This page is now serving as my Terms of Use, Earnings Disclaimer, Privacy Policy and essentially Full Disclosure. I tried to write it in “worst case scenario” language, without sounding like a cereal box on the shelf of some lawyer in Sue-Ville, USA.

Hopefully it covers all the bases – and if you have any questions, shoot me an email at James AT TheAverageGenius DOT net. You might read some of this and wonder what’s going through my head.

In a few words: I don’t want to get sued. I’m weird that way.

Disclosure and Terms of Use

Every link that you see on this site should be viewed as if it would make me money. I’m not kidding – this site is laced with affiliate links of products I use or believe in and know others who use them successfully.

With that being said, I leave it to you to determine what works and what does not work – inadvertently I may sound as if a product is the next best thing to sliced lox on a bagel with capers and some California-made cream cheese. I get excited when I find something that works, makes my marketing efforts easier…

And what I do is buy it, use it, and if I like it or can verify its usefulness, I will do my level best to ensure I give you a clear summary of how it works or does not work. I write-up a review, look for a way to possibly make money off of the product link (such as: if you buy any of the “recommended tools” or other products after clicking from my site, then I may get a commission of the sale).

My opinion is my opinion, and because I do get paid from every sale I make here, it is important to understand that my opinion and review may be overtly or inadvertently influenced by my material connection to the products.

To be blunt, I may be writing simply to get the sale for all you know. I don’t think I am doing that, but the logic is simply: “James makes money here. He might be simply trying to get a sale, and full of hogwash.”

I’ve had some accuse me of that once or twice, in fact – but you know what? You’re entitled to your opinion. I’m not that sort of marketer – I’m an honest guy, and write honest reviews.

[But do yourself a favor and do your own research, no matter what you buy or where you read - it's how I shop, anyway.]

It’s important to tell you that the FTC didn’t twist my arm on this. Yes, it’s a law that I need to tell you I may get paid from these products if you buy from my links. But it’s simple decency that compels me to write this to you.

That being said, I have from the start (post) been up front about my hope to make a little bit of money on this site.

I do not make a living from this site. I make 95% or more of my income from my network of websites that have nothing to do with making money online – but that is subject to change.

Full Disclosure and Purpose of This Blog

My goals in writing http://theaveragegenius.net, and my newsletter “Supergeniuses” (horrid name, but I wanted to compliment my readers) is two-fold:

1. I want to make money selling products and services, usually through affiliate marketing – on the products that have made a positive impact in my business (or that I am positive will do so for your business – I am honest when I use or do not use a product).

2. I want to help as many people as I can to become successful online – but I cannot make any promise that my advice OR these tools and resources will help you.

Limited Liability

The owner of http://theaveragegenius.net, James Hussey, with the pseudonym, “JamestheJust” – assumes NO responsibility for your success or lack thereof. Let me switch back into first person since this third-person stuff is much too formal.

You can buy every ebook I recommend or link to, buy every tool and use them all in the ways that I suggest – and Google may very well not give a rip. In fact, you might wind up losing your rankings if you follow my advice.

That’s not a threat, it’s just reality – I cannot promise what Google or Bing or any search engine will do for your traffic, rankings or your success online, nobody can make those promises. I don’t want to give you the impression that A) I can make some promise to your success or B) that you will fail if you listen to me.

I’m just trying to be clear and honest here – without sounding like a lawyer – you must conduct your own diligent research to verify anything you read here.

That being said – I will be honest and share my findings. What works for me and my sites may or may not work for you and your sites, that is all I am trying to say – and furthermore, if it’s not clear:

Don’t sue me over it. By reading this, you agree to my Terms of Use of this website: that you do, in fact, agree that I am NOT responsible for your success OR failure online.

You won’t sue me if you follow my advice and get nowhere – because I cannot and do not control or own the algorithm at Google.

I cannot control if people click your ads, buy your products, or visit your site. Your success depends on your actions, and the market, demand, economy, legislation, and possibly the color of your sneakers for all I know.

What I’m saying to you is that yes, I want YOU to succeed online – or I wouldn’t bother with this blog. I just don’t want anyone thinking I have some secret crystal ball into how Google works, and then later find I’m being served papers from some high-ball lawyer.

Actually, that’s more or less the point in a Terms of Use agreement. :)

No Expressed Warranty For Results

Since I do not own or control Google or their webspam team, I want to be crystal clear with you. Your best bet to know what Google “thinks” is to read official Google documents. My recommendation is to read the following:

Google’s Idea of Quality

Google Webmaster Guidelines

So I cannot advise you on what the best practices are for Google like they can, and I will tell you this about my own practices: I am a link builder. I build links in accordance with what I see works well for my sites and business, not necessarily in accordance with Google’s best practices. I may use automated tools, for example, to check my rankings, and to do keyword analysis, and to sling links this way and that.

I know doing so is not in accordance with Google’s “best practices.”

If you want to play nice with Google, they’re your best resource for what to do. If you haven’t read their PDF on SEO, then you should also include that as a must-read:

Search Engine Optimization Starter’s Guide

For what it’s worth to you, if you’re still reading at this point: I deplore bad advice. I don’t carry on in a self-destructive manner in search engine optimization techniques, though I will freely admit I operate somewhat rogue.

I DO give advice that may not comply with Google’s best practices, or Webmaster guidelines – and again, I don’t assume responsibility for your results in the SERPs.

Note that I do NOT do anything ILLEGAL by anyone’s definition, online or offline – and that includes phishing or scams. But when it comes to link building – that is an area I might not have colored within the lines.

You have to take it upon yourself to search these matters out – and starting at Matt Cutts’ blog (http://www.mattcutts.com/blog) and the various resources Google publishes will be the best thing for anyone wondering what best practices are.

To put it another way, I do not consider myself a “whitehat SEO.” I am not in my opinion a “black hat SEO,” but Google defines those terms differently than I do. The advice I give about linking methods may or may not be in line with Google’s idea of good practices.

I don’t think, for example, they would agree with article spinning and mass submission. I do that regularly.

I just want to be clear with you that this is something of a matter that you will want to investigate for yourself.

Primarily, I am an internet marketer and SEO, but I do not knowingly play by the rules I am supposed to follow in terms of ranking websites (but I always operate within the confines of the laws of the land, don’t get those two ethics confused).

Privacy Policy

If you do not already know, every affiliate sale and AdSense click (or other advertisement online) uses some form of tracking cookie, web beacon or similar technology to track a sale.

They will also track browsing habits, click throughs, and collect personal identifying information to which I may or may not have access to. In some statistical technologies, like AW Stats, I can see IP addresses and use that data to find locations of my readers.

Other plugins I use may have a username attached to visitors in the statistical data, like the “Wassup” WordPress plugin, which is no longer used here – I mention it for example only.

Here is my best foot forward: I don’t collect this data, but the advertisers and statistical technologies of my web server do. I collect the data that is opted in to my subscriber list, the voluntary information provided (AWeber has their own Privacy Policy and I do NOT spam emails).

I’m not running a phishing scam, I don’t see anyone’s credit card or bank account information or anything like that – but I do get some statistical data like emails and names when people leave comments or sign onto my newsletter.

I don’t use that information for anything myself, I do not sell this information, I do not share it in any way except where an advertiser has tracked a sale for a product (in which case I do not see the information at all, I just get a commission) – you have my word on that.

That policy will never change as long as I, James Hussey (a.k.a. JamestheJust) own this website, http://theaveragegenius.net. If, however, it does change, then I’ll publish the changes here.

I will, however, give your private information to authorities if required to do so by law, as without violating any U.S. Citizen’s rights under the United States Constitution. I may have to give the information for legal purposes under the Federal or State (or other local) government, or international bodies of legislation may require it for an investigation.

Under those circumstances alone I will give required information (I’m not going to jail on your behalf, sorry, call me selfish).

I will also give that information to authorities if it will serve to protect my own rights.

If you have any questions about anything here, send me an email at James AT theaveragegenius DOT net and let’s chat.

I want you to walk away understanding that you can trust what I’m blogging about – because I’m not trying to pull the rug from underneath you – but at the same time, you need to do your own research on these products and services before you buy.

Linking methods according to Google are pretty strict – it’s your choice if you want to follow my lead in that area. I take your success seriously, however, so please do read what Google expects of webmasters and make your own decisions in those regards.