Google Developer Advocate Alan Kent says product reviews linking to multiple sellers may get a ranking boost over reviews linking to one.
Kent confirmed this on Twitter in response to a question about Google’s documentation on how to write high-quality product reviews.
There’s a line in the document that reads:
“Consider including links to multiple sellers to give the reader the option to purchase from their merchant of choice.”
Does that mean a website is disadvantaged if it only links to one seller?
Kent says yes, linking to only one merchant would put the site at a disadvantage.
A product review page linking to multiple sellers could get a ranking boost if all else were equal.
Yes. If there were two great sites with similarly great content, the one with reviews linking to multiple providers might get a small boost. But more often is the content quality will be different and dominate.
— Alan Kent (@akent99) January 10, 2023
It can be a good idea to link to multiple merchants when writing a product review, as it provides readers with options and allows them to compare prices and availability.
Presenting customers with multiple ways to buy a product shows Google you’re trying to be helpful.
Linking to only one seller could give the impression that the sole purpose of the product review is generating affiliate income.
However, it’s still important to disclose any potential biases or financial incentives you may have for linking to certain merchants, even when there’s more than one option.
Additionally, it’s always good practice to check and make sure you are complying with any affiliate program terms or guidelines before you post your product review.
That includes Google’s guidelines, which say you should use the rel=”sponsored” or rel=”nofollow” attributes when publishing affiliate links.
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