Talking Shop Ep. 13 - Fake Amazon Reviews Sold, Googles Core Web Vitals Update & Business Rates Talk

Today we’ll be talking about Google’s Core Web Vitals as a ranking signal, Scotland has announced a 12-month extension on the business rates holiday and how fake Amazon reviews are being sold in bulk online.

Talking Shop is a series where we talk about the latest news and updates on ecommerce and retail.

Core Web Vitals (https://www.practicalecommerce.com/seo-common-fixes-to-core-web-vitals)

Our first story comes from Google, who in November last year stated that Core Web Vitals would become a ranking signal in May 2021. Core Web Vitals which focus on site speed, is Google’s way of rounding out its customer experience metrics.

There are 7 metrics in total including; loading time, interactivity, visual stability, mobile-friendliness, safe browsing, HTTPS and no intrusive interstitials. Something to keep an eye on in the next few months as this could affect your SERP rankings.

Scotland announces 12-month business rates holiday extension (https://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2021/02/scotland-announces-12-month-business-rates-holiday-extension/)

Finance Secretary Kate Forbes has announced a 12 month extension to the business rates holiday for the retail, leisure, hospitality and aviation sectors in Scotland until March 31st 2022.

This was following confirmation of a further £1.1 billion of funding from the UK Government coronavirus spending. However the business rates holiday is due to end on the 31st March 2021 for the UK.

Fake Amazon Reviews being sold in bulk online

According to Which? fake Amazon reviews are being sold online in bulk from £5 each. Which? Identified 10 websites selling fake reviews which violated the firm’s terms and conditions.

The Head of Home Products and Services at Which? Called on the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to look into the sale of fake reviews. Facebook and eBay also experienced similar issues previously and since have signed agreements with the CMA to better identify, investigate and respond to fake and misleading reviews.