Every time we use a search engine (for example, Google or Yandex), we see them - snippets. It is impossible to imagine the modern Internet without them. Snippets not only "tell" us the content of the page, but also play several important roles.
Today the word "snippet" primarily means a short description of a site or page in the search results. When we ask the system this or that search query, we see a page with a list of sites found for this query. Each search result is a snippet - with its own title, page address and description. Snippets come in regular and extended snippets.
The word "snippet" comes from the English "snippet" - a fragment, a passage.
Why are snippets needed?
First of all, the snippet gives the user a brief understanding of what awaits him on the corresponding page of the site. Thus, snippets play a key role in the traffic of each site - the more attractive, "juicier" and more informative a snippet is - the more likely the user will go to this particular site.
For example, we want to buy ourselves a brand new laptop and type the query "buy a laptop" in the search box. Here are examples of two real snippets from the search results:
“The life of a modern person cannot be imagined without a computer. PCs have become part of our lives, constantly offering new opportunities."
“Internet-shop of laptops. Sale, low prices. Professional advice. Delivery throughout the country. Credit."
You don't need to be an internet marketer to realize that the second snippet will get more attention from the person looking to buy a new laptop, since it is more relevant than the first and better correlates with the user's need.
Relevance is the compliance of the provided material (text, site, image, product, service) with the user's initial expectations.
Site owners should pay attention to their snippets, because a site with an informative and relevant snippet will receive more search traffic, even being in fifth place, than a site in the first place, but with a bad and uninteresting snippet for the user.
What is an "extended snippet"?
In addition to standard information (title, description, link), a snippet may contain some other information useful to the user. Site owners can add it to the snippet using semantic markup.
Semantic markup is a special program code that allows search engines to better "understand" what is being discussed on a particular page of the site.
In the extended snippet, you can see, for example, a photo of the author of the blog. Or the rating of a particular product, displayed in the form of stars. Or the schedule of movie shows for the day of the week you specify with ticket prices.
With the development of the Internet and search engines, extended snippets support more and more different additional formats for displaying information.
