Google has now completed rolling out the product reviews update that first began two weeks ago today, according to Danny Sullivan of Google.
“There can still sometimes be some edge cases lingering, as with any update,” Sullivan said. “But it’s effectively done,” he confirmed regarding the rollout of this new Google search ranking algorithm.
To confirm, here is the tweet from Danny Sullivan:
Some more details: The Google product reviews update first launched on April 8, 2021. This update specifically targets product review content and concluded its rollout on April 22, 2021.
The Google product reviews update aims to promote review content that goes beyond the common templated information you typically find online. Google has stated that it will elevate these types of comprehensive product reviews in its search results rankings.
Google is not directly penalizing lower quality product reviews that feature “thin content that simply summarizes a bunch of products.” However, if your rankings drop because other, more in-depth content is promoted above yours, it may feel like a penalty. Technically, Google clarified that this is not a penalty against your content; instead, it is rewarding sites with more insightful reviews by ranking them higher.
This update should only affect product review content and not other types of content. Data providers have indicated that this is a significant update, though not as impactful as a core update.
Why we care: Now is the time to check your websites to see if you were impacted by this update. If you do not produce product review content, you likely won’t notice any changes due to this update. However, if you do create product reviews, you may have been affected.
Google has provided advice on how to ensure your product review content ranks well with this update.
