Is All Advice on the Internet Garbage? - By: Andrew Bloom, Posted on: 2007-02-03

It’s no secret that if you’re looking to discover the truth on the internet, you may be in for a long search. While the amount of information you can dig up on virtually any topic is mind-blowing, quantity doesn’t always equate to quality. If you’re diligent enough you might just discover that one site that strips back the layers of deception and reveals the real truth.

As an example, I did an identical keyword search on GOOGLE, YAHOO & MSN for “Free Loan Advice”. I used the word “Free” to help eliminate those sites that exist soley to gather your information. I used “Loan” as my subject, and I used “Advice” because I thought that would trigger the search engines to give me usefull information.

Here’s what I found:
12 —- 4 - paid advertisements per engine (no surprise — this is expected and OK)
9 —– Sites dedicated to lead generation (They will take your information and sell it to multiple companies to contact you)
4 —— Sites oriented toward commercial lending purposes (3 of the 4 appear to be lead generation)
4 —— Standard mortgage company sites. No real advice to be found, just them talking about how great they are, how good their service is, and perhaps a glossary of terms.
1 —— Site that isn’t real — it re-directs you to a lead generation site
4 —— Sites about student loans — and these also appear to be primarily lead generation sites
3 —— Sites oriented around the U.K.
1 —— Not sure why it appeared as it appeared to have no relevance to the search

What I also found is 2 sites that offer real information. Openly discussing the good and bad as well as promised solutions in the lending business. One of these sites found at http://www.freeloanadvice.net appeared twice (ranked #2 on Google and #3 on Yahoo). This appears to be an open challenge to how the mortgage business currently operates. Benefits to the consumer are high with regard to savings and advice.

Out of 40 websites displayed on the search only 2 had any real information. This just shows how much money must be involved in the mortgage business, where obviously huge sums of money are paid on SEO to get these high rankings for worthless sites that only “promise” advice is on the way, once you give them your information. What the site (mentioned above) tells us is that those lead generation sites sell your information and therefore those costs are ultimately passed down to the consumer. This fact alone can cause a couple Thousand dollars in unearned fees that the users of these sites ultimately pay — and all in the name of “shopping for the best deal”. One quick aside…. the spam-free site mentioned above offers “The Ultimate Mortgage Shopping Guide” which really spells it all out for anyone interested.

While only 1 out of 40 champion the consumer, at least there exists that one. And, I suppose it’s easier than picking up the phone and calling 40 companies. It’s apparent that the internet has a long way to go — but it is getting better. Web 2.0 is all about delivering quality content and getting rid of the “Black Hat” sites. A welcome change.

Have you noticed a change? Regardless of the subject matter, Is quality content becoming easier for you to find? Is Web 2.0 reality or just the buzzword for the day? I welcome all comments.

Article Source: http://www.southerncaliforniarealestateagent.com/submit-real-estate-articles

With over 20 years experience in real estate / mortgages, Andrew Bloom has agreed to reveal the ONE true way to get the best deal. Get the FREE "Ultimate Mortgage Shopping Guide" found at the Spam-Free site www.freeloanadvice.net You are free to re-print this article but only if the resource box remains intact. Copyright 2007 andrew bloom

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