The definition of bum marketing is: Using free web page sites for promoting affiliate programs, and then using free links to get those pages ranked well enough in the search engines to actually get some traffic to them. Usually the marketer targets "long tail" keyword search phrases that don't have a lot of relevant competition in the existing search results. Bum marketing has attracted a large following of practitioners in the past year.

The idea is to spend a few hours per day (or per week) in your spare time building these web pages and then linking to them from social bookmark sites. Eventually you'll have dozens of these things, each making a sale or two every month. It can add up. If you build 100 pages each earning an average of $40 per month, you really got something there.

As good as this sounds, most bum marketers fail and eventually give it up. While not sticking with it is certainly a guaranteed way to fail, many who start out doing this actually make a good decision to give it up. There are certain problems with this marketing strategy. Let's look at the four major ones.

1. Not Getting the Pages Ranked Well. Many beginning bum marketers discover that making a web page and actually getting it placed in search engine results (where people will find it) are two entirely different things. Knowing which free web-page hosting sites to use, maintaining a link-building campaign, and patience are three things that must be employed to succeed. In addition, choosing the right long-tail keyword search phrases to target is critical.

2. Not Keeping the Page Rankings. Even if you manage to get a page ranked well in the search engines, you will find that keeping it there is another matter entirely. Most free web pages, even on the most loved sites by the major search engines, just don't have staying power in the SERPs. And building a large enough link-structure to keep it there is a lot of work for a page that you hope will make $40 per month (if that).

3. You are Not Building a Real Business. What if the free web page site you are using goes down one day and never comes back? You don't own the domain names so you got nothing. There goes months of work up in smoke by one unforeseen event which you have no control over.

4. It's Not the Best Use of Your Time. If you are going to spend 12-20 hours per week building web pages and links, you could be building one massive authority site instead. Perhaps for a major search term that you can possibly conquer the top spot for inside a years time. A website like that (in the right niche) can bring in upwards of $10,000 per month in income from various sources. What's more, you own it and as long as you don't go anywhere your site (and business) will still be there.

It might seem like I am building a case against the whole bum marketing thing. Actually I am a successful bum marketer myself, and really have nothing against the methodology. There are some smart ways to go about it, but most people get it wrong. I just wanted you to know what you are getting into and have you think twice before you possibly waste many hours of your time.