Google Updates Review Snippet Guidelines: Ratings Should Include Written Reviews and Author Names

Google has updated its review snippet guidelines, emphasizing that ratings should include written reviews and author names for better visibility and user trust.

Key Changes and Recommendations

• Written Reviews with Ratings: Google recommends pairing ratings with written comments to provide valuable context for users.
• Visible Reviews: Reviews must be easily accessible on the page, ensuring users can find detailed feedback.
• Genuine Author Names: Reviewer names should be authentic and under 100 characters. Avoid promotional phrases or overly generic terms, as they may disqualify the review from rich results eligibility.
• Avoid Aggregation: Ratings should come directly from users. Google advises against manually compiling or aggregating reviews from other platforms.

Why It Matters

Review snippets, including star ratings or review excerpts, are designed to offer users quick and helpful insights in search results. Ratings without accompanying comments often lack context, diminishing their usefulness.

This update aims to:

• Improve the quality of review snippets shown in search results.
• Minimize spammy or low-value ratings that provide little to no context.

Google explains:

“We recommend implementing a setup that only accepts ratings and reviews that are accompanied by a review comment and author’s name, as this approach can help your users understand the context for a given rating.”

Guidelines for Implementation

1. Make Reviews Visible: Ensure that the marked-up review content is displayed prominently on your page.
2. Focus on Context: Ratings should include written comments to clarify the reasons behind a score.
3. Use Valid Author Names: Only genuine, concise reviewer names will qualify for rich results.
4. Follow Structured Data Best Practices: Properly implement schema.org properties such as Review or AggregateRating to maintain eligibility for rich results.

Developer Best Practices

• Validate structured data using Google’s Rich Results Test.
• Monitor performance and errors in Google Search Console.

Takeaway

Google’s updated guidelines aim to enhance the value of review snippets by encouraging businesses to pair ratings with meaningful written feedback. For those leveraging structured data, now is the time to review your setup to ensure compliance and maximize the potential for improved search visibility.

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