Global Resorts Network Scam - Buyer beware

August 13 , 2009

I wanted to write this blog post about a scam that has been going on for sometime now. I have personally been receiving these calls from almost the beginning of my involvement in Global Resorts Network.

I have informed my team about this business opportunity scam but I really want to make sure that anyone who comes to this site, The Travel Resort Club, knows about this, even if you're with another team.

The scam goes a bit like this. You receive a call from, I'll call him Mr. Ripoff, and he says "I see that you're involved in Global Resorts Network and through my research I did not find your business on any of the major search engines." Now, let me just pause here and say that if they were truly doing their research they would see that this site, The Travel Resort Club, is generally in the top ten search results on most search engines and I'll get to why that is a little bit later.

He or she goes on to say I'm with [small business scammer, name left out for legal purposes], and our company specializes in search engine optimization. We help businesses like yours get on page one of all of the major search engine and I wanted to give you a call because I didn't see your website anywhere online. We may currently have the search terms available for you can you please go to our website and type in the search term...[anything they can think of]" and then they rattle of a bunch of juicy search terms about home based business, Global Resorts Network, luxury travel etc. After that they say something like congratulations that term is available.  

Then they go on to say something like "we are currently running a special. Normally this would cost $5,000 but for today only we can offer you this package of 20 search terms for only $2,700 and we guarantee that you will be in the top ten of all of the major search engines in 30 days."

Don't fall for it. After my initial research of this company, and I just want to leave the name out because I don't want any legal issues, these guys are bad news. Several complaints have been filed with the Better Business Bureau and I found several blog posts with people complaining that they could not get their money back after they saw zero results.

It's unfortunate that companies like these exist and prey on the small business owner, especially focusing on the home based business opportunity industry. I am quite certain that Global Resorts Network members are not the only business owners they call, I'm sure it goes across the board.

Now, I would just like to say a little bit about search engine optimization or SEO as it is sometimes called. Many people know little about how it works and that is why a company like the one mentioned above can get away with this. It's a big mystery. For many people it's like going to an auto mechanic with a small problem and leaving with a $1,000 bill. So I just wan to clear up a couple of things and hopefully shed some light on the subject.

Lets think about what Google wants for a minute. Why do they put some sites on their listings and not others? The reason is relevant content. If your site does not have relevant content none of the major search engines including Yahoo! MSN or what is now called BING will put your site in their listings, at least for very long. Yes, you can trick them for a while but it will be short lived and your site maybe blacklisted forever. Here is the reason they want relative content. If you don't find exactly what you're looking for 90% of the time on Google you're probably going to start using another search engine. What that means is lower revenue for them. Less people search their listings and less people click on their pay per click ads. Simple. Remember, Google is the biggest advertising agency on the planet right now and the majority of their revenue comes from Google Adwords. So when a company comes along and tells you that they can get you on page one of every major search engine be very skeptical. They haven't even asked to see your website. Your site may just have a small opt-in box with 0 content - and that's fine and a page like that can be very effective, just don't expect to be on page one of Google.

If you are not already involved in Global Resorts Network and want to speak to me about long term marketing strategies, simply give me a call at 860-866-4792.

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