Site Promotional Guide

Every online business needs a plan, system, or guide for website promotional ideas and methods, a model for how to advertise to attract and build a community of raving fans who value your help and expertise, and who are proud to be your long-term, loyal customers.

1. Write articles where you reveal strategies, tactics, tips and tools that will help your target market achieve success in their niche. If your focus is on how a newbie can win the national Chili Cook-off, then you’ll get attention by revealing what you’ve learned over years of fixing chili. And you’ll attract your target audience by going into detail on the recipe research you’ve done, the unique natural spices you use, the frustrating mistakes, and the discoveries you’ve made about the tricks and techniques of other top chili cooks.

2. Really leverage that chili research you’ve done. As you read the stories of consistent top chili cooks, write down words that the search engines might associate with chili cooking or chili contests. Words like judge, jalapeno, beef, first place … and many more … fall under the keyword category called “latent semantic indexing.” The more of these relevant trigger words the search engines see in your popular articles on chili cooking, the more they conclude that you are a real expert, deserving of high rank in that search category.

3. Search engines also highly value a site with quality inbound links. One way to get these links is to offer a free “Chili Ebook” download from your website. Compile some of your blog posts to make the ebook, and offer the download on appropriate forums and other social networking websites where your target audience gathers, all over the internet. This type of plan, done over and over, and get you that steady stream of inbound links that the search engines love.

A Few Points About Internet Marketing

E-commerce over the time has evolved and today has become a part of the big marketing industry. There are no doubts that with time, e-commerce sales have grown as more and more people turn to the internet for their needs. It’s much easier to take a quick look at the computer, surf the net and purchase what is looking for and save time on going out to a store for the same thing. As the internet becomes a valuable marketing tool, many businesses are hiring SEO companies to help increase their online exposure. The online market is growing at a greater level than that of the retail sector making anyone with the need to make money turn to the internet. As the competition is so steep many businesses don’t realise the effort that is required to make it in the internet business.

What is internet marketing? Internet marketing is a type of marketing sometimes referred to as online marketing or can also be known as e-marketing. The marketing of products or services offered by businesses using the World Wide Web is online marketing. Internet marketing helps generate traffic to a product or service so that a business can gain prospects or leads which later can be converted to a list of prospects. To do this, is quiet simple and can be done whilst a business learns different, new and improved way to go about driving traffic to websites, sales pages or destinations using up to date methods. The scope of online marketing is beyond the website building or operating through website. Internet marketing strategies include each and every aspect of online advertising services and products.

There a different types of internet marketing techniques of which a few a listed below:

  1. Search Engine Marketing: SEM is a special kind of internet marketing which looks for to endorse the websites by mounting their appearances on the pages of a search engine result.
  2. E-Mail Marketing: It is a special form of direct internet marketing that uses electronic mails as the part of interacting commercial or fund-lifting messages to a target audience in the market.
  3. Viral Marketing: This is a technique which uses the already existing social networks to create the brand awareness, through spreading the computer viruses. This method however, is not always good, since viruses can hamper the computer of a customer and could prove a bad marketing tool.
  4. Interactive Marketing: This is another way of internet marketing which uses one on one interaction between the businesses and its customers through the help of internet.

Want to Start a Home Based Business?

Want to Start a Home Based Business? Here are some tips you should knowI have been a mother working from home for about 7 years now and have thrived in the flexibility that this working lifestyle has given me. I spent years wondering where my children were and what they were doing.Now I work when I need to, how I want to. I no longer trade time for money like I use to when I was working weeks of long hours. The life style I have just would not be possible working in those traditional parameters.It allows me to run my children around town, attend various school activities and still have an adult life of working and earning a very decent wage!!The web has opened up the world to Online marketing opportunities, its no longer constrained by physical locations and slow communications.Just the other day I overheard fellow mothers talk about how they could not attend their son’s award presentation because they had to work, and got to thinking how lucky I was!Until I thought…no I’m not lucky, anyone can do this! You just need to know how, so here it is, the keys to starting a successful home based business:Choose a Business OpportunityUse the web to search for a business opportunity that might suit you. Make sure that the business meets the key features of an online business opportunity.

The product of the business should be unique and in high demand
The business needs to be financially beneficial to you through its compensation plans
The business must have an established and proven marketing system
Training and support must always be available at all times of operating your business
The business must be expanding
A top online business opportunity will have a credible management.
Have a look at the businesses bigger picture.
You can read about these in more detail on my BlogCreate a budget for establishing the business and keep accurate records

All top online business opportunities cost to set up and run. If you come across a “free, get rich scheme” RUN!! There is no such thing. Some legitimate online businesses will offer a guarantee, or a 30day trial period, and that’s fine, the basic truth is that they will all cost money. So establish what you can afford and stick to it.
Investigate the various marketing methods their cost of effectiveness. A list and explanations of some marketing Techniques are listed on my blog.
Make sure that you run the books of your business as you would any other. This includes opening a business merchant account where all your earnings will be deposited and expenses withdrawn. Savings are important to have held for slow times (and they do occur!)
Make sure you keep accurate records and keep receipts for Taxation purposes and your accountant. The government has a history of auditing home businesses more often.
Make sure that you get training and Support with your business.

Another reality of online home businesses that you might not want to hear but is important for you to be aware of is that 97% of online businesses fail!! These fail because these businesses did not support the would be entrepreneur. Unless you are a highly experienced online marketer you will be killed in this industry unless you have a proven turnkey marketing system behind you.
You have to understand the importance of leverage and advantage of marketing duplication. Make sure that the business you enter into has a good system behind it. Read lots and always listen to top producers!!
Your home work space

Make an area that is your own workspace. Make sure it is spacious, bright and well ventilated. It is a space that you need to spend some time in so it has to help you to emit a professional persona.
Have a dedicated fax and phone line to this area for your business so that you can keep a professional image. Use an answering machine for this line as well.
Rent a post office box and use that address on your promotional mail and stationery, doing this will make it less obvious that you are working from home. The professional image you portray is very important to your clientele.
Establish a Weekly Plan

Working from home has its own challenges, even though it creates flexibility it has can be too easy to “put off” work. Your have to be highly disciplined to operate a successful home based business. Make a weekly plan and stick to it religiously.
Affiliate yourself with like minded home business professionals. The support is so important when you are establishing your new career. Make sure you family are aware of your new venture and are respectful of giving you quiet work time.
Establishing a successful home based business takes discipline and commitment. With this comes flexibility and freedom. No longer constrained by the nine to five hours of the traditional working week you can open your life up to all that you have been missing, your kids, your spouse, your family!Forget wondering what your kids are doing and where they are take the plunge, make the change you will not look back! Need to see more? See the business I am operating and gain some incentive to set yourself up on your path to freedom.

3 Personal Growth Tips For a Home-Based Business Owner

Personal growth is vitally important for the home-based business owner. You cannot be truly happy unless you are continuously working on your personal growth. The purpose of this article is to share with you some tips for personal growth in order to help you become the person that you want to be whilst also making your business more successful.I have outlined three great tips below that you can implement almost immediately in order to see your business grow as well as experiencing growth as a person.Make sure to get out of your comfort zone- It is easy to find yourself stuck in a rut, doing the same thing day after day because it appears comfortable. Nothing will be more sure fire in ensuring that your business plateaus and eventually fails. You need to constantly be challenging yourself- both in business and in your personal life. For example, if you have public speaking, give a speech. Talk about your business and its benefits to anyone who will listen.Make sure you learn to turn off and say no- Many people let their home-based businesses overtake their lives. They find themselves working long hours and getting less and less time to spend with friends, family and doing what they want. For most people, this is not why they started a home-based business. They started their own business to give themselves back time but they end up working harder than ever before- often for less money than they were making previously. You need to stop getting caught up in the unimportant things that keep you at work later than usual and you need to learn to say no to things that aren’t important. You also need to clearly define work time and home time so that you do not ruin your relationships with your friends and family.You need to constantly be referring back to your original goals- When you started your home-based business you would have had goals that you wanted to achieve. You need to make sure that throughout your journey you are constantly referring back to these goals. You need to make sure that you don’t get lost amongst the mundane day to day tasks and this can hold you back from achieving your goals.Personal growth is important for all work from home entrepreneurs. I am confident that if you follow the tips I have mentioned above you will quickly find yourself achieving more success.

Home Based Business – Why Network Marketing is So Popular

Developing a home based business is a dream of many people around the world today. The personal and financial freedom of being your own boss is something we all reach for. There are many benefits associated with working from or at home. Personal freedom and Time freedom are just a couple.There are many small enterprises designed to be run from a home base. Franchise operations are more popular now than ever before, they have proven to be a good choice for people with minimal or no business experience to tap into a working system and build a business based around someone else’s idea.There are many types of businesses that can be operated from home or with a home base. Lawn mowing and gardening operations, accounting and book keeping, mobile mechanics and dog washing services are all common businesses that can be presented in a franchise based home enterprise mode.Home based business in Australia is expanding rapidly. According to the Business Victoria Website (as at June 2010), home based businesses represent 62% of small businesses in Victoria and this is growing at a rate of 3% per year since 2001.The down side to starting a home based enterprise and likely the number one reason why people decide not to, would be the, often huge, expense involved. This is where Network Marketing’s popularity comes into play.  Network Marketing gives anyone the opportunity to develop a home based business without the typical costs usually associated with establishing a business from home.A typical Network Marketing Business can be started for less than $500, sometimes as low as $100. With products, marketing materials and business start up expenses you could easily be in Business for less than $1000.A typical Franchise Business model run from home would cost around $30,000 and you would have ongoing compulsory input costs to the Franchisor.Compared to a Network Marketing Option Franchise based businesses seem financially out of reach to the average family trying to get ahead. Network marketing delivers a system similar to franchise businesses at a reduced cost.Starting a Network marketing venture gives you the opportunity to build a business part time will still working your main income source or day job. This option is not usually available when buying a traditional business, as you have to hit the road hard to produce immediate income to support the high start up costs.Network Marketing Businesses are also more family friendly allowing a couple and their kids to work together if and when they want to.In summary, Network Marketing is a popular home based business option because:
The start-up costs are very low and easily at the reach of most families.
You can build the business part time while still maintaining your regular day job.
Families are able to work together towards a common, individual or shared goal.

Tax Write Offs For Home Based Businesses – 5 Write Offs That You Can Take Advantage Of

If you run a business at home or are thinking of running one, it is important to be aware of the tax write offs for home based businesses. Whether your business is detailed, with a separate portion of your house dedicated to it, or whether it is online from your home computer, you should take a serious look at these deductions. Assuming your business is profitable, these deductions can save you money at tax time.5 Tax Write Offs For Home Based Businesses1. Office Expenses: Whatever you use for your business in the form of pens, paper, postage and so on can be claimed in full each year. Although you can claim larger office items such as filing cabinets, printers and computers, these fall under depreciable assets, so the rules are different. If you do not have an official office you can still claim these costs, even if you do most of your work in bed on your laptop.2. Mortgage or Rent and Property Tax: One of the great tax write offs for home based businesses is your home! If your home is your primary place of business or you use a certain space in your home only to earn income, than you can claim a portion of your mortgage interest and property taxes. This is a huge amount and can save you a great deal of money. If you rent, and can prove the above, than you can claim a portion of your rent as a business expense also. The portion you can claim is dependent on how much of that space you actually use and how much time you spend using it for business.3. Other Home Expenses: You can deduct almost any expense that you incur from owning a home or renting a property. But the same rule applies that only a portion can be deducted depending on how much it is used for business. These other expenses include power, internet, telephone, heating, water and any maintenance repairs.4. Automobile: Tax write offs for home based businesses can include your vehicle; this is another area where you can save a lot of money. As long as you keep track of your mileage used for business related activities (which can be as simple as going to the store to get office supplies) you can claim that portion of your fuel, oil, automobile insurance and licensing. If you use your vehicle to help you earn an income than you can deduct any interest on money that you borrowed to purchase the vehicle. If you lease, you can deduct the cost of the lease. However, there is a cap on the amount of interest you can deduct over the life of the vehicle.5. Insurance: Anyone who operates a home based business should consider home based business insurance. This insurance covers you if anything were to happen. Many times, people without this insurance will not get compensated in the case of disaster since this is entirely separate from home owners insurance. The cost of this insurance is deductible. In some cases as well, a portion of the cost of your home insurance can be deducted.Tax write offs for home based businesses are just some of the perks of having a business at home. As always, before attempting to claim any tax write offs for your home based business, consult an accountant as the tax rules can be different depending on where you live.

8 Ways To Boost The Effectiveness of Your Local Small Business Website

Increasingly local small businesses are seeing great benefits in establishing a web presence. Reason: that’s where their customers are. Too often, however, business owners have a website built without really analyzing what they are trying to accomplish. For most small businesses their websites are being looked at by two distinct and very different audiences – existing and prospective customers.

No matter whom your audience is your local small business website should follow the following 8 best practices:

Keep information on your small business website fresh. Merely establishing a web presence and then failing to regularly update its content is a complete waste of your time and money. Why would anyone continue to use your website unless there is something new to read? As a local small business you need to keep adding two types of content – one that interests your existing customer and another that that makes interesting reading for the prospective customers doing research.

Your business contact information must be easy to find. The name of business, office address or addresses, telephone number, fax number and email address should appear on each page. Make it very easy for the website user to get in touch.

Include directions to your premises. Providing simple and clear directions makes it easier for the customer to get to your office. You’d be surprised to find how many people search the Internet for just that: directions.

Make sure your website is relatively fast. Many web developers like to use flash and other gimmicks when they build a website for the sensory appeal. However, your current and prospective customers might still be using dial-up or other slow connections. There is nothing like a slow website that will cause any user to give up on your website and look elsewhere.

Make navigation around your website as easy as possible. Your most important web pages should be easy to find. If a prospective customer wants know about you, your products, your service offerings, your hours, what kind of payment you accept and so forth, make it easy. You are going lose prospective customers if your website is not very easy to use.

Keep your local small business website error-free. In the commercial world it is inexcusable to have broken links, missing graphics or typos. Errors on your website reflect poorly on your standards of acceptable quality. Would you want to make use of a business, its services or products, which has an error filled website?

Validate your website with real typical users. Coral as many people as you can to test out your site before it goes live. Invite your staff, your spouse, your kids, your friends and maybe even a few loyal customers to try out your new website. If your website confuses those testing it then it is not ready for prime time.

Write your content for web consumption. Prospective and existing customers tend not to read web content in the same way they read a book. On the web people have a minutely short attention span, so that everything they read tends to be scanned. To facilitate this use numbered or bulleted lists and subheads. Avoid excessive verbiage by cutting out the superfluous and getting to the point quickly.
Think of your local small business website as a work in progress. Like a good masterpiece it will never be perfect or for that matter complete. In order to stand out from the millions of other competing small business websites, regular effort will be required. At the end of the day make sure your website reflects the philosophy and quality of the products and services your local small business offers the marketplace.

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.