Scam or not: 1on40.com
Those of us who have been around the internet marketing block a time or ten remember more too good to be true scams than we care to count.
Anybody who is looking into one of the latest and greatest we’ll make you rich before you have to pay us a cent offerings called 1on40.com needs to do a little research on two previous similar offerings called Monopolizer.com and MoreThanTraffic.com and use just a little common sense.
Both of those turned out to be scams, as expected.
In a nutshell, 1on40.com guarantees everyone will get to the top of “Google, Yahoo, and 38 other top search engines” within 120 days for 5 keywords. And get this, they get you there for free and then you simply have to be the top bidder for your chosen keywords to stay there. Sounds absolutely wonderful, doesn’t it?
Anyone that has even the slightest knowledge about SEO and how search engines work will immediately be skeptical, to say the least. Rightfully so.
Some of the glaring Red Flags:
- The usual extreme hype geared to people looking to get something for nothing
- Guaranteeing something that simply can not be achieved, or at least can not be achieved via ethical means
- Plenty of awe inspiring testimonials, every one of them anonymous
- A site promising to get me to the top of Google that currently carries a Google PR of 0 and is nowhere near the top, if they are even listed at all, in the SERPs for its own obvious keywords
- Just like the Monopolizer and MoreThanTraffic scams, 1on40.com operates out of a drop box in the UK
- Many of the so called “search engines” listed aren’t search engines and a number of them don’t even exist
- etc., etc.
And yes, free businesses can scam you. They rob you of time and sap your energy getting you excited about results and guarantees that are impossible to honor. You are also providing them with at least some personal info at some point.
As always, time will tell the truth. I already think it’s quite obvious how this one will eventually turn out.
For those who decide to take the chance on this, I definitely recommend a throw away email address and don’t use an established domain for your test.
Good luck
Hi Chris,
Many thanks for your remarks and I do appreciate you having a look at my blog. Unfortunately I can be impatient and want result yesterday so I will just have to learn to be patient. I just had a thought how many people give up after buying the latest money making offer and not seeing instant results. Yes I was one but curbed my appetite and don’t buy the latest and greatest. What gets up my nose is that people should be warned that it is no magic bullet for instant success. Okay there are always disclaimers but I think they are too ambiguous and need to explain that there is a lot more than just setting up a website. Ultimately even if you do get to number one or at least on the first page no one can guarantee that you will get clicks and be flooded with business.
Okay enough on that subject I just had this pop into my email and I think I saw it a few weeks ago but paid no attention, it is about freewebhosting,
http://www.000webhost.com/ I can’t see how they can offer free when they say they won’t place advert on your site. Now if it is free and it is another way to get your business going that fine, but like the old saying goes if it is too good to be true than it most probably isn’t.
Have you seen this before and what is your opinion about such sites?
Did anyone sign up for this 1on40 and see results. I got an email that said they had their first $10,000.00 person.
What is this $89.00 they ask for? Is this to sign up now if you did not make it into the “BETA” Testing?
Still no sign of 1on40 in the search rankings and Alexa…for an SEO company, dont you think they would be at least on first page…Kind of like an accountant not knowing how to use a calculator!
Take Care…
@ greenman
You’re welcome. Unfortunately, hype sells. Always has and always will.
I changed the url in your post to the actual destination url for 000webhost.
I’m not familiar with 000webhost, but I have seen plenty of people use free webhosting without issues. As with all webhosts, you want to make sure you have your files backed up in case something happens. Paid or free, companies do fail.
If you may go that route, it would be a good idea to visit some webmaster forums and look for feedback on specific free hosts.
@ Ryan
1on40’s lame excuse as to why they aren’t listed in the top of the SERP’s for expected keywords was that they let their affiliates get those spots. So far, I don’t see any 1on40 affiliates there either.
Their Alexa rank is pretty good(29,848 right now), but that’s simply from affiliates visiting their site.
As for the $89, that is for buying advertising on their site. If you visit 1on40 now, you’ll see affiliate’s ads across the top and bottom of the screen.
Hi Chris,
Thanks for the forum idea and backups,I never would have thought of doing that. It is a relief to get some answers especially when you are a newbie and haven’t got a clue. Thanks again for your reply.
i keep on getting email from 1 on 40 stating their advertisers made $10,000 already…I guess this could be true since they get a lot of visits to their sites. This is just like Google AdSense I guess…I still dont want to part with my $89.00 until they prove themselves….
Still waiting for my number ranking. I wish they would hurry..My million dollar home is almost done
Thanks for the 411.
I almost signed up for the 1on40 thing.
So, I googled it and you provided me with what I needed to know.
This is a good reminder on the web:
If it sounds too good to be true it probably is.
I guess I need to pay a real SEO optimizer.
If anyone knows one who will work with me in Hawaii I would appreciate the info.
BTW here is my website:
http://hawaiiattorneyonline.com/
I will all let you know when i find out…i did creat a cheasy affiliate website just in case they screw it up. It is a website that sells weight loss products so I would like to see how they will get me #1 with the competition!
If it does not work..which it wont, no time or money lost. Just curious???
there is never a easy way to get ranking in a short time,this is because spiders will probably only check your site once a month or so, it takes time and alot of back links to get ranking,hey if this system works let me know ill try everything once but now i have been ranking my sites for months still no joy like i said there is no miracle out there its either hard work or pay someone to do it for you ,these are the option to many scams out there i would be very wary of sites like this
regards http://www.bikerzone.co.uk
yes definately a scam it is not the first but a good way of getting your site up the ranks with adverts
http://www.christmasshop2007.com
There ContactUs page is a bit tricky too !
They say they wud reply to only those webmasters who have entered there bidding stage but the fact that noone wud have really done so makes ‘em unanswerable !
I also submitted my site 2 months ago and so far the ranking in google for a couple of the keywords I submited has come up in the rankings about ten pages. I look forward to any response from people who have submitted their site for 120 days.
http://thewarriorwithin.com
I submitted more than 20 sites to 1on40 and login in every week to everyone of them and first one is more than 3 months ago and nothing ABSOLUTELY nothing is happening about that so i guess its a scam to get sure traffic to there own site and sell advertising to those stupid enough to buy advertising on there page
I submitted my site 123 days ago and my site is not to be found on Google or Yahoo. 1on40 is a SCAM. Gordon
chris,
i also submitted to 1on40, its been a good 3 months and NOTHING! I would love to take your advice and get a new domain, not sure how to do that? pretty new at all this, can u help me? thanks, lea
Once again, 1on40 seem to have “forgotten” the details of their last news release –
1st May 2008
Credits
Credits are being released for use on the last day of May 2008 at 24.00hrs GMT UK time.
This release date is for all credits made up to the 28th May 2008 for referring and introducing clients.
See the above news releases for options on uses of credits and also regarding the public flotation on the stockmarket and the benefits we intend to pay out.
Will have to delay ordering my ferrari again
I have 100 sites which I submitted in late February/early March so they haven’t delivered on their promise. In the meantime, I have just used blogging & pinging with great effect to get most of them indexed within 1-2 weeks, and some traffic too. I did it in such a way (in groups on different blogs) that I know definitely they were all indexed this way, not by Ion.
I’m now removing my sites from Ion. I have noticed a couple of my sites have been de-indexed which may or may not be from Ion’s involvement. Rather be on the safe side if it’s not too late.
Same old story, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Dear Chris,
Further to my comment on 23. March 2008, 20:53
It is now 90 days since I registered at 1on40 using the key words:
“Art Deco, Art Nouveau, Designer, Handmade, Handbags” for my web site (http://www.oztion.com.au/buy/auctions.aspx?type5=upmarket) at Oztion (an Australian eBay type auction site).
I have not made a sale as yet.
Thought you may care to know.
Best wishes,
Clive
its now,
240 days.. yes, 6 months has been passed but still no fuckin change has been noted.
No rankings has been achieved. Not even on single kw.
they are nothing but BS.
Thanks to all for the comments on 1on40. The final outcome is why some of us choose to issue warnings about these types of deals.
Sure, you paid nothing, unless you were suckered into purchasing an ad on their site. But many scammers won’t put as much time and effort into what 1on40 did unless they are going to get some benefit beyond their twisted joy of wasting people’s time and dashing their hopes of success.
Many people freely supplied them valid personal information that can be sold at a nice profit down the road.
iv signed up for these guys too,well see how it turns out,
and by the,chris can you throw some light on how you made this comments tab,so everyone cpuld comment on your page
,Thanks for you time,mate!
When http://www.PunchoStewart.com was starting up about two years ago, we submitted our website. Even though now we are a 100 million dollar company, we still have not heard from them .
Congrats on the success of your gambling site Frank. Sadly, their site is still up and running but you probably won’t hear from them unless their trying to get money from you for “advertising”.
@ Josh, since this post is almost 9 months old now, we’re fairly certain how it will turn out. Actually, some of us were certain all along.
It would be a minor miracle if your results were any different than the thousands who have generated nothing from 1on40. But good luck.
As for the comment setup. It’s just part of the setup in the WordPress admin area. Nothing special. I can’t even remember how I set things up, LOL.