What creators should know about Google’s April 2021 product reviews update
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Thursday, April 8, 2021
Google Search is always working to show the most useful and helpful information possible, through
testing,
experimenting, and review processes. From this, we know people appreciate product reviews
that share in-depth research, rather than thin content that simply summarizes a bunch of products.
That’s why we’re sharing an improvement to our ranking
systems, which we call the product reviews update, that’s designed to better reward such content.
This update is going out today and only involves English language reviews for now. We believe this will further help
those producing rich content in the product reviews area.
Although this is separate from our regular core updates, the advice
that we provide about producing quality content for those is also relevant here. The overall focus is
on providing users with content that provides insightful analysis and original research, and is
written by experts or enthusiasts who know the topic well.
For those creating content, here are some additional useful questions to consider in terms of
product reviews. Do your reviews:
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 about how a product measures up in various categories of
performance?
Explain what sets a product apart from its competitors?
Cover comparable products to consider, or explain which products might be best for certain
uses or circumstances?
Discuss the benefits and drawbacks of a particular product, based on research into it?
Describe how a product has evolved from previous models or releases to provide improvements,
address issues, or otherwise help users in making a purchase decision?
Identify key decision-making factors for the product's category and how the product performs in
those areas? For example, a car review might determine that fuel economy, safety, and handling
are key decision-making factors and rate performance in those areas.
Describe key choices in how a product has been designed and their effect on the users beyond
what the manufacturer says?
We hope the guidance offered here is helpful. Also be sure to review our
Providing better product information for
shoppers post for more general advice about how to present shopping-related information.
Beyond that, you can also find advice about creating good content with the resources that we offer
on Google Search Central, including tools,
help pages and our
forums.
Posted by Perry Liu, software engineer and
Danny Sullivan, public liaison
for Search
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],[],[[["\u003cp\u003eGoogle Search has launched a product reviews update to reward in-depth, insightful product review content over thin, summarized content.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThis update, currently for English language reviews, aims to surface richer content for users seeking product information.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eGoogle emphasizes creating product reviews that offer original research, expert analysis, and unique perspectives beyond manufacturer details.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eContent creators are encouraged to consider various aspects when writing reviews, such as providing quantitative measurements, discussing pros and cons, and comparing products.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eGoogle provides additional resources and advice on creating quality product reviews through Search Central tools, help pages, and forums.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],["Google Search launched a product reviews update to better reward in-depth, research-backed content. This update, affecting English reviews, prioritizes expert analysis and original research. Content creators should ensure reviews show expert knowledge, provide unique content beyond manufacturer information, and include quantitative measurements. Reviews should compare products, discuss benefits and drawbacks, and identify key decision-making factors. Updates are posted on their search status page. They emphasize the importance of high-quality content.\n"],null,["Thursday, April 8, 2021\n| We now post about product reviews updates on our [List of Google Search ranking updates](https://status.search.google.com/products/rGHU1u87FJnkP6W2GwMi/history) page. To learn how a product reviews update works and how you can assess and improve your content, see [Google Search's product reviews update and your website](/search/updates/product-reviews-update).\n\n\nGoogle Search is always working to show the most useful and helpful information possible, through\n[testing,\nexperimenting, and review processes](https://blog.google/products/search/raters-experiments-improve-google-search/). From this, we know people appreciate product reviews\nthat share in-depth research, rather than thin content that simply summarizes a bunch of products.\nThat's why we're sharing an improvement to our [ranking\nsystems](https://www.google.com/search/howsearchworks/how-search-works/ranking-results/), which we call the product reviews update, that's designed to better reward such content.\n\n\nThis update is going out today and only involves English language reviews for now. We believe this will further help\nthose producing rich content in the product reviews area.\n\n\nAlthough this is separate from our regular core updates, the [advice](/search/updates/core-updates)\nthat we provide about producing quality content for those is also relevant here. The overall focus is\non providing users with content that provides insightful analysis and original research, and is\nwritten by experts or enthusiasts who know the topic well.\n\n\nFor those creating content, here are some additional useful questions to consider in terms of\nproduct reviews. Do your reviews:\n\n- Express expert knowledge about products where appropriate?\n- Show what the product is like physically, or how it is used, with unique content beyond what's provided by the manufacturer?\n- Provide quantitative measurements about how a product measures up in various categories of performance?\n- Explain what sets a product apart from its competitors?\n- Cover comparable products to consider, or explain which products might be best for certain uses or circumstances?\n- Discuss the benefits and drawbacks of a particular product, based on research into it?\n- Describe how a product has evolved from previous models or releases to provide improvements, address issues, or otherwise help users in making a purchase decision?\n- Identify key decision-making factors for the product's category and how the product performs in those areas? For example, a car review might determine that fuel economy, safety, and handling are key decision-making factors and rate performance in those areas.\n- Describe key choices in how a product has been designed and their effect on the users beyond what the manufacturer says?\n\n\nWe hope the guidance offered here is helpful. Also be sure to review our\n[Providing better product information for\nshoppers](/search/blog/2021/02/product-information) post for more general advice about how to present shopping-related information.\nBeyond that, you can also find advice about creating good content with the resources that we offer\non Google Search Central, including [tools](https://search.google.com/search-console/about),\n[help pages](/search/docs) and our\n[forums](https://support.google.com/webmasters/go/community).\n\n\nPosted by Perry Liu, software engineer and [Danny Sullivan](https://mastodon.social/@searchliaison), public liaison for Search"]]
