It's 2008 and You Still Don't Know the Benefits Web 2.0?

I sent an email to my mailing list few days ago and mentioned Web 2.0. Now you may already be familar with it so you don't need to read on. But, I received over 100 emails from people who did not know what it is and many thought it was a software program. So, I want to clarify what Web 2.0 is.

I want to keep this simple. My definition of Web 2.0 is any website, blog or forum that allows you to interact, too leave information, especially a link to your website. They are social sites.

For instance, if you visit someones blog and they allow you to make comments and leave your web address, that's basic Web 2.0. If you visit a forum and make a comment and can leave a link to your website, that's Web 2.0. Myspace.com and FaceBook.com are Web 2.0 and other sites like Squidoo.com, gather.com, hubpages.com, clipmark.com, digg.com and scribd.com are all Web 2.0 sites.

Now why is Web 2.0 important?

Because the search engines are starting to give authority rankings to many of these Web 2.0 websites. In other words, they consider these sites to be important. Because of this, they give links from these websites importance. One link from a prominent Web 2.0 site can be worth 100 links from regular websites. Plus, these are one way links. You do not have to link back from your website.

Because these websites are interactive, you are able to set up accounts and post information and give links to your websites. Google spiders these websites often, as often as every minute. If you have posted relevant information and included a link to your website and used keyword phrases that are not too competitive, its possible for your listing to be ranked in the top ten of Google within hours.

Someone sees this link, clicks on it, goes to the Web 2.0 site, clicks on your link and ends up on your website.

So, the main advantage to these Web 2.0 sites is that they can send a lot of targeted traffic to your website and help you in your search engine listings and page rank and its free.

There is a lot of information on Web 2.0 on the Internet. I will also be covering this subject in my Coaching Club.

You are going to start seeing more and more listings in a Google search from Web 2.0 sites. They will soon crowd out the other websites. If you are depending on organic search engine listing for traffic to your website, you had better get real familar with Web 2.0 quickly.

Already, when you search on Google, you will see Wikipedia listings, news listings, maybe a video from youtube.com, which is also a Web 2.0 site. Google refers to this as Universal search and will fully take over by the end of this year.

To stay up with this, you will need to post videos on youtube.com, set up lenses on squidoo.com, submit images to flickr.com, use Google Base, etc.

Michael Gravette is a successful entrepreneur and ex-Air Force Intelligence. He is the founder and president of Safety Technology, the largest provider of wholesale personal protection products and wholesale surveillance systems.