Affiliate marketing is often considered as the best and fastest way to make money on the Internet. Affiliate marketing is also a kind of internet marketing which mainly is conducted via the World Wide Web and includes marketing techniques like Search Engine Optimization, Pay-per-click Marketing, E-mail Marketing, and Banner Advertising. There are people who would even consider internet marketing scams. The truth is that affiliate marketing is the best way to make money on the internet, but unfortunately there are people who would try to take advantage of people who are new to this business. Below we discuss some of the common affiliate marketing scams:
o Phony Affiliate Program. This is probably the most common type of affiliate marketing scams. There are affiliates who make promises to show you how they can earn thousands of dollars in a short period of time, only to sell you their program. Never fall for these gimmicks because they are nothing but a scam.
o Performance Marketing Fraud. Another very common affiliate marketing scams is the performance marketing fraud. With this kind of fraud, there are affiliate marketers who promise to bring you success within a short period of time, only to tell you that the money will not start rolling in right away. They then instruct you to buy an expensive training program or software package, when all you need is simple internet marketing tutorials.
o Online Marketing “Gangs”. Some scammers target affiliate marketers by forming “street gangs” which consist of a set of people who engage in unlawful activities such as cheating, theft, and fraud. These scammers will often target online marketing beginners, promising instant success, guaranteed commissions, etc. In reality, the online marketing strategies of these “street gangs” are actually scams in disguise.
o Online Ad fraud. Online ads are a great source of extra income for fraudsters. One classic example is where a website’s owner posts an ad about a particular product and asks affiliates to promote it. After successfully driving traffic to the site, the owner will then take out another ad for a different product. Affiliates will be sent messages asking them to click on one link in order to qualify for a freebie or to buy a product. This affiliate marketing scams have earned the name “click fraud.”
o Pay per click scams. This is probably the most popular among all the affiliate marketing scams. This is also the most straightforward and the easiest to pull off. Essentially, affiliate marketing companies will pay affiliate marketers (also known as “affiliates”) a pre-determined amount of money for each lead or sale generated by their ads. The problem with this method is that the more affiliates you sign up, the more you end up paying. As a result, many new internet marketers try to avoid getting involved with this type of business.
o Fake affiliate marketing training programs. Affiliate marketing training programs are everywhere. However, not all of these are created equal. For example, some offer outdated techniques that are no longer relevant. A lot of the time, these fake training programs even claim that you can make a fortune in your sleep by simply spending a couple hours signing up every day.
Despite the many affiliate marketing scams that go on today, there are still some good programs out there. Before you sign up for affiliate marketing campaigns, check out the company’s history, the quality of its products and the training provided. If it passes all these checks, you can go ahead and start promoting their products. In time, when you have mastered the techniques and mastered the business, you can turn affiliate marketing scams into the best home business ever. You will be glad you did.
