Did you know Search Snippets Come From Page Content, Google Clarifies
Search snippets have become a useful way for SEO professionals to get
ahead, but in spite of the fact that this is the case, they have also
caused a considerable amount of confusion. When Google released
documentation pertaining to these snippets, people were led to believe
that they were gleaned from meta descriptions in the HTML code as well
as structured data.
Search giant Google has now set the record straight. The tech juggernaut has clarified
that the content present within these snippets is sourced largely from
the content contained within pages rather than what SEOs initially
assumed.
Google automatically detects what content on a given
page would be appropriate to use within the context of a search snippet.
The company has altered the document to avoid further confusion, and it
bears mentioning that all mentions of rich results have also been
removed
These changes are important because of the fact that this is the sort of
thing that could potentially end up determining how content will be
structured on a page. Now that SEOs are aware that HTML elements are not
part of the equation, they will be less likely to focus on them when
trying to get content included in snippets.
One thing that must
be clarified here is that HTML elements aren’t entirely ignored. They
are used on occasion, but by and large Google relies on page content for
snippets so that they can be made more accurate and useful to searchers
than might have been the case otherwise.
If the meta description
happens to offer a more suitable summary of the contents of a page, it
might end up being used instead. Website owners would do well to keep
this at the forefront of their minds with all things having been
considered and taken into account. It can have an enormous impact on the
manner in which their sites appear on the SERP, something that can
drive considerable traffic and ensure organic growth without requiring
any manipulation of meta descriptions and the like.
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