I'm a technology consultant for DotDNA which is a full-service website design company (www.dotdna.com). I've been designing websites since 2001 and have a Diploma in Web Development.
The most easiest and effective method of earning money online is by having your existing customers spend money multiple times. A lot of us spend a great deal of time and effort on trying to attract new customers that we neglect the ones we already have.
Although you may not know what a web directory is, chances are you've used one in some form. Essentially all a web directory is, is a website that categorizes websites for easy viewing. Before search engines were the force they're now, the most common way surfers located websites was by using web directories such as the Yahoo Web Directory.
For the most part, designing your very own website is an exciting experience. You may have all these great ideas and plans, and when you finally complete the website and launch it, expectations are high. Unfortunately what happens in most cases, is after launching a website, very little traffic will come through and the person who made the site gives up after a week or so thinking "maybe it wasn't such a great idea after all".
If selling goods online, you're not going to get very far without a shopping cart. Before going any further, a common misconception when it comes to shopping carts is that they perform the whole purchasing process - from ordering your product to your money being sent to the seller.
Article marketing is quite a recent method of viral marketing and can be extremely powerful if used correctly. Money may make the world go round, but it's information that makes the Internet go round. A nicely written article can become a wild viral tool which can attract new visitors to your website in no time.