Google announces product reviews algorithm update - April 8, 2021

Advertise on BHW
Just read it....was about to post and saw this. So I think that 90% of the review sites have a list of products with short summary about (company, product, pros, cons, features, buy links, etc). This is so common and I hardly come across detailed reviews....since to write detailed guides one will have to purchase the product itself. I am also in the same league.... I research different existing reviews of the product from various sources and regurgitate the generalized summary and create an article. So now we can expect the rankings to go down. I guess most sites in the category of "Best......." will be affected.

https://searchengineland.com/google-product-reviews-algorithm-update-347568
 
Lost Mirror said:
You mean 3000-5000 word articles ..
Click to expand...
I guess even a 1000 word review can be in depth.....G says that it should be thoroughly researched, should have “insightful analysis and original research” and written by "experts or enthusiasts" who know the topic well. I think sites like wirecutter, cnet can be considered in this category.
 
vin42 said:
I guess even a 1000 word review can be in depth.....G says that it should be thoroughly researched, should have “insightful analysis and original research” and written by "experts or enthusiasts" who know the topic well. I think sites like wirecutter, cnet can be considered in this category.
Click to expand...


I was reading this yesterday and I think a lot of sites will be hit eventually.

You can often read content and know that people have no idea what they're talking about, they're just re-writing reviews/articles from other sites.

I saw one article someone sent me to appraise and it was about Golen Retrievers the dog breed. The writer had included a photo, but sadly the photo was of a Labrador.

If you have a good looking bio on the site then this helps, but I personally feel more so if it's a genuine one and the person is regarded as an expert in the field.

If you're reading a food blog and the bio is of a chef, in his chefs' whites etc, they have social media presence then that's more credible than some nameless/faceless person.
 
ZionIce said:
This is messed up. Anybody affected?
Click to expand...
I think I'm affected by it... badly if I am. My sales were normal in the morning, but throughout the rest of the day no sales at all.

I'm also noticing major fluctuations in the search results. Not just me, all my competitors sites are also flying everywhere.

What makes it more frustrating is this update will complete rolling out within 2 weeks:
https://twitter.com/x/status/1380245245049196544

It is real mental torture.
 
MaikoSophie said:
I think I'm affected by it... badly if I am. My sales were normal in the morning, but throughout the rest of the day no sales at all.


It is real mental torture.
Click to expand...


Google didn't just roll this out overnight and your site got hit in the afternoon.
 
MisterF said:
Google didn't just roll this out overnight and your site got hit in the afternoon.
Click to expand...
That's why I'm praying this isn't the case... if it is, uh oh :weep:

Especially when some gave valid points that if Google gives priority to "experts" then we will expect to see Amazon Reviews or authority magazine sites ranking for product reviews.

I'm already facing a drastic drop in clicks. And when I view the search results from rank tracking service, I can tell the search results are entirely different as compared before.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
niopyter said:
How can you be so sure that your site was affect by this in a short time?
Click to expand...

They can't it's pure speculation.

Or Bill at Google started work at noon and targetted this site first :)
 
MaikoSophie said:
lol, yeah...

Sorry, just my anxiety making me all anxious and jumpy. :weep:
Click to expand...
I think we all know that there will be updates coming in the future and the search engine is a constantly evolving thing and finally whether we believe it or not the search will be so good that it will be able to weed out 99% of thin or low quality content. But then BHWers here are also constantly evolving and now we have AI being used in SEO and also to create quality content....so we should be in business with that mindset that things will never stop evolving and we need to read, research, create new ideas, experiment and embrace new tech and try to think how we can use this new scheme of things.....passive income may be for some time but it doesn't last forever....competitors will some day eat you up if you do not update your pages regularly.
 
ZionIce said:
This is messed up. Anybody affected?
Click to expand...

I got hit. Lost about 30% of my traffic. I saw a dip on the 8th and then it went straight into the dumpster yesterday.

Google is full of shit. The changes were made to mix the SERPs up in an attempt to extort money through AdWords. All review content followed the same format because you couldn't rank if you deviated away from that format.

I have original images of everything I review because I purchased all of it. I have expert knowledge because I actually own and use the products. I have supporting pages with reference information and in-depth instructions on how to use the products.

Now I'm being outranked by old forum posts with no images, incorrect information, and bad recommendations. "X is the best because I bought it. I have never used any of the 20 alternatives." Fantastic job by Google.
 
Lost Mirror said:
How to deal with the theft then ..
Click to expand...
Good question. I think everyone should be asking themselves how to deal with this situation.

It's clearly not in anyone's interest to have a search engine taking everyone's work and giving back so little.
 
bartosimpsonio said:
Good question. I think everyone should be asking themselves how to deal with this situation.

It's clearly not in anyone's interest to have a search engine taking everyone's work and giving back so little.
Click to expand...

Google doesn't want to take people's work, they don't want your site to show up if you have affiliate links. I'm seeing lots of forum posts and wikis rank because they have no outbound links to where people can buy the products being talked about.

This means that users will come back to Google, search for the product, and then click an ad.

My solution is going to be to stop putting any effort into or caring about the quality of content I produce. Instead, I'm going to mass-produce recycled garbage and dump it on as many domains as possible. The SERPs show Google wants shit, so I'm going to give them a giant steaming plate of if.
 
Most high quality reviews already have those features but it's great for Google to publicize this "industry standard" list to help review writers level up.
 
Advertise on BHW
You must log in or register to reply here.
Sign up now!

Main Menu

Home Main Forum List Black Hat SEO White Hat SEO BHW Newbie Guide Blogging Black Hat Tools Social Media Downloads

Marketplace

Account Selling Content / Copywriting EBooks / Methods Hosting Misc Proxies For Sale SEO - Link building SEO - Packages Social Media Social Media - Panels Web Design More

Making Money

Affiliate Programs Hire a Freelancer IM Journeys Making Money Pay Per Click Site Flipping Want to Buy

BlackHat World

Dispute Resolution Forum Suggestions & Feedback Introductions Lounge
Back
Top