Half’s SEO Notebook

You Can’t Judge a Book by its Cover

A while back, Fantomaster advertised Brad Callen’s PPC Arbitrage ebook on Sphinn with a blog post containing an affiliate link, which made some people think Fantomaster was trying to make a buck by leveraging his reputation on Sphinn. His post went hot, then a mod later pulled it off the front page. I got myself into an argument with Ralph after I called the ebook “crap.” He said (paraphrasing) “how the fuck do you know if its crap if you haven’t read it? You’re judging the content based on the way its marketed. Don’t talk till you read the book.” A day later, I downloaded the ebook. It was well-written, containing how-to information anyone can follow.

Now I’m in a similar situation where I’m asked to review something that I haven’t dug my teeth into. I don’t have access to Internet Marketing Ninjas’ members area. I can tell you its a great program because Shoe explains step by step how he made his first mill, or that it sucks because the information that you pay for you already know, like how to set up a 301 redirect. But fact is no one can tell you whether or not the program is worth 3K unless they tried it. All I’m going to tell you is decide for yourself. Jim has his reputation riding on the success of this program - that by itself should tell you something.

Facts About Internet Marketing Ninjas

Internet Marketing Ninjas  is a brainchild of Jim Boykin, who recently won Search Engine Journal’s The Best Link Building Blog of 2007 award. Here’s the facts:

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• 15 hours worth of video, featuring Aaron Wall, Jill Whalen, Lee Oden, Todd Malicoat, Jeremy Shoemaker, Jim Boykin, Niel Patel, Cameron Olthuis, Bill Slawski, Christine Churchill, and Jim Gilbert
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• More authority SEOs will join to contribute their knowledge and more videos will be added to the members area throughout 2008.
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• Access to Webuildpages tools that used to be public but are now private, including Quick Backlink Checker, Backlink Anchor Text Analysis, and Strongest Pages Tool.
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• Topics include link buying, keyword research, PPC, linkbait, Digg, link building, and affiliate marketing.
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• Membership: $3k/year

Visit the site to see free preview vids.

The Buzz

Want more dirt? Check out the buzz. Since the program just launched, none of the articles really give you any specifics. Still, Hobo-web’s interview is worth a read; SEO book’s comments contain back and forth arguments about the program’s high price point; and you also might wanna check out the link to Webmaster radio’s podcast.

http://www.seodisco.com/internet-marketing-ninjas/

“I heard one of the best testimonials of Internet Marketing Ninjas from Todd Malicoat, when we were chillin’ at PubCon. When I asked him if he would advise me to shell out the money for the membership, he enthusiastically said that Shoemoney’s videos alone are worth the dough!” - Kid Disco

http://www.semscholar.com/2008/01/03/internet-marketing-ninjas-unleash-the-power/
http://www.hobo-web.co.uk/seo-blog/index.php/seo-ninja-linkbuilding-jim-boykin/>
http://www.toprankblog.com/2008/01/internet-marketing-ninja-interview-with-jim-boykin/
http://www.seroundtable.com/archives/015863.html

“If you’re in doubt of the price tag, Barry has vouched for it. ” - tamar

http://www.cartoonbarry.com/2008/01/sem_education_videos_internet.html

“It is pretty expensive, but it seems to me to be well worth the price tag.” - Barry

http://sphinn.com/story/21112
http://sphinn.com/story/21180
http://www.jimboykin.com/internet-marketing-training-seo-tools/
http://www.marketingpilgrim.com/2008/01/internet-marketing-training-course.html
http://www.netbusinessblog.com/review-internet-marketing-ninjas/ (paid review)
http://www.ilovejackdaniels.com/reviewme-reviews/internet-marketing-ninjas/ (paid review)
http://www.brucecat.com/internet-marketing-ninjas.html

“For one year recurring membership fee of $2999.00 you will get access to some of the most amazing SEO tools around plus 15 hours of free video interview ” - Bruce Cat

(emphasis mine)
http://forums.digitalpoint.com/showthread.php?t=632542
http://raven-seo-tools.com/blog/68/internet-marketing-ninjas-and-their-value-to-seo
http://www.webmasterradio.fm/Search-Engine-Optimization/Webcology/Internet-Marketing-Ninjas.htm
http://www.seobook.com/jim-boykin-launches-internet-marketing-training-tools-combo

“I agree that Jim could have shown more value upfront with some of the stuff he put in this package. Some of the tools have “never been released” next to them without stating what they do. As Jim gets feedback I am sure he will start offering more info about those.” - Aaron Wall

http://www.stumbleupon.com/url/www.internetmarketingninjas.com/

“Jim is a friend of mine, and I know he always underpromises and overdelivers.” - Sebastian