Google has updated documentation on writing product reviews, which helps guide buyers as to how your product differentiates from competitors.
This helps the user to choose the best purchase option that meets their needs and is within their budget. But how will this impact e-commerces and consumer behavior?
The consumer is the one who dictates the rules of Google searches and, consequently, will also affect the SEO of these sites.
Here’s a list of everything that has changed and what you need to know to prepare.
How to Write Good Product Reviews, According to Google Search Central
Reviews are important in the buying process for other consumers – so obviously we all want to do this job right.
Among the updates in the official document, there were three removals (out of a total of 21 lines) and seven best practice additions, totaling 24 lines in the updated document.
This is all to clarify what types of publishers the best practices are for, and what Google expects from them. Google’s documentation listed 3 examples of the types of publishers who review products:
1. An expert on the staff of a commerce that guides shoppers between competing products.
2. A blogger who provides independent product reviews.
3. A member of the editorial staff of a news site or other general publishing site.
The documentation even makes it clear that it acknowledges that product review pages may contain affiliate links. This means that if the buyer finds a review helpful and follows the link to purchase a product, the reviewer can be rewarded by the seller.
And what are the best practices for having good product reviews?
For your e-commerce to have good reviews, in addition to having a good platform for consumers to evaluate products in a practical way, keep in mind some essential points:
- Think about the product from the point of view of end consumers;
- In the product description, show all possible descriptions about the product, showing that your company knows what it is selling to its consumers;
- Explain why the consumer will have the best option buying into your e-commerce;
- If possible, allow the consumer to earn points for their reviews;
- Include internal links to helpful resources to aid the consumer in making a purchase decision.
Another relevant change is that these practices, not only the reviews themselves, will have an impact on the consumer in addition to the pages that contain these reviews.
It seems like a small change, but it is something that could confuse e-commerce owners and content producers.
How can product reviews affect SEO?
When an e-commerce contains a lot of information and content, product reviews also enter the equation. There have already been discussions about whether, in fact, reviews have any impact on searches. Danny Sullivan of Google recently made it clear that this update evaluates content by a relevant amount (see tweet below).
That is, if you have a small number of reviews, your website will probably not appear with great relevance for users in their Google searches. If there are a good amount of reviews, it is very likely that the algorithm will do a bigger scan of all the content.
That’s why it’s important to follow the points above. When we deliver quality in our content, not only in e-commerce, Google perceives and delivers the best for the consumer and user.
So, prepare your product pages well, let people evaluate it simply, and preferably, understand how your e-commerce consumer can see an advantage in writing a good product review.
We must remember that above all else, the user comes first, as well as the quality of the pages with content that is really useful.
When you think about the best user experience on your website, chances are you won’t have to deal with feeling punished by Google and its algorithms.
Do you want to continue to be updated with Marketing best practices? I strongly suggest that you subscribe to The Beat, Rock Content’s interactive newsletter. There, you’ll find all the trends that matter in the Digital Marketing landscape. See you there!
