Noticeable drop in reviews showing in Google search results

Numerous Google search tracking tools are all reporting a drop in the number of search results that display the review rich results, the stars under the search result snippets. This should come as no surprise since Google announced an algorithm update to tighten the rules around when a review rich result is shown for a snippet earlier this week.

How much of a drop? Depending on which tool provider you look at, anywhere from a 3 to 5 point drop in the number of times a review rich result would show. Here are charts from each toolset provider.

Mozcast: Moz is showing in its Mozcast feature tracker a 4-point drop, from 39.2% of the results showing reviews to 35.8%:

RankRanger: RankRanger is showing in its RankRanger feature tracker an almost 5-point drop, from 42.% of the results showing reviews to 37.3%:

SEMRush Sensor: SEMRush is showing in its Sensor tool about a 4-point point drop, from 52% of the results showing reviews to 47.6%:

Why we care. As we said when we covered this change, if your pages on your site show review rich results, i.e. the stars, in the search results, then you will want to make sure they continue to show these stars. Review these new rules, make sure your pages and schema markup comply with these rules. If they do, you should be okay. If your review rich results disappear today or in the near future, it is likely related to this new algorithmic update around review rich results. Here is proof that the process has begun, so see if this impacts your CTR if your reviews drop out or if your competitors’ reviews drop.