In the ocean of SEO strategies, every drop can make or break your ranking dreams and earn you more website visitors. Rich snippets are one of the latest trends in the SEO universe and for good reason.
Rich snippets make search results more informative and visually appealing, which is what may inspire users to click your link instead of someone else’s. But there’s much more magic in rich snippets, so why and how you should get them?
We will answer both of these questions in the following paragraphs!
Definition and Benefits of Rich Snippets
SEO is getting more complex every day and many webmasters are still not familiar with the concept of rich snippets. By definition, rich snippers represent extra bits of text, data, or visual content that appear in the abstracts or summaries of a Google search engine results page.
Additional information can serve a number of purposes, so it depends on the content Google is displaying. However, the general purpose of rich snippets should be obvious to everyone. Here are the benefits of creating content that can transform into a rich snippet in engine searches:
- Adding more data to search results
This one is a no brainer. Jake Gardner, an SEO specialist at the best essay writing service UK, explains that rich snippets make search engine results more valuable though additional information displayed: “Internet users want to see key information instantly and rich snippets give them exactly that.”
- Visually appealing information
Rich snippets are not only informative but also eye-pleasing. They often come in the form of numbers or visual symbols, thus attracting more views and inspiring users to check out a given webpage.
- Rich snippets reveal authority and professionalism
High-authority businesses are not hiding anything. On the contrary, they are trying to be as transparent as possible, which is why rich snippets play such a major role in both SEO and reputation building.
With everything we’ve stated so far, it is clear that rich snippets have enough potential to increase CTR rates. Although it’s not guaranteed, the truth is that rich snippets drive engagement better than traditional search engine results.
How to Structure Data for Rich Snippets
The main issue with rich snippets is the lack of one formula on how to create them. The secret lies in data structuring as you’ll need to mark up the content in a way that can be instantly recognized by search engine crawlers.
You need to be aware of the nature of your content, but the general principle is to follow these steps:
1. Choose the best type of rich snippet
Rich snippets can play many different roles and so you need to begin with the selection process. There are a lot of types to consider here, but it is important to pick the right one because it is supposed to comply with the data markup. The most popular types of rich snippets include:
- Ratings of 1 to 5 stars. It’s a common choice for product-oriented companies.
- Recipes containing crucial cooking information.
- Product markups with key product details such as prices and images.
- Organization snippets with details on a company’s address, logo, and similar.
- Event snippets to inform the audience on dates, timing, and whereabouts.
2. Create data structure and add a schema markup
Search engines cannot read your content and extrapolate the basic information, which means that you have to create structured data.
For instance, a product-focused rich snippet contains information such as the price, brand name, average rating, and so on. If you are writing a cooking recipe, then you will have to answer a set of predefined questions:
- The time needed to make the meal
- Inserting photos of your dish
- Add the ingredient list
- Explain how to make the meal in a step-by-step manner
The same goes for every other type of rich snippet as you’ll have to follow the prearranged set of steps to structure data properly.
3. Creating a schema markup
If you have it all figured out by now, the only thing left is to add schema markup. The most popular tool among content creators and SEO experts is Schema.org because of its simplicity. You just need to pick the targeted schema type and follow instructions as defined by the platform itself.
In case you’re using WordPress to power the website, you can install one of its many schema plugins to prepare content for rich snippets. At the same time, you can read Google’s official documents to make sure that you are not missing out on anything important in the process.
The Bottom Line
Rich snippets do not guarantee to boost website traffic, leads, and conversions, but they can certainly raise the odds of running a successful SEO strategy. We recommend you to follow the tips mentioned above and get your own rich snippets – it will add a new layer of attractiveness to your search engine results.
Author Bio
John Peterson is an SEO expert and a blogger at the custom essay help agency. He is interested in various topics such as digital marketing, business, eCommerce, and new technologies. Besides writing, John enjoys traveling and meeting new cultures.
