Meetup Review 

What does this tool do:  Soothes your lonely heart…or is very valuable as a niche and ranking tool. 

Cost: Free

Who Needs It:  Do you want to be in close touch with your potential buyers?

Info Page:   http://www.meetup.com/

Comments:

Meetup serves multiple purposes: it will allow you to meet like minded individuals who share your goals and ideals; it will allow you to mix in and eventually rank your own site, and it will help you to prequalify your idea. What good is the last thought?  If you need to identify an interest in your area of expertise, this is the place to find it. 

Alexa Review 

What does this tool do:   Gives you a visual ranking of sites so you can identify sales niches in your favor.

Cost: Free

Who Needs It:  It’s just part of your research.

Info Page:   http://www.alexa.com/topsites

Comments:  

So you have heard of Alexa but don’t really know what it is? Visit the link above and you will waste some good time, plus you will be able to narrow down and prequalify niches that might be good sales opportunities for you. 

Google Zeitgeist Review 

What does this tool do:  Keeps you from believing there is a trend…when there isn’t. 

Cost: Free

Who Needs It:  Do you want to ignore Google stats?

Info Page:   http://www.google.com/intl/en/press/zeitgeist/index.html

Comments:

“The word zeitgeist describes the intellectual, cultural, ethical and political climate, ambience and morals of an era (similar to the English word “mainstream”) or also a trend.”  So says Wikipedia. Of course you could just say Trend, but it doesn’t have the cache. It’s German you know. Enough of this.  Go to the above link and find additional Google sites that will help you prequalify the niche of your choice.

Lycos Searches Review 

What does this tool do:   Helps you to identify what is a viable niche for your sales online.

Cost: Free

Who Needs It:  Do you want to cover your bases?

Info Page:   http://www.lycos.com/

Comments:  

When is the last time you visited Lycos? Well start. Lycos along with the two previous blog entries in Webzoom and several yet to follow, will help you to identify areas that are worth your time in validating a niche for your future sales. Be sure to drill down to ID popular products. 

Sitepoint Review 

What does this tool do:  Identifies competition.

Cost: Free

Who Needs It:  Do you want to make money?

Info Page:   http://marketplace.sitepoint.com/

Comments:  

At the Marketplace tab within Sitepoint you can identify sites that are making money. If you can do better then this is the place you want to study. Internet marketing flies in the face of traditional thinking…instead of find a niche of low competition, you will want to seek out HIGH competitive areas and then stick your hands out to snag sales as you build up your site.  This site identifies where you need to go.

AOL HotSearches Review 

What does this tool do: Helps you to identify what the buzz is all about. 

Cost: Free

Who Needs It:  Do you want to know what products or services are popular?

Info Page:   http://hotsearches.aol.com/

Comments:  

This is one of the search sites you need to visit before you decide on your product niche. Drill down to identify your best opportunities.

TrendWatching Review 

What does this tool do: Plants clues as to what you should be selling…or not…down the road. 

Cost: Free and Not

Who Needs It: Those who are considering affiliate or niche related sales.

Info Page:   http://www.trendwatching.com/tips/

Comments:  

A prompt for the business mind, TrendWatching will allow you to weigh whether or not your search for a product-trend is backed up by others…in advance.

WordPress Direct Review 

What does this tool do: Sets up and stuffs a blog with your hands tied behind your back. 

Cost: Free and paid.

Who Needs It:  Probably you.

Info Page:  http://www.wordpressdirect.com/how-it-works/

Comments:  

Easy Schmeezy Dude. There is probably not enough space to detail how you can use WP Direct to your easy benefit, so I will point you to the Info Page above and let you read and view the advantages. The primary value I see is feeding links to your own site or sites, especially as you build up your page rank, age, and relevance over time…and doing it with minimal effort. If you have the time to set up different sites (on different IP addresses), then you can gain significant benefit from such behavior by feeding backlinks into your prized domains. It is never too early to investigate your future advantages.  

EduTextLink Review 

What does this tool do:  Allows you to purchase a valuable EDU link to increase your own PR. 

Cost: Various

Who Needs It:  Want to increase your PR?

Info Page:   http://www.edutextlink.com/

Comments:  

If you don’t know yet, the EDU extension on any page referenced is valuable as a PR intensifier. Higher PR gives you higher rank in Google and other search engines. Here is the last of our series on building your PR through the purchase of backlinks. Prepare to pay, but the value is commensurate.

YourMainDomain Review 

What does this tool do: Another Page Rank elevator…for a price. 

Cost: Pay for Play

Who Needs It:  Want to elevate your status in life?

Info Page:   http://yourmaindomain.com/

Comments:  

Buy an aged or PR 6 link here and check out the site before hand. $160 per (PR6) link. If it matches your product or message, all the better. But high PR itself…and an old domain…is worth the price of admission.