Rich results

What are rich results?

Rich results are search results that show more than the standard blue link, URL and snippet. They add visual features such as review stars, prices, stock status, recipe cook times, event dates or breadcrumbs. Google builds most of them from structured data that a page adds to its HTML.

Each rich result type has its own documentation and its own required and recommended properties. Common types include Product, Review snippet, Recipe, Event, Video, Breadcrumb, Article, Organization, Job posting and Local business. A page that marks up a product with a price and an aggregate rating, for example, can become eligible for a result that shows both under the title.

Eligibility is not a guarantee. Google decides per query whether to show a rich result, and it can ignore markup it thinks is misleading or low quality. Google also changes which types it supports: in 2023 it limited FAQ rich results to well-known, authoritative government and health sites and stopped showing HowTo rich results, and it has retired other little-used types since. Always check the current documentation before you build markup for a type.

You will also hear the older term rich snippets. People often use the two interchangeably; Google’s own documentation now says rich results.

Why rich results matter for SEO

A rich result takes up more space and gives searchers information before they click, which can make your listing stand out against plain results on the same page. For product, recipe and event searches, the result without stars, prices or dates can look incomplete next to competitors that have them.

Rich results also show that Google has parsed your page correctly. If your markup is broken, Search Console lists the errors in its enhancement reports, which is often the first sign that a template change has stripped something important.

How to get rich results

1. Check Google’s search gallery for the rich result types that match your content, and read the required properties for each.
2. Add the markup in JSON-LD, which Google recommends, and describe only content that is visible on the page.
3. Test the URL in Google’s Rich Results Test to confirm the page is eligible and the required properties are present.
4. Publish, then watch the enhancement reports in Search Console for errors and warnings across all pages that use the template.
5. Be patient and keep the markup honest. Google may take time to show a rich result, and marking up hidden or false content breaks its structured data policies.

Rich results example

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Product",
  "name": "Trail running shoe",
  "image": "https://example.com/shoe.jpg",
  "offers": {
    "@type": "Offer",
    "price": "89.00",
    "priceCurrency": "GBP",
    "availability": "https://schema.org/InStock"
  },
  "aggregateRating": {
    "@type": "AggregateRating",
    "ratingValue": "4.6",
    "reviewCount": "128"
  }
}
</script>