When I go into webmaster forums, a frequent topic of the discussion is the search engines. Yes, I know that 80% of all internet traffic flows through them, and I also know that getting your website listed in the top 20 search results is the most important thing. However, the reason I'm writing on this topic is because I feel that many webmasters are placing too much emphasis on the search engines. Some webmasters have even said that the internet is "risky." Are you kidding me? If you want to know risk, try starting you own offline business, where there is so much government regulation and red tape that it is difficult to get it off the ground. This is my definition of risk.

No, the internet is the future for those who are looking to build low cost businesses. While most of us started online businesses in order to get away from the dreaded "nine to five job," ironically enough, most of us are back under the mercy of multi-national corporations by relying to heavily on them. My advice to webmasters is to avoid putting all your eggs in one basket. Don't focus too much on SEO. I'm not saying don't pay attention to it at all. That would be stupid advice. However, don't be a slave to it. To be successful, you will want to look for methods of making money that are not dependent on the search engines. Those who understand this concept will be successful on the internet. In addition to this, saving money is extremely important for those who are business owners.

How do you do this? Well, there is first the concept of being a freelancer. There is a market online for freelance artists, filmmakers, animators, web designers, programmers, musicians, and writers. This means that you can get highered by online companies and make money without relying on the search engines. More often than not, these companies will not demand a large amount of education. By becoming a freelancer, you can work from the comfort of your own home and office and make money outside of SEO. The next smart strategy is to use P2P networks in order to effectively market your products.

Some of you who are reading this may think I'm insane. You may be asking yourself why you would use P2P networks to market anything when people use them to get things for free, usually by piracy? Well, there is more to this issue than meets the eye. Peer to peer networks are excellent sources for free advertising. You can greatly increase the traffic to your site by using them, and you can also market your products. No matter what you do, I advise you to stop relying too much on what the search engines are doing. Many webmasters lay away at night wandering about whether or not the next change made by Goolge or Yahoo will lead to them losing traffic on their websites. My best advice is to diversify or run the risk of losing the battle.