Internet & Affiliate Marketing News

If you are a webmaster and own many websites like I do then you probably want to know the best SEO techniques to get your site ranked and get more traffic. Well, there are 2 routes with SEO and that’s blackhat and whitehat SEO. Which one you are going to choose is totally up to you, but I want to give you some insights to help you make the right decision. So let’s talk about blackhat SEO first…

Blackhat SEO

What does it really mean? Blackhat SEO means that you are bending the rules to get your site to the top of the search engine rankings. Usually those techniques violate Google’s webmaster guidelines and if discovered by Google or other search engines then you will get banned and deindexed from the search results. I guess that’s the basic idea of blackhat seo.

Here are a few techniques that are considered blackhat:

1. Doorway Pages (Cloaking) – It’s a tactic to trick the search engines that you have lots of content pages on your site. Those pages are used to redirect the visitors (search engine user) to another page or so called money page where you are trying to sell or promote something.

Here is how cloaking works

The basic concept is that you have a script running on your server that generates those cloaked pages automatically. When the search engine spider or Googlebot visits the site it’s being presented with pages that have lots of relevant content and optimized for varies keyword phrases. When those pages get indexed in Google they will usually obtain good rankings and start driving traffic to your site. When the visitor clicks on the link from the organic search results he/she doesn’t see the original page that Googlebot has seen. The cloaking script automatically detects that it’s a real person and redirects them to totally different page or your money page.

I have to warn you though. If someone discovers this activity on your site then you can say bye bye to that domain name. It will usually get banned within days once the cover is blown.

Some cloakers got smart and register so called throw-away domain names for cloaking purposes only. This means they keep indexing those cloaked sites and redirect visitors to a whole different domain name, so if the site where the cloaker is installed gets banned their money site is safe, but that’s not always true either.

So basically you need to create cloaking sites faster than they are being banned so you can keep constant flow of targeted traffic to your website or landing page.

2. Buying Links – This in fact is a big problem for Google and other search engines. The reason for that is because it’s ALMOST undetectable. The concept here is simple. If you want top search engine rankings then you need lots of backlinks to your website. If your niche is highly competitive then you need basically thousands of them. Some niches like for example financial, mortgage, credit report, insurance are insanely competitive, and it would require some long term content development and link building campaign. If you have the budget you can buy links from other authority sites which is against Google’s terms of service. If this was allowed then any company with a lot of money could dominate the search engine rankings by simply buying links from other high PR and authority sites. Google has managed to keep up with this by integrating some changes to their algorithm, but the problem still exists on massive scale because in reality you would need a real human editor to visit every site to see if you are buying links or if you are gaining them in the natural way.

3. Keyword Manipulation – This tactic used to work about 7-8 years ago and now is being used to trick Adwords for higher quality score more than SEO. The basic idea is to insert keywords on your site and hide it by making them very small and not readable to human eye or just changing the color of the text font to white on the white background. Google has pretty much crushed this. Their spider can easily detect this on your page so I wouldn’t recommend this at all.

4. Cross-linking – This has been going on for years and still is quite effective if you don’t get caught The idea is to create many niche sites on different IP addresses and link them all to get higher rankings. It’s against Google terms of service to link to your own sites within the same niche. This is why Google has become a domain name registrar and now has access to WHOIS information so they can see which domain names you own. So if you are using this technique you better mask your WHOIS data.

5. Scraping Content – Scraping other sites for content is actually becoming more and more popular. Most of the people that use it try to monetize those sites using Adsense. The idea is that you have a script installed on your server that automatically pulls content from other sites and creates pages on your website. This falls into the duplicate content category, but it looks like Google really doesn’t care much about this anymore. The sites with scraped content usually get filtered out off the search results, but somehow they still get indexed and manage to pull some traffic. So if you use this on massive scale you could actually see some great results as far some affiliate income.

6. Hijacking – This one is actually pretty evil and you wouldn’t want this to happen to you, but here is how it works. The hijacker goes and creates a 302 redirect on some established site which gets indexed in the serps while the original site gets deindexed. So basically if some company has an affiliate program and you want to monetize on their traffic from search enignes without doing any work you would go and create this kind of redirect and your page would appear in place of the original domain name. Of course you would redirect through your own affiliate link. This is one bad technique that should not be used ever.

There are many other black hat SEO techniques like link spamming, building link farms and more.

Black Hat SEO is not for everyone. It usually delivers fast and quick results but it’s not a long term business model that will continue to grow. You need to constantly tweak and put up new sites to keep the momentum going. I have done some black hat seo in the past when I first started, and I know what kind of risk is involved. I was constantly under stress and hoping that my sites will survive another day

I switched from black hat to white hat SEO and I like it much better. Some people never make the switch and stay underground…lol

Anyway, let’s take a look at White Hat SEO and what it’s all about.

WhiteHat SEO

Whitehat SEO delivers slower results but much more stable and steady income. The idea is to provide high quality content that gets noticed. If you put out great content it will accomplish 3 things – get higher rankings and gain authority plus get natural links back to your site.

The problem why so many people struggle with Whitehat SEO is because it takes a lot of work at the beginning without and results at all. For the first month or 2 you will be creating content without getting too much traffic or generating any substantial income. Most people quit because of that and then try black hat stuff.

Anyway, I highly recommend that you try to build a stable business and only use White Hat SEO. You will not have to worry about getting banned or losing your site. Once you get to the point where you are making decent money from it then it will be much much easier than any black hat technique. In fact you can make more money with doing a legitimate business than trying to trick the search engines.

Hope this post helped you understand the whole concept better, so you can decide for yourself which way you are going to choose.

Feel free to post your comments below with your opinion.

Ok, I already know that some people are going to call me an idiot or that I have no idea what I am talking about, but I am just going to say it…Cash Gifting is illegal in my opinion and I hope you won’t get scammed like many others did.

So what is Cash Gifting? Well, it’s basically a pyramid scheme where you give cash “gifts”…lol…to other participants in order to join the program. Let’s face it you are joining because you expect to make money from it. Please don’t tell me that you are just giving some stranger money for nothing because that’s basically bullshit.

Cash Gifting used to be an offline scam where people would meet and exchange cash. Many of those groups got arrested and went to jail. Now cash gifting entered the online market, so it’s basically still illegal because there is no difference. Anyway, the only reason why FTC is not doing anything yet is because it would be too hard to track people down. They are all over the country sending each other money through UPS and Fedex.

Here is what really bothers me. You see, some of those cash gifting participants called IRS and recorded the message asking them if it’s illegal and got an answer that it was fine…lol..I imagine that the phone operator didn’t really know much about it and was caught of guard with that question.

Another thing about this whole cash gifting is that people are posting videos all over the web showing how much money they made using those programs. I am sure you have seen some of them showing envelopes with cash. If you didn’t then go to YouTube and search for “cash gifting”. You will find hundreds of them.

Now if you ask any of those people that are in cash gifting business about the legality of it, they are going to say that it’s perfectly legal. They are going to show you some recorded messages with IRS or some other BS to get you into the program. They also make you sign this little piece of paper stating that you don’t expect anything in return and that you are basically just giving them money..lol

I called a lawyer here in my local town and he said that the little paper would NOT hold in court by the way, so keep that mind.

Anyhow, the law says that you can give up to $12,000 tax free to someone. This is mistaken by those in the cash gifting programs because they are using it to make money. The whole purpose of someone joining a cash gifting program is to earn money and not lose it by giving away cash. Come on people, wake up!

Here is some more stuff from MLM Watch Dog that I think you should read too.

Here is how most of the Cash Gifting programs operate online. Usually it’s a 1 up where you pass up your first “gift”   to your sponsor. Then after that you keep all the gifts and those need to pass up their first to you too. So with that said, you can see that you will need to promote it all over the web and get people to the program. At the end there is always someone that doesn’t make money so they lost in this whole deal. As you can see you need to constantly get new suckers into cash gifting programs otherwise you won’t make money and that’s why you would join one anyway.

I say that cash gifting programs are illegal and it’s just a matter of time before the authorities catch up with them. I highly recommend that you stay away from them and save your money. There are a lot better ways to make money online than cash gifting.

Feel free to post your comments below, but I have to warn you that I won’t approve any comments with profanity.

If you are like me staying up to date with the latest internet marketing launches then you probably have heard about the new Clickbank Inner Circle that is supposed to hit the marketplace on December 3rd.

Anyway, the CB Inner Circle is created by Chris Freville who is one of the top marketers on Clickbank. He has mastered the JV secrets and how to create highly profitable Clickbank products that sell.

Chris sent me the product for review and I took the time to evaluate everything before I decided to promote it. After reading all the content and going through some of the modules of the Clickbank Inner Circle I have to admit that it’s good stuff. I have actually learned a few new marketing tactics and I thought I knew them all..lol

Anyhow, If you want to know more about the CB Inner Circle and the bonus I am offering if you buy from my link the check out my Clickbank Inner Circle review page. I am going to post more info there as we get close to the launch so I suggest you to keep coming back for more info and updates.

I feel like this is a great product for those who want to get ahead in the Clickbank marketing game. I hope you get a copy for yourself because it’s going to put you on the right track and help you make more money with Clickbank.

OK, here is the link to my review page…

http://www.affhelper.com/clickbank-inner-circle/

Today I purchased a new product from James Schramko called Double Digit CTR. The product came with a 61-page manual, 9 videos, and an MP3 file recording. I went through the videos first to quickly check out what his techniques are all about. Keep in mind that I have bought all kinds of PPC guides before and know most of the tactics used by affiliates already, so I wasn’t expecting much. I thought if I could learn maybe 2 new techniques I could possibly squeeze more profits from my own campaigns.

So let’s review the content of the videos…

Video #1 – Intro

In this video James covers basic information about his course and what you are going to discover by going through all his 9 videos. He makes a very valid point in this video that gives you a better understanding what pay per click marketing is all about. He also lists some of the most common mistakes people make while setting up Google Adwords campaigns.

Video #2 – Keyword Research

I actually learned something new from this video. He does go over some of the main tactics like spying on your competition first and using the Google Keyword Tool, but he also talks about building your own keyword lists using specific phrases that people use when searching for something online. I can see how I could build lists of long tail keywords within minutes using this technique. He also provides a link to his free tool that will help you do that with a click of a button.

Video #3 – The Strategy

This is basically the main core of the entire system. I like how James goes exactly step by step to show you how to set up Adwords campaigns and what settings must be changed inside your account to make the campaign successful. He has a valid point that Google’s default settings are wrong and will make you spend tons of cash without any results or sales. He also talks about adgroup creation and how you should properly structure your Adwords campaigns. This in fact is crucial part of the system and if you don’t follow this outline you’ll most likely end up wasting tons of money on untargeted clicks that won’t make you any money. James also reveals some of the stuff you should never do within your Adwords account. The video goes further into country targeting and how to pick your timing. There are some more tips that he revealed in this video but I won’t post it here because that would be not fair to James.

Video #4 – Landing Pages

This part of the course is something every affiliate marketer should learn. I have discovered some pretty cool tactics that I will be implementing shortly in my own campaigns. James shows you how to create very effective landing page that will deliver conversions. Some of the stuff he covers were totally new to me. I have learned what needs to be included on your landing pages and where exactly place your links for maximum results.

Video #5 – Writing Your Adwords Ads

James goes over some very powerful copyrighting techniques and how to properly use exclamation marks to instantly boost your click-through rates. He actually gives you the exact phrases you shoud use when writing adwords ads, which is cool. He teaches how to use negative keywords and the right url structure of your destination urls.

Video #6 – Example Campaign

In this video you will see how James sets up campaign from start to finish, which is very valuable information. I have bought so many different PPC manuals that never included this part of the course.

Video #7 – Case Study

Here James Schramko shows you his techniques in action and what kind of results you can expect if you follow the course step by step. His campaign pulled thousands of dollars in sales in one day, and produced some hefty affiliate commissions.

Video #8 – Advanced Tactics

After watching this video I realized why so many people fail with Adwords. James really knows his stuff. He reveals how you need to maintain your Adwords campaigns and how to constantly tweak them for higher conversion rates. This is a step that many affiliats skip, which is a deadly mistake that will send your wallet to the cleaners.

Video #9 – The Next Steo

This video explains how to expand your reach by going into content networks, developing your own tools, and basically making more money from your campaigns.

So what is my overall rating of this course on a scale from 1-10? I give it a 9. What I think was missing is how James picks products to promote for his own campaigns, and more about the content network. The course itself is well worth the money and if you are an Adwords advertiser then this is one of those products you should have in your collection.

You can pick it up by clicking here…

Ok, I am making this post to warn as many people as I can about these scammers. Anyhow, you have probably come across this new autosurf program called ASD Cash Generator or formerly known as AdSurfDaily owned by Andy Bowdoin.  Well, I highly suggest you to stay away from them and NOT invest any of your hard earned money into this company.

First of all, they are classic ponzi scheme because money is being paid out from new members investing to the old members who already earned their credits and are ready to cash out. This scam is growing fast and there are more and more people cashing out, so they need more new members to cover all the payouts.

Do you remember 12dailypro? This is almost the exact same thing. I honestly believe that this ASD Cash Generator deal is going to be shut down very soon by the FTC. I hope those people will go to jail!

The problem is that so many people out there are trying to cover it up and make it sound like a legitimate work at home program. I call them “cheerleaders”   Those people have no morals and they will say anything you want to hear just so you spend your money.

There is going to be a lot of people who will loose money with this crap once it goes down. In my opinion it’s an already sinking ship.

Feel free to post your comments below

Chris from Day Job Killer is about to release his brand new product called Google Nemesis. The product is supposed to be the missing link for many affiliates who are just not making it in the affiliate marketing world.

The Google Nemesis is going to be launched on July 8th at 3:00 PM EST.

If you have Chris’s previous products like the DJK and Google Assassin then you know that he does deliver the goods.

Anyhow, there is going to be thousands of affiliates promoting his new launch so I decided to offer special bonus for this who purchase through my link. There is going to be a limit though. I believe I will only be able to give away my bonus to first 50 people who buy it.

Google Nemesis is supposed to be a membership site. There is going to be a monthly fee, but from what I understand there is also going to be a lot of value for the money. Inside the members area Chris will include some kind of cool software that automates his Adwords campaigns too.  I don’t think it’s anything like we have seen befor, so it’s certainly something you want to check out.

Make sure to check out my page for this promotion at:

http://www.affhelper.com/google-nemesis/

Also, feel free to post your opinion and comments below

You may have probably seen those annoying popups that show up on sales letters when you try to exit their website.  Most of them use Intellichat or Virtual Smart Agent. Anyhow, I have been doing some experimenting of my own and had some very interesting results.

I have installed the Intellichat on one of my niche sites that was totally unrelated to making money online or internet marketing and didn’t notice any increase in sales at all! In fact, I felt like the conversions decreased because people wouldn’t return to the website knowing that there is that annoying popup.

Not only that, but I have also analyzed the chat history of the virtual sales agent with my visitors and noticed that people were getting very frustrated with getting their questions answered. Some actually got mad and wrote some very funny things

These popups are now widely used by many internet marketers. If you look at clickbank marketplace you will find a ton of sales pages that have that exit popup installed. Personally, I think it’s very annoying and that it has become very saturated in the IM industry. As soon as I see one of them I quickly close it and make sure never load that site again.

It seems like those popups only help if you are selling in the IM niche or “make money” related products.  The reason for that is that so many people are used to getting discount when they try to close the web page.

I wonder what is your experience with this. Feel free to post your comments below.

Alex Goad is launching a brand new product called Four Tier Annihilation Method on June 10th.  From what I have heard it’s nothing like we have seen before. Alex is not going to teach you SEO, Adsense, or List Building. This time it’s about making money as an affiliate from Ebay auctions.

The Four Tier Annihilation Method consists of 4 modules. Each module will teach you a killer technique that you can start using right away and see great results. All modules are related to one-another and that’s why it’s called 4 Tier Annihilation Method.  The point here is that you will need to make all 4 of them work to make the big bucks. Of cours, you can just concentrate on 1 or 2 methods, but why not make more money, right?

If you have failed online before with things like Adwords, Adsense, or SEO then this could be something for you. The reason why I am saying this is because I have made money on Ebay before as an affiliate. I sold info-products for as little as $.99 and was able to pull about $6000 per month from backend sales. This system works because I have done it myself. The trick to the entire Four Tier Annihilation Method is to run as many ebay auctions as you can at the same time for products ranging from $0.25 to $1000.

I think Alex Goad did a great job with the product. I’ve bought his products before, and to be more specific I purchased the Google Payload ebook that Alex released a few months ago. All I can say is that Alex delivers the goods.

Anyhow, I think the Four Tier Annihilation Method is probably the easiest and the laziest method of making money online. You don’t need to know any complicated stuff like SEO, where to get traffic from, and how to write sales copy.

You can get it here…

If you already purchased the Four Tier Annihilation Method from Alex Goad then please feel free to post your comments below. Let everybody know your experience with the product.

I am launching a brand new product called Google Manipulator on June 26th 2008. It’s an ebook about making money online using Free Google search traffic. It’s nothing like you have ever seen before. I am tired of all the crappy ebooks out there that don’t deliver on its promise, so I decided to reveal some of my own secret strategies that I am currently using to make 6-figure income on the Internet.

Google Manipulator is a step-by-step guide that will take you by the hand from start to finish. The strategies revealed in this ebook are very effective and produce results.

I have already put up the prelaunch page if you go to the main site. The countdown has already started, and those who get a hold of it as soon as it becomes available will have a huge advantage over those who wait a few weeks or months.

I am also giving away a free report that you can download from the prelaunch page. Just go to GoogleManipulator.com and fill in your details to get the download link.

I am very excited about this launch. I believe that my ebook will help a lot of marketers and newbies who are just starting out.

I have actually sent out a few copies to some of my subscribers for review and the feedback was amazing. Some of them are already using the techniques from the ebook successfully with very impressive results.

Anyway, I hope you are going to be one of the first lucky people to get your own copy on the launch day.

More info will be revealed soon

I don’t know if there is anything better than selling your own info product online for huge profits. This is how some of the top marketing experts made their fortunes on the Internet.  They all own some kind of product and sell it to marketers and affiliates.

Is it hard to create your own product? No it’s not. In fact it’s very easy to do and you could create your own within days. I guess the easiest way to do it is to write an ebook or report solving someone else’s problem or providing a solution.

Let me show you my blueprint for creating info products. Most of the time I create one for clickbank because it’s the easy way. Clickbank is the largest reseller of downloadable products if you didn’t know that yet. They manage your refunds, affiliate program, and take payments from your sales page.

The first thing I do is become an affiliate for a similar product I want to create. Then I run a Adwords campaign and drive traffic to a review page with an optin box. If the product converts well and I see profits then I will buy the product to see how it could be improved. Then I go and create my own or hire a ghostwriter to write me an ebook. Once I set up the sales page and everything is in place I start promoting my own product the same way using Adwords. Now my profits usually double and then I start recruiting affiliates to skyrocket the sales.

Pretty simple process isn’t it? Some might say that this is the secret of all secrets. Why would you want to invent something new when you can simply create similar product that already sells and the most important you can sell it yourself because you were an affiliate first.

This is the easiest way to create your own profitable products for huge online cash. All you have to do is take action, focus, and you will find your success.