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... can be a dangerous thing.

I think it might be time for another of my regular warnings about the marketing and search engine gurus - those legends in their own lunchbox - that you'll find around the Net. These are the guys that have an opinion ... and give advice ... about every topic under the Sun. They've been there more often than anyone on the planet, they done that so many times they could do it in their sleep and they've so many tshirts that there's just no more room and in their closet ... but in reality they just don't have a clue.

You'll find them on just about every message board on the Web dispensing their invaluable information to all and sundry whether they've been asked for it or not. They drop names faster than a hooker could drop her panties and they've made more money doing whatever they claim some expertise in than you could have ever thought possible.

They act and sound as though they know what they're talking about and if you listen to them and take their advice then your guaranteed to ... fail. Yes, they're out there and they infest the Net like fleas.

How they every managed to survive before the Net came along sure beats me because they survive simply because the Net provides the camouflage they need. They can make all the right noises, they can sound really knowledgeable and so very important but if only you could see them in the flesh you'd soon realise that they're nothing more than bags of wind with about as much substance.

Sadly, whatever side of the fence you're on in online marketing, you'll find them just about everywhere you go. Webmaster boards, SEO boards, hosting boards ... wherever you look you'll find them.

If you're new to the industry you're going to need to develop a way of spotting these pests otherwise they're going to destroy your business. It's not easy to spot these people and quite often what they'll suggest will go unchallenged because the people on the boards with the real knowldege usually don't waste their time arguing with the wannabes.

So where do you go to learn the things you need to know; where can you get the important information you need and, at the same time, avoid those who want to baffle you with bullshit?

Personally there are almost no marketing boards that I would recommend these days and there are certainly no search engine boards either. Instead you want to look for the blogs and websites run by those who really do have the experience you want to tap into.

To find those look for the blogs that others quote and for the blogs that others refer to. It may take some time but gradually you will work your way up the chain till you arrive at the people who have the information you need to survive. Once you reach those people stick to them like glue and absorb everything they want to teach you.

Sometimes, even at that level, you'll get conflicting advice and that's when it comes down to you and what works for you. Growing your skills in online marketing isn't just about reading and absorbing everything you can that others might say ... it's about experimenting with what you have learned and testing it on your sites.

It's about trying different approaches to see what works for you and what doesn't. It's about making minor changes to see if you can improve what's working for you and analyzing your data to over a period of time. And it's about doing that testing again and again with every new thing you want to try. It's also about going back over what you've alread tested because the Net is constantly changing and what works for you today may not work in the future and what worked for you in the past may not be working now.

It's also about becoming pro-active in your marketing and being prepared to be innovative rather than re-active and following the crowd. Think of it as a journey that you start but will never finish because the destination is always just up there on the horizon just as the learning experience that comes with this industry is never completed either.

And it's also about becoming your own guru because the only person you can really trust in this industry is yourself. You know your limitations and you know your strengths and when you rely on yourself you know that you're relying on someone you can depend on.

A little knowledge is definitely a dangerous thing ... especially in the hands of people who want to spread what they know to others. If you're prepared to develop the little knowledge that you have in this industry instead of relying on those who really have no clue then you will prosper and succeed.