Do you use starposition.com?

they claim to have 20550716 toolbar installs; opinions welcome

What does it do then? (in a nutshell)

go to http://www.starposition.com/?A=2 and type "banking"; it will show up a site above search results. Similarly other keywords can be bought so that our site will be on top of search results...

Um... right.

BTW that looks like **** on Firefox.

one of my clients just got a sales call from starposition.com. they made him believe his ad would appear on EVERY search engine. to go from 0 to 22,000,000 users in 2 years is growth similar to a site like alexa.com.

if this does have as many installs as alexa.com, why doesnt the online community know about it?


Registered through: GoDaddy.com, Inc. (http://www.godaddy.com)
Domain Name: STARPOSITION.COM
Created on: 07-Jun-04
Expires on: 07-Jun-07
Last Updated on: 23-May-05

I have used them and it was not at all worth it.

For $700 I got maybe one visitor.

JoeFish

if this was a dissapointment, you can make your comments known so others realize this system is not as good as other forms of online advertising.

http://www.labbb.org/BBBWeb/Forms/Business/CompanyReport_OldStyle.aspx?CompanyID=100005283

You know, this does amuse me sometimes. One common thread I've noticed among those who bash companies that actually do search engine placement is this .. rarely, if ever do the 'disgruntled customers' actually say who they are. That is one of the oldest tricks in the book that competitors use sometimes. So, JoeFish, if you want me to respond to your 'one visitor' comment, it would help to actually know who you are, and I'll be delighted to post your tracking report for all to see, assuming your account is still active.

As for what Star Position does, we are one of a number of resellers for WebMenu. The WebMenu search toolbar, available through WebMenu.COM or other sources, is a completely voluntary, opt-in download that includes built in web chat (audio and video) and built in free antispyware tools. So the usual commentary about spyware doesn't apply in this case.

As for our successes, we have several testimonials on our site who actually give their phone numbers. These are all real live customers who actually own search terms. Unlike a lot of other companies who have the usual 'John Smith in Kansas' commentary saying something works, we actually back up our testimonials.

The quickest way a company that does search engine positioning becomes a byword in this industry is to promise you a set number of clickthroughs, or searches, or clients. We're pleased to say we do none of that, nor do we do any sort of artificial third party traffic of any kind. We've never done that, and will never do that just to get a sale. Whenever anyone who does search engine stuff starts saying 'you will get a set number of searches or clickthroughs' ask them one question 'How do you know this? Do you know what people will look for on the search engines tomorrow, or next week, or next month?'

In short, you've heard the hype, now check out the facts.

Hii

http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=35291

Checkout the fifth point that google says about this one..

Nice, but what we do works in the conventional search, and not just the address bar.

For the record, for those who have the WebMenu toolbar, they dont just type in the address bar, they go to the search window on google.com, yahoo.com, msn.com, etc .. and they see what we want them to see in the top window.

Then again, it does stand to reason GOOGLE might cop an attitude. What we do, for those who have the WebMenu toolbar, even appears above their sponsored links.

Again, actually check the facts. That's a novel concept for some.

You may want to check your lawyer testimonial - I searched for the keywords he mentioned in your demo - seems he didn't renew?

Star Position does not deliver.

I know because I paid for their service almost a year ago.
I received at most, 200 visitors.
Many of the visitors were from outside of the US,
Many of the visitors were the same person repeatedy.
(I know because I dropped cookies on them)

They may be 100% telling the truth that 25 million people have downloaded the toolbar.
What they don't tell you is that 24,999,900 of them have also uninstalled it.

They also don't tell you that they are really nice to you and they even answer your phone calls - until you are locked in (after the get-out-of-jail-free period ends) then they don't return your calls and you are stuck with a few visitors per month.

The "visitors" they send you are not really visitors.
If someone searches your keyword - the EXACT keyword, then your site is displayed inside an iframe. If the searcher clicks on a link, they CAN open your site into a new window, but most of them do not, so they never actually visit your site and look around.

They used to show you overture results and say - see, your keywords have half a million searches per month - you've chosen a good keyword. OK, so how come, if there are half a million searches per month for my keyword, that I only saw 20 page requests per month?

So I worked hard, made enough money to pay for the service, thought I'd get more traffic than I would with Google adwords and got practically nothing. If you enjoy paying $5 per click, Starposition could be good for you. If you prefer a better ROI, just hang up the phone when they call and delete their emails.

And don't even bother reporting them to the BBB because it won't get you anywhere, because they do exactly what they say they will do in their contract, so the BBB thinks they are a wonderful member.

Hello Robert. I know you are reading this now. Your service didn't deliver what was expected. You know it doesn't, yet you persist with it. I admit, you don't lie, but you make people think they will get a great deal and they don't. You are a lot like Jesse Jackson, you answer the question you wanted to be asked rather than answering the question asked. I now know several other people who were sucked in by the thought of a quality company providing traffic, but it didn't pan out. We wasted our hard-earned money, wasted a lot of time and effort at a time when we could not afford to lose either - but we learned a valuable lesson. If it sounds like a dream come true, theres probably a catch.

Oh, one more thing, I finally worked out where the first few visitors came from. When they sign you up for your keywords, say it is "diamonds" - then they get their sales guys to go after the jewelry industry and they say - "Just try searching on diamonds" - Oh that's bad luck, one of your competitors took "diamonds" - but you could have "emeralds" or "sapphires". So all your competitors are the first IP addresses you start seeing and you think - WOW, this really works, I'm getting visitors. But it is only your competitors trawling around, trying to work out what keywords they should use. That's very smart, Robert, very smart.
How do I know this? - I think back on how I was introduced to it and that's exactly what they told me. It just goes to show that I'm not as smart as I thought I was - so maybe I deserved to lose my money, but I'm young, I have a lot of years to make it back - and now I am much more careful when I'm evaluating an opportunity.

Yes, Google is talking about Star Position in point number 5.

hi,
What is the advantage of using the above url which u have mentioned.
Thanks and regards
Tulip

To begin with, to address the second poster who claims to be a Star Position client, it would help to actually know who you are so I can intelligently address your concerns. The last time someone here claimed to be a client, and I asked them to publicly state who they were so I could address them publicly, they conveniently vanished. A common tactic on boards like this is for competitors to do 'dissatisfied customer' postings. I'm not saying you're doing that, but, it would help to know who you are and when you purchased, and what you purchased. If you purchased from my company, you can always pick up your phone and call the 800 number on our site, and be put through to me. I own the company, my name is on our BBB report, so it's in my best interest to address any legitimate concerns.

Secondly, the lawyer another poster refers to who did not renew his phrases has in fact renewed his phrases. You can see that for yourself by going to the site and entering his phrases. He even added a couple.

Thirdly, we have a total of ten (soon to be eleven) Testimonials who give their phone numbers. Few companies .. in ANY field .. can match that.

Lastly, I'd like to address the usual spyware comments. The WebMenu toolbar, which is the basis of the placement we sell, has been tested by myself and other parties against AVG, Spybot, AdAware, Norton Antivirus and NOD32. As of the date of the testing, the toolbar passed muster on all of the above, and did not present any sort of threat to anyone's systems. And, unlike the usual cramware/malware/spyware, the WebMenu toolbar is a completely voluntary download. People keep the toolbar because they're given built in antispyware, and built in video and voice chat on the Web. And they get the toolbar not only from WebMenu, but from WebMenu's partner sites.

As for the cost, you usually would spend more for your daily morning coffee then you'd spend on what we do, either over six months or for a full year. And, ever order we do indicates we give a money back guarantee, and that guarantee is on our website as well. If we fail to deliver on what we promise, here's your money back. It's that simple.

Now, either all of our customers, and all of our Testimonials are wrong, and the naysayers are correct, or the naysayers are, um, in 'incomplete understanding of the facts' and need to be schooled .. and the collective intellect of our customers AND Testimonials is greater than those who have nothing better to do than throw rocks, because they don't have a product worth selling, and get their collective jollies by spreading misinformation.

Do the research, and make your own decisions. But do everyone a favor here, and stick to provable facts.

RWS