Google Rolls Out Updates to Rich Snippets

Rich snippets provide search engine users with more detailed information about a web page, directly within the SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages). Due to this, they can improve CTR and therefore the number of visits to your site. We’ll explain what they are, the benefits they can bring and two important updates that Google has just announced.

What are rich snippets?

Each result within the SERPs is made up of three elements:

·        Page title

·        URL

·        Snippet

Search engines generally use the meta description of a web page to generate a snippet, however if your website contains “microdata”, search engines can generate a rich snippet with more detailed information about the subject of your web page.

There are many types of rich snippets, with the main types providing information about Events, Products and Reviews.

It is relatively easy to “mark-up” your HTML with microdata so that you give search engines an opportunity to generate rich snippets.

Why use rich snippets?

If your website does not have content which matches one of the supported types of microdata, rich snippets will most likely not be appropriate. E-commerce sites are typically the biggest users of microdata as they can generate rich snippets for tangible products and customer reviews.

Rich snippets make your results stand out from other results (competitors) in the SERPs by using stars and images for example; this ultimately increases your CTR. Around 50% of the clicks on a search engine results page will be attributed to the result in the first (highest) position. As we all know, getting to the holy grail of #1 takes time and effort, but rich snippets is a quick and easy way to gain more click share. For this reason they are a necessity if your main competitors are huge companies with big SEO budgets who consistently rank higher than you.

What are the updates?

1.      Previously, product rich snippets were only available to websites based in a limited number of countries but Google have now rolled it out globally. As a truly international SEO team this made us jump for joy!

2.      Google have provided a Rich Snippets Testing Tool for a while now however previously the tool would only test live web pages. Now it is possible to insert the code directly into the tool and preview the rich snippet before putting the page live.

Our comprehensive SEO audits cover all aspects of organic search, including features such as rich snippets. Contact us to find out more about our SEO audit and services.