Google February 2023 Product Reviews Update: How will it impact your Search Engine Rankings?

The Google Product Reviews Update according to SEO experts, aims to promote review content that is beyond the templated information one can find on the web. Google aims to promote such product reviews in its search results rankings. 

These latest SEO updates also aim at encouraging site owners to include detailed reviews on their websites. At the same time, it is also important to understand that Google is not looking to directly punish lower-quality product reviews that include a simple summary of a bunch of products. However, if you find your SERP rankings degraded due to the same reason, and other content promoted above yours, it may seem like a penalty. In contrast, according to Google, this should rather be considered a reward for websites with more insightful review content. According to SEO experts, irrespective of the fact that your website has or does not have review content, this update is a great opportunity for you. You can add more insightful content and diverse reviews on products listed on your website to see your rankings grow.

However, it is also important to keep track of the changes through the Google Search Ranking Updates Page, as the Automated assessment of product review content is only one of the many factors used in content ranking, and changes can happen at any time for varied reasons.

• Google suggests that publishing high-quality product review pages on your website can help shoppers learn more about a product before they make a purchasing decision. You can create a product review page as:
  An expert staff member of the merchant,
  An independent blogger who provides personal opinions on products,
  An editorial staff member of a news or publishing website.
  Furthermore, while evaluating the products and writing reviews, make sure you follow these best practices:
  Evaluate a product based on a user’s perspective.
  Demonstrate knowledge.
  Include evidence such as visuals, audio, and links to your personal experience with the product. This will support your expertise and reinforce the authenticity of your review.
  Show quantitative measurements of how the product measures up in different categories of performance.
  Explain the USPs(Unique Selling Points) and drawbacks of the product, based on your original research.
  Show how the product has evolved from its starting to introduce improvements, and address key issues. This can help users in making a purchase decision.
  Identify and highlight key decision-making factors for the product category. Also include information about how the product performs in those areas.
  Describe key choices in product design and their effect on users other than what the manufacturer claims.
  Make sure to include links to some useful resources (whether your own or other websites) to help readers make a decision. Try adding links to multiple sources and sellers who provide the product so shoppers have several options to choose from.
  When recommending a product as the best overall or best for a certain purpose, include the reasons that support your claim along with first-hand support evidence.
  Make sure that there is enough content in your ranked lists that speak for the products.
  Focus on the quality and originality of your reviews, and not the length of them.
  In addition to the best practices, it is important to refer to the three new points of advice for the third release of the product reviews update. These are:

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 shared above 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.

Are there any recommendations for reviews recommending “best” products?
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.

If I create a review that covers multiple products, should I still create reviews for the products individually?
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.

Going forward, you would want to ensure that you are putting a lot more effort into the product review content, so it is detailed, unique, and stands out from the competition. Also, if your search engine rankings were impacted by the previous core updates, this product reviews update may be a chance for you to recover from the damage. Visit our blog page to get more content like this.