On July 27, 2022, the biggest search engine, Google, released one more update for affiliate sites. Affiliate sites that review products and make some commissions are going to be hit by it.
Other sites owner will not have to worry about it.
From April 2021 to July 2022 Google has released 4 updates on product reviews. They announced this new update on Twitter.
As usual, they give limited information on this update. Then SEOs like us find out what’s the motive and which types of sites are at risk.
With back-to-back 4 updates in the reviewed product ranking system. We are sure that google wants to change its product ranking system completely.
If you have a product review site or you have Affiliate based website then you need to pay close attention to your site rankings.
No need to do anything in the first 2 weeks just watch and note the difference in your rankings.
What is new in this July update?
With this update, Google wants to promote product review sites. There are so many sites that review products of different categories.
This update is specifically for them. Some will see improvements in their ranking whereas the majority will see some downfall.
The reason is there are few sites that deliver helpful content to the users. While most of the product review sites have thin content.
Thin content is a form of content that is less useful, not researched, or inappropriate.
Most of the affiliate sites just copy the description of products from Amazon or the manufacturer’s site and paste them into their review.
This type of content is not useful for the users. Google is going to hit those sites badly. On the other hand, product review sites that provide genuine reviews will benefit from this new update.
Google will not give any penalty to anyone they just rank down those thin content sites. Believe me, it is no less than a penalty for site owners.
In technical views, this 4th product review update will only impact review content and no other type of content.
If you have an affiliate site then you must read Google affiliate program quality guidelines.
What is different in July 2022 update?
We did not find anything unique or different in this update. It seems like Google is just refreshing its ranking system for product review websites.
As per the information given by the search engine, this new update will take 2 to 3 weeks to fully roll out. From 4 to 20 July, you can see drastic changes in your site rankings if you have an affiliate site.
At this point, you don’t need to make any changes to your site content and structure. Once the update becomes fully rollout then you can analyze your site and find out the grey areas.
Our SEO audit services are always there for you to evaluate and analyze your site after an update.
We also find less competitive keywords for new sites.
Search Engine Advice to Site Owners:
- Google wants to promote genuine product reviews by experts.
- Do not copy the manufacturer’s content and show what the product looks like and how it works.
- Show how the product is better than others and measure its performance.
- How your reviewed product is different from others in the same category?
- Do research on the product and talk about its pros and cons
- Discuss the issues and improvements to help users to make good decisions.
- Describe the product in your language based on your experience with it. Do not just copy the information of the manufacturer and publish it.
- Provide a useful link to users like audio, video, or other links that talk about the experience with the specific product.
What You can do to make Your Site Better?
Go buy the product and use it first for a few days. Make some videos of it and share this knowledge with your visitors.
Add an original image of the product. You can take a picture with your smartphone.
Stop using the information that is available on amazon or on the manufacturer’s site. Use your words to describe the product and tell every single detail about its usage.
Also, add a section that talks about its positives and negatives of it. Every product out there in the world has some pros and cons.
Tell your audience how to use the product and what are the other affordable options. There is always an alternative for every product.
Take two or more products and compare them side by side.
If possible add some quotes about the product from the industry leaders or experts.
Conclusion
Do not get panic right now let the update fully roll out. Hire an SEO agency if you believe that your site has thin content.
Write original research-based content. Update your site content and add some unique points to your review that users cannot find somewhere else.
Make your review genuine and original, also use original images of the products (do not download from Amazon or other sites).