Google Reviews Updates: How it Impacted Your Business?

Google has not confirmed any updates for 2024 as of yet. This blog will be updated upon Google’s announcement of an algorithm update. Meanwhile, you can review the updates from 2023 below.

Google Reviews update April 2023 has expanded its scope beyond product reviews. After the recent update, Google now evaluates reviews related to services, media, and other topics. In this blog, you will understand the April 2023 reviews update released by Google and how you will write high-quality reviews for your website.

Understanding Google Reviews Update April 2023

Google Search significantly improved its reviews system, aiming to acknowledge high-quality reviews. The new design now focuses on reviews that offer insightful analysis, original research, and content written by experts or enthusiasts. Google evaluates first-party standalone content, including articles, blog posts, and pages that provide recommendations, opinions, or analysis. However, the third-party reviews are not included in this evaluation.

In the April 2023 Google reviews update, it has expanded its focus beyond product reviews. This update now evaluates reviews related to any reviewable topic, such as services and businesses, destinations, and media (including games and movies). It is considered a more comprehensive approach than previous Google product review updates.

Google has renamed its “product reviews system” to simply “reviews system” and updated the language in its guidance documentation to apply to all reviews, not just product reviews. This update is not just limited to products. This means that the changes to their system and guidelines will now impact reviews related to services, media, destinations, and any other reviewable topic.

Google Reviews update April 2023 announced on Twitter. It is a significant update that expands the scope of its review system beyond just product reviews and now evaluates reviews of any reviewable topic, including services, media, and destinations.

Google updated its Search Status dashboard to reflect the release of the April 2023 google reviews update, which expands its review system to cover not just product reviews but also reviews related to services and other things. The update also includes guidance on how to write high-quality reviews, which benefits businesses and individuals looking to enhance their online presence. Google states:

“Released the April 2023 Google reviews update, which now covers reviews about products, services, and things. Learn more about how to write high-quality reviews.”

Heavy Focus on Experience

Google recently released updated documentation for its Reviews system, highlighting the E-E-A-T content quality paradigm. This paradigm was first introduced in December 2022 and is an enhanced version of the E-A-T concept, which stands for Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. The updated version adds “E” to the idea, representing Experience.

The latest Reviews System update from Google indicates that Experience could play a crucial role in assessing the quality of content. While using phrases like “in my experience” or “my hands-on analysis” in reviews can lead to higher rankings on Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs), the updated documentation suggests that demonstrating Experience goes beyond just using those words in a review. The documentation also suggests that Google seeks more tangible and practical evidence of Experience.

Google’s E-E-A-T guidelines prioritize Experience as a significant factor in evaluating the quality of content. Therefore, publishers are encouraged to provide concrete evidence of their Experience in their content, which can help improve their search rankings. By adhering to these guidelines, publishers can ensure that their content meets Google’s standards for quality and credibility.

Mastering the Art of Review Writing: Best Practices to Impress Google

Reviews are crucial in helping users make informed decisions about different products, services, or topics. They can be authored by experts, bloggers, or editorial staff members, providing a unique perspective on a particular subject. To increase the visibility of your review pages on Google Search and other platforms, it is essential to follow certain guidelines and best practices to ensure that your reviews are of high quality and provide real value to readers. Due to this, Google has provided a set of:

14 best practices to help identify a high-quality review in the latest Google Review Update:

1. Write your evaluation from the user’s perspective, providing an objective viewpoint.
2. Demonstrate your expertise in the subject matter you are reviewing.
3. Support your Experience with evidence, such as visuals or audio, to give credibility to your review.
4. Include quantitative performance measurements to add a level of detail to your review.
5. Highlight the distinguishing features that set the product apart from competitors.
6. Compare alternatives and recommend the best option based on use or circumstances.
7. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages based on original research.
8. Describe the product’s history and improvements over time.
9. Focus on critical decision-making factors and what makes the product unique.
10. Explain the key design choices and how they impact users.
11. Include links to helpful resources for reader decision-making.
12. Consider linking to multiple sellers for the convenience of the reader.
13. When recommending the best option, provide first-hand supporting evidence.
14. Ensure ranked lists contain enough useful content to compete independently.

Affiliate links can be an effective means to reward creators for their reviews, but it is essential to follow Google’s guidelines on affiliate programs when including them. When writing reviews, it is important to prioritize quality and originality over length, ensuring that your reviews provide real value to readers. By following the best practices as guided in Google reviews update April 2023, you can ensure that your reviews are of high quality and credibility, which can help build a loyal customer base and improve the chances of success with affiliate programs.

What are the changes made by Google in its recent update?

Google’s recent changes to its review guidance may seem minor, such as changing “shoppers” to “people” and replacing “product” with “thing” or “something,” or omitting it altogether. However, the implications and scope of these edits are significant. What was once limited to product reviews now applies to every type of review as part of Google’s review system. This update is a big step in creating a more comprehensive and inclusive review system that can benefit businesses and individuals across a wide range of industries and sectors.

Google’s “Google Search’s reviews system and your website” page used to be called “Google Search’s product reviews system and your website” prior to the recent update. However, the page has been redirected to a new page, reflecting the changes made in the update. This indicates that the changes are superficial and integrated into Google’s systems and infrastructure, further emphasizing the significance of the update. This is an important step towards creating a more unified and effective review system that can provide valuable insights and guidance for businesses and individuals looking to improve their online reputation.

On which languages does this system apply?

According to Google, this system applies to the following languages: English, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Russian, Dutch, Portuguese, and Polish.

How to stay informed about Google updates for your local business?

Staying informed and taking proactive steps to optimize your website is crucial with any Google algorithm update. However, in this specific case, there is no need for local businesses to change their websites since the update only affects review websites.

There are a few tips that local businesses can follow to maintain a competitive edge after Google Reviews update in April 2023:

• Verify Review Legitimacy

Local businesses must verify the accuracy and legitimacy of their third-party reviews.

• Review Platform Guidelines

Online review platforms have strict guidelines for writing reviews. Businesses should carefully read and understand these rules to ensure compliance when posting reviews.

• Guide Customers

Local businesses should guide their customers in writing reviews that follow the review platform’s instructions and guidelines. Clear instructions and guidance can help ensure the reviews are helpful and compliant with the platform’s guidelines.

How to Encourage Your Customers to Write Search Engine-Friendly Reviews

To ensure that customers write search engine-compliant reviews, businesses need to suggest to customers what should be included in writing a review and how they can make it trustworthy for other customers. This helps properly index the website on search engines, and in return, your website will be listed at the top position of SERPs. With the help of the spider simulator tool, businesses can properly index their websites on search engines and increase their visibility among customers. There are a few suggestions on how customers can write their reviews for a particular product on the website:

• Encourage customers to give a complete review and a five-star rating.
• Ask them to be honest and particular about their Experience with your company.
• Request them to mention your name and what service you provided.
• Encourage them to mention the brand of the item you fixed or serviced.
• Provide evidence to confirm your claims, such as photos or videos.
• Advise them to proofread the review for typos and grammar errors before submitting it on the website.
• Request to avoid using profanity or offensive language in the review.

It is important for businesses to respond quickly to customer reviews, not just on their Google Business Profile but on other platforms as well. By doing so, businesses demonstrate to Google that they value their customers’ feedback and are engaged in the review process. If the customers take screenshots of the product with the website and post a review with it, then this positively impacts people, and they will also think to buy that product from your website. W3Era provides a website screenshot generator tool that helps take screenshots of the website with the specific product.

Conclusion

While the Google review update of April 2023 may not significantly impact most companies, it is crucial for service companies as reviews are particularly vital in the home service industry. This update presents an opportunity for businesses to enhance their website’s content and offer value to their target audience. By adhering to the recommended practices released by Google Updates 2023, businesses can create high-quality content that meets Google’s criteria and provides useful information to their readers. This marks the latest development in Google’s series of product review updates, which has seen six updates since 2021.

The update aims to tackle low-effort and low-quality reviews, and companies should prioritize content quality when crafting their reviews. This update is a significant stride forward for businesses looking to deliver meaningful and relevant content to their customers.

W3Era always helps local businesses to rank high on SERP by strictly following the guidelines of Google. The businesses will receive the best local SEO services at affordable prices and boost the online presence of their business among customers.