Here’s How to Guarantee Failure in 2011…

March 25th, 2011 · 183 Comments

Normally I don’t publish stuff when I’m in a bad mood, but today’s going to be an exception…

Here are 5 sure-fire ways to absolutely guarantee failure and crappy results in 2011.

If anything sounds familiar… you might wanna re-think your strategy…

—————————-

1) Always Gravitate to Whatever is “EASIEST”…

Ever notice how so many people are obsessed with article marketing?

Or how many products/offers specifically focus on things like “you don’t need a website, a product or a list”, etc.?

The reason is because the barrier to entry is basically zero, which makes that appealing to people who think this is somehow “push-button”. That means that any old slob can go sign up at EzineArticles or wherever and start promoting Clickbank’s Finest. It’s so “easy”.

The same applies to stuff like auto-blogging, using PLR, etc.

Easy, my ass.

Everything about it is tough as hell. Go to ANY marketing forum and take a look at all the threads with subject lines like “Help, I’ve submitted 150 articles and I’ve only made $32.75!!”

That’s pretty extreme, and usually it’s because their niche (or keyword) sucks, but you’ll see that a lot.

Let’s talk about why…

You’re limited to targeting long-tail keywords. You’re sending all of your traffic to someone else (who’s actually building a real business from it). You’re not making enough money to outsource your “easy” activities. Meanwhile you’re working your ass off, for hours on end, churning out one article after the next.

Not to mention, you don’t OWN anything. And – considering what just happened to EzineArticles in the Farmer update (a 90% LOSS in SERP visibility), you are also held hostage by what happens to the entity you are piggybacking.

Sound insane?

YES. So why the hell does everybody gravitate to this?

Because it’s “easy”.

Yeah – it’s so much “harder” just to build a site, market it for a month and then let the search engines send traffic to it passively for the next 8+ months (or indefinitely if you run some periodic backlinking from time to time).

Which, in comparison, is actually far easier, less effort, and less work.

Speaking of article marketing…

2) Only Ever Target “Low Hanging Fruit”…

I have received hundreds of emails over the years from people who are obsessed with finding keywords and keyphrases with “under 5000 competing search results”. So they’ll email and ask,

“Chris, I decided to target ‘Cheapest Car Insurance for 1972 Imported Mini Coopers’ because it only has 273 competing organic results and since I can rank really easily for it with basically no effort I think it’s a good way to go – what do you think?”

What do I think?

Well, for one thing I won’t tell you exactly what I think about that, since my thoughts contain several swear words.

However, what I will say is this…

YOU NEED TRAFFIC.

And no, getting 5 visitors a day isn’t traffic. Unless you are selling Luxury Yachts or Pacific Islands, 5 visitors a day is going to put you in the poor house.

And no, the solution isn’t to go and build 100 “poor houses” and hope that the combined effect will be a “not-as-poor house”. That’s just a stupid way to build a business – let alone an online empire.

What is so scary about just aiming for keywords that will actually provide you with tons of traffic?

It’s truly NOT that difficult.

Does it take elbow grease for a month or two, and 5 minutes of research?

Yes, it does.

(But it’s a hell of a lot less effort than being an article slave, or building 500 “low-hanging fruit” miniblogs…)

Not to mention, sites that go after REAL keywords make REAL money. What a shocker.

Turns out it’s actually a lot more work to pick low-hanging fruit than it is to just go get yourself a ladder and have all the good stuff to yourself.

3) Follow the Masses.

Here’s a depressing exercise…

Go to any popular marketing forum.

Browse the threads.

Make a note of what appears to be the most popular activity or method.

Then, make a note of all the threads where people complain about poor results, not making any money, etc.

Guess what?

99 times out of 100, the stuff that DOESN’T WORK is what EVERYONE is doing.

(If you wanna know why, go back and read Steps 1 and 2 in this post).

You wanna know what REALLY works?

Ignore the marketers. Ignore the forums.

LOOK at who’s ranking in Google. LOOK at active marketplaces. LOOK at who’s advertising with PPC, Facebook, etc. LOOK at what people are buying.

And then just reverse-engineer it. Look at how THEY are doing it.

This isn’t rocket-science, folks.

You’ve gotta shut off the noise, and ignore the shovel-sellers – and open your eyes to the logical reality of the web. It’s literally right in front of you. And becoming a player really isn’t that hard, guys.

All it takes is observing obvious success, and then just reverse-engineering that logical path. Not just following the herd.

4) Obsess Over Details, Technicalities and Specific Tactics…

Another way to guarantee failure is to get hung up on “doing everything right” – or to assume that simple actions aren’t as effective as complicated processes.

A good example of this is something I mentioned above – people’s obsession with Organic competition (such as only trying to rank for keywords with less than 5,000 exact-match results). First of all, as an aside – those values are completely unreliable. One day a keyphrase will have 3,500 competitors. The next day it will be 950,000. Try this and see for yourself.

Anyway – the point is – the reality is that you are only competing with the sites on page 1. The only thing that matters is what the sites on Page #1 have done, and whether you’re prepared to do the same thing.

THAT is how you measure feasibility. Not some convoluted pseudo-science based on nothing other than “common knowledge”. (If you rely on common knowledge, you get common results).

End the confusion by focusing on logical, straight-forward thinking.

There is SO MUCH data at your fingertips these days. With inexpensive tools like SEMRush, SEOSpyglass, and so on, it is literally a matter of 20 seconds of research to completely reverse-engineer the entire marketing “blueprint”, tried, tested and proven by your competitors.

All you’ve gotta do is step up, put your work gloves on, and have at it.

That’s how you get results.

Not by embracing over-the-top tactics or pining over convoluted theories.

And finally – if your goal is to fail this year, make sure to…

5) Resist Anything That Requires Initial Effort, Forethought, or Otherwise Isn’t Mundane or Automated

This is the big one.

This will absolutely guarantee ongoing failure for as long as you do this…

Let me explain how it works:

About 2 years ago I started renting an office in a commercial building, simply because I find it a lot easier that way to separate my “work life” from my “home life”. (You find out pretty quick that the “luxury” of working from home can make you stir crazy).

Anyway, I’m one of about 30 other businesses/offices on my floor. I’ve made a few friends, and a few people are curious about the weird guy with no discernable schedule, definitely no dress code, long hair and a collection of Porsches.

So I’ve been asked, numerous times, what I do. I offer a 20-second summary blurb. One that I’ve carefully engineered over the years to convey the fact that I’m not in the Adult industry, and simultaneously vague enough to keep people guessing (since they won’t understand anyway).

Nevertheless, I’ve had a few people pry. So I’ll oblige, and explain affiliate marketing, list-building and in general the online business platform in more detail.

They start getting excited. I can literally “see” their emotions well up, and their eyes sparkle, when their internal gears start turning, and they begin to think “Oh boy! Maybe I can do this TOO”…

Then they ask me how much work is involved. My favorite part ensues…

I tell them the truth:

“You don’t know which way is up, so it will probably take you about 6 months to figure out what’s what. After that point, when you’ve chosen a market and laid out some target keywords, you need to probably produce about 50 – 100 articles. Then you need to go out and build backlinks for about 2-3 months. Then you need to wait for Google to respond to your efforts. THEN – it will start to pay off. You can literally build a crazy income, just by building a few sites like this.”

By this point, the “spark of excitement” in their facial expression will have gradually faded into a glazed-over expression that communicates exactly what they’re thinking…

“Oh, well – screw it. I thought it would be easier…”

Now, I want to draw your attention to the PURE INSANITY of what just happened…

I basically tell someone how to make a solid 6 figures a year (or more), in about a year’s time, and as soon they discover that there’s work involved – forget it.

Let’s see if we can break down their thought process, from a logical point of view:

1) I can continue running my fledgling business or working as an employee, where $45K is a good year, and eventually retire when I’m 75 in some run-down apartment, with no money to have fun, and with a part-time job at Walmart just to get by….

2) I can spend a whopping SIX MONTHS of my life learning a business model that can build incredible wealth and passive income. I can probably eventually sell my online empire for a very nice 7 or maybe even 8+ figure payday. Then I can literally make 6 figures a year, passively, just in interest alone. I can do whatever the hell I want, and I’ll never have to work again.

Hmmm… let me see.

Option #1 please. It’s less effort.

Sorry, I have to go home now and waste 4 hours of my life watching reality TV so I can escape my mundane existance with zero prospects for the future – but it was nice talking to you. You sure are lucky!

I know I’m being very sarcastic, but this is a very serious “mindset disease” that plagues our industry.

People are literally CHOOSING PSUEDO-SLAVERY over and above proven, fundamental strategies that can create life-long financial freedom – simply because it’s “less effort”.

(And you’ve gotta “work smart, not hard”, right?)

Folks, working smart is about realizing WHAT ACTUALLY WORKS, and then focusing on that exclusively.

And what’s ironic is that when you simply DO put in the initial effort – building REAL sites, building REAL links, producing REAL content, sending REAL emails to your subscribers…

…it ends up being FAR LESS effort overall in comparison to all the pseudo-slaves working their asses off all day long spinning articles, setting up auto-blogs, running ScrapeBox and burning through proxies, and intermittently buying “WSO’s” as a form of entertainment disguised as productivity.

It’s a 3 or 4 month effort that can turn into a 6-figure operation.

Instead of a 3-year attempt to “resist effort” that turns into constant tactic-chasing, whining on forums, marital stress and a wallet full of nothing.

—————————-

So there you have it folks.

Guaranteed Failure – in Just 5 Easy Steps!

And anybody can do it. You definitely don’t need a list, a product, or a website.

All you have to do is gravitate to whatever’s easy, automated, complicated-sounding, and requires little effort – and you’ll see “results” almost instantly!

(And as a bonus, when you start using these 5 simple steps today – I’ll even throw in an Employment Application for Walmart that you can use when you’re living in a shitty apartment – absolutely free!)

—————————-

Why the rant?

Maybe you’ve been following the upcoming launch of ActuallyRank.com, on March 29th.

In short, you can use it to easily build hundreds (or thousands) of powerful one-way backlinks – where actual the page itself has major linkjuice and PR’s ranging from PR0 – PR5+ – in just minutes per day. Or even just a few times a month.

Building even 5- 10 backlinks like this can produce RANK-CHANGING results that will directly boost your traffic.

And we send you thousands of powerful dofollow comment sources every month, so you’ll never run out of literally endless, powerful backlink prospects.

But here’s where it all falls to pieces….

“Egad!! You mean I actually have to do something? I can’t just lay on a hammock somewhere while subordinates shove grapes in my mouth whilst your service simultaneously produces magical Googly rankings for me?”

Yes, you actually have to spend a whole 40 seconds – or possibly even a full 2 minutes – posting your backlink on established, authority pages with major linkjuice.

There isn’t a service that exists – aside from TextLinkAds or LinkAdage (where you can buy backlinks, for about the price of a used car) where you can build BACKLINKS THAT ACTUALLY MATTER, as easily, and for such a tiny investment.

Folks – this is how you rank for keywords that matter. Keywords that can send you thousands of visitors a day – resulting in double or triple digit transactions a DAY from a single site.

You think you can do that with “automated” links from a private blog network?

Or from using software that creates profiles on Web 2.0 properties?

Or from submitting articles to bloated directories?

Or from building spamlinks using ScrapeBox?

(I think the answer is painfully obvious… if you exclusively build links the “easy” way like that, all you have to do is log into your Google Analytics account and look at your stats, and I think the answer will come to you).

——————————————

Now – obviously – ActuallyRank isn’t for everyone.

It’s for serious marketers who could give a crap about “automation” because what they need is RESULTS.

In fact, I’ve had almost 20 people email me now begging to let them in early – and almost all of them are SEO companies. (Hmmm… I wonder why that is? Oh – it’s because they need to generate results for their clients.)

And as excited as I am to open the doors on the 29th and see what happens – and something tells me we may need to cap it off pretty quickly…

…I’m also a little bit disheartened.

I’ve received so many emails (and comments) lately that truly paint a sad picture of just how clueless the majority of people are in this industry.

People asking if it’s 100% automatic. People asking if they can blast the URLs with ScrapeBox. People asking if all the sources are AutoApprove.

They don’t see that the very thing they think they want (“NO EFFORT”) is precisely the cause of their poor results – and – amazingly, it’s the reason why they have to work so hard just to barely eek out a few hundred bucks a month – if even that…

———————————————

Let me end this rant with a question – and I’m being totally sincere…

DO YOU ACTUALLY WANT TO SUCCEED?

Or do you find it easier and safer just to half-heartedly pursue “shiny new tactics” because it’s temporarily entertaining?

I’m honestly not being facetious or sarcastic, in this last section here.

In fact, if you’re struggling right now – or lost – and you genuinely want to succeed, but maybe you need a bit of guidance…

…then post a comment below and let me know what you’re having trouble with – and I’ll answer it within a few hours, right here on the blog.

Here’s to a SUCCESSFUL 2011.

Sincerely

~ Chris Rempel

Tags: General Marketing Stuff

183 responses so far ↓

1 admin // Mar 25, 2011 at 4:56 am

Totally serious about the last bit, folks. If you’re “stuck”, or struggling – just post a comment below, and I’ll respond back as soon as I can with detailed help.

I’ve been in this game quite awhile now.

That doesn’t make me an all-knowing authority (I’m far from that), but I’ve built and launched quite a number of sites every year for the past 5+ years.

Many have flopped.

Some have performed.

And some have produced astounding results – results that still blow my mind.

Also, I’ve had basically every income level in this business. I know what it’s like to make $250 a month, and I know what it’s like to make 5 & sometimes 6 figures a month.

So don’t be shy.

Ask away – and I’ll do my best to help you

Cheers

-Chris
2 Kate // Mar 25, 2011 at 7:15 am

I love a good rant! Wise words though indeed. Looking forward to some ActuallyRank goodness next week. This service will save me HOURS & HOURS a month trying to find decent link opportunities. thanks!
3 Mikael Rieck // Mar 25, 2011 at 7:58 am

Hey Chris,

One question comes to mind in terms of AR. When you say to spend 40 seconds to 2 minutes per link, I am guessing that you’re not even reading the article where you are posting your comment?

I thought that you advised us to leave helpful and valuable comments.

Is there something I don’t get?

/Mikael
4 Jon Symons // Mar 25, 2011 at 10:36 am

It’s about responsibility. When something appears to take work, people don’t like it because they have to confront the fact that they are responsible for the circumstances in their lives, which is, for most people the scariest concept of all.

That’s why it is so easy to sell that promises easy riches, it provides hope that people can somehow avoid being in their own skin.
5 Andy // Mar 25, 2011 at 11:31 am

Hey Chris,

Dude your awesome! I’ve been focusing on doing REAL things online for the last 4 months, after chasing every white rabbit down a tree well for the past year and a half….guess what? Real results are just starting to roll in….just by building real sites, real backlinks and conducting real research.

You know what I did one morning that changed it all for me? Woke up…said the hell with all this crap…..removed myself from every single shiny object pushers list that I’d somehow ended up on….HUGE TIP right there, if anyone is reading this and is struggling away……(goes right along with what Chris just wrote….turn off the noise)

Then I pulled up the “Affiliate Intelligence” files that I got from you awhile back…..spent the next two days combing through those endless lists….found a golden market that had good competition, but I knew was very do able…..spent the remaining part of that week, doing “real keyword research”…….ended up with a list of 180-200 awesome keywords, picked not just on competition level….but a mix of everything….the search volume….searcher intent…etc. Then built a super clean site using headway….

Then I went looking for real writers….not the ones that have setup their business around writing articles for people submitting to ezine articles, or for blog posts on nameyourbacklinknetwork.com

I found two really great (english) writers, that usually only write content for University students…..hired them to write 60 lengthy articles….then spent the last two months building pages…using these “essays” they wrote for me, around the keywords I researched, based on the market I found using the AI Files.

So I spend my whole “working” part of my day now doing real stuff….building new pages, writing in the blog, to provide quality internal links to these pages….and building real backlinks…..and guess what…it’s working!

Just wanted to share that with you guys….but I will say that I was having a hard time dealing with the costs of buying links….anyone who says SEO is free is straight up lying to you….or has no friggin clue what they’re talking about…..but now it seems like this struggle for real backlinks that actually provide real results in the serps is about to change….Just wanted to say thanks buddy!

I’ll be there refreshing my screen, on tuesday….and no….not for the next great.. “Push Button” “Auto Backlink Blaster 4.2″

Thanks Chris…your one of the few remaining guys out there that I still subscribe to….and seems like I always will!

Andy
6 admin // Mar 25, 2011 at 2:41 pm

@Mikael – well, yeah… okay, I’m exaggerating a little in some cases.

But a big part of leaving quality comments is actually responding to other commenters, not just the blog post itself. And that’s a pretty easy thing to do.

Regardless – 100% of the time it will take at least 10X less time to leave a comment and gain a super-powerful backlink than it will to write an article and submit it to Ezine or wherever.

And that is my point.

Good question, though – because we definitely DO NOT want irrelevant comments happening within our member’s area, and we’ll be actively enforcing it.

Thanks

-Chris
7 admin // Mar 25, 2011 at 2:43 pm

@ Andy – DUDE, that is awesome.

That sounds a lot like my story… when things finally came together.

You are on a profitable road, my friend

-Chris
8 Lynn // Mar 25, 2011 at 7:23 pm

Hey Chris–

Where I get stuck is in some of the smaller steps. You give a great overview and even larger step by step instructions, but if I haven’t implemented some of these things before, I have many smaller questions along the way and don’t know who to ask. I feel like you wouldn’t have the time to answer, but most of them (or a lot) would need to be answered by you or at least people who had implemented your sytem. Any suggestions? It’s true–I do get paralyzed.
9 admin // Mar 25, 2011 at 8:56 pm

Hi Lynn

Unfortunately, much of entrepreneurship is anything but a “system”.

My courses, methods, blueprints and utilities (such as Affiliate Armory videos, etc.) are very powerful, but only IF they are plugged into an existing business.

The fact is, those small things you talk about are actually different, for everyone. And they’re different in every situation. Every market. Every circumstance.

There is no possible way to truly “handhold” someone to success, because the context will be completely foreign.

You won’t relate to the things that resonate to me, and vice versa.

Quite literally, overcoming that paralysis and forging your way through the “small steps” just by forging ahead and adapting as you go IS the entrepreneurial experience

It’s when you learn to ACT in spite of “not knowing everything” – even if there’s a few missing pieces – that you begin to see results.

And I say that with confidence, because I’m in exactly the same boat.

Right now, as we speak, I am embarking on new directions, new markets and with new offers – and I really don’t know all the details. Or how I’ll accomplish each smaller puzzle piece.

But because I have a clear handle on the BASIC FUNDAMENTALS…

1) Gunning for Keywords with Traffic and Commercial Intent

2) Producing Quality Content

3) Selling Proven Offers, or Swiping My Competitor’s Battle-Tested Approach

I know that, soon enough, I’ll know if it’s worth diving into headlong and giving ‘er all I’ve got…

—————————–

A good example, actually, is what you are seeing unfold right now:

ActuallyRank.com

So far, aside from the odd rogue webmaster selling link packets here and there on the various forums… this is really the first thing of it’s kind.

That’s either really good, or really bad.

See, thing is – I know I could just build another “automated system” for linkbuilding and tons of people would buy it. It could probably crank out 6 figures a month for a good year or so before it reached critical mass, and attrition set in.

But the problem with that… is that it would benefit ME more than it would my customers.

With ActuallyRank, that is definitely not the case.

But will it be a smashing hit?

Maybe.

Either way, I’m going to roll it out and see what happens. I’ll do my damndest, and at the end of the day, I can sleep well at night.

Because I know that what I’m delivering is real, effective and profitable.

That has always been the “test” for what I do with TheLazyMarketer.

So Lynn – trust me – we’re in the same boat.

And the key is just to keep on swinging until you get it right.

——————————————–

Keep in mind that Wayne Gretzky, the world’s greatest hockey player of all time, had a 15% success rate in his best season of his career, in 1985-86.

That means that 85% of his attempts to score, failed.

What was his secret?

HE TOOK MORE SHOTS THAN ANYONE ELSE.

Plain and simple.

Therefore, by law of averages, he scored more.

Business… is the same.

The whole success of an enterprise is determined by its ability to CONTINUALLY FIGURE OUT the small steps. The ongoing process leading to a larger goal.

You’ve just gotta “make it work”.

Otherwise you’ll be the eternal student, with no story.

-Chris
10 Bruce // Mar 25, 2011 at 10:14 pm

Chris,

I have spent the last month creating comments on blogs from a list sold by a well known marketer – who you know very well – & see that from the initial foray of accepted comments, many have now disappeared from the blog (with my link) and the blog comments are now closed.

Do you have a feel for what percentage of well constructed comments will stick long term?

If the comment get’s nuked after a couple of weeks say, will I get any benefit from the time it was up, or is it, when the comments gone, so is the link & it’s associated benefits?

Thanks
Bruce
11 admin // Mar 25, 2011 at 10:38 pm

Hi Bruce

Was it auto-approve?

And how many comments went up after yours?

Auto-Approve blogs are instant targets. The entire spamming community is searching for them, pretty much exclusively.

That’s why ActuallyRank doesn’t discriminate. Most of our link prospects are moderated.

Which means that real comments will most likely stay in place a long time.

Also – we’ve built a great deal of exclusivity into the system.

Sharing thousands of links with at most 14 others (or 11, or 9 – depending on package), for largely moderated sources, basically puts all of the balls in your court.

In our system, the quality of your comments will determine the effectiveness of your efforts.

Thanks

-Chris
12 Bruce // Mar 25, 2011 at 11:06 pm

Chris,

You’re on the right track when I think it through. The nuked ones were almost all auto approve – and this makes sense, sure they get auto approved, but ultimately the site owner can/will do a cleanup. The remaining ones were generally approved by a moderator.

Bruce
13 admin // Mar 26, 2011 at 1:37 am

Thanks Bruce.

I agree

-Chris
14 Chris Cronje // Mar 26, 2011 at 6:04 am

Hey Chris,

We haven’t chatted for a while, but I always follow your emails and blog posts. I have a quick question about the Actually Rank memberships. One you have joined on say the Competitive package – can you upgrade to a more expensive package later?

Cheers

Chris
15 Lin Davenport // Mar 26, 2011 at 6:07 am

Chris
I agree with your rant completely. Nothing is ever easy if you want to make real, life changing income.

My only real problem is I am going to be flying half way across the world on the 29th March. There is a good possibility that I will miss the launch and the chance of joining.

Do you have any solutions for this situation. I though I was covered because of the original earlier launch date.
Any help here would be greatly appreciated.

Lin
16 darren // Mar 26, 2011 at 6:10 am

hi Chris,
i am sooooo keen to do what is needed.
Can you help me?
17 Mark Rusling // Mar 26, 2011 at 6:11 am

Chris,
I love your views on things, to the point and no BS, I have been following you for a while, and to be honest I would if possible like to hook up, my skype is markrusling, I will be getting in to actually rank, as I think the product is awesome!

A BIG THANKS CHRIS

Regards
Mark Rusling
18 Cheryl // Mar 26, 2011 at 6:15 am

I am creating a couple of niche sites, but I haven’t been seeing much traffic at all. They all only target one keyword. Is that too few? Would you say creating one authority site is better than creating 10 niche sites? And these aren’t super long-tail either; they are decent keywords with 800-1000 exact searches a month.

And can you speak a little about mobile marketing? I keep hearing how it’s going to be the biggest thing ever to hit the internet marketing industry, and yet there are remarkably few programs out there that teach it. I can’t help but think that all the “gurus” are profiting like crazy from it now and once they’ve exhausted the method, they will open up their programs and let people fight for the crumbs. I know that seems like an overly cynical mindset, but having spent almost 6 months trying internet marketing and making less than $15, I find I can make more money as a freelance writer making $8-$10 an article but of course, that will not afford me the passive income that I so desperately crave! And all the while, I’m hearing about “gurus” making six figures a month and claiming it’s hecka easy… as long as I pay the exorbitant membership fee.
19 david miller // Mar 26, 2011 at 6:19 am

I have been branching out from my established markets this year and have been hothousing some niche dating markets, starting from scratch on serious SEO work – link building /optimisation etc – took me 10 weeks to hit #1 on Google for my 2 main keywords. I am certain with’ Actually Rank’ I can work to dominate this and 2 other niches by the end of 2011. My MSN Loophole stuff is also beginning to kick in but I see that as longterm.

Next week I am at a major trade show to get link sign ups from industry leaders.

David M
20 Max // Mar 26, 2011 at 6:22 am

Sorry, but, like you said, it’s way “easier and safer just to half-heartedly pursue ‘shiny new tactics’ because it’s temporarily entertaining”

I mean, it’s an amazing life. The money made from each shiny new tactic can quickly be used for the next shiny new tactic. Sometimes income even *exceeds* expenditure!

And each time, when you find out that a) the sales letter made false promises, or b) there is actual (mundane or boring) work involved, it doesn’t matter, because you are then free to try the next shiny new tactic (because the one before just wasn’t “the one that’s gonna bring success this time”).

The thrill of each new purchase is very addictive.

/sarcasm
21 admin // Mar 26, 2011 at 6:25 am

@Chris (#14)

Hey dude – how are things?

Yes, you can upgrade anytime.

Cheers

-Chris
22 admin // Mar 26, 2011 at 6:30 am

@Lin – can you email me please at chris@chrisrempel.com

@ Darren… I need a specific question. “Can you help me” doesn’t really apply to my offer in this blog post.

@ Mark Rusling – thanks man!

@ Cheryl, re: your one keyword – are they ranking on Page #1? Also, re: mobile marketing. I haven’t done that yet, at all.

I don’t teach stuff unless I’ve succeeded with it. Thanks for the comments, and your interest, though – much appreciated.

@ David Miller – AWESOME results. Yes, ActuallyRank will definitely add to your results, moreso in terms of time-savings.

@ Max… that sounds like a comment I would leave, LOL

-Chris
23 Metodi // Mar 26, 2011 at 6:35 am

Hi there,

I keep a small collection of just few resources on couple key-concepts about internet marketing and business in general…

Things that will always work…

Things that are universal…

About 50% of it is just from you Chris… and that’s mainly because of the mindes shift I have gotten from your resources… that has made a big difference (in a good way)

Thank you very much!

Metodi
24 Sam // Mar 26, 2011 at 6:42 am

This is Gold folks!! One can clearly see this is coming from someone who’s been there and done that.. take it as it is and run with it, it literally can save your life.

Awesome tips Chris, thanks!!
25 AffPortal // Mar 26, 2011 at 6:43 am

I love a good rant too Chris like a few ppl in this string brought up.

I started in on one yesterday when a well known Guru who’s name may or may not rhyme with “Panic” released this craptastic autoblog product prelaunch video. I started my rant by simply running the video’s example blog content (url was visible in the video when you paused it) through copyscape and posted a screenshot of the results (26 or so duplicates found).

The commentors were lapping up his video too like he was the second coming of Budah himself… So in the video he built 10 crap autoblogs in 10 minutes and claims to be getting all this traffic automatically from them. Push button easy.

Made me want to puke… seriously… So in my comment in the facebook comment area I kinda called him out to join our “6 weeks of seo” challenge at PPVPlaybook.com forum and let us give it a good old scientific run through it’s paces and see what we get in 6 weeks.

We’ll see if I even get a response or if my comment is deleted on that landing page…

~ Corey
26 Rob // Mar 26, 2011 at 6:47 am

Hey Chris,

Nice rant, I think a lot of people expect to get rich overnight, and whilst it is easy to make money quickly online, there is always some setup involved, the better the research and planning the better the results.

Rob
27 Jeffrey Evans // Mar 26, 2011 at 6:51 am

Chris, I am about timezones away from you. Can you tell me at what time you will launch?

As for the Rant – Not on a mass basis but I would like your permission to either put a link to this post or email it to a client every time they go a stray.

I told a gentlemen a couple of months ago – you want me to be your private coach but you do not have the money for it. We are both pilots so I agreed to show some charity to someone down on their luck. Here are the terms. You only do what I give you as an assignment each day. You buy no silver bullets or magic pills or anything IM. If I think you need it I will buy it for you. Stay off of the forums and open no emails from gurus. Dont surf – you have work to do. Fast forward 3 days – question from the pilot – “Have you ever heard of this thing called fantomaster?” Answer – Is it in the manual I sent you? – then you have not either…….
28 disillusioned with Internet marketing // Mar 26, 2011 at 7:01 am

Hi Chris,

Been getting disillusioned with Internet marketing – seriously been thinking of giving it up – even although I have been making a living from it for the last few years. Seems that just as I am starting to make some descent money from something the “rules change” and I get shot down (PPC no direct linking allowed, Google slap on affiliate sites – account banned, thrown out of Ebay affiliate program – no reason given). Currently building small adsense sites and more authoritative hub site and a couple of e commerce sites with traffic through SEO traffic – but my motivation is at zero. I’ve had $1000 days and $1 dollar days so I have seen the up & downs – but question is it the way forward for me?

Cheers,

Ken
29 Paul // Mar 26, 2011 at 7:02 am

When the student is ready the teacher will appear… (I think I got that right). I’ve been scraping by for 2 years now.

You know why? Because I’m about 85% guilty of everything you said in your post.

For the past two weeks I’ve been more and more fully realizing this. Then comes your blog post and fully punches me in the face with it… and THANKS for doing it!

Good news is that I’m already changing.

I’m going to write *quality* content that people will actually want to read and link to. I’m going to actually help people with my sites, not just try to make money off of them. I’m going to spend time and money building *quality* links without abusing other web properties.

I had about 150 autoblogs and shitty sites making just enough to make it look like it is “going to be worth it someday.” And I’ve spent countless hours making peanuts.

Now I’ve seen the error of my ways. The good news is I know how to do all the research and build the best links, I’ve just never done it!

Thanks for your post. I hope my rambling made sense and maybe helps someone else that’s in the same place.
30 Val // Mar 26, 2011 at 7:03 am

Hi Chris,

thanks for another great post – right on the nail as always.

One thing about Actually Rank – since most affiliate sites are in very specific niches, then the majority of the sites where the comments will be posted will be on totally different subjects. Will this not make the links of less value in Google’s eyes?
31 Wayne // Mar 26, 2011 at 7:12 am

Funny how each of these make for great selling points on the typical IM sales page. A would be copywriter would do well to follow your recommendations for failure.
32 Avril Tyrell // Mar 26, 2011 at 7:20 am

Hello Chris,

On the subject of article marketing, do you still consider it a useful (and valid) activity in building back links when combined with other link building techniques? I ask this because for the last year, I’ve used Unique Article Wizard and with quite positive results.

Many thanks
33 Kelvin // Mar 26, 2011 at 7:22 am

I think what most people need is just some confidence and also a realistic amount of expectation that something will work out – as with SEO for beginners it’s sometimes like throwing darts against a wall against an enemy you don’t know (in this case Google)

Most people eventually turn to automated stuff like Scrapebox and Xrumer because it’s easy and they don’t have to write articles anymore… but hey its proven to work to a certain extent (but for how long more..? who knows..)

personally I would need sort of like a better backlinking strategy that I can employ everyday, I have probably written more than 200-300articles in these 2-3months I started IM (50-100+ on my own sites and 200+ for backlinks, but I haven’t been able to see good results from my efforts (mainly because of Google dance)
34 Jason // Mar 26, 2011 at 7:22 am

Not to be a jerk Chris, but Scrapebox, article site blasts, and Xrumer blasts DO work. Otherwise people wouldn’t be doing them.

You’re not the first to offer “link packets.” I find it kind of ironic (and I’m not saying this to be mean, but rather as a matter of fact) that you’re talking about watching what is popular and then seeing what people are complaining about. These link packets have been in vogue for how long now? I think at least 5 years?

The very product you’re going to bring to market is just as guilty of what you’re complaining about.

The thing is yes using scrapebox and xrumer you’re going to have a lot of links “disappear.” However, what’s it matter? You can do thousands at a time. If you lose some here and there, it doesn’t even matter.

Scrapebox, if you actually have a good well thought out general spun comment on moderated blogs your comment will get approved. It’s the people who just blast out “nice blog” that are usually whining.

Even people who buy the link packets, I shall not mention names of who puts these out, find that after HAND submitting the links are removed by the site owners. That’s a lot of time and effort wasted.

Now, when you find people complaining of the very things I mentioned above not working, that’s just because the backlinks they created aren’t being indexed. Once these kinds of links are indexed (if they haven’t been removed) it’s a backlink.

Google is starting to smarten up and it’s getting more and more difficult to get links indexed. It used to be through a simple system you could get at least 50% index rate. Now it’s considered good if you can use those same methods and get 20% indexing rate.

Let’s say I use scrapebox and I blast out 10,000 comments. Getting a 20% success rate isn’t uncommon. So, that’s 2,000 links that stick. (Some on moderated blogs may continue to trickle in later on if they’re approved)

If you just leave those links alone you’ll be lucky if you get 400 links indexed. It used to be you could do some simple stuff (yeah extra work so the lazy didn’t usually bother) and you could get 1,000 indexed. Now after doing those same things you can probably get another 200-300 indexed.

So, by comparison, let’s say someone buys your “competitive” package and gets 2,000 links. Say they hand submit them all. Let’s say all 2,000 get accepted (not likely, but we’ll go with it.) Chances are good after all that work you’ll be lucky if 400 of them are indexed.

I guess what I’m trying to say, is that I understand that you have a reason (your own link packets) to put other methods in a negative light. I just think it’s unfair to outright dismiss them, when they do work.

Do I think your link packets should be used in conjunction with scrapebox, xrumer, article marketing, etc…? That is a resounding yes.

Do I think your product is a silver bullet to everyone’s woes, that is a resounding no.

Lastly, this is a legitimate question. I understand some of the links you provide the actual pages are pr2+. I get conflicting information all the time of whether links on high page rank sites even make a difference. It seems to me that it’s the “old school” seo’s that still cling to the idea of page rank even mattering.

That’s a legitimate question, does page rank even matter anymore? I know at one time it did, however it seems it’s like one of those things that just because it mattered at one time, people still cling to it and pass it on as fact, even though it’s not even true anymore.

I hope you don’t take my post as being venomous because that’s not my intent at all.
35 mhsan // Mar 26, 2011 at 7:24 am

“Easy, my Ass”

I like that..

i think its more wiser to outsource this kind of thing so that you can concentrate more on important stuff such as creating new products or launch new sites.

Blogs commenting services can cost you around $30-50 for about 100+ PR page. You can harvest the PR page by reverse engineer the top ranking sites in any niche using SEOSpyGlass.
36 Chris Cronje // Mar 26, 2011 at 7:27 am

Hey Chris,

Just a follow-up to my earlier comment.

I frequently buy PR3 and PR4 blog comments and they are very effective in getting better rankings. Just a few of these links usually make a huge difference to rankings.

The guy I currently use charges me $4 per PR3 link and $5 per PR4 link and I think he is one of the cheaper guys around.

Compare that to the $69 for 400 links that you charge and it’s a no brainer for me.

Cheers

Chris
37 bali // Mar 26, 2011 at 7:34 am

Will this list of backlinks sources be targeted to only English speaking sites?
38 Rick // Mar 26, 2011 at 7:34 am

Chris:

Ok I get the backlinking idea and going for keywords with search volume. What I am confused about is how to discern if a keyword is worthy of work and what kind of site does one have to build. Looking forward to your response!

Rick
39 Lorne // Mar 26, 2011 at 8:06 am

Truly awesome rant that would have saved me a ton of pain a few years ago. I’ve been guilty of almost all those points in the past. Still slip back into over complicating things at times though, but I’m getting better/simpler.

Had a similar expensive, time intensive experience as Bruce #10. Not cool at all.

Long term stickability is really my only concern with your new service. I’m definitely not afraid of the work it takes.

If I understand correctly, you’re saying mass extinction of links won’t be a problem with your version because there will be mostly moderated blogs in your lists?
40 Jim // Mar 26, 2011 at 8:21 am

Chris – great post, it definitely resonates with me but then your stuff usually does. I am definitely in on ActuallyRank when it goes live.

However, I’m also interested in other link sources since variety is the “spice of SEO”, so I have a request for Chris Conje… could you contact me at jim@75-c.com please? I’m very interested in contacting your “guy”…

Thanks a bunch.

Jim
41 Dan B Cauthron // Mar 26, 2011 at 8:27 am

I love it when Chris gets aggravated.

He’s one of a very few people who can write 10,000 words and have me hanging on every single one of them.

A word to anyone reading this – LISTEN to what Chris says.

He doesn’t need money – so he has NO hidden agenda and NO REASON to misinform you.

Wishing all the best
Dan B. Cauthron
——————————–
42 Geoff Richardson // Mar 26, 2011 at 8:28 am

Chris

Followed you for a number of years. Many of your blog posts give way better information than some of the products I have bought.

I have learnt from you that reverse engineering is the quickest route to traffic and money online.

Go where the money is being made, find the money keywords, and build mini sites with unique content that are modelled on successful sites.

Send paid traffic to test conversions. If it converts, track results until your paid traffic is profitable. Send more traffic!!

If it converts, it is then worth spending the time on SEO to improve the rankings.

Does it work every time? No!

Does it take some initial work to build the sites?

Yes, but using insight to build sites is better than blindly building large blogs, submiiting loads of articles and praying that it works!

There are many tools that can help you reverse engineer. Most of the info can be found for free using Google and Firefox plugins.

I have learnt to spend more time thinking for myself and working things out, than blindly following what others tell you to do. Even the best IM products do not tell you the full story.

Cheers

Geoff
43 Tom Brownsword // Mar 26, 2011 at 8:35 am

Chris,

Please rant more often.

When I read this (especially the first item), I got the impression that those building a REAL business are using newcomers by teaching them tactics (and making them pay for it) that do nothing but help the seller build THEIR business. I have no proof of this, but it sure seems that way sometimes.

And as the saying goes, if it was easy, EVERYBODY would be rich.

Best regards,
Tom
44 Ollie // Mar 26, 2011 at 8:43 am

Are the links in Actually Rank categorized so I can keep them relevant to the subject of each particular site I am marketing?
45 Stefan // Mar 26, 2011 at 8:48 am

Hi Chris,

I just had an idea:
You said many of sites had flopped.

What about doing a case study of those failed attempts and showing people what you had done and why – including the actual site and then using these examples analyze what you did wrong.

That would fit well with the topic of your post: Show what does not work..

BTW this would also be a motivation for people who think that successful marketers produce one big success after another and show them that failure is a part of the game – and is actually good for learning
46 Nick Johnson // Mar 26, 2011 at 8:52 am

Hi Chris,
As one of the best sales trainers I ever knew – Tommy Hopkins says – “Success always comes after effort – check the dictionary if you don’t believe me”

I’ve been doing internet marketing full time for 9 months now and have taken the following steps -

a) Cut the information gathering down to 3 people you trust, if its any good they will tell you about it. Strangely enough all 3mentors I follow make their living outside of the IM niche and more importantly don’t market other peoples junk they only promote their own products/ methods that they know works.

b) Choosen one model of marketing and stick with it for 6 months.

C) Just do it – don’t procrastinate and try and get the sexiest website in the universe, get it up, drive the traffic to it, then repeat.

The one thing I would love is more traffic any chance of a 6 month trial of ACTUAL RANK for $5.00?

Regards

Nick

http://giuseppezanottiweddingshoes.blogspot.com
47 terry // Mar 26, 2011 at 8:59 am

Great rant Chris! Waiting for Tuesday.

Terry
48 Keith // Mar 26, 2011 at 9:16 am

Same as a lot of people are saying, i have become a little dissillusioned with the whole im thing lately, and have certainly been guilty of some of what you say.
I find that i just don’t want to sit in front of the pc for the amount of time that i have done in the past unless it is fruitful.
I actually don’t mind putting the sites up but the link building aspect always lets me down because i get bored with it and never really fulfill the site potential because of that.
As a result i intend to outsource that side of things now and i know you said outsourcers are allowed into our account, but i was wondering if we will be able to download the list as a csv maybe, that i can then just pass on to one or two outsourcers (don’t like the idea of allowing access to my account).

Thanks
49 Mark // Mar 26, 2011 at 9:17 am

Chris,

You and Dave Kelly are the only internet marketers I still subscribe to. Thank you for staying away from the “syndicate” of guys that take turns promoting each other’s $1997 products (it makes me cringe just thinking about how they prey on the desperate and lazy).

Any chance you and Dave will ever team up again?
50 Jeff lenney // Mar 26, 2011 at 9:40 am

Just wanted to sAy I read this entire post and loved it. I nomallt just skim over posts like these but I read it all. Great advice and writing. Thank you. Can’t wait to get my hands on this and I just Pray that these links can’t be automates or were all SOL. Jeff
51 Rich Peck // Mar 26, 2011 at 9:51 am

Hey Chris,

A great post but I think you missed out a few points. The people who succeed are the ones who are prepared and dedicated enough to put the continual effort in; and are also the ones who are continually learning.

I mean, a lot of folks don’t put the initial effort in because they can’t see any results. This is generally the opportunity hunter, who just wants to press a button and the “floods of overnight sales” to accumulate). The ones who take the next step just takes a small spark, like buying your ebook, or using another course, to see how to get something going, and then the momentum is rolling.

The problem that I’ve found for many people is that once the initial momentum has begun, it can be difficult to maintain, and that’s one of the big problems that prevents people from going from “chump change” to the big time. I mean, I’ve been subscribing to you for a long time (ever remember my inquisitive emails when you were selling LONGBOARDS?), and have found that in order to truly succeed, you *can* just do the easy stuff, but as long as that builds into the big results. Like Linkvana, etc, are classed as automated to a degree, but will eventually give you at least some ranks if you stick at it. Granted, EzineArticles is a “cop-out” for many people, but if done correctly, it can give your content exposure on 100′s of syndicated blogs, not to mention some ranks in Google as a result. EZA’s traffic drop was only 35% (not 90%), so as long as you’re prepared to be in the 65% of folks who submit good content, you’ll be okay.

I’ve observed the best way to keep moving forward is to continually read, learn and look at various markets, offers and your operations. I know how you roll, and I know you continually do this. All the successful people I know do this, and I like to think I do it

So the bottom line is that I agree with everything you wrote, but I think that 6) should be that people either EXPECT to have things told to them, or are not dedicated enough to continually learn.

Good luck with Actually Rank. This post actually hit a chord, and I think it’s because of the “Core Influence” thing that Frank Kern talked about in this vid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M669BF2J9Y8

Anyway, congrats & keep it up man!

I really hope we can meet up soon – I’ve waited like 4 years to meet you

Rich
52 Hot Pages Of The Day (25 March 2011) « Radar Bisnis // Mar 26, 2011 at 9:52 am

[...] Here’s How to Guarantee Failure in 2011… [...]
53 Stacyman // Mar 26, 2011 at 9:54 am

Hi Chris,

You’re rants are better than some of the ebooks I’ve bought and paid for over the years. That’s what I like about you. Others tell people what they want to hear. You tell it like it is.

My biggest problem is that I can’t write to save my life. Do all the things you said in the “Conduit Method” still apply? Can I really just create a “fact sheet” for products with very little writing involved?

What about LinkVana and 3waylinks? Are they still useful? Have they been penalized in the latest Google update?

I guess like a lot of people, the fear of failure is the big thing for me.

Thanks for your honesty Chris.
54 Elango // Mar 26, 2011 at 10:01 am

Hi Chris;

You nailed it… Thats a great rant… Puts a lot of things into perspective…

I did this great mistake of going the easy route…

Last year i formulated a blueprint to rank using “ezinearticles.com” articles…

Wrote my own custom software for cherry picking the keywords according to my method…

Created a process and scheduled 50 projects (1 project to promote a single product in clickbank with 10 articles(1 on each keyword found))

Completed 45 projects… 90% of the 500 articles were ranking in the first page and most of them were top 5, and these were having good traffic (was sending around 15000 preselled visitors/month collectively to sales pages according to my tracking software)

Grew my revenue over 300%… Was happy

Experienced that focused action was the only way to success…

But, after google algorithm update… ezinearticles was affected badly… Rankings took a huge hit… and thus my revenue…

Though my site started performing a little bit better.

So, it seems diversification and going the hard route from the beginning is something to add to “Focused Action”.

Now i have decided to go the route of creating good websites of value to readers… something which can stand on its own legs…

After analyzing a market… have selected around 90 top tier keywords for the market..

Have put them into categories…

But, the problem i am facing now is to get the content written… i need the writers to really analyze the subject and write an essay on each keyword… with references (bibliography)..

“I am not sure on how to get such qualified writers (better called researchers) and the cost i can expect to hire them…”

I have been using needanarticle.com for my ezinearticles.com projects.

Would hiring somebody from elance be good idea?

If you could please give some guidance on this issue, i would be grateful.

And thanks for reading my small story… just wanted to share it here.

Thank You
Elango
55 Tom // Mar 26, 2011 at 10:06 am

Hey Chris, I sure can relate to the “only targeting low hanging fruit”. I have around 30 sites that target these types of keywords. Many of course are ranking really well, be get jack for traffic. What a waste.

I should have just had the confidence to target more competitive, higher search volume keywords. I wasted a lot of time and energy on the low hanging fruit and have nothing to show for it. I could have just put in the same amount of effort on a handful of sites with higher traffic keywords. The reality is I’d probably have been a lot better off.

I guess sometimes you just have to have the confidence to go for the more competitive keywords.
56 Jeff Lenney // Mar 26, 2011 at 10:09 am

Great post, read every word and I normally just skim over longer blog posts like this. My biggest fear is that people will start publishing these links on BH forums, sharing them, using scrapebox on them. even if the blog posts DONT get approved, people are going to start turning off comments all together. Do you have anything in place to prevent these?

Looking forward to WINNING with good links

Jeff
57 Terry // Mar 26, 2011 at 10:25 am

Great post-not just informative and educational but well written too which is a breath of fresh air in “online business”.
58 Dan // Mar 26, 2011 at 10:40 am

Hey Chris — awesome post as always. This one hit home with me. I was first introduced to IM back in 2007. Since then, I’ve spent at least 10K on various courses (not kidding), covering every possible topic related to IM. I’ve made a little money here and there but nothing close to what I’ve invested at this point. My problem is that I have a hard time focusing on just one thing and making it work. So sad. Now, I have no choice but to focus because the savings account is only getting smaller and I need to start earning money. So my question to you — what would you recommend is a good start for someone like me? I have experience building websites (for local businesses) but I’m not a very effective writer, which I have no problem hiring to do the work. I have 1-2 hours a day (more on the weekends) to commit to this. I will make it work but just need some advice on where to start. Suggestions? Thank YOU Chris.

BTW — as one of the other posters mentioned, I also started removing my name from various marketers lists. It’s so MUCH better now! Of course, I’m still on your list
59 Thomas Ingram // Mar 26, 2011 at 10:41 am

I agree it’s not realistic to think that every product…even the great ones…will do everything for you. You have to create your own systems…such as hiring outsourced workers to comment and build backlinks for you…in order to do things the smart way.
60 Tom // Mar 26, 2011 at 10:41 am

Lol, as I was reading this my inbox got hit with a “no market, no product, no website” headline from another marketer. Pretty funny.
61 Rob // Mar 26, 2011 at 10:45 am

Chris-

Great rant; and on a topic that I believe that we’ve all fallen for.

It does take work; but when you see the fruits of your labors as you start climbing the SERPs, it’s actually pretty fun.

I know a lot of other people just like you described.. “It takes work?… Oh…”

Their loss.
62 Loriana // Mar 26, 2011 at 10:51 am

Even if you don’t buy ActuallyRank, just keep this post and read and re-read it from time to time.

This will keep you focused when things are getting boring.

An EXCELLENT “rant” indeed!
Note the good lesson on “Mindset”
Many thanks………L
63 robyn ferreira // Mar 26, 2011 at 10:53 am

I am new to internet marketing,and I have learned a lot in the past few months by signing up for every gurus news letter I could find.I totally agree there comes a time to turn off the noise and just get busy.I have learned more from chris than anyone else,I have done membership sites,some good and some not so good.I understand keyword research and the value of back links. But what I dont understand is doing research for building a site this term is thrown around a lot but not with a lot of explanation.So how and what kind of research is most important when building a site.
64 TL // Mar 26, 2011 at 11:02 am

I own several of your products, but this time I had decided I wasn’t going to buy a membership on ActuallyRank as I though it wasn’t the right moment for me right now. However after reading your “bad mood post” I changed my mind. I believe it’s worth giving it a try.

I will even be able to save some money by canceling a network I belong to that doesn’t seem very effective and outsource at least part of the commenting.

Yes, you convinced me.

PS – Whoever spread the 10,000-long-tail-micro-site business model should be seriously reprimanded. Poor newbies!
65 admin // Mar 26, 2011 at 11:07 am

@Jefferey Evans, #27 – Hey man – we launch at 12:01 AM PST, Vancouver Time

And great story re: “fantomaster”… this is usually what happens when I leave somebody with a dedicated blueprint in a niche that I’ve proven to be profitable.

Sure enough, two weeks later they’ve bought into some retarded “system” and they’re promoting the most saturated products in the world with articles (or whatever).

Lots of newbies fall for this.

Then they all go to a certain forum and complain about all the gurus.

-Chris
66 admin // Mar 26, 2011 at 11:13 am

@Ken , #28 – all of the things you just mentioned are just money-makers, with the exception of maybe your eCommerce site.

Have you built any opt-in lists?

What about a foundation of traffic to sites with great content?

There is a reason why you’re finding it difficult to make progress and see results. You’re chasing after the “quick cash”.

The cash is actually a lot quicker (and much larger) when you build authoritative sites, produce products, build a list and treat them well, etc.

You are seeing the result of some of the “5 Laws” I outlined above. You need to break out of that cycle.

Which is easily done, and very rewarding.

All the best, man

-Chris
67 admin // Mar 26, 2011 at 11:15 am

@ Val, #30 – That’s a good question, and I’ve answered it in the FAQ, but let me post it here again just for reference:

——————————

I Only Want to Build Backlinks from “Relevant” Pages – Can Your Service Support This?

Anyone who tells you that you “need” backlinks from relevant sites or pages to rank for your keyword is either inexperienced or outright lying, and here’s why…

a) Go to Google and search for your target keyword. Take the first 3 sites on page one and analyze their backlinks using either Yahoo Site Explorer or SEO SpyGlass. Is every backlink from a relevant site, or page? Very likely not. Some are, but there’s usually tons of backlinks coming from “unrelated” sources.

Yet they still count, carry weight, and drive up that site in the SERPs.

b) Why would Google assume that only “relevant” sites will talk about your target topic matter or keyword? If I asked you if you wanted a backlink from CNN.com or WikiPedia.org, would you decline?

And what about DMOZ or Facebook.com? Would you take a pass because they’re “irrelevant”? Nope. Because obviously, those types of sites are very authoritative, and they encompass virtually every “topic”. And a backlink from any of them (or sites like them) will definitely boost your linking profile.

c) And finally, because our own results, and those of any accomplished SEO will prove otherwise. By and large the majority of links we build in our own campaigns – both now and in the past – are from “irrelevant” sources and authority sites. And yet with enough links, we can rank for pretty much any keyword, time and again. This is the reality of how Google operates.

To believe that Google only counts “relevant” links is to subscribe to the sky-is-falling mentality based on nothing other than hysteria and unfounded fear-mongering. Where exactly does one draw the line when it comes to relevance? The domain? The subcategory of a site? The page? The text surrounding your link?

We don’t pretend to know – and we simply don’t care, because the results speak for themselves. The only sites that you can know for sure that Google truly finds relevant to a topic are already ranking for that keyword. That limits your total potential link sources to about 100 sites. And good luck getting a link from them…

So you can either embark on a pointless journey of “relevance” and build a fraction of the links, or you can embrace the reality, which is that every backlink counts for something, and the more authoritative and established the source, the more powerful the effect.
68 Terry S // Mar 26, 2011 at 11:19 am

Thanks for the slap in the face! I needed a wake-up call. I copied your rant to a Word doc and stuck it front-and-center on my desktop.

Chris, where do I go to learn how to do GOOD keyword research? Any suggestions?

Andy, great post. I’m unsubscribing today from the “guru” lists and digging out my copy of The Conduit Method.
69 admin // Mar 26, 2011 at 11:20 am

@ Avril, #32 – Article marketing still works, and I’m not saying it doesn’t. I use it as well for every site I roll out.

What I AM saying is that it’s a supportive linking strategy that absolutely everyone can do, with about zero barrier to entry.

Look at what just happened to EzineArticles. 90% of their content receded in Google’s SERPs. That means 90% of most people’s articles on that site (and others like it) are now sending far less traffic.

And I can only assume that the backlinks on those sites are suffering as well.

Article marketing is a piece of the puzzle, but it can’t be your only link-building method, otherwise you’re limited to long-tail keywords or the odd lucky exception.

Ranking for the real stuff means getting powerful backlinks.

-Chris
70 admin // Mar 26, 2011 at 11:27 am

@Kelvin, #33

Does ScrapeBox and Xrumer blasting work?

It does currently – but those are just masslinks, and it’s outright spamming.

There is a way to set up 2 or more tiers of backlinks, using SB or Xrumer as one of the outer tiers, and in that setup it can actually be very effective.

But at the end of the day… is that really building an asset?

You’re abusing other people’s sites for profit.

-Chris
71 Dr.Mani // Mar 26, 2011 at 11:33 am

Lovely post, Chris. Looking forward to launch day!

All success
Dr.Mani
72 Karen // Mar 26, 2011 at 11:47 am

Hi Chris,

Thank you for a brilliant blog post. I love it!

Sometimes we all get caught up in the “I wish it was simpler” mode.

I can confirm that building an authority site and actually working on it over a long period of time is what really works.

When people see that your site is “aged” they automatically feel they can trust you more, I think. They know you’re not going anywhere. At least, that’s been my experience.

I don’t understand why people wouldn’t want to build an authority site. Yes, it’s a bit of work in the beginning, but after around 6 months to a year, all your hard work starts to pay off.

I think everyone wants instant gratification. That’s why fast-food places are so rich. To heck with cooking a really good homemade meal – “I’m hungry right now and I can get a meal in 2 minutes.” That’s the mentality that makes the world’s population sick – it’s destructive!

oh well, some people will get it, some people won’t. That’s just how it always has been.

Take care and have a great weekend, Chris!
73 admin // Mar 26, 2011 at 12:00 pm

@ Jason, #34

There’s no denying that spamming works – that’s why it’s so prolific.

But it’s a game of massive volume, and you’re constantly fighting attrition. You will NOT have lasting rankings as a result of doing so.

(Speaking from experience. I’ve probably done more blackhat stuff than you have).

The problem with BH is that it’s never passive. It is always an uphill battle, and by design, all the cards are stacked against you. You literally depend on the cards up your sleeve.

It hits you like a freight train when you watch entire revenue sources fizzle out overnight. I’ve been there dude.

Make no mistake – running mass comment campaigns is outright spamming. There is no way to “spin” your way around it.

You can expect short-term results at best, and possibly even legal heat. Be careful.

That isn’t a business. That’s a bankruptcy waiting to happen.

Now – this is something that I don’t think you necessarily have a good handle on…

You seem to think that every backlink is worth the same. Or that sheer volume will compensate for an overall lack of authority

That is a 6-figure mistake, my friend.

None of my authority sites have any more than about 1K backlinks, and yet some of them outrank major corporations, banks, etc. I pretty much exclusively “hand build” (outsourced) quality comments on high-profile sites.

I’ll also buy backlinks discreetly, and then support the foundation with articles, press releases, editorial linking, linkbait, guest writing, etc.

THAT is how you rank up a site that will last in the SERPs for years.

I recently sold a site like that for $150K.

That’s not gonna happen with something you spam to the top. (Unless your buyer is retarded). You know full well that a site that’s been blasted to the top will soon plummet.

It’s a game of fighting attrition.

In your quest to “mass automate” you will find that eventually, you reach a point where you can never maintain growth. You are always fighting critical mass.

(You’ll vehemently disagree with me right now, which I anticipate. So what you should do is come back a year from now and revisit this conversation… I think the effect might be a little stronger).

———————————-

As for the value of ActuallyRank?

Dude, I know full well that others have been selling link packets, for years.

I’VE BOUGHT TONS OF THEM.

And it’s a major reason why I’m doing this – because all those lists, as you know full well, get abused like stepchildren.

People blast the hell out of them, and in a week’s time your backlinks are useless.

That’s exactly why we’ve set up AR the way we have – near total exclusivitiy. Zero tolerance.

———————————-

As for me “knocking strategies that I know work”….

Instead of going into this with some big lecture about long-term results and ethics, let me just ask you a question.

Please answer this honestly:
———————————-

Do you really think you can build an online empire that you can later sell as a retirement exit strategy by spamming?

And though you seem to “know the score”… this is where the rubber meets the road, man – you ever launched a site that earned great money for more than 6 months?

—————————————-

You can scoff at hand-picking quality comments, or the value of established pages with solid pagerank (and more importantl, backlink profiles).

But until you can show us that you can build lasting success that won’t continually dry up or fade away…

…you’ve got nothing. It’s the same as manual labor.

The pay might be good – but you can never stop working. You can never SCALE.

That is the where BH starts to rear it’s ugly head. The spammers think they’re so smart – and they laugh at guys like us who do things the “hard way”.

But 6 months down the road – joke’s on you, my friend. You see, since everything you do like that has a shelf-life, you can NEVER scale. You hit ciritical mass so quickly that your income will always be stifled.

There’s only so many sites you can continually roll out, one after the next.

Meanwhile – I can do things the “dumb” way and build sites that will not only rank for years – for real keywords – but sites that I can sell for 6+ figures to a legitimate business that does intensive due-diligence.

Jason – please consider this, man.

Obviously, I don’t need your business, and I don’t want you to join ActuallyRank. It’s not designed for spammers.

But really think about what I’ve said here.

Hell, I practically invented some of the blackhat stuff that’s used today. And I single-handedly spearheaded a market that has now become so prolific that Google actually just deindexes any site that even promotes those offers – affiliate or otherwise.

So I know damn well what it’s like to see a house built on sand come crashing down.

Yes – I made “money”.

But I would wake up in cold sweats. Because I knew my days were numbered.

And I was right.

———————————

You can make money with spamming.

But you can make a FORTUNE – with less effort – by building a real business.

Trying to prove me wrong on that is futile.

-Chris
74 admin // Mar 26, 2011 at 12:04 pm

@mshan, #35 – Yeah, and it takes HOURS to harvest a decent number of blog sources.

That is the whole point of ActuallyRank. You just hand it over to your freelancer/staff each month and you’re done.

Turns what used to take hours into a 2 minute email.

-Chris
75 admin // Mar 26, 2011 at 12:08 pm

@ Rick, #38

Well, that’s a big question… but basically it comes down to:

1) Traffic

2) Competition Behavior

What I honestly do these days as opposed to using Keyword tools like WOrdTracker or whatever is I just go to SEMRush and see who’s spending money on which keywords.

Then I isolate the ones with traffic – that everyone seems to be gunning for – and make that my target.

That way, I know the volume, and the payoff are there from day one.

-Chris
76 admin // Mar 26, 2011 at 12:11 pm

@Lorne, #39 – Correct

Exclusivity + mostly moderated commenting + continually watching our member base = very minimal abuse.

Thanks

-Chris
77 admin // Mar 26, 2011 at 12:15 pm

@ Ollie, #44 – Please see my response to Val in comment #66, thanks!

@ Stefan, re: failing sites – that’s actually not a bad idea. I’ll consider doing that for down the road.

@ Keith, #48 – Yes, you can export the lists as CSV files.

-Chris
78 Francesco // Mar 26, 2011 at 12:28 pm

This was not a negative post at all Chris!

I completely agree with you that the possibilities in this industry are so many that, for most newbies, it’s just too much.
As we all know, these days, a new “push button” piece of software is launched on the clickbank market place.
I bought some of them. Some of theme are really interesting products and some just useless garbage.

Playing the long tail game in hot niche markets doesn’t pay in the long term. On the other hand, there are tons and tons of ways to find untapped niches with hungry buyers. It’s just a matter of learning to run niche research using the right (free) tools.

Finally, yes, most people like slavery. But don’t be too hard on them. They just live in the Matrix and do whatever they have been brainwashed into during their little master degree courses.
That’s all they know…

I wish you great success with your product launch!!!
79 Andy // Mar 26, 2011 at 12:37 pm

Folks, working smart is about realizing WHAT ACTUALLY WORKS, and then focusing on that exclusively.

That’s the quote guys….write it down…put it on your desk, mirror….whatever…but remember it and follow it….

Step 1) Figure out what works….

Step 2) Work at what you discovered “works” and just do that…nothing else…

Thanks Chris!
80 Tom // Mar 26, 2011 at 12:39 pm

“What I honestly do these days as opposed to using Keyword tools like WOrdTracker or whatever is I just go to SEMRush and see who’s spending money on which keywords.

Then I isolate the ones with traffic – that everyone seems to be gunning for – and make that my target.

That way, I know the volume, and the payoff are there from day one.”

Thank you! Do you honestly know how many times I’ve blindly gotten ranked #1-#2 for keywords that show 30,000 plus searches per month only to find I get 10 visitors per day when I get there?

No fun at all. This is the piece I’ve been missing.
81 Tim C // Mar 26, 2011 at 12:43 pm

Hey Chris,
Several well known marketers are now advising doing natural linking and not focusing on bogus backlinks.
My problem I’m having is I have a website that has several important pages that are not even indexed by Google. The site is over 3 years old. Obviously, I’m in great need of traffic, as most people are.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
82 Daniel // Mar 26, 2011 at 12:47 pm

Hey Chris,

So I’m in the middle of developing a product that targets a “desperate” mindset (it’s to do with a specific dog problem). Been working on it for a week and it is almost done. It’s not very long, but then again, if it solves the problem – I figure it doesn’t matter that it isn’t 300 pages long.

Anyway…

Right now I’m torn between: – pricing it fairly low and offering 100% to affiliates (a la S7 Secrets), whilst building a list and maybe throwing in some sort of relevant OTO; and pricing it higher, joining Clickbank is recruiting affiliates that way, whilst still building the list etc etc.

I’m still going to be split-testing anyway, because I understand the importance of establishing the best conversion rate possible, but, it is my first product. I was just wondering if you were in a similar situation, what would you do?

Thanks,

Daniel
83 Bill // Mar 26, 2011 at 12:53 pm

Hey Chris

Are the link ‘leads’ I’d get with ActuallyRank going to be keyword/niche specific, or will I be stuck hoping that someone with a knitting site approves my link when it’s anchored with ‘buy a dildo’? Seriously…
84 Randy // Mar 26, 2011 at 1:19 pm

Hey Chris,
Great Post – I am psyched about AR. I am ready to jump on board.
I was wondering if you can help me.
I have a few questions below.

I found a seemingly “Killer” keyword to build an authority site around.

The keyword gets over 14,000 visits per month. I know for a fact people are making money in this niche. It really looks promising.

I analyzed the backlinks to the top ten sites in google…

Majestic SEO shows 8000 backlinks to the top site (alot of backlinks). On the other hand Yahoo Site Explorer shows only 480 to the same site. This top site has a PR5.

Do you know why there is such a big difference between the two sets of data regarding the same site? Which should I judge by? Majestic or Yahoo?

I dug deeper into the quality of the backlinks to the #1 page. It only has 3-pr3, 7-pr2 and 9- pr1 backlinks the rest are all pr – O’s.

According to Market Samurai…
None of the top ten sites are optimized very well for the keyword itself.

There are even 4 pr (0) sites in the top ten.

My biggest question is – Should I go for it?
The reason I am asking is that I have never tried ranking for a competitive term before.

I always went after the easy low hanging – low traffic crap. As a result – small payouts. I am ready for an upgrade.

One last thing…What do you think of profile linking? Is it worth throwing some profile links into the mix along with the links from your service?

Thanks for you help.
Randy
85 Jason // Mar 26, 2011 at 1:20 pm

Chris,

You misunderstood my post, which I guess is the problem with written words.

I wasn’t being critical of your service at all.

In fact, that’s what I’m saying, your service should compliment other linking strategies such as xrumer, scrapebox, and article marketing.

If you think your service is the end all, be all, of SEO, then I guess we can agree to disagree there.

Most everything you said in reply to me is true. Hence, why it is good to build quality links, like what you’re offering along with the other things. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket so to speak. (That’s my opinion, again, if you think your service is the only kind of backlinking you need, then so be it. I’d have to politely disagree, but as I said, I can agree to disagree. I don’t think you do disagree though, as you talked about guest blogging, and I think you said you do article marketing as well.)

The only bone to pick I have about what you said above is about scrapebox, which I’ll get to in a second. I mean some people try to defend xrumer, I won’t. It is what it is. However, again, you could use it for whitehat. You could use it to find legitimate forums related to topics of your sites and use it to build profiles and make posts with sig links, etc..However, I think maybe >1% actually use it for that, so yes, I agree it is probably a blackhat tool.

Then again, quite frankly, all it does is automate the same kind of work you would do from profile link packets you get from those which will not be named. So, even if you hand submit those links, it’s still abusing and using someone else’s site just for a backlink.

So, where does the line get drawn? Just because you’re doing something by hand as opposed to automation makes it blackhat?

However, scrapebox can be used for either good or bad. I’m not going to give away one of my techniques, but by using scrapebox I actually consistently get 85%-90% of any blogs that are moderated to accept my comment. Even though I blast thousands at a time, I’m not a lazy ass about it. I do a lot of prep work to help ensure the links stick and I add value to the blogs I’m trying to comment on.

In fact, when I first got Scrapebox, I actually hand visited and hand commented on blogs daily that it found for me. (The same thing I’d have to do using your product.)

You’re painting everyone who uses a tool with a broad stroke.

I could sit here and say my Aunt Susan was scammed out of $25,000 from someone on the telephone. Therefore, everyone who uses a telephone is a scam artist.

Just like a telephone, scrapebox is a tool. It can be used to help and add quality, or it can be used in a blackhat way.

So, that’s the only bone I have to pick with you about anything you said. Everything else I was nodding my head yes to.

By the way, in all honesty, just by building backlinks, in Google’s eyes you’re doing “blackhat.” According to the gospel of Google any “manipulation” of search engine results is “doing evil.”

Google wants to hate the players in the game they created.

I mean, I think we can all say, it was BS to slap ezinearticles and every article directory. I mean wasn’t ezinearticles playing by the very rules they set up? Fresh, original, daily content. Content that even had to go through not one, not two, but three editorial checks?

In reality, you know who got hurt the worst? The people who play it snow white and did everything by the very “rules” that were supposed to protect them.

In fact Matt Cutts and his counterpart were at an expo, and someone asked them about article marketing. They basically said “Just don’t do it.”

We also both know you can’t write articles, stick them on your site and hope, and pray that Google finds you and ranks you.

Doesn’t work like that.

Google is actually hurting the little guy now more than ever.

So, Chris, you misunderstand we’re in agreement, I wasn’t at all putting your product or concept down. I love it.

I just hope Google doesn’t get a hair up their butt and decide blog comments should be slapped, like they did article marketing.
86 Cheryl C. Cigan // Mar 26, 2011 at 1:21 pm

Endless paragraphs of great advice. Experience over the past few months and Google’s update has proven what Chris teaches, good solid original content directed towards the need of the visitor will always win. And great internal linking structures and those wonderful inbound links are key.

Thanks for the rant Chris. Once again I’ve gleaned a few new 2 x 4 whacks across the head that confirm direction. The suggestions and “practical application of reality” information supplied by you and others have given me much to ponder and implement.

Thanks all!

Cheryl C. Cigan
87 admin // Mar 26, 2011 at 1:38 pm

@Jason , #85 – my mistake if I misinterpreted your other comment, maybe I didn’t read it carefully enough…

I’m not saying ActuallyRank is a sole strategy. But it will be a major part of one’s high-profile backlink acquisitions simply because it’s more efficient and more affordable than buying them.

Of course, if you have the budget – do both (buy and build).

And it’s still a puzzle-piece of a larger whole, albeit a big one.

I still always run directory submissions, article submissions, press campaigns, piggyback web 2.0 pages and so on for all my sites that get rolled out, simply because it spreads the base out a bit – and those things do bring in a bit of referral traffic too.

I still class myself as a GrayHat marketer, but I’ll never again rely on short-term stuff.

It’s too profitable just to do things with more substance.

Thanks for replying back, Jason

-Chris
88 David Sharp // Mar 26, 2011 at 1:48 pm

Hey Chris,
Great post and thanks for the wake up call. I have spent far too much time in the ‘make money online’ niche, and guess what! I made some money but definitely do not have what can be called a business.
Now I am going to concentrate 100% on self publishing our own books, my wife Jane is an excellent writer, and I already have ideas forming. I must admit that I was looking at long tailed keywords, but we need traffic and not a first page ranking for a page that never gets visitors.

Looking forward to launch day, better get some keywords sorted.

David
89 Renee C. // Mar 26, 2011 at 1:50 pm

Hello Chris:

I’ve learned a lot from reading the comments on this page and your answers to them. I’m really identifying with Randy’s question in #84. Please give him a response, it would be very useful to me also.

Thank you very much,
Renee
90 Stephen // Mar 26, 2011 at 1:52 pm

Questions about AR Chris.

1. When sharing links with 14 others (level 1) does that mean that those 14 people can post as many links as they want on any “single blog” in the groups list?

So for example say one of those blog pages is a PR 5 or something great then I can see some folks making multiple posts to that same blog page to multiple sites they own or just trying to get multiple links from that blog page to a single site which will diminish the effects of the PR getting passed down to the other members sites if abused.

2. I’m a bit worried about people being allowed to pass on the list of blog pages you give us to outsourcers. I mean what stops those outsourcers from now sharing our paid for list with others or them abusing it for their own gain? If they do that then all my hard work of writing a hand written post with a link back to my sites or clients sites will either be diminished due to the overwhelming number of links or the comments as a whole including mine will either be removed or changed to nofollow.

3. I do have a fairly successful couple of blogs where I promote an online pharmacy affiliate program. My question is am I allowed to write comments on these blogs that are totally relevant to the blog post itself, but still link back to a pharmacy related niche site or is this topic/niche off limits (against your rules)? If so that’s fine, I just want to make sure I don’t inadvertently break a rule.

Thank you,

Stephen
91 Kevin // Mar 26, 2011 at 1:59 pm

Great rant/advice Chris for anyone starting out…
I’ve been one of those “trend seekers” looking for the next moneymaking idea or method to exploit and I can attest to that – it never works. The one time I did do something like that and saw positive results it was a measly $100 and totally not worth the effort I put in.

You really hit it home for a lot of people struggling and I don’t disagree with any point made. It’s also refreshing to see a completely honest and helpful style of writing, that’s just how us Canadians are right? lol
92 Dustin Bow // Mar 26, 2011 at 2:18 pm

Dude – I love it when you throw a stiff jab right in the proverbial snotbox of the IM “industry.”

you’re constantly hitting the nail on the head.

Personally I’m pumped about actuallyrank.com

I’ve been down the road of “easy” linking. The funny part about it is that it’s such a life sucking, never ending grind for low quality links. A grind that you cannot stop because you’re constantly trying to catch up to the guy who’s gotten good links (which is impossible anyway!)

All this automated shit is such a misnomer it’s not even funny.

Anyway – Cheers to being real man.
93 vin // Mar 26, 2011 at 3:16 pm

@Jason comment #84

Don’t believe everything Matt Cutt’s says or G! because before they even existed there was this thing called the internet, and how else did a surfer find a website but by means of a link to another site as a mention, so how is a backlink grayhat or blackhat.

It isn’t…….LOL. Total horse crap.

Article marketing by means of placing articles on blog networks will never be dead. How can it as referenced to my comments above. Links within a post is actually what G! probably favors as we all know to be contextual links and a combo of a number of various ways of linking is a better strategy as mentioned by both you and Chris.

Just wanted to chime in on the comment about links in general being graygat/blackhat …….nonsense BS.

@Chris ,On another note……

What is to prevent these blogs from getting passed around eventually and now instead of sharing the blog page w/14 other links or users, still unclear about that like the poster above, now there are 50 possible other legite comments devaluing our links.
94 Drew Jones // Mar 26, 2011 at 4:46 pm

Chris…

Thanks for the no bullshit rant.

I need help.

Thanks,

Drew
95 admin // Mar 26, 2011 at 4:48 pm

@vin (above)

1) We can track all subgroup link databases (see our Restrictions page for details on how)

2) When we find this happening, or users report it, we immediately audit that subgroup. Since there’s only a max of 15 members total, it will not be hard to connect the dots and find the leak.

Not only is that member banned, but we’ll file DMCA claims against their hosting company and PayPal in regards to their account.

Will this happen a few times?

Maybe – but since we spread the master database out amongst so many smaller subgroups, the actual “damage” will be minimal and easily contained.

Plus, that member will no longer have any access, and will likely have issues ever using PayPal (or whatever processor) in the future.

That might sound harsh, but let’s face it – it’s theft, and they know it’s wrong.

-Chris
96 Sunga // Mar 26, 2011 at 5:17 pm

Your post describes me. Success/failure leaves trails…and I think I have seen the trail of failure. Now I want success. Is “The Confessions of a Lazy Marketer” a good beginning even in 2011? No updates etc?

Thanks
97 admin // Mar 26, 2011 at 5:19 pm

@ Mark #49 – we have some things in the works, yes. Won’t be long. We just acquired a pretty awesome framework for top-tier link prospecting that I’ll be sharing more details on in a bit. Still need to iron out some details on it.

@ Jeff, #50 – I agree. That’s why the majority are moderated, and we keep the URL database sizes small enough that it’s not worth a spammer’s time, or money, since they have such a low ROI.

Spammers need to run 100K+ URL lists all the time just to compensate for the continual link fade. AR just isn’t set up for that. We are quality over quantity.

@Rich #51 – Hey man, it’s been awhile. I agree, I think it would be awesome to meet up sometime… maybe take the old dusty longboards out for a cruise

I completely agree with you, and the problem is that most people don’t scale. You can definitely make money on the lower-tier, but you’ll never hit it big or have any kind of leverage.

The idea is to use that initial capital to build something of substance.

@ Stacyman, #53 – Yes, the conduit method definitely still works, although I would try to add some detailed content to the reviews on sites that you want to have stick around a bit.

Google in particular really seems to have a hard on for nuking out any affiliate it determines to be “thin”, and I’ve personally seen them do this on a site by site basis (nothing to do with algorithm). They seem to be prejudicial towards niches.

Stuff you can get away with in one market will result in getting deindexed in another. It’s all become very political.

So the “easiest” way to avoid all that is just to build good content.

And whaddya mean you’re not a good writer? I can tell just by the way you wrote your comment that you can be engaging and write with clarity.

That’s all it takes.

Now – as for LV and 3WL, these absolutely still work, but they’re not going to rank you for anything competitive, solely.

3WL is great for throwaway mini-sites targeting long-tail keywords. It’s nice and automated.

LV is an excellent solution that is truly effective when it comes to building DEEPLINKS. The whole point of LV, in my opinion these days, is to bring up your site’s deeper content in the SERPs, which is a very valuable effect.

If you are building authority sites, I strongly recommend using LinkVana for that purpose.

But let’s make an analogy…

Building links with ActuallyRank is will determine your business “location” – and it puts you in the big leagues. Right downtown. You’ll have a constant flow of foot-traffic, every day. (Competitive keywords, in other words).

Building links with LinkVana is like hiring a professional retail consultant to arrange your store for maximum visibility – meaning that the intricacies of your products are more easily found – resulting in more revenue (deeplinks).

Both are important, but without your downtown location… you’ll be watching tumbleweeds blow past all day.

If you can, use both.

————————

-Chris
98 admin // Mar 26, 2011 at 5:23 pm

@Elango, #54 – I can relate, re: finding a good writer.

Unfortunately I can’t send you to my writer, since she’s busy enough

But I found her on Freelancer.com. Just put up some initial projects, and hire people that have an obvious track record and are priced according to VALUE, not just volume.

I’m done with non-fluent writers. I just don’t have the time to babysit or spend 3 hours re-writing so it doesn’t sound like it was spit out of Google Translate.

Ideally, find yourself a project manager who has a staff of excellent writers. That’s who you want to work with. You’ll be spending approx. $10 – $15 per 500 word article, but it is well worth your while…

Cheers,

-Chris
99 admin // Mar 26, 2011 at 5:32 pm

@Tom #55 – Bingo. It is truly not much more difficult just to rank for the real keywords.

You’d be amazed at how effective an exact-match domain and solitary-targeted title tags can be when it comes to outranking established sites.

Just build a good base of quality links and spread out a foundation of article/press release marketing, and watch the SERPs climb. It’s predictable and profitable.

@ Jeff, #56 – I’ve addressed this a few times in this post already, but check out our Restrictions page for full details. The security/enforcement process is simple and effective.

@ Dan, #58 – Where to start. This always seems tricky at first. But in reality, it’s all right in front of you.

One of the best places to “see” what’s working is on affiliate networks that allow you to see what’s hot, what sells the most volume, etc. CJ, ClickBank and several others do this. That’s a great place to start.

Then, as you start looking into a niche, I strongly suggest joining SEMRush. You can even just join their one-off $57 option where you get access in 30-day increments, so you don’t have to commit to an ongoing rebill.

Start by inputting the top keywords, and see who the big sites are that come up for that (spending the most on Adwords, etc.)

THEN – look at what they actually focus on, and where the highest % of their traffic originates from.

Often it’s not the “main” keywords.

This will tell you what’s working… and what’s profitable.

This is how you dissect a niche and determine a top-tier target.

It takes some practice, yes, but soon it’s second-nature. And at that point, you begin to realize that opportunity is EVERYWHERE.

There’s no way you could do it all…

-Chris
100 admin // Mar 26, 2011 at 5:36 pm

@ Robyn, #63, re: process of building a site.

This is a lot like surfing.

90% of surfing is just realizing where to paddle – where the take off spot is.

When you’re beginning, that’s actually pretty tough to determine sometimes when you actually get out there, in the waves (it’s always easy to see from shore, but not when you’re actually out there).

So what’s the solution?

At first – honestly – just go to where the other surfers are. Do what they do. Paddle out when they paddle out. Paddle in when they paddle in.

And so on.

COPY THEIR PROCESS.

It’s the same in marketing.

For your first few sites – honestly – just put up the same categories of content, and promote the same offers, as your competition.

Obviously create your own content and brand, etc. – but copy a proven process.

That’s the easiest way to begin, and see results.

-Chris
101 admin // Mar 26, 2011 at 5:41 pm

@Terry, #68 – I think SEMRush and KeywordSpy are awesome tools for keyword research.

Check out my answer to Dan, a couple comments above this.

@TimC, #81 – Is your entire site de-indexed? Are there technical issues with your CMS, or otherwise code errors that might be preventing spiders from accessing those pages?

So long as you’re not de-indexed, you should be okay from Google’s eyes. The answer is to first of all check your navigation structure and rule out any obvious onsite issues.

Then – more than likely – you just need more quality backlinks.

That tends to solve a lot of indexing problems

-Chris
102 admin // Mar 26, 2011 at 5:44 pm

@Daniel, #82 – I would choose one and hammer it. Clickbank is usually a pretty strong option in niches like that; you’ll have more capable affiliates than if you just use instant-commission paypal offers, which are honestly more effective for IM stuff.

Set it up so that your front-end offer is basically just self-liquidating so you can give as much of it to affiliates as possible. Have at least 2 products on the backend to make up for this, which is where you’ll make your money whilst building your list.

Then, every few months, start rolling out specific guides, reports, etc. to your existing customer base.

Maybe think about a monthly membership of some kind.

That’s the direction I’d take it.

-Chris
103 paul mars // Mar 26, 2011 at 5:45 pm

Hey chris,

I always luv ur stuff and today’s rant was one of ur best.

Possible tip: maybe u should change ur site to the “hardworking” super affiliate so u limit the number of “lazy” affiliates u get feedback from, seems to me ur kinda asking for it
104 Tim Warren // Mar 26, 2011 at 5:50 pm

Chris… All I’ve got to say is YOU ROCK! I love it when you get fired up. Those are always your best posts.

I can’t wait till Tuesday… unless you let me in early for saying what a great guy you are.
105 admin // Mar 26, 2011 at 5:54 pm

@Bill, #83

We don’t allow adult sites to be promoted via AR, so your problem is solved before it even began.

@Randy, #84

What you’ll find is that on-site factors actually matter a LOT when it comes to climbing up the SERP ladder.

As you look into more and more keywords and evaluate competitors, you begin to see a pattern…

Sites that specifically target ONE keyword with everything they’ve got…

a) Exact Match Domain
b) Exact Match Title Tag
c) Exact Match Header tags
d) Tightly-Fitted Content Theme

And so on, will actually outrank major authority sites (with impossible levels of backlinks) that only loosely target that keyphrase.

So the REAL indicator of what you’re up against isn’t just backlinks, etc.

It’s looking at the sites that directly target that keyword specifically, which – if they have any kind of backlink foundation – are usually ranking in the top 3 positions, and then making an assessment from there.

There is perhaps some “sacrifice” in terms of losing out on ranking for a larger spread of keywords, but honestly, you can tightly-target competitive keyphrases and rank for a lot less effort than you think when your onsite factors are very specific and focused.

That’s when quality backlinks and a solid supportive foundation of article/press release/directory links comes into play. But you definitely need the powerful backlinks (bought or built) to push you up into the real rankings.

As for mass profile links?

The REAL value of those is using them as 2-tier systems, and ranking up piggyback web 2.0 pages like Squidoo, HubPages, etc.

Blasting 300,000 profile links at your own site probably won’t do much.

But blasting 300K profile links at a Squidoo page, or better yet a YouTube video – that’s gonna do something

(Hint)

Cheers,

-Chris
106 Jon // Mar 26, 2011 at 6:03 pm

Big sites targeting many keywords do it for me. Great content works like a charm. I have one site with about 80 posts (the smallest of my 3 main money sites) recently mentioned in a print magazine in my niche. Naturally traffic and subscribership is rockin’.

I agree almost entirely with what you say, except the article marketing bit. First, I simply put my indexed articles on EZA so the time invested is nil. Yes I copy and paste the articles from my blog into EZA. Second, I publish my best work on EZA for syndication. My syndication rate is exponentially increasing. These are effortless backlinks. Sure, most of the sites on which my articles are syndicated aren’t PR 3 – 7 sites, but some are and I didn’t do a thing.

The key about article marketing is ridding yourself of the notion that you can’t publish the same articles from your site (after they are indexed) on article directories for fear of the mythical duplicate content penalty. I’ve published 160 articles from 2 of my sites on EZA and my search engine rankings continue to rise nicely along with my syndication rate.

I’m not saying to rely exclusively on article marketing and syndication, but if you put out good stuff, you’ll get free backlinks.

That said, I eagerly await ActuallyRank to complement my article marketing.
107 admin // Mar 26, 2011 at 6:10 pm

@ Stephen, #90 – Some very valid questions.

Here’s some answers, in relation to your Q’s…

1) Yes, 15 people will likely focus on the higher PR links, but just to give you an idea of the inventory, here’s the stats from a sample account…

There are:

3 PR6 Pages
20 PR5 Pages
83 PR4 Pages
172 PR3 Pages
254 PR2 Pages

Etc.

With 15 members, that’s not going to clog up. And if there’s a problem member, we’ll just boot them out.

And remember, this drastically drops even further when you’re talking about the larger accounts (4K and 10K lists shared with 11 and 9 others).

The math just doesn’t allow for someone to really abuse this system.

Also, OBL’s are an issue, for sure, but not until you start talking about tons of outlinks. Even if each member left a comment on each high-profile source (unlikely), the OBL value is still preserved. We designed the subgroup sizes specifically with this in mind.

2) This is something we’ll be closely monitoring and playing by ear.

The idea is for someone to have their staff use the DF lists exclusively for their own projects. Actually – you know what? I’m going to add that to our TOS and Restrictions page.

But, rest assured, if it is a problem, we’ll have it so that the URLs can only be accessed from our side, and won’t be copy-able or available for export.

We’ll adapt to whatever needs to happen to maintain value.

3) Pharm is OK, depending on what it is. Anything to do with enhancement or otherwise adult themes is just a bit too far for us.

Maybe run it by us beforehand.

Thanks

-Chris
108 admin // Mar 26, 2011 at 6:15 pm

@Jon, #106

That is EXACTLY how article marketing should be used, and that’s why it works so well for you.

For you, that syndication is secondary and it’s the result of QUALITY, not “tactic”.

Kudos, Jon – keep rockin’!

@ Sunga #96

Yes, because the majority of it is based on fundamentals that don’t change.

My section on market research and understanding the psychological dynamics of common-sense keyword selection is probably the most valuable section, in my opinion.

Cheers,

-Chris
109 Travis Pettigrew // Mar 26, 2011 at 6:19 pm

Hi Chris, can it actually be that easy? Copy what the successful sites are already doing? Thats about the most genious piece of info that I’ve heard in the past 6 months that I’ve been exploring internet marketing. I’m still somewhat of a beginner, do you have some resource material that can teach me the basics of reverse engineering a site?
110 admin // Mar 26, 2011 at 6:21 pm

Travis – yes, absolutely it is that easy.

I guess my most relevant report on this is Reverse Niche Selection

http://www.thelazymarketer.com/vip-niche/index.php

But when something sounds totally simple and logical, there’s probably a reason why

Kinda like eating less and exercising more = losing weight.

It just makes sense.

Chris
111 Daniel // Mar 26, 2011 at 6:47 pm

Hey Chris,

Thanks for getting back to me. One question, when you say self-liquidating; what exactly do you mean by that?

Daniel
112 admin // Mar 26, 2011 at 6:58 pm

Hi Daniel

I mean that basically you don’t make money on that initial front-end product. It exists solely to pay affiliates, pay for ads, and essentially build your seed list “for free”.

The idea is to make your money on the backend of that product, and then later on from working with your list, etc.

-Chris
113 Daniel // Mar 26, 2011 at 7:10 pm

Chris,

I think I get you now. So, have the front-end, build the list, do a few promos for related/complementary stuff on the backend; then gradually roll out more stuff every now and then?

Daniel
114 Elise // Mar 26, 2011 at 7:14 pm

Hi Chris,

Fantastic post that’s going to straighten the kinks out for alot of people who are ready to give up the shiny object syndrome and get down to work.

I’ve read through most of the comments so far and am a little confused about your comment on mass profile links.

You’re saying that these type of links pointed at your site don’t do much, but then you are saying (quote): “The REAL value of those is using them as 2-tier systems, and ranking up piggyback web 2.0 pages like Squidoo, HubPages, etc.

Blasting 300,000 profile links at your own site probably won’t do much.

But blasting 300K profile links at a Squidoo page, or better yet a YouTube video – that’s gonna do something”

Not sure if you are advocating doing this, but isn’t this considered another form of spam?

Thanks for your insights – looking forward to your AR service on the 29th.

Elise
115 admin // Mar 26, 2011 at 7:21 pm

Sort of Daniel – what I mean is setting up a product funnel.

Yes, you can make some gravy cash with aff offers and so on occasionally, but the real money is from having your own product line.

Having several feeder products that serve as an entrance to the funnel, all cross-promoting eachother, and focusing on higher ticket offers (of yours).

Doing launches throughout the year helps to spike your revenue as well. It can account for an extra 6-figures annually, easily, once you have a sizeable list (and their trust).

-Chris
116 admin // Mar 26, 2011 at 7:32 pm

@ Elise

Profile links are more debatable, although it is definitely a gray-hat strategy, to be sure.

Mass commenting, in contrast, is undeniably web pollution.

With profile link building, basically it’s a loophole, since it’s incidental that the profile page of your “member account” gets indexed and therefore counts as a link (if you’ve listed a URL).

Every community site that exists wants people to register and create a profile. The fact that they index your profile as a page is incidental. This means that “real” members along with those with an agenda are potentially linkbuilding.

Is it spam?

Not by definition. It’s a by-product. And definitely not white-hat, if you’re doing this in mass.

This all depends how close you wanna get to the edge. Masslinks like that truly will boost up authority properties (especially Google-owned ones like Blogspot or YouTube, which “amazingly” seem more apt to ranking from simulated linking).

It does skirt ethical boundaries (mass-profiling), although it’s indirect. In other words, it’s generally a “no harm” strategy, unlike mass-commenting, which can actually devalue someone else’s page or site.

I’m not an advocate per se, but I’d have a lot less ethical issue with running a mass-profile creation campaign vs. mass-commenting.

Cheers

-Chris
117 Daniel // Mar 26, 2011 at 7:36 pm

So kind of like Confessions and the subsequent VIP reports. Would that be a good example?

Daniel
118 admin // Mar 26, 2011 at 7:40 pm

Yes Daniel, similar to that.

But those are more just list-builders. They make a bit of cash, sure. But the real money is working with your list and developing targeted solutions with them.

Examples are things like Aff Armory Videos, Affiliate Genie, MAKO, and ActuallyRank.

Valuable products with prices to match, where the customer still gets far more for their $$, but where the value is very high, hence your profit is very high.

It actually makes far more sense to serve less people with the full-extent of your ability and charge accordingly, than it is to try and always appease the masses with something passable, or just-over-passable.

Cheers

-Chris
119 Daniel // Mar 26, 2011 at 7:49 pm

Ah ha. Thanks for clearing that up for me. I get what you mean now =)

Daniel
120 Elise // Mar 26, 2011 at 9:12 pm

Hi Chris,

Thanks for your explanation on the mass profile links versus mass commenting and the harm this type of commenting can actually do – it has helped me understand why there is a distinction between the two.

Best to you on your launch,

Elise
121 Chris // Mar 26, 2011 at 10:53 pm

speaking of mako, can these actuallyrank links (maybe ones with high pr) pass for “high-profile” links or are they more along the lines of “mid-profile” linking you get from typical blog commenting?
122 admin // Mar 26, 2011 at 11:20 pm

Hi Chris

They will range from mid to high.

I actually just finished the “How Valuable is a Backlink” part of the training module in the AR member’s area, which I’m just going to post below for reference…

—————————-

How to Spot a Valuable Link Source

This probably doesn’t come as a big shock to anyone… but PageRank really doesn’t mean much. In my opinion, a good way to look at PageRank is in terms of analogy is to think of it as the class of someone’s car in comparison to their net worth.

PageRank is Like a “Net Worth vs. Car Gauge”

Let’s set some “benchmarks” for the sake of our visual example…

PR0 = Rusty old beater
PR3 = Honda Civic
PR5 = Mercedes SLK Coupe
PR6 = Executive Top-End BMW
PR7 = Porsche 911
PR8 = Ferrari F430
PR9 = Lamborghini Murcielago
PR10 = A Fleet of Rolls Royces & a Private Jet

Now, at what point does the PageRank “car value” definitely represent true net worth?

Realistically speaking, there’s lots of $30,000 “millionaires” out there who have financed their lifestyle to within an inch of bankruptcy who drive around in fancy BMW’s, and some of the more entry level Porsches.

So whether someone’s driving around in a beat up old 80′s pickup truck or a brand new 7 series Bimmer… there’s honestly no way to make a fair assessment about their net worth. It’s a crap-shoot at best, if you just look at the car itself. (So that’s PR0 to PR6)

But when you see someone rocking in a serious Porsche (like a Turbo, GT3, GT2, etc), you have a pretty good sense that they have the dough to maintain something like that. And when we’re talking about Ferrari’s – you can easily spend $20K or more a year just on basic maintenance. Lambo’s are even worse.

And nobody has a fleet of Rolls Royces and Private Jet unless they are a multi-millionaire, probably high 8 figures, maybe 9. So when we’re talking about PR7 – PR10, in 99.9% of cases, that is a mega-powerful backlink source. That link alone could vault your site right to the top.

So what’s the takeaway?

You need more than just PageRank data when you’re determining value of any backlink under a PR7 value.

Translation: Basically, if you really want to know the value of a link, you need to look at the real assets (not just the car they “drive”). Here’s how to do just that…

—————————————-

Factor #1: Backlink Strength & Diversity

Look at the link-popularity of both the root domain AND the page itself. Also, using a tool like SEOSpyglass, Yahoo Site Explorer or MajesticSEO, evaluate the quality of the backlinks themselves. Browse through them and ask yourself…

Are these natural, editorial-style backlinks?

And are we looking at numerous different sources (sites)?

If so… the site is surely established. As a benchmark “guide”, a strong domain will have no less than 1500 diverse backlinks, and more likely 10,000+ if it’s a true authority site.

Similarly, a strong page will have anywhere from 100 – 5,000+ backlinks of its own, spread out and diverse. That’s a very good sign, and regardless of “PageRank”, the net worth of that backlink source is massive.

And that matters far more than PageRank.

Speaking of which…

—————————————-

Factor #2: Screw PageRank… Focus on “RankPage”…

What the heck is “RankPage”?

Very simply, it’s the following question: How well does this page actually rank in Google’s SERPs?

There is no better indication as to the SEO VALUE of a site/page, than what you see in Google’s own results.

So what you do is take a look at the actual title tag of the page, and then derive 3 or 4 generic keywords that would potentially apply to that page. This isn’t an exact science (unless you use the exact title tag), but it’s often a very good value-indicator…

So for example, if the title tag of a potential link source is, say:

“How to Build a Cedar Gazebo for $200 in Less Than a Week”

We would derive 3-4 “generic” keywords that might apply to that page. In this case, as an example:

• Build a Gazebo
• Cedar Gazebo 200
• Build Gazebo Week
• Gazebo Week

And then search them in Google, and see what happens. If the page consistently shows up across the board on the first page of results – or better yet – in the top 4 results of page #1, then it’s an indication that the page itself has a lot of authority and SERP visibility.

A backlink from that source will carry a lot of influence.

—————————————-

Folks, that’s the simple, logical way to deduce whether a backlink source is truly valuable, or not. I don’t think there’s really any accurate way to “score” the value of a backlink.

Either it means something, or it doesn’t. And if a page passes both of these tests, it generally means that any “votes” (backlinks) it gives out will count for a lot.
123 Thunder // Mar 27, 2011 at 12:02 am

Hey

I just read ur kilometrical post hehe

I dont know why. never heard anything about u

I cant put my “site in the field area cuz akish*t hehe

I have some thoughts… I never trust in marketers, they can sell stuff but usually talk about stuff they have not idea what they talking about hehe

Link building is not what u say, dude… I am start to think my comment does not pass moderation, first cuz my broken english, and second cuz I am not agree with ur view of this topic..

I totally agree about the “magic button” There´s not such thing like “autopilot” U always have to make some maintaince to ur money machine.

I made backlinks for a living, I am not very rich but I make good buck for a my third world country hehe

U need to know… The only thing with every BL is that google dont find it… Even the most little one get u ranking if google find them…

I have placed many sites with a few bl´s index

Google is not people, uknow? hahaha

Is just a F* script a large one But nothing else

I work with agencies exclusivly I have not “sales copy” Just people who know me Contact me I dont take “orders” (anymore)

I hope people understand that SERPS it is not a magic thing requiare WORK!

And remember PEOPLE!! Backlinks dont bring u traffic, bring u ranking, then u have traffic

Thunder OUT!
124 Patrick // Mar 27, 2011 at 12:24 am

Chris,
I couldn’t agree more with all your points here. It’s funny, I’ve understood every piece of information you and some other pretty good people you’ve recommended over the last year or two have told me. But it’s only in the last 2 months that I have put it all together. There’s a difference between understanding and “owning” it.

Anyway, I really see the value in what you’re offering with AR. I know there’s no “get in early” card, and I will be there waiting when the doors open, but I sincerely hope you don’t close before I can get in. I want it that much.

PS: I wanted to clarify the opening time. I know you have said that registration begins at 12:01 am PST. We are in daylight time now, so I assume you mean 12:01am PDT – a minute after midnight – essentially the morning of the 29th, correct?
125 admin // Mar 27, 2011 at 4:05 am

Hi Patrick – thanks for the comments man, much appreciated.

Yes, you are correct, I guess right now it would be PDT.

Whatever Vancouver is

-Chris
126 Hil // Mar 27, 2011 at 4:40 am

Correct me if I’m wrong, but to get REAL power from a PR 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,or even 9 blog, doesn’t the actual page where you leave the actual comment with the link to your site need to have a page rank whether that be 2,3,4,5,6,7,8, or 9? And of course NOT be “No follow”
OR
Doesn’t it matter, if you are leaving a comment with a backlink on a blog that has a high page rank even though the actual page where the comment is placed has no PR.

So the blogs on Ranknow.com actually have comment pages that actually have high “do follow” Page ranking? I would have thought that it would be difficult to have a comment page with high Page rank as each new post is a new page and you do not get a page ranking overnight.

OK you asked for questions, hope you don’t find these too stupid.

What do you mean by link bait what actually is link bait and how does it work?

What do you think is the optimal search vs. competition pages? Of Google Sniper fame they recommend min. 3000 Global Searches with no more than 15,000 competition pages which I have found nearly impossible to find.

And lastly you said in your rant about spending 2-3 months marketing the site. What do you mean by that do you mean Press releases mentioning it in forums Youtube videos building Web 2.0 properties like Squidoo Hubpages etc.

Thanks will keep an eager eye out for response ?
127 AndyL // Mar 27, 2011 at 5:36 am

I’ve learned more from your blog and the subsequent questions and answers, than in a dozen so called ‘guru’ courses that weren’t cheap and which don’t work.

Thanks
128 AndyL // Mar 27, 2011 at 7:30 am

Hi again Chris,

A question if I may.

I’m building what I intend to be an authority site in a hotly contested niche( not making money or IM). There’ll be loads of unique content and I intend to build quality backlinks(hopefully with your service in part).

Just exactly how important is the use of the main keyword in the domain name?

The competition seems to tell me that it is vital, as most top spots in Google have those keywords in the domain. The really big boys of the industry don’t go down this route but they are national or even international companies.

Most of the big second tier hitters do have the domain name keywords.

I’ve got the domain I was planning to use but it doesn’t have the specific keyword phrase my site will be targeting. Instead I’ve created a brand domain name.

Is this a wise move, especially as this is my first major attempt at this sort of thing? Reading your comments about domain names has made me reassess.

I could change the domain name as I haven’t done much in the way of site building yet or backlinking, but if I’m going to change I need to do it now.

What do you reckon?

Andy
129 AndyL // Mar 27, 2011 at 8:54 am

Hi again Chris,

A question if I may.

Just how important is the use of keyword/s in the domain name?

I’m building an authority site in a highly competitive niche. The really big boys have branded domain names.

However the 2nd tier guys who are still major players have pretty much all got keyword focused domain names.

I had intended to go down the branded route, but having read your comments I am wondering now if I need to reassess and pick a new domain before I build the main guts of the site and do serious backlinking.

Andy
130 John // Mar 27, 2011 at 9:21 am

Quick question… are there limits on how many backlinks we can do at a single source? What I foresee is even with 10 other people knowing the backlink locations, everyone is going to want to promote a few sites/properties… so I would say 10×3 = 30 links from a group of 10 would be very common on the “best” link locations… probably more.

I also assume these link packets go out to the group all at once and everyone will start with the best first… so these blog owners are getting 30 comments or so in 2-3 days from a page that got a comment every once in a while.

Now if you were a blog owner who manually approved comments and saw this, no matter how good the comments – wouldn’t you be like… I think I’m getting spammed?

Just curious.
131 Mx // Mar 27, 2011 at 9:56 am

Hey Chris

As usual, always like your rants and straight to the point comments. Been a huge follower of building mini sites from confessions.

I absolutely agree with your point in following the plain old simple tasks which we need to do to get links and build good content. You can’t run away from that, especially if you want to build authority sites.

Although so, i am sure that people should at least start on building mini sites first, and if any proves to be profitable… then venture into building an authority site for that rather than diving straight into an authority site. This way, there’s some quick money trickling (not instant and not get rich quick) in from those easier keywords (not those 6-7 keyword long longtail keywords).

Im currently at this cross point, about 4-5 mini sites, the first one was a flop. Second one made some money and should be seeing some results from the 3rd,4th,5th site in about 2-3 weeks time.

Anyway because of so many factors in building links: velocity, coming from mixed sources, 2nd tied linking etc etc. And having to start off a few mini sites at one shot… what im facing trouble is firstly keeping track of each individual keyword’s link building (i think i could do that with excel…) and more importantly, the actual scheduling of link building for different keywords and different mini sites.

Any idea about having a few simple rules about maintaining and scheduling of link buildings for a few mini sites… or in this case, an authority site?

E.g. (maintaining 5/10/15 sites)
Mon: eza,squidoo,hubpages
Tues: blog comments
Wed: driving profile links to web 2.0
…

I always struggle with this, especially if you get so many tasks in the way

I hope i phrase what i want to say in the right words… and i’ll be getting AR, so will be following closely during the launch!

thanks
mx

Hope to head some expert comment on this.
132 Jason // Mar 27, 2011 at 10:46 am

Chris,

I have a major question/concern that I’m sure others may have.

If I buy your service and I hire someone else to do the blog commenting for me. Of course, they will be highly scrutinized to make sure they can leave a quality blog comment.

However, they then turn around and either sell the list or start using it for themselves or take on clients and use the list.

Will I be held accountable for that, even if it was going on without my knowledge?
133 257.ct // Mar 27, 2011 at 10:56 am

Chris,

I hear what your saying and it makes sense.

Correct me if I am wrong, but is not the primary method you teach, for getting traffic, search engine optimization?

I have personally refrained from pursuing SEO traffic. SEO is volatile and the rules change arbitrarily. Who is favored to today may not be favored tomorrow (yes I am talking about you Ezinearticles).

I just don’t want to put forth the effort into creating an white hat, authority site; then have my traffic and income wiped out by the next algo change.
134 Dave // Mar 27, 2011 at 11:16 am

Hi Chris;

Great post and string of comments!

I too have dusted off my copy of the Conduit Method.

My question is about niche selection.

Is the information in your Reverse Selection Blueprint still applicable in today’s market?

Thanks in advance for your time and feedback.

Dave
135 Jason // Mar 27, 2011 at 12:13 pm

Chris,

One more question. I’ve decided with your packets I’d like to go after some bigger keywords rather than the “give mes” One of my sites right now is sitting at #11 for a pretty competitive term. At one time I was at #8 but I slipped after the update. The first 3 sites have PR of 6,5,5 respectively.

Do you think I can beat them? I should note my domain name is exact match .com
136 Elise // Mar 27, 2011 at 2:35 pm

Hi Chris,

MX (130) is asking a question similar to the one I have. I think it would be helpful if you could give AR members the link building directives that you give your outsourcers to do when you roll out an authority site, and then the directives you give them to keep up the maintenance once it achieves what it needs to (top first page rankings for a set of given keywords).

That would be more than awesome.

Thanks,

Elise
137 admin // Mar 27, 2011 at 3:47 pm

@Thunder, #123

Maybe you should look at the service before you post up a nonsensical comment.

You said:

—————–

“I made backlinks for a living, I am not very rich but I make good buck for a my third world country hehe

U need to know… The only thing with every BL is that google dont find it… Even the most little one get u ranking if google find them…”

———–

So – firstly – you say you’re not that successful. Duly noted. I’m willing to bet that it’s because you can’t rank for the real-money keywords.

Hence, your advice on backlinking doesn’t really hold much weight.

I have a few sites whose primary keyword alone brings in 4 figures of unique visitor traffic every day. Do you?

Now – the other part of the section I quoted, about Google not finding most BL’s… yeah – that’s the whole POINT of ActuallyRank.

You leave comments on pages that are already established. Pages that ALREADY have a solid web presence, PR, etc.

So that means that 99% of the backlinks you build using our service are not only well-indexed, but they’re also coming from very established PAGES (not just domains).

This is like arguing over whether a Porsche is faster than a Toyota Tercel.

You either have no point, or you simply don’t understand what’s being offered.

I’m giving you the benefit of the doubt and assuming the latter…

-Chris
138 admin // Mar 27, 2011 at 3:59 pm

@ Hil, #126

The backlink sources we give you are AGED, ESTABLISHED PAGES.

The PAGE ITSELF is what has the PR, not just the domain. Here’s a quote directly from our site, ActuallyRank.com…

“At least 20% of your link sources (actual page, not just the root domain) are guaranteed to be PR2+, and many will be PR3, 4 and 5+…”

Once again – this is NOT a blog network. What we are doing is FINDING link prospects for you, where your backlinks will be “dofollow”.

These are real-life backlinks, not some simulated “automated” network.

———————–

Re: Linkbait, what that means is producing content that’s linkworthy and noteworth (controversy, humor, discoveries, etc), to stir up true backlinks from within your market.

Re: “Google Sniper” and their unfounded advice about only choosing low-hanging keywords…

…did you read my blog post?

You should read it again. I cover that point in detail.

-Chris
139 Ron // Mar 27, 2011 at 4:00 pm

Hi Chris
Great content and great answers. Thanks. My question – how competitive should I go with AR? Obviously the whole point here is to target trafficked and high value, competative keywords, but maybe you can give some “rules of thumb” as to what’s “too competitive” even when using AR?

thanks
Ron
140 admin // Mar 27, 2011 at 4:02 pm

@AndyL, #128

DEFINITELY, the domain matters. I never used to think so, but in recent years I’ve just seen too many cases of EMD’s (exact-match-domains) clearly outranking generic domains.

And there was no clear indication of another advantage, aside from the EMD.

So yes, absolutely, use an EMD whenever you can.

Also, make sure your title tag exactly matches your target keyword.

Relevance is JUST as important as your backlink foundation. You might not rank as well for a “spread” of keywords, but you’ll rank for the target faster and have a far better chance of getting to the top of page #1 with one target, as opposed to a few.

Excellent question!

-Chris
141 admin // Mar 27, 2011 at 4:05 pm

@Jon, #130

That’s actually a good point regarding multiple comments on a page.

I think we’ll set in the member rules that when using AR sources you can only post one comment per page.

Anything else is just unnatural.

Thanks for the feedback, I’ll make that prevalent in the member’s section and in our Restrictions.

-Chris
142 Doug Dearing // Mar 27, 2011 at 4:19 pm

Hey Chris,

I tried to buy that niche report at #110,
http://www.thelazymarketer.com/vip-niche/index.php
but it didn’t work. It said, “This payment cannot be completed and your account has not been charged. Please contact your merchant for more information. ” I used Paypal to try and pay for it and I tried twice. Please let me know when it’s fixed and I’ll go buy it.

Thanks,
Doug
143 admin // Mar 27, 2011 at 4:26 pm

@MX, #131

That’s a really good question, and very relevant to a lot of people reading this.

No matter how refined your process is, it’s always a juggling act when you’re doing multiple rollouts at once. I can relate (and it’s honestly why I no longer do it – I just start and finish one thing at a time. I find it’s a lot easier that way to manage and actually accomplish stuff).

But with mini-sites, basically you only need to build 2 types of backlinks:

1) Established Links: These are powerful backlinks on an already-established page. You either discover & comment or buy links directly. (So a mixture of using something like ActuallyRank, and buying a few solid BL’s on a place like DigitalPoint, although good comments are usually worth more in terms of linkjuice)

2) Supportive Links: Article submissions, Directory submissions, Press release syndication, & Web 2.0 Piggybacking (Squidoo, WordPress.com, etc.)

Now here’s the important part – you want to spend 75% of your resources (time & money) on the ESTABLISHED backlinks – even if you build less of them volume-wise. Doesn’t matter, each link is worth hundreds or thousands of supportive links.

Spend the other 25% of resources on supportive links – which do help – but honestly it’s more about just creating link diversity and spreading out the link popularity a bit so your site is built on a good, varied foundation.

That 75/25 rule will really save you time, as well. Your sites will rank faster and higher.

Now, in some cases, even though you’re focusing 75% of your energies/capital on the higher end links, you might only build like 20 – 30 of them, whilst building thousands of supportive links with “just 25%”.

That’s totally okay – it’s normal. This isn’t a game of volume, it’s a game of quality.

Especially when we’re talking about mini-sites gunning for a specific keyword.

Now – as for organizing all of that for multi-tasking?

I would simply split a week up accordingly. Spend 5 days on established links, 2 on supportive.

Does that help?

Thanks

-Chris
144 admin // Mar 27, 2011 at 4:33 pm

@Jason, #132

Hmmm…. good point.

Obviously it will all be a case-by-case basis. I’m confident that we’ll be able to easily ascertain the validity of claims like that when we audit a member or subgroup.

Clearly, if that happens, we’ll take logical measures instead of just “blanket punishment”.

The beauty of working with a small enterprise like AR is that we’re small enough to still use common sense

It’s not like PayPal, where they lock your account for logging in while traveling for “protection”… no matter if you contact them to explain, etc.

We’re not like that.

-Chris
145 admin // Mar 27, 2011 at 4:40 pm

@257.ct, #133

It’s no different than any other strategy. Using Adwords is just as volatile – so is anything else.

In every case, ANY “influx” activity (SEO, PPC, Adbuys, etc.) needs to have an end-game. You can’t rely on something to just keep on trucking indefinitely.

You need to use these things as CATALYST to build your actual business. And from an online perspective – that means either building a list, or building a “business as product” (meaning that you intend to sell the site 12, 24, 36 or 48 months down the road).

Also, I have never seen a regular-sized authority site that offers real content get penalized (long-term) in the SERPs

Ezine was penalized because people were using it for backlinks – it’s not really a content resource anymore. It’s become a linkfarm over the years, and that’s kinda how they marketed it.

Squidoo was different – they focused on CONTENT, and have higher quality standards.

Therefore, they were a winner in Google’s latest update.

But in general, if you build your authority site for users – while optimizing for with the basics of onsite SEO – you have nothing to fear.

Even so, you need to use it as a CATALYST.

One piece of the puzzle.

-Chris
146 admin // Mar 27, 2011 at 4:57 pm

@Dave, #134

Yes, absolutely. Reverse engineering will always work, regardless of market/industry factors.

@Jason, #135

Your site is EMD, good. What about the sites on Page #1? If they’re not *specifically* targeting the keyword with their title tags and EMD’s, then you should be able to snatch it fairly easily.

@Elise, #136

Re: maintaining and defending rank – if you can, aim to build one high-quality backlink a day once you’re already ranked as one of the top 3 on Page #1.

You can occasionally run article/PR submissions and stuff as well, but the important thing is to maintain quality backlink influx, and it doesn’t take that much.

Also, once you’ve been at #1 for a while (for a great keyword), you’ll notice that there’s a quite a steady flow of naturally occurring backlinks that you’ll get (editorial links) just from having presence.

So it’s kinda like money. The more you have, the easier it is to get

@ Ron, #139

There’s no real way to generalize that. I think if you want to really nail uber-competitive keywords – 2 and 3 word phrases in very tough markets – you have to reverse engineer your competitors thoroughly.

At minimum I would use EMD’s, preferably an AGED EMD if possible, and only target that keyword with the root domain. Absolutely nothing else.

Then it’s a matter of basically just building as many powerful backlinks as you possibly can.

The litmus test is this – look at Page #1.

Is it full of EMD’s? Is every listing a root domain (not an inner page)? Does every listing specifically target the keyword with their title tag?

And if so – do they have crazy amounts of backlinks?

If the answer to most of the above is “yes”, then you are gunning for something extremely challenging, and though ActuallyRank is certainly something that would be a part of the puzzle, realistically it’s going to take a lot of linkbaiting, link-buys, tons of quality commenting via AR and everything else to get some traction.

Also, you’ll obviously be up against some pretty vicious competition.

The question is – is it worth it?

Some first-page rankings can generate thousands of dollars profit a day. If so – kick, scratch, and claw.

If you’re not sure – I’d start with something more manageable.

Cheers

-Chris
147 admin // Mar 27, 2011 at 4:59 pm

@Doug, #142…

Strange man – should be working just fine.

Getting orders today for other stuff.

I’ll look into it

-Chris
148 Doug Dearing // Mar 27, 2011 at 5:38 pm

Thanks Chris,

I cleared FF history and it worked fine.

Doug
149 admin // Mar 27, 2011 at 6:00 pm

Cool Doug, and I’m glad it’s just a cookie issue.

It would REALLY suck to have paypal issues right now, lol… just what I need before a big launch.

———————————————-

THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO SUMBITTED A QUESTION:

This post and the subsequent comments thread is now a valuable source of content for readers, and a valuable form of feedback for myself and my crew.

At this stage, I’m going to have to “step out” for a bit and do some last minute launch preparation today and tomorrow, so I can’t commit to answering or addressing any further questions.

If you post a question below, you’ll likely have to wait for a few days for a response.

Thanks guys

And if it makes sense for you right now – I hope to see you onboard as a member of ActuallyRank

Stay tuned…

-Chris
150 Colin // Mar 27, 2011 at 6:30 pm

Hi Chris,
My first comment here!
I guess I’m echoing what Andy asked.
You mention that Authority sites are your preference, but then mention that exact keywords in the URL help. So “antique computers.com” vs “commodor 64.com” would lose. Does this mean that I should build an authority website only on Commodor 64′s?
Thanks,
Colin
151 admin // Mar 27, 2011 at 6:34 pm

Okay… one last question today

Colin – Every website really only targets one keyword.

Obviously there will be tons of long-tail traffic from deeper content and so on, but the root domain is what is easiest to rank, and therefore the primary keyword of a site.

So when we’re talking authority sites, the same applies – and in that case you will want a top-tier major keyword as the target.

For example, if I built an authority site in the affiliate marketing world (which I may), my root domain would likely target a keyword like “learn affiliate marketing” or something like that.

A major keyword, not just a specific kw target that you’d aim for with a mini-site.

Cheers

-Chris
152 The Mad Scientist // Mar 27, 2011 at 8:08 pm

That is totally powerful stuff Chris,

So true is your statement about people just walking away when they find out how much time it takes to build a business. Just like the people that bail when they find out that they might have to learn something new to succeed.

P.S. I Took your advice on loads of sunscreen in mexico but still got burned.

Sitting in Vancouver airport right now but will be back in business tomorrow.
153 mx // Mar 27, 2011 at 9:23 pm

Hey Chris

yea, that helps. I sorta get it. Sometimes things are like that: its the 20% of your links that produces 80% of the results. Even though the other 80% of the links are important just to show diversity and for numbers’ sake. Or in your case: 75/25 lol.

I have another question, sorta related:
Yes i understand that 75% of money and resources are used for building quality high PR links either through purchase or high PR blogs and that 20-30 links are better than the thousands of lower quality links that you build.

But there are different thoughts to the 25% part. What ive been doing is submit to many article directories: I normally submit a unique version to EZA, then spun that version and submit to tons other directories. .. all pointing to money site directly.

And then create articles in web 2.0 sites (wordpress,squidoo,hubpages) pointing to money site. And i also drive profile links directly to my money site, which i have heard debates about doing that.

Now i’ve heard other ways of doing this: which is the tiered linking structure where by you build only a few articles in high pr places: maybe squidoo,hubpages, EZA, wordpress, Goarticle.

And then you drive the rest of the links: spun article directories, profile links, social bookmarking at these few properties.

This method is said to look more natural as there won’t be so much links pointing directly at your money site all at once.

I know you have mentioned that profile links are best point not at your money site (which seems like im doing it wrongly) but what about the 25% part (thousands other lower quality links)?

Should i actually drive the other mass (not spam) links to money site for diversity, or to the 2nd tied high PR article pages? And even if i was to build that 25% links directly to money site, as what you say build thousands of them from directory submission, social bookmarking, lower directory submissions etc… how do i build them at a speed that looks natural or does it matters at all?

I know you will be busy for launch, take time for this question… kinda long too!

thanks
mx
154 David // Mar 27, 2011 at 11:09 pm

Hi I Chris I thought thing were looking too easy I am in finance which is a very tough field with all the new legislation going on but fee there is still an avenue on the internet that I can follow but am still looking. I built this website to see where to go from here and I am in the first four places but as you said no point in being at the top when no one is looking for you. I would appreciate any hep you can offer me to get my business up and running. regards
155 Grateful Al // Mar 28, 2011 at 12:18 am

Sir,

This may well go down as one of the most powerful and effective sales pitches/promotions- ever!
156 Bob // Mar 28, 2011 at 4:56 am

Chris, another superb example of a helpful, informative and useful post that also serves the launch process well. If my situation was different I would have no hesitation in joining.

I’m probably guilty of pretty much every failed affiliate sin – close to giving up but trying to keep things ticking over on a reduced amount of money, time etc. With luck I’ll be able to find some sort of job and eventually improve my circumstances enough to reinvest in my sites.

Your comment about “Instead of a 3-year attempt to “resist effort” that turns into constant tactic-chasing, whining on forums, marital stress and a wallet full of nothing.” could have been written about me (apart from the forum whining – I don’t do forums much and only blame myself). I’m not opposed to effort either come to think of it – but the tactic chasing is definitely self defeating and destructive. My wallet is not totally empty though, it does contain the pawnshop ticket for my guitar. Ok not funny.

Good luck with the launch. In the unlikely event that you want any additional testers later on, or support staff help etc then feel free to contact me. (I would be happy to do detailed case studies, including domain names etc if this was of any use). If not no problem, I will continue to read your blog (one of the very few remaining IM blogs that I still use.)

Getting bored of this comment myself so apologies to anyone actually reading it.

Cheers

R
157 Anne Smith // Mar 28, 2011 at 4:59 am

Thanks! Painful, but good.
158 Link Building Services // Mar 28, 2011 at 6:14 am

How long did it take you to write this? This is Absolutely fantastic.
159 Kevin // Mar 28, 2011 at 8:30 am

Chris
The problem I am having is waiting until the 29th arrives.

I hope you stick to your word and ban anyone who spams instead of making the most of this system.

It takes 2 minutes to write a unique post. I cannot see why anyone would want to use other peoples contnet for a post or write some old crap that is not associated anyway.

Looking forward

Kev
160 Pat // Mar 28, 2011 at 8:47 am

No offence Chris, but you seem to sing a different tune with different products you release

I recall one of your product releases at: http://affiliatearmory.com/72-Hours.php , where you claimed you were making $400/month with one single video that was getting ONLY 7 visitors per day.

Your lead up emails touted the fact that a person could make a nice income with very little traffic, by have numerous one page video reviews that only generated a handfull of visitors per day.

Seems somewhat contradictory to what you are preaching here today

With that said, I will definitelt be signing up to actuallyranks on launch day
161 Paul // Mar 28, 2011 at 9:05 am

Hi Chris,

I’ve been doing affiliate marketing for about 6 years (from knowing nothing to now), and it has provided me with a very modest, but useful nonetheless, supplementary income to my full-time day jobs over that time.

Leading up to 2011, I decided I really needed to crank this up. I’d not done much with it in 2010, but still managed to beat the previous year’s income.

So I went back to the drawing board. There was a time when I was on countless email lists, and I’ve bought internet marketing advice from some of the most famous (and most expensive), but one of the best things I did was unsubscribe from all of them (after a while, it’s the same old.. same old..)

I’ve spent the last few months just getting more sites up as quickly as possible (so they can begin aging – something I’ve now learnt is important in itself), following your Conduit method. I’ve done zero marketing. One of the sites has actually generated one sale! Go figure.

Anyway, I plan to get in on ActuallyRank, and it will be the first and only off-page marketing that I will be doing for these sites for now (due to my time constraints), but I do plan to really follow your advice and work diligently to get quality comments posted, and my backlinks up there.

Any results that come from my new sites will be entirely attributable to…

1. My ability/dedication to follow and use your system properly and consistently (of course)

2. ActuallyRank.com for providing me with that system/ resources.

I know I need to use other methods too, but I’m going to be interested to see what happens over the course of 3 – 6 months using it exclusively.

I really do like your style; I can’t see how it wouldn’t resonate with anyone who’s chopped their own way through the dense jungle so far.
162 Avril Tyrell // Mar 28, 2011 at 9:59 am

Chris,

Thanks for replying. Appreciated.

Regards
163 PJ // Mar 28, 2011 at 10:25 am

Chris, you were and still are my favorite marketer.

ATB for ActuallyRank launch. I’ll reserve my place just now!
164 Art // Mar 28, 2011 at 10:39 am

Hi Chris,
I see you said the product launches 12:01 AM Vancouver time… that’s 3:01 AM NY time, is that right?
165 admin // Mar 28, 2011 at 2:54 pm

@Pat, #159,

I hear you – but we’re talking about two different purposes.

I have always taught, from day one, that you should use small scale tests (minisites) to see which markets and offers produce results. Then, you scale.

Without a doubt you need the chicken before the egg here. But also – without a doubt, you need to build some authority, targeting the REAL keywords if you want to pull down the big bucks.

I advocate both, in that order. And I always have
166 Mark P // Mar 28, 2011 at 9:51 pm

Hey Chris your email today said AR launches at 12:01 AM PDT… that would be one minute after midnight tonight is that correct or is that supposed to be 12:01 PM as in noon tomorrow???? thanks
167 Sunga // Mar 29, 2011 at 7:42 pm

Thanks Chris.

See you on the inside.
168 jazzcat99 // Mar 29, 2011 at 9:49 pm

Newbie Blues…for not being far enough along to take advantage of ActuallyRank.
You are seriously giving your faithful the best …congrats on the AR launch!
169 Ron // Mar 30, 2011 at 1:27 am

Hi Chris,
A few month back you published a few posts on your blog talking about the “gold” in targeting local searches (cities, countries). Can you elaborate as to how AR ties in here? after all, with local search sites we a re targeting multiple keywords (one of a couple for each page) and with AR you are supposedly concentrating on one keyword…am I missing the picture here?
Ron
170 JITENDRA // Mar 30, 2011 at 2:56 am

HELLO SIR…..
YOU ARE VERY GOOD INTERNET MARKETER.AND YOUR SERVICE FANTASTICK. THANK FOR JOIN ME
REGARDS
JITENDRA KUMAR
171 Tod Dale // Mar 30, 2011 at 10:36 am

Hey Chris…

I am an affiliate for an IM Coaching Club…

I have a few sites, but the main focus are my rainmanmarketing domains (.com/.net/.org)

The .org site targets the MLM industry in general with most keywords consisting of the MLM company name + scam attached to it.

Will this type of keyword commenting work well with ActuallyRank, or will webmasters tend to reject these comments?
172 Mads // Mar 30, 2011 at 10:45 am

Hey Chris!

On AR it seems like all the spots have been taken, but u can still sign up?

Is there any room for another sign-up?

-Mads
173 Burn Fat // Mar 30, 2011 at 3:47 pm

Excellent post Chris, I’ve bookmaked this page for future reference! A lot of your comments resonate with me; historically I’ve spent to much time going after the low hanging fruit. Which is great, easy rankings, but always the same results – disappointing.

Quick question: How long do you continue to develop/promote a website before you decide it’s not viable long term? Do you have a threshold they must hit?

I have number of sites which generate a small amount of profit, my difficulty is deciding whether to keep pushing them, let them run passively or call it a day…

Thanks,

Ian

P.S. I’ve signed up to Actually Rank, time to make 2011 a bumper year!
174 Chris // Mar 30, 2011 at 10:37 pm

will the membership be reopening anytime soon?
175 Gabe // Mar 31, 2011 at 12:27 pm

Nice post, made my day.
-
Question: Is actuallyrank.com going to offer a smaller package? I’ll never get to 2,000 links a month. 200 would be fine with me.
176 Daniel // Mar 31, 2011 at 1:10 pm

Chris,
You need to be careful here…you’re starting to slowly migrate from the longboard, surfer dude redneck you once were to one of the latest card-carryin’ IM gurus that even other gurus are talking about. (lil joke)

Seriously, early last year I paid 5k to get into a master mind group and heard your name thrown around a bit (all good stuff). Now recently just got into K. Baxter group (which I think would interest you if you’re haven’t already) mentioned Actually Rank as a good alternative to spending big bucks on High PR paid links.

Anyway, you remind me of the some of the 15-16 year old stars right now on American Idol. I know you’re pretty young but it doesn’t matter. Like Randy says, it doesn’t matter how young you are..”When you got it…you got it!” And having seen your steady climb since the Lazy Marketer it’s obvious that no one can ‘despise your youth’. You got it bro’…keep it goin. I credit a lot of my full time success at this to staying on your list the past few years..

(Now, having said all that…is there a way you can get me in the back door to AR? I missed it by an hour.) HA! …seriously
177 Angela // Mar 31, 2011 at 8:32 pm

As usual, I’m completely floored by your post. You are one of the very few marketers that I truly respect… and Yes! definitely want to get in on ActuallyRank… 1 question about Conduit/review sites… originally you mentioned html sites give a better control over the design for conversion purposes… do you still advise this? Would it still be better to use the html version (which I find easier to use since I’m using Xsitepro) over blogs? Reason I’m asking is, I was thinking to use the strategy of posting 1 article 1 day on the site.. so using a blog would be easier since I can set it up in advance to post everyday…what do you think? Thanks!
178 Zack A. // Apr 1, 2011 at 7:51 pm

Hey Chris I first heard about you on the Warrior Forum

I usually make a couple of hundred a month with article marketing.(best month was 2000 dollars) I would like to make 2000 to 3000 a month with my own website and/or product.

Where should I start?

When you were making 2 to 3 thousand a month what were you doing?

I am getting the feeling that I need to be a real webmaster. You, Rosalind Gardner, and Lisa Irby seem to be less of marketers and more webmasters who produce good content.

Point me in the right direction.
179 Dave Cleinman // Apr 7, 2011 at 1:18 am

You make so many excellent points. I can;t even count the number of prospects who run away when I show them what they need to do to have success. Their attitude is exactly what you describe, Chris: “I Have To Work?” “Money isn’t FREE?” “I Thought The Internet Was Full Of Money!”

So they move back to the trash they had nearly escaped, get frustrated, then quit.

Reality check? You hit the nail on the head and drove it all the way through the wall.
180 chris // Apr 26, 2011 at 5:18 pm

Hi Chris,

I love this very long post, I have to say that it took me about 4 year to learn this. Newbies are beaten over and over how easy it to make money online with no site just push this button.

It made me smile when you sad “Chris, I decided to target ‘Cheapest Car Insurance for 1972 Imported Mini Coopers’ I had a site for “hot christmas toys 2009 dot com” LOL I stop doing that now. I work 48 hrs at my day job and I put in 4 hrs a night working on my marketing, on my off day I put in8 to10 hrs on my marketing.

Thank you for Actually Rank.
181 Rick // Jul 23, 2011 at 10:19 am

Hi Chris,

I loved your post. As someone who’s only been working at the online marketing world for about 9 months now – I can totally relate to many (if not all) of your points.

I have a question regarding backlinks:

I understand that by allowing others to leave comments that are often “auto-generated” on my blog, with their website name and url is just giving them a free backlink, but if I delete their url and just leave their comment does this provide my site with a positive boost – given that it’s adding fresh content? – albeit not the most insightful content.

Keep up the great writing – you are truly inspiring to those of us in the beginner phase.
182 Mario Bruneau // Jul 30, 2011 at 4:07 pm

Wow Chris,

This article of yours is really refreshing plus I had so much fun reading it.

I have been in IM for 17 months now and reading you gives me hope.
I do follow the path of ACTION and effort but I’m still waiting for the first dollar to be made (sort of speak)

There is sooooooooooooo much distraction out there. Any InfoMarketer need to be very vigilent and choose very carefully what coachs to follow. You’re on my favorite list.

Keep it up Chris and thanks for the good laugh.

Mario
183 Jamie // Dec 18, 2011 at 2:10 am

Also have been in IM for awhile now. You know really, it’s just as much work as your regular 9 to 5 job.

Affiliate Marketing – The SMART Way

Super-Affiliates Work Smarter – Not Necessarily Harder…

Confessions of a Lazy Super-Affiliate

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