Monday, September 12, 2022

Rich Snippets What You Need to Know and How They Help SEO

 


In this brief guide we're going to take a look at rich snippets and see how they affect and benefit your SEO.

Rich Snippets Explained

Rich snippets are results on Google that have been enriched with extra information and gives users a more in-depth look at the information before they choose to click.  This extra information can include anything from images, prices, links, star rating and much more.  The information is extracted from structured data which is written within HTML code in a website.  Some of the most regularly seen rich snippets can be pages containing products, reviews, Q & As, people and even music.

Visitors on a search engine can look at the information set out before them and decide whether or not that particular page or website is worth the visit.  This gives top ranking websites a huge advantage, and can help bring in new customers and readers to a website. 

The Difference Between Rich snippets and Normal snippets

Normal snippets

In normal results you would expect to see:

  • Page title
  • Short description of page contents
  • Website URL

With rich snippets you can expect to see added information.

Rich Snippets give users convenient summary information about their search results at a glance. We are currently supporting data about reviews and people. When searching for a product or service, users can easily see reviews and ratings, and when searching for a person, they'll get help distinguishing between people with the same name.

According to Google Search Central.

Are Rich Results and Rich Snippets the Same?

Even though rich snippets and rich results are connected, they aren't the same.  

So What's the Difference?

With a constantly evolving internet these two terms can be easily mixed up.  Let's take a look at the main differences with rich results.

Rich Results

A term used widely and one that characterises an "enriched" search result snippet.  Which means that rich snippets can be put in the same category.

Much like rich results, SERP features are everything you see on Google's result page, where you might see a Wikipedia page at the right of your screen along with ads, and knowledge panels.

Can Anyone Use Rich Snippets?

Yes anyone can add rich snippets to their website, but they'll only be displayed within the first 5 spots on Google search.  Google will only show useful and relevant information and goes by strict rules to monitor all rich snippets.

Why Rich Snippets Can be a Useful Part of Your SEO Optimisation

When people are looking for specific products and services they want just enough information that will tell them enough, and to entice them to click.

This information could be reviews, ratings, images, recipe information, maps etc.  The point of rich snippets is to guide the user and hopefully solve a problem.  

Which benefits users, webmasters and search engines alike.

Will Rich Snippets Give Your Website a Higher Ranking

Yes, rich snippets can go towards the end result of a website ranking, for the reason they appeal to the user.

You'll notice that rich snippets only appear on the first page of search results, this is because Google sees rich snippets as useless unless they're being read.  If a website is poorly ranked and has rich snippets included within its coding, those snippets won't automatically give the website a higher ranking by Google.

Yet paradoxically rich snippets can help you rank higher in the long-term.  Which means they help your CTR which culminates in more site visits.  Helping your site outshine your competitors.

In Short

Rich snippets can benefit your website, but only if you rank on Google's first page.  Whether you choose to include them or not, it's up to you. 

You might just want to stick to a more simple plan and stick to writing and producing great content.   

Share this post with your friends!

Read more:

19 Ways to Grow Your Blog Traffic

99 Ways to Promote Your Blog

 
 

No comments:

Post a Comment

Tell me your thoughts.