My Google Shadow Review

Is Google Shadow Worth the Monthly Membership Fee?

I was excited to get down and dirty with Google Shadow - a new (and very hot) Clickbank product that promises to show the way to massive profits using PPC strategies and affiliate marketing. The program sounded different than others in that it was more than a standard guide, but rather a complete system incorporating both learning materials and custom developed software to streamline the PPC process. So, having spent a few days with Google Shadow, does it live up to its own popularity?

Read my Google Shadow Review below.

Buying Google Shadow

Google Shadow is a Clickbank product, so the purchase was pretty standard. I paid with a credit card. It is $67 for the first month and you will be re billed that amount every month that you continue as a member. If you don't feel you'll get more out of it after a month, simply cancel your membership (I haven't decided what I'll be doing myself yet).

*Side Note - One thing that bugs me is the up sell immediately after buying the product. So many people do this, but to me it is inconsiderate. Here I am, investing my hard earned cash for your system, which is supposed to be COMPLETE, and you tell me before I see anything of my purchase, that I'd be stupid not to buy more stuff from you. STOP IT people! Anyway, after I said NO to the "oh my god, you have to buy this other thing" offer, I was taken immediately to the Google Shadow member's area.

What's in Google Shadow?

You start at the Google Shadow control panel where you have access to several learning guides (PDF), learning videos, and your Google Shadow software account.

Here is exactly what you get:

An account at TheShadowSoftware.com
The Google Shadow System eBook - This guide is fairly general but there are some good tips in it. Basically the author goes over his history with PPC and affiliate marketing and explains his general theories and practices that have worked for him.
Two Shadow Case Studies - These aren't bad, but I would have liked more. It's always nice when a system shows you an ACTIVE campaign which is profitable, but both of his examples are no longer active (offers and terms changed). Still, the info is interesting and he shows his exact AdWords campaigns and profits. On his second case study, he made about $13,000 in one month promoting a Microsoft product. Nice!
The AdWords Miracle Manual - This is a great guide to AdWords developed previously by the Google Shadow Author and it sells for $100 on its own.
Advanced Techniques Manual - More Google AdWords info.
Choosing a Clickbank Product - An okay guide on how to find good Clickbank products.
Building an opt-in list with AdWords - Good guide on how to do just that.
Three videos related to the Adwords Miracle material. They are: Writing Good Ad Copy, Choosing Clickbank products to promote, and Affiliates 101 - a general run through of different ways to promote affiliate products through AdWords.

First Impressions of The Google Shadow Software

This is a big selling point of Google Shadow and will be what keeps people from canceling their monthly membership. In order to keep using the online software, you have to continue being a member.

So what exactly does the Google Shadow software do? In a nutshell, it is set up to help you create multiple ad campaigns, ad groups, ad keywords, and ad copies - across multiple PPC companies (Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo!) as quickly as possible. Actually I can show you one of the videos, where the author creates 10 ad groups in 6 minutes.

That should give you a good idea of what the software is capable of.

So how is the software to actually use? Honestly, I'm going to need more time with it. I see good potential, but at the same time - it better suits a certain type of marketer. The idea is to fire off as many campaigns as fast as you can and weed out the losers. If you try 450 different campaigns, 50 might be profitable or show signs of being profitable. Then you can refine those winners by working on your ad copy and keywords. This has never been my style. I like taking time in finding the right products to promote (probably too much time). I wouldn't try as many campaigns this way, but my success rate would be better. Then again, the Google Shadow creator has done better with PPC than I'll ever do, so maybe it's me that needs to change styles.

How are the Google Shadow Guides and Videos?

The learning materials are pretty good, but I was almost expecting more. AdWords Miracle is a great primer for PPC marketing and sells for $100 on its own, so it was nice to see included. And there are some good nuggets here and there in the other material, but I feel it's not as cohesive as it could be. It all feels a little scattered - like it's missing a real central strategy. As you know by now, Google Shadow is a membership site, but at least with the learning materials you will have them forever regardless of whether you cancel.

What is my final Google Shadow Review?

For me, the jury is still out for me on Google Shadow. I think the software shows incredible promise, and if it helps you find one profitable campaign, then the monthly membership fee would be worth it. On the other hand, it won't suit everyone's style and there is a learning curve. I probably wouldn't recommend Google Shadow to affiliate marketing newbies. I think Commission Blueprint is a better place to start for them.

I'll end by saying the software and tips will almost surely take some marketers to the next level and make them stinking rich. It's just too early to tell if I'll be one of them.