New Amazon KDP Review Change is HUGE - (Do This NOW)

About this video

The creator describes what he says is an Amazon split test in search results: instead of showing total review counts, listings show only average rating and the share of ratings above four stars, with total counts visible only on the product page. He presents this as Amazon’s response to fake-review manipulation, illustrating books whose review counts, he claims, jumped by over a thousand in a day and were then largely deleted. If the change rolls out widely, he argues newer books with few but strong reviews can compete against established titles with thousands of reviews but lower averages, while low-quality books will die faster because average rating matters more. He advises focusing above all on quality, still collecting many reviews to buffer against a single negative rating, retargeting keyword research toward competitors’ average ratings, and testing product-targeting ads against bestsellers with lower ratings than your own book. He notes the change was not visible to everyone at recording time and hopes Amazon adopts it permanently.

Key takeaways

• In the reported test, search results show average rating and percent above four stars, not total review count.
• The creator claims fake-review spikes prompted Amazon to reduce the value of raw review counts.
• Quality becomes decisive because average rating is presented as a direct reflection of book content.
• Still gather many reviews: with only a handful, one negative review can sharply drop your average.
• Consider product-targeting ads and keyword research based on competitors’ average ratings, not just their review totals.

Episode details: published September 11, 2023 · 12:08 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are Sean Dollwet’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

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