Matthew Widdop
Matty is a Junior SEO Executive at Intelligency, helping our clients to improve their digital performance. Matty is currently studying for his Level 3 Multi-Channel Marketer apprenticeship and has completed a Sport Journalism Degree at the University of Huddersfield.
Rich results on Google are search results that are more visually appealing than standard results and produce more visibility and traffic. Examples of rich results include FAQ sections on the search engine results page (SERP), product listing with price and star ratings, job posting with company name and location and more.
Why are rich results important?
Rich results are important because they automatically give users more information which informs users if the information is relevant to their needs quicker. If users can ascertain how useful your content is on the SERP they are much more likely to click through onto your website generating more relevant traffic that is likely to take action e.g. make a purchase, subscribe to a newsletter etc.
How to gain rich results?
To have your pages show up in rich results on the SERP users need to implement Schema markup on their pages. Schema makeup is code you add to your web pages to let Google better understand your content and display it in a rich format. Don’t worry you don’t need to be a coding genius to implement schema makeup, many of the most popular CMS such as WordPress have plugins that allow you to add Schema to your web pages.
What different types of Schema markup are there?
Google recognises 35 different types of Schema markup in total some of the most popular formats include:
- Review Markup – Lets users know this is a review page and add a star rating to search results
- Product Markup – Lets users know this is a product page and adds product details such as image, price, rating etc.
- Article Markup – Lets users know this is an article and can be added to the “top stories” section of Google for a particular search query
- Local Business Markup – Provides users with information about a local business including the name, address, phone number, opening hours and more
How to add Schema markup to your pages
The easiest way to install Schema to your pages is by installing a plugin such as Schema Pro. Schema pro allows users to add different types of schemas to different page types or individual pages. Make sure when adding schema to pages the schema type is relevant or this can confuse search engines and will limit your chances of appearing in rich results.
