What are Rich Snippets and how do I get them?
The Snippets mean "fragment extracted from something", so Snippets are those fragments derived from a text that appears in the SERP (search results pages) and which consists of a title, brief description, and URL. They serve to give an idea to the user about the content of the page and whether it fits your search. Words used as Keywords in the search and found in the Snippet will appear in bold.
Currently, Google is giving much importance to Google's enriched fragments or rich snippets in their search results. The enriched fragments of Google are elements that contribute more information to the different search results on our content so that they help us to improve our SEO, obtaining better positions in the SERPs besides visually emphasizing in the search engine increased the percentage of clicks (CRT).
With each passing day, the fight for website clicks increases. And mechanisms to put a website at the top of this battle are not lacking. And rich snippet is yet another Google tool for positioning at the time of a search.
It is simply a way to complement that information further so that it is even more useful to the user.
It is a text markup of the content of the web that when detected by the search engine, presents the result of the Snippet in a certain advanced way, with more information and in general more visually attractive, which usually results in a higher CTR (That is, that you click more).
To understand much better what are the enriched fragments or rich snippets of Google there is nothing like resorting to real examples that we already find in a multitude of search results. Surely when you have searched for something in Google Sure you have found some results in some search results with some type of enriched fragment: prices, stars, opinions, etc.
One of the ways to display this information highlighted in the results is to "tag" your content with tags specially designed for search engines, which we call enriched fragments or rich snippets.
Why might you be interested in using rich snippets?
Firstly because it helps search engines better understand your content, and secondly because (if you know how to use it well) this information will contribute to highlight your results and potentially get more clicks.
In details, Google's enriched fragments have a very positive influence on our SEO. The reason is simple and is that the algorithm of Google, however intelligent it may seem, is not always able to fully understand what we write. That is why this additional information provided by the microdata helps Google to understand our content better and position it optimally.
Also, it will show the results differently based on the content, adapting to its characteristics. If for example, we have a recipe blog, the enriched Google fragments will allow showing a photo of the dish, a recipe assessment even information about the preparation time.
The Rich snippet has been in use since 2009. But it has suffered significant changes over time and gained more highlights in the SERPs (natural results that appear on the left side of the search). There are several systems for marking content, but the one that is most often used is Schema.
How to turn on rich Google fragments in WordPress?
Each type of microformat we have specified is implemented differently on our website by inserting HTML code. Logically this supposes certain advanced knowledge that makes the task difficult for many of us. But, we can find multitude plugins in different CMS that facilitate us the work as much easier.
If we use WordPress one of the best that works all in one is Schema.org Rich Snippets. After installing this plugin, every time we write an entry in WordPress, under the text editor different options will appear to implement microdata to the input.
Thus, we can select for example, if it is a recipe and indicate the name of the same, which photo we want to appear, the cooking time, processing and more options. Of course, depending on the type of entry we are creating, the information will vary, but it will be straightforward to tell Google all the relevant information to include this microdata in the search results.
Use Rich Snippets whenever convenient because they often help improve your CTR, but be careful because you can risk a penalty if you do not use them correctly.
First of all: do not play to deceive Google by marking content that is not what they claim to be. You may get more clicks at first, but also a penalty a bit later.
Make sure that the data you mark matches the content, products, or events that appear on the page. If you mark a fragment (for example a recipe) that is not available on the page, then you risk a penalty.
Enriched fragments should be visible to visitors: do not use CSS or any other means to hide them, even if they "are not pretty" or integrated with your design. Google will think you are spamming.
Use Google's structured data tool to make sure you're using dialing codes correctly.
Check the features of your rich fragments in Search Console, "Looks like"> "Structured data," and make sure there are no errors or technical issues.
I hope this article has clarified to you what Rich Snippets are. If you want to know more about Rich Snippets keep visiting our site regularly for the updates.