To achieve the highest possible click-through rate (CTR), it’s important to stand out in the search results. Search results pages are getting more and more crowded, but how can you stand out? Rich snippets are the answer. We’ll explain what rich snippets are, why you should use them, and how to implement them.
Rich snippets are standard search results in Google that include additional information alongside your meta title, meta description, and URL. This data comes from structured data on a page. The most common types of rich snippets are reviews, recipes, and FAQ entries.
Google’s goal is to provide users with accurate information and a positive user experience. By displaying rich snippets, Google makes it easier for users to choose the most relevant search result. This makes rich snippets a way to stand out in search results and an important part of search engine optimization.
It is often thought that rich snippets are the same as featured snippets, but that is absolutely not the case. Rich snippets are displayed alongside your regular search results, as in the example below:
Featured snippets are answers to questions asked by users. Google provides an answer via the featured snippet without the user having to click through. A featured snippet result always appears at the top of the page, in what’s known as position 0. Featured snippets are also used for voice search, among other things. An example of a featured snippet is:
In summary, the differences are:
A typical Google search result consists of three parts:
An example of a typical search result is:
As you can see, it’s pretty straightforward. Rich snippets are regular search results with additional information, like the search result below:
The additional information added to your regular search result makes it stand out more. The search result catches the user’s attention more quickly, which increases your CTR. Rich snippets do not guarantee a higher ranking in search results [1].
Rich snippets also have a few other benefits:
To choose the right rich snippets for your website, it’s important to know what options are available. There are several types of rich snippets that you can use, depending on the type of website you have.
Not all rich snippets are relevant for every website. You don’t need to display recipes on a website about business insurance. That’s why it’s important to choose the right rich snippets. Below, we explain the most common rich snippets.
Review rich snippets display review stars in search results. It is possible to show a single review in the rich snippet or a collection of all reviews. The review snippets display a rating in the form of a star rating with a maximum of 5 stars.
Review snippets are most commonly used in conjunction with products (through product structured data), but they are also used for books, movies, recipes, and local businesses.
Product markup allows you to display additional information about a product in search results. This includes the rating, the number of reviews, the price, and the stock status. For configurable products, where the price depends on the selected option(s), it is possible to display a price range. In the example below, you can see that the price is €11 and that the product is in stock.
On various recipe websites, you’ll sometimes see additional information about a recipe, such as an image, the calorie count, or the cooking time. This information is added using recipe markup and provides more clarity about the recipe.
If you organize events, the event rich snippet is a must-have. It displays important information, such as the location, date, and name of the event. The events are clickable, so visitors are taken directly to the correct page.
Various types of content are eligible for rich card snippets. When you publish articles, you can mark them up with article structured data so they appear at the top of search results. This makes your article stand out and drives more clicks to your website. Here’s what that looks like in a search query following the COVID-19 pandemic:
Rich cards can be displayed in several ways and are also used for, among other things:
You can format your pages with FAQ structured data markup so that Google displays questions and answers in the search results. This helps you address your users’ needs, concerns, or questions and makes your content stand out more.
To make the URL in your search results look neater, use breadcrumb structured data. Instead of a URL separated by dashes, a neat description consisting of one or more words—which you’ve specified in the markup—will be displayed.
Since search engines can’t read videos, video markup helps them better understand the videos. By adding markup to your videos—in addition to YouTube SEO —they will appear in search results:
As a local business, you can use local rich snippets to add information about your hours of operation, location, prices, and reviews. The image below, from Google, illustrates this.
As an organization, you can help Google better understand your business. This includes contact information, a logo, and your address. This information is used to better showcase your business in search results.
Although there is some debate as to whether job listings are considered rich snippets, the features offered by Google Jobs are also worth exploring if you have a job listing online. By adding markup to your job listing pages, you can ensure that your job listing appears in search results.
It’s now clear that rich snippets offer many benefits. But how do you make sure you implement one of these rich snippets on your website?
To make your rich snippets visible, you need to add structured data markup to your website. Structured data is code that your visitors can’t see, but that search engines can read. This structured data must contain the necessary information; some elements are required to display your rich snippets, while other information is optional. Google processes the structured data markup and incorporates all the information into the search results. There are three ways to add structured data:
Both Microdata and RDFa are additions to your page’s HTML markup. JSON-LD is a piece of code that you need to add to the page. JSON-LD and Microdata are the most commonly used.
JSON-LD structured data wordt toegevoegd in de broncode van je website en staat tussen tags. This JSON-LD structured data can be included in the
Adding structured data using JSON-LD is generally the easiest and fastest way. You can easily generate FAQ structured data using our FAQ structured data generator and Organization structured data using our Organization structured data generator. You can add the JSON-LD code to your website’s HTML or upload it via Google Tag Manager.
To add rich snippets using Microdata markup, you add pieces of information to lines of HTML code. Suppose a product page states that the product has an average rating of 4.7 out of 5; in that case, you need to add several Microdata elements to it. In the example below, you can see one of the required Microdata additions.
Adding Microdata markup is generally more time-consuming and less straightforward than adding JSON-LD. That is why Microdata markup is chosen less often.
For the most commonly used CMSs, there are plugins or extensions available that let you easily add structured data markup to display rich snippets. Below, we explain how to do this for each popular CMS.
There are countless SEO plugins for WordPress. The following plugins are most commonly used for adding structured data:
The Magento marketplace offers several extensions that add structured data and help you with your Magento SEO:
Although Shopify is a closed platform—unlike, for example, WordPress and Magento—it is still possible to install apps that add structured data. There are several apps available for Shopify:
The Lightspeed platform is very similar to Shopify. This is also a closed platform that allows you to install apps. Apps for rich snippets include:
In addition, many Lightspeed themes also support rich snippets by default.
Google has published official documentation for all types of structured data and rich snippets, including guidelines and explanations on how developers can implement them. This documentation is available in English. Each document provides examples and explains how to implement them (including for Google AMP pages).
After you’ve added the markup to your page, it’s a good idea to test whether your page qualifies for rich snippets. Using Google’s Rich Results Testing Tool, you can see if your page qualifies for rich snippets. You can enter a URL where the markup has already been implemented, or a piece of code, to verify that you’ve set it up correctly.
If your page qualifies for rich snippets, you’ll see the message “Page qualifies for rich results.” Sometimes your page may qualify, but the rich snippets may not be displayed. This decision is up to Google.
After you’ve added the rich snippets, it’s a good idea to monitor their performance in Google Search Console. You can view the performance of your rich snippets in the Performance report:
In the left-hand menu, under “Optimizations,” you can easily see which pages have valid markup and which pages contain errors or warnings:
Ultimately, we can conclude that rich snippets are a definite asset to your search results and an important part of technical SEO. They’re easy to add and help drive more traffic to your website. Be sure to implement the rich snippets available for your website so you can benefit from a higher CTR.
[1] https://twitter.com/JohnMu/status/980902538865205248
With a passion for SEO and an unmatched drive for results, Jarik Oosting is the driving force behind SmartRanking. With over 15 years of experience in the field, he has built an extensive body of knowledge spanning technical SEO to complex site migrations. As the founder of SmartRanking, he has assembled a team of like-minded SEO specialists who help businesses achieve sustainable online growth.
His academic background in information science at the University of Groningen, with a specialization in natural language processing, gives him a unique perspective on the world of SEO. For Jarik, it’s not just about visibility in search engines, it’s about sharing knowledge and guiding businesses toward sustainable online success. That mission also led him to write a Dutch book about GEO.