Given the nature of the Internet, people who use it expect to get results in the shortest time possible. Perhaps this is the reason why search engines continue to refine the data that they provide on their search engine results (SERPS) pages. As the searches get more sophisticated, the technology that facilitates should be more so. In Google’s case, there have been tweaks made to existing algorithm and enhancements like Instant Preview. However, there is an element to this list of results that far surpass these two. Ladies and gents, allow me to reintroduce to you rich snippets.
These “small samples of content”, according to the post on Google Webmaster Central Blog in May 2009, work by providing a summary of information about a website. While they can sometimes consist of meta descriptions, they are typically additional details which can be considered to be most relevant to the resource and useful to users. This concept, along with the +1 button and instant main page views, all make for a cocktail of convenience.
Since it was brought out into the virtual world, rich snippets have gone through quite a number of changes. Today, it is more organised and covers a greater number of search topics such asrecipes and shopping. The way I see it, adding this type of summative content can only make search better. From the SEO perspective, it can certainly provide more clues as to how sites can be optimised more effectively.
