Rich snippets: what they are and how to get them

A rich snippet is a search result that shows more than the title, address and description. Star ratings under a product, the price and stock status, the cooking time of a recipe, the date and venue of an event: these come from structured data on the page, a block of code that describes the content in a format Google can read.

Examples of rich results

Rich results Google has limited or retired

Google has been trimming the list. Worth knowing before you spend time on markup:

• FAQ rich results now only show for well-known, authoritative government and health websites.
• HowTo rich results were removed from search.
• Several less-used types have been phased out in recent years.

The structured data itself does no harm, and other search engines and AI tools may still read it, but don't expect the visual result in Google for these types.

Do rich snippets improve rankings?

Not directly. Structured data isn't a ranking factor. But rich results take more space and give more information, which often means a higher click-through rate from the same position. They also help Google understand the page.

How to get rich snippets

1. Pick the right type for the page: Product for product pages, Article for posts, Event for events.
2. Add the structured data as JSON-LD in the page. Our schema markup guide covers the basics, and the schema markup generator builds the code for you.
3. Include the required properties. Each type has fields Google requires (such as a product's name and an offer or rating) and fields it recommends.
4. Make it match the page. Everything in the markup must be visible to visitors. Marking up reviews or prices that aren't on the page breaks Google's guidelines.
5. Test it, then request indexing in Search Console.

Why your rich snippet isn't showing

Valid markup makes a page eligible; it doesn't guarantee a rich result. Google decides per search. Common reasons for not appearing:

• Required properties missing or invalid.
• Markup doesn't match visible content.
• The type is restricted (like FAQ) or retired (like HowTo).
• Self-serving reviews: businesses marking up reviews of themselves on their own site don't get star snippets for LocalBusiness or Organization.
• Google hasn't recrawled the page yet.
• Site quality: Google shows rich results less for sites it trusts less.

How to check eligibility

Enter a page in the checker on this page. It reads every block of structured data and tells you which rich results the page qualifies for, which required fields are missing, and which types Google no longer shows. Google's own Rich Results Test and the Enhancements reports in Search Console are the final word once the page is live.