How To Make A Great First Impression
For many users, the path to your website begins with a search query on the search engine of their choice – most often via Google. It is therefore vital to present your website with a successful, eye-catching and informative snippet. In this way, your website leaves a good first impression on the Search Engine Result Page, SERP. Here we explain exactly what a snippet is and how you can make it more attractive for users in just a few simple steps.
What Is A Snippet?
The Little Figurehead Of Your Website: The URL
In the case of Google snippets, the URL is currently still above the title. Subdirectories are now displayed in the form of breadcrumbs – regardless of whether structured data for breadcrumbs is included or not. This makes the snippet look more orderly, and users also quickly notice which part of the website the displayed snippet relates to.
The Title
The title follows the URL. This is not just a direct ranking factor – the title also reflects the website’s content in a nutshell. The length of the title is currently limited to 70 characters. If this number is exceeded, the search engine automatically shortens the title and no longer gives it fully. Important: The title should always contain the focus keyword.
The Description
The description enables site operators to summarize the site’s content again and encourage users to click. With an ad space of 156 characters, you can get creative here, list USPs and incorporate suitable call-to-action elements (CTAs) to influence the click rate positively. The description is not a direct ranking factor, but an increased click rate positively affects the page’s rating by the search engine.
Snippet Optimization – Here’s How It’s Done
Get More Out Of Your Snippets In Just A Few Simple Steps
Snippet optimization always aims to increase the click rate on your search result. For this purpose, it is essential to optimize the snippet for both users and search engines. The user should be animated to click by an attractively designed and informative website preview, while the search engine can assign a thematic relevance based on a sensitive keyword selection.
Website operators can adjust the title and description themselves at any time. Elaborate development work is usually not required. Depending on the content management system (CMS), there are already various options in the backend to customize the snippets for each landing page – for example, with the help of special plug-ins.
Impulse 1: Put The Focus Keyword At The Beginning Of The Title
Before optimizing the snippets, it is best to carry out keyword research and consider which keyword the respective page should rank for. Once you’ve found your focus keyword, ideally place it right at the beginning of the title. In this way, users can directly compare whether the content matches their search query.
Tip: Often, website operators choose the keyword with the highest search volume for the title. However, this shouldn’t be the deciding factor. Instead, it is about choosing the keyword that best reflects the search intent of the user.
Impulse 2: Meaningful And Individual Title
After the focus keyword has been selected and placed in the front of the title, you can include further relevant information in the title. The user should see at a glance what the page is about. Which statement is most important depends on the particular page. In a shop, for example, a CTA such as “Order online now!” It can already be used in the title. On the other hand, if it is a question of a company location, the corresponding place name is also essential. If space allows, you can also integrate the brand or the name of the company.
Tip: Numbers, lists and tips in the title are often strong incentives to click. Classic advice pages in particular often use titles such as “10 tips for successful influencer marketing” or, as we have used in this article, “7 impulses for successful SERP snippets”.
Impulse 3: Crisp Description With USPS & CTA
Even if the description does not represent a direct ranking factor, it makes a snippet an effective eye-catcher. The following tips will help you optimize the description:
- Use USPs to differentiate yourself from competitors. Especially in shops, information such as “fast delivery” or “cheap offers” are excellent click stimuli.
- On embedding a CTA end of the description – “Now, for example ! Order online” or “Learn More Now!”
- Avoid long sentences as users usually only skim the texts briefly.
- Make no promises you can’t keep. Otherwise, you will increase the bounce rate, which harms the ranking.
Impulse 4: More Attention Through Special Characters And Emojis
So that your snippets stand out even more from the competition, it is best to use suitable special characters. These attract attention and thus ensure more clicks. Checkmarks and arrows, and emojis are ideal for making the snippet clear and appealing and enhancing the ad text.
Impulse 5: It’s Hard To Imagine Life Without Rich Snippets
In addition to the URL, the title, and the description. Information such as reviews, product and price information, event data, recipes, and videos are used particularly frequently. This is how a regular snippet becomes a so-called rich snippet. Correct labelling in structured data is required so that the desired information has a place in the search result.
Tip: In addition to the rich snippets, there are also so-called featured snippets. These are usually displayed prominently in the upper part of the SERP and provide short, specific answers to a particular search query.
Impulse 6: Get Inspiration From The Competition
Before you start optimizing the snippets, it is always worth looking at the current search results displayed for the desired main keyword. Analyze the snippets of pages similar to yours and then define possible improvements that will help your snippets stand out from the competition in the SERP.
Impulse 7: Goodie – The Right Snippet Tool
The Screaming Frog crawling tool is ideal for an overview of the status quo of your current snippets. If you want to see the current snippet of a specific landing page, you can do this very well using the targeted site query.
For the concrete creation of titles and descriptions, the following valuable tools have proven themselves:
- SERP simulator
- SERP simulator from Sistrix
- Google Snippet Optimizer from Ryte
Conclusion: Generate Relevance And Clicks With Optimized Snippets
Snippet Optimization As A Basic Measure For Webmasters & SEOs: Snippets are the flagship of your website in search results. They give the first impression of your website and its content. That’s why snippet optimization is essential for web admins and SEOs! Get creative, but always stay informative and geared towards the search intent of the user. Take our seven impulses to heart and watch how the number of clicks on your website increases through targeted snippet optimization.
Also Read: 15 Best Marketing Strategies To Boost Your Social Media Presence
