Are Review Sites Still a Good Idea?

by QuietConfidence

Posted: 13 years ago 15 replies

INTERNET MARKETING

Are review sites still a good way to add to your income? I made a couple a few years ago that did pretty well. But, with all the changes that have been going on since then, I don't know if it's a good idea to sink all my time into another one. Any thoughts or opinions would be greatly appreciated.

#good #idea #review #sites

tpw 13 years ago

I would never sink all of your time into it, unless you are seeing positive financial results from it.

Review sites are as useful today as they were in previous years. It depends on the quality of content you share with readers, and the level of trust they invest in your website.

The only question is whether you can still get traffic from Google for review sites. I don't see why not, but more importantly, I don't believe that you should seek traffic only from Google either.
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Dzierba

13 years ago

I'm in the process of creating a website that is going to revolutionize Clickbank product review sites, hopefully. I started it a couple months ago, and wrote a stack of reviews, which ranked very poorly, and left the site alone for a while. But I've recently started adding reviews to it daily, and the results are paying off. My rankings have gotten much better adding fresh content every day, and I'm getting a lot more traffic now. The site is at around $40 a day average right now, and I have 65 reviews.

I do a lot of research for my reviews, and I try to be as honest as possible, because most reviews out there are just overly positive and trying to get the affiliate sale, which reduces consumer trust (which I don't like).

I would focus on creating a site that does something other than Clickbank reviews, only because you'd be my competition.

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AdwordsMogul

13 years ago

Originally Posted by Dzierba

I do a lot of research for my reviews, and I try to be as honest as possible, because most reviews out there are just overly positive and trying to get the affiliate sale, which reduces consumer trust (which I don't like).
....

This is so true. It's really irritating when you want to get more information.

I haven't tried making money with this, but you can only guess that the profits are smaller because of lack of objectivity on most review sites.

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RyanJohnson 13 years ago

yes they still work, just keep in mind that many people have forgotten what "Review Sites" are. Many "Review Sites" that you come across these days are more like sales pages... not reviews. Everything on the page is all good with 9 thousand affiliate links embedded in the content. That's not a review. It is obvious people are only looking for the money.

Only promote products that you believe in or are good quality. Even the "good" products will have their faults. Every person is different so one item may be perfect for one person and not for another. State those faults, no matter how small they are. Let the visitor know everything possible before they buy. That will gain your site trust and even though they may not buy THAT product from you... at least now they trust you and will likely come back over and over again for your review of the next product.... which they may buy...
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mijagi 13 years ago

I think you can answer your question by yourself. Are review sites that you put up years ago still making you good money?
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- Martyn_MN 13 years ago
  
  I personally think review sites are still a good idea and can make a decent income, although it is the same as any site.
  
  It has to provide value to your visitor. If you have a review site that just listed product after product and pressured them into purchasing, your conversions may be low.
  
  However if you had a review site that targeted a specific niche, gave a review of the top 3-5 products in that niche and then provided a lot of general (non affiliate) content within that niche, it could prove profitable.
  
  One thing that I do think is vital - The site and content should be giving your visitors value
  
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  adamj2 13 years ago
  
  Yeah you should still be able to rank highly on Google for keyword terms related to the Product Name and ProductName + Review and earn some decent comissions from that.
  
  I would not focus all your efforts on your review sites for your long term business plan though.
  
  Would be better to have a site within a niche that does not have to commit itself to one specific product.
  
  But having multiple review sites for specific products is a nice way to get a bit of residual income going whilst you build up the authority of other sites. Is also a quick way for newbies to get a taste of earning money with clickbank etc. to keep them motivated.
  
  Also, most people dont make the effort to post proper reviews on their 'review sites' either.
  
  So a good way to stand out would be to ask for a free review copy so you can properly review the product yourself, give pros and cons, maybe record yourself doing a bit of a demo with the product using screen capture software aswell. So that the review adds value to the reader and is not just a rewrite of the product description.
  
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Claire Sharp 13 years ago

Personally, yes, review sites is still a good idea. I make money by using this. And i am still on it.
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Ruth P 13 years ago

Like many people have said, it really depends on the quality of your reviews.

Personally I've moved away from "reviews" that don't offer much information about products. I try to consider my visitor experience a lot more now.

This usually means (not always) longer, more detailed reviews as well as a personal approach. I like to show a little of my personality in there and I feel it definitely helps people to trust my reviews.

I have both physical and info product review sites that still do well. For info product reviews, I make sure I only review products I've used, and doing detailed information as to my experience with the product has *really* helped. Well worth the extra time it takes.

I don't own all the physical products I review, but I still take a lot of time to do the research that's needed to present it in a balanced manner, including the negatives and recommending alternatives as necessary.

I am also building email lists on my review sites to help make them less dependent on Google.
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- myob 13 years ago
  
  Anything you can do to differentiate yourself from all the "me too" reviews will be effective. Especially with high end products, a powerful technique is to use videos for demos and/or provide downloadable spec sheets in pdf format. Since none of my review sites ever rank in the SERPs, traffic is almostly exclusively driven by syndicated online/offline articles, ezines, media buying and promotions to my niche targeted email lists.
  
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lowriderSTi 13 years ago

I think they're a really good idea. But it depends of what kind of reviews are you making and if their quality must be top level.
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sbucciarel Banned 13 years ago

This review site model has been around for so long, maybe someone is making money from them still, but I never read them nor would I buy a product based on their obvious biased reviews. I also don't create review sites to use myself.
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ProvenViral 13 years ago

Review sites are one of the best ways to make money online! People go on the internet for information, entertainment and reviews.
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- bretski 13 years ago
  
  For me, it is only one aspect of my business model. Sure, my review sites do make money and some of my reviews rank pretty high but these sites are only a testing ground for niches and products.
  
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JamesGw 13 years ago

Review sites are still one of the best ways to get targeted traffic. Just make sure you adhere to the FTC guidelines and you should do fine.
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