In this article I will explain the difference between rich snippets and featured snippets. I’ll also list the types of featured snippets and show some examples.
So, if you’re familiar with SEO (Search Engine Optimization), like I am, you probably know what rich snippets and featured snippets are. However, if you find this terminology confusing, follow me along.
What are rich snippets?
Rich snippets, also known as “rich results” are organic search results with some additional information displayed. There are different types of rich snippets, like: products, reviews, events, recipes, articles, etc.
Here is an example of recipe rich snippet in Google search results:
What are featured snippets?
Featured snippets, also known as “position zero” search results, are those selected snippets that appear above the organic search results. They typically provide quick answers to users’ search queries.
Here is an example of paragraph featured snippet:
What’s the difference between rich snippets and featured snippets?
Rich snippets are enhanced search results providing more info, while featured snippets are selected snippets that appear above organic search results and aim at answering users’ questions instantly.
How to get rich snippets?
In order to get rich snippets, you need to add relevant schema markup to your web pages. This is typically achieved with JSON-LD, which is a structured data markup format.
It annotates different elements on a web page and places this information inside a <script> tag. This info is later used by search engines to display corresponding rich snippets.
Learn more about rich snippets here.
How to get featured snippets?
In order to get featured snippets, your pages should already rank in top positions in organic search results.
Make sure your content is high quality and is answering users questions. Use relevant headings for questions (H2, H3) and provide short and relevant answers right below the headings. The length of answers should be around 50 words.
Format your content accordingly, so that Google can crawl/index your pages and display relevant featured snippets. Use HTML tables, lists, paragraphs, headings, etc.
What are the types of featured snippets?
There are 4 types of featured snippets. These are:
- Paragraph
- List
- Table
- Video
Examples of featured snippets
Here are some examples of different featured snippets, as seen in Google organic search results.
Paragraph featured snippet
List featured snippet
Table featured snippet
Video featured snippet
That’s it. Now you know what’s the difference between these 2 enhanced search results and can learn more about them and optimize your pages accordingly.
Do you have a WordPress site and don’t know how to get rich snippets or featured snippets? Let me know, I’ll be happy to help.
