Update an affiliate review when the product’s price, features, plans, ownership or support changes, and when new competing reviews start showing up in the results. Retest the product, correct what changed, show a visible last updated date, and schedule a full recheck every six months so the review doesn’t describe a product that no longer exists.
I covered this in my December 2023 episode on making money from affiliate product reviews, where “update the post regularly” was one tip on a long list. It deserves its own post. This one covers when to update, what to retest, how to show the date, and when to send readers to a different product.
When should you update an affiliate review?
Update a review when anything a buyer would use to decide has changed. That covers the price, the features, the plans or tiers, who owns the company, and whether support still answers. New competing reviews in your search results belong on the list too, because a post that held first place with no competition has to earn that spot again.
Support changes count even when the product still runs. Google ended support for the first and second generation Nest Learning Thermostats on October 25, 2025, according to Google’s support page, which I checked on November 2, 2026. After that date the thermostats dropped out of the Nest and Google Home apps, and owners lost remote control from a phone. A review that praised phone control described something that no longer worked.
Price and plan changes are the ones readers catch first. If a plan moves from $29 to $49 a month and your review still says “starts at $29,” the reader finds out at checkout and blames you.
Should you make a review longer when competitors show up?
Yes. A short review can hold first place while nobody else has written one, and that advantage ends the day a competitor publishes. In my December 2023 episode I put the floor for a competitive keyword at 2,000 words, with about 3,000 as my own target.
My own example is the clearest one I have. I reviewed a brand-new product that launched around December 2013 or 2014, and my review ran about 1,500 words. Nobody else wrote a review for a full year. I held the number one spot for about three years at under 1,700 words.
After other reviewers showed up, I went back and expanded the post. When I described it in that episode it had grown to closer to 3,000 words, and as of that December 2023 recording it had never ranked below first.
I have two caveats. Those word counts come from memory, and I gave them in the episode with a “probably” and an “if I’m not mistaken.” I also can’t tell you how much of the streak came from the update, since a post that started with a year of zero competition had a head start.
I’ve written review posts that earned more than $50,000 at under 2,000 words, so a short review can pay. The question is how long it keeps winning once someone else writes a better one. Check the top five results for your keyword each time you update. If every one of them is longer and answers more of the buyer’s questions, treat your update as an expansion instead of a touch-up.
What should you retest before you update an affiliate review?
Retest everything your review claims the product does. Sign in, click through what a buyer would use, and compare each line of your review to what you see on the screen.
- Price, plan names and what each plan includes
- Features that were added, renamed or removed since you last wrote
- The screens and dashboard your screenshots show
- Who the product fits now, which decides your “who it’s for” section
- Refund or guarantee terms, and how fast support answers one real question
- Every affiliate link, including the page each one lands on
The link check is the quickest to skip and the most expensive to miss. How to Find and Fix Broken Affiliate Links walks through checking them and fixing the ones that fail.
Small updates are mostly additions. The examples I gave in the episode were adding a new “who it’s for” section when you notice another type of buyer the product suits, such as senior citizens who want to lose weight, and splitting “coaches and consultants” into two separate sections.
If you can’t test the product again because the course closed or the item is gone, say so in the review. Do NOT imply you retested it.
Once you’ve finished your notes on what changed, the rewrite is the slow part. Review Post Pro is my AI tool for writing SEO-optimized product review posts, trained on 300+ top-ranked review posts, and it runs on ChatGPT Plus with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
How do you show a last updated date on an affiliate review?
Put a visible “Last updated” line near the top of the post, and leave the original publish date and the URL alone. Readers see at a glance that the review is current. In my episode I told listeners Google likes content that gets updated at least periodically.
I only stamp a post when the edit is substantive. That means I added or removed at least 30 words, or I corrected a fact. A fixed typo or a swapped link doesn’t earn a new date. I use a centered, italic line that reads “Last updated: November 2, 2026,” swapping in the date of your own update.
Changing the date without changing the post is the shortcut to skip. Put a fresh date above last year’s price and you’ve told the reader you didn’t check.
How do you update screenshots and prices in a review?
Retake every screenshot from the live product and replace every price with today’s price, with the date you checked it next to the number.
In the episode I said I swap old images for new screenshots from inside the course dashboard or the product itself, because a review written five years ago describes a product that has changed. Name the new files for the product and what the screen shows, and write alt text that describes the screenshot. My example of a bad file name in the episode was “screenshot one.”
Write each price followed by the date you checked it. If the seller runs a sale or a bonus, note the end date and remove the offer the day it ends.
If you want the ranking basics next to this update routine, my free Affiliate Review Post Guide covers how to optimize a product review for search engines. I update it every six months.
When should you point readers to an alternative instead?
Point readers to an alternative when the product no longer does what your review promised and you can’t honestly recommend it today. A shut-down, an expired course, ended support or a price that doubles all qualify.
My review of Michael Hyatt’s 5 Days to Your Best Year Ever shows what this looks like. The course has expired and the bonuses I’d listed expired with it, so in October 2026 I added a note at the top saying so. Michael turned the same five-step plan into a book, Your Best Year Ever, and that’s where I send readers now.
I haven’t finished the job. As of November 2, 2026, the post’s title still says “Plus $598 in Bonuses.”
A shut-down is a different problem from a downgrade. What to Do When an Affiliate Program You Rely On Shuts Down covers swapping the offer without losing the page’s rankings, and writing an alternatives post covers the dedicated page for readers who want a replacement.
When a change makes the product worse, say so in the review. The post on saying something negative about a product you promote covers how to do it.
A product you retire from a review is probably on your resources page too, so each change means a second edit. My free Ultimate Guide To Creating A Resources Page is a report on making $10,000+ a month in passive affiliate income from a single page.
Should you update the old review or write a new one?
Update the old review. It already has the URL, the links pointing to it and the rankings, and a new post starts from zero on all three. Write a new post only when the company releases a different product with a new name, such as a second version that replaces the first.
When that happens, keep the old review live with a note pointing to the new one, and build the new post with how to write an affiliate product review post that ranks and converts.
How often should you update an affiliate review?
Run a full retest every six months, and make a small update every two to three months on the reviews that earn the most or sit on products that change often.
My team’s schedule for a product that launches once a year starts about six months before launch. We update the review again two months out, one month out and a few days before the cart opens, which makes four updates. For evergreen products we update about four times a year, every two to three months, and small updates are all it takes.
- Every two to three months, check the price, plans and links, and add or fix one section
- Every six months, retest the product, retake screenshots and update the date
- Before any launch, update the review ahead of the cart opening
- Any time the company changes owners, drops a plan or shuts down, update that day
Your reviews are only part of the content that needs a schedule. How to Protect Your Affiliate Content from Google Core Updates covers the update cadence for the rest of your site and the signals Google rewards.
What to do next
Open your top-earning review this week and retest it against the checklist above. Add the last updated line if you changed 30 words or more, then put a six-month reminder on your calendar. If a product has shut down or expired, add a note at the top and point readers to an alternative before you do anything else.
Frequently asked questions
How often should I update an affiliate review?
Run a full retest every six months and make a small update every two to three months on your best earners. In my December 2023 episode I described updating annual launch products about four times a year, timed around the launch, and evergreen products about every two to three months.
Should I change the publish date when I update a review?
No. Leave the original publish date and the URL alone and add a separate last updated line near the top. Stamp it only when you add or remove at least 30 words or correct a fact. A new date on an unchanged post tells readers you didn’t check anything.
How long should an affiliate review be?
In my December 2023 episode I said anything under 2,000 words is hard to rank when you have competition, and I aim for about 3,000. I also said posts over 4,000 words lose readers. A short review can still win, as mine did at under 1,700 words for about three years, when nobody else has reviewed the product.
What should I do when the product I reviewed shuts down?
Add a note at the top saying the product is gone, point readers to the closest alternative, and swap your affiliate links to the replacement offer. Keep the same URL so the page keeps its rankings. Rewrite any section that named features or pricing of the old product.
Does updating a review help it rank?
I told listeners in December 2023 that Google likes content updated at least periodically, and my number-one review is one I expanded after competitors showed up. I can’t prove the update caused the ranking. Fix the facts first, because a fresh date above a stale price helps nobody.
About the author: Matt McWilliams has driven more than $1.8 billion in affiliate revenue and recruited over 330,000 affiliates. He’s a four-time Affiliate Manager of the Year, winning the Affiliate Summit Pinnacle Award and the AbestWeb Affiliate Award twice each. Read more about Matt.
