Name: Free Monthly Websites 2.0.
Website: freemonthlywebsites2.com.
Cost: Free. $10/month for Premier membership + a $97 upsell.
Owners: John Thornhill & Dave Nicholson.
My Score: 5/10.
Verdict: You may get pre-filled websites at $0 cost and even the training + support for setting them up ready to make affiliate commissions.
But just don’t expect any love from Google for having “duplicate content”.
Before getting stuck into this review…
Get the best free website builder here – one that I’ve used for Google rankings, free targeted traffic, and earning an income from various affiliate programs.
What’s Free Monthly Websites All About?
Free Monthly Websites (FMW) does what it says on the tin – you get a free website every month, and each one built around a specific niche.
Heck, you don’t even need to be knowledgeable on the topics because each site is pre-loaded with rich PLR content. Your sites also come with simple editing options and allow you to make money from Clickbank affiliate offers as well as Google Adsense.
In fact, John and Dave boldly claim on their sales page that “these websites will make you money… PERIOD!“
Building a site with the program is a simple 3-step process:
- Upload your free site to your own domain name
- Login to your admin control pannel
- Personalize your free site
Then, BOOM… your content will get 1st page rankings in Google and drive tons of free search engine traffic that produces a bunch of affiliate commissions!!
How AWESOME, right?!
Unfortunately, that’s not the case with ‘FMW’ because having “PLR articles” published on your site is seen as DUPLICATE CONTENT in the eyes of Google.
If you have the same content as other members of ‘FMW’, Google will NOT index your website. This means NO rankings, traffic or income.
Put simply – from an SEO standpoint, your free websites are gonna be worthless. It’s probably why the guys don’t charge you a single penny lol.
But the good news is, there are non-SEO ways of driving traffic to your sites (if you have the know-how).
Who is ‘FMW’ Geared Towards?
It’s for anyone looking for an easy way to get an online business started without the need for learning how to build a website from scratch.
In addition, it’s for folks with no clue about SEO, using a tool for keyword research, affiliate product placement, and selecting a niche market for building a successful business.
In a nutshell, ‘FMW’ is the lazy man’s (or woman’s) way to making money on the web.
Any Training & Support Provided?
When it comes to the training, there are step-by-step video tutorials on different aspects of your site.
Snapshot of a Training Video.
The videos include:
- Downloading & Extracting (2.27 minutes long)
- FTP Uploading (5.15 mins)
- Logging into the Control Panel (1.09 mins)
- Your Welcome Screen (1.22 mins)
- Admin settings (1.02 mins)
- Personal settings (1.58 mins)
- Basic website settings (2.41 mins)
- SEO settings (3.16 mins)
- Theme settings (2.03 mins)
- Advert settings (2.28 mins)
- Affiliate settings (3.40 mins)
- Opt-in settings (3.30 mins)
- Add/Remove article pages (2.48 mins)
- Edit article pages (2.03 mins)
- Checking for new updates (1.33 mins)
Yeah, the tutorials are short and sweet, but the guys do a good job at showing you how to fully set up your site, in my opinion.
HOWEVER, there’s no training on how to buy domain names and hosting for your websites. So this is something you will need to figure out for yourself.
There’s also one page of very basic guidance on generating traffic to your site, and the guys even point you to 3 traffic generation training products to purchase (2 of which are actually owned by John Thornhill and Dave Nicholson).
If you’re in need of more guidance with ‘FMW’, you also have the option to submit a ticket to the help desk.
How Much is ‘FMW’ Gonna Cost?
To join the program and get a website once a month costs you nothing. However, there are limitations to the functionality of your websites when you choose the free membership option.
If you select the $10/monthly “Premier Membership” package – you get access to additional training and resources, better website functionality, and fast track support.
Once you choose your free or paid membership package, you also have the option of forking out $97 (One Time Offer) for 50 Premier websites covering different niches and also a bunch of eBooks on various website marketing/money-making methods.
Let’s see how ‘FMW’ stacks up against my #1 recommendation – Wealthy Affiliate gives you WordPress websites (that DO get ranked in Google), step-by-step training, tools & 24/7 support for building a REAL profitable online business from scratch. When you get your free WA starter account, you also get instant access to my personal help. 😀
PROS VS. CONS of ‘FMW’
PROS
- Get free pre-built websites with PLR content
- Sites come with easy customizable options
- You can also publish your own content
- Upload sites to your own domain names
- Step-by-Step video tutorials on setting up your sites
- Help & Support is available
- The potential to make money as an affiliate marketer
CONS
- Free membership gives you limited website functionality
- Additional expenses required for web-hosting and domain names
- No training on purchasing domains and hosting
- Google sees PLR as duplicate content – your sites won’t get ranked!
- Since SEO won’t work, you’ll need to fork out for paid traffic methods
- The downloading and uploading of your sites is required
- There’s an upsell + extra training product recommendations that cost money
My Final Thoughts…
Free Monthly Websites 2.0 is an AWESOME platform for highly profitable sites using SEO…
IF it was still the 90s!! LOL.
Yeah, John and Dave give you websites loaded with content and even give you training tutorials as well as support for setting up your sites ready to make affiliate commissions with Clickbank and Google Adsense.
Plus you have the option of leveraging social media and paid traffic methods for driving targeted traffic to your niche sites, so I’ve gotta give the guys some credit for creating “Done-For-You” businesses.
HOWEVER, the internet has evolved since the 90s and Google has toughened up when it comes to ranking sites in its search engine.
Google now only rewards website owners who provide REAL VALUE in the form of “unique quality content”.
So expecting a website full of PLR content to get ranked on page-1 of the search engines is a mistake because it’s classed as “duplicate content”. Google, Bing, and Yahoo can and will dump your site.
Unfortunately, John and Dave lead you astray because SEO isn’t gonna work with the websites they give you, even if they are SEO-optimized.
If you truly want free websites that WILL get ranked in the main search engines – and ones that can bring you organic targeted traffic for building a successful affiliate marketing business…
==> See SiteRubix – my #1 Rated Website Builder <==
Your Friend, Neil 😀
If you have any questions or thoughts on ‘FMW’ that you’d like to share, then we’d love to hear your comments below…
Hi There!
From my experience, I have found SiteRubix to be incredibly useful for the early building stages of new sites, but I like the features and support offered by WordPress for the long haul.
I like that you point out the benefits of this service to those wanting to start an online business without taking the time to learn everything about building a website, which can be extremely time-consuming.
Overall, though, I agree with you about the dangers of duplicate content.
Thanks for the review!
Hey, Tucker! 🙂
I’m in agreement with you on both SiteRubix and WordPress, especially since my blog is built using the platforms. It would have to take something pretty spectacular to make me switch platforms.
FMW can be ideal for noobs who don’t have skills in internet marketing and who are willing to send paid traffic to their sites. But from an SEO perspective, the duplicate PLR content isn’t gonna get the sites ranked, no matter what BS the founders tell folks lol.
You’re welcome, man!
Hey,
Free monthly websites actually sounds good on the surface but after getting some of the details in your review I can see that it’s not worth the money.
Your comparison to Wealthy Affiliate at the end is really telling. It just seems like the amount of value you get for the money is unmatched anywhere.
Does WA teach other ways of making money online like paid ads or email marketing or do they only teach affiliate marketing?
Thanks,
Robert
Hi, Robert!
Indeed, FMW comes across as an amazing way to get free big money-making sites, but it disappoints you. It’s usually the case when you buy into “Make Money Online” products from Clickbank.
No other program has what it takes to ever beat WA because Kyle and Carson (the WA co-founders) go above and beyond when it comes to delivering websites, tools, training, and support.
WA sure does, buddy! The community teaches you lots of different aspects of internet marketing, not just blogging and SEO. 🙂
WOW, well sincerely speaking, it is my first time hearing about Free Monthly Websites 2.0. And to tell you that it sounds like a great opportunity to make extra cash. I think it’s something worth giving a try. But looking at the comparison chart with WA. Is it cool running both FMW and Wealthy Affiliate at the same time?
You might wanna make it your first AND last time hearing about FMW! HA HA. You do have the potential to make some money online with FMW but the only way you’re gonna do it is to learn how to levearge free methods like social media and also pour money into ads on Google, Bing, and Facebook.
When it comes to FMW, the SEO aspect is dead because you won’t generate free organic traffic due to “duplicate content”.
I seriously wouldn’t bother wasting your time and money with FMW. Simply just stick with WA and learn how to earn an income with websites that work. 🙂
FMW 2.0 might sound good to someone who doesn’t know much about making money online, but I can’t see how anyone can succeed with a clone website and duplicate content.
You’re right, you’d have to buy PPC traffic and that can get expensive. If you don’t have the skills to see FMW as the dud it is, you won’t have the skills to succeed with paid traffic.
Thanks for exposing this loser.
You’ve got that right, Gary!
It’s impossible to succeed at SEO if your website and its content can’t get top rankings on Google. No rankings = No income. It’s that simple. But the owners of FMW tell you that their methods work. I just don’t understand why these guys are trying to sell folks on an “outdated” online biz strategy from the 90s lol.
The websites from FMW can produce some affiliate income using other methods, but it’s not gonna be that simple, especially for internet marketing noobs.
No worries, man!