What creators should know about Google’s product reviews update

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