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How well can a review site convert?! What's Your best?

by Branlan17
21 replies
I was wondering, how well do you think a well worded and compelling review can convert in a medium "desperate-buyer" niche? Mind you, this is without an opt-in form, just a review with a bonus giveaway for buying through the site and traffic coming primarily from SEO.
#convert #review #site
  • Profile picture of the author Branlan17
    Anyone have good results like this? : /
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    • Profile picture of the author ~kev~
      Originally Posted by Branlan17 View Post

      Anyone have good results like this? : /
      I'am not quit sure what kind of site your talking about?

      Over the years I have seen lots of review sites do very well for them selves - go take a look at Toms Hardware. It started out as a simple review site, and now its one of the best computer sites on the internet.

      In the late 1990s, Sharky Extreme was the best review site for computer hardware. But the owner lost interest and it was sold.

      For a review site to take off - the owner has to be willing to invest the time to post quality reviews.
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      • Profile picture of the author enwereuzo
        Thank you for the link on Toms Hardware. Thats an inspiration to me as am on the process of starting a review site on software niche.

        e
        Originally Posted by ~kev~ View Post

        I'am not quit sure what kind of site your talking about?

        Over the years I have seen lots of review sites do very well for them selves - go take a look at Toms Hardware. It started out as a simple review site, and now its one of the best computer sites on the internet.

        In the late 1990s, Sharky Extreme was the best review site for computer hardware. But the owner lost interest and it was sold.

        For a review site to take off - the owner has to be willing to invest the time to post quality reviews.
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  • Profile picture of the author Samuel Baker
    I am embarking on a project like this as we speak, just in the process of setting everything up and adding final additions.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jacqueline Smith
    I'm hoping to hear from experienced warriors on this one. I'm developing such a site right now. I'd love to hear the feedback.

    Thanks for starting the thread Branlan!
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    • Profile picture of the author Hamida Harland
      I don't do bonus giveaways outside of IM but my best review site converts at 1 in 6. Most of the rest of my niche sites convert at about 1 in 20. My sites are extremely tightly focused and are designed to sell just one specific product. Traffic is low but the conversions make up for it.
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      • Profile picture of the author Hamida Harland
        Originally Posted by John McEachern View Post

        Hamida, would you mind telling me approximately how many of these sites you currently have and what kind of products you are typically promoting on these sites?

        Thanks!
        I have about 20 of these sites earning well at the moment. I've built alot more than that though - any that aren't so good get sold at Flippa or to private buyers (I have a list of buyers I built through Sitepoint/Flippa over the past 2 years). I'm constantly building new sites (about 1 a week), keeping the best and selling the rest. Probably about 90% of my sites are based on health products (supplements, creams etc) and many are specific to the product name or to a particular keyword (sniper type sites). I like independent affliate programs - although they're hard to find they have ALOT less competition from affiliates. I also promote some stuff from Market Health and a few other lesser known affiliate networks.
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        • Profile picture of the author CatherineMay
          Just guessing here but I guess he keeps making more sites because each site is a new revenue stream.

          Am I right?


          Catherine
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        • Profile picture of the author Hamida Harland
          Originally Posted by John McEachern View Post

          If you don't mind, Hamida, I was wondering why you are always building news ones? Is there a ceiling (for lack of a better a word) for what a typical review site can expect to earn?

          Or do you just enjoy building them?
          You're right, I DO enjoy it and that's why site flipping became one of my business models in the first place - I'm not particularly interested in every niche I make a site for (although I get a buzz from creating a site from nothing and making it profitable) so it makes sense for me to sell it to someone who can build it up long term.

          There can be a ceiling though for these type of sites, particularly if you're focusing mainly on one keyword or a specific product. If I'm already ranking on page 1 for a particular site (which is what I aim for) and making $500 - $1000 a month then it's likely I won't make a whole lot more than that as I mainly target search engine traffic. That's kind of the average for a site like this although I have some that earn more and some less.

          I would never only focus on small review sites like this though - you never know when Google is going to pull the plug and derank them (hasn't ever happened to me yet thank goodness). Not that the sites aren't good or useful, but they're normally only about 10-20 pages at most. Plus you never know when a product is going to lose popularity, change its name, or be be taken off the market for whatever reason. I also have a few authority sites which I build lists for - for me these are more guaranteed long term income plus they're worth alot if I ever decided to sell them.
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  • Profile picture of the author Fenshon
    What i feel works best is to say things that sound like real personal experience with the product; like saying the details of how you personally used the product, what worked and what did not work and why this product is the best out their compared to 2 or 3 others.
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  • Profile picture of the author Ross Dalangin
    There are several aspects for review sites. You'll have to think of a good structure, good and bad reviews from several forums, product selection and good keywords. I've been doing review sites since 2006 that is why in 2007 I created a review script so that I will just enter the details to create a review site. Review site for me is more profitable when you do it right because the conversion is so high.
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  • Profile picture of the author Branlan17
    Very cool, I'm glad to see others take this apprpach too. I normally get yelled at about building a list when I do this but taking so so so many hours to test a squeeze page and tweak an auto-responder series doesn't seem worth it for promoting a single CB product.
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  • Profile picture of the author JEL0221
    A few tips...

    1. Post a good, quality review. Don't say "This product will change your life, don't miss out!". Talk about BOTH pros and cons. You have to be genuine to convince buyers.

    2. Find a good, low comp, long-tailed keyword to focus on. When picking a domain name, get that keyword in there, along with "review" at the end, i.e..."yourniche-review.com".
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  • Profile picture of the author Branlan17
    I'm in the tiredness/get more energy niche right now... It's not as desperate as say "penis enlargement" or "weight loss" but I'm hoping that with a good review I can still nab a 1-2% conversion rate off of SEO searchers.
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    • Profile picture of the author jan roos
      I do amazon review sites and I convert at 3% for the products I review. People also buy other stuff once they get to Amazon through my aff link and that pushes my conversion rate to 7%.

      Cheers
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  • Profile picture of the author Branlan17
    I see this is for physical products a lot, anyone have success with review sites for ebooks/CB products?
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    • Profile picture of the author Ross Dalangin
      Originally Posted by Branlan17 View Post

      I see this is for physical products a lot, anyone have success with review sites for ebooks/CB products?
      I have great success with software and scripts CB products. With ebooks, I need several backlinks to make it work maybe because of the competition is so high.
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  • Profile picture of the author Folusho Orokunle
    To me conversions aren't as important as profits. I had a review site that converted at only .5% but I made half a million dollars with it, then sold it. But overall conversions are important if you're not building a list and your own products.

    At the very least, I'd say build a list first.
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  • Profile picture of the author BrainCopy
    I would give video reviews, and build a list. Then sell them my own product at around $9.99-$17.00 and have an upsell.

    Best Regards,
    Anthony
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