Google has started rolling out yet another product reviews update on March 23, 2022, and it will take a few weeks to fully roll out. The update is meant to enhance Google’s ability to identify high-quality product reviews.
This is the first product reviews update of this calendar year, and Google has shared the criteria they use to evaluate product reviews with this update.
Google’s Official Announcement
Google took to Twitter to announce the rollout of the new product reviews update. The update started rolling out on March 23, 2022, and it would take a few weeks to complete. To help reviewers, Google has also released a detailed blog post on this update.
With this update, Google is also extending its advice for multi-product reviews. Although the update is currently targeting only English-language product reviews sites, it’s expected to extend to other languages in the future.
Our March 2022 product reviews update is now rolling out for English-language pages. It will take the next few weeks to complete. We've also extended our advice for multi-product reviews. Check out our blog post for details: https://t.co/CSZaaFHgXN
— Google Search Central (@googlesearchc) March 23, 2022
Criteria for Good Product Review
In an official blog post, Google has stated the criteria this update uses to evaluate product reviews, as follows:
- 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
Since the launch of the product reviews update, Google wasn’t clear on whether this update applies to ranked lists and comparison posts. The latest guidelines confirmed that product reviews update is applicable to all types of review content.
Are product review updates relevant to ranked lists and comparison reviews? 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.
What Are People Saying?
SEOs and reviewers took to Twitter to get to know more about this product reviews update, and Alan Kent, Google’s Ecommerce Developer Advocate, has actively responded to several questions. Here is a series of Q&A around this product reviews update.
This is just a boost for product reviews. Other pages would only be impacted if believed they are a product review
— Alan Kent (@akent99) March 27, 2022
Google has never ranked "solely on domain strength". But there is always room to improve and the latest update is another step on that journey. In case you have not seen them, we document recommended best practices for product reviews: https://t.co/VYIXLBfreC
— Alan Kent (@akent99) March 23, 2022
Product reviews on a merchant website would be impacted as well. This update is relevant to content we believe is a product review, not to product pages. When we believe the user wants a review, and a page contains a review, we try to find the best review for that query.
— Alan Kent (@akent99) March 23, 2022
We don't expect *all* images to be created by the reviewer. We look for evidence the reviewer did actually review the product. A mix is fine.
— Alan Kent (@akent99) March 23, 2022
What’s Next – Dealing With This Update
This update is expected to impact many product review sites both in search results and Google Discover. So, if your product reviews site is experiencing drastic changes on the downside, then it is best to take a look at the best practices suggested by Google and improve the quality of the reviews. Overall, Google aims to help users find great products, but also to promote review content that is above and beyond much of the template information you see on the web.
Note: The March 2022 product reviews update finished rolling out on April 11, 2022.
Sorry for the delay in response. It was almost… almost… almost…….
Yes! The rollout is now complete!— Alan Kent (@akent99) April 11, 2022
