"The Secrets of List Building Unmasked"

Web templates are freely available, not only html but also in the form of targeted WordPress themes. For the most part the WordPress themes are simply reliant on the efforts of the installer to correctly configure the theme to suit their needs. Grab a free 10 pack of niche WordPress themes by right-clicking here and selecting “Save As” or “Save Target As” from your browsers drop down box.

Html templates are a little different and I would like to cover that with a few basic suggestions.

Firstly, many html templates that are being given away, for the purpose of gaining visitors to a site that sells premium templates, are simply basic templates. They have little or no SEO efforts have been incorporated in these templates , and that is fine so long as you realize that you need to address it.

I use, as an example, the free template entitled “andreas02″. This is quite a nice looking template and available free from any number of websites, but I will include it in a zip file of a dozen or so templates that you can grab now if you right-click here and select “Save As” or “Save Target As” from your choice of browser options.

As you can see from this screen grab of my html editor, the meta tag options are minimal at best. After you edit these lines, change the charset, and add your relevant data and keywords, I would be inclined to add the following lines of code:-

<meta name=”rating” CONTENT=”General”>
<meta name=”revisit-after” CONTENT=”30″>
<meta name=”robots” CONTENT=”INDEX, FOLLOW”>
<meta name=”distribution” CONTENT=”Global”>

No need to alter anything there, simply copy those 4 lines as they are and add them below the other meta tags. While not all search engines will take a lot of notice of these tags, I believe it is better to have them than not.

These templates can sometimes take a little work to get all the tabs, bells and whistles working but are worth the effort. Simply work through them a little at a time, it helps if you are using a quality html editor, and keep checking it regularly in your web browser. I use UltraEdit for my html pages because it has a button in the menu to display your work in a web browser with a single click, without requiring you to “save” all the time. It is probably a little expensive for the newcomers, so have a look around for a program that suits your budget. At a pinch, you could simply use notepad but it makes the process quicker and easier with a dedicated program.

When you get down to the bottom of your template, don’t forget to include a “Privacy Policy”, “Disclaimer”, “Terms”, and a “Contact” link. You will need to build, or download and modify, the Privacy, Disclaimer and Terms documents. Rest assured, customers will show you more respect if you include them, and some search engines will take note if they are missing. Not forgetting vendors, such as Clickbank, will absolutely insist on you having these links before they will let you list your product with them.

Privacy Policy, Disclaimer and Terms documents are widely available free since the recent changes to Federal laws, so don’t get sucked into paying for them. Download them, personalize them and ftp to your site. You can then link to them from your web page.

The “Contact” link is a simple code that will look like this:-

<a href=”mailto:you@youremailaddress.com“>you@youremailaddress.com</a>

Some templates come with all the code, you simply fill in the blanks, others require that you insert it all yourself. Some templates will also include a thankyou, or download, page so I would like to address this next.

If you have a product of your own that you are selling from your website, you will need a download page. If your template supplies it, simply edit it to suit your product, add the same links and contact info as we just discussed in the previous section, and save it. BUT, do not simply save it as “thankyou.html” or “download.html”. There are a lot of unscrupulous people out there and if they can by-pass you payment processor, they will. Don’t make your download page easy to guess, add initials of your product, numbers, or anything you can think of to make it difficult to guess. An example would be “thankyoutrg75593.html” or “downloadnow67558tfg.html”. These lowlifes will do more than simply by-pass your payment processor, steal your product, and move on. They will go to forums and noticeboards and post the link to your download so every man, woman, and child with a computer has free access to your product.

Another template option is the “Preseller”. View an example of a preseller HERE. These pages are designed especially to promote top selling Clickbank products and my friend Aaron will send you a free preseller page every month. You simply add your Clickbank affiliate code to it, upload it to your site and link to it from your blog. Now, there are a couple of things to keep in mind with these pages.

Firstly, the product will arrive as “productname.zip.php”. Before you try to unzip it, right click on the file and select “rename”. Remove the”.php” from the end and save. Then you can unzip the package and edit it.

Secondly, you should rename it before you upload it because it will probably come to you as “index.html”. Rename it to reflect the product, keywords are good for the page title.

Thirdly, although you could use it without a blog, I recommend that you don’t. To use it as it is would require that you buy a domain with a keyword rich title and edit the document to ensure at least a 30% variation from the original. Bear in mind that these are popular, because they work, so there are many of these templates out there. You can rest assured that someone already has one online, so to upload yours to a web site as it is would put you in a duplicate content situation with the search engines. You would find it extremely difficult to get a good ranking. However, if you write a good, original blog post and link to the page from there, you would eliminate the need to alter a single word.

These preseller pages can be found through THIS LINK, but let me tell you this first. This is my affiliate link so, if you purchase an upgrade, I will receive a commission. The sample page I sent you to have a look at before is the standard FREE template. You can have one of those sent to you every month at no cost. The upgrades, as you will see, are far better because they include video clips. Videos sell, of that there is no doubt, so if you can afford the upgrade you should do it. The increase in sales by using a video clip on the presell page has been proven over time, but here is another tip – refuse the upgrade when first offered to you. The next offer you get will be almost irresistible. Follow your common sense, if you can’t afford to upgrade then don’t. Aaron will not pull the rug out from under you, so you can grab the free template and try it out. Once you make a few sales, and return next month for the latest template, he will offer you another excellent deal.