Curtis (and Andy)... just my thoughts on the "scam" keyword.

While I doubt ANY publisher would ever want to see you running an ad that says "Fancy Widget Is a Scam" or "Fancy Widget Is A Rip-Off" ... then when the user clicks through, the page explains how it's a rip-off because it gives away too much good info that wasn't there where you got started out, blah blah.

However, the reality is (as Andy stated), "scam", "review", 'bonus", "buy", "discount", "free" are all typical consumer modifiers. When they are looking to get the product, those are some of the most common modifiers your best prospects will use.

So yes, I certainly do suggest that having an article such as "Is Fancy Widget A Scam? Here's My Review..." , or "Fancy Widget Is Scam-Free! Here's my review" etc... it entirely makes sense to have those keywords indexed.

Sure, check the affiliate terms and feel free to even confirm with the affiliate manager, but I know I'd have no problem with the above. It's intelligent marketing.

The low ethics and damaging marketing is when someone starts running ads as I mentioned such as "Curtis is a Scam" or 'Rob Toth is a Rip-Off" because the marketer might thhink they are being cute and clever but it actually damages the brand.

But if someone isn't comfortable using "scam" and optimizing for it... not a problem... there are plenty of other great "motivated buyer" modifiers and "bonus" is a very popuarly searched one in the IM info product space.

Do abide by the affiliate program's terms, check with the manager if unsure.. but if the ads/copy are setup as mentioned, then it's something I'd permit.

And if you think about it... it's somewhat logical...

Even a non affiliate could post in a forum with a question "Is Fancy Widget a Scam??" ... that's a legitimate and very likely discussion. It WILL come up if you get enough prospects interested in your product. And that's fine.

However, if someone posted an article saying "Fancy Widget is a scam!!" .... that's defamatory/slander and could even result in a legal notice from the company. Because it's a STATEMENT not a query.

Regardless, good points raised!