July 2022 product reviews update: dates and what to do

What Google changed#

Google released the July 2022 product reviews update without a separate blog post. The Search Status Dashboard entry reads “Released the July 2022 product reviews update for English-language product reviews.”

Google’s reviews system documentation describes what these updates do: ensure people see “reviews that share in-depth research, rather than thin content that simply summarizes a bunch of products.” It evaluates review content mainly page by page, though sites with a lot of review content may be evaluated as a whole.

When it rolled out#

The dashboard records the rollout from 27 July 2022 to 2 August 2022, a total of 6 days, all times US/Pacific. The dashboard entry and its completion note (“The rollout was complete as of August 2, 2022”) were added on 22 March 2023.

No other confirmed update overlapped it. The May 2022 core update had finished on 9 June, and the August 2022 helpful content update began on 25 August.

What is known about its impact#

Google did not publish impact figures. Its documentation says affected content “may recover over time” after improvements, but that the automated assessment of review content “is only one of many factors used in ranking content.” Treat any percentage you see attributed to this update as a third-party estimate.

What site owners should do#

Google’s review guidance sets out the practices the reviews system rewards:

• Provide evidence of your own experience, such as original photos, audio or test results.
• Share quantitative measurements and explain what sets a product apart from its competitors.
• Discuss benefits and drawbacks based on your own original research.
• When naming a product the best, explain why with first-hand supporting evidence.
• Focus on the quality and originality of reviews, not their length.

How to check whether it affected you#

In Search Console, filter the Performance report to your review pages and compare clicks for the week before 27 July 2022 with the week starting 10 August 2022, a full week after completion. Stop before 25 August, when the helpful content update began. The Google Algorithm Updates timeline lists every confirmed update with its dates, so you can rule out overlapping rollouts before attributing a change to this one.

Related updates#

• The March 2022 product reviews update was the product reviews update before it.
• The September 2022 product reviews update was the next one.
• The August 2022 helpful content update began 23 days after it finished.