What is the Google Product Review Update?
Late last week Google announced a new algorithm update. Google calls this change an ‘improvement of our ranking systems” and it is specific to product reviews. Google says it is “designed to better reward” those sites that “share in-depth research, rather than thin content that simply summarises a bunch of products”.
Google are clear that this update is separate from the regular core updates and the “overall focus is on providing users with content that provides insightful analysis and original research”.
How To Make Your Product Reviews More Effective
Google’s announcement contains some helpful advice on what they consider to be in-depth and good quality product reviews in the form of questions to consider. They ask, do your reviews:
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- 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?
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The Impact of Google’s Product Review Update
In theory, this update should only impact product review content. However, in practice, it will give those competitors with better product review content higher rankings so those sites with lower quality product review content may find themselves affected in rankings. Making sure that your product review content quality is in line with the guidance that Google offers (above) will help mitigate any negative affect but also help build rankings against those competitors that do not have good quality product review content to share.
Making The Most of This Opportunity
If you are concerned about the potential impact of this algorithm update, then don’t hesitate to get in touch with us. Our team of experienced SEO experts will be glad to work with you to ensure that these changes can be used as an opportunity rather than a threat to your business. We can assess your product review content and work with you to improve the quality in order to capitalise on the potential impact of this new update.
Let us help you make the most of this update and turn it into a positive for your business.
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