There is no data indicating that schema rich snippets have a direct effect on Google rankings, but they sure don’t hurt. In fact, rich snippets can make your pages look more prominent in otherwise crowded SERPs.They can give your website the visibility it needs to increase click-through rates—and ultimately boost your sales.
What is a rich snippet?
A rich snippet is essentially an enhanced description of a webpage that appears in the search results when schema markup microdata is added to that page. In an age when SERPs are getting too noisy with ads, map packs, image results, and carousels, having a rich snippet can make your organic listing stand out and get noticed. While rich snippets are available to everyone, not all websites take advantage of them—which means more opportunities for those that do. So if you are looking for an SEO strategy that can quickly move the dial, this is definitely worth the shot.
Here are examples of how to use rich snippets to increase clicks and sales.
1. Product rich snippets
If you run an ecommerce website, your pages can benefit from product rich snippets that show information such as price, availability, and ratings/reviews. These types of snippets are powerful visual triggers that immediately let the reader know that an item is for sale. You can even use structured data to make your product pictures stand out in image search results, putting a ‘product’ flag over them.
Some ecommerce merchants avoid structured data believing that it takes the reader’s attention away from the title and meta description and puts it squarely on the price, essentially turning the search results page into a battle of what’s cheapest. But product rich snippets are widely used in ecommerce these days. They have become necessities for any self-respecting online shop—and you may be putting yourself at a disadvantage if you don’t use them.
2. Sitelinks search box
Do you want shoppers to be able to use your internal search from Google? Then this is the type of rich snippet to try. Structured data on your home page will enable this feature, taking shoppers directly on your website’s search-results page and putting them closer to hitting that ‘buy’ button.
3. Videos
In its efforts to engage an increasingly mobile audience, Google seems to include videos in its search results whenever possible. You can take advantage of this trend by using video structured data. This places your video’s description, date, duration, and thumbnail in the results. Google also recently introduced a new feature in video rich snippets called ‘key moments’ or ‘clips.’ It lets searchers skip to different points in the video (each one with a short description) directly from the SERPs.
4. How-tos
Demonstrate your knowledge of your products—and your commitment to helping your customers—by creating how-to content describing sequential steps to completing a task, such as how to use your products. You can include pictures and videos in your mark-up, which will show in the rich snippet.
5. Your logo
You can mark up your logo on your home page so that Google displays it in the SERPs or in Knowledge Graph. This is a great way to make your listing stand out while building brand identity. While you’re at it, you may as well include other information you want to appear in Knowledge Graph, like a short description, location of your shop/headquarters, customer service phone numbers, founders/CEO, etc.
If you need help implementing schema rich snippets as a search engine optimization strategy, don’t hesitate to contact SEOValley. We can review your website and determine the best way to make your organic listings stand out.
