Google has recently updated the fifth product reviews update for September 2022, targeting low-quality reviews. This update was rolled out on September 20th and took a week to roll out completely.
Officially, the update was made on Twitter with a link to the official page for search ranking updates. Google has updated the page accordingly, after the launch was completed.
Last month, this update came much later than anticipated. In August, Google had already informed publishers about a new product reviews update to be expected in September.
Initially, Google had updated in August about a helpful content launch. However, there had been no mention of the product reviews update that came out last September.
The impact of the latest update can already be seen in the way product reviews pages now appear.
Google adds, If you see a change and wonder if it’s related to the core update or the product reviews update.If you produce product reviews, then it’s probably related to that.
If not, then it might be related to the core update.
If you are not a business with an e-commerce site, then this update is not applicable to you. This is not a core update that impacts all search results.
In addition to the September update, there is another update to take into consideration.While algorithms always undergo updates, a core algorithm update is more noticeable.
Google has revealed that the ranking signal introduced along with the helpful content update will get stronger as other types of updates roll out.
This means that the product reviews update has tremendous potential to cause greater impact in comparison to previous versions.
Product reviews updates that have not been affected by previous updates have surely been affected by the September product reviews update. This, however is not a bad thing because with every algorithm update, there is a chance to improve ranking results.
Google did not provide any guidance for the September 2022 update. Here is a summary of the information you need to get well acquainted with such product updates in future.
Google Algorithm September Product Reviews Update
Google’s product reviews algorithm update has been designed to reward high quality product reviews pages sharing in depth research.
Low quality reviews pages contain poor content that simply summarises information from the manufacturer’s website.
Google wants to segregate product reviews (good content vs bad content) written by real people who have experimented with the product from paid, non legitimate, poorly written reviews.
Good quality content usually consists of supporting videos, product images , benefits and comparisons that provide a first hand impression of what the product is all about.
These reviews updates are beneficial as well as applicable to websites like Wirecutter and Tom’s Guide that publish long-form product reviews.
Product reviews updates are a trending concept these days because many websites have poorly laid out reviews. This makes it very difficult to sieve out good content and legitimate reviewed content from a bad content or a fake reviews.
The reason why high quality reviews content on your website is important since this helps shoppers learn more about a product before it is purchased. Whereas a low quality product reviews page contains minimal content copied from the information found on the manufacturer’s website.
We would like to draw your attention to the fact that if you sell products that customers can reviews on your website, then the Google product reviews update is not for you.
Let’s look at what Google considers a good product review
(Source: Google)
The first product reviews was updated on April 8, 2021, the second was launched on December 1, 2021, and the third was launched on March 23, 2022. The forth update was launched on July 27, 2022, followed by the latest update which was on September 20, 2022.
- Evaluates the product’s from the perspective of the customer
- Demonstrates your understanding about the reviewed product
- Reinforce the authenticity of the product by providing evidence such as visuals, audio or links of any other experience
- Share quantitative measurements about how a product measures up in various categories of performance
- Explain what sets a product apart from the competitors
- Compare products to consider which will be best for certain uses
- Discuss the pros and cons of a particular product, based on own research
- Describe how the product has evolved and become better in performance to enable customers to make wise purchasing decisions
- Identify strategic decision making factors for a product and how the product performs in those areas
- Include links from several websites to help the consumer make the right purchasing decision
- While recommending a product as the best, state the reasons behind so along with attached evidence
- Ensure that there is enough useful information in the ranked list for them to stand on their own
Conclusion
Google algorithms are updated several times throughout the year. However, most of these changes are minor. ‘Core’ updates are important and are announced in advance to give webmasters the chance to prepare and optimise accordingly.
The simple way for any reader to understand Google’s algorithm update and why these updates are rolled out, is by reviewing Google’s documentation on Search Engine Optimisation. That said, we hope that this article has given you an overview about September Core update.