Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategies change regularly as search engines like Google continue to modify their algorithms to improve results. And businesses care about quality website traffic, with improved click-through rates for search results that impact the bottom line. An essential component of SEO success is the underutilized function of rich snippets to generate more site traffic from the SERPs by improving the appearance of the listing, providing more information to the user, and increasing page visibility.
What are Rich Snippets?
A rich snippet is a small summary of the data that a user can expect to find on a webpage. They are microdata — HTML coded bits of information that make it easy for search engine crawlers to inherently infer from your website without having to click through to the result. Rich snippets extract additional information, like photos, ratings and author information from your website to display in the search results, in addition to the typical page title, page URL, and meta description. When a user reads these additional descriptions accompanying a link in the search results, they can naturally identify things like names, places, products, reviews and more. As a result, rich snippets add significant value to search engine results by dramatically increasing web traffic and click-through rates.
What Type of Rich Snippets Are There?
The ultimate objective for search engines is to create the best search experience for users, so they can find the most relevant results. The more accurate, informative and on target the search results are, the better the click-through experience for their users. Rich snippets can vary from author snippets, event snippets, review snippets, people snippets, product snippets, or video snippets, etc. Below are examples of the types of rich snippets that are available to use on your website.
Author Snippets
The author snippet includes the following:
- The author’s name
- The author’s picture as it appears on Google+
- The number Google+ followers of the author
- Links to more articles by that author
Business Snippets
The business or organization snippet may include:
- Location information
- Contact information
- Price ranges
- Hours
- Customer reviews
- Product Snippets
Google displays the information available from a web store’s Merchant Center product feed. The product snippet includes the following:
- Picture of the product
- Product ratings
- Price range of the product
- Availability
Impact of Rich Snippets
The normal “search snippet” (a meta description) is being taken to the next level through “rich snippets” as search results are starting to get more colorful with more images and videos being displayed. Implementing rich snippets correctly can have a huge impact on your website’s performance and can get you valuable exposure in the SERPs. This will, in turn, lead to more qualified traffic, increased conversion rates, and higher return on your SEO investment.
The use of rich snippets can be a key differentiator in the following areas:
- Higher rankings in search results.
- Better click-through rates from search results.
- More qualified traffic and better conversion rates.
- Reduced visitor bounce rate and increased time on site.
- Greater marketing value that will entice searchers to click through to your site instead of a competitor’s site.
- Make your web presence more user-friendly, as users make more informed decisions based on information advertised in search results.
- Enables you to communicate unique value proposition to establish a competitive advantage.
The use of rich snippets is a strong marketing tool for businesses eager to get noticed and to stay relevant amongst thousands of competitive sites. Call us today, and we’ll help you get rich snippets implemented immediately, so you can begin benefitting from their exceptional value.
