Covering the various aspects of Google SERP snippet optimization techniques including schema.org, rel=author, title optimization & much more - for getting maximum attention and SERP CTR.
Q4 2023 Quarterly Investor Presentation - FINAL - v1.pdf
Advanced Snippet Optimization - SMX Stockholm 2012
1. - Tweak those Snippets -
How to get maximum visibility & CTR!
http://gdig.de/smxsnippet
Stockholm, October 2012
Bastian Grimm, Managing Partner - Grimm Digital - @basgr
2. About me
Background: PHP & Java
– Dev. CMS, shops & forums
– Wazap! Game Search Engine
Online Marketing since 2004
– SEO strategy consulting, in-house
trainings & workshops, WordPress
@basgr
SEO, bla bla…
Links, Links, Links…need some?
Stuff to play with…
4. Google SERP CTR Study by SlingshotSEO
Full study available here: http://gdig.de/10
5. CTR according to leaked AOL data
Source: redcardinal.ie
Infos & Download: http://gdig.de/12
6. CTR is influenced by more than position!
Star ratings + votes
Rich snippet movie mark-up
Video snippets: Preview
img, publishing
date, playtime, etc.
Publication date
Blended Google News listings
7. Think about what you give away!
Seriously… WHY would I need to visit IMDb?
All the info is right here!
Image Credits: http://bit.ly/SZXUcu
8. Right now: Rich Snippets in SERPs = WIN!
But: You have to act FAST!
Image Credits: http://flic.kr/p/bBo2yB
9. Have you seen Google’s “App-Search”?
BTW: Purely based on Rich Snippet mark-up!
11. Consider title length limitations!
Titles will be cut off, if too long –
which results in less CTR!
52 vs. 32 characters will be
displayed as page title in SERPs
Make sure, your titles won’t get cut off!
In general, 50-55 characters is pretty much safe…
12. The real deal: Pixel width!
107 chars & no cut-off!
Google cares about how wide
your title is (measured in pixels).
Image taken from the
post on seomofo.com
Screengrab in FF on
Sept. 22nd 2012.
Test & background: http://gdig.de/11
14. Use character savers!
<title>Buy Choclate Cookies and Cakes online</title>
Replace “unnecessary” words
whenever possible.
<title>Buy Choclate Cookies & Cakes online</title>
Get rid of unimportant words to save room for
keywords & USP. Also consider word-order!
15. Use strong Calls-to-Action
CTAs are strong verbs, unique selling propositions
(USP) or “non-concrete” promotional words!
16. Play around with UPPERCASE words!
Don’t uppercase multiple
words or even the full title -
it will raise spam flags!
Test capitalizing the single most important
word in the title for maximum visibility.
17. Change titles to match seasoning patterns!
Depending on your niche: Try playing with seasonings.
Pre- / Appending seasonings to generic titles might give a short-term boost.
18. Debug Page Title Rewriting
Google might change your page-title …
… if they feel it’s not “good” enough.
Use pipes or mid-dots instead of hyphens
It’ll make large-scale title debugging is WAY easier!
Official Google announcement: http://gdig.de/14
19. Let Google tell u what that page is about!
No “real” page title is
given – but Google also
displays the sites name!
Considering Google does page title rewriting…
Why not launch without title & work with the result?
20. Tip: SeoTools for Excel by Niels Bosma
=HtmlTitle("http://www.domain/my/url.html")
=HtmlMetaDescription("http://www.domain/my/url.html")
Get titles into Excel with a single function call!
Download & Documentation: http://nielsbosma.se/projects/seotools/
22. The obvious: Do speaking URLs
Speaking URLs will get SERP highlighting
Also make sure you keep them short to prevent cut-off, again!
23. Breadcrumb Setup is simple!
Breadcrumbs still stand out – use them!
Use BC mark-up if Google doesn’t recognize yours.
Breadcrumb Setup Info: http://gdig.de/16
24. GWT Geographic Target Settings
Geo-Settings are only
available for gTLDs
If you set up a geo target in your GWT account, it’ll be
shown right to the URL & give some more real-estate.
26. Basics: Keywords, Targeting, etc.
Proper keyword targeting!
Strong CTA present! Non-cut off due to
proper length!
Make sure to get the basics right: Keyword
usage, length limitations and call-to-action!
27. Make use of Images when-ever possible!
Images are available for:
Software, products, recipes
events & more!
Images really stand out in SERPS, therefore they
do have a massive impact on CTR (30-40%+)
28. How to implement recipe images?
<div itemscope itemtype="http://data-vocabulary.org/Recipe" >
<h1 itemprop="name">Grandma's Holiday Apple Pie</h1>
<img itemprop="photo" src="http://domain.com/my/apple-pie.jpg" />
By <span itemprop="author">Bastian</span>
Published: <time datetime="2009-11-05" itemprop="published">November 5, 2009</time>
<span itemprop="summary">This is my grandmother's apple pie recipe.</span>
Prep time: <time datetime="PT30M" itemprop="prepTime">30 min</time>
<span itemprop="nutrition" itemscope itemtype="http://data-vocabulary.org/Nutrition">
Serving size: <span itemprop="servingSize">1 medium slice</span>
Calories per serving: <span itemprop="calories">250</span>
Fat per serving: <span itemprop="fat">12g</span>
</span>
Ingredients:
<span itemprop="ingredient" itemscope itemtype="http://data-vocabulary.org/RecipeIngredient">
Thinly-sliced <span itemprop="name">apples</span> - <span itemprop="amount">6 cups</span>
</span>
<span itemprop="ingredient" itemscope itemtype="http://data-vocabulary.org/RecipeIngredient">
<span itemprop="name">White sugar</span> - <span itemprop="amount">3/4 cup</span>
</span>
</div>
schema.org provides structured mark-up
using pre-defined HTML attributes.
Rich Snippets Image Mark-up: http://gdig.de/17
29. Verify your mark-up w/ Google
Google’s Structured Mark-Up Tool does
provide valuable info on your status-quo.
Testing Tool: http://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/richsnippets
30. Ratings will get you an extra line in SERPS
Ratings can either be
single rated items but
also aggregated ones…
Ratings do suggest trust – even though some
sites may not be THAT trusted…
It still does massively increase CTR (and on-site conversion)!
31. Authorship Mark-Up is a killer!
Can either be implemented on
page- but also on root-level!
It’s about personal branding as well – make your-self
known to the (your) audience!
A Searchmetrics study shows ~17% of US SERPs include authors already.
Searchmetrics Data: http://gdig.de/18
32. How to implement Authorship mark-up?
1) <link rel="author" href="https://plus.google.com/YOUR-ID" />
1) Implement “rel-author”
into your <head> section
2) 2) Add “contributor “ URL to
your G+ profile
3) Check Google's structured
mark-up tool to verify!
Using the rel-author is
3) simple – but don’t game
it, otherwise it’ll be
gone… fast!
Authorship Info: https://plus.google.com/authorship
33. Hidden benefits of authors: More Links!
Test, Test, Test… Also try
different image colors,
consider seasonings, etc.
Kudos to Matt McGee: http://gdig.de/15
34. Videos? Why not!?
Make sure to have video XML
sitemaps in place and provide
as much details as possible!
Even better CTR as with pure image results
due to some more details in SERPS.
You can also get publishing date & play time.
35. BTW: Video preview the “Creative” Way…
“Call Pathway Insurance
for a Customized Quote:
513-662-7080”
How many people will call directly vs. clicking
out to that (less) relevant YouTube channel?
If you’re REALLY good: Setup a dedicated phone line!
36. Use GWT to submit & verify your sitemap
GWT allows you to submit and verify XML
video sitemaps. Use it!
Video XML Sitemaps: http://gdig.de/19
37. Pro Tip: You can also just ping Google
Use PHPs cURL library or
GNU wget to call the URL &
verify the response header.
www.google.com/webmasters/tools/ping?sitemap=sitemap_url
A successful request does return HTTP 200.
Make sure to URL-encode the sitemaps URL and limit to 1 req./hour
Sitmaps Ping How-To: http://gdig.de/1a
38. Meta Description: Date Snippets
Make sure the timestamp will be
updated frequently, outdated
snippets can negatively impact CTR!
Google tries to extract publishing dates from your
site. It’ll be pre-pended to your SERP snippet.