What You Should Know About the Google Reviews Update

Google wrapped up its Reviews System update last December. The company revealed that it will not be announcing any future updates to the system anymore. The change is due to the regular and continuous updates the system’s algorithm will make.

The Reviews System is a key element of the algorithms group. It puts together search results. This particular system kicks in when ranking review-centric content. It also goes into effect when evaluating search queries.

Google designed the Reviews System to rank people-first content. The company has released guidelines about the Reviews System. Publishers can learn more about the type of content this system ranks using it. The regulations Google published aren’t a list of factors affecting rankings though. It’s more of a general advisory on the type of content Google is trying to rank. The guideline aims to provide publishers and writers with a better idea of their content.

The Reviews System guidance aims to provide better rewards for good content. These can be in the form of high-quality reviews. It can also be insightful analysis and posts that share original research. These should be by experts or those who have a solid understanding of the topic.

Google announced the update Google Review System back in November 2023. The roll-out wrapped up in early December.

There were some concerns due to reported ranking drops. Many SEO groups noticed that this happened before Google finished the update.

What can companies and publishers expect with the finished update? There’s no word yet from Google on what will happen going forward. The company also hasn’t explained what it means that improvements are continuous. Many experts say the review system process will run every day.  The system will get data from new web pages and adjust the rankings.