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SEO Vs PPC – Internet Marketing Or Site Promotion?

Marketing on-line is rapidly becoming a must for any business trying to stay ahead of the competition. Creating an effective on-line presence will open the door to many new leads and sales. Anybody that has been at it for a while can tell you that there are 2 very effective ways to get traffic and sales rolling through your site.

The first is often used to gain instant traffic and it is called PPC or pay per click. Google calls it AdWords. It involves paying people every time they click on your links. This method works extremely well if you know what you’re doing and what the best keywords are for your particular niche.

Another thing that is really good about PPC is the fact that you can have your ads placed on the front page of Google for terms you could never reach with SEO, which brings us to the second method of website promotion.

The second method is called SEO and in my opinion it will far exceed your earnings than what you could ever expect from PPC. The reason is that there is nothing stopping you from getting more traffic. Unlike PPC, SEO is free traffic that is much more willing to purchase off of you.

Though SEO is a long term plan it will slowly build your traffic over a longer period. That is why I believe it is wise to use both methods in conjunction with each other though it is sometimes hard to do with limited funds early on.

There are pros and cons to both systems so let’s take a look at why you would choose one method over the other. Let’s first look at SEO as the superior choice.

We already established SEO as a long term option for your internet marketing. One of the reasons I say it is superior to PPC is the simple fact that if you run out of money in your advertising campaign with PPC your traffic would stop in a heartbeat, whereas with SEO your traffic keeps coming even if you never spend a dime. Though you may hire an SEO specialist it is not absolutely necessary because you could learn to do it yourself which would save you a bundle of money.

Once your site is ranked near the top you’ll continue to see traffic for a long time even if you stop all on-line promotions. Another thorn in the side of PPC marketing is the simple fact that you’ll pay for traffic whether they like your site or not.

It’s also not uncommon to get fake clicks or just people who are curios of what your site is about. In my opinion PPC has its place, but should never be the be all and end all of marketing on-line.

Internet Marketing Strategy – How to Create an Endless Stream of Referrals

The internet, like television, radio, or newspaper is considered as a mass medium. Today, internet is one of the most popular mass medium. Unlike the television, information is disseminated across the globe, Unlike the newspaper, news can be updated in just minutes. It’s no doubt, that even the popularity of a famous blogger can be compared to an international artist. Companies and businesses see that as an opportunity that is why internet marketing was born.

Internet marketing is anything that is related to promoting products, businesses and services using the World Wide Web. If you have a blog that promotes products like for example you want to tell the world what iPhone 4 is; or you sell your business online then you are already an internet marketer.

The advantage of marketing online is that there is a wide reach of customers because it is showed globally and the startup cost is low.

Internet marketing before was just a way to share information to people across the globe. Television was the top in marketing before because it was the most widely used mass medium. But now, because of social networking and with the popularization of netbooks and inexpensive laptops and computers, internet became the target of businesspeople.

Internet Marketing has several ways to reach customers:

Blogging and Article Writing

Internet marketers publish blogs and articles to provide information to people. The internet today is a large gateway of information. People wants to learn, be informed of the latest news and be up to date with the latest trends.

Bloggers not affiliated with internet marketers make blog out of the company or a specific product and publish it online. In that way, they get free advertising and when the blog becomes popular businesses will sponsor them.

Affiliate Marketing

Some businesses use people to let their products be known. A product is introduced to prospective sellers to sell it and gain a percentage of the sales. To be able to garner more sales, the seller introduces the business to another prospect. The prospect if agreed on the business will now be an affiliate of the seller. It is a cost-effective in a business because payment only happens when there are results.

Social Media Marketing

Social media greatly contributes to the world wide web. YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and MySpace is a way where internet marketers can interact with its customers, share news and information, and be in touch with them always. The more followers/friends the business has, the more leads they have.

E-Commerce

Goods or services are sold directly to the customers. These are usually business or company websites that has their product on display so that customer can directly purchase the products from them.

And this is how internet marketing is done:

One-to-one approach

In this business model, the internet marketer targets users browsing the internet to promote a business or service. This approach is used in search engine marketing, for which the advertisements are based on search engine keywords.

Appeal to specific interests

This approach place emphasis on appealing to a specific behavior or interest. Rather than giving or digging into what the world wants in general, this approach separates itself according to age group, gender, geography, and other general factors.

Niche Marketing

Niche marketing is about finding a smaller segment of a market and creating a product or service on that market. An example of a market is “cars”, a niche market could be “hybrid cars”, “electric cars”, or “Toyota”.

Geo Targeting

This method determines the geo-location of website visitors using a geo-location software and deliver different content to that visitor based on the location, country, region, state, zip code, Internet Protocol(IP) and other criteria.

Advantages

  • It is inexpensive compared to other advertising methods. It does not require a very large capital to start your business.
  • There is a lot of free resources online. Experience is not necessary in internet marketing because there is a lot of internet marketers that can share their experience to you.
  • The store is open 24 hours a day. You can still make money even when you are sleeping.
  • Your customers are across the globe. It is not limited to your neighborhood, your city or your country.

Disadvantages

  • The demand changes from time to time. The demand can change based on the latest trends, what is in trend today can change after a month so keep watch and make changes when new trend arrives.
  • There is a wide competition online. You are not the only one who offers or sells products.
  • People are cautious because of the scams spreading online.
  • In the buyer’s perspective, the inability to touch, smell, try on tangible goods make them doubtful. Compensate by having return policies or providing in-store pick up services.
  • Internet marketing is not a get-rich-quick scheme and it requires a lot of effort to make it work.

5 Home-Based Business Tips For Rapid Business Growth

Rapid business growth is possible if you do all of the tools that you need to. You can make your business work and you can grow your business effectively. The purpose of this article is to share with home-based business owner’s five tips that you can implement straight away. These tips will give you an advantage over your competitors so that you can prosper in these current tumultuous times.Make sure you help other business owners connect and prosper- One of the best pieces of advice that I can give you is to make sure that you work really hard to connect business owners with other business owners and with customers. Karma is a great thing. If you go out of your way to help other business owners you will get helped in return. You need to build trust and people need to see you as a partner, not somebody that just wants to sell somethingTrust is your most important asset- You need to go out of your way to build your level of trust with alliance partners and potential customers. Once you have built trust you need to do everything that you can to protect it. Trust is your most important asset. Without trust your home-based business will fail.You need a professional looking website- You need to also make sure that you set up a professional looking website. It doesn’t need to be expensive and high tech but you need to make sure that it doesn’t look like a website that was made by a 12 year old. There are plenty of free WordPress themes available that can set you up effectively.You need to integrate online and offline marketing techniques- The most successful home-based business owners use a variety of online marketing techniques and offline marketing techniques in order to grow their business. If you want to be successful you need to make sure that you do the same. You need to participate in online networking groups and you need to join offline networking groups. You should also do something like learn to play golf.Ask all your existing customers for referrals- You will not know how successful that this home-based business tip could be until you ask. If you do your business better than anyone else and you stand by what you do then it should be easy to get referrals.If you want to run a successful home-based business then you need to follow the tips that I have mentioned above. It is in your best interest.

Think Twice Before Starting Your Home-Based Business

You have just decided to start your home-based business. After all, there are successful home-based businesses run by people who dreamt of working for themselves. However, the importance of analyzing such an investment is often underestimated. Consequently, a lot of home-based businesses don’t succeed. They turn out to be a huge disappointment. Take into account that starting a business is a lot of work and risk-taking is unavoidable. Determination and effort are necessary to overcome the obstacles along the way. The following points deserve emphasis:1. Working at home. Apparently the idea may be very attractive. But don’t overlook your domestic situation. Are you surrounded by distractions at home?The list includes, among other things, busy children and TV programmes. An environment full of distractions will likely prevent you from staying concentrated on your job.2. You are the boss. Now you work for yourself and no one tells you what to do. It really sounds nice but don’t forget you are responsible for creating and keeping a stimulating working environment everyday. You must take on the challenge of staying motivated day in and day out. Moreover, being a competent boss means being good at decision-making. Are you willing to be your own boss?Think carefully about your professional profile. Perhaps you were definitely born to work for someone else.3. It’s often a small business. As a home- based business owner, you are more vulnerable to economic uncertainties and more exposed to unreliable customers than the big companies. Of course these customers point to trouble ahead.4. Risk-Taking. You might not enjoy the line of work which you have decided to try, and nobody can say for sure you are on the path to success. You can’t ignore the possibility of failure. Considerable number of home-based businesses go bankrupt as soon as they start going through hard times.5. Health insurance may be impractical. Your health is your best asset. Finding good health insurance may be unaffordable when you work for yourself. And there’s no question health insurance really matters as its coverage helps you get medical care as well as timely medical support. It’s worth noting that one of the most commonly mentioned reasons for bankruptcies is medical related.Now you aware of the main difficulties concerning a home-based business. If you remain determined enough to move ahead, don’t waste your time. Take a close look at the principles of home-based business. Collect useful pieces of information about the sort of business you intend to set up. Then it’s time to take action and do your best. Good luck!

5 Key Elements of a Top Home Based Business Opportunity

Looking for a top home based business opportunity? Most authors would devote an entire article attempting to convince you why their opportunity is the best (although I strongly feel I am part of the best one out there). In an effort to better suit your search, this article will instead tell you what you need to look for when searching for a top opportunity.1. Compensation – It is true, time is money. As an entrepreneur, you must be rewarded well for your energy and input. This why I am a fan of the Top Tier Direct Sales Business Model. Many successful home based entrepreneurs have aligned themselves with a company that offers significant commissions from high-ticket sales (yes, this works even in this economy!)2. Turnkey – Once again, time is money. Why build everything from scratch when you can tap into proven systems? A top home based business opportunity will provide some form of easy duplication and implementation.3. Demand – Entrepreneurial success is directly related to commercial intent. Is there a large demand for what products or services your opportunity promotes or provides?4. Recession-Proof – Does that demand still remain strong during a weak economy? There are
entrepreneurs currently taking the home based business industry by storm because their opportunity provides a service that it is in high-demand and that is much needed during this financial crisis.5. Training/Support – No top opportunity is complete without effective marketing training and team support. Are you a receiving first-class marketing education on how to promote your opportunity? Are proven leaders available to answer questions that you have?That last one is the most important of all. Marketing is perhaps the most powerful commodity in the world of business, and it is often overlooked. Sadly, most businesses and entrepreneurs fall short in this category.Just make sure that you are arming yourself with powerful marketing methods. Remember, the best opportunity will have all of these elements, and more. But if you can find one that basically shows you from A to Z how to market yourself and your business, chances are you are positioning yourself for success.I’ve been in your shoes… do your due diligence and make sure you choose the best, and only the best home based business opportunity. But don’t take too long… your potential customers are waiting, as well as your new life a home based entrepreneur!

A List of Profitable Home Based Businesses

There are many profitable home based businesses that are being run successfully online. These home based businesses need an initial investment in terms of money and also time and effort. There are a few home based businesses that can be started without initial monetary investment, but most of these businesses need a web site for the business to develop and become profitable.Here is a list of the most profitable home based businesses which includes the following:1. Writing online: Freelance writing is one of the best methods of earning money. The individual can freelance or start an online company that provides writing solutions to various websites that need rich and unique content. Content writing and article marketing are very profitable because of the huge amount of money spent by internet marketers to market their products.2. Data entry: Data entry solution for various businesses also is a profitable online business that can be done from home with no investment initially. This too can be a business that is run by a single person or a team of people.3. Internet marketing: This is one of the most common businesses on the internet that is profitable and can be done from home. Many internet marketers make an initial investment by creating a niche web site that is used to market a particular product. This website is then used to make money by selling various products to the people who are interested in the product. There are various products that can be bought at a lesser rate on the internet and this makes it possible for the business to be profitable.4. Web design and web development solutions: There are hundreds of websites that are being created each day. All these web sites need to be designed and also developed. This is one of the best home based business opportunities that is profitable. People who have a basic knowledge in developing and also designing a web site usually benefit from this style of business.5. Affiliate marketing: With the increase in the number of internet marketers, there is also a need for the number of affiliates who sell these products. This has made affiliate marketing become a profitable business. Affiliates who sell a product earn a commission for each sale that is made.These are some of the most profitable home based business that is present. Any person with a basic knowledge of computers can do these businesses and earn money.

Small Business Lessons

Running your own small business is a great thing, but it is not always easy. You have to do a lot of work in order to keep your business running. If you want to be successful when you run your business, these small business lessons can give you a little help so that you can do it successfully.

The first of these important business lessons involves the initial time period when you first open your business. Almost anyone that opens a business knows that the time when it starts up will not be easy for them. The profits initially are much lower and the expenses tend to be a little higher. Many businesses fail during this initial time period. In order to make it through this time period, you have to work hard, spend little and save every dime you can. Keep the profits that you do make because they may even run out. You can spend the profits later, after this time period has run out.

The next of the important business lessons is a math lesson – specifically about proportions. Most often, it can be assumed that the amount of money your business stands to make is directly proportional to the amount of work that you put into it. If you work a lot to advertise and market your business, then you can make much more money if you just don’t do it. This is a natural assumption that you can almost always go by when you run a small business.

One of the hardest small business lessons to learn involves the actual amount of money that you stand to make. Although you will be comfortable with a successful business, you will not make a fortune in most cases. You will be much more comfortable financially, that is for sure. But, if you have a goal to drive a Range Rover and own a million dollar home, you may also want to have a goal of expanding your small business into a large business. Most small businesses don’t make that kind of money.

The final lesson that you need to learn when you are learning to run a business is simple. It is constant work to run a business, even though you will get to enjoy the benefits of owning a business. The work may be easier in some cases, and you will never have to bust your back again, but that doesn’t mean that you don’t have to work again. You will have to put your hands into your business often.

These are the most important of the business lessons that you can learn when you want your small business to be successful. These lessons will help you to be realistic and make very good choices about your business. If you follow these, your business will survive the early parts with as much profit as possible, and that is the key to a successful small business in the long run after all.

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.