Search Snippets have become a useful way for SEO professionals to get ahead, but in spite of the fact that this is the case, they have also caused a considerable amount of confusion. When Google released documentation pertaining to these snippets, people were led to believe that they were gleaned from meta descriptions in the HTML code as well as structured data.
Search giant Google has now set the record straight. The tech juggernaut has clarified that the content present within these snippets is sourced largely from the content contained within pages rather than what SEOs initially assumed.
Google automatically detects what content on a given page would be appropriate to use within the context of a search snippet. The company has altered the document to avoid further confusion, and it bears mentioning that all mentions of rich results have also been removed
These changes are important because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up determining how content will be structured on a page. Now that SEOs are aware that HTML elements are not part of the equation, they will be less likely to focus on them when trying to get content included in snippets.
One thing that must be clarified here is that HTML elements aren’t entirely ignored. They are used on occasion, but by and large Google relies on page content for snippets so that they can be made more accurate and useful to searchers than might have been the case otherwise.
If the meta description happens to offer a more suitable summary of the contents of a page, it might end up being used instead. Website owners would do well to keep this at the forefront of their minds with all things having been considered and taken into account. It can have an enormous impact on the manner in which their sites appear on the SERP, something that can drive considerable traffic and ensure organic growth without requiring any manipulation of meta descriptions and the like.
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