How the ranking system works

As product reviews work, I think it’s important that to normalize how the ranking system works. Its one thing to just give my opinion, but I wanted more. I’ve been in the business and technical world for some time.

It became important for me, if I was going to provide honest reviews, how would I rank a site that gives even consideration and balances the playing field.

I use a weighted scale. Here is my matrix and break down.

Ranking	Weight	1	2	3	4	5
Supports Affiliate Marketers (Marketing & other stuff)	5	No support	Some banners and links	Banners, video promotions	Updated promotions, no community	Community, promotion materials, very active
Experience/History of Success	2	No experience brand new	seems small time, no real history	Has been around for a while, seems like a successful, updated program	Strong following	Repeat, and strong business or a lot of small successes
Commissions	3	< 10 %	10-20%	20-30%	30-40%	> 40%
Attrition Rate	3	> 80%	60-80%	40-60%	20-60%	< 20%
Recurring Revenue Commissions	5	No Recurring Revenue	<1 Year	1-2 Years	First 3 Years	Forever
Upgrade Options	3	No-Upgrade	Some Upgrades, but hard to convert	Upgrades	Upgrade Options, configurable	Upgrade options, they do the work
Large Affiliate Network	2	Can’t find people selling product	Only finding a few sites selling, or they tell us there is are people.	Can find review sites or prove other 1000 people selling	Can find many people selling products, in websites and youtube videos, or other media	Large following, vacations and big contests for winners

How I fill it out

Some of the research I can’t just be found. That’s when I use a bit of common sense. For example, if I just can’t find attrition rates, but I do find an active, positive community, I may rate it as a five for that category. If I find that site is old and not updated, but they do have some support, I may rank that a 4.

The scale gives me a specific way to logically consider each program. I do want to be optimistic, but at the same time, if someone, like yourself, is reviewing, I want to try to remove optimism to replace as much honesty as possible.

Why a Star System?

Quite frankly, it’s easier than decimals so I just round to the nearest half point, and call it a day.

Do reviews get updated?

Absolutely! If the program owner or operator asks, I’ll update the review or if the review is older than 1 year. Or if someone asks directly. The goal isn’t to downplay a program, but it’s to provide guidance to you, the customer on which program should be seriously considered.

The best a program can get is to be 5-stars!