Google Updates the Best Practices
Guidelines for Product Review

Google recently updated its documentation on writing high-quality product reviews. The documentation offers guidelines for review publishers and merchants who write product reviews.

These guidelines offer a list of best practices, which can help the review rank better on Google, increasing the chances of it being seen by search engine users.

Earlier, the documentation included 21 definitive guidelines, out of which three were removed. At the same time, Google also added seven additional guidelines to the documentation. It also clarifies who these guidelines are meant for.

So, who exactly are these guidelines for?

Google offers three examples of reviewers who can use these guidelines to write well-researched and authentic product and service reviews. Keep in mind these are not limitations but just three examples of who is required to follow the best practices.

List of changes made to the original guidelines:

Each of these updated guidelines offers a clear message, giving product reviewers more clarity on the best practice.

1. Replaced the phrase “product reviews” with the phrase “product review pages” in two instances:

1st Instance:

1. Before It was: “Publishing high quality product reviews on your ecommerce or product review site can help shoppers learn more about a product before purchase.”
2. After Update: “Publishing high quality product review pages on your ecommerce or product review site can help shoppers learn more about a product before purchase.”

2nd Instance:

1. Before It was: “To help shoppers discover your product reviews in Google Search and on other Google surfaces, follow these best practices:”
2. After Update: “To help shoppers discover your product review pages in Google Search and on other Google surfaces, follow these best practices:“

2. Replaced the summarized examples with bullet points of three specific examples, making it easier to understand.

1. Before It was: “For example, reviews can guide shoppers between competing products, helping shoppers pick the best make or model for their needs and budget.”
2. After Update: For example, you could create a product review page as:

• An expert staff member of a merchant that guides shoppers between competing products.
• A blogger that provides independent opinions of products.
• An editorial staff member at a news or other publishing site.

We have already shared a screenshot of this update in the previous section.

What was the purpose of this update?

As it clearly states, the update added more clarity to the guidelines, making it easier to understand and implement while drafting new reviews.