Optimising Your Website for Rich Results

What are Rich Results?

Over recent years, the digital search environment has undergone significant transformations. A notable evolution is the emergence of rich results, interchangeably labeled as rich snippets or SERP features. To grasp the essence of rich results and their impact on contemporary SEO strategies, let's first establish a foundational understanding of these terms.

What Are SERPs?

SERPs, or Search Engine Results Pages, represent Google's reaction to a user's search inquiry (Source: Backlinko). In the initial stages of search, SERPs solely presented the traditional "10 blue links." These links constituted organic search results, leading users to web pages. However, as Google's sophistication has evolved, so have SERPs, now offering a more diverse array of information to assist searchers effectively.

Today, SERPs encompass:

Organic results
Paid advertisements
Featured snippets
Knowledge graphs
Rich results

SERPs play a crucial role in SEO as they dictate the presentation of your website on Google. Particularly significant is their influence on your website's visibility on Google's first page. The vast majority of SERPs incorporate some form of rich results.

According to SEMrush sensor data, less than 5% of search results lack SERP features entirely. A side-by-side comparison of two SERPs illustrates the distinction between a SERP with rich results and one without.

The SERP enriched with diverse features appears on the left appears more dynamic and visually engaging, providing multiple avenues for accessing information relevant to the user's search query.

What are Rich Results?

Rich results denote visually enriched search outcomes that augment the standard title, URL, and meta description of a webpage. These results exclusively manifest for pages containing specific types of information.

Google curates rich results by extracting data from a webpage's structured data, accessible only for particular content categories. Diverse types of rich results exist, as detailed in the comprehensive list available in the Google search gallery documentation, linked in the resources section. Given the variety, it's advisable to prioritise optimising for those rich results pertinent to your business niche.

Common rich results worth optimising for encompass:

Image packs
Local packs
Reviews
Recipes
Site links

Image Pack

Image packs are collections of results displayed horizontally, showcasing images that link to a Google Images search. To optimise your image content effectively, remember to assign descriptive file names to your images, provide detailed alt text, ensure readable image URLs, optimise image sizes, and include a title attribute. For further insights into optimising your images for search engines, refer to the resources section.

Local Pack

Local packs feature the top three physical locations that Google identifies as most relevant to the search query. Local SEO strategies have undergone significant changes in recent years, with local features evolving rapidly. If you operate a brick-and-mortar business, it's crucial to familiarize yourself with Google's local features. One essential step is to establish a "Google My Business" profile and maintain its accuracy with updated information regarding your business hours, location, and other relevant details.

Reviews

Reviews often feature review stars and ratings data for products, recipes, and other relevant items. Results adorned with review stars typically enjoy a higher click-through rate, making it a worthwhile investment if applicable to your business. While practices may vary significantly across industries, incorporating structured data on your site is considered a best practice.Recipes:For recipe searches, a carousel of recipes is displayed, complete with rating information and ingredients. To optimize your chances of appearing in recipe results, structured data is key. If you operate a food-related website, securing a spot in the recipes rich result presents a valuable opportunity to enhance your visibility in SERPs and boost your click-through rate.

Site Links

In response to an exact domain search, Google may present an expanded list of up to 10 site links. These site links contribute to enhancing your site's performance by increasing clickthrough rates and facilitating quicker access to desired pages for users. Typically associated with branded search terms, site links are more frequently displayed for large sites with recognisable brands and higher traffic volumes. If relevant to your organisation, optimising for this type of result can be achieved through structured data implementation.

There are numerous types of rich results, but some are beyond the control of website owners.

For instance, Google's Knowledge Panel typically retrieves data from its own index and private data partnerships, making it inaccessible for most websites to appear in this type of rich result.

Similarly, results like ads and shopping listings are paid placements, precluding organic placement opportunities.

Optimising your website for rich results can significantly enhance your click-through rate.

Given that rich results are visually appealing, users are more inclined to click on them compared to conventional blue links.

However, it's crucial to comprehend the SERP landscape in your industry and the targeted keywords you aim to rank for. If the SERPs are saturated with rich results from highly authoritative sources or types of results you cannot optimise for, it may be advisable to pursue alternative keywords.

During keyword research, take note of the content displayed on the first page of Google and consider optimising for any relevant rich results.

Rich results in SERPs represent an evolution of on-page SEO. Once your pages are optimised using traditional methods, focusing on rich results can elevate your site to the next level.

What Is Structured Data?

Why is structured snippets important for SEO?

Structured data is a crucial aspect of SEO due to its role in helping Google comprehend the content of your web pages and the overall theme of your website. By implementing structured data, you enable Google to deliver more pertinent and useful search results to users. Google's primary objective is to present search results that align with a user's search intent, taking into account factors such as the specific query, geographical location, and individual preferences. As SEO aims to enhance a website's visibility and ranking on search engines by facilitating efficient crawling and indexing, structured data serves as an additional tool in achieving this goal.

What is Structured Data?

Structured data refers to a standardised format utilised for furnishing information about a webpage and categorising its content (Source: Google). Essentially, it operates as a markup language, akin to HTML, which marketers typically possess some level of familiarity with. Similar to HTML, structured data facilitates the organisation and communication of content in a manner that search engines can effectively interpret and present in visually appealing formats within search engine results pages (SERPs). In discussions concerning structured data, the term "marking up" frequently arises, denoting the process of creating the structured data code.

How Google uses Structured Data

Google utilises structured data found across the web to comprehend page content and gather broader insights about the internet and beyond.

This structured data aids Google in crafting rich results within SERPs, streamlining its comprehension of image and content context to accurately present them in search outcomes. These visually enhanced outcomes are referred to as "rich results" or "rich snippets," providing additional information to users. However, it's important to note that while structured data enhances eligibility for rich results, Google doesn't guarantee their creation for every page.

Structured data serves as a mechanism to furnish detailed content insights to Google, primarily sourced from Schema.org markup.

What is Schema.org?

Schema.org is the entity responsible for establishing the standardised language and guidelines utilised for structured data.

Exploring Schema.org enables you to locate the specific markup suitable for your unique webpage requirements. This platform hosts a vast array of diverse code samples, allowing website proprietors to tailor them according to their preferences.

For instance, if you operate a computer retail website, Schema.org offers code snippets enabling you to showcase product prices, stock availability, reviews, and ratings. Given its recognition and comprehension by Google, Schema.org is highly recommended for implementation. Google facilitates the inclusion of schema markup using various formats, with JSON-LD being the preferred choice.

What is JSON-LD?

JSON-LD, short for JSON for Linked Data, serves as a script embedded within a webpage, facilitating the communication of structured data to search engines.

While alternative formats exist for integrating structured data, JSON-LD stands out as the recommended choice. This preference is attributed to its endorsement by Google and its simplified implementation compared to other methods. With JSON-LD, the process entails merely embedding the script within the webpage's code, streamlining the integration process.

Three Ways to Implement Structured Data:
Work with a developer
Use a plugin
Add it manually

Structured data implementation is predominantly handled by developers due to its coding requirements. Given the need for writing and editing code, many marketers opt to collaborate with web developers for this task. However, if you're a marketer lacking development resources, you can still leverage structured data effectively. It's important to note that not all Schema markups are created equal: some are straightforward to implement independently, while others demand additional effort due to required or recommended properties. A useful guideline is to assess the complexity of the markup: the more recommended properties it entails, the greater the likelihood that collaboration with a developer would be beneficial.

Add structured data markup to your site using plugins.
For WordPress users, numerous plugins are accessible, enabling automatic addition of structured data to your pages. However, if you lack access to a developer or prefer not to use a plugin, manual addition of schema markup is an alternative. While this approach demands some technical proficiency, those comfortable with coding can implement schema markup straightforwardly. If coding poses a challenge, it's advisable to seek assistance from a developer to ensure accurate implementation.

Steps to add structured data to a page:
- In the head HTML of your web page, add a script element set to JSON-LD.
- Inside the script element, tell Google you're using Schema.org structured data.
- Based on the type of content you're describing, tell Google which kind of structured data you're using.
- Add all the required and recommended properties to give Google more information about the content being described.

Incorporating structured data might seem daunting, but there are tools available to simplify the process. An online schema generator can assist you greatly: just select the desired markup type, input the necessary details, and then copy and paste the generated code into your page's HTML head section. Additionally, Google offers a useful tutorial that walks you through the steps of manually integrating structured data markup into a page. This tutorial, linked in the resources section, is recommended for familiarising yourself with the process before applying it to your own website.

Check Your Structured Data

Ensure the accuracy of your structured data by employing Google's Rich Results Test and Structured Data Testing Tool.

Utilize Google's structured data testing tool to confirm the inclusion of correct properties and identify any potential errors. You have the option to input a code snippet for pages under development or provide a URL for published pages.

Google's Rich Results Test tool will assess if your page contains all necessary information for eligibility in rich results. This tool, accessible via both code snippet and URL, offers the added benefit of previewing how your page will be displayed in search results.

Optimising Featured Snippets

As Google gets better and better at understanding search intent, it wants to give searchers an IMMEDIATE answer to their questions – an answer so immediate, searchers won't even have to browse through the search results to get it. That answer comes in the form of a featured snippet.

What exactly is a featured snippet? Let's hear it from Google...

According to Google, "A featured snippet is a concise summary of an answer to a user's query, prominently displayed atop Google search results.

It's extracted from a webpage and typically includes the page's title and URL."

Hold on a second... Featured snippets appear ABOVE the #1-ranked spot? As if reaching the top spot wasn't challenging enough! :)

But it's a tad more nuanced. Google extracts featured snippet answers from pages ranking on the first page of search results, yet the winning page for the featured snippet isn't always the #1 result.

This opens the door for content positioned ABOVE the #1 spot, offering a unique opportunity for visibility.

This underscores the importance of optimising your content not just for regular search results but also for emerging organic search features like featured snippets.

There are three reasons you should care about featured snippets.

Firstly, featured snippets are prevalent for many terms that your desired audience is actively searching for. Google often presents featured snippets for inquiries starting with "Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How," aligning with the types of questions your online content aims to address. Additionally, they frequently appear for popular search terms and broad topics.

Secondly, featured snippets frequently take precedence in voice search results. In fact, 71% of search queries that prompted featured snippets on desktop resulted in the featured snippet appearing first in voice search results. This is significant as voice searches are anticipated to comprise 50% of all mobile searches by 2020, a projection endorsed by both Google and Bing.

Thirdly, without a successful strategy to adapt to evolving search behaviours, you risk losing out on attracting customers. Search dynamics are constantly changing, and the prominence of featured snippets is increasingly driving organic search traffic across desktop, mobile, and voice platforms. To remain relevant, it's imperative to adjust alongside your customers as they adapt to new search paradigms.

So – how can YOU optimise your own blog content for Google's featured snippet?

But even if there ISN'T a featured snippet showing up for that query, keep in mind that Google is adding new snippets all the time, so you may want to check back in the future.

After identifying these posts, proceed to optimise them specifically for the featured snippet. Google prioritises content that provides a clear and concise response to the search query, with formatting being the key element. Clean formatting is crucial as Google's algorithm relies on it to extract content for snippets. Poorly formatted text may lead Google to overlook the content altogether. If the keyword triggering the featured snippet is associated with a list-based format, ensure that your content includes a clearly labeled list with headers. Consider incorporating a condensed list version of your main blog post at the beginning to enhance Google's recognition for snippet inclusion. Aim for seven steps or fewer in your list, as Google typically truncates snippets after eight steps.

After implementing these adjustments, submit the updated URLs to Google for re-crawling. Monitor the outcomes by tracking metrics such as clicks from the results page, alterations in click-through rate, and the influence on the blog post's organic traffic. It's important to note that since snippets are governed by Google's algorithms, outcomes may fluctuate on a daily basis.

We suggest monitoring your new snippets daily for approximately four weeks to accommodate potential appearances, disappearances, and alterations in content.

Check our other blog to find out more!

Technical SEO

Keyword Researching

Link Building

What are Rich Results?

Over recent years, the digital search environment has undergone significant transformations. A notable evolution is the emergence of rich results, interchangeably labeled as rich snippets or SERP features. To grasp the essence of rich results and their impact on contemporary SEO strategies, let's first establish a foundational understanding of these terms.

What Are SERPs?

SERPs, or Search Engine Results Pages, represent Google's reaction to a user's search inquiry (Source: Backlinko). In the initial stages of search, SERPs solely presented the traditional "10 blue links." These links constituted organic search results, leading users to web pages. However, as Google's sophistication has evolved, so have SERPs, now offering a more diverse array of information to assist searchers effectively.

Today, SERPs encompass:

Organic results
Paid advertisements
Featured snippets
Knowledge graphs
Rich results

SERPs play a crucial role in SEO as they dictate the presentation of your website on Google. Particularly significant is their influence on your website's visibility on Google's first page. The vast majority of SERPs incorporate some form of rich results.

According to SEMrush sensor data, less than 5% of search results lack SERP features entirely. A side-by-side comparison of two SERPs illustrates the distinction between a SERP with rich results and one without.

The SERP enriched with diverse features appears on the left appears more dynamic and visually engaging, providing multiple avenues for accessing information relevant to the user's search query.

What are Rich Results?

Rich results denote visually enriched search outcomes that augment the standard title, URL, and meta description of a webpage. These results exclusively manifest for pages containing specific types of information.

Google curates rich results by extracting data from a webpage's structured data, accessible only for particular content categories. Diverse types of rich results exist, as detailed in the comprehensive list available in the Google search gallery documentation, linked in the resources section. Given the variety, it's advisable to prioritise optimising for those rich results pertinent to your business niche.

Common rich results worth optimising for encompass:

Image packs
Local packs
Reviews
Recipes
Site links

Image Pack

Image packs are collections of results displayed horizontally, showcasing images that link to a Google Images search. To optimise your image content effectively, remember to assign descriptive file names to your images, provide detailed alt text, ensure readable image URLs, optimise image sizes, and include a title attribute. For further insights into optimising your images for search engines, refer to the resources section.

Local Pack

Local packs feature the top three physical locations that Google identifies as most relevant to the search query. Local SEO strategies have undergone significant changes in recent years, with local features evolving rapidly. If you operate a brick-and-mortar business, it's crucial to familiarize yourself with Google's local features. One essential step is to establish a "Google My Business" profile and maintain its accuracy with updated information regarding your business hours, location, and other relevant details.

Reviews

Reviews often feature review stars and ratings data for products, recipes, and other relevant items. Results adorned with review stars typically enjoy a higher click-through rate, making it a worthwhile investment if applicable to your business. While practices may vary significantly across industries, incorporating structured data on your site is considered a best practice.Recipes:For recipe searches, a carousel of recipes is displayed, complete with rating information and ingredients. To optimize your chances of appearing in recipe results, structured data is key. If you operate a food-related website, securing a spot in the recipes rich result presents a valuable opportunity to enhance your visibility in SERPs and boost your click-through rate.

Site Links

In response to an exact domain search, Google may present an expanded list of up to 10 site links. These site links contribute to enhancing your site's performance by increasing clickthrough rates and facilitating quicker access to desired pages for users. Typically associated with branded search terms, site links are more frequently displayed for large sites with recognisable brands and higher traffic volumes. If relevant to your organisation, optimising for this type of result can be achieved through structured data implementation.