Can I Get Another Word Besides SCAM?
Scam Alert!
Two things I have found to be true when searching the web for a review of a particular affiliate marketing program:
- Wealthy Affiliate websites almost always occupy all the top spots (major SEO points for this)
- Most (if not all) use the word SCAM in their blog titles
I'm guessing the reason WA bloggers do this is because people search for these terms in Google, and there might be some low hanging traffic by attaching the word scam next to a program.
But I gotta say, putting the word SCAM next to something, is like putting a rotten fish next to a delicious meal. It's hard to recover the good smell, no matter what you say. And it's doubly worse if you have never actually been a member of the program you have just tarnished.
Is Anyone Fooled?
In my earlier digital iterations, I belonged to a few other affiliate programs.
Each had their strengths and weaknesses, but in general, they were good programs. They would never deserve (or desire) having their names associated with the word scam. But this is what routinely happens as bloggers seem to have only one formula for promotion:
XYZ program! Is it a scam or is it legit?
Someone who is naive might be fooled by that title. Everyone else knows the gig.
Oh yeah, another WA "review." Pretend objectivity, low-key slam the competition (and using the word scam is already half way there), then tell me about the #1 recommended program for making money online.
Am I off base here?
Surely this isn't the only method being taught here, and if it isn't, then why is this the formula of choice?
If the goal is to give an honest review, I'm not sure putting the word SCAM in the title is the right way to start. But that's just me.
I'm sure there are contrary opinions, so please, I'd be interested in hearing your comments.
Recent Comments
11
I have never understood why someone would want to use a negative connotation of something when they had no idea whether or not their review was accurate. My view is to always be honest with your review or at the very least disclose you have no first hand knowledge.
Jerry
It was recommended to me not to use the word scam because it is such a strong word.
So here are some other words.
hustle
swindle
fraud
con
sting
gimmick
fake
phony
Hope this helps.
Laura
There are so many ways to handle writing reviews....Sadly shock factor plays into a lot of titles these days. You have people from 2 categories, optimists and pessimists. The optimists will look for WA success stories and the pessimists will look for the SCAM, Fraud, Fake, etc.
The bottom line is SCAM gets hits and some people are chasing the count a bit too much.
I'm not sure what the solution is but I'd love to hear it when it's found.
Appreciate the input. The Internet is heavy on the scams, which is why so many people search for the term.
I guess it comes down to personal choice on how you go about doing reviews.
I just started the boot camp training and the first assignment was to write a WA review. I almost included the word scam in my title but felt the same way about it as you. I removed it. My post might not rank as quickly or as well but I just didn't feel right using the word.
It's kind of like if I were to say ' Joe is not a really, really, really, horribly bad man'. I am saying that Joe is not bad but later what people will remember is Joe's name and really, really, really bad man. Joe will be associated with being bad.
In the same manner, if I were to have used the word scam in my title I would be associating Wealthy Affiliate with being a scam and I didn't want to do that.
Yes, agree. Hard to change the subject because that word is so strong.
It's obviously a successful strategy, but I wonder if it's hurting the WA brand.
All the best.
There is one word for it. Clickbait. Sometimes as a marketer you need to look at keywords, and what the public are searching for.
WA is not the only one to use this method. You will see it across the net in many forms.
Having said that I personally do not aspire to this method. Maybe that is why I have not made money online from my blog yet. I do from my e-commerce sites but not my blog...
Thanks for the input. Plenty of other profitable keywords. Keep creating keyword focused content.
All the best.
See more comments
People search the word scam, review, compare, ripoff, etc, when looking for a review, amongst of keyword a lot of other searches.
In this industry, people tend to lean towards "review" or "scam" type keywords when doing research online because well, most people have been scammed in the past and they want to look for the nitty gritty on a product.
Certainly reviews can be one aspect of any website, and as you become an authority within any niche you will be recommending many products, and often times ranking products based on their quality. It is how consumerism works, we all want the best value, for the best product, and have the best insights.
The method taught here is to build yourself as an authority, offer helpful and useful content, establish yourself as a trustworthy source in any industry, and to offer factual content. To imply otherwise, would be far from the reality.
Don't disagree with anything you've said, however, the scam vs. legit approach seems to be the one that our team has adopted, hence the title of my post, "Can I get another word..."
What we teach and what people do are two different things and my complaint was about the practice. I am a big fan of the WA way to build a site / business.
Also what I describe in the latter part of my post is how WA is now perceived. You know when you are reading a WA review. The word scam is a tip-off, and more and more the perception is that it's not a completely fair review. The goal is to sell WA.
I read a blog comment from Tim Erway himself, from Elite Marketing Pro, pointing this out on someone's review of his program. I mean seriously, EMP is a phenomenal company and some blogger comes along who has never been a member to tarnish that brand with a word like scam, knowing full well it's not?
Anyway, my question still stands...can I get another word?