"CompanyName" sucks searches very helpful

some of you may laugh at this at first or think its stupid, but i find it incredibly helpful to do the following google search about a company before joining their affiliate program.. search for the company name followed by "sucks"

example google searches:

allfeeds sucks
clicksor sucks
adsense sucks
adhearus sucks
adsense sucks

i find searches like these to lead to very useful info about bad experiences users have had with certain programs. personally i just like to hear all the negative things people have said about a program before joining it.

note: these are just examples listed above, i dont actually think all of the list companies suck, although many of them do indeed suck i believe.

im no SEO expert and a newbie here but i just thought i'd share a method i use to learn about companies in hope it can help someone else, as many bright people have helped me here before.

peace,-c0ldshadow

Ha! Leaves the door a little too open to competitor defamation...

The down side is that you only get negative reviews and experiences. It's very one-sided. And while we all get mad enough to slam businesses, we rarely take the time to praise them. Especially by going so far as to create a web page/site about our wonderful experience.

True all you do get is the negs. It is just a helpful way to see what is being said. For example if many of the negative comments state a similar problem them it could be valid ongoing problem unless the complaints have droped over the last year that may mean things have changed for the better. It really is a judgement call. I like to take it a step further when doing research such as ...

Company class action
Company lawsuit
Company complaint
Company BBS

There is not one company out there that does business online that does not have a negative comment that has some history online. I just every one would do this before they hit the apply button. I know most do.

Yes I guess that's one way to research or at least some info to weigh into the equation.

Just remember that for every good experience reported, there are many reported bad ones. A lot of complaints do not always mean a bad company. Just take each one individually and some with a grain of salt.

When I taught customer service an angry customer would tell an average of 9 people. A happy customer would tell 2.

I've heard angry customers now average telling 12 people.

No way, you're wrong! I'm now angry and will tell 15 people!
JUST KIDDING!

Yeah, the statistics are staggering. That's why I take a lot of complaints with a grain of salt. LOL

It seems that some angry customers are off thier meds but when you see a class action then you have to throw some weight into it. It is true that angrys spread the word more.

I don't think class action adds weight. I've been approached several times to join a class action suit. It's a fraud.

Some lawyer hears about "x" and thinks, "here's a great opportunity for a shake-down". He then sends mailers out to anyone who has ever come in contact with "X", weather they have a legitimate beef or not. The letter explains how the potential client doesn't have to do anything but add their name to the list and when/if a settlement or decision is reached, they will get some extra cash.

Class action suits are not about law, justice or right & wrong. maybe they were at one time but now it's just cash.

The sad state of affairs is we, in the USA at least, do not live in a society of laws, but of lawsuits. We sue everybody over any little thing. You sneeze too loud, you're sued. You walk too fast, lawsuit. You say the wrong word... go to court! Live a normal life and get sued for that, too.

Why are we sue happy? Well, trial lawyers claim it's about protecting the public from dangerous companies or rights infringements. The reality? It's about protecting the lawyer's large house, fancy cars, and rich lifestyle. It's about lining the pockets of trial lawyers and trial lawyers only. For medical injury cases, lawyers celebrate when they get a case where the client dies because the case is worth more dollars! No sorrow (not really) for the family. No value to the life, except that which the jury will award the plaitiffs.

But, that's enough of my high-horse and soapbox banter.

To get back to topic... use your best judgment when looking at info about a company. If things seem strange, they probably are. If things seem legit, they probably are.

I think the best way to learn about affiliate programs (and networks) is to check out Abestweb and see what's going on there -- obviously, you'll get zealots on both sides, but it can be pretty helpful. So...I use that site to keep up on the affiliate happenings (along with Linda's blog of course) and here/SEOguy for the SEO happenings.

I know your are probably thinking ambulance chasers ... but there has to be a few red flags out there! I just do what works best for me and common sense has served me well. It is bassically a judgement call and those are the tools I use. There is no perfect solution. I agree there are a bunch a greedy lawyers looking for the next sneeze that is worth a lawsuit but not all class actions are frivioulous most have merrit. I do what I have to do to protect my hard earned dollars and those are my guidelines.

I like Companyname evil

Other favorites are satan, anti Christ, and big brother

K, none of this is helpful at all

Yea that is great but you also get the people who are banned for a reason e.g. spamming affiliate links and that trying to get revenge.