The World Wide Web is inundated by literally thousands of Best Review websites. These sites can have a massive impact on the perception about a product or service.
But most people do not know that the large majority of these review websites do not review anything. They are nothing more than Affiliate Websites.
Almost all Best Web Hosting Reviews found online are not review sites at all. Learn how to spot these fake review websites and how you can do your own comparison when shopping for a great web hosting company.
How can you tell if a hosting review site is just another affiliate website?
Even some are the biggest name Websites like CNET and Business.com are nothing more than Advertisement Websites.
Why does almost every website, blog, YouTube video with the Best Hosting Websites seem to recommend just a handful of Hosting Companies?
Most of the biggest hosting companies have affiliate or payout programs.
This is why they need you to sign up for at least a year. They have to pay out their commission.
Below is a short list of affiliate companies:.
BlueHost $65 per referral
Host Gator $50-$125 per referral (depends upon sign up volume per month)
Squidix $25 per referral
MDDHosting $15 per referral
Fresh Roasted Hosting $15 per referral
MonsterMegs $20 per referral
DreamHost (not an EIG company) - $30 for month to month and $97 for annual referrals
LiquidWeb (not an EIG company) - $60 per referral
GoDaddy (not an EIG company) - 30% commission.
Most of the above sites are EIG* companies.
The Endurance International Group (EIG)
formerly BizLand owns over 70 web hosting companies
This includes BlueHost, HostGator, iPage, FatCow, Domain.com, IPower, A Small Orange, etc. There’s nothing wrong with owning a bunch of brands, but not having honest reviews by honest Reviewers is just bad businesses. This company grows by acquiring new brands continuously to stay on top of the Best of and Top 5 lists out there on the Internet. It’s a public company, feel free to check it out for yourself.
Full List of EIG Companies and Brands With Details
Wikipedia.org listings of Endurance International Group.
When a big company like EIG seizes a bigger share of the hosting market by aggressive buying up these companies, History has shown it can ruin that particular industry. As a result, it becomes harder to find a good hosting company.
This is why just about all the Best Web Hosting Reviews sites point you toward the same hosting companies
Their fees seem low, and they appear to be easy to start up with
But keep in mind, the options that you think you are getting are not really options at all
Renewal rates are sometimes double, even triple.
And even though you sign up for a year or two of hosting: Their money-back guarantee is only for 30 days.
How to know if a review blog or site is an affiliate website?
Today, virtually all big companies have some sort of affiliate program
They offer high paying commissions to their Affiliates.
You can tell whether a review website is an affiliate site looking at the links they display for the products they are reviewing.
Are the links normal looking like these?
RSH Web Services Amazon.com
Ebay.com.
Hover your mouse over the above links, look in the bottom right corner of your Browser, what do you see?
Links going directly to their website, like these?
https://rshweb.com https://www.amazon.com https://www.ebay.com.
Now hover your mouse over this link
https://prohostingreview.com
Do you see a link like this:
https://bluehost.com/?utm_35TT-https://prohostingreview.com-&utm=affiliate&utm_affiliate-linkThis is a good example of an affiliate link.
Other affiliate links might look like these:.
https://www.pcmag.com/roundup/316108/the-best-web-hosting-services#These review sites focus only on placing products with the highest affiliate commissions on their website.
Here is a short list of Best Review Sites we found that are also Affiliate sites
Some are the biggest name websites are nothing more than Advertisement Websites
We all thought they could be trusted for their unbiased reviews!
With hosting review sites often skewed by affiliate links and platforms like Trustpilot facing criticism for fake reviews, as noted on Reddit and Quora, trust is hard to come by. X users highlight biases on these paid review sites urging caution. To find reliable hosting, verify uptime and pricing directly, lean on user forums for raw feedback, and compare multiple sources. Trust is possible, but it demands diligent cross-checking to separate genuine insights from manipulated noise.
We are not the only ones that are concerned about this problem, below are just a few sites we found.
CNBC.com
Is that online review site telling you the truth?
ResearchasaHobby
Fake web hosting reviews. How to recognize them.
Qquora.com
Is anyone sick of fake web hosting reviews?
hosting-reviews-exposed.com
A guide to fake hosting reviews.
support.google.com
Domains hosting fake reviews for branded keywords.
hostcolor.com
Tricked By The Best Web Hosting Services.
quora.com/
Why is an honest web host review so hard to find?
forumweb.hosting
They simple rank hosts based on which ones they get the best affiliate.
Hostinger Review
Fake reviews and con artists.
TGDaily
How to Recognize Fake Hosting Reviews.
HostingsThatSuck.com
Hostgator Sucks? Did you know Host Gator customers had problems?....
WikiHow.com
How to Spot a Fake Review Website.
WebSiteHosting.com
The 14 Types of Fake Review Sites.
hbr.org
How to Recognize Biased Online Reviews.
CustomesSaysReviews.com
How to Differ Real and Fake Reviews.
ForumWeb.Hosting
How to tell if the web hosting review site is an affiliate.
Cybercashworldwide.com
Affiliates write favorable reviews in order to earn commissions.
Endlayer.com
Spotting Fake Magento Hosting Review Sites.
ThisHosting.rocks
Guide on choosing a web hosting provider without affiliate links.
InstantShift.com
How to Spot & Avoid Bad Web Hosting Companies.
Complaints Against Trustpilot - Listing Class Action Lawsuits. Complaints and Unethical practices. Also including Better Business Bureau Complaints
Even Trustpilot cannot always be trusted.
We have listed a few other websites talking about Trustpilot.
Can Trustpilot.com be trusted, or is it all just a scam? Unethical Practices The general consensus is that Trustpilot cannot be trusted. They manipulate reviews in favor of clients on their paid plans.
Trustpilot not to be trusted so much - MoneySavingExpert.
Can TrustPilot.com Be Trusted? - True Reviews.
Is Trustpilot Reliable? I Wouldn't Count On It.
BBC One Watchdog - Trustpilot.
Are Trustpilot reviews trustable? Quora I am going to go with, no Trustpilot reviews are not trustable.
Trustpilot Reviews & Learn About Trustpilot Pricing If Trustpilot cannot be trusted to show true reviews, then they should not be hosting such a service.
Trustpilot Reviews DO NOT trust Trustpilot review
Can you trust Trustpilot? – 9 million reviews studied
Trustpilot, Inc. Complaints | Better Business Bureau®
Can Trustpilot be trusted? r/Scams
Why you shouldn't trust Trustpilot Reviews
Fake reviews plague platforms like Trustpilot, with Reddit and Quora users exposing paid reviews and biased moderation. X posts note AI's potential to detect fake patterns, but businesses still manipulate ratings. To fight back, verify purchases, flag suspicious reviews, and cross-check user feedback on forums like Reddit. Prioritize hosts with transparent practices and consistent uptime. Trust requires vigilance, rely on multiple sources to uncover genuine hosting experiences
Amazon, The Federal Trade Commission, Yelp and even the New York Attorney General to name just a few are suing fake review sites
ABC News: Amazon Sues Over Fake Reviews
Amazon suing more than 1,000 allegedly fake reviewers, that offer their services on the online marketplace - (Fiverr.com). For posting ads that promise a five-star review
FTC Brings First Case Challenging Fake Paid Reviews
When a company buys fake reviews to inflate its Amazon ratings, it hurts both shoppers and companies that play by the rules. What the FTC Did to Protect Consumers According to the FTC's complaint
Writing Fake Reviews On Yelp? You Might Get Sued
It is also important to note that this is not the first time Yelp has tried to sue someone over fake reviews. This is Yelps second complaint it filed against a business related to deceptive reviews
Fake Reviewers Get Zero Stars From New York Attorney General
All Tech Considered Nineteen companies agreed to pay more than $350,000 in penalties to settle accusations that they wrote or bought fake reviews
Navigating hosting review websites demands skepticism due to affiliate link biases, as seen on sites like CNET and TechRadar. Reddit users often highlight inconsistent experiences with hosts like GoDaddy and Bluehost, urging independent verification.
Trustpilot's reliability is questioned due to potential biases, like paid subscriptions influencing review moderation. Reddit and Quora posts highlight issues with fake reviews and inconsistent moderation, suggesting businesses with premium accounts may manipulate ratings. Research multiple sources to make an informed hosting decision.
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