We all have seen how different some snippets on search results appear from the others, but why and how? This happens because of rich snippets. Rich snippets, also called rich results, are typical Google search results that are shown with extra structured data that is derived from the web page’s HTML. They improve SEO and increase the web traffic. But how can you make sure your rich snippets are optimal and get featured on search results? Let’s find out!

What are Rich Snippets?

Rich snippets are the typical search results we see on google, but with added information. This information is the data taken from the web page’s HTML. It helps the page seem more interesting and to increase the visibility of the page. We, as consumers, will always look for pages that match our exact description and it can be hard to go through every single result to find out the exact information we need. Using rich snippets can help consumers find what they’re looking for easily and increase the number of clicks on the website. 

Why are Rich Snippets Significant?

Most people may not understand why rich snippets are so important for a webpage, but they play a huge role in increasing visibility and search engine optimization. Here is why rich snippets are vital for your search engine optimization:

1. It makes your webpage distinguishable from other webpages on google search results as it has more information than a typical snippet, which makes consumers more likely to engage with the webpage.
2. It optimizes the click-through rate of the webpage and increases engagement of the webpage.
3. It is very beneficial for increasing the ranking of the webpages as with a higher click-through rate, search engines recognize the website as a helpful and good website which makes your webpage’s rankings better.

How Can You Optimize Rich Snippets?

Even though having a rich snippet can help you with search engine optimization, wouldn’t all other websites know how to do it too? So how can you make sure that your webpage stands above all your competitors and receives more web traffic? Here is the step by step guide to optimizing rich snippets of your webpage:

1. Take a look at what your competitors are using as rich snippets, this can help you understand how to better distinguish yourself from generic rich snippets and earn more traffic. Knowing what your competitors use as rich snippets can help you classify and take a look at the kind of content that has more keyword density, higher rankings, and what is more likely to gain more attention and make a list of these topics.
2. Once you’ve categorized the topics, look for the search engine optimization keywords present on these sites and use these keywords to look for the kind of rich snippets derived from them that appear as on search results.
3. There are mainly 3 categories of people that will search your keywords: competitors, possible customers, and people that will influence your not-yet customers to purchase from you. Understanding the intent behind these searches is important to know how you can optimize and capitalize on them. What you should focus on are the potential clients and people who can influence them and what they’re most likely looking for is information, so you need to curate your content to benefit them.
4. Do a thorough competitive analysis to understand your rivals, how they work and what they’re using to optimize their rich snippets. Take a look at what their content is like, what the average readability should be like and the basic search engine optimization tactics your competitors have put to use.
5. Now that you have all the information you need on your demographic and target users, you also know the tactics that your rivals use, now it’s time to create or redo your content in a way that takes into account all this information and creates a thorough SEO rich content that is better than your competitors.
6. Review your content and make simple keyword searches to ensure that your content is reaching the targeted audience and is being listed in the relevant suggested columns.
7. Categorize and organize your website content to improve readability and to improve SEO, turn bulky paragraphs into listicles to make them more eye-catching and easy to read.
8. Make use of interrogative keywords because question keywords are more likely to increase web traffic.
9. Enrich your content with relevant custom-made or organic graphics rather than stock images to distinguish your webpage and make it appear more unique.
10. Optimize your content time and again in accordance with the latest SEO practices to achieve a featured snippet on search results.

Conclusion

Rich snippets are enriched with extra information which distinguishes them from other results. To make sure your rich snippets are features, you need to follow the best SEO practices and conduct a simple competitive analysis to make sure content is better than your competitors and is optimized effectively. Keep updating your content to keep up with the latest SEO practices for better results.