September 2022: Google’s core update and product reviews update overlap
Covers September 2022. Part of our search timeline: a month-by-month look at the changes that shaped SEO, AI search, paid ads and social media, written in November 2026 for local businesses with the benefit of hindsight.
Quick answer: Google launched two updates within days of each other in September 2022: a wide-ranging core update, plus an update aimed at product reviews. With two updates overlapping, it was hard to pin down the cause of any change, so the sensible response was to lift overall quality and improve review content rather than chase a single factor.
This timeline entry, written in November 2026, covers September 2022. Many local businesses publish comparison or “best of” content, such as a heating engineer reviewing boiler brands or a garage comparing tyres, so the product reviews side of this month is more relevant than it might first appear.
The updates of September 2022
Google’s September 2022 core update ran at the same time as a product reviews update, and both had finished within a few weeks. Google’s guidance on quality and reviews stayed the same as usual.
Why overlapping updates caused confusion
UK sites with review content, including online shops and publishers, felt the effects of both updates at once. It showed how useful it is to track changes page by page and to group pages by type, so you can see what actually moved.
How to analyse and improve
- Sort your pages into types, for example service pages, area pages, reviews and guides, before looking at ranking changes.
- Add a note in your analytics on each update date, so the before and after periods are easy to compare.
- Make review content stronger with hands-on experience, fair comparisons and a clear recommendation, such as which boilers you fit most often and why.
Frequently asked questions
How do I work out which update hit my site?
Check the timing, which types of page moved and which competitors rose or fell. When updates overlap, you often cannot separate them completely.
Does a product reviews update affect local businesses?
Mostly it touches pages that recommend or review products, such as buying guides written by businesses that sell or fit those products.
Sources and further reading
Want help with this? We track Google updates at page level for local businesses and show you what changed and why. See our local SEO service, or Get in touch.
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