A Simple Guide to Analyzing All Those Web Traffic Ideas - Part 1

There will be a lot of people unhappy about what I am going to reveal in this article. However, I think it is time somebody spoke out about what is happening on this wonderful medium we have come to know as the internet. What I am talking about are the "sharp" practices engaged in by people offering all sorts of dubious marketing plans.

Confusion, deception, hype and downright dishonesty abound on the world wide web (www). I should know. Like tens of thousands, perhaps even hundreds of thousands of people before me - I've been caught. And it is highly probable that so many more will continue to be caught in the future unless something is done to stop it.

The www is the new frontier for those who seek to make money from inexperienced people. It's quick, it's easy and it is so impersonal. Specifically, I am talking about the selling of high priced junk information (often referred to as "reports") to unsuspecting customers.

It's almost the perfect robbery.

Newbie website owners beware! There are hundreds of con-artists and specious operators lurking out there in cyber space. They are just waiting to pull you into their clutches.

How do they do it?

OK. What is the one thing that every new website owner has to have? Answer - traffic. Pure and simple. If you don't have traffic, you might as well not even have a website - unless, of course, you just enjoy looking at it yourself.

Your quest for traffic demands that you seek knowledge from those who profess to have it. And that is the root of the problem. It seems that every second website seems to be selling information on how to improve your website. With so many experts, who do you trust?

Oh you can read the sales "blurb" (yeah, I know, my site has "blurb" too. All websites use it) and be wooed by all the so-called "facts" but who is offering the information and does it really work? How do you separate credible information from useless junk? There certainly is plenty of junk out there.

There appears to be an increasing number of self-styled gurus professing to know exactly how to drive that precious traffic right through your site. In fact, if you believe everything they promise, you will need to install a set of traffic lights on your site just to control the massive flow. (Or so they would have you believe!)

Your quest for knowledge can very quickly send your credit card into debt hyper-drive, or, I should say, hyper-dive! Just enter your details and zap - here it comes. It's the answer to all your www dreams. (You wish!)

Let's examine some of the things you need to be vigilant about:

The information you pay for might be:

  • - widely known among experienced net users - but not by you. If you want to pay for this information it might just be worth it to "fast-track" your education. In other words, you will be paying for fairly basic information but you will learn something from it. In that respect, the information can be good because you can learn from the experience of others. Many "special reports" and "secrets revealed" fall into this category. However, some clearly do not. (PS: What type of credit card do you have?)

  • - available FREE all over the www. All you have to do is look. "Seek and ye shall find". If you are lazy and you need to be spoon fed then there are any number of hunters out there who will line you up in their sights. The information is probably current and will work but why pay for it when it is so abundantly available at zero cost? (PS: What is your credit card number?)

  • - "old hat" information. The internet moves at such speed that what worked several years ago or even several months ago now doesn't work at all. This type of information is totally useless and should be avoided. Often this ancient information will even contain broken hyperlinks. Now that's a real turn off. It says so much about the quality of the information being provided. In reality, this type of information is just a collection of worthless old junk, like a shoe with a hole in its sole. (PS: When does your credit card expire?)

  • - a precursor to spending even more money. This little technique will whet your appetite just enough to entice you to spend lots more money. Some "wealth creation" seminar presenters use this technique. It's just bait for the "real" information which, of course, is far more expensive. "Caveat emptor" - let the buyer beware! (PS: What are the three ID numbers on the back of that credit card of yours?)

  • - Steering you to other sites offering "fixits." This is something like point 4 above, except the information provider suggests you go to a third party (a "friend" - more on this in Part 2) to purchase more programs or more specific information. Often these recommended sites can offer expensive or time consuming programs. (PS: Now, just press submit.)

  • - credible and/or valuable. This is information of the best kind. Usually it will contain "cutting edge" ideas that are currently working on the www. However, your ability to source this information from the many traps above will range from difficult to almost impossible.The biggest trick used by con-artist "gurus" is their ability to "dress up" the information they are offering to make it look like something new or different. It's a bit like the old pyramid selling schemes that do the rounds with monotonous regularity (or the letter offering you millions of dollars from Nigeria just for giving them your bank details! Can you imagine anybody doing that? Well, plenty do!) Plenty buy the "dress-ups" too. Same old information, different name.

    Another thing you need to be aware of is the amount of "fluff" or packing that surrounds the real subject matter. Often there can be several pages on the main idea and several dozen pages of near useless information to make it appear bigger.

    I recently purchased a report of just 19 pages. It contained just one dubious idea that could have been presented adequately on about half an A4 sized page. The rest of it was pure packing and completely useless twaddle. The cost? I hate to admit it - $39.95 US. Ouch!

    I have even heard of some training manuals on offer claiming that they contain five hundred pages (plus) of "cutting edge" information. You would think that represents a lot of information. It was certainly advertised as a "definitive" web-building and traffic steering "master" tutorial. I later learned (from another source) that the pages are only printed on about one-third of the available space and that the font size would be very beneficial for extremely sight impaired readers. That makes it a very expensive tutorial. I'm pleased to say that I didn't buy that one.

    You need to be wary of these things.

    Part 2 of this article contains further hints which will enable you to detect whether an offer of increased website traffic will be worthy of purchase or not.

    If you enjoyed Part 1, don't miss Part 2.

    Part 1 and Part 2 of this article are covered by copyright. However, both parts may be freely used providing there are no changes whatsoever to the content and the following resource box remains intact.

    PS: If you think this information might help a friend from falling prey to these dubious practices you can send them a copy of this article (or any related parts) or direct them to the website URL above. Let's get the word out and put a stop to this.

    About the author: Gary Simpson is the author of eight books covering a diverse range of subjects such as self esteem, affirmations, self defense, finance and much more. His articles appear all over the web. Gary's email address is budo@iinet.net.au. Click here to go to his Motivation & Self Esteem for Success website where you can receive his "Zenspirational Thoughts" plus an immediate FREE copy of his highly acclaimed, life-changing e-book "The Power of Choice."

    In The News:

    • pen paper and inkwell


    cat break through


    Webmasters and Publishers: A Match Made in Heaven!

    It's pretty well-known that one of the best ways to... Read More

    Link To Get Traffic - Not Search Engine Rankings!

    There have been a lot of changes on the web... Read More

    Planning For Your Websites Future- Get Search Engine Traffic

    Five tips to effectively schedule your content.In order to get... Read More

    5 Ways to Get More Traffic to Your Site

    One thing you can never have too much of online... Read More

    The Truth About Traffic Exchange Programs and Guaranteed Traffic

    It's about time someone let the cat out of the... Read More

    What is all the Buzz about LinkedIn and Does It Work?

    Have you received invitations to join an online networking website?... Read More

    Keyword Articles: Use Magical Keywords in Your Articles and Get Lots of Traffic

    You get a flash of inspiration and an interesting topic... Read More

    A Simple Guide to Analyzing All Those Web Traffic Ideas - Part 4

    Parts 1, 2 and 3 of this topic outlined some... Read More

    What Do Your Site Statistics Mean, Anyway?

    The purpose of analyzing your web site statistics is to... Read More

    How To Build Trust and Sell More Products!

    If the headline is what gets them there, then it's... Read More

    How to Get Your Traffic to Take Off in a Hurry without Paying a Dime

    The desire of every webmaster and in fact anybody with... Read More

    How To Get Links Without Asking

    Sending out link requests is a time-consuming business. So wouldn't... Read More

    My Kind Of Targeted Traffic, Cheap

    There are two types of tools I sometime use to... Read More

    Referral Traffic

    The subject of referral traffic may be a bit elementary... Read More

    The Only Traffic Secret Youll Ever Need For Your Home Based Business

    So what is this all important secret? It can generate... Read More

    How To Increase Your Website Traffic With Zero Cost

    How to increase your website traffic with zero cost'. It's... Read More

    7 Ways to Increase Web Site Visitors and Boost Sales

    Have you spent a lot of money on advertising with... Read More

    3 Ways to Build Your Web Traffic Quickly

    It's a common story. Someone builds a great site, populates... Read More

    How to Easily Turn Free Content into Traffic or Cash Fast

    I bet you already knew this.The two largest problems that... Read More

    5 Illustrious Strategies To Explode Your Web Site Traffic

    Are you spending hundreds of dollars on advertising campaigns, only... Read More

    Seven Red Hot Tips for Linking

    1. Vary the keywords in your link 'anchor' textUnless you... Read More

    Rethinking Linking - Link Exchange Back to Basics

    In the old days of the internet, links were the... Read More

    Turn Content Into Traffic

    As the saying goes in the business world "The Customer... Read More

    Satellite TV, Google, and a Stamp

    Unless you're building a baseball diamond in the middle of... Read More

    How to Drive More Targeted Traffic And Sales Than Mini-Sites And Gateway-Pages Combined ? Anytime

    Many top gurus promoted mini-sites as the cheapest and easiest... Read More

    Thinking of Using Hit Exchanges to Boost Your Adsense Revenue? Think Again!

    So, you've added Adsense to your site and you are... Read More

    Web Coach Tip: 3 Proven Steps to Increase Traffic to Your Website

    #1 Make sure your business card includes a persuasive "FREE... Read More

    Your Traffic Building Checklist: 15 Ways to Get More Visitors Who Are Ready to Buy (Part 2)

    >When many of my clients first come to me for... Read More

    Get More Customers ? With Less Work!

    A lot of website owners work tirelessly at increasing their... Read More

    How To Start A Linking Campaign

    Getting links to a new website, without Google page rank,... Read More

    Where Do You Get Quality Content?

    There are three main sources for you to get the... Read More

    What Your Competition Knows About Traffic

    Need more traffic? There's a lot you can learn from... Read More

    Linking for Traffic: The Shift from Link Directories to Hyper-Targeted Linking

    There's a stiff wind blowing in a new direction on... Read More