Comments on: Paid Reviews – Yes or No?

By: Dee Langdon - BloggerNewbie

Dee Langdon - BloggerNewbie — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 13:40:09 +0000

Debo Hobo I agree. I guess if all of the paid reviews were of your attitude they wouldn't get such a bad rap. If I don't like the product or service and I am not able to write my true opinion then I just don't write it. Dee Langdon - BloggerNewbie´s last blog post..The Marriage of Blogging

By: Debo Hobo

Debo Hobo — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 19:48:52 +0000

Yes, I do do paid reviews and I think they area a great way for bloggers to make money. My focus is on the consumer and providing them with my opinion on a product, not whether other bloggers feel comfortable doing them, or the opinion of other bloggers. More often then not bloggers are not my consumer or source of income. Debo Hobo´s last blog post..Tea For Two At Patti’s Place Tea Room & Bakery

By: BloggerNewbie

BloggerNewbie — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 01:13:33 +0000

Frank:

Thank you for the advice. I did not consider the whole PageRank scenario that I have been reading about in regards to the “good link – bad link” as it works with or against PageRank. There are some paid reviews that don’t require a PageRank so I am a little confused?

By: Frank Carr

Frank Carr — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 00:16:13 +0000

Here's the deal with paid 'reviews'. What the buyer is actually paying for is the Google PageRank for your site. They want your PageRank in the form of a contextual link with their preferred anchor text. This is the PageRank that you've worked hard to build. The downside is that Google frowns on this and will, sooner or later, strip your blog of its PageRank unless you disclose the paid link by using the nofollow tag on the links, something that PayPerPost doesn't allow you to do. It's essentially quick money that can hurt your blog in the long run so I recommend against doing it. Besides, I've found it much more profitable to do your own reviews of products you own or try out and link those up with eBay, Amazon, ClickBank or other affiliate offers. Frank Carr´s last blog post..Makita Cordless Impact Driver BTD142HW Review

By: BloggerNewbie

BloggerNewbie — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 11:40:52 +0000

Carla:

I agree on the full disclosure. I have changed my reviews to their own page and category with an icon that shows “payperpost” but I don’t announce the post is a paid review. I am hoping that is enough disclosure.

We have probably all done reviews without really considering them reviews. When we discuss something (product or service) on our blog (favorably or not) it is really a review, whether we are paid or not.

I just think paid reviews have a negative connotation because some reviewers have made them that way. Some people have given a favorable review to a product or service they didn’t like or didn’t know anything about. I wouldn’t take a request if I didn’t agree with the product or service.

Natural:

A lot of great points in the comment section. That is what I like about this series. Yeah, if I wanted to read a bunch of sales hoopla I would got to a sales site. If I am interested in a product or service, I find an occasional review interesting and helpful. Thanks for your input.

By: Natural

Natural — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 10:58:18 +0000

i said no, but i mean maybe sometimes. i know bloggers have to make money and they should, but if i have to read a blog full of paid advertisements, i won’t bother. i want something, words, that come from the heart, the person, not something they are made to write. occasionally, okay.