The YouTube slap was predictable and it may reach far wide and deep before the dust settles and we gain a complete understanding of what this means for Internet marketers. YouTube has become a favorite platform for both legitimate Internet marketers and unfortunately online spammers. The spammers and a few gamers may have spoiled the party for many well meaning marketers who consistently provide value to their viewers.

I personally know two big internet marketers in the network marketing niche who have had all or most of their channels shut down and have lost tens of thousands of page views and friends connections as a result. To their credit they acknowledge why their accounts were closed and have vowed to correct their own "terms of service" violations and teach others how to do the same.

Content aggregators like Google, Yahoo, YouTube and others are focused on the customer's experience. The priority of these companies is to deliver "relevent" content to their end users based on their chosen search criteria. When a marketer games the system by manufacturing search results that do not serve the end user - watch out.

In this HUB Page I am going to share a number of suggestions designed to help you survive the YouTube slap and thrive through this transition by focusing on value creation and the development of your personal brand. This HUB will address best practices for you regardless if you are new to YouTube, a regular user with one of more accounts, or an aggressive video marketer with several accounts, automated systems, hundreds of videos and thousands of page views.

Congratulations, you don't need to unlearn any bad habits and you get to start with a clean slate flying well below the radar screen. Follow these simple rules and you will survive and thrive.

1. Build your YouTube brand and presence on one account. Many of the users that had their accounts shut down utilized multiple YouTube accounts.

2. If you just can't help it and want to utilize a second of third account for personal use or another purpose unrelated to your online marketing activities, be sure that each account is registered using a unique IP address.

3. Regardless of the number of accounts you have do not spam! This includes your title, video description, and tags with "non relevant" keywords. This has become a common practice with aggressive marketers and this practice will get you shut down.

4. Avoid using "add a friend" software programs and mass submission software specifically in YouTube. Do not use these programs to add friends, rate your videos, or add comments.

5. Do not upload duplicate content even if the title and tags have been edited. This is not likely to be a big red flag, but since we are discussing best practices, let's raise the bar.

6. I am not too familiar with the process of buying YouTube views. I understand that the practice will put you in the cross hairs. Avoid buying views and play it safe.

7. Do not turn your channel into a cheap pitch site for your programs or opportunities. Not only does this practice rarely work, it weakens your posture in the marketplace and leaves you exposed if you change companies or your company encounters problems.

Keep in mind the hyped up sales pitches only attract those looking to get rich quick, which may produce short term results, but provides a weak foundation to build a long term business upon.

8. Remember, the goal is to be a professional and build a sustainable long term businesses that will provide income, leverage, and time freedom long term. Always seek to provide value and your rewards will follow.

As an experienced YouTube user you know the value gained by posting relevant content, participating in the community, viewing other's videos and posting comments, and have likely grown your following organically as a result of the value you bring. If you are like me you also had no idea that having more than one account could put your entire You Tube strategy at risk.

If you are in this category you may be feeling a little frustrated by a slap that might impact you even though you are playing by the rules. If you follow these tips you will be able to continue doing a great job providing value to your viewers and building your brand.

1. Decide which of your accounts has the broadest reach and impact on your desired market and make that your official home on YouTube.

2. Step back and take a fresh look at your profile and messaging, ask yourself this simple question, "Am I adding value?"

3. Consider closing all secondary accounts especially if the content is duplicated from your primary channel, your videos are simply hyped up sales pitches, your content is not relevant to your titles and tags, or if you built a following predominantly with friend finder software.

4. If you decide to maintain more than one account you may be at greater risk if you use a common email address for multiple accounts. So consider changing the user email for your secondary accounts.

5. There are conflicting opinions about the role of IP addresses when monitoring accounts. Some who have researched this say that maintaining multiple accounts on one IP address will flag your accounts. I am not an I.T. expert, so I am not certain of all of the details related to this issue. One marketer who had his accounts closed suggested that you call your ISP and find out how to obtain a new IP address.

In addition to these suggestions, I would adhere to all of the recommendations offered to new YouTube users listed in this HUB page.

Sorry you guys may have caused the problem and I know you are aware that YouTube is not the bad guy here. This is worth saying again, content aggregation sites like Google, Yahoo, YouTube and others are focused on the customer's experience. The priority of these companies is to deliver "relevant" content to their end users based on their chosen search criteria. When a marketer games the system by manufacturing search results which do not serve the end user - watch out!

If you are an aggressive marketer or practice "black hat" techniques, you know that it is not a question of if but when the slap will come and you are likely ok taking it. It was a long run, you made your money and now on to the next frontier. If you are like me, you want to be as assertive as the rules allow, but your priority is to deliver value, build your brand on integrity, and create a sustainable business.

Because you guys are the target, the fix for you is a little more complicated and depending on whether or not you have already been flagged, following these suggestions might preserve your presence on YouTube.

1. Based on the feedback I am getting, I would explore the IP address questions previously raised and act accordingly. Really strive to get the correct answers, I have received conflicting opinions offered by I.T. professionals.

2. If you have been a heavy abuser you might consider subscribing to a proxy server provider and shift your marketing to a new IP offered through a third party proxy service.

3. Do not change the email address on your primary account, but do so on the others, it appears that duplicated email addresses draws a flag.

4. Consider consolidating all of your content onto your primary account and close all others.

5. Do not reload the exact same videos without following these steps.

• Create an original source file by re-compressing the video from your editing software on your desk top
• Provide a new title for the video when uploading to YouTube
• Make sure that ALL of your tags are relevant to the content of your video

6. Do not use friend finder or video blaster software to manage content or make connections on YouTube. This is not the same thing as appropriately using a system like Traffic Geyser.

7. If you use video submission software to post your videos, edit "YouTube" out of your posting preferences and manually upload your content to You Tube.

In addition to these specific recommendations, I would adopt the other "best practices" suggested in this HUB Page.