Want to find a legitimate online job, and you’re wondering if AOJ is trustworthy?
Afraid to fall prey to a scam but don’t know how to spot one?
If you’re wondering if AOJ is legit, you can find the answers to these and other questions in this article.
This review of AOJ exposes the red flags to help you avoid being scammed.
We’ll answer your questions about the faces behind AOJ, what kind of opportunities you can find, and whether you can trust the site.
What’s more? You’ll learn of the legitimate work-from-home jobs.
What Is AOJ (American Online Jobs)?
AOJ stands for American Online Jobs. Launched in February 2018, AmericanOnlineJobs.com claims to offer work-from-home opportunities.
If you search the internet, you’ll come across several other clone sites of AOJ, such as AOJOnlineJobs.net and AOJWorkFromHomeJobs.com.
Other sites you might come across are AOJOnlineJobs.com and AOJ.com.
These sites are scams purporting to offer legitimate jobs.
Before signing up for anything on any of these sites, you should read reviews about them.
The owners of this website convince you to take up some gigs or join sites where you have to market products.
The bad news is that even with such gigs, the pay is meager.
Who is Behind AOJ?
Unlike any legitimate website with an “About Us” page, AOJ doesn’t have this section.
This lack of information makes it difficult to tell who is behind the site.
However, the little information available says the creators of AOJ are Brenda and some colleagues.
Also, those who have interacted with the site can only assume Brenda is its creator, as she is the one seen in the training videos.
Is AOJ Online Jobs a Scam?
Any AOJ online jobs review you find points to a scam. AOJ is a scam, and several red flags make it easy to spot the lies. Here are some of them:
a. No contact details – AOJ lacks contact information. The only way to reach the ‘owners’ is through an email on the site – support@aojonlinejobs.com.
b. No ‘About Us’ section – The second red flag is that you can’t find information on what the site is about.
c. Insignificant questionnaire – On their home page, they only have some screening questions.
No matter how you answer the questions, you still pass the screening process.
This procedure creates doubts about the validity of the “pre-screening questions,” as they’re called on the AOJ website.
For instance, if you say you’re not 18 years old and above, you still get a green light to move forward.
d. The survey trick
Despite the promise of work-from-home jobs, you don’t find any work.
You might notice that the catch is to get you to sign up for some paid survey sites on probing further. It looks like an affiliate marketing strategy, and the owners of these sites get a commission for any referrals to those survey sites.
AOJ tries to trick you into signing up for surveys from eight companies on their site.
The surveys, says AOJ, will help you get inside knowledge of these companies.
Although doing surveys is a legitimate way of making money, AOJ doesn’t advertise itself as a survey company. This misleading strategy is a red flag for any scam.
If you want to make money in legitimate survey sites, try Survey Junkie, Inboxdollars, Survey Club, VIP Voice, among others.
e. Basic training videos
Another indicator that these sites are a scam is that they teach you how to promote survey sites.
They do this using some basic videos, which don’t foster personal development.
f. Problem with reviews
If you search American online jobs’ work-from-home reviews, you’ll find that most are negative.
Although they advertise jobs on their website, these opportunities are rarely legitimate.
In most reviews, people are complaining about poor pay and job insecurity.
Another eye-catching fact is that renowned job websites like Glassdoor have no mention of AOJ.
Still, the Better Business Bureau doesn’t recognize AOJ.
Without proper contact details, most unsatisfied users can’t get responses to their questions.
This anonymity could be because the owners know they are operating a scam site.
g. Lack of SSL certificate
It’s odd for a two-year-old company to lack an SSL certificate.
Without this certificate, AOJ is not a secure website. Why? Legitimate websites acquire SSL certificates for security.
h. Fake buttons
AOJ seems to be conning people into thinking they can apply for jobs with just the click of a button. Most of these buttons lead nowhere related to the job.
For instance, if you click on the “Click Here To Apply Now” button, it leads you to various sites, including gaming ones.
How Does AOJ Work-From-Home Jobs Work?
Answering the questionnaire is the first step.
In the second step, there’s an introductory video. After watching it, you’re supposed to create an account. However, the link to create an account leads you to an unrelated page.
Once you’re in, you’ll realize that there are no work-from-home jobs as promised. Instead, this is what you’ll find:
a. Fake job adverts
Despite using real job sites, the adverts don’t deliver on their promise.
For example, on one of the clone sites, the more than 300 jobs posted are fake.
b. Survey sites that only benefit them
The links on the AOJ website promote paid surveys. The more people sign up, the higher the commission AOJ earns. They use affiliate links to do this.
c. Training that adds no value
The only good news here is that the training is free. But, it’s elementary, and you can get most of this information on the internet.
Worse still, they teach you unorthodox methods to earn income through sites like theirs.
Members area Training modules
AOJ’s training module consists of ten lessons.
Lesson 1
This lesson is just an introduction to AOJ before prompting you to go to the second lesson.
Lesson 2
This lesson is supposed to show you how to make money from Facebook.
AOJ advises you to join Facebook groups either in your area of interest or one that has the tag “work-from-home”.
To be successful, AOJ tells you to join at least ten groups daily. Once you’re in a group, AOJ gives you a link that you post on these Facebook groups.
Another part of training is how to create FB jobs in these groups as well as adverts.
Lesson 3
In the third lesson, AOJ shows you how to create a Craigslist account.
The 2.5-minute video also shows you how to post an advert on Craigslist, giving you very little time to learn.
You’re supposed to pay at least $10 per ad in the job section.
The following “tip” is to put a great title in the ad and attach the link. The problem with this is there’s no lesson on creating great titles or examples.
Lesson 4
The video, which is a little over four minutes, gives you a peek into referral marketing. But, there are no details past the description.
Lesson 5
In a less than three-minute video, AOJ gives you a short preview of YouTube marketing.
They tell you that with a good ranking, you can drive traffic to your website. However, AOJ doesn’t show you what to do to rank on YouTube.
To get the training you need, AOJ provides a link that leads to a Udemy course going for about $12.
Lesson 6
Unlike the rest of the lessons, AOJ does not have a video for this section on Instagram marketing.
Instead, they provide a link outside the AOJ site, where you’re supposed to get more training.
Lesson 7
With only a tiny paragraph to back it up, this lesson emphasizes Pinterest marketing. However, the main link there leads you to an external site that discusses this type of marketing.
The other link shows you how to make money from Pinterest. This link is also to an external website.
The Pinterest lesson also lacks a video.
Another feature of this lesson is a link to Survey Junkie.
Lesson 8
In this lesson, you’ll learn how to automate emails using the GetResponse software.
This two-minute video contains an affiliate link.
GetResponse works well when you have considerable traffic to your site.
The first month is free, but you’ll pay $15 per month after that.
Lesson 9
AOJ gives you tips on how to create a marketing website. Although the video tells you where and how to set up the website, you’re not assured of work-from-home jobs.
You have to complete a form for the website, which will be up in at least 24 hours, according to AOJ.
Lesson 10
The video shows you how to earn from your site.
To be even more successful, AOJ asks you to purchase expert lessons.
An email supposed to help you reach the AOJ team is not available, as they claim.
In summary, the AOJ videos are all about affiliate marketing and paid surveys.
However, there’s no information on where to get the promised work-from-home jobs.
Also, there are no details on skills needed for those work-from-home jobs.
Application process
The first step is to answer the pre-screening test. Most of the questions are personal such as your age, and how you heard about the site.
After this, you click on the application button.
Once inside the site, the advertisements referral agent vacancies pop up.
Some of the adverts that show up are for data entry, customer service, among others.
Concerns also arise about AOJ data entry jobs as they’re said to pay very little.
Still, on data entry jobs, you might also be wondering, is between jobs legit? Most online reviews of BetweenJobs.io are negative.
How to make money with AOJ?
AOJ seems to provide only two methods of making money.
a. Affiliate marketing
Through this method, you promote products on behalf of a company and earn a commission.
To create awareness of products, you can post the links leading to your account on social media.
The downside of doing affiliate marketing through AOJ is the poor pay.
You can use other sites to make money as an affiliate marketer, such as Amazon.
b. Paid surveys
AOJ asks you to join sites such as Online Flex Jobs for surveys.
These surveys help companies get the perception of users about their products.
The companies pay you for taking the surveys.
Like in the affiliate marketing case, the surveys might also pay very little.
Something Good About AOJ
In general, AOJ has more disadvantages than advantages.
1. Easy to join
The only plus is the straightforward account creation method. Also, there are no fees to join, unlike some websites.
Although not very thorough, their pre-screening test is pretty easy to complete.
Besides, there’s no need to contact anybody for registration details as you need only to fill forms.
2. A stepping stone
If you’re looking for a guide into job websites, you can use AOJ as a bridge. For instance, you can find out which sites offer paid surveys.
3. Straightforward to set up
All you need to get started is a computer. It would be best if you also had reliable Wi-Fi.
4. Works for beginners: The training videos, although lacking adequate details, are suitable for beginners. Besides, you can use them as a pointer to what you need for online jobs.
Furthermore, if you’re comfortable making very little money, to begin with, you can try AOJ.
What’s Not Good
Lack of contact information: This aspect makes it harder for people to trust the site.
Fake job listings: The site is full of adverts and no sign of work-from-home opportunities.
Limited options: With only two opportunities – referral marketing and paid surveys – you don’t have many income-earning choices
Clone sites: Other websites function similarly to AOJ, creating suspicions and doubts about legitimacy.
Security is shaky: AOJ lacks an SSL certificate, exposing you to threats while surfing the site. You might need an antivirus, which is an added cost.
Shallow training: The basic two- to three-minute videos offered by AOJ don’t add value to a user.
Poor reviews: Most people who have used this site have nothing positive to say about it, watering down trust.
Deceptive ads: AOJ ads don’t give information like how much the so-called jobs pay or details about the clients.
The verdict
AOJ is a scam going by their reviews online and the deceptive nature of the website. It fails to deliver the promise of work-from-home jobs.
Some other red flags are the lack of crucial details such as contact information and an “About Us” page.
Besides, it’s hard to verify who owns the website.
The good news is there are many work-from-home jobs that you can consider.
Check out the options below.
Which online jobs are legit?
If you’re looking for legitimate work-from-home jobs, there are quite a number worth considering.
a. Affiliate marketing
Affiliate marketers earn a commission based on their sales. You can promote the products through social media or your blog.
You can try Amazon or ShareASale, which pays you a 7% commission per sale.
To start earning, you need a computer with reliable internet.
You can earn over $30,000 a week.
b. Paid surveys
Taking surveys can be an excellent way to make extra income online.
All you need to do is sign up for legitimate survey sites like Vindale Research and Survey Junkie.
The good news is you don’t need any experience to take the surveys. You can even take some of the surveys on your phone.
Besides, some companies pay as high as $100 per survey.
c. Virtual assistant
As a virtual assistant, you help clients accomplish their tasks remotely.
There are many jobs a company may require you to do, such as social media management, data entry or administrative duties. You can start with data entry as it doesn’t require experience.
d. Facebook
Can you earn from Facebook? Yes. There are several ways to make money.
One way is sponsored posts. You can either have the sponsored content on Facebook or use the social media platform to attract readers to your blog.
e. Social media ads
One genuine way to make money on social media is through the pay-per-click method.
How does it work? A client who wants to market their product will send you a link to their website. They will pay you based on the number of clicks because this increases traffic to their site.
f. Pinterest
Earning an income with Pinterest can be as easy as pinning a post with an affiliate link.
Some of the profitable affiliate marketing programs you can consider include Joybird, Wayfair, and Designer Living.
A program like Joybird gives you a 15% commission.
Alternatively, you could help a business owner pin posts on Pinterest, earning you about $50 hourly.
g. YouTube
If you’re a social person and wouldn’t mind sharing videos, YouTube is an excellent platform to make money.
First, you have to set up an account and monetize your channel. The catch is you have to offer quality content that will keep your viewer numbers going up.
Whether you’ll offer educational videos in cooking, dance lessons, or entertainment videos, you need to be unique.
YouTube pays about $3 per video views.
But it takes a while to start earning.
