Why are certain words formatted as bold in Google+ Reviews?

[TomBinga1125]

Hey guys,

I noticed that certain words within reviews left on Google+ pages are being shown in bold text. The original reviews do not feature bold text, but when shown in snippets they appear.

I attached a photo below for a college's G+ page.

Any insight would be great!

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[RyanPurkey]

Were these bolded terms relevant to the search query?

[Alick300]

Hi Tom,

There is a way to make text bold in Google+ page comment or review section. To make comments or review bold  use a * before and after

I hope it helps you . To know more on this like how to make italic / Italic & bold Please check below URL

https://plus.google.com/103400392486480765286/posts/QBmgLCtmoo1

Thanks

[TomBinga1125]

The search query was "nursing school in (city name)".

[TomBinga1125]

I don't think this was the case though. When looking at the original reviews in 2 different spots (clicking on the Google Reviews link next to the star rating in the SERPs and when visiting the Google+ page), these reviews don't feature any bold or other formatting.

See screenshots attached

RrJxCTF.jpg K1UYLDy.jpg

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Tom!

Normally, I see bolded text in reviews when it replicates part of my search term. It sounds like you are saying the bolded text in your results does not replicate any of the words in your search. Can you share your exact search term so that the community can look at the live result instead of a screenshot? Might help. Thanks!

[TomBinga1125]

Weird thing is that I can't even replicate it anymore.

The search term was "nursing college in buffalo ny". The only way I can sort-of replicate it is by performing the search query and then clicking on the red map marker next to D'Youville College within the local results on top. It will pull up Google Maps and show the reviews in bold (see screenshot).

baxn1EE.png

[MiriamEllis]

Hmm .. yes, I'm able to replicate that following your steps in Maps, but when you actually click through to the reviews, these bolds are gone. Honestly, I have no idea what they are doing there in the review snippets (as in your screenshot). They don't have anything to do with the search term. Looking at a nearby laundromat in Buffalo, I don't see the same behavior:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Bryant+Street+Laundry/@42.8962389,-78.854702,11z/data=!4m5!1m2!2m1!1slaundromat+in+buffalo,+ny!3m1!1s0x89d312fc0bfb7309:0x3112b5c7362ad14

So - sorry, but I'm just not sure what those bolds represent. If anyone else has come across this, please chime in!

[TomBinga1125]

Thanks for checking this out. I'm going to do some more digging and see if I can replicate this with other queries.