A quick online search reveals what seems like thousands of articles on internet marketing. You have to wonder if all those people who claim to be experts offering their knowledge in these articles really have any idea what they’re talking about. How do you determine which articles contain good, valid information and which are written by wannabees who are just repeating what they’ve read everywhere else, and may be hoping to make a sale in one of their affiliate programs?

The first thing you can do is search for other articles and information by the author. That, probably above all other ways, is the best way to judge the quality of information you’ll likely find in their articles on internet marketing. If every article or bit of info you find hawks some different way to strike it rich online, then maybe they’re not the best source for information. If all of the information they offer, however, follows along the same lines, with one article just building on the information they offer in another, they show some promise.

It’s important to remember that all articles on internet marketing won’t focus on generic ways to market money-making programs. Internet marketing is something anyone with anything to sell online can benefit from, whether they have an online rare stamp store, or they sell foot massagers. But there seems to be a great wealth of “experts” telling you how to start a business just like theirs—selling information about how to get rich online—if only you’ll buy their system. Consider whether they’ve made their money using principles of marketing, or whether they make their money by selling other people a “how to make money” kit.

Another important judge of whether articles on internet marketing really contain useful information is the point of the articles. Most good internet marketers are going to have a link in that article leading you to more of their information, and eventually you’ll find the sales pitch. This is just the author using good marketing principles by giving you information and enticing you to buy his product. This alone should not put you off. But if the article really doesn’t contain anything but explanations about how badly you need to buy their product, then it’s just a disguised sales pitch, not really an article.

When you’re looking for information, read as many articles on internet marketing as you can find, and you’ll soon be able to spot the difference between someone with real information to offer (both freely in the article, and for sale) and those who’ve slapped up an affiliate sales page or a sales pitch. Usually, even the poorly done articles can benefit you in this way; by showing you what to avoid.

You’ll tend to find the same information presented in different ways by different authors. This just shows that they’re good ideas. If you see certain authors’ names frequently, that’s good. It shows they’re successfully using what they write about in their articles on internet marketing.