I have 2 websites. One is primarily a resource site that is free and I also have a webdesign site. Both are about 9 months or so old, but I have been doing this a long time now and most people know me even though I never advertised until developing these websites. I worked strictly from referrals.
I am on boards all over the world and advertise / network with a lot of places and some great people. Visit more websites in a day then most do in a week so I see a lot of good and bad websites out there offering the world to you, but few can really deliver.
The reason I am writing this is because I see a lot of false advertising and lack of integrity. I received 2 emails last night to add banners to websites I have developed which is no problem of course but the way the ladies were convinced to add these banners and join the sites is a problem for me because I don't like to see people taken advantage of or misled.
Both of these sites claimed to have 20,000 or more hits a month, been established for 3 years and have top ranking on Alexa. Guess how much truth there was in any of that? ZERO, not a single thing. But, they wrote convincing emails and Ads and one of them advertises here for another business with a good reputation from what I know therefore adding to the credibility and lack of questioning. So I ask where is the integrity in Advertising?
I also see ads that berate or use the "fear factor" approach, warning ladies about competitors with no real factual basis for any of their claims. Once again where is the integrity in advertising? Shouldn't these people be able to get business on their own merits and not have to rely on tactics that are shady? (I do see the irony with my post but I am not naming anyone so I feel it is ok.)
Then I read these Ads on backpage etc... that want you to sign up for some screening service before meeting a lady and once again, well, that actually should scream scam to most so I will let that one lay.
Ladies, do your research. If a website is making claims of getting tons of traffic and been established for years then check it out for yourself.
www.compete.com,
www.alexa.com,
http://whois.domaintools.com or even a simple google search to see what comes up. There are many more ways to do your research and you should. Make an educated decision, not a decision based off of some clever wording. Especially if they are asking for any form of payment or offering a free trial. In my opinion if a website is not established and cannot show significant traffic stats that are geared towards your business then they should not be asking for money or even giving the illusion that you are getting a "free trial".
I truly believe that advertising / marketing is mandatory to success so don't get me wrong. I am not saying that paying for advertising is bad. Just spend your money wisely and do your research to see what best suits you. Nothing wrong with signing up for free advertising sites. I even strongly encourage it, but don't let yourself get taken. There should be no need to use a CC to sign up for a free trial. That makes zero sense. There may be exceptions but I would have to see it myself.
I hope this ok to post here since I cannot post in the ladies only forums. I was creating a blog to give these tips but I will probably just stick to making a weekly post here and a few other places with information that will hopefully be useful and for others to share their information.
BTW, my own site statistics should improve now that I have changed from a frame based site that was not being indexed properly. My fault using frames. I knew it was a possibility but since it is my own it was ok to test out the theory. I do not charge anyone for the resources that I compile. It is just a service I offer to ladies I do work for and i recently made it public is the only reason it is there for everyone.
Any thoughts? Should these type of websites be exposed as alerts? Is this any different than exposing a bait and switch or cash and dash type scam?
Hope everyone had a great weekend and an even better week.
Integrity in Advertising Weekly tips from EGC
