Database Site vs Affiliate Review Site - How Can the Affiliate Win?

ashley

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How can I beat a database+ugc site with an affiliate review site? :confused:

I'm planning to start an aff review site in a hobby niche where I'm an expert. There are a few terrible review sites in this niche. But the big competition is a site that's db+ugc - eg book review site vs Goodreads. I think Google does like this review site and doesn't handicap it in rankings.

Any advice? I'll be doing info content, detailed reviews, unique images, high quality content, appropriate backlinks, silos, etc - is there anything I can do beyond the usual to get an edge in the long run?

Thanks :smile:
 
Are there other sites after page 10 without a DB or UGC that'd serve the query? If so, big G might be ranking that site since it has great on-page metrics/ user interaction. Or, maybe that's the intent -- maybe people want to see anecdotal reviews rather than boilerplate author reviews.

This isn't to say you should do the same since going against the grain can work out in some cases but you may want to consider those 2 points and either go against the grain entirely, or one up them in every way in addition to providing more helpful reviews i.e. visualization of DB, exporting DB, better sorting of the DB, or better UGC features/copywriting to have people engage.
 
Database sites are usually what I consider medium-easy indicators for a keyword, so I wouldn't be too worried.

Instead you should look at which keywords they're ranking for and take that as a good sign. I don't know your niche, so there could be specifics I don't know about.
 
thanks - for the main kws I was thinking of the db+ugc site wins consistently, hardly any aff sites out there - eg think Goodreads consistently coming to the top of the serps

Next question: how do you set up a db site? Is there a preferred software? Can I just use Wordpress and manually add the content? There's a plugin available that would be perfect to make the site look how I want it to. Or is this too risky from a security perspective and useless from an seo perspective?

My thinking is, I'll start an aff review site targetting the kw's where the db site is floundering (and other aff sites are doing ok) and then build out a huge db+ugc site like the authority out there, but better.
 
adding - maybe this could be merged with previous posts -

further research shows some aff sites ranking for main kw's
but most aff sites in this niche are pretty useless/low authority/spread out/off-topic etc - a bit of effort and some could outrank the authority site

to answer Darth, what's a db site: something like doordash pulling yelp restaurants using api along with user reviews for restaurants - I've found a few plugins etc that will do this without coding requirements but I don't think it's worthwhile in this particular niche to just pull content without manual input. For this niche certain styling/formatting would help, plus unique content is required whether editorial or ugc or combo.

I'm still unsure how to go but prospects are looking brighter than I'd initially thought

edit to add: another reason to veer away from auto-pulled/generated content is - I think these would get a thin content penalty without any additional unique content. The big authority site seems to manually add info ("editorial" almost definitely via cheap writers followed by unique ugc) at a mass scale which helps them rank. So huge volume of unique content required to win - what else is new lol
 
While I'm pretty sure that madlib sites haven't worked for a long time, are there any good sources to learn about modern database sites and why google don't penalize them?

How come google seems to hate generated content but also have no trouble with database sites?
 
I've been thinking for months that audience-generated content will be better valued in the future, to fight against all that content generated by AI or low quality writers.

When you buy a product, you always look at the reviews before you buy it, this would be meaningless if the product reviews are fake and do not convey sincerity.

I think reading real people, getting audiences from real people and having them share their opinions is something that will increase the value and appreciation from Google.
 
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