This article is devoted to the exploration of anchor text, how it relates to search engine optimization and its effect on page rank.

Have you ever heard of the term Google bombing? Well if you haven't, it is a tactic that many internet marketers use to associate keyword terms with a webpage in an effort to boost the article's page rank for that particular term.

For example one of the keywords I am currently targeting with this site resides in the following paragraph.

This article is about how you can use anchor text to effectively.

If I wanted to gain search engine ranking place for the keyword earn money online, I would make sure to link the term to an article about the topic on another blog. Obviously, the reason I would want to do this is to show Google, the association between that article with the term earn money online. Yep, there's no doubt about it... That is an anchor!

Assuming that I could get several other sites with considerable authority and a high Google page rank to follow suit and link the term to my blog I would be able to jump to the top of the SERP's and be the king of the hill for the keyword earn money online.

Generally anchor text should be used in a way that assists the sites readers. If I had a site about getting out of debt and the article you were reading mentioned something about credit card consolidation, it would make sense to drop an anchor text link in the term to another article about the topic.

The following are a few tips in regard to anchor text:

1. Try to only create anchor text links that provide your readers true value.

2. Use the context of your articles to prepare the reader for the anchor.

3. If the anchor text says something about forex trading then actually follow- thru and link to an article or website dedicated to forex trading.

Anchor text usually complements contextual links, the more relevance an article has with a link the more authority and credibility the major search engines will give that link.

Makes sense right?

Locke Dauch has a Bachelor's Degree in Marketing from Western Washington University. He has been writing and researching in the field for over ten years and is determined to continue his life long aquisition of knowledge in the disciplines of business and marketing.

More of his work can be viewed at the following website:

Your Blog Is Money - Make Money Online

Many Internet Network Marketing business owners use leads to find potential business builders. Quite often, people don't like to rely solely on their warm market to build their business. Therefore, a lot of lead companies have set themselves up to generate leads and sell them to business owners.

However, the quality and price of these leads varies widely, and business owners can spend thousands of dollars on leads, without much success. A solution to this problem is to generate your own leads, and there are many ways to do this, especially on the internet. This article discusses what leads are and lists the advantages of generating your own leads over purchasing leads from a lead company.

What Are Leads For Network Marketing?

A 'lead' for a network marketing business is an individual who's filled out a questionnaire online or offline, asking for details about a work at home business. A lead vendor has generated this lead by advertising on websites, on search engines, or from email messages. The questions the individual (lead) answers on the questionnaire are usually general, and don't ask for specific details like 'what kind of home business would you like?'

Sometimes, the questions asked are about earning money on the internet, and don't even mention a business. A person who wants to earn money on the internet, doesn't usually want to start any business at all. An internet network marketing business might be the furthest from their minds. Someone wanting to earn money on the internet usually wants to trade their time for money, by doing some jobs and getting paid for them.

Once the questionnaire has been filled out, each lead is sold by a lead vendor, to a lead company. The lead company sells the leads to the home business entrepreneurs. By the time the home business entrepreneur gets the lead, it's been at least 3 or 4 days, and quite often weeks or months since the lead first filled out the questionnaire. The leads might even be (usually are) shared with others or perhaps sold a few times, to different companies.

What Is Happening From The Lead's Point Of View?

If the lead is sold to different companies and shared with others within the same company, imagine how many times this person will be called and emailed! In addition, because the person is looking for a home business, he or she may have filled out a number of questionnaires or forms, so this compounds the problem of information overload.

They may have received so many phone calls and emails they become really tired of it the process, and give up on the idea of a home business. In addition, they might not have actually been introduced to a business that really appeals to them. Or, worse still, they were actually looking for a job, and none of these offers are about a job.

A Solution for The Lead and The Business Owner

How much simpler would it be, for someone who's looking for a home business, to just type some words into the Google Search engine and find what they're looking for quickly? For example, if a person loves dogs and cares about their nutrition, they might want to have a business to do with dog nutrition. There is probably a network marketing company with dog nutrition products. So, this dog lover goes to the Google search engine and types in the words "dog nutrition business", and actually finds your blog or website with

stories about dogs and the kinds of things they should eat. Do you think this person would be better to work with than someone

who doesn't even like dogs and doesn't care what they eat?

Another person might love healthy energy drinks, and wants to build a business marketing these products on the internet. He or she might got to Google or Yahoo or MSN or YouTube and type in "MLM healthy energy drinks" because they want to build an MLM Internet business that has healthy energy drink products. They come across your blog with all this information on healthy energy drinks, and another blog of yours that has information about how to build a network marketing business on the internet. Do you think this person would be enthusiastic about working with you? Would he or she be more enthusiastic than a lead you had purchased, who doesn't care about health or energy drinks?

Generate Your Own Leads

If you have an Internet Network Marketing business, you can easily create blogs and websites that have information about what your products do for people. If your business sells products related to dog nutrition, you could have a blog or 2 that talks about different dogs, has videos of dogs, and perhaps talk about all the different nutrition for dogs, and why they need it. If you love dogs, this would be fun and easy to do! You could have a sign up form on your blog, so visitors can sign up for information to be sent to their email address. Those people who ask for information, are your leads, and you can follow up with them, giving them useful information.

These people (leads) are much more valuable than the leads you buy, because they are specifically interested in dogs and nutrition. In addition, you can offer your products on a blog, and many people will become your customers.

Advantages of Generating Your Own Leads

1) Self-Generated MLM Internet Leads are Less Expensive than Purchased Leads

Purchased leads can cost between $2 and $10 each. You can generate your own leads for a small cost of website hosting and an auto-responder. Website hosting for your blog can cost as little as $7 a month, plus an autoresponder to follow up with your leads, costs around $20 a month. However, you will need to spend some time each day finding content for your blog(s) and for your auto-responder newsletters, plus marketing these.

2) Self-Generated MLM Leads are Better Targeted Than Purchased Leads

Purchased leads are generic. You might pay $10 for a lead which has no interest in what you're doing. Leads who have searched and found your blog or website are much more likely to be interested in what you're doing because that's what they've searched for.

3) Timing is Better For A Self Generated MLM Internet Lead

By the time your purchased lead is contacted by you, they may not be interested anymore. When a visitor arrives at your blog or website, they have found you right at the moment they were searching, so they are interested at that point in time.

4) Self Generated MLM Internet Leads will Save You a Lot of Time

With purchased leads, you spend a lot of time talking to people and following up with people who may not even be interested in your business. If you spend your time creating and marketing your blog, it could be seen by thousands of people. And, you've spent the same amount of time, whether you have one or thousands of visitors.

5) Interested People Contact You About Your MLM Internet Business Instead of You Calling Them

It is so much easier to speak to people when they contact you about your business, which is what happens when you generate your own leads. When you purchase leads, you really need to call each of them, and that's one of the hardest things for new (and experienced) network marketers to do.

Therefore, if you get your blogs and websites into the search engines, and make sure they can be found by people wanting to do what you are doing, you can generate your own leads. You can attract individuals who really want to do whatever you're doing, and you will save yourself a lot of time talking to leads who don't really want your specific business. People can afford to be fussy these days, because there are so many choices. So, it's much easier to attract people who really want to do what your Internet Network Marketing Business, instead of calling generic leads and perhaps only finding 1 in a hundred who are interested in exactly what you are doing.

If you're not sure how to attract customers and business builders to your Network Marketing business, Julieanne van Zyl has a simple step by step Internet Network Marketing System, especially for entrepreneurs of an Internet Network Marketing business. This is for network marketers who belong to any company, and would like a simple and effective way to build your business on the internet.