It’s easy to define a review site. It is simply a site that reviews products, usually specific to a niche. An affiliate review site, then, is one that reviews products, and links to the products via affiliate links.

Affiliate review sites exploded in popularity in the last few years, and over time, it became an autogenerated spamfest. That kind of affiliate review site, in my opinion, is simply spam and is not what my definition includes. As always, I recommend creating a real site, with real quality content.

Important Features of A Quality Affiliate Review Site

• Honesty. Honestly reviewing products is the first and most important aspect. The whole point of any review site is to enable users to make intelligent, informed decisions about which product to purchase. If you are only out to make a buck, you’re going to be tempted to lie about the products you are reviewing, or take cheap shortcuts to automatically fill content. Don’t do it.
• Include enough information. Don’t skimp on your reviews. Give enough information, which includes multimedia (images, videos, audio, etc.) that helps the user make a decision. Also include negative aspects of the products. This relates back to the “honesty” feature above, and it provides a complete well-rounded review for the user.
• Multiple product comparisons. Compare 3-5 products on the same page, and optionally link to longer, more detailed individual product pages.
• Allow users to rate and review each product. The perfect mix is one in which you write the initial review, but users can also write their own review of the product. And if you also allow each user to use a star rating type of system, you’ll build a highly useful site with a nice mix of site content and user-generated content.
• Don’t buy those turnkey sites built around various niches. You’ll just end up with the same obnoxious dupicate crud as a million others. Make this a real site, with real value. I can’t emphasize that enough.
• Presentation is important. Use the same format and design for each review. This will enable your users to easily compare one product to another, and this added usability touch goes a long way towards converting sales.

Because review sites work best when they follow a specific format for each review, they lend themselves well to a templated format. Reviewing a product is simplified when you can follow the same template each time. This is the only type of “automation” I would recommend for these sites. Layout and presentation automation via a template can greatly ease the process of reviewing products, but never get sucked into using automation for the content creation itself. Don’t just copy/paste manufacturer product info. That’s just diving headfirst into the spam pond. But by all means, make the the “process” as easy as possible by sticking to a standard format.

A typical format will include at least one image of the product (always displayed in the same place for each review, usually to the left of the review), the product’s name, the review itself, and possibly a rating (4 out of 5). Price is optional, since they often change and that can be a hassle to keep up with. Of course, included with each review is a Buy Now link. Your format may include more detail, but the key is to make sure the format for each review is the same. Your users will expect to see each piece of product info in the same place every time. That works well for them, and it also makes writing each review easier, so it’s a win for everyone.

If you search for affiliate review sites, you’ll soon be overwhelmed with scripts and templates to create your site. Most of them should be banished to the spammer’s hall of shame, so be careful out there. Want to see an example of a quality review site? Prepaid Reviews comes very close to the ideal model, although I would make the “Compare Prepaid Plans” link more prominent. But if you create a review site that comes anywhere close to this example, you’ll be in good shape.