What Are Rich Snippets? [How Do They Show Up On Search Engines?]

Rich snippets not showing in search results? No problem!

Sometimes, you search using one of your primary Keywords and you see something like this:

Then, you scroll to see other results. And in some, are additional details, which look more visually appealing than yours - even though you rank at the top.

If this is what you've been seeing and wondering why your site is not showing that as well - or why Google is not returning more appealing results for your pages snippet,

then…

What you might not know before now is that your competitors are using what is known as Rich Snippets.

You can start using it as well.

And, in this article, I'll show you what rich snippets are, what to do to make it show on SERP along with your regular snippet - so that you too can attract more clicks to your site.

So, let's get started…

What Are Rich Snippets?

Rich snippets are a type of rich results on SERP that contain specially enhanced search features–additional information, which is pulled from structured data markup on your website.

They are designed to give users a quick and easy way to understand what a web page is about before they click through to it.

Rich snippets can include a variety of information, such as ratings and reviews, product information, event details, and much more. They are typically displayed in a visually appealing format, with bolded text and eye-catching images that make them stand out from other search results.

As seen above, this additional information is displayed along with the:

Page title,
Description, and
URL;

making it more visually appealing to searchers.

Let's take a look at a standard snippet

What Are Rich Snippets? [How Do They Show Up on Search Engines?]

As we can see, there's nothing different here from the normal standard snippet.

But when you optimize for rich snippets, this is what you get:

show on SERP along with your regular snippet

The extra information here on the standard snippet, as we can see in the above image, provides context to the web page, which can entice the users to click on it. Plus, there are site links to aid click-through-rate to the site.

If we consider CTR - as an indirect ranking factor, then we can say... rich snippets should be part of every SEO strategy.

Although site links do not directly affect rankings, it does attract more clicks and therefore, boost the CTR signal.

In the context of Google Search, CTR refers to the percentage of clicks that an organic search result receives in relation to the number of impressions it generates. Once a user clicks on a link, it is considered a "click-through". The CTR is calculated by dividing the number of clicks by the number of impressions (or views) of a particular search result. For example, if a result appears 100 times and is clicked on 10 times, its CTR would be 10%.

Benefits Of Using Rich Snippets

Google provides resources for site owners to utilize; rich snippet is one! And it has become essentially important in attracting more traffic to your website.

Here are some of the benefits you get for using rich snippets:

#1. Rich snippets help your webpages look more appealing - and begging for clicks in the search results.

#2. Rich snippets make your site stand out from the other snippets.

#3. They provide context - guiding users with additional information.

For example,

Users would instantly know more - just by looking at your snippet;

The price of your product - and in-stock or out of stock;
Whether people like your products and services from reviews;
Star ratings of your webpages;

#4. They help users to navigate to specific parts of interest on your site.

#5. Increases the click-through rate of your site.

#6. Increased visibility in search results: Rich snippets can help your website stand out in search engine results pages (SERPs). By providing additional information about your content, such as ratings, reviews, and prices, rich snippets can make your listing more attractive to potential visitors. This increased visibility can lead to higher click-through rates and ultimately more traffic to your website.

#7. Improved user experience: Rich snippets can also improve the user experience on your website. By providing users with more information upfront, they can quickly determine if your content is relevant to their needs. This can help reduce bounce rates and increase engagement on your site.

#8. Better understanding of your content: Rich snippets can provide search engines with a better understanding of the content on your website. This can lead to more accurate indexing and improved rankings in search results. Additionally, rich snippets can help you target specific keywords and phrases, making it easier for users to find your content.

#9. Increased credibility and trust: Rich snippets can also help establish credibility and trust with your audience. By displaying ratings and reviews, users can quickly determine if your business is reputable and trustworthy. This can lead to increased conversions and repeat business.

And lastly, one that you've been waiting to hear…

#10. It generates more clicks = more traffic = more money.

Data shows why you should optimize for feature snippets

Brado and SEMRush conducted research on 160 million keywords on desktop and 46.1 million keywords on mobile to determine the percentage of keywords that produce featured snippets. Below is a brief overview of their findings.

19% of SERPs have featured snippets.
7.3% of SERPs have double featured snippets.
50% of a mobile screen is covered with a featured snippet.
70% of featured snippets are paragraphs (an average of 42 words/249 characters).
19.1% of featured snippets are lists (an average of 6 items/44 words)
6.3% of featured snippets are tables (an average of 5 rows, 2 columns)
4.6% of featured snippets are videos (an average of 6m35s)
Industries that have the greatest percentage of featured snippets are:
- Travel
- Computers & Electronics
- Art & Entertainment
- Science

Long-tail keywords are more likely to trigger featured snippets as they have a specific search intent. For instance, 55.5% of queries consisting of 10 words have a featured snippet, whereas only 4.3% of single keyword searches have one. The percentage increases gradually as the number of words in a query increases, but it declines after 10 words. Now, let's look at the common types of rich snippet results.

8 Common Types of Rich Snippets Results

1.Products rich snippet

Products rich snippets usually features:

Availability of product - in-stock or out of stock.
The price
Reviews or star ratings

2. Events

Event snippets allow users to see the events that are happening around them or in a specific location.

Ongoing events
Upcoming events
Event location
Time of event

3. Recipe snippets

Recipe snippets are perfect for sites that regularly post how to prepare or cook foods, drinks and also baking.

This snippet may contain:

Images of food items or preparation test
User rating/reviews
The average time to make it.
The information on calories.

4. Restaurant snippets:

Reviews/star ratings
Images of food items
Business opening hours
Contact information
Links to a reservation and booking page

5. Music snippets

Music snippet helps you to show specific information about an artist or album such as:

Artist name
Track length
Where to listen or download to the song
Release dates
Star rating
Related albums
Upcoming events

6. Video Snippet

Video rich snippets add thumbnails to your video.

7. Book rich snippets

This can show you things like:

Book author.
Launching date.
Released data.
Goodreads/Ama8 reviews.
Publishers.

8. FAQ Rich snippets

FAQ Rich snippets display questions and answers to users. Here, users get answers without needing to click - to visit the site.

How do you get rich snippets?

The question on your mind by now is…

So, how do I get the extra features to show along with my standard snippets for my webpages?

The simple answer is by adding schema structured data on your webpages. Structured data markup is a piece of code that when added to your site, would create a rich snippet for you.

The structured data is formatted and organized in such a way that makes it easy for Google to understand.

Follow this step by step guide on how to use Google structured data tools to implement rich snippets for your site.

If you use CMS such as WordPress, I'm going to show you how you can use the Rank Math SEO plugin and Yoast plugin to start enjoying the benefits of rich snippets.

How to Add a Rich Snippet to Your Site Using the Rank Math SEO plugin

If you are wondering how to make your site appear with rich snippets just like your competitors on SERP, or your site's rich snippets not showing in search results, here is how to implement it. Note: this guide assumes you already have RankMath installed on your WordPress dashboard. If you are yet to do so, you can follow this guide to install RankMath SEO plugin. Follow this step to add rich snippets to your pages.

First, go to your admin panel, navigate to “RankMath” and click “Dashboard”
On the dashboard, scroll down to Schema (structured data) and then toggle it on.
This will set schema on for your pages and post and product from the store. RankMath auto detects these pages and assigns article schema to pages, blogpost schema to your blog post and product schema to your woocommerce or EDD products.
To confirm if your post pages utilizes the BlogPost schema type while you are the post page, click on “Article” and you will see this options:
If it’s not set to Blog Post, you set it right and “Save as Template”.
Click on “Schema Generator” to open available list of schema in RankMath:
For instance, if you have FAQs on your page and would like to use its schema type, click + “Use”. Then click on “+ Add Property Group”
Enter the question, provide images and answers that you want to feature in featured snippets. You can save selected schema type as template for quick reuse on another page.
Verify if your page is enabled for rich results such as rich snippets, featured snippets, etc.

How to validate the structured data on your site?

To validate the structured data on your site, you can use Google's Structured Data Testing Tool. Here's how:

1. Go to the Structured Data Testing Tool website

2. Click on “Go to the Schema Markup Validator”, enter the URL of the page you want to test in the text box or provide the code snippet for testing.

3. Click on the "Run Test" button.

4. The tool will analyze the page and display any errors or warnings related to the structured data markup on the page.

5. If there are any errors or warnings, click on them to see more details about the issue and how to fix it.

6. Once you have fixed any errors or warnings, run the test again to ensure that the structured data is now valid.

Not validating your structured data mark-up before deploying it is no. 1 reason why rich snippets is not showing in search results.

In addition to the Structured Data Testing Tool, you can also use other tools such as the “Go to the Rich Results Test” and the Structured Data Linter to validate your structured data. It is important to regularly validate your structured data to ensure that it is accurate and up-to-date, which can improve your website's visibility and search engine rankings.

What kind of company would benefit from the site links rich snippets?

Any company that has a website with multiple pages that provide valuable and relevant information to users can benefit from site links rich snippets. Site links rich snippets display links to various pages of a website directly in the search results, making it easier for users to navigate to the most relevant pages on the website. This can increase click-through rates, improve user experience, and ultimately lead to higher conversion rates. Therefore, companies in various industries such as e-commerce, travel, and education can benefit from site links and rich snippets.

how long does it take for rich snippet changes to show up in search engine results

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What is the difference between a rich snippet and featured snippet?

A rich snippet is a type of structured data markup that webmasters add to their website's HTML code to provide additional information about a page's content. This can include things like ratings, reviews, pricing, and availability. Rich snippets can appear in search results for various types of content, including articles, recipes, events, and products. Rich snippets are an enhanced organic search result.

On the other hand, a featured snippet is a summary of an answer to a user's query that is displayed at the top of the search results page. Featured snippets are designed to provide quick answers to users' questions without them having to click through to a website. They typically include a brief summary of the content, along with a link to the source page.