In the world of content, it can be difficult to stand out from the crowd and keep on top of the many changing ways that SEO can leverage your popularity. However, to remain competitive is it essential that you do, this is where Rich Snippets could give you that edge over others. So, let’s find out what Rich Snippets are, how you can implement them into your content, and what they can do for your SEO.
What are Rich Snippets and Why are they Important for SEO?
Rich Snippets, not a person, but a powerful digital marketing tool, also known as Rich Results, are Google search results that include additional data on the SERPs (search engine results pages). They appear alongside traditional search results, but they are set apart by their extra data, usually pulled from Structured Data found in a page’s HTML.
Normal search results tend to display just the title tag, the meta description, and the URL; however, rich snippet results can include visuals, ratings, and pricing information, among much more. They tend to be more eye-catching which can lead to a higher CTR (click-through rate). Seeing this information in the search results can give users a glimpse into what they can expect by clicking on your webpage. Other benefits Rich Snippets carry are:
- Enhanced Visibility – rich snippets catch the eye of users, increasing the likelihood of clicks and driving more traffic to your website.
- Boosted SEO Performance – while they don’t directly influence search rankings, attracting more clicks can indirectly improve your SEO by signalling to search engines that your content is relevant and engaging.
- Enhanced User Experience – they can deliver key information directly within the search results, saving users time and effort while satisfying their immediate need for information.
Understanding Structured Data
As mentioned previously, Rich Snippets are pulled from Structured Data, and Structured Data helps search engines better understand your content. For example, if you posted a blog post featuring a recipe, without the use of structured data, search engines would find it difficult to understand how long the recipe takes, the list of ingredients, the recipe steps, and which images are of the actual recipe.
Using Rich Snippets in this instance tells search engines that:
- This recipe takes 30 minutes.
- This is the list of ingredients.
- This is the recipe method.
- This is an image of the finished dish.
There is no guarantee that including all this information will turn your content into a Rich Snippet listing, but it stands you in good stead for it.
Types of Rich Snippets
There are many different types of rich snippets that can be used depending on your field of business, understanding which one you need is the first step to take. The 8 most common types of Rich Snippet are:
- Reviews – display a star rating either from an individual or from an average of users.
- Recipes – includes data like time to prepare the dish, reviews, and recipe images.
- Music – gives search engines info on music, such as album release dates.
- Product Markup – gives search engine specific product information such as price and product images.
- Organisation – helps search engines understand key information like business address, logo, and contact information.
- Top Stories – this only applies to Google News approved websites but allows them to appear in the “Top Stories” box.
- Video – helps search engines understand what your video content is.
- Events – includes information on dates, times, and locations.
Implementing Rich Snippets into your Content
Implementing rich snippets requires adding Structured Data to your website’s HTML code and while this may sound daunting, there are several ways you can do it. Schema.org is one such website which makes it quite straightforward to implement, as most major search engines use it. Google also offers very easy-to-follow documentation on Structured Data and if you are a WordPress user, they have many plugin tags to choose from.
It is also possible to add structured data without the help of a plugin, but this is where it gets a little trickier. You can use Microdata or RDFa and JSON-LD is highly recommended for organising and connecting data and adding Structured markup to your page.
How Run2 can Help you Skyrocket your SEO
It is important to understand that there is no guarantee implementing Structured Data will result in Rich Snippets, even if you have everything set up as you should. It does, however, maximise your chances of getting Rich Snippets, which is all that we can hope for in terms of rising above the competition.
In the world of online business, SEO is crucial which means needing to constantly apply best SEO practices to ensure maximum visibility and relevance in search results. We understand that it can be daunting and overwhelming, which is where Run2 comes in.
RUN2 is a multi-award-winning digital marketing agency based in Manchester and we believe that we deliver the best SEO that Manchester has to offer. We have over 20 years combined experience in highly competitive sectors. So, get in touch with our expert digital marketing agency today and see how we can level up your business.