Google released the September 2022 product reviews update on 20th Sep 2022, around 4 am ET. It was the fifth in the series after the April 2021, December 2021, March 2022 and July 2022 releases.
It applied to English-language product reviews, with Google again saying that more languages would follow. Google said the rollout could take several weeks.
It did not. The updates page recorded completion as of 26th Sep 2022, six days in.
Like its predecessors, the update aimed to promote "review content that is above and beyond much of the templated information you see on the web".
That means insightful analysis, original research, and reviews written by experts or enthusiasts who clearly know the topic. Templated, spec-sheet-style summaries are exactly what the system was built to leapfrog.
The awkward part was the timing. The entire six-day rollout ran inside the September 2022 core update's 12th to 26th Sep window.
Both were recorded complete on the same day. Search Engine Land noted this could make ranking changes harder to diagnose.
If a site that publishes review content moved that week, either update could be the cause. The core update reassessed quality broadly, while the reviews update was aimed only at review content.
