The world of Internet Marketing can be very lucrative and alluring when you first enter—yet at the same time, also dangerous. There is certainly plenty of money to be made, but also plenty of ways to get scammed out of your money or have experiences so horrible, they'd make you wish you'd never signed up for Internet service.  For those just starting out, it can be hard to tell the difference between good deals, bad deals, trustworthy sites and unscrupulous offers.  Because some of the savviest Internet marketers aren't always honest, it can almost be downright impossible to tell them apart, even for seasoned pros.

But don't let that scare you off!  All you really need is a little bit of information so that you're walking into the Internet Marketing field with your head up and your eyes wide open.  To help you out, I've put together this guideline for getting started in Internet Marketing that will help you differentiate the good from the bad...and stay far, far away from the ugly!

And yes, I'm an Internet Marketer myself, and have been earning a full time income through software sales and affiliate sales on platforms such as Warrior Plus and JVZoo for 8 years. I can't say it's been a straight path, however. I've had many ups and downs along the way. But it's been worth the effort. Much better than being a pig farmer or rice farmer, which is what most people in my part of the World do for a living (I'm located in a remote area of the Philippines).

Because of the money earned from Internet Marketing, I live in a big, two-story American style home, and I've been able to take care of my Mom who has had 2 strokes with diabetes, plus I've been able to help support my little brother in college. I would never have been able to do that on my own in this country going the standard job route that pays most people $2 to $5 per day.

The Good

For starters, let's talk about what I like to call “The Good.”  The Good refers to all of the positive things that have piqued your interest in Internet Marketing in the first place.  Here are some of my favorite things about the industry and why it's important that you stay focused on these positive types of factors moving forward if you want to be a successful Internet Marketer:

• Passive Income Streams.Probably the number one reason most people get into Internet Marketing, passive income streams are simply ways to make money without having to actively work for it.  There will be some initial setup and general upkeep, but nowhere near the 9 to 5 you might be used to.  Passive income streams are completely attainable online through methods such as eBook sales, affiliate marketing and private label rights (PLR).
• Proven Strategies.  Over the course of time, successful strategies have been tested and proven to work. If you focus on what works, instead of buying into every new “money-making system,” your chances of success increase dramatically. This is encouraging to those who can give up the gambling aspect of Internet Marketing and stick to a solid path toward financial freedom. List building and blogging might seem hard, and in some ways they are hard, but always looking for shortcuts will never get you far. You'll waste both time and money if you go that route.
• Helpful Tools.  Not every new WordPress plugin or desktop software helps online businesses reach their goals, but there sure are some great tools out there that make a lot of online tasks an effortless, automated process worth investing in. You should try to get the best tools you can afford to automate processes for you, saving you time.
• White Hat SEO.  White hat SEO is simply working within legal bounds to get traffic to your site.  I put this in the good because not only is it good practice, it's vital for your long-term success.  Techniques include useful content, easy navigation and keyword and LSI rich content.  Practice white hat SEO only—don't dabble in the black hat.

The Bad

Next up, let's take a look at The Bad in Internet Marketing.  When I talk about “The Bad”, I'm talking about unscrupulous practices used by marketers, fake claims and fake reviews.  Stay far away from people who employ these practices and resist the temptation to use them yourself—while some of them might gain you some traction in the short-term, they will eventually cost you customers, revenue and possibly even penalties and bans from Google, PayPal, and social networks:

• Over-hyped Content.  They used to be called “snake oil salesmen” but nowadays, they're more easily recognized by how amazing their products are.  Trust me, if products were that amazing, they wouldn't only be advertised on the Internet and they wouldn't need twenty free bonus offers and ten customer reviews with the same pumped up praise per post.
• Black Hat SEO.  The Bad brother of white hat SEO, this includes practices that will get you banned and/or penalized by search engines.  Practices include keyword stuffing and spamming links.  Stay far away from this.
• Too Good to Be True.  I'm not going to say too much about this aside from the oft written fact that if it's too good to be true, it probably is.  Always look for reputable sources and be wary of generalized statements and earnings screenshots which can be easily faked with clever Photoshop editing. 
• False Reviews.  There are so many fake reviews of products out there it isn't even funny.  Most reviews are outsourced to content farms where writers just copy other reviews out there.  Not many of them have actually used the product, so be wary of taking reviews seriously.

The Ugly

Finally, we have The Ugly.  The Ugly refers to the disarray that can occur with Internet Marketing.  In my opinion, this can be even worse than “The Bad” because there really are no clean fixes for these problems.  If “The Bad” is a rash on your nose, “The Ugly” is poison ivy on your face—you'll want to steer clear of both, but obviously one is far worse.

• Buggy and Pirated Software.  Unfortunately, there are some real clunkers out there when it comes to Internet Marketing software.  You should only stick with software that is very well-known and has top rankings.  You will pay more for it, but if you buy cheap software or warez that turns out buggy or dangerous, you'll wind up buying the expensive stuff later on anyways...and might just lose more than your time if you aren't careful.
• Disorganized Marketing Systems.  The last thing a person that's new to Internet Marketing needs is confusing or disorganized systems—they get ugly really quickly.  Keep the old K.I.S.S. adage in mind—Keep It Simple Stupid. 
• Horrid Customer Support.  Whether you're on the giving or receiving side of ugly customer support, there's not much worse than dealing with it.  When you're giving bad customer support, you're losing a client forever—they will never come back.  When it's you on the other end of the line, poor customer support can be enough to drive you crazy.  Be certain you only invest in software and goods that offer top notch customer support—contact them before you buy since the sales team should be about on par with the support team.
• Malware Infested Sites.  Be sure you invest in some anti-malware programs and keep a good anti-virus on your computer.  There are sites out there that are just meant to give you malware and viruses, phishing your info and even stealing your identity.  Whenever you make transactions, do some research into the site you're buying from first.
• MLM Schemes. Always avoid getting involved with Multi Level Marketing. Even if a company has products to sell, earnings are based on how many people you can recruit, and their earnings will be the same. Only the top recruiters make a killing with MLM, and it's a market that serves no purpose but replicate itself endlessly.

Hopefully, this general overview helps some of you out who are new to online marketing and thinking of getting involved with it. There's a lot more to say and learn, of course, and if you can purchase a good training course, it can really help you get moving in the right direction.

I have some free training courses on my site (no email registration needed, and not a bunch of ads on the site either, and no pop ups). Feel free to have a look at your convenience. Both articles and video training courses are available with more to come.