providers claim that Google’s April 20,23 product reviews update is more volatile than its previous update.
According to Semrush data and Rank Ranger, the April 20,22 updates caused more volatility in Google search results compared to previous versions, such as the February 20,23 product reviews.
Google’s April 2023 review update began rolling out around 12 pm ET on April 12. ET was on April 12, 2023. The update was completed on April 25th, 2023. It took 13 days for the update to be rolled out.
This was Google’s seventh review update, and the first to target more than product reviews. This version of Google’s product review updates included reviews on any topic that was reviewable.
- Services and business
- Destinations.
- Media (e.g. games, movies)
Google changed its name from “product reviews” to “reviews” and altered its language in its guidance documents around product reviews so that it now applies to all types.
The April 2023 update is more significant, according to data providers
Semrush. Semrush data revealed that the April 2020 reviews update was more volatile compared to the February 2023 reviews update.
Mordy Obersterin from Wix and Semrush said that, “compared to the baseline, the April 2023 updates were slightly more volatile than February 2023’s product reviews update.”
Here’s a look at the sensor showing the volatility that it tracked in the last few weeks. The majority of this volatility occurred during the last update week.
This graph shows the vertical breakdown, comparing February 2023 to April 2023.
You will see that the peak volatility in February was higher than what we saw on the April 2023 Update:
Semrush showed that more URLs were now ranking in the top 10 results, compared to February when they ranked at least 20.
Rank Ranger. Rank Ranger also showed a similar trend with the April 2020 reviews update. This update was volatile compared to the previous February 2019 product reviews update.
The Rank Risk Index showed high fluctuations in April 20, peaking at April 25. Darrell Mordecai, from Rank Ranger, told us that this analysis was based on fluctuations occurring on April 25.
The Rank Ranger Rank Risk Index has shown the following over the last few weeks. You can see that the majority of this volatility occurred during the final week of the update. Even today, two days after the update, there is still some volatility.
This chart compares the two previous updates. It shows that the April update 2023 is more volatile than February update 2023. “The April update had a much greater impact than the February one.” The April update now includes all reviews, not just the product reviews. This may explain the higher impact.
The top 5, top 3 and top 10 Google results also showed an increase in volatility, especially in the top 5 when compared with the previous update. Top 3 results were also more volatile, but not top 10.
You can also look at the top 3 results, top 5, and top 10 to see which verticals are more volatile.
Community. The SEO community chatter during the first update week was very limited. The excitement grew during the second weeks, and continued until the completion was announced by Google.
The SEO community’s chatter on this update followed the spikes in volatility reported by these toolsets.
Update on April 2023 reviews
Previous product review updates. This is the seventh version of the product review update (now called the reviews update) which was released at around 12pm ET on April 12, 2019. The first update of product reviews was launched in April 2021. The second on December 1, 2021.
Google’s latest advice. Google’s updated advice.
- Consider the user’s point of view when evaluating.
- Show that you know what you’re reviewing.
- To support your expertise, and to reinforce your review’s authenticity, provide evidence, such as audio or video clips, of your personal experience.
- Share quantitative measures of how something compares to other categories.
- What makes a product different from its competitors?
- Explain what you would consider similar or which is best in certain situations or uses.
- Based on your original research, discuss the advantages and disadvantages of something.
- Describe the evolution of a product from its previous versions or releases. This can be done to address problems, provide improvements or help users make a purchasing decision.
- Concentrate on the factors that are most important to you, based on what you know or your expertise. For example, in a car review, fuel economy and safety might be rated as key factors.
- Describe the key design choices and how they affect the user beyond what is stated by the manufacturer.
- Include links to useful resources, whether your own or those from other sites, to assist the reader in making a decision.
- Include links to different sellers so that the reader can choose the merchant they want to buy from.
- If you are recommending something that is the best in general or for a specific purpose, be sure to include the reasons why it’s the best. Include first-hand evidence.
- Make sure your ranked list has enough content to be able to stand alone, even if it is accompanied by separate reviews.
Why do we care? You will want to check to see if your ranking has been affected if your website provides general reviews. Has your Google organic traffic increased, decreased or stayed the same?
You will want to put more effort and detail into your reviews in the long run. Make your review unique to stand out among the other reviews on the internet.
It is clear that many sites have seen a big change in their rankings. If you too experienced this, you are not the only one.
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