Rich snippets: what they are, which schema earns them, and do they help SEO?

Rich snippets are Google search results that show more than a title, URL and description: a price and stock line, review stars, a breadcrumb path, event dates or a recipe's cooking time. Google builds them from structured data on your page, and today it calls the whole family rich results. They are one of the main things schema markup can do for a site: they don't lift your rankings, but a bigger, more informative listing can earn more clicks from the position you already have.

This guide is for site owners and marketers deciding whether rich snippets are worth the effort. It explains which schema types still earn one in September 2026, which ones Google has retired, and the steps to get yours. For formats, platforms and the full map of types, see our complete guide to schema markup.

Quick answer

• Rich snippets and rich results are the same thing. "Rich snippets" is the 2009 name; Google's documentation now says rich results.
• They come from structured data, written as JSON-LD with the schema.org vocabulary, on the page the result links to.
• Types that still work: Product (price, stock, stars), Breadcrumb, Article, Event, Recipe, Video, Local business, Organization, Review snippet on supported types, and a few niche ones such as Job posting and Vacation rental.
• Gone: HowTo (2023), FAQ (for every site since 7 May 2026), and the seven types Google phased out from June 2025, such as Course Info, Estimated Salary and Vehicle Listing (Book Actions was later reinstated).
• Not a ranking factor, and never guaranteed. Complete markup makes a page eligible; Google decides per search.
• To check your pages, run them through the free schema markup validator.

What are rich snippets?

A normal search result has three parts: the title link, the URL line and a text snippet. A rich snippet adds information from the page's structured data to that listing. Google introduced the name in 2009. Over the years the displays grew into carousels, knowledge panel details and interactive results, and Google's documentation switched to the broader term "rich results". People still search for both, and they mean the same thing.

The data comes from schema.org markup, almost always a JSON-LD block like this on a product page:

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Product",
  "name": "Tote bag, natural leather",
  "image": "https://example-shop.hr/img/tote-natural-1200.jpg",
  "aggregateRating": { "@type": "AggregateRating", "ratingValue": "4.7", "reviewCount": "38" },
  "offers": {
    "@type": "Offer",
    "price": "89.00",
    "priceCurrency": "EUR",
    "availability": "https://schema.org/InStock"
  }
}
</script>

From that block Google can show "€89.00 · In stock" and 4.7 stars from 38 reviews under the result, provided the same price, stock and reviews are visible on the page.

Rich snippets examples: what Google still shows

Google lists every supported rich result in its Search Gallery, last updated in June 2026. These are the ones most websites can use:

The gallery also lists specialist types, such as Job posting, Course list, Education Q&A, Math solver, Discussion forum, Q&A, Profile page, Movie, Software app and Vacation rental. Dataset markup is still documented, but since November 2025 Google says it serves only Dataset Search, not the main results.

Two details catch people out. Google's changelog clarified in January 2025 that breadcrumbs appear only in desktop results. And Article markup doesn't earn stars or a special layout on its own; it helps Google pick the right headline, image and date.

Which rich snippets has Google retired?

Much of the advice online predates these changes. From Google's Search Central blog and documentation changelog:

Google's June 2025 post says the removals don't affect rankings or the use of the markup outside Google Search. Pages that carried the retired markup lost only the extra display. You don't need to remove old FAQPage or HowTo blocks in a hurry: Google ignores what it no longer uses. What to do with FAQ and HowTo markup now is in FAQ and HowTo schema after Google's changes.

Do rich snippets help SEO?

They help clicks, not rankings. Google's general structured data guidelines say that even a manual action for spammy markup removes rich result eligibility but "doesn't affect how the page ranks", and its June 2025 post retiring seven types says the change "won't affect how pages are ranked". Structured data describes a page; it doesn't vote for it.

The value is in how the listing looks. A result with a price, stock line and stars answers part of the searcher's question before the click and takes more space on the page. Google's introduction to structured data quotes case studies from sites that measured the effect themselves: Rotten Tomatoes saw a 25% higher click-through rate on pages with structured data, and Nestlé an 82% higher click-through rate on pages shown as rich results. Those are the companies' own numbers from their own markets, not a controlled study, so treat them as a sign of what is possible rather than a forecast.

Rich results are not guaranteed. The same guidelines state that Google does not guarantee a rich result even when the markup passes every test. The algorithm picks the display per search, location and device.

To see the effect on your own site, open Search Console's performance report, filter by Search appearance (for example "Product snippets" or "Review snippet") and compare click-through rate before and after the markup went live, at similar positions.

How to get rich snippets

The same five steps work for every type and platform.

1. Match the type to the page. Product on product pages, Event on event pages, Recipe on recipes, BreadcrumbList site-wide. A category page is not a Product, and a blog post about a product is an Article. Google's guidelines require the markup to describe the page's main content.
2. See what your site already outputs. Shop systems and SEO plugins add a lot on their own: WooCommerce and Shopify themes usually print Product, and Yoast SEO or Rank Math print Article, Organization and BreadcrumbList. Check one page per template before adding anything, so you don't create a second, conflicting copy.
3. Fill in every required property. Each rich result has required properties (without them the page isn't eligible) and recommended ones (they add detail). Product needs a name plus an Offer with price and currency, or a review or rating; Event needs a name, start date and location. One missing required property voids the whole entity.
4. Mark up only what visitors can see. The price, stock status, rating and dates in the JSON-LD must match the page. Hidden content, fake reviews and ratings you wrote yourself break Google's guidelines and can lead to a manual action.
5. Validate, publish, then wait for a recrawl. Test the live URL, then request indexing for a few key pages in Search Console's URL Inspection tool. The rich result report for each type fills in over the following days.

For review stars specifically, remember the 2019 rule: reviews of your own business on your own site, marked up as Organization or LocalBusiness, don't earn stars. Stars on a product page with genuine customer reviews do. Product schema: price, availability and reviews has complete Offer and AggregateRating examples, including variants and sale prices.

How to check if a page is eligible

Eligibility has three layers, and a block can pass one and fail the next: the JSON must parse, the types and properties must be valid schema.org, and every property Google requires for the rich result must be present.

The validator reads every JSON-LD block in the page's HTML, parses it, lists the types it finds and checks each entity against the properties Google requires for the common rich result types, naming anything that's missing. Microdata is detected and counted but not checked, and RDFa is not read. The same checks run in the structured data module of every getReport report:

Google's own Rich Results Test shows what Google can read on a live URL or a pasted snippet, and Search Console's rich result reports list errors across every page of a type. When a report shows an error or warning you don't recognise, schema markup validation explains each one and how to fix it.

To write a missing block, the generator builds JSON-LD for eight common types (Organization, Local business, Website, Article, Product, FAQ, Breadcrumbs and Event) from a short form. It runs in your browser, lists the properties Google still requires as you type, and uploads nothing.

Why a rich snippet disappears

If your listing had stars or a price and lost them, check these in order:

• The type was retired. FAQ, HowTo and the other types in the table above won't come back. Nothing is wrong with your site.
• The markup broke. A theme or plugin update dropped a required property or left a syntax error. Search Console's rich result report shows invalid items from that date.
• Two sources conflict. A new plugin prints a second Product or Organization with different values.
• The content no longer matches. The marked-up price differs from the page, or the event is over.
• Google chose a plain result. If the report shows valid items and nothing changed, it is Google's choice per query. The rarer cause is a manual action for misleading markup, which Search Console's Manual actions report names explicitly.

Questions people ask

What are rich snippets in Google search?

Rich snippets are search results with extra details taken from the page's structured data, such as a price and stock line, review stars, a breadcrumb path or event dates. Google now calls them rich results. They appear only for types Google supports, such as Product, Recipe, Event and Breadcrumb, and only when the markup is complete and matches what visitors see on the page.

Do rich snippets improve rankings or just clicks?

Just clicks. Google's guidelines say even a manual action for spammy markup doesn't change how a page ranks, and Google repeated that rankings were unaffected when it retired several types in 2025. A richer listing takes more space and answers part of the question before the click, which can raise click-through rate at the same position. Measure it in Search Console's performance report, filtered by search appearance.

How do I get rich snippets for my pages?

Add structured data of a type Google supports to the page it describes, fill in every required property, and make sure the marked-up price, rating or date is visible to visitors. Check the live page with a schema validator, request indexing for key pages in Search Console, and give Google a few days to recrawl. Google still decides per search whether to show the result.

Are rich snippets and rich results the same thing?

Yes. "Rich snippets" is the name Google used when it launched the feature in 2009, and "rich results" is the current name in Google's documentation for the whole family, including carousels and knowledge panel details. Search tools, SEO plugins and agencies use both. The markup, the rules and the way you check eligibility are identical whichever name you use.

Which rich snippets has Google stopped showing?

HowTo went in 2023, and FAQ rich results stopped for every site on 7 May 2026. In 2025 Google phased out Course Info, Claim Review, Estimated Salary, Learning Video, Special Announcement and Vehicle Listing, then Practice problem in early 2026. The sitelinks search box ended in November 2024. Book Actions was announced for removal but reinstated. Pages lost only the extra display, not their rankings.

How long does it take for rich results to appear?

Usually days to a few weeks. Google has to recrawl the page before it sees new markup, and even then it decides per search whether to show the rich result. Requesting indexing in Search Console's URL Inspection tool can speed up the recrawl of key pages. If nothing appears after a month, check eligibility again and confirm the marked-up details are visible on the page.

Can a business show review stars for its own reviews?

Not in Google. Since September 2019 Google treats reviews a business collects about itself and marks up on its own site, as Organization or LocalBusiness, as self-serving and shows no stars for them, even through a third-party widget. Stars still work for products, recipes, books and other supported types when the reviews are genuine and visible on the page.