ReviewMe have launched a new service that allows advertisers to add advertorials to blogs, whilst keeping full editorial control of the copy. Advertisers can enter up to 250 words including links and also an image of their choice. All advertorials are marked at a start with ‘Sponsor Post’ and bloggers retain full control on whether an advertorial is displayed or not.
My first reaction when I saw the new ReviewMe Advertorial service was one of disappointment as I like having full control of reviews that go on my site, and even being able to give negative reviews if I choose to (which I have done in the past). However, after reflection I now don’t see this service as a ‘Review’ service, but as just another valid advertising scheme that bloggers can choose to use or not. For me this is no different to how newspapers include advertising supplements within their editions.
I know there has been a lot of fuss about Paid Posts, but ReviewMe have tried to manage this problem by adding ‘nofollow’ to all links. Hopefully this will mean that Google won’t punish sites that decide to feature these reviews. Â In my view it should be the site owner who decides whether or not they want to do something with their site, rather than Google making the decision for them.
What do you think? Have ReviewMe managed to deploy a responsible advertorial service?
