Very recently, I decided to go ahead and purchase some SEO products on the discussion board, Warrior Forum. For those who don't know about the website, it's basically one of the most popular forums on the entire internet, with thousands of people logged in at any one time. Focused around the topic of internet marketing.

The forum itself doesn't have too many categories, and the most active by far is their WSO section. WSO, which stands for Warrior Special Offers, encourages people to buy and sell products from each other in this marketplace.

Now, in some part, the WarriorForum can be a great resource. I've sold plugins there and given away tons of freebies to members on the site (in other sections). In fact one of my giveaways has over 5,000 views and 207 thanks (the forum equivalent of likes) with over 100 replies.

I've been having a lot of success with SEO lately, building more and more websites to capitalise on tactics that I'm fnding to work very well, very quickly. I decided that in the name of learning more and with the aim of hopefully passing some knowledge on to readers of my site, I would purchase a number of the available Search Engine Optimisation info products that you can fnd there in abundance.

I will admit that I purchased the products – 4 of them – with a little skepticism. You see, the irony of the WSO section is that internet marketers are teaching other people how to make money often by teaching other people how to make money. Confused?

Anyways, what I found in my research was pretty disgusting. I'll tell you now if you don't want to read this whole thing: All of the products were awful. Though they're cheap, the quality for 3 out of 4 was shocking, and the fourth wasn't exactly up to a high standard either.

You may be wondering why I care. I mean, it's nothing new that people sell bad products on the internet – especially in the internet marketing feld. Well, the thing that takes this site to another level is the dishonesty. Members will ask their friends to write positive reviews, people who received free copies of the eBook / Software / Video course will leave the frst (glowing) reviews or people will just write them blindly in order to become 'friends' with the product creator.

On only one of the products was there a negative review before mine, and that was after 3 pages (literally 50+ replies) of amazing reviews. In other words, beginners are getting scammed on this site on a daily basis, and I absolutely hate to see it.

This guide is not an attempt to try and change the practices which happen over on that site. I would probably get banned if I posted this there, and though the scammers in the WSO section seem to be in the majority, I can't put the blame on every single user.

This guide is hopefully a slap in the face for people who fnd themselves going from one internet marketing product to the next, trying to fnd some 'secret'. I didn't spend a lot of money on these four purchases – just $42.81 – but hopefully you'll see that more often than not, the promises these products tend to offer and nowhere to be found.

I've taught this message over and over again through text, but hopefully my actions can really cement the idea in your head.

Warrior Special Offer #1

Creator: Daniel Tan // WSO Link

SEOmoz are one of the biggest, if not the biggest, SEO companies on the planet. They're currently pulling in over $2 million dollars per month from their SEO tools suite, so I had to check this one out.

When I said I was skeptical of some products before buying them, then this was defnitely one. The sales page made me laugh. Here's his example of his SEO genius outranking SEOmoz:

Wow, he really got the ranking! It must be a pretty competitive and popular search term if he's willing to show his skills by highlighting that, right? You should know better by now after my introduction. The phrase gets 46 (I'm not missing any digits) exact searches per month according to the Google Keyword tool. So even if every single person who

searched for that phrase clicked on his website, it would bring him a whopping 3 visitors every two days.

This is ignoring the fact that it makes no sense anyone would just Google 'social signal' and be likely to buy anything or convert.

I should have stopped here, but the product had some pretty big claims:

- Compete with the toughest competition in the post-penguin age!

- My secret candidate model that gets me rankings ALL THE TIME!

There was a lot more, but I'll save you the rest. At $14.97 it turned out to be the most expensive product I would purchase on the site, but it seemed like a steal considering all of those benefts. Heh.

Now, my intention has been to simply show parts of these guides in screenshot form. Meaning I wont reveal exactly what they tell you. That wouldn't be fair on the owner, no matter how unfair I think they're being on buyers. Instead I am just reviewing the information for you.

Interestingly, I went to take a screenshot of one of the pages from this product, and then I noticed the disclaimer:

“This ebook is copyright protected. This is only for personal use. You cannot amend, distribute, sell, use, quote or paraphrase any part or the content within this ebook without the consent of the author or copyright owner. Legal action will be pursued if this is breached.”

The guide itself is 25 pages, but there's a LOT of white space. Also, the information doesn't even start until page 8, when he stops talking about his own success.

Here's an example of one of the pages. You could forgive the white space if the next page was leading into a new chapter, but it doesn't. Even though screenshots weren't mentioned in that legal threat, I blurred the text so I'm not taken to a Malaysian court ;].

There really isn't much to this SEO guide at all. It consists of:

- You can create Google+ and LinkedIn profles. Here's how

- I outsource content to other writers. Here's how.

- I submit press releases and blog about the same topic multiple times and pay $3,000 for my PR Web account

- I get a ranking on Google for a keyphrase with 46 exact searches per month (I added in the 46 exact searches per month part)

When someone called him out on Warrior Forum about the keyphrase not being popular, here's what he had to say:

ViperChill VIP Rating: 3/10

If you think I'm being harsh, feel free to remind yourself about those claims on the sales page. The only reason the score is not a 2 is because Daniel openly offered me a refund when I told him I was disappointed in the product. I didn't accept, as I like being angry at these WSO's for now. It fuels my desire to create better content.

P.S. Google Trends actually shows this term used to be more popular fve years ago than it is today

Warrior Special Offer #2

Creator: Garen Arnold // WSO Link

I've helped on the SEO for some of the biggest brands in the world, so I was very curious about hearing these secrets. At $9.99, it sounded too good to be true. After all, the sales page claims you'll get some amazing things from this product:

- This business model will change your life

- Destroy your competitors

- SEO Companies will steal money from your pocket so buy this (oh, the irony!)

I'm really not going to go as in-depth into this as the frst product, because it can be summed up very easily. There wasn't a single backlink source mentioned that I haven't

read about at least 100 times before. The usual 'guest posting' 'directory submissions' and so on.

If you're a total, total beginner who has barely even heard of the term SEO then you will get something out of this. The fact that it is marketed as some kind of secret that people have been holding back is shady at best.

More creativity went into the name of the eBook than there was in the actual guide:

ViperChill VIP Rating: 3/10

The information wasn't bad, just absolutely nothing new, and marketed under false promises. I'm biased, but you'll get just as much from my own guide here: http://www.viperchill.com/link-building/

Warrior Special Offer #3

Creator: David Kirby // WSO Link

Maybe I was just having bad luck with SEO products on WarriorForum and I was biased

because it's a feld I've been involved in since I was 16, so I decided to purchase a product in a different feld. Building an email list that makes money. Now even though there's proof in the title, there isn't any at all really on the sales page. Here's the 'proof':

I mean come on, they're making it too easy for me to be negative. Trust me when I say I actually want to fnd some secrets to boost my income. Who wouldn't? When I asked him for proof of just one $350+ day (the title of his sales thread), I was totally ignored.

Anyways, as with before, here's the promises from the sales page:

- Bank afliate cash just like the big boys

- Get PPC ads for free

- “No fuff...just great results...I PROMISE!”

At $9.95, I honestly felt like I had been robbed after reading this. I can't put into words how bad it was. I publicly gave it a 2/10 review on WarriorForum, but that is too generous. Instead of repeating my review, let me post it here. Please note in advance that this is the frst negative review it received.

In the last few days, that has gone up to 13 thanks (including a post with someone praising my review).

As I said earlier, I don't think it's fair to reveal exactly what these people are sharing. I will say though that this incredible idea to get email subscribers is very little more than a slight spin on giving things away for free to get people to join your list. Nothing you haven't heard of before. He even gives you a product to give away for free, which is just a how to make money online product. In essence: you can make $350+ a day by teaching people how to make $350+ a day.

Now you know why this niche has such a bad reputation.

I'm going to share some screenshots from the guide to give you an idea of the quality, and after each screenshot I'll share a review screenshot from WarriorForum.

First of all, as soon as you buy the product, you're asked to buy something else. This is known as a OTO or One Time Offer.

Now for the content (notice the spelling and grammar too). Don't forget this is only 17 pages, so there isn't much more than what I'm showing you.

Yet the reviews are amazing:

I would hate to have seen version 3.0.

The huge focus on afliate links was pretty off-putting. This wasn't the only one either. Parts of the guide were just set about convincing you to buy other people's products. Another review:

I asked this person to show proof of their purchase, but – surprise surprise – they couldn't. Strangely, even though this account has been active for nearly two years, they were banned 24 hours later from the site.

Looking at their post history, most of their posts are simply “X sells great products” or “Buy this and it will be like hacking an ATM machine”. Mostly nonsensical, and clearly not from an owner of any of the products in question.

ViperChill VIP Rating: 1/10

The worst eBook and guide I've ever seen in my life. That includes freebies.

Warrior Special Offer #4

Creator: Jason Rushton // WSO Link

I wasn't 3rd time lucky, so maybe I could be 4th time lucky? Back on the hunt for an SEO product that would give me some useful information, I decided to pick up 'Backlink Bloodhound' from Jason Rushton. Despite the strange name (which seems to be a common theme on Warrior Forum) it had some great promises:

- WARNING: Google might fall in love with you

- Get unlimited targeted leads in any niche - Completely natural and evergreen backlink strategy

With billions of websites online, Google might love just me? Woah.

The frst problem was that after purchase, I had to wait about 36 hours to actually get the product. Jason hadn't set any kind of automation in place. Well, he had sent me login details, but the login-in link just sent you to his sales page.

Please note that there's literally no way to scroll down further on this page (notice my browser toolbar at the bottom there). Eventually, I got my login.

And there we get this 'special offer' again after we've already made a purchase. Hey, buy more from me!

I declined and tried to get access to my product.

But what's this, ANOTHER offer? Instead of $17, he's now only going to charge me $9. I really just want access to the product.

Could it get any more sneaky? Actually, yes.

Look at the screenshot above and see the second offer available to me now for only $9. But what happens if I had bought it at $17? Here's what:

Just to clarify if you can't work it out from the picture. Not only did this person on WarriorForum pay $17 for something which could have been bought for $9, but he was then sold another product for $27.

I will give Jason some credit in that even though he's misleading on his sales page and he really tries to get people to spend more money, his product information is quite professional and well presented. The video course is attractive.

That being said, the information – just like the other SEO guides before – is absolutely nothing new. It's the same rehashed SEO content you'll fnd elsewhere on the web. I mean, there was a 'BONUS Module' which I was keen to check out, especially after this review:

Hmm, the bonus module is the secret sauce, huh? The bonus module is a 3 minute video which shows you three tactics on building backlinks. One of those secrets is using Google Alerts to give you link prospects. I'll let you go ahead and Google how many times that tactic been blogged about already all over the internet.

Oh, and I checked out Eliana Galers website (the person who provides that testimonial above) and she offers...you guessed it...SEO services!

There is enough information here to help out a total beginner, but there wasn't a single thing new to me or that beginners couldn't fnd on the web already. The only plus side was the nice packaging.

ViperChill VIP Rating: 3/10

As I mentioned in the introduction, I really don't think I can change the practices of this website. As much as I would love to think this has an affect of what happens to the scammers over there, the truth is that any change is very, very unlikely.

I can't change what happens there, but I can hopefully change your mindset. And that's the mindset that there are some secrets and hidden tactics that you haven't found elsewhere.

That isn't to say that everything people are doing to make money, get backlinks, trafc or anything else is freely available. I admittedly perform link building tactics I've never seen anyone blog about. Some things just aren't worth selling for $14.97. And that's kind of the point: If something seems to good to be true – especially at these price points, and on this forum – then it more than likely is.

I HATE seeing people get sucked into the whirlpool that is buying info product after info product, looking for some way to get rich quick. In 4 of these products, which each had glowing reviews and massive promises, not one of them offered something you couldn't fnd after a quick Google search on your subject.

Learn as much as you can from these free resources, and then take the next level. That next level is actually putting your knowledge into action, and trying something out. You didn't expect to be an expert at football or tennis (or whatever sport you're into) the frst day you tried it, did you?

Or expect to be a genius in maths or science when you just started learning the topics? No. Well, you shouldn't feel the same about IM either. Though I owe a lot of credit to the people who have taught me things over the years, every successful person I know in this feld has, for the most part, learned to fgure things out for themselves.

To give you an example of this in another feld, let's look at the ftness industry. I'm currently into 'bulking' and trying to gain weight (up 8KG's since I started) so have spent a bit of time on ftness / bodybuilding forums. One of the greatest debates that happen over on these sites is who is natural and who is not. In other words, who took steroids to get their physique and who did it without that aid.

The debates happen daily, but here's the thing: There's literally no way to know.

There are people who compete in the biggest bodybuilding shows in the world claiming to be natural (while their smaller competitors don't claim so) and people who are later found out to by lying. It also makes sense for ftness models and athletes to deny taking the drug, since they can continue to sell protein powders or pre-workout supplements or whatever they want, hoping that people believe their dream body is achievable overnight.

I've been on a mini quest to fnd out where I can take my body to do if I stick at this for quite a while, but the end result is that I have no clue. I have no clue who is telling the truth, how big a factor genetics play, and what I can achieve after say...two years.

I've came to the simple conclusion that the only way I can fnd out what my 'natural

genetic limit' would be is to do it myself. Is to work out solidly, eat well (on a surplus) and track my progress. There's literally no other way to know what's possible unless I do it myself.

Apply that to Internet Marketing.

Realise that you can't really trust everyone's claims unless you start seeing the results for yourself. Try SEO tactics for yourself. List building ideas. Backlink sources. Psychology methods to get email subscribers to click through to your links.

Try it all, because it's the only way to know.

Just don't get sucked in the trap of believing that people are holding something back from you that you can't fnd elsewhere. There is the rare case where this is true, but it is a rare case.

UPDATE: Since I wrote this guy, something even more shady happened. Remember the third product I bought, about the $350/day email list promises where I left a negative review? Well the whole sales page was deleted and turned into a free giveaway for an equally awful offering.

Now he has a different thread promoting that product, and now saying he only promises to make you $250/day. I reported it to WarriorForum almost a week ago, and it's still live and kicking with fake, overly positive reviews.

I created a thread about it, and was thanked by many members of the site, but it was deleted within an hour. In other words, stay clear.

I'm here if you need me: http://www.viperchill.com // Thank you for subscribing!

Glen Allsopp