Amazon Reviews and Panda Update

[mince001]

Hi guys. Do you think it would affect your rankings, if you copy paste a review taken from amazon from a specific product, just to show the visitors what others have said? Or would you rewrite it?

[Cool Hand Luke]

1.Yes, it can negatively affect your rankings .
2.Yes, rewrite it.

A good tip here is something I do on my highest converting amazon site: Paraphrase and then link to the Amazon review.

For instance, if someone named Bob Simmons in Amazon's reviews said "This laptop is great! I love the easy to use interface and the stunning graphics! A solid purchase." then you could write:

Bob S. says "Great laptop! The interface is easy to use and the graphics are stunning!" (Review Paraphrased For Size. Read original review on Amazon HERE

Obviously the "HERE" would be your affiliate link to the review on Amazon itself. Yet another way to get people in a buying mood and onto amazon with a simple rephrasing of content!

[mince001]

Originally Posted by Cool Hand Luke

1.Yes, it can negatively affect your rankings .
2.Yes, rewrite it.

A good tip here is something I do on my highest converting amazon site: Paraphrase and then link to the Amazon review.

For instance, if someone named Bob Simmons in Amazon's reviews said "This laptop is great! I love the easy to use interface and the stunning graphics! A solid purchase." then you could write:

Bob S. says "Great laptop! The interface is easy to use and the graphics are stunning!" (Review Paraphrased For Size. Read original review on Amazon HERE

Obviously the "HERE" would be your affiliate link to the review on Amazon itself. Yet another way to get people in a buying mood and onto amazon with a simple rephrasing of content!

That is exacly what I had in mind. The only thing I wasn't sure about is if I should rewrite it, just to be sure.

Thanks!

[AprilCT]

If,because of that blurb you put on it, someone clicks through your link to that product on Amazon and reads the reviews, won't it be obvious you copied it? Some people won't care, but it seems to me that the majority who see that will wonder why they should have bothered with your site in the first place, since what was found did not resemble new or further information for their search.

You really should find more sources for information on a product. Otherwise, you will again be in the position of rewriting something, only to reword the same information.

Make it more interesting and a good bit longer than the reviews on Amazon.

[Cool Hand Luke]

Originally Posted by AprilCT

If,because of that blurb you put on it, someone clicks through your link to that product on Amazon and reads the reviews, won't it be obvious you copied it? Some people won't care, but it seems to me that the majority who see that will wonder why they should have bothered with your site in the first place, since what was found did not resemble new or further information for their search.

You really should find more sources for information on a product. Otherwise, you will again be in the position of rewriting something, only to reword the same information.

Make it more interesting and a good bit longer than the reviews on Amazon.

Spoken like someone who hasn't had any success with Amazon...

As someone who is having great success with Amazon, let me point out that the ENTIRE POINT of your website and posts is to get the visitors to click through to Amazon and get your affiliate cookie set; You aren't trying to write a Pulitzer-prize winning novel or to become the next great product reviewer of your generation.

It doesn't matter at all if they "wonder why they should have bothered with your site in the first place". The point is, if they were searching for more info or reviews on the products, YOUR site has led them to amazon.com which has tons of professional and user reviews, and all the info they could want.

They get the info they want, and you get a commission if they buy.

That's the very definition of Win-Win!

[dfs_dean]

mince001 - not only is it good practice to rewrite/paraphrase the customer review comments, it is against Amazon's terms to simply copy/paste from their site to yours. From Amazon's Associates Program Participation Requirements:

28. You will not display or otherwise use any of our customer reviews or star ratings, in part or in whole, on your site unless you have obtained a link to that customer review or star rating through the Product Advertising API and you comply with the requirements set forth in the License Agreement.

Peace

[Cool Hand Luke]

Originally Posted by dfs_dean

mince001 - not only is it good practice to rewrite/paraphrase the customer review comments, it is against Amazon's terms to simply copy/paste from their site to yours. From Amazon's Associates Program Participation Requirements:

Peace

Again, it's super simple. Rewriting and/or paraphrasing reviews or info as part of a post is 100% OK as per Amazon's terms of service.

Blatantly copying is not, and it can hurt your SERP results.

[thaxruwab11]

i started on amazon review sites recently since i got out of college this month. this is my pure opinion and not a thumb rule.

i think it is ok take time and write own review with some research other that rewriting the amazon reviews. once u have few of those valuble reviews, then u can rewrite amazon reviews and add to site to save time.

the reason is, i think buyers will need some rare info on the product they are going to buy, so when they find that, they will buy the product without thinking twice.

just the way i do...

[cooler1]

Originally Posted by dfs_dean

mince001 - not only is it good practice to rewrite/paraphrase the customer review comments, it is against Amazon's terms to simply copy/paste from their site to yours. From Amazon's Associates Program Participation Requirements:

Peace

The part about star ratings, is that refering to a customer review star rating or does it mean you can't put the overall star rating of the product on your site?

[JSProjects]

Originally Posted by AprilCT

If,because of that blurb you put on it, someone clicks through your link to that product on Amazon and reads the reviews, won't it be obvious you copied it? Some people won't care, but it seems to me that the majority who see that will wonder why they should have bothered with your site in the first place, since what was found did not resemble new or further information for their search.

You really should find more sources for information on a product. Otherwise, you will again be in the position of rewriting something, only to reword the same information.

Make it more interesting and a good bit longer than the reviews on Amazon.

This is EXACTLY what you want to do with an Amazon review site. You are the "buffer" between them and the product. That is all. First few paragraphs should be a brief overview of the product, what it does, how it compares to other products, etc. The next part is a summary of the actual features. The final part is a summary of Amazon user reviews.

Look up the "conduit" method. You'll need to twist it up a bit, but it's still a pretty effective outline.

[andrej]

Don't do it. Create your own unique content. You can get your site banned for duplicate content.

[dfs_dean]

Originally Posted by cooler1

The part about star ratings, is that refering to a customer review star rating or does it mean you can't put the overall star rating of the product on your site?

I would say that Amazon definitely wouldn't want you to copy/paste the overall product star rating because that can change with additional reviews. Ratings by individual reviewers, I'm not so sure.

Amazon, of course, is the final authority on what their guidelines mean and their affiliate support usually responds in a timely manner. Just email your question to them asking for clarification.

Peace

[markowe]

Originally Posted by andrej

Don't do it. Create your own unique content. You can get your site banned for duplicate content.

Just words he's heard...

[InTheMaking]

Why not just nofollow/no-index the page thats been copy and pasted?

Rank the homepage, and nofollow/noindex the "stickied" post with your copy/pasted review?