What is a Snippet?

A search snippet, or Google snippet, is a generated extract of content from a web page that is presented in SERPs, drawn from a search term and collated from stored meta data.

A standard snippet consists of the title of the website, a short text preview and the URL.

A rich snippet includes the basic information of a standard snippet, but also integrates ratings, pictures and extra information like location and availability.

Featured snippets are selected by Google and appear at the top of SERPs. They are chosen to answer specific questions entered into the search bar. Featured snippet text is displayed above the website URL.

See examples below: 

Google Snippet

Rich Snippet

Featured Snippet

Why do we need Snippets?

Search snippets are important because they can be the difference between a searcher clicking on your website, or moving on to a more enticing one.

If your snippet is visually appealing and contains relevant information with bolded keywords matching the search term/s then the searcher is much more likely to click.

In terms of value, generally, these SERP features improve brand awareness, traffic to your website and can also boost revenue, especially when part of an overall digital strategy.

Where we can see Snippets?

Search snippets are displayed on the SERP (Search Engine Result page) as the preview of a search result in Google.

Featured snippets are selected by Google and appear at the top of SERPs. They are chosen to answer specific questions entered into the search bar. You have to work for this one.

These kinds of snippets come in a few forms including:

• Paragraph featured snippets 
• List featured snippets 
• Table featured snippets
• Video featured snippets