Here we are - you've made it through six lessons and are now reading the final (and most important) one.


For the first few years of running my internet business I neglected this step, but over the past two years or so I've realized that it's the most important aspect of any internet marketing business.


Just like with writing, art, or anything else: your first draft isn't going to be your best. It's called a "rough draft" for a reason. The second draft is marginally better. The third draft is getting close, but still not the best. And the cycle continues.


The same is true for any website you launch. The first draft will leave a lot to be desired, but it's a start. As time goes on you can observe visitors' behavior through your Google Analytics account (which we setup in lesson #2) and tweak the banner on your site. Then you might tweak your opt-in form. Then you might tweak the headers and layout of your text.


While you're making all of these changes, you can look at the data in Google Analytics to see if you're improving or not. If your bounce rate goes down (the number of people that get to your website and leave immediately), the new banner is better than the old one. If your opt-in rate increases by 3%, your new form is doing a great deal better than the last.


You see, internet marketing is as simple as always trying to beat your best. Sure, that headline on your opt-in form works, but you can probably beat it. Try another headline and watch your Google Analytics statistics to see if you're converting more people with the new one than the older one. If so, congratulations! You have a new champion. But if not, keep trying. There's almost always room for improvement.


This, my friends, is what will turn you into an incredible internet marketer. It's what separates the amateurs from the professionals. You're no longer guessing. You're looking at the data, trying something new, and keeping what the data shows is most effective. This is why ANYONE can make it in internet marketing - it's a science, not an art.


With that being said, here are the seven stages of website optimization. This applies to any aspect of your website - a banner, a headline, an opt-in form design, etc...


1) Create the rough draft
2) Launch and observe the analytics
3) Try something new
4) Re-launch
5) Try something new
6) Re-launch
7) Try something new


And the cycle continues. This is the only way to craft the highest converting website possible. It happens over time - weeks or even months. But in the end your website will be a money making machine if you listen to the statistics.


Just like all of the other things I've taught you, there are a few important notes:


Don't give up without gathering enough data. You may have heard of "statistical significance" which is just a fancy way of saying that your data is valid. You won't know after 30 visitors whether or not your new idea is working or not. I've had some campaigns start at 1.2% conversion rate, but by the end of the next day it's jumped to 9%. I'm sure glad I didn't stop it before I gave it a chance to work!


I'd say you need a minimum of 500-1,000 visitors before you have data that is remotely significant. The more, the better, which brings me to my next important note:


You'll be able to test much faster once your website is getting more traffic. For example, right now 500 visitors may sound like a ton! But 6-8 months from now your website might be producing that in a few hours or a day if you work consistently. That means you could test a new opt-in form every day and see what works best.


The final important note about testing and website optimization is only to test one thing at a time. For example, don't change your opt-in form, image header, and headline all at the same time. You won't know which is working and which is failing. You have to isolate the aspect you're testing by only tweaking one thing at a time.


This may not make a whole lot of sense to you right now, but follow the other lessons I've sent you and it will. Once your website is setup and getting some traffic, change something and observe how your visitors behave differently over the next few days.


You'll be amazed - the things you thought were going to do incredibly well can sometimes fail miserably. And sometimes the ugliest, least polished idea can convert visitors like crazy. You never know until you test it.


So here we are, the end of our final lesson together. I hope you've learned a lot. These lessons, in one form or another, serve as the foundation for any successful internet marketer's business. It's the same cycle every time, and now you know the "secrets" all of the "gurus" are using.


The quiet, successful internet marketers are using the same steps, we just don't call ourselves gurus or scam people out of their hard-earned money. We use our internet marketing skills to help people and as a result, run successful businesses because of all of the relationships we've built.


Now you can do the exact same. You have no excuse to NOT succeed - it's going to take some hard work but you now have all of the major lessons you need to succeed. You'll need to fill in a few blanks with a well-rounded training program, but you now have an extremely solid foundation to work off of.


Follow these seven steps and over time you will become a very effective, very successful internet marketer. Just remember the little guys that helped you in the early stages ;)


Read these lessons, re-read them, and reference them as you learn and grow to make sure you're still on target.


I wish you the absolute best of luck in the coming days, weeks, and months as you continue in your internet marketing journey! Just remember that we all fail, and most of us failed A LOT in the early days. Just learn from your mistakes, get up, dust yourself off, and keep moving forward. That is the only way anyone can make it in internet marketing - just keep moving forward one step at a time.