You've probably been in a situation where you've been looking to buy a new smartphone and have been constantly searching for reviews in order to decide if this phone is worth your hard-earned cash. Apparently, Google understands how important product reviews are to potential buyers. It recently improved its search engine to display more relevant reviews for potential buyers to easily decide if they want to buy a product or not.

From now on, for Google Search to show reviews as search results, Google will be looking to see if product reviews meet certain criteria. According to a blog post from Google, Google Search will now look for product reviews to:

  • Include detailed information that will assist potential consumers in understanding all of the product's pros and cons.
  • Come from people who have really used the products they're talking about and can show what the product looks like and how to use it.
  • Include additional helpful information that manufacturers don't provide, such as additional photos, audio, or links to other content that shows the reviewer's experience with the product.
  • Include product comparisons or explain how a certain product differs from its rivals.

Google's new search criteria for product reviews currently only work if you search in English. But Google stated that it would expand these new criteria to other languages as well. In this regard, Google said, "Ultimately, our goal is to help people find trustworthy, reliable advice when they come to Search — no matter what they’re looking for."