If you've done much software shopping on the web, you've probably run across one of these. They go to great pains (or sometimes maybe not so great) to make themselves look like a legitimate and objective software review site, oftentimes doing a Top 3 or Top 5 style ranking. In reality, they are paid affiliates of all of the products being reviewed and will typically rank the software that pays the most the highest. A sure sign that you're dealing with a review site like this is the absence of notable products in the same category, much like if someone reviewed soups and left out Campbell's or Progresso.
Other signs that you're dealing with an unscrupulous and fake review site:
- the site shows up in the paid results of a search on Google or Yahoo
- they use a cautionary tone ("Don't be fooled!", "Before you buy a X, read this!")
- they have a Top 5 (or 3 or 10 or 7) list that includes products near the top that you've never heard of or didn't see while you were shopping around
- they lack much, if any, additional content. If there are only a couple of other product rankings or reviews on the site, you're likely dealing with a fake review site.
So "don't be fooled!" by fake review sites. Make sure you're picking the best product to buy based on which one performs the best and meets your needs. Download a few trials, give them all a quick try and make a decision based on which one works the best for you and not what some reviewer (fake or real for that matter) says.
