WhiteHat Vs BlackHat Search Engine Optimization

There are tons of debates going on about whitehat (or the normal search engine optimization methods) versus blackhat (or methods that can get you to the top of the search engines fast, but carry the risk of being banned from ever appear on those search engines again) search engine optimizations. The whitehat SEO guys don't like the blackhat SEO guys because they lose lots of customers looking to optimize their sites to the blackhat guys, and you'll read a lot of negative reviews of blackhat methods (some true and some not). I'm here to distinguish between the two and try to offer as much of an unbias review as possible.

You'll read about how to use tons of whitehat methods in my Money Making Guide, which is also included in my all-inclusive package. These methods, which the search engines love and will never ban you for, are such things as keyword density (the number of times your keywords show up throughout each page -- they even score differently for showing up on links vs titles vs headings vs normal content and so forth), number of pages (the more the better), number of backlinks (the more RELEVANT and higher pagerank sites that link to you, the better -- you can get penalized for just submitting your link to thousands of irrelevant sites and directories), how long your site has been up, how your meta tags are done, what directories you're included in, and so forth. These do require a lot of work, but once there, you don't have to worry about being banned and you can usually enjoy your status for quite some time. If you run a respectable website or depend on your easily recognized name, you definitely want to stick to this method (you'll probably never see a serious big website use blackhat methods). On the sites that I try to optimize the search engines for, I use whitehat methods myself. You can get several whitehat tools, including one of my favorites (a search feature that searches by keywords for sites with the same keywords already agreeing to exchange links with you -- even less common keywords have dozens of sites show up) by getting our all inclusive deal by clicking here (the entire package is only $24.95 and has tons of useful tools included).

Now blackhat methods (often called search engine cloakers) are a bit different, although still related. The number of backlinks and other whitehat SEO methods still work great here (in fact, the better the whitehat optimization, the faster the blackhat stuff works), but blackhat goes a step further. Blackhat methods usually consist of automatically creating hundreds to thousands of keyword optimized pages that ONLY the search engines see (normal visitors will only see your normal pages). Typically, you type in a few keywords and the program will do the rest for you after you install a sort of script so-to-speak on your website. When the search engines see you with thousands of pages of relevant keywords, they'll think that you're a bigger and more important site. There are ways that search engines try to catch people who do this (like by trying to see if the pages make sense and contain more than just keywords), but the better search engine cloaker programs out there will create extra pages that contain normal sentences and the like (but still contain the right number of keywords and so forth). The better programs make it much harder for the search engines to catch you. Some will even include upgrades and add-ons that make it even less likely that you'll get caught.

Now you might be thinking "what if I use this method and don't care about possibly getting the site banned???" That's exactly the way most people who use this think. They'll either use free hosts or cheap domain names and hosts that they really don't care if they lose (typically, they try to use different hosting providers too). Often times, the benefit you get from being towards the top of the search engines (I know of a few sites who use this method and get ranked anywhere from number 1 to number 5 in places like Google for certain keywords) pays off even if you only have it for a short time. Top positions often get several sales to a ton of sales a day, and it costs you nothing in advertising costs and the like.

Your exact position depends on the keywords you use and several other factors. Some blackhat, or cloakers, try to also use a ton of irrelevant keywords to show their sites. Although this might allow more pages and keywords to point to you, it's not only more likely that you'll get caught, but the people doing those searches won't be targeted to you.

Don't believe me that there are people who use these methods? Then do a search on Google for "failure." Guess who is in the number one spot? The official whitehouse .gov website with George W. Bush's name. This isn't Google having a political tie to anyone -- it's a bunch of blackhat users doing this as a joke (although several whitehat methods can also obtain this result, but much harder).

Now you might be asking where you can check out such search engine cloakers, or blackhat methods. The most popular one, and the best one, is by far Search Engine Cloaker. There are a ton of features there and tutorials. Even if you know nothing, you could learn how to use this software. More advanced techies can also take advantage of other features and add-ons to do even more with it. The more advanced features are not as easy as other methods out there, but even novices can figure out the basics by following the guides. I should note a few things about this Search Engine Cloaker site...

First, several people have reported that cloaking has worked better in the past, but it does still work now (gives a big advantage until, or if, you get caught). A brand new site will still benefit from this software, but an already somewhat established site (even minorly) with a few links to it will make Search Engine Cloaker work a lot faster (hence some of the risks involved). Some people who have been caught and banned, which isn't a lot (but it can happen), have found that you can sometimes asked to be put back in the search engine index if you stop using the cloakers, while others have found to never get e-mails returned from the search engine that banned them. And again, if you abuse it too much (like by using keywords irrelevant to your site), you are more likely to get caught. If you follow the instructions and suggestions, it will reduce your chances.

Some people might not like it that I even mentioned such methods, but I try to be as unbias as possible. Blackhat techniques are not illegal (in fact, some search engines actually don't mind their use as long as they aren't abusive); they are just against the policies of certain search engines and can get such sites using those methods banned. I do want to make people aware of all the methods out there. My guide isn't about blackhat or cloaking methods, as to really make money, you don't necessarily need them (I've never used them on my sites, but I know a few people who have -- some have great results and some only have somewhat good results -- it all depends on how you go about it and the time you put into it). I do recognize several advantages to them such as quickly getting to the top with minimal effort, but there are downsides such as having a popular site get banned (which is one reason why several blackhat sites are ones that the owner doesn't care about if they get banned as they'll just make another one pop back up later and profit the entire time it's up).

You're welcome to check out the Search Engine Cloaker site. It is over $100 to purchase it (it should also be noted that to use it on an unlimited number of domains, it's $200). Once purchased, you get to log into your account and can start up right away. Although the basics work fine, there are also a few add-ons for additional features. I have known sites to use just the basics without having any tech savvy and finding them to work well. I haven't used this software myself, partly because I run a few popular sites that I wouldn't want banned, but I do recognize its potential for other people.

This would be a very good topic to hear some discussion on, so feel free to post comments here. Both sides have some very valid reasons for one why is better than the other (and not just better for the website owner, but even the visitors sometimes...), and both tactics will be here to stay for a long time.

I look forward to hearing your comments and thoughts!

Brian

www.iwantpennies.com

A Little Bit About Autoresponders

If you read our guide or followed any of our advice in our e-mails, you probably heard about autoresponders. For those of you who don't know what one is, an autoresponder is a system or script that automatically sends several follow-up messages to individuals who sign up for your mailing list or newsletter. You can have a sign-up for and then have several e-mails spread out over the course of a week to several weeks, or you can have it only send out one or two e-mails and then e-mail out your own newsletters to everyone using your program.

It's essential to have one if you are selling anything on the website, or even if you are just using affiliate links to promote other products. It has been proven that the majority of sales take place after you contact them several times (for bigger purchases, it usually requires at least 7 follow-ups). So now that I convinced (hopefully) you that you need an autoresponder, your next question might be "which one?"

First, you have three basic options: either purchase a professional one hosted at another site for a monthly fee (usually $10 to $20 a month), pay a one-time fee for your own autoresponder that you can run from your own server using a script, or use a free hosted autoresponder (which almost always have ads and not as many features or reliability).

Let me say now that free ones with ads might be okay to start with, but don't expect to make a fortune off of them. Not only does it look unprofessional to have other ads on them, but some of those ads might even be from companies that are competing against you! On top of that, due to it being free, the company usually doesn't have the resources to make sure that your e-mails are getting where they need to go or to support you with any problems. I don't recommend them unless your running a small site for fun and not expecting to make money (for instance, if you're running a fan site of a game, famous person, etc.). But even then, you can turn any opportunity into a money making opportunity.

Now as to hosting your own using a script that you pay a one time fee for versus paying a monthly fee, the answer as to which is better isn't as easy as you might think. Obviously most people would want to pay less and might lean towards the autoresponder script, which typically cost anywhere from $80 to $300 or more (I sell a good script for $9.95, click here to see it among other products). The advantages to this are that you only have to pay this fee once and that everything looks like it's coming directly from you (because it is). The disadvantages are that because everything is coming from you, you have to deal with all of your own problems -- ranging from e-mails not getting delivered to problems with the script and setting it up. Also, because it's mailed out using your hosting provider, there might be extra restrictions with how many you can e-mail each day, bandwidth problems, and problems with e-mails not getting delivered (and your host won't care because that's not their expertise and they don't make sure that their e-mails don't get blacklisted). This along might force you to pay more or it might cost you several sales if more of your e-mails get blocked or end up undelivered (or even in spam folders). In addition, any complaint about you spamming people (even if you did it legally and they requested it) you'd have to deal with yourself, and your host might drop you just to remain safe.

Basically, I'd only recommend this method, despite a few advantages and the cheaper price, if you had a much smaller mailing list and if your subscribers were always expecting your e-mails and not likely to accuse you of spamming. Having said that, there is one script that I'd recommend. It's by Kalptaru and sells for just under $80 as a one-time payment, but it also comes with 90 days of free support. They also have a free one that has a few features disabled and has their own ad in it. You can get the entire script here or the free one here. This script has all the top features, including ways to automatically generate pop-ups, pop-overs, web forms, broadcasting, etc. This is by far one of the cheapest ones with the best support of desktop or your own server scripts for the price.

Now if you're more serious about autoresponders, plan on having a list of several hundred to several thousand (even tens of thousands), or if you want to avoid all of the hassle, worries, and problems with hosting your own script, then an autoresponder hosted on another server and run by another company is your best bet. Again, I wouldn't get a free one if you were serious about it, as not only does it look bad with other ads, but the service and rates of deliverability will be far lower than what you'd get with a premium autoresponder. They might be a good choice for starting out, though.

It basically comes down to two companies when you deal with high end autoresponders -- Aweber and GetResponse. Both companies have great programs, great support staff, great features, great deliverability rates, and constantly deal with issues ranging from getting better deliverability (they actually call up places to make sure your e-mails don't get blocked by certain e-mail providors) to taking care of spam problems for you (you are no longer at risk). Both have many positive reviews (be careful of negative reviews, as many come from people working for either company -- kind of a shady thing), and I haven't really seen any major complaints from either.

Both offer all the features you'll need plus tons more from easy message editors (do it yourself html or with their editors or plain text) to direct RSS feeds (so your mailing list knows when you update your blog, for instance). All types of pop-ups and forms are also as easy as a cut and paste (you can customize everything too) and offered at both. Both have great customer support as well. There really is very little difference between the two. Aweber is just under $20 a month and GetResponse is just under $18 a month. I'd say that the layout of GetResponse is a little easier for the novice compared to Aweber, but you can learn both of them fairly easily if you just take a little time.

Aweber also seemed to be a little ahead of the game several years ago, but GetResponse has more than caught up now. GetResponse is not only a little cheaper, but if you deal with huge lists (of over 10,000 subscribers), you'll also save a little there too (just over $4 per extra 5,000 subscribers compared to about $10 per 10,000 new subscribers). So if you have a mailing list of 11,000 to 15,000 subscribers, you'll save about $8 a month with GetResponse. Both allow you to have up to 10,000 subscribers for within their normal price without any extra fees, and they allow you to e-mail as many times to that entire list as you want. Both also allow you to have an unlimited number of campaigns too (so you can have a dozen different sites with a dozen different e-mail campaigns for the same price without paying extra).

Old reviews show Aweber being a little cheaper with larger lists only because GetResponse was priced differently a year ago when they didn't offer unlimited broadcasts (e-mails to your entire list) and the like, but now GetResponse is actually a little more affordable.

The one thing that Aweber has that stands out a bit is that they seemed to be on top of things a little more in the past, but GetResponse seems to have everything more than together now and seems to be on top of things as well. This, however, almost made me go with Aweber at first. On the other hand, though, it was GetResponse who first had a much better backup system than Aweber (now both are good), so that kind of neutralized it again for me. But both are well established companies with constant updates.

It's very hard for me to suggest one over the other, as it really comes down mostly to personal preferences. I actually eventually went with GetResponse and I'm very satisfied, but I'm sure I'd also be just as happy with Aweber as well (except the $2 extra dollars a month).

There are cheaper places, but be careful of their reliability. On a side note, Aweber sometimes claims to have the highest reliability, but it's based on their own tests and what they claim to have is simply impossible to really achieve -- and proven. It basically comes down to the fact that both have top notch deliverability rates and the differences seem to be negligible.

I'm also very happy that I switched to a monthly fee autoresponder over from a one time fee script. Not only are things a little easier, but it has saved me lots of time and worries. The customer support along saves me more time and money than the monthly fee. I have also noticed better deliverability rates. In fact, that's one of the things that convinced me to switch. In the not so distant past, I e-mailed a very select and specific group a special promotion that was only going on for a week. Off of one e-mail, I made over $700 dollars in a matter of hours (no joke). Sounds exciting, right? It was! BUT after the promotion ended, I checked my message and realized that it only e-mailed 36 of the nearly 300 subscribers it was suppose to due to a bug that had to be dealt with. If I didn't have that bug and used the service that I have now, I probably could have made several thousands of dollars in a matter of a day with that one e-mail. Luckily I switched and I'm off to a good start.

As always, any feedback or opinions on autoresponders are more than welcome!

Brian

www.iwantpennies.com

P.S. I realize that I basically didn't promote the autoresponder that we sell for $9.95 (and which is included in our $24.95 package) much at all. It's a very good program and has tons of great features, but I'd still recommend Aweber or GetResponse for more serious individuals and to avoid a lot of the hassles ($15 to $20 a month is definitely worth it to me, especially after the increased sales it will achieve for you). So if you're real serious, don't buy this one from me! :)

Introduction to My Blog

Welcome to my blog! I just created this with hopes of being able to better communicate with my visitors and subscribers to my mailing list at www.iwantpennies.com. I will be posting quite frequently here, and I will be updating you via my mailing list every now and then if you are interested.

I will be using this blog to review money making techniques -- the good and the bad. I will also be using it to provide you with several free downloads that will help you with things ranging from getting a better search engine ranking to techniques to make money even without a website. I will never suggest expensive programs out there that do nothing for you. In fact, usually I can find either free or very inexpensive programs or techniques that work just as well if not better than programs that cost $100 or more.

If you're interested, check out my tools section at www.iwantpennies.com/tools.html. The total package so far includes my ebook on making money (which I update regularly), an article submitter to 150 article databases, an ezine ad submitter to over 1 million readers, a mailing list builder, an autoresponder, a tool to search for sites by keywords that want to exchange links with other websites (a similar tool costs well over $100), a bundle of over 14,000 ebooks that you can give away or sell some (great for building mailing lists), an RSS announcer to get more sites to publish your RSS feeds or articles, and much more. The entire package (which comes with updates) only costs $24.95 as a one-time price. I use this money to do more research and obtain new products to review for you. This package is by far the cheapest and most effective I have found so far for doing what they do.

Check back often as I will be updating this blog several times a week! As always, your input is welcomed and appreciated.

Brian

www.iwantpennies.com