Google announced the product reviews update on 8th Apr 2021 with its own Search Central post, "What creators should know about Google's April 2021 product reviews update".
The update was "designed to better reward" reviews that "share in-depth research, rather than thin content that simply summarizes a bunch of products". It applied to English-language reviews.
Google said clearly that this was a standalone update, not a core update, per Search Engine Land's coverage.
Google's guidance centered on the reviewer actually knowing the product. It asked reviewers to do six things.
- Express expert knowledge.
- Show what the product is like physically or how it is used.
- Give measurements.
- Explain what sets it apart from rivals.
- Cover similar options.
- Discuss drawbacks as well as benefits.
Reviews that only restated the maker's own details were the thin content the update was built to outrank.
Danny Sullivan confirmed on 22nd Apr 2021 that the update was "effectively done" rolling out. That was 14 days after it began.
He noted edge cases could linger. Data firms rated it a big update, though not core-update big.
It proved to be the first of a series. Google's ranking updates history logs a December 2021 product reviews update as the follow-up.
Further product reviews updates followed through 2022.
