One Click Image Ranker [review]
POS:
None that I can seeNEG:
Kind of a waste of moneyEvery once in a while I come across a product that is just pointless. That has no real value. But that has a nice sales pitch and uses impressive sounding statistics to make people think they should buy it. 1-Click Image Ranker is such a product. Before we get into the product details lets take […]
Every once in a while I come across a product that is just pointless. That has no real value. But that has a nice sales pitch and uses impressive sounding statistics to make people think they should buy it. 1-Click Image Ranker is such a product.
Before we get into the product details lets take a look at the sales page and see what the header says for it:
First of all what are they talking about. They are talking about when people search Google and look at the ‘image results’. As you can see here they are trying to use Googles impressive daily views statistics to lead you into believing that their plugin is something worth buying. Somehow they claim they can ‘tap into’ those searches, people who are searching for images and not websites, and somehow use that to get your site on page 1 of the Google web search results. Yea right .. forgive me if Im a little skeptical.
So what exactly does this plugin do? Well in short it makes square images (boxes) with a colored background and text inside of the image that you can then put inside of your blog posts. Like this:
As if somehow putting up some generic. plain, boring graphics with a keyword in it is going to somehow get me ranked high on Googles results. Its not. In fact here is the thing. Google cant even read text that is inside of the image. So really its pointless. You can put ALT tags on an image so Google can know what the image is about but that does nothing for the site rankings. It just gets the image in the Google image search results.
Now there is a tactic to get backlinks though images that works like this.
1) You create a cool image related to your topic.
2) You put it on your site with the proper ALT tags.
3) You hope that people will click on the image and end up on your site OR that they will hot link to your image and get you some link juice.
The thing is that this goes totally against step 1, which is create a cool image. There is nothing cool about a colored box with a single text keyword in the middle. Think of this. If Im searching images for “Pumpkin Pie” the chances are Im interested in an image of a pie, Im not interested in an orange box with the word pumpkin pie in it.
Besides the fact that this plugin does not provide anything of much value it also really isnt needed anyway. I mean even if there was some value in these kind of images how hard is it to open any paint program and make a colored box with a keyword in the middle, then upload it to your blog (you can assign ALT tags when you upload it). Might take all of about what .. 1 minute? Do you really need a plugin to do this? Probably not. But thats kind of moot anyway since I really dont see any value in generic, ugly images.
This plugin is a perfect example of something that is not worth much, but that is trying to use hype and impressive sounding statistics (in this case Googles daily hit stats) to get you to buy. While its well made, in my opinion its a total waste of money.
A quick note about the reviews I do on this site. The product vendors give me access to their products for free in order for me to do my review. However I make no promises to them regarding the results of my tests or what I will write in my review. Should you click a link that takes you to a sales page for a paid product for sale this link will be an affiliate link and I will be paid a percentage of the sales price should you decide to invest in it.
About the Author
Hi Brett, again, you saved me money:-) Thank you
Thanks Brett for being a real person who gives us honest reviews on the products that other marketers shove down our throats as “MUST BUY”. Really appreciate your being the voice of reason. Keep it up! You are a star.
Thanks Brett. I know I can always trust you to give us the real low down on things….the honest way!
Hi, Brett!
George Katsoudas here, creator of 1-Click Image Ranker.
How are you? 🙂
I just read your review, and would like to clarify a few things:
1) You are CORRECT: Google can likely not read text within an image. But the text we type in the image is NOT for Google. It’s for people who will find the image online, or who will see it embedded in a post, when they visit a site. That image can say anything. Even “Yo! Click here to find out how to lose X pounds in Y weeks.” (The image can be hyperlinked to any URL, like a banner).
The search-engine-optimization part comes with other features (alt text, image title, and image name for example).
2) You also mentioned:
“How hard is it to open any paint program and make a colored box with a keyword in the middle, then upload it to your blog (you can assign ALT tags when you upload it). Might take all of about what .. 1 minute?”
If people want to use a paint program, they may be able to do this. But what about people who don’t know how to use such programs, or who just don’t want to use them?
Also, by using the mass-optimization table, someone can add optimized images to ALL of their posts and pages (100ds of them) in a couple of minutes. This is IMPOSSIBLE when doing something similar manually.
3) Regarding the statement that text images are not cool enough, I see your viewpoint.
I think I sometimes find myself in the same position Microsoft does. Many people say that Windows isn’t good, or that Microsoft doesn’t care about their customers. The REAL reason that Windows can have glitches here and there, is NOT that Microsoft don’t care about their customers – it’s because Microsoft have undertaken the “impossible” task of making a computer so easy to use (instead of relying on MS DOS commands).
In this case, I may have undertaken one such “impossible task” (generating totally unique images from scratch, without the need for any programs like paint.net etc). I have done the best I could in that regard. Maybe another developer will take this idea to the next level – that’s how progress is made. Cars wouldn’t exist if someone didn’t come up with the wheel first (hope the analogy makes sense).
4) To be 100% fair to you, I admit that my salespage might have not been that clear, initially. I’m listening to feedback from people and working on it, so people can understand exactly what it is they are getting.
5) Finally, I find it refreshing that someone will step up and give their honest opinion about products – even if, in this case, I’m on the wrong side of a not-so-positive review. I appreciate what you do, and we need more people like you in the industry. And I MEAN that.
Thanks for giving me the opportunity to respond. Since we are both vendors and affiliates in the IM space, I hope our paths will cross again, on a more positive “note” that time though! Haha! 🙂
Take care and keep up the great work!
George
Thanks for coming in and taking the time to make a professional / mature response.
Spoken like a true gentleman. Very refreshing. 🙂
Thanks Brett for your write up. Totally makes sense to me.
Austin
This is a great idea! Having a video thumbnail next to your Google search engine listing makes your listing stand out, it is like having a click magnet. It is a proven fact that listing with images or video get more clicks than listings without.