Rich Snippets
Rich snippets are used within search results to display additional data from a webpage and are generated through structured data. Rich results allow search engines to provide more useful information to users, to encourage them to click-through to the site. To find out more about how rich results are generated and best practice recommendations from Google, our SEO Office Hours recaps below cover these key insights and guidance.
Further reading: State of the SERPs: 7 Enhanced SERP Features & Rich Result Types to Know
A Featured Snippet Can Source its Text & Image from Different Sites
Images in featured snippets are sometimes taken from a different website to the one where the text snippet was taken from.
Relevant Dates in Visible Content Can Show in Snippets
If a relevant date is used in the visible content of a page then that can be shown in the search result snippet.
Knowledge Panel Won’t Change With Mobile-first Indexing
Elements of search results, like the knowledge panel, won’t change with Mobile-first indexing as ideally Google will have the same information just from mobile pages instead.
Review Markup Without Source Could Result in Loss of Rich Snippets
Marking up aggregate reviews without specifying the source could result in a manual action. This could result in Google dropping rich snippets in the search results for the website.
Google Assistant Uses Desktop Results But Will Change to Mobile Index
Google Assistant uses rich snippets from desktop version of search results and over time will move over to the mobile index.
Presence of Rich Snippets in Site: Query But Not in Normal Search Indicator of Low Site Quality
A good indicator of site quality can be gained from using a site: query. If rich snippets are displayed using site: query but not in normal search, this is an indicator Google doesn’t trust your site from a quality point of view.
Structured Data Contributes to Rich Snippets, Carousels and Relevancy
There are 3 ways google uses structured data. Rich snippets, which are not used for rankings but can increase click-through rates, content carousels which increases visibility, and relevancy, which can help google to understand where a page should rank.
Structured Data Penalties Don’t Affect Rankings
Penalties for spammy structured data only affects rich snippets, not ranking of site.
Secondary Content’ Won’t be Used for Snippets
Content not instantly visible is treated as secondary content and wouldn’t be used for snippets until Google shifts to mobile first indexing
Use Site: to Test Rich Snippets
The Rich Snippet testing tool only checks the syntax is valid. Use Site: to check how your rich snippets will be displayed and confirm they conform to the policy requirements and meet the quality criteria.