The internet is one of the most exciting developments in the history of the world. Any device that improves information delivery is a huge step forward.

Can you even remember what it was like not having the internet? Computers? Not me; it’s utterly woven its way and become central in every aspect of our existence.

Speaking of web for business, more and more enterprise owners are finally embracing the web. What this means is competition for top search engine rankings is heating up.

The value of having a top spot on the first pageof Google for many businesses is nearly priceless. Okay, that’s a bit of an overstatement; but it’s exceptionally valuable.

That’s why any product and service that delivers better rankings is dear to me and my enterprise. Fortuitously there are plenty of quality SEM products out there.

There is no question that any product or service that improves a website ranking is an asset. The trouble is determining what is a valuable product and those that are not very good.

It’s impossible to determine a service’s effectiveness by reading the sales page or squeeze page. Those sales pages promise the world.

Fortunately there are reviews on just about anything available for sale. Like I said at the beginning of this article; if you require information, go the web.

I find product and service reviews incredibly valuable. Thanks to many bloggers and niche website owners, there are reviews on any service and product you can conceive of.

In fact I don’t buy anything without reading a review. Those reviews I find on the web. My rule for reviewing before buying especially applies to all the SEM software tools I buy.

Over the years of my search engine marketing efforts, I’ve purchased some bad SEO products. The trouble is I relied on biased reviews; reviews written just to make a sale.

It’s true, many reviews are there purely for the money received after a sale. You need to look for reviews that neutrally present the facts.

What do I mean by a balanced review? Reviews that report on the good and bad; reviews that present the facts.

11 ways to determine a good online review from a bad review

1. What’s the language tone? Is full of selling and hype? Too good to be true? Then not a good review.

2. Is it only trying to persuade you to buy? If so, avoid it.

3. What’s the tone of the rest of the site? All hype? Again not good.

4. Are there disclosure statements indicating affiliations? Affiliations are bad all the time; it’s good to know what it is you’re reading.

5. What’s your opinion of other reviews and articles on the site?

6. Is there any actual helpful information in the review or is it hype?

7. Is the author knowledgeable about the product or service?

8. How does the review compare to other reviews? Always read more than one review.

9. Did you access the review through a sponsored link or organic link? Sponsored links are paid links. Again, sponsored links doesn’t mean it’s a low-quality review; it’s just something to be aware of.

10. Just because it’s a respected publication such as a newspaper doesn’t mean it’s not a paid advertisement (i.e. advertorial or affiliate link).

11. Look for reviews that set out both advantages and disadvantages of the product or service.

Affiliate marketing, in my opinion, is a double-edged sword. On the one hand it encourages biased information. However, it also encourages people in general to write about all kinds of products and services.

I’m not saying affiliate marketing is bad. On the contrary, affiliate marketers offer a valuable service; but only those that take their job seriously. Their job in my opinion is informing and sharing information.

To learn about attorney internet marketing, visit our lawyer marketing resource website where you can read high-quality reviews such as this social bookmarking software review.

Topics: Online Marketing, internet marketing, seo, technology |

One Response to “How to Tell a High Quality Review From A Low Quality Review”

1. Евстафий Says:
   January 21st, 2010 at 10:58 pm

   …

   Хм …

Comments