Fake Acne Review Websites – Don't be Fooled!
At some point or another, most of us have looked for the "best acne treatments" available
, and we all hope there is an easy fix. That makes us targets. We are all so willing to believe that there is one product that is better than the others and works for everyone. What you may have noticed, though, is that there are far too many websites claiming to list the top acne products available. Looking at these sites in great depth, I've also discovered that many of these sites offer fake reviews with the websites making profit from the products included in their list.
I have always been a strong supporter of good health as the best treatment for acne but that doesn't mean others won't work for some people and it doesn't mean that you shouldn't try them for yourself. It's important to clarify that not all "Top Treatment" review websites are scammers some offer legitimate reviews and great information, even if they do make some money if the products are sold. With that in mind, I've prepared a quick guide to help you identify the fake review websites and to find a product that might actually work for you.
Spotting a fake review website:
The claims made on a site seem extraordinary
Dubious claims such as "BEST acne treatment available" pop up in most of these fake review sites. "Best" is a subjective claim that needs to be proven to some degree. Whether it's through visitor voting or scientific studies, the proof of any outright declarations should be freely and easily available to prove such statements. Acne treatments now likely number in the thousands and many have varying results. Real acne reviewers know this.
Miss_X is saying exactly the same thing as Mr_Y
You might find a few identical reviews on these phony sites, copied from other websites or perhaps posted multiple times by the same person. If you are unsure a comment or review is original, simply copy the comment or a section of the review and paste it into the Google search box to see how many sites it appears on.
The product reviewed is flawless
Reviews on these sites are usually 100% positive or the obvious negatives are virtually ignored. Every product has some drawbacks, even if they are small, so while you do need to keep an open mind to ALL new information (very important when researching) just keep an eye out for seemingly to good to be true' reviews
Reviews are all left within a short period of time of each other
This can be an indication that all of the reviews were written by the reviewers at the same time, like when the website was launched.
Voting is not allowed
While it is perfectly fine for people to review products, claims such as "top five" or "best treatment" should only be used if they can be backed up by evidence or if the public is allowed to vote and leave comments.
Commenting is not allowed
Real writers and reviewers are not afraid to get feedback on what they are saying. In fact, people looking for accurate information often welcome comments from real life people and to know if something they've stated is incorrect. A lack of publicly visible commenting functionality is usually a good indication of something to hide.
You find yourself thinking, "why does this site look so familiar?"
Most of these websites bear a striking resemblance to each other, particularly in design.
Advertising for a review website
If you see ads for a "review" website then the question must be asked, why are they paying to advertise it? Advertising is not free so there must be a motive. If all the site does is offer reviews on other products, list the "best" products, and does actually sell something on the site then there is no money to be made other than the sale of the products listed.
Technical Methods
While the above points can help expose some of the more obvious offenders, there are other more technical methods that you can utilise to determine the authenticity of a review site. This may be unnecessary for some readers but for the tech gurus out there I thought it would be good to include.
Check the whois' information to see if the review website has the same IP address as one or more of the product's official sites.
Check the URL of the links to the product sites to see if there is a dynamic tag at the end. Here are some examples of dynamic tags:
- ?aff=1234
- ?affiliate-id=abcdef
- ?u=1234453&gl=us
Unfortunately, there are times when the link to the product's official site is masked, making it difficult for you to spot the dynamic affiliating tag. Instead, there is an internal link and auto-forwarding to the product's URL. Is it more difficult to spot the dynamic affiliating tag? Yes. Impossible? No. Some crafty page source research should do the trick by identifying the auto-forward and affiliate URL.
Don't Stereotype
Like I mentioned earlier, there are still some websites that offer valuable and honest information regarding acne treatments. Do not be sceptical of all positive reviews just because they are positive. As I also mentioned earlier, you have to be open to new things when researching acne products. Just do your due diligence to see if the information checks out for yourself.
To finish, here are some of the more popular review websites that we've found, just from the first page of Google:
AcneCuresRevealed.net This is the most blatant example and I have not found much user support in forums for any of these products.
http://www.acnetreatmentguide.org A less serious case but still lists some known questionable' products at the top of their list.
http://www.10acne.com This is one of the sites that offers good information and simply makes money through affiliating product sales. The products listed here have mixed feedback and work for some people, but the reviews on the actual site might be biased due to the profit.
This is not to say that some of the products on these sites won't work at all. There are a number of acne treatments that have had varying degrees of success. The thing to take home from this article is that reviews on these sites are biased and you should do your own research before making a decision. Here's a practical tip, check out the 3-star and 4-star reviews first and look out for balanced reviews that can be found in forums.
Now that you are equipped with the review website checklist, go forth and uncover these sites and let others know. And don't be fooled by fake sites again.
Fake Acne Review Websites Don't be Fooled!
By: George Cleanthous
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