With internet commerce growing rapidly for the past decade and a half, there has been a huge increase in the amount of consumer review sites. These sites review the products of certain industries. The collaboration of professional opinions and consumer opinions has grown exceedingly more popular over recent years. However, are the views of these sites unbiased, or are they simply a veiled sales pitch?



As more and more review sites are produced daily, how is a consumer to know which websites have their best interest at heart? While deciphering this very question can be unnerving there are always a few basic evaluation tools to consider. The content of the sites is usually a dead give away.

First and foremost, take a look at how many products are being reviewed on the sites. If the amount of reviews is extensive it increases the likely hood that the site's recomendation is valid. A site that is only reviewing three to five products, chances are the products have been selected for a reason. The proprietor of the review site may be an affiliate for the merchant, influencing their recommendation. While this partnership alone does not disvalue the recommendation it certainly is one factor to think about when evaluating a site's validity.

Secondly, take a look at the photos and testimonials shown on the site. If you find that a number of review sites all share the same photos and personal testimonials, it is likely that this marketing material was provided by the merchant themselves, making the opinion expressed on the site a direct extension of the merchant. Now this does not mean product images of course, however it does mean many of the graphics. You should also consider the written text of the site, is it unique? A truthful site should have an opinion of its own, not sharing the opinion of other review sites, verbatim. So take the time to recognize similarities amongst review sites, when it comes to the same product.

The next thing to consider in your search to find unbiased reviews is much more obvious. Does every product reviewed on that site rate well? The purpose of a consumer review site is not to simply endorse every single product; it is to establish which products work the best. If every opinion claims that particular product as effective, you may need to question the authenticity of the website. Logic tells you that one product must have different results than the next, and the likely hood that all five products reviewed working equally well seems a stretch.

Using these three criteria as a format to discovering the honest consumer review site will assist you to get a better understanding as to which site provides you the most insight. As with most evaluation methods, this advice is not black and white. Try to follow your instincts. And while each one of these examples in and of itself, can not determine the validity of a consumer review site the combination of these factors on any given site; however, may announce your need to continue your quest for a alternative site.