Google December 2021 Product Reviews Update is Rolling Out Now

Review solicitation has been an ongoing problem that Google has tried to tackle in the past. In 2015, it was estimated that $45 million worth of business was lost due to fake reviews. This year in April, Google released an update to crack down on the practice. However, it seems more was needed. So now, Google has recently rolled out an extension of the product reviews update, which was launched back in April 2021. The update to its product review algorithm will emphasize product reviews that share insightful analysis and in-depth research, as well as reviews that verified purchasers write. With this update, many businesses have already started to invest in professional digital marketing and SEO services to rank in the local pack and improve organic traffic.

Our December 2021 product reviews update is now rolling out for English-language pages. It will take about three weeks to complete. We have also extended our advice for product review creators: https://t.co/N4rjJWoaqE

— Google Search Central (@googlesearchc) December 1, 2021

The new product algorithm update has added two latest practices to the previous guidelines related to the product reviews. Today, we’re seeing reports that Google’s new update is expected to reward businesses that share detailed, well-researched reviews over shorter posts. Google has been rewarding specific product reviews with badges for a while now. The latest change they’ve made is to the format of these badges and their placement on the page. It follows on from the change that was made back in March 2018. To help you prepare for this update, we have prepared the below pointers to make your life easier.

How Google’s Product Review Update Can Add Value to Your Business

Product reviews are a free service that allows shoppers to share their opinions about products with millions of other internet users. In addition, the company has confirmed that it tested out a new format for its products search results pages that will give detailed reviews from experts and consumers alike. Let’s take a look at how this update can help you improve your organic traffic and rankings.

• While the change will not impact the overall ranking of your product, it will indeed favor long-form reviews over short ones. This update is also likely to be applied to Google Images and Maps. You need to be more competitive and create quality product content to stay at the top of the local pack on Google search engine results pages (SERPs). Investing in a professional digital marketing and SEO company would be a wise idea.
• You must ensure and prove that your site doesn’t look spammy to Google. If you have too many reviews, then it looks like you have an easy back door route to get links and rankings. Make sure that people are leaving good quality feedback and not just spamming with their links. The change will likely help you get better rankings when you rank in the local pack on Google search results.
• Google’s new algorithm aims to reduce thin content by favoring long-form reviews over short ones and high-quality reviews over low-quality ones. If you have only a few words or sentences for your product reviews, then your business might be affected by this change. In such an occurrence, consider hiring an experienced SEO and digital marketing agency to help you write comprehensive, researched reviews on products and demonstrate proof that you are the product owner.
• Google updates the list of products in the Google Product Review database regularly and usually adds thousands of new reviews daily. If you’re looking to get more positive reviews, this is an opportunity to get them and rank better in Google search results.
• Google removed over 3.3 million reviews from its search engine in an attempt to make it a more helpful and trustworthy resource for consumers. With this, it has become apparent that some companies are not as forthcoming with their customers as they could be. The hope is that this will help eliminate “fake” reviews and unreliable products on the search engine that has become the number one source of information when making buying decisions.
• Google has also revealed that this change to the algorithm that powers its search results means product reviews from verified buyers will be increasingly displayed. As a result, Google’s rankings will significantly favor verified and genuine reviews over others.

7 Tips to Generate High-Quality, Detailed Product Reviews

Anyone who’s ever sold on Amazon knows that product reviews are crucial to increasing sales. That’s because people trust consumer reviews more than other review sites and information. Studies found that an increase of just one review per month can boost your sales by 5-25%. And in some cases, a single negative review can cost you 5-10% in lost revenue. That’s why when writing your product reviews and optimizing them for search engines, pay close attention to the following tips.

1. Keep Your Audience in Mind

This means you should write specifically for the search engines and not just for the reader. Use keywords that people are likely to type into a search engine when searching for a review. The keyword research tools we mentioned above can be super helpful with this step.

2. Be Thorough and Informative

Quality content matters more than quantity. If you’re writing reviews on behalf of your clients, it’s essential to ensure that your content is detailed enough to help potential customers decide whether or not they should make a purchase. Also, be sure that you have covered all aspects of the product or service you’re reviewing.

3. Encourage Your Customers to Leave a Review

Urge your customers to leave a review on your product. dissuade the customers to leave just a star rating or a comment, rather ask them to write out their opinion and experience about your product in detail.

4. Express Your Expert Knowledge

Reviews on Google Product Search aren’t ranked by popularity, which means that the most recent reviews appearing are not necessarily the most helpful ones. Instead, Google’s algorithm determines relevancy for each search query and filters the results accordingly. The update change will follow moves by Google to provide further preference to product reviews written by people who are directly connected to the brand. That will help surface more authoritative content from experts and brands on third-party websites.

5. Discuss Your Product’s Features

Reviews help build trust with potential buyers and can be very influential in the online purchasing process. Some may argue that a product review site is not as reliable as a consumer insights survey, but it is something else to consider when making a final purchase decision. People tend to believe in reviews more than surveys because they get to learn about what previous buyers think about the product or service. Your goal should be to explain your product’s benefits and drawbacks, helping your customers make informed purchasing decisions. Doing so can also drive up your sales and bring in more revenue.

6. Add Links to Multiple Sellers

Google strongly recommended that businesses include links to multiple sellers of a product, making it easier for consumers to find the best deals online.

7. Compare Different Products

The fact that Google is asking users to compare products is a strong signal that Google intends to do reviews. Reviews are one of the most valuable pieces for a merchant in search results, so it would be logical for Google to try and use this data to help merchants compare products. That makes sense from a user perspective as well. Users will probably be more inclined to click on a search result when they see multiple products compared to the search snippet. It can be done with reviews or even with simple product comparison pages where users can see their options side by side.

Conclusion

The significant takeaway here is that it looks like reviews aren’t being treated differently than other types of content when it comes to local SERPs. Google is moving away from using its stars system to rank products on the right side of search results pages. It is quietly testing a new system that will use reviews and ratings from sites like Amazon and Walmart to determine which products should appear first on its search engine results pages. The new system could make it more difficult for brands to control where their products are listed on Google. On the other hand, if done right, it will give you access to a window of opportunity to get a dramatic increase in your traffic, search engine rankings, and qualified leads.