Google has made updates to how they will decide which product reviews it shows in Search results.
According to Google, they want to ensure that the reviews you see are of excellent quality and contain useful information about a product you might be interested in purchasing.
“We know people appreciate reviews that share in-depth research, rather than simply summarize a bunch of products. That’s why over the past year, we’ve been working to improve the product reviews we display in Search, with the latest update launching today.” said Perry Liu, a Software Engineer at Google.
Product reviews have to meet the below specific criteria to rank;
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
The update will roll out over the next few weeks, and may impact the rankings of English-language product reviews across many sites.
“We’ve seen positive effects of our initial changes on the English-language ecosystem and online shoppers, and we plan to open up product review support for more languages.” Google said in a statement.
The change is in response to user feedback that thorough reviews with evidence of products being tested are preferred.