Google is now rolling out a new search algorithm update named the December 2021 product reviews update. This is the second time Google is pushing out a product reviews update this year; the first one rolled out in April 2021.
This update is “designed to better reward” product reviews that “share in-depth research, rather than thin content that simply summarizes a bunch of products,” a spokesperson said in April. Reviews that are written with “insightful analysis and original research” will be rewarded, especially “content written by experts or enthusiasts who know the topic well,” according to Google.
What is changing: Google stated that if you made changes between now and the last update, you might see improvements in your rankings. Google mentioned, “if you have made positive changes to your content, you may see that improvement reflected as part of this latest release.”
Google also noted that the company has “received more feedback from users on what type of review content is deemed trustworthy and useful, motivating us to provide additional product review guidance. Users have indicated they trust reviews with evidence of products actually being tested and prefer to have more options for purchasing the product.”
More advice: Google provided two new best practices around this update. One is to provide more multimedia in your product reviews, and the second is to offer links to multiple sellers, not just one. The two advised items are:
- Provide evidence such as visuals, audio, or other links of your own experience with the product, to support your expertise and reinforce the authenticity of your review.
- Include links to multiple sellers to give the reader the option to purchase from their merchant of choice.
Rolling out now: The update is currently being rolled out for English-language pages, and it will take about three weeks to complete.
Google product reviews update: The update aims to promote review content that goes above and beyond the typical templated information found on the web. Google said it will elevate these types of product reviews in its search results rankings.
Google is not directly penalizing lower quality product reviews that merely summarize a group of products. However, if your content is demoted because more insightful reviews are ranking higher, it will effectively feel like a penalty. According to Google, this is not a penalty against your content; the company is simply rewarding sites with more insightful review content with higher rankings.
This update should only impact product review content and not other types of content.
Previous advice on the product reviews update: The emphasis is on providing users with content featuring insightful analysis and original research, created by experts or enthusiasts knowledgeable about the topic. Google’s advice for product reviews includes addressing the following areas:
- 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 of a product’s performance in various categories.
- Explain what sets a product apart from its competitors.
- Cover comparable products or explain which might be best for certain uses or circumstances.
- Discuss the benefits and drawbacks of a particular product, based on thorough research.
- Describe how a product has evolved from previous models to provide improvements.
- Identify key decision-making factors for the product category and how the product performs in those areas.
- Describe key choices in a product’s design and their impact on users beyond what the manufacturer states.
Why we care: If your website offers product review content, check your rankings to see if you were impacted. Long-term, ensure that your product review content is detailed and unique to stand out from the competition.
Other Google updates this year: This year, several updates were confirmed and many were not. In the most recent order, the updates included: the July 2021 core update, the June 2021 MUM rollout, two spam updates in June, the page experience update, the predator algorithm update, and the November spam update.
Previous core updates: The most recent core update was the November 2021 core update, followed by the July 2021 and June 2021 core updates. The December 2020 core update was notably large, bigger than the May 2020 core update. Previous to that were the January 2020 core update and the September 2019 core update, which felt less impactful. Google also released a local rankings-specific update in November 2019.
