Beware of ReviewMe

Making extra cash from your blog is always a plus, but has paid solicitation gone too far?

Most people are aware of Google Ads. “AdSense is an ad serving program run by Google. Website owners can enroll in this program to enable text, image and, more recently, video advertisements on their sites. These ads are administered by Google and generate revenue on either a per-click or per-thousand-impressions basis – wikipedia.”

Amazon Associates also offers a paid advertisement service. Amazon Associates uses “[a] computer program [that] reads [your] blog, matches the topics to various books Amazon sells and places ads for those books on [your] site – bloggernews.” By linking to Amazon products and services you can receive up to 10% in referral fees.

Yet another paid for advertisement service is ReviewMe. ReviewMe works more or less like this: you signup your blog, ReviewMe analyzes your blog and gives it a "value" (e.g., $60 per a review), you wait for an advertiser to pick your blog, you write a review based on the advertiser's specs, and you get paid.

According to ReviewMe, “People ignore ads. In much the same way that banner blindness set in, many publishers [notice] their contextual ad click through rates and earnings drop over time.” ReviewMe’s solution is to trick site visitors by making their ads appear as legitimate blog articles. “Because [ReviewMe’s] reviews are not formatted to look like ads, publishers are able to deliver more attention and value than through advertising via any other marketing channel.”

Last month MATCHinform wrote an unsolicited, unpaid review on MillionaireMatch. MillionaireMatch uses the ReviewMe service to pay other blogs to review, and thus advertise, their site. Compare our review of MillionaireMatch with Cupids ReviewMe review.

While I cannot fault someone for trying to increase traffic to their site, the audience should be aware that these blog reviews are solicited and the content is influenced by the purchaser and cash.

Ask Dan and Jennifer is a popular dating advice site that also uses ReviewMe. There are numerous positive reviews by bloggers for their site. For example, see the Ask Dan and Jennifer review by All Tips and Tricks, Finding your Marbles, Balanced Life Center, and Seeds for Wealth (just to name a few). Also, for $150.00 Dan and Jennifer will write a glowing review for your site on their popular blog.

Dating advice blogs, like the Great Mate Debate and Ask Dan and Jennifer, have insightful content. However, when reading and deciding whether to execute their advice, realize the corporate and/or monetary influences that are in place.

It is important to distinguish between corporate/ReviewMe sites and those who aren’t constrained by the internet dating lobbyists. Again, it is not that the corporate/ReviewMe sites don’t offer meaningful advice, after all they have the money and backing to ensure their content is top notch. However, their corporate and promotional interests will always be a factor, and you should be aware of these motivations.