Google has released a new search engine algorithm update known as the product reviews update. This is not a core update but a standalone update to promote in-depth reviews in search results over superficial ones.
Google has confirmed rolling out the product reviews update today and involves only reviews in the English language as of now. If your review site is losing traffic starting from today, you’ll need to check the guidelines provided by Google specific to the product reviews update.
Rewarding In-Depth Reviews
Google believes that this step will help towards producing rich content in the product reviews area. The overall focus of this update is to provide users with more insightful reviews, with original research and written by experts and enthusiasts of the topic.
Technically this update isn’t a penalty for review sites with thin content. But instead, more of a reward for writing insightful reviews. So if you’re looking to improve the traffic of your review articles, you should consider improving the overall quality of your reviews and remove thin content.
Note: Google’s Danny Sullivan has confirmed product reviews update finished rolling out on April 22, 2021.
