What are Review Rich Snippets and How to Get Them?

Imagine you’re in a busy market with many shops selling similar items. Suddenly, you see one shop with a bright sign showing the product name, price, user ratings, and a nice image. This catches your attention and makes you want to go in and buy something. That’s how review rich snippets work!

The question is, how do you get them? Today, we’ll walk you through the exact steps to obtain Review Rich Snippets in Google.

What are Rich Snippets?

Rich snippets, also called “rich results”, are a type of structured data markup that website owners can add to their existing HTML, which allows search engines like Google to better understand what information is contained on each web page. This enhanced understanding can result in a richer, more informative search result, which can include additional details such as:

• Reviews and ratings: Shows star ratings, reviewer names, and number of reviews.
• Recipes: Displays cooking times, calorie information, and ingredients.
• Events: Lists event dates, locations, and ticket prices.
• Products: Highlights product availability, pricing, and merchant information.

Review Rich Snippets are implemented on your website to inform Google that the content is centered around reviews. These snippets, which are a specialized type, include review-specific details like product SKU, star ratings, and review comments. Google extracts this data from your HTML to create organic star ratings. Consequently, Google will display this information, such as star ratings, beneath your product URL in the search results.

How Do Rich Snippets Work on Google?

When Google detects valid reviews or ratings markup, it might display a review rich snippet featuring stars and summary information from the reviews or ratings. These snippets can appear in rich results or within Google Knowledge Panels. Here’s how the process works:

1. Structured Data Markup: Website owners add structured data markup to their HTML. This markup follows specific schemas (like Schema.org) to define the type of content on the page, such as reviews, recipes, events, products, etc.
2. Crawling and Indexing: Google’s web crawlers scan the web and index the content of webpages. When they encounter structured data, they read and interpret the markup to understand the detailed context of the page.
3. Enhancing Search Results: Google uses the information from the structured data to enhance the appearance of search results. This enhancement can include additional elements such as star ratings, event dates, prices, and other relevant details, making the search result more informative and visually appealing.
4. Displaying Rich Snippets: When a user searches for something related to the content on your page, Google may display the rich snippet in the search results. These snippets provide users with more detailed information directly in the search results, which can help improve click-through rates.

Since September 2019, Google’s criteria for Rich Snippets on your site are detailed in their Webmasters blog post.

Here’s what Google has to say about it:

Top Advantages of Review Rich Snippets

Implementing review rich snippets on your online store can greatly enhance its online presence and effectiveness. Here are the top benefits:

Increased Visibility and CTR

Review rich snippets enhance your website’s visibility on the Search Engine Results Page (SERP) by displaying star ratings, review counts, and customer reviews directly in the search results. These visual elements make your listing stand out from plain text results, capturing users’ attention and increasing the likelihood of clicks.

Enhanced Trust and Confidence

Displaying review rich snippets in search results builds immediate trust and confidence with potential customers. Seeing positive reviews and high ratings reassures users about the quality and reliability of your product or service. This social proof encourages users to click on your link, as they feel more confident in choosing a brand that others have positively reviewed, leading to higher engagement and conversions.

Improved User Experience and Quality Traffic

Review rich snippets provide essential information at a glance, improving user experience. This attracts more qualified traffic, with users who are already inclined to make a purchase due to visible positive feedback, leading to higher conversion rates.

The Benefits of Rich Snippets for SEO

Rich snippets can significantly enhance your website’s search engine performance by boosting click-through rates (CTR). According to Backlinko, implementing rich snippets in SEO can increase CTR by up to 30% compared to standard search results. This improvement is due to the additional visual appeal and the valuable information provided directly in the search results, such as star ratings, prices, and event dates, which make your listing more attractive to users.

Moreover, rich snippets contribute to a better user experience by offering relevant details at a glance, which helps users find what they’re looking for more efficiently. A study by HubSpot found that pages with rich snippets have a 10-20% higher CTR than those without, indicating that rich snippets not only attract more clicks but also drive higher quality traffic to your site. Additionally, featuring positive reviews and ratings in rich snippets can enhance your brand’s reputation, fostering trust and credibility among potential customers.

How to Get Review Rich Snippets?

There are 2 ways to go about setting up Product Review Rich Snippets:

• Using Schema Markup
• Using Review Tools and Plugins

Option 1: Using Schema Markup for Rich Snippets

To qualify for rich snippets on Google, start by adding structured data (schema markup) to your website content. This helps search engines understand your page’s purpose and can enhance Google’s perception of your site’s expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness (E-A-T).

There are various formats of structured data available, but SEO professionals typically utilize schema.org markup. The primary reason for this preference is its ease of implementation and its use of JSON-LD (JavaScript Object Notation for Linked Data). JSON-LD is supported by all major search engines, including Bing, and is officially endorsed by Google. Although other types of structured data, such as RDFa and Microdata, exist, it is generally recommended to stick with JSON-LD.

Below is an example of JSON-LD:

Step 1: Check Eligibility for Rich Snippets​

First, if you aim to add schema.org markup to an existing webpage to generate rich results, verify its eligibility for rich snippets using Google’s Rich Results Test.

Step 2: Choose and Install Structured Data Plugins

If your website uses WordPress as its CMS, you can choose from several structured data plugins to implement schema correctly. Additionally, many SEO-focused plugins, such as Yoast and Rankmath, provide schema options in their pro plans.

Step 3: Generate and Implement Schema Markup

Finally, you can generate the necessary schema markup code using a Schema Markup Generator and then add it to the <head> section of your website. The simplest way to do this is by using Google Tag Manager.

Step 4: Test Your Markup

After implementing structured data on your page, it’s important to validate the markup to ensure it functions correctly.

You can use Google’s Rich Results Test tool to ensure that your markup is correctly implemented and eligible for rich snippets.

Additionally, you can identify structured data errors using Google Search Console.

The left-hand menu of Google Search Console displays the SERP enhancements your site can benefit from. When you click on one of these enhancements, you’ll access a report detailing which pages on your site are eligible and whether the structured data code on those pages is currently valid.

Option 2: Using a Review Tool and App

If you have a team of developers on hand, it may be relatively easy for you to implement Review Rich Snippets yourself. However, what’s often easy, less time consuming and provides a cleaner, more polished result is using widgets provided by Review Platforms. The widgets will do all the work for you and often be stylised to make your reviews look pretty too.

It’s worth noting that you’ll need a Product Review Rich Snippet-compatible widget.

Now, I will guide you on how to showcase the review widget on your online store with Trustify Reviews.

Step 1: Install Trustify Reviews App

Visit the Trustify Reviews Knowledge Base and follow the instructions to install the Trustify Reviews app on your eCommerce platform.

Step 2: Access Your Online Store Theme Customization

• Go to your online store’s admin panel.
• Navigate to the “Themes” section and click on “Customize”.

Step 3: Navigate to Product Settings

• From the Trustify dashboard, click on Home Page at the top of the screen.
• From the dropdown menu, click on Products.
• Click on the Default Product option.

Step 4: Enable Rich Snippets

• Click on the Add Section button.
• Select Apps from the menu.
• In the apps section, find and select Trustify Review Snippet.
• Click Save to integrate the review snippet into your product page.

Step 5: Customize the Review Box widget

Navigate to the Widget page and open the Review Box block.

To configure the Review Box widget:

• Go to the Widget page.
• Open the Review Box block.

How to Test Your Review Rich Snippets?

Review Rich Snippets will only be effective if Google can read them. It’s crucial to test your Rich Snippets to ensure you benefit from them. Testing can be done in two simple ways:

1. Check Your Code

Rich snippets may not work if there are errors on your page. Inspect your code to ensure it is correct and properly formatted. A common mistake is leaving code tags unclosed, which can be easily fixed. Use tools like WC3 Validator by entering your URL to identify and correct any issues.

2. Use Google Testing Tool

Another effective method to verify your rich snippets is by using Google’s Structured Data Testing Tool. Simply input the URL of the webpage containing the rich snippet to check its functionality.

Examples of Rich Snippets

To understand the impact and value of rich snippets, let’s explore some real-world examples that illustrate how they enhance search results.

#1 Capterra

This example from Capterra shows a review rich snippet for Ahrefs. The snippet includes a title, “Ahrefs Reviews from Verified Users – Capterra UK 2023”, and a description highlighting the product’s usability, functionality, customer support, and value for money.

It also features a 4.7-star rating from 523 votes. This makes the search result more eye-catching and informative, encouraging more people to click on it and visit the page for more details.

#2 Amazon

This rich snippet from Amazon highlights the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra. It includes the product name, a brief description of its features, a 4.5-star rating from 537 reviews, the price of $829.97, and a 30-day return policy. These details make the search result more appealing and informative, encouraging users to click to learn more and potentially make a purchase. By providing key information at a glance, the snippet helps users quickly assess the product’s value and reliability.

#3 Allrecipes

Allrecipes showcases its “Juicy Roasted Chicken Recipe” through this rich snippet. The snippet features the recipe title, a brief summary of the instructions, a 4.7-star rating from 4,058 votes, and an estimated cooking time of 2 hours.

Additionally, it includes related recipe links and an image of the roasted chicken. These elements make the search result more engaging and informative, encouraging users to click on the link to view the full recipe. This rich snippet provides essential information at a glance, helping users quickly decide if this recipe fits their needs.

Wrap up

In summary, review rich snippets not only make your search listings more attractive but also build trust and improve the overall user experience. For detailed guidance on implementing rich snippets, refer to Google’s structured data documentation and consider using reputable review platforms to maximize your benefits.

Read More: How to Add Rich Snippets on Shopify Store in 5 Simple Steps