Rich Results and Search Console Webmaster Conference Lightning Talk
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Tuesday, August 11, 2020
A few weeks ago we held another
Webmaster Conference Lightning Talk,
this time about Rich Results and Search Console.
During the talk we hosted a live chat and a lot of viewers asked questions - we tried to answer
all we could, but our typing skills didn't match the challenge...so we thought we'd follow up on
the questions posed in this blog post.
If you missed the video, you can watch it below: it discusses how to get started with rich
results and use Search Console to optimize your search appearance in Google Search.
Rich Results and Search Console FAQs
Will a site rank higher against competitors if it implements structured data?
Structured data
by itself is not a generic ranking factor. However, it can help Google to understand what
the page is about, which can make it easier for us to show it where relevant and make it
eligible for additional search experiences.
Which structured data would you recommend to use in Ecommerce category pages?
You don't need to mark up the products on a category page, a Product
should only be marked up when they are the primary element on a page.
How much content should be included in my structured data? Can there be too much?
There is no limit to how much structured data you can implement on
your pages, but make sure you're sticking to the
general guidelines.
For example the markup should always be visible to users and representative of the main
content of the page.
What exactly are FAQ clicks and impressions based on?
A Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) page
contains a list of questions and answers pertaining to a particular topic. Properly marked
up FAQ pages may be eligible to have a rich result on Search and an Action on the Google
Assistant, which can help site owners reach the right users. These rich results include
snippets with frequently asked questions, allowing users to expand and collapse answers to
them. Every time such a result appears in Search results for a user it will be counted as
an impression on Search Console, and if the user clicks to visit the website it will be
counted as a click. Clicks to expand and collapse the search result will not be counted as
clicks on Search Console as they do not lead the user to the website. You can check
impressions and clicks on your FAQ rich results using the 'Search appearance' tab in the
Search Performance report.
Will Google show rich results for reviews made by the review host site?
Reviews must not be written or provided by the business or content
provider. According to our
review snippets guidelines:
"Ratings must be sourced directly from users" - publishing reviews written by the business
itself are against the guidelines and might trigger a
Manual Action.
There are schema types that are not used by Google, why should we use them?
Google supports a number of
schema types,
but other search engines can use different types to surface rich results, so you might
want to implement it for them.
Why do rich results that previously appeared in Search sometimes disappear?
The Google algorithm tailors search results to create what it thinks
is the best search experience for each user, depending on many variables, including search
history, location, and device type. In some cases, it may determine that one feature is
more appropriate than another, or even that a plain blue link is best. Check the
Rich Results Status report.
If you don't see a drop in the number of valid items, or a spike in errors, your
implementation should be fine.
How can I verify my dynamically generated structured data?
The safest way to check your structured data implementation is to
inspect the URL on
Search Console. This will provide information about Google's indexed version of a specific
page. You can also use the Rich Results Test
public tool to get a verdict. If you don't see the structured data through those tools,
your markup is not valid.
How can I add structured data in WordPress?
There are a number of
WordPress plugins
available that could help with adding structured data. Also check your theme settings, it
might also support some types of markup.
With the deprecation of the Structured Data Testing Tool, will the
Rich Results Test support structured data that is not supported by Google Search?
The Rich Results Test
supports all structured data that triggers a rich result on Google Search, and as Google
creates new experiences for more structured data types we'll add support for them in this
test. While we prepare to deprecate the Structured Data Testing Tool, we'll be
investigating how a generic tool can be supported outside of Google.
Stay Tuned!
If you missed our previous lightning talks, check the
WMConf Lightning Talk playlist.
Also make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel
for more videos to come! We definitely recommend joining the premieres on YouTube to participate
in the live chat and Q&A session for each episode!
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],[],[[["\u003cp\u003eStructured data helps Google understand page content, potentially leading to better search visibility and rich result eligibility, but it's not a direct ranking factor.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eRich results, like FAQs, can enhance search appearance and provide users with expandable answers, with impressions and clicks tracked in Search Console.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eGoogle's algorithm dynamically determines search result features, including rich results, based on various user and context factors.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eWhen implementing structured data, ensure it aligns with Google's guidelines, is visible to users, and accurately represents the page's main content.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe Rich Results Test and URL inspection tool in Search Console are recommended for validating structured data implementation.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],["The content addresses common questions about rich results and structured data. Key information includes: structured data is not a ranking factor but aids Google's understanding; product markup should be on product pages, not category pages; there's no limit to structured data quantity, but it must be visible and relevant. FAQ page rich results count impressions and clicks when displayed in search. Reviews must be user-sourced, not from the business. The Rich Results Test tool verifies data for Google Search. Additional structured data types can be added for other search engines.\n"],null,["Tuesday, August 11, 2020\n\n\nA few weeks ago we held another\n[Webmaster Conference Lightning Talk](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKoqnv2vTMUNf6w9wUu7RgxHkaTrq2Zpf),\nthis time about [Rich Results and Search Console](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4MlM1sJ5ZE).\nDuring the talk we hosted a live chat and a lot of viewers asked questions - we tried to answer\nall we could, but our typing skills didn't match the challenge...so we thought we'd follow up on\nthe questions posed in this blog post.\n\n\nIf you missed the video, you can watch it below: it discusses how to get started with rich\nresults and use Search Console to optimize your search appearance in Google Search. \n\nRich Results and Search Console FAQs \n\nWill a site rank higher against competitors if it implements structured data?\n\n\n[Structured data](/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/intro-structured-data) by itself is not a generic ranking factor. However, it can help Google to understand what the page is about, which can make it easier for us to show it where relevant and make it eligible for additional search experiences. \n\nWhich structured data would you recommend to use in Ecommerce category pages?\n\n\nYou don't need to mark up the products on a category page, a Product should only be marked up when they are the primary element on a page. \n\nHow much content should be included in my structured data? Can there be too much?\n\n\nThere is no limit to how much structured data you can implement on your pages, but make sure you're sticking to the [general guidelines](/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/sd-policies). For example the markup should always be visible to users and representative of the main content of the page. \n\nWhat exactly are FAQ clicks and impressions based on?\n\n\nA [Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) page](/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/faqpage) contains a list of questions and answers pertaining to a particular topic. Properly marked up FAQ pages may be eligible to have a rich result on Search and an Action on the Google Assistant, which can help site owners reach the right users. These rich results include snippets with frequently asked questions, allowing users to expand and collapse answers to them. Every time such a result appears in Search results for a user it will be counted as an impression on Search Console, and if the user clicks to visit the website it will be counted as a click. Clicks to expand and collapse the search result will not be counted as clicks on Search Console as they do not lead the user to the website. You can check impressions and clicks on your FAQ rich results using the 'Search appearance' tab in the [Search Performance report](https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/7576553). \n\nWill Google show rich results for reviews made by the review host site?\n\n\nReviews must not be written or provided by the business or content provider. According to our [review snippets guidelines](/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/review-snippet#guidelines): \"Ratings must be sourced directly from users\" - publishing reviews written by the business itself are against the guidelines and might trigger a [Manual Action](https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/9044175#spammy-structured-markup). \n\nThere are schema types that are not used by Google, why should we use them?\n\n\nGoogle supports a number of [schema types](/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/search-gallery), but other search engines can use different types to surface rich results, so you might want to implement it for them. \n\nWhy do rich results that previously appeared in Search sometimes disappear?\n\n\nThe Google algorithm tailors search results to create what it thinks is the best search experience for each user, depending on many variables, including search history, location, and device type. In some cases, it may determine that one feature is more appropriate than another, or even that a plain blue link is best. Check the [Rich Results Status report](https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/7552505). If you don't see a drop in the number of valid items, or a spike in errors, your implementation should be fine. \n\nHow can I verify my dynamically generated structured data?\n\n\nThe safest way to check your structured data implementation is to [inspect the URL](https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/9012289) on Search Console. This will provide information about Google's indexed version of a specific page. You can also use the [Rich Results Test](https://goo.gle/richresults) public tool to get a verdict. If you don't see the structured data through those tools, your markup is not valid. \n\nHow can I add structured data in WordPress?\n\n\nThere are a number of [WordPress plugins](https://wordpress.org/plugins/search/structured+data/) available that could help with adding structured data. Also check your theme settings, it might also support some types of markup. \n\nWith the deprecation of the Structured Data Testing Tool, will the\nRich Results Test support structured data that is not supported by Google Search?\n\n\nThe [Rich Results Test](https://goo.gle/richresults) supports all structured data that triggers a rich result on Google Search, and as Google creates new experiences for more structured data types we'll add support for them in this test. While we prepare to deprecate the Structured Data Testing Tool, we'll be investigating how a generic tool can be supported outside of Google.\n\nStay Tuned!\n\n\nIf you missed our previous lightning talks, check the\n[WMConf Lightning Talk playlist](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKoqnv2vTMUNf6w9wUu7RgxHkaTrq2Zpf).\nAlso make sure to [subscribe to our YouTube channel](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWf2ZlNsCGDS89VBF_awNvA?sub_confirmation=1)\nfor more videos to come! We definitely recommend joining the premieres on YouTube to participate\nin the live chat and Q\\&A session for each episode!\n\n\nPosted by [Daniel Waisberg](https://www.danielwaisberg.com), Search Advocate"]]
