Google released the July 2022 product reviews update on 27th Jul 2022. It was the fourth in the series after the April 2021, December 2021 and March 2022 releases.
It again applied to English-language product reviews, with more languages promised for the future. Google said the rollout would take 2-3 weeks.
Instead, it was marked complete as of 2nd Aug 2022, just six days in.
It was also unusually quiet.
In Search Engine Land's roundup of data providers, Semrush called the update "incredibly mild" compared with the March 2022 version. RankRanger saw nothing unusual in rank or traffic data.
Sistrix concluded it "did not have a major impact on SERPs".
The same report carried an important caveat. Overall calm still included single sites with severe swings, some reporting traffic changes of up to 80%.
The target profile was unchanged from earlier reviews updates.
The update promotes reviews built on insightful analysis, original research and demonstrated hands-on experience. Those rank ahead of templated rewrites of manufacturer specifications.
Review sites that lost ground were advised to compare their content with that standard. The time to do it was before the next reviews update came around.
That means showing first-hand use, unique information beyond the spec sheet, and honest comparisons.
