The second dot com boom is well underway, with thousands of individuals and industries flocking to the Internet to start web sites that will promote their business or that they envision as a business in itself. The fact is that many Internet marketing opportunities operate along the same lines as businesses in the real world, and many investors are making several mistakes when it comes to their hopes of creating a web based business. These mistakes will often depend on if the business is concerned with providing customers access to their product through the Internet or if the individual is merely wanting to drive traffic to their site. In both cases, there are several mistakes that need to be avoided. Individuals who begin on the web with visions of dollars in their heads need to remember that in order to be successful they will need to establish repeat visitors. Many individuals are currently absolutely gung-ho about the concept of search engine optimization. It is true that all individuals on the Internet visit a search engine sooner or later in order to find a specific topic. It is also true that most Internet companies are well aware of this marketing concept, with the result that many of the big search engines are beginning to have links to other search pages, which does nothing to help the customer in their quest for information or ideas except lead them deeper into a labyrinth. Additionally, focus on keywords or phrases will often result in articles that are impossible and boring for the individual to read, and customers will become so frustrated that they will not come back. Article posted on an individual website should be informative and fun to read, not exchanging keyword density for interest. Many aspiring Internet Marketers also suffer from information overload, and begin trying too many things at once, with the idea that something is likely to stick. The truth is, there are lots of people doing Internet marketing, and it is far better to spend energy on one task, and master that task before moving on to other ideas. Building one hundred bad websites won’t have the long term value of building one good one. Don’t spend all your time trying the latest new marketing gimmick. Instead, focus on solid business fundamentals, and building a brand identity that will keep customers coming back for more. The successful Internet marketers are those that realize success depends upon winning the marathon, not on winning a short sprint. Nearly all of the get-rich-quick schemes end up costing more than they earn, or, at best, end up generating only a short term cash flow. Websites should always be appealing and updated, but this does not mean that you need to overload the capacity of your potential customer’s connection. Avoid cluttering your website with unnecessary graphics that not only detract from your services but also mean that it takes more time for your page to upload. The key to success on the Internet is speed and convenience, and if your customer is waiting for your page to upload for a long time, they will not be back.