Impact of Google Product Review Update on your business in 2022
Introduction: What is the Google Product Reviews Update:
Google rolled out the third version of the product reviews update on the 23rd of March 2022. This is the third time in a one-year timeframe that Google has updated product reviews. The first update occurred in April 2021, with the second commencing at the end of the year in December 2021.
Google’s product review update which was announced on Google’s Search Central Blog, aims to reward users who write extremely helpful and detailed reviews. To briefly put it, this means that Google will prioritize detailed, in-depth, and useful product reviews over thin content that simply summarizes a bunch of products.
Product reviews that place emphasis on product specifications, describe how it helps, and provide benefits and drawbacks of the product, for example, maybe preferred over reviews that solely mention how “good” or “terrible” the product is. The overall focus is on providing users with insightful analysis and ensuring that users receive trustworthy information.
This update is currently available for English-language reviews, but it may be expanded to other languages in the near future.
Users can now read specific, in-depth, and detailed reviews instead of scrolling through dozens of poor-quality reviews to make the best purchasing decisions.
What do Creators Need to Know About Google’s New Product Review Update?
Google has provided a list of questions you should focus on answering in order to ensure that you are publishing high-quality product reviews which are a good fit with the new Google product review update.
This is excellent news for you if you are an e-commerce site owner, a content producer, or an SEO expert.
“Do your reviews:
- Express expert knowledge about products where appropriate?
- Show what the product is like physically, or how it is used, with unique content beyond what’s provided by the manufacturer?
- Provide quantitative measurements about how a product measures up in various categories of performance?
- Explain what sets a product apart from its competitors?
- Cover comparable products to consider, or explain which products might be best for certain uses or circumstances?
- Discuss the benefits and drawbacks of a particular product, based on research into it?
- Describe how a product has evolved from previous models or releases to provide improvements, address issues, or otherwise help users in making a purchase decision?
- Identify key decision-making factors for the product’s category and how the product performs in those areas? For example, a car review might determine that fuel economy, safety, and handling are key decision-making factors and rate performance in those areas.
- Describe key choices in how a product has been designed and their effect on the users beyond what the manufacturer says? ”
These are some useful questions to keep in mind in terms of product reviews for those creating content according to Google.
What Impact does the Latest Google Product Review Update have on Your Business?
The Google product review update implies you’ll have to focus on writing more in-depth and detailed reviews that go beyond what the manufacturer has to say about the product if you run an affiliate website. This will help your content rank higher in search results and drive organic traffic.
The latest update could negatively impact your business if your site has lower quality product reviews with thin content that simply summarizes the features. It will definitely feel like a penalty if you publish such content and your rankings are demoted since other content is promoted above yours.
It’s not the end of the world if this happens. There are ways to get back on track after being penalised by Google’s algorithm.
Affiliate website owners and E-commerce business owners have to ensure that their product reviews are detailed and informative enough to rank higher on search engines.
Criteria Listed by Google to Rank Higher
Google listed the following criteria about what matters with the product reviews update:
- Include helpful in-depth details, like the benefits or drawbacks of a certain item, specifics on how a product performs, or how the product differs from previous versions
- Come from people who have actually used the products, and show what the product is physically like or how it’s used
- Include unique information beyond what the manufacturer provides — like visuals, audio, or links to other content detailing the reviewer’s experience
- Cover comparable products, or explain what sets a product apart from its competitors
Frequently asked questions about the product review update answered by Google
Yes. Product review updates apply to all forms of review content. The best practices we’ve shared also apply. However, due to the shorter nature of ranked lists, you may want to demonstrate expertise and reinforce authenticity in a more concise way. Citing pertinent results and including original images from tests you performed with the product can be good ways to do this. |
If you recommend a product as the best overall or the best for a certain purpose, be sure to share with the reader why you consider that product the best. What sets the product apart from others in the market? Why is the product particularly suited for its recommended purpose? Be sure to include supporting first-hand evidence. |
It can be effective to write a high quality ranked list of related products in combination with in-depth single-product reviews for each recommended product. If you write both, make sure there is enough useful content in the ranked list for it to stand on its own. |
Conclusion
Google updates its algorithm on a regular basis in order to provide the best search experience to its users. The latest product review update prioritizes reviews that are detailed, trustworthy, and genuinely helpful.
It is important to keep up with the current updates to stay ahead of the competition and rank higher on search engines.
At ThinkTech, we keep up with and stay on top of Google’s latest updates to ensure our clients have the opportunity to rank higher and easily being found online.
We have a lot of expertise in using SEO strategies and techniques to help your company thrive and rank higher. Are you excited to make changes to your website? Contact us and get the help you need through a leading Digital Marketing company.
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