Yet Another Google Product Review Update
So, Google has announced yet another product review update; this was released yesterday, 27 July.
It will take approximately 2 to 3 weeks to fully roll out.
This follows the three previous product review algorithm changes in April 2021, December 2021, and March 2022.
You can tell by all this activity that Google is determined to crack down on poor product reviews, and numerous websites have been affected and lost rankings.
This update aims to promote review content that is above and beyond much of the generic information you see on the web.
I have written about this previously, and you may wish to read my posts to see exactly what Google expects when you are writing a product review.
https://my.wealthyaffiliate.com/dianescorpio/blog/another-go...
https://my.wealthyaffiliate.com/dianescorpio/blog/googles-ad...
And one from Partha.
https://my.wealthyaffiliate.com/parthab/blog/google-announce...
Basically, you are going to want to ensure that going forward, you put a lot more detail and effort into your product review content so that it is unique and stands out from the competition on the web.
Google is specifically looking for “thin content that simply summarizes a bunch of products.”
This type of content will not rank highly.
Simply rewriting product descriptions without adding your personal opinion is not good enough.
And, yes, I know that, realistically, it is not possible to purchase every product you wish to recommend, but I am simply advising you of what Google wants!
If you recommend a product as the best overall or the best for a certain purpose, be sure to share with the reader why you consider that product the best.
What sets the product apart from others in the market?
Thanks for reading!
Recent Comments
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Google is so hard to follow. My average page ranking went from around 20 out to 150 and my traffic dropped by half. Now that is corrected and my traffic is growing and my page rank back where it belongs. (Google search console)
At least with Bing, it is always stable and more traffic.
Peter H
I know that a lot of people are hesitant to buy the products for review, but if you are truly engaged with that vertical, is it so bad to possess those items?
Don't start a blog reviewing Rolex watches or Ferrari's. Instead follow the path my friend chose - she started with food and recipes, reviewing spices and baking pans, and as she enjoyed success, she started securing more expensive products (often free from the merchant!). Now she's got a site about mattresses and sleeps like an angel, and so does her family, who all sleep on mattresses gifted from manufacturers.
Oh yeah, and her review content was never thin as a result.
Hi, Diane
When Google "raises the bar" then we all need to step up to the challenge.
It sounds to me like Google may be particularly targeting "roundup" reviews that feature short descriptions, pros and cons, a photo, and an affiliate link for a long list of products.
In addition, they don't want "me too" product review articles that are essentially indistinguishable from everything else.
So, in my opinion, especially for low domain authority sites (like mine):
One option could be a website centered around informational posts with 5 to 10 very complete "money pages" (aka comprehensive "Best X for Y" articles that include a complete buying guide). You can use a plugin like Ad Inserter or Advanced Ads to send your readers to your money pages from your informational posts.
You can always use YouTube (also owned by Google) or social channels to send traffic to your website, and there's paid traffic if your website is already making money.
Another way to go is to write all informational posts and monetize the site with Mediavine or Adthrive when you get the traffic. This option would take a lot of the fun out it for me.
My product reviews are all based on guitars, amps, and effects that I own or play at the Guitar Center, so I'm lucky in that way.
I've known the senior staff at Guitar Center for years so they give me a lot of autonomy. The only thing they won't allow me to do is record in-store video. Maybe I'll threaten to play "Stairway" and then I'll probably get kicked out of there!" 😊
Frank 🎸
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The new algorithms appeared to kick in yesterday for me with organic search results down more than 50%. This comes after my best traffic month ever in July and the best sales results on Amazon, as well. I've already started reworking my reviews. I hope this doesn't set me back a year or two.