Site Promotion Secrets – How To Advertise Online For Little Or No Money!

If you thought advertising online meant spending wads of cash, then think again! You can advertise online for little or no money when you know how. Here are some surefire ways to get more eyeballs to your site at a very low-cost or no-cost at all:

Secret #1 – Article Marketing And Submissions

Article marketing has been around for ages and it still works like gangbusters in driving highly targeted traffic to your web pages. The concept is simple – write short articles and submit them to high-traffic article directories such as EzineArticles. Submit articles in volume – then watch the traffic come flooding in.

Secret #2 – Classified Ads

Two of the best classified ads sites around at the moment are Craigslist and USFreeAds. Craigslist is more popular but has more strict rules regarding the ads but the potential for tons of traffic is certainly there! Use both sites and test your results. Keep on testing your ad copy to get maximum traffic.

Secret #3 – Forum Posting

Forums are great places to gain authority status. The little signature box at the bottom of your posts is a great goldmine for sending visitors to your website. This is the fastest free traffic generation tactic to get started with because you can instantly start posting to forums right this hour and start seeing visitors streaming over to your site! The rule is this: never spam the forums. Always post informative content and even compelling arguments at times so readers will want to learn more from you.

Internet Marketing – Is This For You?

If you have decided to look for an alternative to working for someone else and want to escape the rat race of a 9-5 environment to create a business that allows you more freedom with both time and money, then Internet Marketing and working as an Internet Marketer may be for you. Don’t get me wrong Internet Marketing is not easy at first but will get easier after time and if you surround yourself with the right people this time can be greatly reduced.

Just like any other business there will be many hurdles and obstacles that you will have to overcome when starting your business, many of which will be online business opportunities that offer overnight success. You must NOT get sucked in by these, there is no such thing as an overnight success in Internet Marketing and you won’t be a millionaire within 3 months either. Stay clear of these opportunities as they will cost you a lot of time and money. However that is not to say you can’t make a significant amount of money online and that you won’t become financially free, just that it will take a consistent approach to your work and a bit more time.

There will be times especially in the early days when you just won’t know what you’re supposed to be doing or what you should be doing next or whether or not you should be investing in a piece of software that may help you with your marketing or not. You will get overwhelmed and frustrated at times and no doubt at some point start to wonder whether or not you made the right choice starting an Internet Marketing Business, but like I mentioned earlier as time goes by it will get easier.
As your knowledge improves and once some money starts to come in you can if desired start to outsource some of your work load.

Before starting your Internet business it is a good idea to have a plan of action in place with set goals and time frames to complete these goals. This is not only important in the early days but should be implemented through your online marketing career. Working from home on the internet is full of distraction and this will help you focus on your business. It is also very important to have reminders around you of your “Why”! You’re “Why” is your reasons for doing what you’re doing, this is often your family and children or it could be a new house, car, holiday etc. Whatever it is, having these visions around you will help keep you focussed and stay motivated.

Internet Marketing has a very high failure rate although it shouldn’t be like this as it’s not difficult. The main reason people tend to come away from internet marketing is because they are expecting overnight success like I mentioned earlier. Online Marketing is a great business but you must be prepared to put in consistent effort and depending on how much time you are devoting each day will determine how quickly you see results. A lot of people will start their business around there current Job working part-time until they have replaced their salary and able to work full time on their online marketing business. Others who are able will start online Marketing full time straight away, but must realise they will need sufficient means to allow them to do this as it will take time before they are earning through their business.

If you do decide to embark on a career in Internet Marketing, take your time to start with, explore what’s out there and what will work for you. When you get started make sure you create good relevant content that will be interesting to its readers and drive traffic to your website.

The best way to get started in internet marketing is without doubt by having a Mentor, somebody who is already successful at Marketing on the internet and understands what you will be going through, someone that will guide you away from the many pitfalls and show you step by step what you need to do to be successful. A Mentor will save you a lot of time and money and can often be the difference between success and failure.

If you want to learn how you can build a genuine, sustainable and successful Internet Marketing business look through the links below.

A Home Based Business – Getting Targeted Visitors Quickly

One of the biggest challenges which any home based business is faced with is generating targeted traffic. While there are in fact many free ways to generate the targeted traffic which is desired, they are not as readily apparent as one would hope. Others come to the conclusion that the traffic which they seek is too costly, leaving them with a very slim profit margin, if any. This is something which several online marketers often struggle with, and is often the reason why they end up abandoning their home based business.If you can get a steady flow of targeted traffic to your website, then you have it made. It goes without saying that traffic generation is likely the number one factor in the success of your home based business. If you do not have traffic, you will not make sales. Plain and simple. However, with steady targeted traffic, you will perpetually be in the profit.On a positive note, there are an abundance of methods which you can utilize to steer targeted visitors to your website. With that being said, these methods take time and effort. For instance, you might have heard of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) at one time or the other. This is a method by which you take steps to enable your website to rank prominently in the search engines. Sounds pretty good, right? The only problem is that it takes time. Some home based business owners may be more than willing to put forth the effort, but do not have the 6 to 12 months to wait for targeted traffic so that their home based business can become successful. If this sounds like you, there are a few solutions which we will discuss below.For starters, I am going to begin with what I view as the number one solution. I rate this solution as number one because it serves a dual purpose. First, it enables you to direct targeted traffic to your website immediately. Secondly, it is a key strategy in enabling your website to rank prominently in the search engines. This strategy is what is know as article marketing. Essentially, article marketing involves composing articles which contain valuable information for your target market, the submitting these articles to several article directories and niche blogs. The reason why you will receive instant targeted traffic to your website, is because the article directories receive a high volume of traffic. Each article that you submit to the directories will include a link back to your website. Thus, readers will click this link to be taken to your website. As you may know, the search engines rank websites in large part because of the number of links which point to the website. Each article contains a new link to your website, giving it link value in the search engines.Another method which provides similar benefits to article marketing is what is known as social media marketing. This method involves submitting your writings to social bookmarking and social networking websites such as Reddit, Delicious, Mister Wong, Propeller, Twitter, MySpace, Facebook, Google Bookmarks, etc. Taking such steps provide you with targeted traffic to your website, one way links, as well as the branding as an expert in your field. Just make sure that what you are bookmarking is of value to your niche market, and you are not purely spamming for self serving purposes.As you can see, when it comes to steering targeted traffic to your home based business, you have some options. However, do not just go after traffic in general. Go after the traffic which comes from the niche market which your home based business caters to. In order to do this, it is essential that you identify your niche market from the very beginning. Once you have done so, show them how the products or services which you offer will solve their problems.

Home Based Business Success – Knowledge + Consistent Action Equals Success

There are many different factors that go into your home based business success. However, there are two very important pieces to the puzzle that play the biggest part in building a successful home business. Those two things are knowledge and action.First, you need to know what to do and how to be successful with your business. Second, once you learn what you need to do in order to be successful, you need to take consistent action towards making it happen. 98% of people fail in this industry as a direct result of missing one of these two things.They either lack the training & guidance on what to do and how to be successful, or they lack the dedication and hard work needed to make it happen. Success in the home based business industry is not hard when you know what to do and have the desire and willingness to work hard to do it.If you’ve ever heard the many ‘rags to riches’ stories about people who went from being broke, poor, or homeless to multiple six and seven figures per year, now you know how it happened. It’s because they found an opportunity that provided them with everything they needed to succeed, and they and took action.There are so many home based business opportunities out there, and while some of them are scams, there are a lot of great, legitimate opportunities that are going to provide you with the training, support, and guidance you need on what to do and how to be successful.The first step towards your home based business success is to find the right opportunity, which is the easy part. The second step towards your success is on you. Once you find a good, legitimate opportunity that is going to provide you with everything you need to succeed, it’s up to you to take consistent action towards your success.

A Home Based Business Franchise Really a New Opportunity?

An online home based business franchise is nothing more than an authorization to sell a company’s goods or services in a particular place or globally for that matter. The understanding allows you the seller or partner to operate by their guidelines, or to operate a business that carries the company’s name. Let’s examine some of the features and monetary gain to see how home based business franchises are nothing more than the new opportunity to own your own home based business.Why a franchise:The home based license agreement is not what the attraction is but what can it offer the new business owner. The real benefits of owning a home business franchise in my opinion is not to beat down the door of mom and pop stores to get them to sell or buy your product. The real intent of a home franchise is put the time, effort and money if you have it and the rewards will pay in many years to follow.Standard features and benefits for the home franchise:
A well laid out business system or model. Every step in the model laid out where you can put things in action immediately. A duplication method for training the newly acquired business owner. The companies respectability and reputation for the industry their in. A call to action of advertising and marketing where the owner has access to duplicate or learn from.The majority of non franchise businesses are modeled after a traditional business model where they have employees, insurance and a store. This can lead to headaches and pointless time and money just wasted and exhausted for nothing. Where the way of trial and error could take you weeks, months or even years to master. Every new venture will have problems no matter what your in that’s just the way of doing business. But with a Home franchise that has a lot of problems resolved and duplication established, all the new business owner needs to do is take action and start putting them into place.It’s not hard to see many advantages of a home based business franchise when compared to a traditional business that cannot be duplicated. Basic practices for marketing, advertising, constant training, can be more efficient and economical in the long run for a home based franchise.So the benefits are there in home based business franchises so what next?
So its like i said before a franchise is nothing more than a Home based business or a legitimate opportunity to represent a company where you are allowed to brand yourself as a leader that has something someone would like to have. Many home business franchises opportunities are just that but all of them are not created equal.With that in mind, the appearance and payback listed above is just some pieces of the puzzle. The best internet business ideas where the potential Income is low ticket items and upfront money is the wrong way to go. This should be looked at in more detail and not overlooked because you could be putting in a lot of effort with no monetary gain in sight. The home franchise is not a get rich scheme or a small amount of money ratio like a side job cutting the lawn. It is in fact a serious business where you have to treat it as one.Do all of these facts relate to every home business online; of course not? But if you are looking for a home franchise where you can duplicate the efforts of the original company and total duplication you need to take it seriously when you are looking to start a franchise. I have a lot of experience in this cause it’s what i do for a living.In summing up anybody looking for a home based business franchise or home business opportunity needs to see if the company has a model in place with total duplication then make your choice and get to action on becoming a branded franchise owner.

Home Based Business That Returns a Double Blessing – Your “Why”

A business that you can work from home that will provide you with financial freedom and time to do what you want, that is what we are looking for. Finding one that fills your “why” is most important. What is your “why”? “Why” do you want to own a business you can work from home?Given the present economy it is not unusual to look for a home based business that you can work part-time to supplement your income or while searching the job market for new employment. Finding work from home businesses is not hard to do, the internet is flooded with all kinds to choice from. Some are good legitimate home based businesses and some are get rich quick scams. Common sense says getting something for nothing is too good to be true, and a claim to make tons of money with little effort is most likely a scam of some sort, so be careful.Before selecting a home business it is necessary to discover your “why”. The most important reason (your why) to start working for yourself at home should not be to “make money!” If that is your reason be prepared to fail like over 90% of home based businesses do. Your “why” must be something you are passionate about. It can be to change lives and help people, or make a positive difference in some-ones life, but it should never be about making money. With the right business, money will be the byproduct of doing what you really want, who you really are, what you really care about. Your “why” must be a desire or passion you have that matters much more to you than money. If you really want to work from home and run your own home based business and have it be successful, you need to find a legitimate home based business that will fill your “why”. If you work on something you enjoy doing, the money will follow.I have been determined to find a home based business that will fill my passion in life, my “why”, one where I can work at something that I really enjoy. Something that is very rewarding, something that follows my spiritual calling, and something that I can do for a financial living. After searching for years and trying dozens of home based business opportunities, I have finally found a home business that fulfills my “why”.My passion is to be able to help others by sharing my time, talent and treasures. A home business that has a focus on the blessings that I have received and sharing them with others that are less fortunate. If you have ever given of yourself to help someone else, than you know what a great feeling I am talking about. It is rewarding and encouraging which keeps me focused on doing it, and the more that I work at it, the more enjoyable and rewarding it is which results in more money in my pocket. Your “why” may be different than mine, but the point is if you determine your “why” first your odds of being successful in your home business will greatly improve.Once you have determined that the home business you find will meet your “why”, then you can check into other areas of the business and make sure it is a legitimate home business. Criteria for a legitimate business includes; (1) make sure it is an honest organization with core values that include integrity; (2) it has an easy to follow, proven successful system in place that can be repeated; (3) it has a good compensation plan; (4) it has an automated back office support structure; (5) it should provide you with your own website; (6) it must include company driven marketing efforts that will draw in new prospects and send them to you; (7) and a live person support team that will give you all the help you need to get started and ensure future success.You can find the right work from home business for you also if you determine your “why” first and then follow its direction. Make sure you look for a home based business that fills your “why” AND meets this criteria, and you will be on your way to a good supplemental income stream, or better yet a new more enjoyable way of life, making a living working on what you enjoy. Remember, work on what you enjoy doing and the money will follow.

SEO ROI – The Return On Investment For A Small Business SEO Effort

What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?

In order to understand the value of SEO, we first need to have an understanding of what SEO is. Without going into the technical details of the SEO process, I offer the following definition:

SEO, Search Engine Optimization, is the process of getting a website to show up in the top results of a search engine such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo for a meaningful search phrase that will increase traffic to the website. If a website ranks well for a meaningful search phrase, it is considered to be optimized for that search term.

I stress “meaningful search phrase”, because if you optimize for a phrase that nobody will be using in their searches, there is nobody to find you and the SEO process will not deliver any real results. In other words, nothing in equals nothing out. A meaningful phrase is one that has a high potential for being used by the population of searchers when searching the web for a product or service.

Armed with a search phrase, known as a keyword in the business of SEO, which is meaningful, we can now explore the potential of a site optimized for this keyword.

SEO Works For Your Small Business

Your company website is an advertisement for your business. As such, it needs to be seen just like any other form of advertisement in order to be effective. Not only do we want quantity of viewership but also we want quality viewers, ones who are likely to respond to the advertisement once it has been seen.

Unlike many forms of advertising both on and off the web, a website that is optimized will be viewed often and by a highly targeted audience. Because a search user is actively looking for your product or service, they are already in the mindset to buy as long as they can find what they are looking for. The odds of making the sale to this type of ad viewer is already far increased over a viewer of more passive advertising media such as print ads, radio, and television. In passive advertising, the viewer is not looking for the product in the moment and success is only achieved in a small percentage of cases.

The user of a search tool is primed and ready to buy, but this potential buyer has to find your website in order to learn about your business offerings and then ultimately contact you to make a purchase.

Being found through internet searches will directly contribute to your bottom line. E-commerce sites and other online business hybrids with online as well as brick and mortar units understand this very well and invest heavily in SEO and other online marketing. It is vital for their business that they do so. To understand why, let’s look at some of the numbers.

From published academic studies measuring a search user’s behavior and even how their eye moves across the search results page and other industry data, we know that websites that show up on the first page of a search engine will get slightly less than 90% of the clicks. The listings on page 2 account for nearly 10% of the remaining total clicks, leaving less than 1% for pages 3 and beyond. In other words, most of the action is on page 1. Over 60% of the action is in the top 3 listings. 42% goes to the #1 spot alone.

While companies that earn all or a significant portion of their revenue from the web understand the benefits of SEO, most small businesses fail to utilize this tool to promote their business. You don’t have to be a big national company or be an e-commerce company to benefit from an SEO effort. For a modest cost, small businesses can conduct their own SEO campaigns which will reap a positive Return On their Investment. To understand how small business can benefit, let’s go through a real world example:

Doing The Math

Example: A small business selling pipe fittings optimized for the keyword “Steel Pipe Fittings”.

Google tells us that on average there are 22,200 searches per month for the keyword “Steel Pipe Fittings”. Using the 42% figure for the #1 spot, the top site would expect around 9,324 visits to their web site each month.

(22,220 x 0.42) = 9,324. for this search term

Out of these 9,324 visitors, some number of these visitors will make a purchase. The rate at which a visit to a web site converts to a purchase is called the conversion rate. Conversion rates vary by industry, but on the low end of most industry conversion rates a 1.5% rate is safe assumption.

9,324 visitors converting at 1.5% will yield 140 new purchases from customers who just found your company and your product mostly likely for the first time. Why first time customers? If the customer was already aware of your business and has done business with you, they most likely would not be searching for you again on the web using “Steel Pipe Fittings” term. They will already know you.

A small business SEO campaign in the year 2011 will cost about $300/month to conduct. Some firms may charge less and some firms will charge more. But for $300/month, your company can receive competent SEO services that will positively affect your rankings in search engines and your bottom line.

Profit levels vary quite a bit from product to product and company to company so I can’t come up with a one size fits all ROI number in this article. However we can calculate at what profit does the SEO result above break even. For this example, $300 per month / 140 new customers = $2.14 per customer break even. In other words, if your average profit per new customer is $2.14 or above, you have a positive ROI on this SEO effort. Most businesses are likely to have a higher profit than this example, thus the ROI will be extremely higher.

Most likely the ROI on this example will be higher than calculated. Consider that once this customer has found you, purchased from you and is satisfied with this result, they may come back to you. Your SEO effort will result in future sales from this new customer. Add in the possibility that this customer may also give you word of mouth referrals as well and the ROI pushes higher.

The ROI will be even higher if you rank high on multiple keywords. Most small business SEO programs at the $300 level offer optimization for multiple keywords. Let’s further assume in this example the website also reached #1 rank for “Brass Pipe Fittings” and “Iron Pipe Fittings”:

“Brass Pipe Fittings” with 4,400 monthly searches would yield 28 more customers each month. Similarly “Iron Pipe Fittings” with 9,900 searches will add, using the same formula as above, 62 more customers. In total we get 230 new customers with these three keywords. Break even is now at $1.30. Add more keywords in top ranks and the ROI goes even higher.

To be fair, you will have to invest in the optimization of your website for several months before you attain high rankings for your keywords. Thus in the short run you may have zero ROI at the start, but as the campaign runs over time, the results will improve and will move the ROI up. In short you have to “invest” for the future results.

In the above analysis I used conservative numbers. For example I could have used the key word “Pipe Fittings” with 246,000 searches per month which yields over 1,500 new customers per the formula above. It may be possible to rank at #1 for “Pipe Fittings”, but this would be a more difficult task taking a longer time period to achieve. The 42% rate of clicks for the #1 position may be low. Some other studies say it is as high as 59% which would yield even higher ROI. The point is that even if you use conservative assumptions, it is easy to demonstrate a positive ROI on your SEO efforts.

The Bottom Line

SEO works for small businesses by bringing more visitors to your web site. Your results will vary based on the nature of your business and your industry, but in almost all cases there is a positive return on investment when the right keywords are chosen and your website contains content that is attractive to your potential buyers. To get a more detailed analysis of your situation, you can contact a SEO professional.

Natural Supplements to Grow Taller Review – Herbal Facts and Marketer’s Claims Review

Why do many consumers take dietary supplements to grow taller? The reasons are varied-many times medically valid, sometimes not. In low or appropriate dosages, some supplements offer health benefits under some circumstances. Some people use supplements with good intention: perhaps in search of protection from or a remedy for health problems such as depression, aging skin, cancer, or arthritis. Still others seek added benefits: perhaps better athletic performance or sexual prowess. Too often, supplement use is based on scientifically unfounded marketing promises. But, some people still claim to undeniable scientific proofs.

It would be great, but boosting your nutrient intake won’t cause your cells to produce extra energy or more brain power. Only three nutrients carbohydrates, fats, and proteins supply energy or calories to grow taller. Vitamins don’t. Although B vitamins do help body cells produce energy from the three energy nutrients, they don’t produce energy themselves. Many powerful drugs and toxic chemicals are plant-based. Varieties of mushrooms can be classified as “culinary delicious” or “deadly dangerous.” In the same vein, herbal supplements should be used with caution! Any healthy natural supplements to grow taller, without proper doctor acknowledgement and governement authority approbation sounds really fishy to me.

Athletes and other physically active people need about the same amount of nutrients as others do to grow taller just more energy, or calories, for the increased demands of exercise. The extra amount of food that active people eat supplies the very small amount of extra vitamins needed to grow taller and have more energy production, too.

Although protein needs are somewhat higher for some athletes, especially for those in strength-training sports, food can easily provide the extra. On another note, physical activity, not extra amino acids (protein), builds muscle. For more on nutrition for athletes and ergogenic aids.

Dietary supplements to grow taller won’t protect you from the harmful effects of smoking or alcohol abuse. Here’s the real scoop: Smoking does increase the body’s need for vitamin C; drinking excessive amounts of alcoholic beverages can interfere with the body’s use of most nutrients. If soil can grow crops, the food produced is nutritious. When soil lacks minerals, plants don’t grow properly and may not produce their potential yield. Growing area does affect a food’s iodine and selenium contents.

Supplements won’t give you instant grow taller results, it would take at least a 2-3 months training for instance. For vitamins and minerals to do their work, they need several hours or several days to interact and do their work in your body. For any benefits from other dietary supplements to grow taller, you likely need to take them even longer. Supplements to grow taller are easy to spot. By law, they must be labeled “dietary supplements.” About eighty thousand dietary supplements are marketed in the United States with multivitamin/mineral supplements being the biggest product category-and with an average of 500 new products launched each year. They’re sold in many forms-for example, tablets, capsules, softgels, gelcaps, liquids, powders, and bars.

Do you consume a varied, balanced diet to grow taller? With some exceptions, supplements usually aren’t necessary. If you’re healthy and if you’re able and willing to eat a balanced, varied diet. You probably can get the vitamins and minerals you need from smart food choices. According to national studies, most Americans have enough healthful foods available to do that, yet they may not. Under some circumstances, vitamin/mineral supplements offer benefits and are advised; like those for growing taller.

A woman with heavy menstrual bleeding? You may need an iron supplement to replace iron from blood loss. To enhance absorption, take iron supplements with water or juice on an empty stomach. If nausea or constipation are problems, take iron supplements with food. Absorption may be decreased by as much as 50 percent when taken with a meal or a snack. A woman who’s pregnant or breast-feeding? You need more of some nutrients, especially folate and iron-and perhaps calcium if you don’t consume enough calcium-rich foods. Check the label’s Supplement Facts to make sure you get enough for a healthy pregnancy. Ask about a prenatal vitamin/mineral supplement.

Someone unable or unwilling to regularly consume a healthful diet to grow taller? You likely need a dietary supplement to fill in the nutrient gaps. However, eating smarter would be better if you don’t have food-related health problems! Take a supplement with the advice of a doctor or a registered dietitian. For example, pre-menopausal women who don’t consume enough calcium to grow taller and stronger bones from food likely need a calcium supplement-unless they’re willing to improve their diet. Some babies after age six months, children, and teens may need a fluoride supplement to grow taller and perhaps iron or vitamin D.

If you are not able to meet your calcium and vitamin D recommendations with foods to grow taller, you may need calcium or vitamin D supplements to grow taller. Ask a dietitian or your doctor about the right dosage and type. And enhance their absorption by taking them with food. Only food can provide the mixture of vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, and other substances for a health quality that can’t be duplicated with dietary supplements to grow taller alone. Fortunately for most Americans growing taller, there’s plenty of quality, quantity, and variety in the food marketplace.

Enjoy plenty of calcium and vitamin D-rich foods. They provide more for bone health calcium, phosphorus, vitamin D and overall health than supplements do. And a varied, well-balanced eating plan offers other nutrients that appear to promote bone density, including magnesium, potassium, and vitamin K

Supplements to grow taller carry labeling, showing the amounts of vitamins and minerals in a single dosage. If you already eat a healthful diet, you probably don’t need any more than a low-dose supplement. Taking a multivitamin/mineral supplement, with no more than 100 percent of the Daily Values (DVs) as a safety net, is generally considered safe. Most nutrient supplements are produced in low dosages.

Supplements with water-soluble vitamins or minerals can be risky if taken in excess, over time. For example, taking extra vitamin B6 has been suggested to help relieve premenstrual tension. Yet there’s limited evidence to support large vitamin B6 doses for relief of premenstrual syndrome (PMS). Many women have viewed large vitamin B6 doses as harmless, since they are water-soluble. Instead, they may cause irreversible nerve damage when taken in very large doses above the Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL): 500 to 5,000 mg vitamin B6 per day.

That said, can you overdose on vitamins or minerals naturally as you grow taller with food? That’s highly unlikely. As we mentioned, taking very high doses of dietary supplements or taking too many, too often can be dangerous. The vitamin and mineral content of food is much more balanced fortunately. In amounts normally consumed, even if you enjoy extra helpings, you won’t consume toxic levels of nutrients. So eat a variety of foods-and enjoy! Note: Nutrient amounts to grow taller can add up if you consume a lot of highly fortified foods.

You may take dietary supplements to grow taller for potential health benefits. It’s not uncommon for people diagnosed with cancer, AIDS, or other life-threatening health problems, who are desperate for a cure, to put their hopes and healthcare dollars in alternative treatments, including dietary supplements. However, supplements may offer a false sense of security-and a serious problem if you neglect well-proven approaches to health or delay medical attention.

Drink plenty of fluids with calcium supplements to avoid constipation. The lactose and vitamin D in the milk help to enhance calcium absorption. If you don’t drink milk and want an alternative to calcium pills, consider calcium-fortified juice or soy beverage. One cup of calcium-fortified juice or soy beverage can contain about 300 milligrams of calcium, the same amount as in a cup of milk, and provides vitamin C, folate, and other nutrients. Still, you need a vitamin D source to aid absorption; some calcium-fortified juices and soy beverages are also fortified with vitamin D.

Calcium supplements help to protect against osteoporosis (brittle-bone disease) It can’t make up for your lifestyle choices or poor health habits. Regular weight-bearing physical activity is important to grow taller and obtain healthy bones. For healthy bones, avoid smoking, too.

Vitamin nasal sprays or patches are effective to grow taller? No research evidence says so, even though they’re promoted for faster, more efficient absorption. In fact, they may not be absorbed at all. Here’s the reality check: Fat-soluble vitamins need fat from food to aid absorption. Vitamin C in your intestine aids iron absorption-a problem if vitamin C comes from a spray. Vitamin B12 binds with intrinsic factor made in the stomach during digestion. That cannot happen with a spray or a patch! So that means all the place that try to claim that you could grow taller with that are just scam.

Indeed, herbals and other botanicals have known medicinal qualities helping us grow taller; 30 percent of today’s drugs come from plants. Yet, herbals and other botanical supplements also are sold as dietary supplements rather than regulated as drugs. Like many plant-derived pharmaceuticals, these supplements can offer both positive health benefits and harmful side effects.

On the up side, enough scientific evidence has been collected on a handful of botanical supplements to support their limited use. For example, under a doctor’s guidance, gingko biloba may be used to help treat the symptoms of age-related memory loss and dementia (including Alzheimer’s disease); green tea extract may help reduce cancer risk. A growing body of research evidence is being gathered about their safety and effectiveness, as well as their limitations and dangers.

On the down side, like other supplements to grow taller, herbal and other botanical supplements are regulated differently from pharmaceuticals, which are meant to cure or prevent disease. You aren’t as protected from misleading claims as you might think. When you think about the quality and effectiveness of these grow taller methods; you can see that the marketer’s are absolutely in control of the quality…

According to current law and regulations, herbal and botanical remedies to grow taller and other dietary supplements to grow taller can enter the marketplace without FDA approval. The burden is on the FDA to remove a dangerous dietary supplements to grow taller from the marketplace. Currently dosages of herbal remedies aren’t standardized, so dosages vary among products. Some are even copies of the actual real-product that is made by legitimate herbal company; they put the same product name change what is inside and put the same label. Be very careful, you can look up grow taller 4 smarts free scam alerts to be ahead of scammers.

Although packaging claims can’t say that a supplement to grow taller cures or prevents disease, it may carry claims for its purported health role. Many claims have only limited scientific evidence. Are herbal supplements or botanicals are safe during pregnancy and nursing? There’s not enough scientific evidence yet to recommend safe levels for herbal supplements for pregnant or nursing moms. However, some are known to be harmful to a baby.

How to Detect Drug Abusing Teenagers

The effects of substance abuse in teens are not only individual; they can also be seen on the society. They may face problems at school or college and may involve in criminal activities. It is therefore very important to detect drug abusing teenagers. Drug testing should be conducted on a regular basis at schools and homes to identify and save them from harmful drugs of abuse.

Signs of drug abuse
Identifying certain signs helps you to detect if the kid is addicted to the drugs. Some of the common physical and emotional signs are:

• Change in sleep patterns
• Poor motor coordination
• Poor hygiene and illness including nausea and excessive sweating
• Irregular heartbeat
• Impaired thinking
• Mood swings
• Hyperactivity or overtired
• Depression

Drug abusing teens lose their interest in family activities, often abuse verbally and physically at home or school, and disrespect the family or school. In addition, abrupt decrease in grades, memory and attention loss, and lack of interest and concentration on studies are some of the signs at school. The moment you observe any of the above mentioned signs, you need to immediately check if the kid is abusing drugs. Drug testing is one of the safest and easiest ways to detect the drug abuse among teens.

Types of drug tests
There are different types of methods to detect the teens who are using drugs. Some of the common ones are urine, saliva, hair, and blood tests.

Urine drug test
Of all the types, urine testing is used most commonly as it is inexpensive method used to detect a drug user. You can use urine test kits at home or school to check if the child is addicted to illegal drugs. Quick and accurate results are obtained by these test kits.

Saliva drug test
It is more advantageous as it is relatively non-intrusive. Saliva from the mouth is taken through a swab and is checked for the presence of drugs. Most recent drug abuse can be detected by saliva tests. Conducting saliva test is very easy and also provides accurate and immediate results.

Hair drug test
This method is also non-intrusive. A hair sample of 1.5 inches in length is enough for conducting the test. Drug or its metabolites deposited at the hair shaft are detected by hair tests. You can get very reliable and accurate results by this method.

Blood drug test
You can also use a blood sample of the teen to detect illegal drug usage. It is however expensive and you need to approach laboratory as you cannot conduct it at your home.

Detection periods
The detection period depends on the method of test conducted. These detection periods vary from the type, dosage, and frequency of drug used.

Urine drug test can detect drug or its metabolites for 30 days in frequent users and for 2-3 days in occasional users. The test detects Cocaine for 4-5 days, Heroin for 2-4 days, Methamphetamine for 3-5 days, PCP for 3-7 days, and Codeine for 2-4 days.

A saliva test is mostly used to detect recent drug usage. However, it can also detect drugs consumed 3 days back. Of all the methods, hair drug test has a longer detection period. It detects illegal drug consumption for about 90 days.

What if results are positive?
Once the kid is tested positive by drug test kit, talk to him/her about the result. You can get a confirmatory result through laboratory tests. Communicate with him regularly regarding the effects of drug abuse. Ask him to leave companions or friends who are habituated to drugs. If necessary, send him/her to substance abuse treatment program.

Importance of intervention
Detection and intervention of drug abuse at primitive stages can prevent further damage. Drug intervention is an attempt made by family members or school authorities to help the teen get out of drug abuse or addiction. The main objective of intervention is to make the teen understand the physical and mental destruction caused by drug abuse. If you are not able to speak to the kid on this, you can take help of your friends or relatives. You can also consult specialists who counsel drug abusers and help them get back to their normal life.

Parents and school authorities should always keep an eye on the behavior and activities of the teens. Necessary measures have to be taken in order to prevent them from taking drugs.

Prevent Teen Drug Abuse Using Drug Testing Kits at Home

Teen drug abuse became a serious health problem in United States. It is hurting the healthcare system, burdening the economy, and causing millions of deaths every year. Of the many causes that promote drug abuse among teens, lack of parental supervision is a major one. Teens should be guarded properly by their parents as they are still immature.

Since, early intervention leads to effective prevention of this unhealthy habit, parents should identify drug abusing habits in teens and take preventive measures. Parents can take help of home drug testing kits which are effective and easy to use.

In this article, we will discuss about teens and their vulnerability to drug abuse; how to identify teen drug abuse and how important are drug testing programs at home to prevent teen drug abuse.

Teens – vulnerable to drugs abuse: Many scientific studies have already proved that teenagers are more prone to risk taking and are vulnerable to drug abuse when compared to adults. This typical behavior of teens during adolescence is because of the major changes in parts of the brain that are responsible for functions such as self-control, judgment, planning, organization, and emotions. Since teen brains are not yet fully developed, they cannot take proper decisions and fall victims to unhealthy habits like drug and alcohol abuse.

Signs and symptoms of drug abuse: The primary step towards prevention of drug abuse in teens is to identify their unhealthy habits. Prominent changes, both in their behavior and in physical appearance can be noticed even at the early stages of abuse. Following are the warning signs:

Physical and emotional changes:
• Red eyes
• Finding difficulty to speak
• Sudden fall or rise in weight
• Lack of hygiene and showing less interest in personal grooming
• Aggression and arrogance
• Depression and irritation

Social and behavioral changes:
• Dissociation from old friends and acquiring new social group
• Sudden anger or depression
• Poor attendance and academics at school
• Spending time lonely
• Abnormal odor in breath or clothing
• Pipes, needles and other suspicious substances in their room

Importance of home drug test kits: The moment you see the signs that indicate drug abuse in your teen, it is the time to confirm drug abusing habits using reliable methods. They are useful devices for the parents to confirm these unhealthy habits in teens. They are simple, easy to use, provide instant and accurate results, cost-effective and above all ensure privacy. Some multi-panel drug testing kits can detect multiple drugs of abuse at a shot.

Best drug test methods to implement: When it comes to home drug testing, urine and saliva tests are considered to be the best methods. There are two other methods – blood and hair tests also, but they need special devices and expert supervision, hence are not recommended for home testing.

Urine test can detect the drugs in your teen’s system up to three days after use. If you believe that your teen has taken drugs during the last few days, then this method is effective in offering accurate results. However, it is necessary to check that your teen is not providing fake urine sample which can lead to false results.

Saliva drug testing is an ideal drug test if you suspect that your teen abused drugs on that particular day. These kits can detect drug use up to 48 hours.

Need for random drug testing: If you are conducting drug tests on your teens at regular intervals, following a regular pattern, your teen may notice the pattern and either try to manipulate the sample before the test or stop abusing drugs few days before the test. Hence, practicing random drug tests is always an ideal way to identify the drug use which effectively helps in detecting the drug abuse among your teens. Random testing makes teens say ‘NO’ to drugs as they know that you can conduct drug testing any time at home.

Home drug testing kits can be considered as effective solutions in controlling and preventing drug abuse in your teens. So, make sure that you have some of them at home to test your teen to help him stay away from drugs.