Google has recently revised its review snippet documentation. The search engine mogul now recommends that review comments and author names should accompany any ratings.
Though this isn’t essential, it is something Google is putting more emphasis on.
The new line in the documentation states:
“We recommend only accepting ratings that are accompanied by a review comment and author’s name. While not required, this approach can help your users see supporting details that explain the rating.”
This recommendation is essentially a way for you to get more out of your reviews by adding some context to them, which will further validate them. It will improve snippet quality, while reducing the number of reviews that may come across as spam.
Google have also asked for valid author names, which further enhances the credibility of reviews. Reviewer names must be genuine, as opposed to using promotional phrases, and under 100 characters. They do not recommend taking reviews from other sites or manually compiling them, as these could be made up as far as the viewer is concerned. Ratings must come directly from the user themselves.
As mentioned earlier, this is not an essential thing to consider. However, it is a small adjustment that can easily be made to make sure your Google Business Profile is fully optimised and complies with exactly what Google is looking for. This can have a great benefit on your SEO (search engine optimisation) performance, as well as appealing to your audience by giving them as much information and context as possible.
At Engage Web, we keep on top of the latest Google trends to help our clients’ businesses thrive online. To discover more about our services, please get in touch.
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