Google has updated its review snippets documentation to add three additional reasons why a site may become eligible for manual action. Authentic human insights are an important quality of the type of content Google wants to rank, arguably even more so when it comes to rating content.
Three new bans on review content
Google’s recently updated structured data guidelines for review snippets are not directly related to structured data. They focus more on the authenticity of the content, which is why they are listed in the Guidelines section which concerns the type of content that can be displayed in rich review results.
The three changes made to guidelines are:
- “Do not include fake or undisclosed incentivized reviews on your page or in your structured data markup. Examples include:
- Reviews that are not based on real experience with a product or service
- Reviews written in exchange for a benefit (such as money, discounts, vouchers, or free products) that do not clearly and conspicuously disclose the incentive”
The three new guidelines address the authenticity of reviews posted and reflect Google’s overall concerns about the expertise and usefulness of content.
The changelog associated with the update explains the reasons for the update:
“Added a new guideline on review excerpts
What: Added a new guideline to review snippet documentation about fake and undisclosed incentivized reviews.
Why: To improve the transparency of user reviews.
Google’s review system
Google’s concern about the quality of reviews is such that they have an entire algorithmic system dedicated to review content.
Their review system documentation explains what it does:
“The review system is designed to evaluate articles, blog posts, pages, or similar stand-alone content written for the purpose of providing a recommendation, giving an opinion, or providing analysis. It does not evaluate third-party reviews, such as those posted by users in the reviews section of a product or service page.”
It’s clear that content authenticity is an important quality to focus on to meet Google’s guidelines, but more importantly, to differentiate your content.
