If you're anything like us, you love checking out all the new Google products and updates that come out every year. Well, September 2022 is no exception – Google announced September 2022 Product Reviews Update!
Here’s a quick rundown of what to learn:
- A brief overview of Google's September 2022 product reviews update
- The implications of this change
- How to prepare for the product review update
Keep reading to find out more!
Table of Contents
Google September 2022 Product Reviews Update Quick Facts
Google finally released its fifth product reviews update on September 20, 2022. This was released before their September 2022 core update, which was already completed.
Here's a short overview of important things you should know about this update:
| Launch Date | September 20, 2022, at 4 am ET |
| Rollout | It may take 6 days or up to two weeks to roll out fully. |
| Completion | Google rolled out the update completely on September 26, 2022. |
| Targets | It focuses on product review content. |
| Penalty | It’s not a penalty but rewards "insightful analysis and original research." |
| English Language but will expand | Up to now, this is only looking at English-language content. But it will expand to different languages. |
| Not a core update | Others think this is a core update, but it’s not. |
| Impact | Google didn’t mention the percentage of queries or searches that were impacted by this update. |
| Discover | This Google’s product reviews update can impact the performance in Google Discover. |
| Recover | If this hits you, then look at your content and then see if you can do better with some of Google's advice. |
Google is constantly making changes to its product review system in order to improve the customer experience. Online stores must be aware of the changes, so you should take steps to ensure that your business is prepared.
The Latest Google Product Reviews Update Changes
Google has once again updated its product reviews, and this time it's a doozy. The fifth product reviews update is now live, and Google has made some significant changes.
Here are the three of the most important changes you need to know.
A new rating system is being implemented.
Now, instead of an average of all ratings, they will only be displaying a "Recommended" badge if the product meets their criteria. This change is meant to provide a more accurate representation of a product's rating.
Reviews will be entirely voluntary.
Previously, all sellers were required to allow customers to leave reviews for their products. However, under the new system, customers will have to opt-in to leave a review. This should cut down some fake or biased reviews that are submitted, as only people who are genuinely interested in providing feedback will take the time to leave a review.
New features to its product review pages.
These features include an overview of a product's features, as well as links to related products and services. These new features are designed to help people get more information about products they're interested in.
Google cited two reasons behind this new update:
If you're a Google user, then these changes are likely to have a significant impact on the types of product reviews that you see in your search results; it may be on a desktop or mobile search. So, be sure to keep you updated on any other changes that come up before September 2022!
How Will the New System Affect Your Business?
If you’re a business that relies on Google product reviews, these changes may impact your business.
Moreover, Google shared this statement prior to the product review update:
Additionally, if you haven't been responding to customer reviews, now is the time to start. The new system will be easier for businesses to respond to reviews, so take advantage of that opportunity to build relationships with your customers.
Moreover, it will place more emphasis on verified purchaser reviews, allow reviewers to upload photos and videos, and make it easier for businesses to respond to customer reviews. If you rely on Google product reviews for your business, take steps now to ensure that your business is prepared for the changes.
Some Tips for Writing High-Quality Product Reviews
Product reviews are an important way to guide consumers before they buy a product. By publishing honest opinions on your ecommerce site or within Google Search, you can make sure that potential customers know the pros and cons of each option.
To discover your product reviews, simply follow these best practices:
- Show that you’re an expert and knowledgeable about your product.
- Evaluate products from users’ perspectives.
- Explain what sets products apart from their competitors.
- Give proofs such as visuals or audio, as well as include links.
- Provide quantitative measurements in various categories of performance.
- Ensure there’s enough helpful content in your ranked lists.
- Give comparisons or provide recommended products.
- Discuss both benefits and drawbacks of a certain product.
- Identify key decision-making aspects for the product's category.
- Consider putting links to other sellers to give users the option to purchase from their merchant of choice.
As we all know, Google rolls out algorithm updates quite frequently. It’s important to keep your website compliant with their latest changes so that you don’t lose traffic and fall in the search engine rankings. Luckily, our app has a new Update Impact Report feature to check the pages and how they were affected. Plus, the same as Google Search Console, you can analyze which queries get more or less traffic after the update is completed.
Final Thoughts
Love them or hate them, Google product reviews are here to stay. The search engine giant announced a series of changes to its product review system back in September 2022, and we wanted to make sure our readers were up-to-date on everything that's changed.
If you want to make sure your business is ready for these changes, be sure to schedule a demo of our SEO APP or book a call with Gert. Reviews are more important than ever, so our team can help you make sure they positively impact your search engine ranking.
Ensure that your website is ranking high no matter what Google and other search engines throw at you next!
