Before you hire an SEO “expert” check these things out first!

I get email almost everyday from people trying to sell me their “SEO” (search engine optimization)  services. They promise to get my website to #1 on google, help me with keywords, and all kinds of things.
I usually just delete these because they are so obviously form emails and spammy.
Occasionally will click a link to the site and check it out. Quite often it will turn out to be something like the one I am  going to tell you about now. Pathetic and very poorly done.

You can save yourself tons of money and grief if you simply follow a few of the things I am going to tell you to do before you ever hire anyone to help you online.

What I’ve learned about building a platform and/or marketing your book online.

Time Tracking Software that works with ease, yaTimer is great.

Easy to use, and fun too!

Time Tracking Software

As website and blog designer and writer, I was always looking for some way to track my time online.
I tried many various products that I found online and none of them seemed to do the trick. I needed a product I could start and stop and that kept track per project of the time I was working. I did not need a complicated spread sheet, and I did not like how complicated many of these time keeping products seemed to be. It seemed like you had a choice of either a literal time clock for employers or a cute little timer app that just did not cut it for me.
I finally found yaTimer,

and I love it! I like the interface. It has clear and easy to read sections per task and client and you can use different colors for different projects, I love the fact with one simple click I can stop the timer, and I created a category called “time waster”, since I am trying to keep track of stuff I do online that does not help my business. yaTimer is exactly what I was looking for! If you are looking for a simple and easy to use time keeping tool, that also will allow you to print out reports, this is for you.

It is so afforable at only $39.00 and you can install it on up to 3 machines.

How to not get ripped off by so called online “experts”, don’t get scammed online!

I have been working online since 1999. I got started by doing public speaking on how to not get “scammed” online.
I have a special loathing for online scammers.
Online anyone can say they are an “expert”, they can make all kinds of claims of what they have done, and what they earn, and how do you know the difference?

I am going to give you a few tips and tools you can use to find out if the person you are considering hiring to help you is for real.
Recently I have had several clients who paid for SEO services from so called “experts” and they got burned.
If they had just done a little checking first, this would not have happened.

The first thing to check with any SEO expert or anyone promising you high traffic and instant profits, is to check their websites page ranking.
If they are a ZERO, then you just saved yourself from being scammed. If the site is a zero-3 and they say they are an expert, they obviously are not.

Here is a page rank checker you can bookmark and use.
http://www.prchecker.info/check_page_rank.php

Next find out what other websites they run.
Here you will often discover much interesting information about your potential scammer.
Things like fake testimonials and the same faces and same lies on all their scammy sites.
To find this information out,
All you need to do is go to Yahoo search and enter this:

linkdomain:abc.com -site:abc.com

of course changing the abc.com to whatever persons website you are researching.
This will show you all the domains associated with that persons business and IP, and you will also pull up any comments they left on blogs using that IP, and it really gives you a overview of the person you are considering investing your money with. They may have some things on a different IP, but you will still learn a huge amount about the person by doing this.

Be sure to start clicking on websites that you see listed, and you will soon spot the fakes and the scammers as you will start to see the same sales pitch and the same fake testimonials on various websites. You may see the same website design used over and over for various sites.

As you do this be sure to check the page ranking for some of the sites the so called SEO or Web Expert has worked on, and you will see if they can deliver the goods for you. Especially check out their own domain and page ranking that they have given you as their main business website. Also check their traffic, if it is a ZERO, you know they are scamming.

Don’t forget to Google their name! I suggest when you Google you add the words ,scam, rip off , fake, fraud after their name, why?, because anyone who has complained about them online will pop up for you in the results.
This itself can be a real eye opener.

I learned this the hard way after I bought a scooter online,(X-Treme Scooters) I checked out reviews, I checked out the manufacturer, and I thought I did due diligence, then when the scooter fell apart in the box and the company refused to refund me, I did a new search using the words “scam, fake, rip off and fraud” with the scooter name and there were hundreds of people who got ripped of just like me! I learned my lesson.

Look for the negative words first when checking something out online.
I actually helped other people not get ripped off by writing about this long and horrible scooter story ( it turned into a 4 month battle with the company.)
I wrote about it on eBay guides and a few other places online. Finally my credit card refunded me under the fraud category for this purchase.
Lesson learned.

Taking 30 minutes to do some checking can save you lots of heartache and the loss of your money down the road.

Finally I suggest you download a great tool I use called SEO toolbar. It has all the things built in I have mentioned above and you can just click the various things like page rank, traffic and whois and the yahoo link domain and see it all there.
You can download this tool here
http://tools.seobook.com/seo-toolbar/

Also SEOBOOK is a great blog, packed with very helpful information.

Don’t forget to ask for “proof” from the experts.

Honest people have honest testimonials with people you can actually contact, not made up people or friends that you will see on all thier scammy websites over and over.

Honest people have real websites with real numbers and proof that you can check out for yourself.

These days everyone and their brother has decided to become an “Internet” expert, either Seo or Social Media or something else. Buyer beware, don’t get scammed and taken in by the rip off artists and frauds.

I hope I have stopped some of you from getting burned online.

Please share your stories and leave a comment!

How to turn off the auto complete in Firefox and IE (explorer)

This is one of those really annoying things that you have to do a search for to find out how to reconfigure
your browser. If you want to get rid of that auto complete in your search bar here is how you turn it off for google, firefox and IE, ( Internet Explorer.)
Auto complete is when you start to enter something in googles search engine and they suggest the rest of your sentence for you. I really hate this. Internet explorer has the same feature.
To turn these off you need to change your settings.
In Firefox:
Go to your toolbar, (the very top of your screen when you have your browser open)
Select “tools”
Then select “options”
Then select “privacy”
Uncheck “Remember what I enter in forms in the search bar” and ok.

For Internet Explorer
# Open the Internet Explorer browser.
# From the Internet Explorer menu, select ‘Tools’
# Select ‘Internet Options’
# Click ‘Content’
# Click the ‘AutoComplete’ button
# Click ‘Clear Forms’
# Click ‘OK’ to the ‘Clear all previously saved form entries except passwords’ dialog
# Click ‘Clear Passwords’
# Click ‘OK’ to the ‘Clear all previously saved form passwords’ dialog.
# Uncheck all entries under ‘Use AutoComplete for’
# Click OK

Now you still need to change your settings in google to stop them from filling in your search terms and auto completing those!
In your google “splash” page or the page most people have when they use google is this:

How to turn off googles auto suggest or complete

See the 3 lines next to the bar, ( if you have never noticed this, you are not alone!)
Select preferences
Scroll down to the bottom of the page to Query Suggestions-
and uncheck Provide query suggestions in the search box.

This will stop the suggestions. Now if you use a cleaner such as CC cleaner or any registry cleaner or something that clears your cookies, you will have to reset this preference, which I find highly annoying.
I wish they had made the default to be turned off rather then on.
Hope this helps you! If it did or you have anything to add, please leave me a comment
Happy annoyance free searching.

Nigera Scam moves to Dating Websites and Personal Ads

Read the letter and I will then explain to you how the old Nigeria scam works.

Hi Linda

Wow, what a letter! I wasn’t sure if I’d hear from you. I’m so glad I did. First, thank you for the compliments. I really appreciate all the nice things you said and the fact that you’re still willing to give me a try.It’s really hard to find a person that is interested in a possible long term relationship and not just a one night stand. I am looking for a best friend and partner. I don’t hang out in bars or date just anyone. I never thought I’d try online dating but here I am. ..Linda , I already let you know that you’re a truly genuine and open person…I am very open, honest and caring….My late Mom was from Kansas and My dad was from, West Africa cos he was brought up from Nigeria … they both meet in Rome , ITALY , where i grow up and they instilled many wonderful values in me.My Late mom raised me to be fighter and always come out on top and that is what i plan on doing.I would be 39 years by Jan 28th . My Dear Linda , am still having Difficult with my laptop for me to send more Pictures of me to you , hope this wont stop us from talking here and carrying the conversation to High level ..I am also a happy, outgoing person..I love to laugh and spend time with friends..Can you tell me how your day went?? what do you normally do at your Leisure time ??? .my favorite activities are basically anything to do with being outdoors..camping is one of my favorite things to do and also trying my hand at new things and I want you to know more about me ..first of all,I have now lost my mother and only have my father. my Late mother and father were married for 43 years and I think that is truly wonderful thing and I want to let you Know that i relocate from Elsmore ,Kansas to Powell St, San Francisco anytime from now which I let you know that i just got a 1story 10 home yesterday .I want this also very much..although my life is full of love , there is the most important element of life that is missing from mine..my life companion.this person must be sincere, honest, understanding and family oriented.I also want someone that is always serious all the time…that is able to just “have fun” and balance this with responsibility..someone that is adventurous,loves the outdoors and laughing…I want someone that can appreciate quality in life but also the most simplistic things in life., but I want to share my life with someone..I do not date a lot because I do not enjoy going out with so many different people….when I do go out on a date it is only because I am quite attracted to that person (in all aspects…not just physically), I think it is of extreme importance to be on the same levels with someone you are to share your life with.i.e intellect, sense of humor and also similar goals in life.these things all add up to admiration, loyalty and friendship..I would like to find this so that I may begin the second journey of my life in which i let you know i my profile so please ask me whatever you would like…I think you are someone that is seeking the same as I and so I would love to pursue this friendship with you to see what happens…only if, at the very least, we would both have gained a great love.of course, hopefully more…;-)..Linda , Let’s I forget , I wanna let you Know That I would be Living the state for Now cos i heard a Called from The Dr that’s in charge of My dad sickness from The Hospital there In Nigeria That My dad is not really good that he want to see me ..I was so shock when I heard That My dad is not good and Been The Only child of My dad i think i need to see Him cos he’s the one left for me now ..To cut this short ,I am On My way to Nigeria Probably In the next 8 – 12hrs cos I have book my plane . so don’t hesitate to mail me and I will reply you back …..But Most especially i will soon be back to state soon I look forward to hearing from you again soon..Please feel free to say anything and I would Like to know know thing about you like :

What are you doing for Living ??
What do you seek for in a relationship?
What sort of relationship you seek for?
What are the basic qualities you seek for in a man?
What interests you to me ?
What do you do for fun?
Do you like public intimacy?
How long have you been single?
What’s being single like?
How do you treat your man?
Why do you need a man?
Can you love this me even though you continue talking to me ???
What is love to you?Would you hit your man for any reasons?
Got to go now and Hope to read from you soon

Randy

YUCK!!! Here are the people who are talking to you.

Nigerian Romeo Boiler Room Rip Off Scam

There are tons of “tells” in this email.
Bad grammar and spelling are usually the first giveaway in all scammer emails.
For instance the scammers often misspell stupid words. A good example of this is the fake bank alerts email I recently got that had in the subject line this, ” your accuont will be locked.”

I delete about at least 10 fake Paypal, eBay and bank alerts a day. A popular one recently has been “buyer dispute” from eBay, since I have not used eBay in about 3 years that was an obvious one for me to catch.
Here is the Nigerian Scam in a nutshell. It is called 419 or Advanced Fee Fraud.

I have included some information about some other common online scams for your protection.
Please never send any money to strangers, never login to any place through an email, always find the real bank online or login to eBay or Paypal at their own websites.
Most companies now accept these fake emails by forwarding them to “spoof@—–” ebay, paypal, Citibank, whatever place you supposedly got the fake email from. This helps them keep track of them too.
Be careful out there. The internet is literally open to the entire world and there are many evil people waiting to prey on you and this latest personal scam is a new low of these disgusting crooks!

1. Nigerian Letter Scam

This is probably one of the best known online scams but it still manages to get people to part with their hard earned money. Invariably you receive an e-mail, usually written in capital letters and starts out like this:

“DEAR SIR/MADAM: I REPRESENT THE RECENTLY DEPOSED MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE FOR NIGERIA, WHO HAS EMBEZZLED 30 MILLION DOLLARS FROM HIS STARVING COUNTRYMEN AND NOW NEEDS TO GET IT OUT OF THE COUNTRY…”

The letter says the scammers are seeking an accomplice who will transfer the funds into their account for a cut of the total–usually around 30 percent. You will be asked to travel overseas to meet with the scammers and complete the necessary paperwork. But before the transaction can be finalized, you must pay thousands of dollars in “taxes,” “attorney costs,” “bribes,” or other advance fees.

However, there is no minister or money other than the money you paid in advance. Victims who travel overseas may find themselves physically threatened and not allowed to leave until they cough up the cash. This online scam is also referred as Nigerian 419 Letter, where the 419 stands for the section of Nigeria’s penal code that this online scam violates.

2. Lottery Scams

In this online scam you will receive an email informing you that you have won a lottery or that the XYZ lottery company went into a draw for the distribution of unclaimed money and your email address was selected. You will be asked to make a payment, often in cash, for the money to be released and sent to you. Unfortunately, there is no money and you never hear from the XYZ company again.

Remember, if you have not purchased a lottery ticket it is unlikely that you could have won anything specially if you need to pay to claim it. Lottery companies and agencies do not work that way.

3. Online Auctions

Unfortunately, as online auctions sites have increased in popularity so have the online scams associated with auction sites. Here the scammers place fictitious products for sale and once the auction is over, the highest bidder pays for the product which he/she never receives it. These online scammers are extremely difficult to trace. However, most auction sites have a strict rule and once a scammer is identified, they can no longer use the site.

Another form of this online scam is seek out potential buyers through auction sites. The scammers then send them an email informing them that they can offer them the product the buyer is trying to buy on the auction site for less money. If you fall prey to this online scam, you can say bye to your money and you will never see the product.

4. Online Investments

This is one of the most high risk, high return and popular scheme on the internet. Most of these are scam where you’ll have the operator running away with you investment before you knew it.

A lot of these schemes are also what is commonly known as “Ponzi scheme” where early investors are paid high returns to entice more funds to flow in. Basically, in this scheme investors are paid using the funds that it is attracting until such time it collapse under its out flow of funds. The victims are usually the later investors.

Click on “Ponzi scheme” for more info. One of the example of such scheme that is still operating is the Swiss Cash Fund (1948). Following are some related links:

- Malaysia Central Bank warning

- Swiss cash domain Info

- Warning on swiss cash

One can still make some good returns in online investments as long as the pay out is not unbelievably high. Usually, a return of between 5% – 7% is a good measurement that it may be a legitimate concern.

The GOLDEN RULE to follow when hunting for opportunity on the internet is to be vigilent and always do your research and due diligence checks to ensure that the opportunity is a sustainable entity. If you are one of those high risk takers — do it with your extra, never, NEVER borrow to take a risk!

UPDATE 11-11-09

Since I wrote this article, so many people have contacted me about this problem.
Many people have fallen prey to these tactics.
This is not just on Yahoo Personals or Match.com or Catholic and Christian Dating Websites, this is happening on all kinds of personal dating ad websites everywhere.
Just read the comments and you can see how large this is.
Please remember, NEVER send money to someone you meet online, never.
This is one of the worst things you can fall for.
These people do not have phone numbers, you can never speak with them, and if you do, make sure you get a call back number, because they may hire someone to call you. This scam takes in MILLIONS of dollars every year.
This scam runs in so many forms it is hard to believe.
Tell your friends and please let the sites you have been betrayed on know what is happening.
Someone needs to guard the gates a bit more carefully. This is a tragic scam that hurts millions of people each year.

UPDATE 12-2-09
Many of you would like to have these bogus photos posted. Please right click and save the images to your desktop and then email them to me also if any of you would like to forward me these fake emails and letters I will post them on this blog. Many of you found me through the fake letter I posted, so lets help other people and bust these scumbags!
Email me at scammerphotos @ askmepc.com