Build a review site?

by Spiritnova

Posted: 13 years ago 14 replies

INTERNET MARKETING

I want to create a review site. Well, I did, not so sure now. I came across some blogs talking about affiliate review sites getting slapped by google. I was kind of worried until I noticed they were all from 09, lol.

Of course I doubt google has let up on them, and the articles made me wonder whether I should be going for a review site or not. So I have a few questions:

1. Is it necessary that I have used the product? I'm wrestling with the ethical ramifications of this, but putting those aside for a moment, is it possible to write a good review without using the product? For that matter, can it even really be called a 'review'? The ethics alone have me wary, but I fear that taking this approach puts me in the same boat as all the 'crap' sites that got slapped, and I have no intention of doing that.

Thing is, I haven't really found products relevant to my interests, let alone popular products in my interests. I've heard over and over again to "pick something you like", but I've also heard to "go where the money is", and from a practical viewpoint I'd be inclined to agree with the latter. I think alot of the issue is that 'review site' is a misnomer of what I'm going for. So next question:

2. If not a review site, what are my alternatives?

3. Is it necessary I keep the site to one niche, rather than have different sections for different niches? Are there repercussions for SEO if your site isn't all one topic?

Advice would be greatly appreciated,

Spiritnova

#build #review #site

Carl Fridsjö 13 years ago

It's true that you can't really call it a review without actually trying out the product. I would not personally do it but eventually it's up to you and what you think. I do believe it's quite common writing reviews without actually trying out the product, you certainly would not be the first one.
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efwebm 13 years ago

I would advise anyone to start with a review page. If you write legitimate reviews for legitimate products, google wont have a problem with it.

And you don't need to have tried the product. You can get your reviews from other users that have posted reviews. But that should be made clear in your review, with phrases like "others have said..." and not "I tried it and..."

Your site can be on different niches (make a new page or post for each one), but you can get more seo value out of a single niche because you can get a related domain.

For instance tubesocks.com is going to be worth more seo if you are reviewing tubesocks than myreviews.com....but you can make up for that in other ways

I personally try to keep my review sites on specific topics because I think they show more credibility to visitors
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AwesomePossum 13 years ago

1. Yes you can build a review site without actually reviewing the product. Whoever's buying the product wants to know if the product gets results. THAT'S IT. They only care about the experience they get from using the product so here's a few things you can do to develop good products to review.

a. Go through forums that talk about the product and find people that have used it. Look at their feedback.
b. Go to the website you're using and see if they have great testimonials.
c. Do research....dive into the market and become the expert. People don't care if you used the product...they want to know what the best product is and why.

2. An alternative to making a review site is to create a product, sell it through clickbank and build a blog that generates traffic to a blog that sells your product....the only way this works is if you give out a bunch of free stuff and stay active in your community...you can also find the top people in the market and ask them to promote your product for you...

If you have any questions feel free to ask
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Spiritnova 13 years ago

Lol, I wouldn't know where to begin with product creation. But yeah, I have every intention of doing my homework on the products I promote. No point promoting a product that's got a bad rap or a high refund rate.

Going back to question 3 though, should I keep the site to one niche? Would diversifying have a negative effect on SEO or anything like that?
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AwesomePossum 13 years ago

Keeping it specific on one niche that has a real emotional drive to buy that product will definitely get you the best conversions and it'll get you ranked better on google.

That's actually a great question
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Spiritnova 13 years ago

Okay, few more questions.

How long should the review be?

and should I have one review per page, or have multiple products reviewed on the same page? I've seen review sites list products in order of rating and describe each product a bit. That way the customer is given some options, and if they end up buying any of them you win.
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AwesomePossum 13 years ago

The reviews should be as long as it takes to create all of the emotions necessary to buy: Like how the product benefits the customer, it's authority in the market, the results it's been known to give for others, and what seperates it are just a few...kind of like that.

The review should be as long as it takes but remember you're working with a short attention span so the quicker you can get them to click the link, the better!!

--

It just depends on how you want to set up your site...you can have a page with all of the products ranked in order, or the best types of products for example: Internet Marketing you can have the best List Building reviews, the best product creation reviews and organize them into one page...then you can write more extensive reviews on a single page for each product..

I hope this helps,

Aaryn
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naughtyneo 13 years ago

If you can't buy the product to test and write real reviews, then try Conduit method.

Do a search for "Chris Rempel"+"Conduit Method" on google. It is just $14 and probably the best investment I have ever made. If you are a Warroom member, the method is posted there for free.

Basically you only write about the known facts and product features instead of writing a full detailed review. It works.

-Neo
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- payment proof 13 years ago
  
  If you have links to a lot of affiliate sites, I've heard that using a no follow tag can help.
  
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Spiritnova 13 years ago

I'm actually already on Chris Rempels subscriber list, lol. I just joined a day or two ago, so I haven't seen the conduit method yet, but he had a free video basically saying the same thing as I'm seeing on the conduit page. I'm guessing I'll probably see it soon enough then.
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lotsofsnow

13 years ago

A review site is excellent.

But if you have not seen the actual product where is the point? Then you will be just another dummy that puts up reviews of products that he has never seen. Sounds great but most people are not stupid and you will not make much.

A real review site: Different story. And if you pick the right market people will throw a lot of stuff your ways in the hopes of you doing a review. If you openly tell your readers what is going on and that you got that surfboard for free or whatever you will grow your readership very fast.

HP

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Lyanna

13 years ago

Basically you only write about the known facts and product features instead of writing a full detailed review. It works.

I don't know about the Conduit thing but I agree.

It is not ethical to write a personal review, making it sound as though you used the product yourself without actually having tried it. That's called lying and just because it's the internet doesn't make it right.

However you can certainly write about a product without making it a personal "aws shucks this is the best shampoo I have ever tried in my life" type of review. Just stick to the facts.

You can still use words or phrases like:

top
best
best value
extremely effective
feature-rich

So your website or blog can say things like:

it's the bestselling product in the market *insert niche* today
over 1000 satisfied customers have given it a five star rating on Amazon.com
money back guarantee by the top *insert niche* company, *insert company name*
voted the *insert award here*
ISO-certified
fully accredited and licensed by the *whatever, you get the drill*
recommended by top chef *insert chef name*
as seen on the hit TV show *tv show name*

Those are all powerful stuff that will sell products.

No need to lie and review something you have never seen or touched in your life.

So basically it is more of a product promotion website rather than a personal review site.

Thanks
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Spiritnova

13 years ago

So basically it is more of a product promotion website rather than a personal review site.

That is exactly what I was trying to get at. The whole issue stems from using the word 'review', which isn't really what it would be. It's just the term I've seen most often used.

I never said I was going to act like I had used the product, nor had any intention of doing so, I just said 'review' for lack of a better term. Though 'production promotion' sums it pretty well, lol. Still, I'm more familiar with a review site than a flat-out advertising site.

I've been subscribed to alot of lists, and a ton of them use stuff like "YOU WON'T BELIEVE THIS" OR "THIS IS INSANE". To me, anything in all caps and saying I NEED to check something out is just spammy, and I'm sure I'm not alone. So that's definitely something I want to avoid doing myself, but on the flipside I still need to draw their attention, and as AwesomePossum said I need to be able to do so quickly.

I guess I need some advice on how to go about building a promotion site rather than a review site.

Thanks
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Lyanna

13 years ago

Originally Posted by Spiritnova

I understand. I suggest look around your niche and examine the competition. The writing style and approach towards customers varies depending on the niche. Look at the blogs or websites that seem legit to you and improve on their style.

Top lists and comparision charts are also good for selling products.

Thanks

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