Google updated its Search Central Review Snippet documentation to clarify how to specify the target of reviews and aggregate ratings in structured data. The guidance stresses using one clear target per review or rating to avoid ambiguity and protect eligibility for review-rich results.
Key details
- Each Review or AggregateRating must reference a single, unambiguous item. See the Technical guidelines in the review snippet documentation.
- Do not attach the same review or rating to multiple entities on the same page. This removes ambiguity in your structured data.
- The clarification applies to both Review and AggregateRating markup used to generate review-rich results in Search.
- Use the Rich Results Test to validate structured data and confirm eligibility.
Background
The Review Snippet documentation defines supported properties, eligibility, and implementation details for review-rich results. It specifies how reviews and ratings should be structured and associated with items as part of Search Central's broader structured data guidance.
In September 2019, Google limited self-serving reviews for certain entity types to improve the usefulness of review-rich results and reduce misleading markup. See Making Review Rich Results More Helpful. Google's general structured data guidelines also require that markup reflect visible page content and accurately describe a specific item.
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