{"id":18395,"date":"2018-01-15T10:37:06","date_gmt":"2018-01-15T15:37:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hostgator.com\/blog\/?p=18395"},"modified":"2019-07-02T11:41:36","modified_gmt":"2019-07-02T16:41:36","slug":"google-rich-results","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hostgator.com\/blog\/google-rich-results\/","title":{"rendered":"Understanding Google Rich Results, From Snippets to Schema"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"introduction<\/b><\/p>\n

What Are Google Rich Results and How Do They Affect SEO?<\/h2>\n

If you use Google much (and most of us do), you\u2019ve probably started to notice a real change in the search results.<\/p>\n

Where once there was a list of links (some of the ones up top paid for), there\u2019s now a mix of links, images, text boxes, maps… lots of types of information in different forms, all taking up space on the main search results page.<\/p>\n

If you care about your website\u2019s SEO, then you should care about how the search engine results pages (SERPs) look being one of those links on the first page used to be the end-all be-all goal of SEO. But it means less if your link is pushed down below several other types of content and information, instead of just other links.<\/p>\n

Everyone with a website should therefore be paying attention to what these changes mean for your site\u2019s visibility.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a basic rundown of the main things you need to know about all those special search results dominating the SERPs.<\/p>\n

\"HostGator<\/a><\/p>\n

5 Types of Special Google Results<\/h2>\n

These special results can take a lot of different forms. Some of the main ones that website owners should be aware of are:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

1. Featured snippets<\/h3>\n

When you search a simple question in Google, you\u2019ll now often see a box above the other search results that includes the text that answers your question right there on the results page, so you don\u2019t have to navigate away to get the information you need.<\/p>\n

\"example<\/p>\n

These are featured snippets, sometimes called instant answers. This information is pulled from the text of a webpage, which is linked right below the answer. That means that you can be number one in the list of links below, without being the first link people see on the page.<\/p>\n

These show up in a few different formats. Commonly it\u2019s a little bit of text and an image pulled from the webpage with the link below. Sometimes, the information that\u2019s pulled shows up in a bulleted or numbered list. And sometimes, you\u2019ll see a number of 'People Also Ask'\u009d options, which open up their own featured snippets.<\/p>\n

\"example\"bullet<\/center><\/p>\n

2. Map snippets<\/h3>\n

The map snippet comes up anytime a search term suggests to Google that you\u2019re looking for something you\u2019d be likely to go to a physical location for. Sometimes the map cluster shows up below other ads and results, and sometimes it\u2019s at the top of the results page.<\/p>\n

\"example<\/p>\n

In either case, you see a map that has several locations marked with red pins, with three locations listed below below it.  The results below the map usually include an address, ratings information<\/a>, photos, contact information, and business hours (if relevant).<\/p>\n

Note that these listings don\u2019t provide links directly to the website of the business or other location listed. When you click, you go to an expanded result for the location you clicked on, with a larger map of other relevant results. There<\/i> you can find the link to the website.<\/p>\n

\"Local<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

3. Rich ads<\/h3>\n

While ads have always been a part of Google\u2019s search results, many searches now include ads that provide visuals and the same kind of rich information that increasingly shows up in natural results.<\/p>\n

These rich ads sometimes show up above the other results and sometimes to the side. They include images, pricing information, ratings information and the name of the business. Sometimes they even include additional helpful information like that a product comes with 'free shipping'\u009d or is for 'in-store pickup.'\u009d<\/p>\n

Obviously, these aren\u2019t spots you can capture with SEO, but you can pay for them with Google AdWords<\/a> if you want an easy way to stand out in the SERPs.<\/p>\n

\"Google\"Google<\/center> <\/p>\n

4. Video results<\/h3>\n

Videos don\u2019t show up as featured snippets that often, but for some searches they do. In these cases, you can click to watch the video on the search results page without navigating elsewhere.<\/p>\n

\"example<\/p>\n

More often, you see video thumbnails alongside links in the search results. When you click on these, they open the page where the video is hosted for you to watch (usually on YouTube)<\/p>\n

\"example<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

5. Rich snippets<\/h3>\n

In addition to the flashy snippets and visuals on the top of and alongside the page, for some searches, you\u2019ll also see rich results in the list of links. What kind of information you\u2019ll see with these can vary a lot, but it can include thumbnail images, ratings information, number of reviews, and things like calorie counts for recipes.<\/p>\n

\"examples<\/p>\n

What These Special Results Mean for SEO<\/h2>\n

These types of special results aren\u2019t either all good or all bad. In some cases, they\u2019re likely to distract away from the main search results, as with rich advertisements that draw the eye before a person starts to scroll down, or featured snippets that answer simple questions on the SERP so that people are unlikely to click through to any other results.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, featured snippets that provide a partial answer to more complicated questions (often the case with bulleted snippets) are more likely to get people to click through to the link. And rich search results can draw attention to particular search results with more information and visuals, making them potentially more competitive than others that rank higher.<\/p>\n

On the whole, it\u2019s a mixed bag for marketers. But there are some things you can do to make your webpages more competitive in the world of special search results.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Using Schema Markup<\/h3>\n

Any of the rich search results you see that have things like thumbnail images, ratings, or review information showing up alongside the link didn\u2019t just get there with luck. The website owners figured out how to provide Google\u2019s algorithm that information in just the right way for it to show up in the results.<\/p>\n

The way to do that is with schema markup<\/strong>. You use shema markup to tell the search engines which pieces of information on your website fall into the types of data categories they\u2019ve decided merit a special sort of display on the platform. Because Google thinks users will benefit from knowing how long a recipe takes to make or how many calories are in it, if you provide that information to them using schema markup, they\u2019ll display it on the results page.<\/p>\n

Luckily, schema markup was specifically developed to be pretty user friendly. You can visit Schema.org<\/a> to learn about the different types of Schema markup there are and the different categories you\u2019ll want to include in your code for each type.<\/p>\n

To make updating your own site easy, you can use Google\u2019s schema markup generator<\/a>. Just put in the URL you want to generate markup for, select the type of content it is, and then you can highlight the different parts of the page that should be added into the different fields provided. As an example, you\u2019d highlight the headline of your article and select 'Name'\u009d in the dropdown menu that shows up to mark it as the article\u2019s title.<\/p>\n

\"how<\/p>\n

When you\u2019re done selecting the text on the page for each category, click on 'create HTML'\u009d to find the code that you need to add to your page for schema markup. You can copy and paste the whole code they provide to your page, or go look for the specific spots where something\u2019s highlighted in yellow and just paste in those parts.<\/p>\n

\"markup<\/p>\n

Optimizing for Featured Snippets<\/h3>\n

Featured snippets are sometimes referred to as 'Position 0'\u009d amongst SEO professionals, since they get you above even that top spot. While in some cases, your content showing up in a featured snippet could just mean that people get the answer they need without clicking through, for many searches it\u2019s still a worthy goal to aim for since it puts your answer and link far above everybody else on the page and in a way that draws attention.<\/p>\n

The best way to optimize for featured snippets is to create the kind of content most likely to show up in them.<\/strong> The types of queries you should focus on are those where people are looking to answer a question but one that\u2019s a bit too big to get a full answer to within the text box at the top of the page. Spend some time brainstorming questions<\/a> relevant to your website and industry. Then go do some Googling to see what results show up for them now.<\/p>\n

What you\u2019re looking for here are queries where there is a featured snippet, but the answer\u2019s not great. These provide an opportunity to create something better, while knowing that Google already sees this query as one that should generate a snippet. Also pay attention to which questions bring up answers from Wikipedia these aren\u2019t a good place to put your time, since Google\u2019s unlikely to decide your website is more authoritative than Wikipedia.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll also want to be very particular in the language you use. Moz recommends<\/a> making your keywords and phrases very literal. So drop whatever clever heading you had in mind and use the phrase a person\u2019s most likely to be searching.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

For Local SEO: Optimizing for the Map Snippet<\/h3>\n

If your business has a physical location and reaching local residents is a priority, then the map snippet popularly called the map 3-pack by local SEO professionals  is the most important of all special results for you to focus on.<\/p>\n

Part of getting into the map cluster has to do with how close you are geographically to the person searching, so you don\u2019t have much control over that. But you can implement a few local SEO best practices<\/a> to increase your chances of showing up there more often:<\/p>\n