{"id":4803,"date":"2019-04-14T21:09:57","date_gmt":"2019-04-15T04:09:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.adprosmarketing.com\/?p=4803"},"modified":"2019-09-09T09:56:17","modified_gmt":"2019-09-09T16:56:17","slug":"the-snippet-length-drop-algorithm-update","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.adprosmarketing.com\/the-snippet-length-drop-algorithm-update\/","title":{"rendered":"The Snippet Length Drop Algorithm Update"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Snippet Length Update<\/strong><\/h1>\n

The Snippet Length Algorithm Update was implemented on May 15, 2018. In this update, Google cut the snippet as it appears in search results by almost half. What does this change mean exactly, and what are its implications for webmasters? Let\u2019s dig in to this particular Google algorithm update.<\/p>\n

What Is A Snippet Anyway?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

You probably already know what a snippet is. Just to make sure we\u2019re on the same page, though, a snippet is the brief description that appears in search results just under the heading and the url. See below for an example of a snippet as it appears on search engine results pages.\"\"<\/p>\n

Snippets give a user a sneak peek into the content of the url, so that they can make an informed decision regarding whether or not to click on the link.Google likens it to the excerpt on the back of a hefty novel. That is, snippets allow the user to invest a little time reading about a web page in order to figure out if they want to invest more time to read the content of the actual web page. If they decide they do, they\u2019ll click on the link. If not, they\u2019ll keep scrolling to read more snippets.<\/p>\n

What Was the Snippet Length Prior to the Google Algorithm Update?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The snippet length drop update came as a bit of a surprise just because the snippet length had been increased<\/em>not even six months prior. At that point, it had been lengthened to around 300 characters. This latest snippet length drop slashed it back down to just around 160 characters.<\/p>\n

How Does Google Generate Snippets?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

No, you don\u2019t get to choose the text that will appear as your web page\u2019s snippet. As usual, Google is in control here. The text Google chooses for a url\u2019s snippet will usually come from one of two places: either the content of the page itself or the meta description. Specifically, Google will first attempt to use the content of the page as the source of the snippet. If it determines the page content to be less relevant to the user\u2019s search, however, it will rely on the meta description instead. Of course, this process is automated and can change at any time\u2014that\u2019s just Google for you!<\/p>\n

Why Did Google Roll Out the Snippet Length Drop Update?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In typical Google form, the search engine didn\u2019t provide an exact explanation for why they dropped the snippet length in search results. In prior publications, though, they\u2019ve explained that snippets are \u201ctruncated as needed, typically to fit the device width.\u201d Therefore, we can only surmise that the update came as a result of smartphone saturation. Shorter snippets just fit better on mobile devices.<\/p>\n

How To Optimize Your Snippets<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Since the dawn of snippets, there have been theories on how to optimize them. While some of these may hold water, others are either completely off the mark or at best, good guesses. Luckily, there are some SEO best practices for snippets that stand up to just about any Google algorithm update you can imagine. Many of these are straight from the search engine\u2019s mouth:<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t Overlook the Meta Description<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Because meta descriptions are only visible to search engines and not site visitors, they are often overlooked. Don\u2019t make this mistake. Google recommends<\/a>that you include both a unique title and meta description for all of your web pages\u2014on both mobile and desktop.The search giant also warns against spammy or low-quality meta descriptions\u2014these are sure to be ignored.<\/p>\n

Be Precise in Your Titling<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The titles of your web page may be even more important than your meta description for optimizing snippets. Remember, Google will source your page content first for snippet-worthy material before resorting to the meta description. This means all of your titles must be specific and descriptive. In its own help article on snippets<\/a>, Google gives the following tips for titling your web pages:<\/p>\n