In a recent update, Google introduced a comprehensive revision for product reviews, providing valuable insights for e-commerce experts to enhance the visibility of their web pages in comparison to competitors. While some concerns were raised about potential fluctuations in web traffic due to the update, adapting to the new guidelines can not only stabilize your traffic but also give you an advantage over sites that neglect these guidelines.
Neglecting the guidelines may even result in Google penalizing their pages, thereby boosting your chances of obtaining higher rankings in search engine results pages (SERPs). If you haven’t had the opportunity to explore the details of the new Product Reviews Update, there’s no need to worry. In this article, we will delve into the guidelines to provide a comprehensive understanding.
What Does the Product Reviews Update Entail?
Google’s eighth broad core update of 2022, known as the 9/20 Product Reviews Update, builds upon three previous updates focusing on creating helpful content and product reviews. While you may come across familiar guidelines, it is still worthwhile to review this update, particularly if you are involved in the e-commerce industry.
The update appears to be aimed at filtering out low-quality reviews and advertisements originating from questionable overseas shops, a concern due to the prevalence of drop shipping among many e-commerce startups. These startups often operate multiple shops offering numerous random products that they have never owned, tested, or even laid eyes upon.
Unfortunately, this practice has had a detrimental impact on the online shopping industry. With the full implementation of the update, Google’s crawling bots are expected to penalize shops that engage in spam links, copy-paste product reviews, and recycle advertisements.
What Implications Will the Update Have on You?
E-commerce professionals, including affiliate marketers, are directly impacted by the 9/20 update. Affiliate marketers, in particular, engage in the practice of simultaneously writing multiple product reviews. They typically join affiliate programs of various brands, conduct brief research, and swiftly produce their product reviews.
Regrettably, employing this tactic will no longer prove effective. Even if you craft compelling content, Google may not prioritize ranking your posts if they consist of generic information that can be found elsewhere.
Bloggers Conducting Independent Product Reviews
Exclusively focus on reviewing products and services that you have personally experienced. It is crucial to possess firsthand insights in order to provide valuable information and establish your blog as a reputable and trustworthy source. Google’s crawling bots have the ability to identify duplicated content easily. Consider this: if independent bloggers rely on the same sources, their product reviews will inevitably become similar. Additionally, generic advice fails to captivate visitors. If readers have already encountered your insights on other blogs or videos, they will have no incentive to continue reading your content.
Social Media Influencers
Shift your focus from merely discussing brands and instead prioritize publishing unfiltered and authentic footage of yourself testing the products or services you endorse. Google favors vloggers who offer original visual reviews. For instance, if you are endorsing a beauty cream, your video has a higher chance of ranking well if it showcases you actually using the product, accompanied by before and after pictures to illustrate the results.
Media Outlet Writers and Editors
If your media outlet allows endorsements, it is advisable to request trial products for your writers and editors. This ensures they can produce original and top-notch content. In case your publication has strict policies against accepting gifts, you can always return the trial products afterward. To enhance your website’s ranking on Google, consider including high-domain authority (DR) backlinks to verified resources and authorized product resellers. However, it is important to obtain the client’s approval before referring to their partner sellers.
Mastering Adaptation to Broad Core Updates
It’s important not to get overly stressed about broad core updates. As you’re aware, Google frequently introduces changes, and it’s not uncommon for certain updates to impact your web traffic. Keep in mind that Google is consistently working on enhancing search results.
The key is to stay informed about significant changes. While you don’t necessarily have to delve into every new guideline. It’s beneficial to understand their impact on SEO and SERP rankings.
Additionally, it’s essential to remain flexible in your digital marketing strategy. Given the frequency of recent broad core updates, there’s no guarantee that your tactics will continue to yield results in the long term. Allowing room for adjustments is crucial.
Transform Your SEO Approach for Product Reviews
In essence, the 9/20 update aims to eradicate spammy product reviews. To align with this objective, it is essential to prioritize generating original content infused with unique, firsthand insights, as opposed to relying on multiple reviews based on third-party information. To achieve optimal results, it is recommended to embrace Google’s SEO updates. By creating high-quality content driven by SEO principles, your pieces will consistently secure higher rankings on search engine results pages (SERPs), irrespective of Google’s implementation of broad core updates.
