OwnAKeyword, an operation launched in October 2011, offers members a share of advertising revenue from "valuable" keywords. The company's search engine, however, remains largely unused, making actual ad revenue generation virtually impossible.
The scheme operates with complete anonymity. Its domain registration is private. The company website reveals no information about its operators, a significant warning sign for potential investors. Legitimate businesses typically disclose who runs them.
The product itself lacks any traditional form. Members purchase keywords from OwnAKeyword, which then assigns virtual values based on internal search volume. A keyword might appear "valuable" within OwnAKeyword's closed system, but it holds no worth outside that specific bubble. These digital assets have zero utility in the real world.
OwnAKeyword's compensation structure highlights the scheme's true nature. Members theoretically earn commissions from advertising revenue, but such revenue is minimal. The real money comes from recruitment. The company runs a 5-tier affiliate program, paying commissions on both new recruit referrals and their keyword purchases. The pitch promises residual income once enough people join.
The company uses X Pay Pro, a network marketing script from NetworkMarketingScripts.com. This software specifically manages recruitment-based compensation models. OwnAKeyword also uses PayPal as its payment processor.
PayPal's Acceptable Use Policy prohibits using its service for "transactions that support pyramid or ponzi schemes, matrix programs, other 'get rich quick' schemes or certain multi-level marketing" operations. OwnAKeyword appears to violate this policy by its very design.
In such operations, early recruits may see money from later recruits buying keywords. But the system collapses when recruitment slows, which it always does. The search engine never generates meaningful advertising revenue because user traffic does not exist. Members simply pay to own digital assets that are worthless outside the specific MLM structure.
The promise of passive income from a valuable keyword sounds appealing. But it requires a search engine people actually use, and product value independent of recruitment. Neither exists with OwnAKeyword. If these keywords were truly valuable, OwnAKeyword would keep them for itself, not sell them to recruits.