate but it can be a compilation or a collection of best articles, business tips and resources.

In building opt-in mailing lists always keep in mind to offer something of value to your prospects. Remember opt-in lists are the foundations of most profitable internet business so do not miss chances for improvement and developing new strategies.

Having an opt-in list is not easy, it is hardwork but with some relieving advantages too. But to build an opt-in mail list has to be focused and effective in truly capturing the desired target. Take a look at these 10 Quick Easy Steps to Building A Highly Targeted and Responsive Opt-in List.

1.    Choose your target market or niche. Remember you are not the only one competing in internet marketing; you have to be sure who your internet marketing is.
2.    Be sure that you can reach your target audience online.
3.    Do not waste on time on a non-profit investment or spending. Always monitor your spending.
4.    Forums and discussion boards are available for maximum use. Find your target market problems.
5.    Identify what is keeping your customers from getting what they want and help them get it.
6.    Try offering your viewers solving some of their problems.
7.    Set up a simple direct response mini-site.
8.    Get an auto-responder account. It is important for you to acquire and set this thing up because this is where your visitors will come.
9.    Bait your potential customers through giveaways like: ebooks, special reports, mini courses and coupons, etc.
10.    Reach out in any way you can to your target market.

Opt-in building is a tedious work but with amazing results. The process of building it takes time and effort but persists. Always treat your “find” as a goldmine so that you will offer them the best deals in the market, those with great quality and value. Doing all these, would earn you credibility and a profitable business on the Internet.

From their press release:

NEW YORK - September 12, 2008. MIVA Media, a leading digital advertising network and a division of MIVA Inc., (NASDAQ:MIVA), today announced the planned launch of a new online advertising platform. The new platform is intended to fully replace MIVA’s legacy Pay-Per-Click systems across the US and EU and provide significantly enhanced features to the Company’s thousands of advertisers and publishing partners.

The new platform is expected to extend MIVA’s existing Pay-Per-Click offering by including a broader range of online advertising and marketing formats. It is intended that once fully rolled-out the new platform will provide a complete one-stop solution for publishers looking to monetize their web properties and advertisers looking to run branding, customer action and retention campaigns online.

MIVA’s new platform is scheduled to be introduced via a phased roll-out with the first phase beta release planned for U.S. launch in Q4 2008. This first phase release is expected to update and enhance MIVA’s existing Pay-Per-Click systems. Image ads are expected to be added to MIVA’s existing text based Pay-Per-Click ads, and the release is also expected to include enhanced targeting, screening and reporting tools for advertisers and publishers. This first phase beta release is expected to be followed in 2009 with a second phase release that should see the introduction of a suite of new online ad formats and additional new features.

“As the online advertising market continues to mature, the needs of advertisers and publishers are also evolving. MIVA’s new platform is intended to address these needs through completely updated technology that we believe will provide a significantly enhanced set of features and online marketing options for advertisers and publishers,” commented S. Brian Mukherjee, SVP and Group Managing Director, MIVA Media.

In addition to the expected benefits for advertisers and publishers, the new technology platform is also intended to deliver cost savings across MIVA’s US and EU operations. Once fully launched, the new platform is expected to replace MIVA’s 10 legacy technology platforms and deliver savings in hardware, infrastructure and resourcing.

When you are trying to make money off of the articles on your website, it is important to effectively promote your site so that you will attract customers and they can see just what a good, quality site you have. There are several ways so market and promote your website, one of them being though banner advertisements.

What Banner Ads Can Do For You

Banner ads can help bring visitors from others sites to your own. Although monthly fees can be expensive to advertise on high traffic sites, in the end it may be cheaper and/or a faster way to start seeing significant revenue from your website efforts, rather than waiting for SEO techniques to bring your own site to the top of search engine results. Aside from paying to advertise on someone else’s site, there are also free banner exchanges to choose from. We will look at the pros and cons of each banner advertising method below.

Free Banner Exchanges

Free banner exchanges are when you and other sites exchange each others banners. Their banner will go on your site and your banner will go one their site. Although this option is free, there are two main problems with it. First, if you want your banner on a significant number of sites, it will mean cluttering your own site up with these banners. This could even shot you in the foot if you run an affiliate website because, instead of clicking on your affiliate links, your visitors may be clicking on your banner exchange links. Secondly, you have to be really careful about the types of sites that you exchange banners with. Some sites like to gather a lot of banners so that they can be a directory or portal site and not have to have any real content. These “banner farms” or “link farms” will do nothing positive for your site and, in the meantime, you will be bringing them potential traffic.

Paid Banner Ads

As we saw above, paid banner ads cost money, but they will eventually pay off if you choose the right ones. You need to ensure that the site produces the amount of traffic that they say and that they have your ad placed in a way that invites visitors to click without being too pushy. You also want to choose a site that does not house too many other banners on the same page as yours or that there are no competitor links on the same page.

All in all, banner ads can end up being profitable for you site if you go about it the right way. If you do decide to check out banner advertisement as a marketing avenue, be sure to keep the above tips in mind.