I really had no idea what I was in for last night when I arrived to a seminar titled "Make Real Money on the Internet".
It was amazing. One minute this guy is throwing the 'Mo’Money' gang sign, while jumping around on stage, and the next minute he is ripping content off Amazon and posting a blog through their affiliate program to promote a camera. This man showed the audience, the average Joe web user, how to throw up "affiliate" web pages in less then 10 minutes. So now you can make "real money" on the internet by creating a bunch of fluff web pages to lure unsuspecting potential consumers to “click through” and make a few bucks from a search query. I found myself sitting in an MLM pitch for an Affiliate Program. Frighteningly brilliant.
As I am sitting there watching the audience become totally mesmerized by this guy and I was stuck: on one hand – this concept is fabulous – anyone can start making residual income with free tools like a blog, and already written content, and a few links. The payout is real and you don’t need to know anything to get started – and his personal software affiliate program only cost $200 - basically a legitimate scam.
On the other hand, I was disturbed. The internet is being inundated with garbage! With so much clutter, it’s even harder for people to find what they are looking for, and even more so for the business to reach and connect with the interested consumer!
This means more work for the businesses who are actually trying to provide real content, and an authentic service or product, and who have an honest desire to provide the consumer with a positive experience. Optimization and effective eMarketing strategies become mandatory for a business to survive, as they are now competing for search query ranking against these “affiliate” web pages. eMarketing campaigns have to be even more targeted and carefully executed to fend off the risk of getting black listed.
It’s interesting to watch the evolution of the terms “Affiliate” and “SEO”. And as “Black hat” versus “White hat” become harder to differentiate, it will be even more interesting to watch the level of consumer/web-user savvy. Sure…everyone wants to make Mo’ Money…
