New Google Search update enhances product reviews

Handling more than 3.5 billion searches per day, Google Search is the most visited website in the world and the number one destination when searching for information. However, with all that information available at our fingertips, finding the exact thing you are looking for can be daunting without some help to sort through it. This is Google’s ranking system’s job: to help you sort through all that content and serve you the most relevant and useful results.

Google’s ranking system is always evolving, and sometimes changes are made that are meant to improve results for more specific searches, and the types of information people want to see. Product Reviews are one of these particular searches for which Google aims to enhance the results. In order to do that, changes started taking place last year to help ensure product reviews come from people who are more knowledgeable and have first-hand experience with handling the product they are reviewing. Google has now announced that they are expanding on these improvements and are adding the below criteria when it comes to product review ranking in Search:

• Include helpful in-depth details, like the benefits or drawbacks of a certain item, specifics on how a product performs or how the product differs from previous versions

• Come from people who have actually used the products, and show what the product is physically like or how it’s used

• Include unique information beyond what the manufacturer provides — like visuals, audio or links to other content detailing the reviewer’s experience

• Cover comparable products, or explain what sets a product apart from its competitors

The Keyword

Besides implementing these new criteria, Google states that their work is not done when it comes to improving Search and that they plan to bring these updates to languages other than English. They have also provided a guide with tips on how to write the best product review to help their ranking. Kudos to Google for continuing to improve on the most important aspect of their platform: Search.