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Products in Articles: A Guide for Cyber Week
Each year, on the Friday day following Thanksgiving, retail enthusiasts flock to their favorite merchants to shop, egged on by advertisements promising the steepest discounts and lowest prices of the year—this phenomenon has gone on since the late 1980s. In recent years, however, it has become overshadowed by a newer phenomenon: Cyber Monday.
Coined in 2005 by Ellen Davis and Scott Silverman, Cyber Monday (the Monday following Thanksgiving) offers the same opportunity as Black Friday but in the digital landscape. Thousands of retailers offer once-a-year discounts in their online stores, encouraging consumers to spend their hearts out in anticipation of the winter holidays. In the years since its 2005 inception, Cyber Monday has grown, and many retailers have begun offering deals and discounts all week long. Now, the phenomenon is known by many as Cyber Week.
With shopping and products at the forefront of the minds of the masses, we thought it would be a great time to discuss the dos and don't of mentioning, reviewing, and/or linking to products in your articles. After all, doing so carelessly can cause an article to come off as promotional or scammy and even lead to ranking penalization by Google and other search engines.
Tips for Effectively Including Mentions of Products in Articles
- Only include mentions of products if they are relevant and helpful in the context of your article.
- Only discuss products you have personal experience with.
- If writing a product review or guide, include plenty of information about how the product functioned when you used it.
- Include personal photos of the product to show how it functions and add credibility to your account.
- Avoid linking to more than a few product sales pages (e.g., Amazon listings) from any single article.
- Avoid using overly promotional language when discussing products—articles that sound like ads aren't particularly helpful.
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