How to use the Google snippet preview in Yoast SEO

You request to person nice-looking snippets to get much clicks. One mode to guarantee your tract looks bully erstwhile it appears successful the hunt results is to usage Yoast SEO’s Google snippet preview. It simulates what a hunt effect for your leafage would look similar and allows you to edit the tile, slug, and description! Here, we explicate however to usage the Google snippet preview to make great-looking snippets! And, we clarify wherefore this snippet preview mightiness sometimes not lucifer what you spot successful the hunt results.

What is the Google snippet preview?

Yoast’s Google snippet preview is simply a feature of the Yoast SEO plugin. It allows you to preview and edit what your leafage oregon station volition look similar successful Google’s hunt results. It has a mobile and desktop presumption and shows elements similar the slug, SEO title, and meta description. In this preview, you tin edit those elements to marque definite your tract looks bully successful the hunt results.

Where bash you find the Google snippet preview?

In Yoast SEO, determination are 2 ways to preview your snippet. You tin either get determination from the Yoast SEO sidebar oregon the Yoast SEO meta container astatine the extremity of your station (in editing mode).

The Yoast SEO sidebar

You tin activate the sidebar by clicking connected the Yoast icon connected the apical close of your screen. In the sidebar, you’ll spot the “Google preview” tab:

A modal volition popular up and amusement you a preview of your station oregon leafage successful Google’s hunt results, wherever you volition beryllium capable to edit your snippet.

The Yoast SEO meta box

You tin besides get a Google preview of your station beneath your station successful the Yoast SEO meta box. Just scroll down successful your station until you spot the Yoast SEO meta box. It’ll beryllium the archetypal happening you spot conscionable beneath the Focus keyphrase input field.

Mobile effect oregon desktop result

In the screenshots above, you mightiness person noticed you tin take betwixt 2 versions of the snippet: the mobile and the desktop. Since Google presents the results otherwise connected a desktop and a mobile device, it makes consciousness to cheque some previews earlier you people a post. The vigor buttons supra the snippet fto you power betwixt the two, truthful you tin marque definite they some look good.

The components of the snippet preview

In our Google oregon snippet preview, you’ll spot the pursuing elements:

• The SEO title
• The meta description
• The URL, slug oregon breadcrumb (or a combination)
• The emoji picker

In the mobile preview, we’ve added a favicon and representation too. Here, we’ll sermon these elements measurement by step. Please enactment that Google regularly experiments with elements similar favicons, breadcrumbs, emojis, and images, truthful the preview mightiness somewhat disagree from what you spot successful the hunt results.

The SEO title

The rubric is the archetypal happening radical spot successful the hunt results for your posts and pages, and successful many, galore cases, it’s the lone happening – truthful it’d amended beryllium good!

What is the SEO title?

The SEO rubric is the rubric of your leafage you’ll spot successful Google’s hunt results. That’s antithetic than the station name! Besides the page’s title, the SEO rubric contains further elements similar a separator oregon the site’s name.

The SEO rubric template

The rubric successful the snippet preview is determined by the rubric template you’ve acceptable successful the Search quality conception of Yoast SEO. To entree it, click Yoast SEO successful your WordPress dashboard’s admin paper (the left-hand menu). Then spell to Search quality and prime Content Types. There you tin acceptable a template for posts, pages, oregon different contented types you mightiness have. This is the default template for posts:

By default, the plugin takes the Post title and adds the Separator (in our example, a dash) positive the site name. The Page number parameter is lone utilized erstwhile you person a paginated post. The Site’s title is included, and removing it is not a bully idea. Google mightiness rewrite your SEO titles if they don’t incorporate branding. You tin play with this template, for instance, by adding a category. You tin work each astir that successful this station connected snippet variables.

Write a due SEO title

Having a template means that your SEO rubric is created automatically. This mightiness beryllium capable to amusement a bully rubric successful the hunt results. But we ever urge checking the rubric successful our Google preview tool. When checking it, inquire yourself: Is this rubric accurate? Does it pass what this station is about? Does it acceptable the close expectation?

Perhaps you’ve done some keyword research to find the focus keyword for your page, and you’ve noticed determination are respective variations of that keyphrase. In the SEO rubric input field, you tin edit it to guarantee it matches people’s queries and expectations. The close wording volition person users to click connected your effect alternatively of others’, truthful this station by Joost connected however to craft an close and enticing SEO title whitethorn beryllium worthy your while!

In addition, marque definite that your rubric is not excessively long. Otherwise, it mightiness get chopped disconnected successful the hunt results. Pay attraction to the barroom beneath the SEO rubric input filed. The barroom volition crook orangish oregon reddish if the rubric is excessively long.

The meta description

Now that your rubric is up to snuff, let’s enactment connected the second-biggest point successful the snippet preview: the meta description. The meta statement is the abbreviated substance you spot beneath the SEO title.

Why adhd a meta statement (with the absorption keyphrase)?

If you hunt for a circumstantial phrase, Google volition marque that operation bold successful the meta statement it displays. And it goes 1 measurement further. Once it has decided which pages volition fertile for your search, it tries to find the portion of the leafage that includes that nonstop term. If your meta description doesn’t incorporate the keyword searched for, it’ll drawback a “random” snippet from the leafage that does incorporate the keyword.

This is 1 of the reasons wherefore it helps tremendously if you cognize what the astir searched keyword for a leafage is apt to be. Then you tin make a large meta statement with the absorption keyphrase, and summation the chances of Google showing your ain meta statement successful the hunt results. You’ll beryllium capable to beforehand what’s connected your leafage straight successful the hunt results!

Write an awesome meta description

If you privation to constitute a bully meta description, determination are immoderate points you should wage attraction to. It should accurately picture the post’s oregon page’s main content, include the absorption keyphrase, and entice radical to click connected your result. If you privation to debar repetition, you tin play with synonyms oregon related keywords in your meta description.

You should cognize that determination is simply a bounds to the fig of characters you tin usage successful the meta description. So, conscionable similar with the SEO title, wage attraction to the barroom beneath the statement input field. It volition crook orangish oregon reddish if the statement is excessively long!

Read more: How to make the close meta statement »

The emoji picker

In the Google snippet preview, you tin adhd immoderate liveliness to your titles and meta descriptions with the emoji picker. Just click connected the emoji fastener connected the close broadside supra the SEO rubric oregon the Meta statement input fields. You’ll instantly spot the room of emojis to take from!

Emojis tin beryllium a large mode to pass with your assemblage and explicit yourself beyond words. Google sometimes adjacent shows emojis successful the hunt results, which tin marque your snippets basal retired (see illustration below). But beryllium cautious however you usage them! First, guarantee they acceptable your marque and your audience. Secondly, effort to adhd conscionable 1 emoji successful the rubric oregon the meta description. Otherwise, your contented whitethorn look spammy and discourage radical from clicking connected it.

Breadcrumb/ URL/slug

In its snippets, Google includes a notation to wherever the leafage sits connected your site. This could beryllium a URL, a breadcrumb trail, oregon a slug. Which 1 it picks mightiness vary, it’s thing Google seems to experimentation with regularly. Currently, they amusement a breadcrumb trail connected desktop and the site’s URL positive the slug connected mobile. In our Google preview, we amusement the URL connected desktop and the site’s URL positive the slug connected mobile.

The slug is the portion you tin optimize successful the snippet preview. In general, we’d counsel to marque the slug arsenic abbreviated arsenic imaginable but to see the astir indispensable words and, astatine least, the keyphrase. A abbreviated keyphrase means it’s easier to share, and including the keyphrase volition assistance Google and users to place the taxable of your station oregon page.

The favicon

The favicon (the small icon adjacent to the URL) has lone been added precocious to the snippets successful the hunt results. A portion ago, Google added it to mobile hunt results. And, it has been experimenting with showing the favicon for desktop results, too. In WordPress, you tin easily acceptable this favicon. We’d counsel doing that due to the fact that though it’s a tiny icon, it tin mean a batch for your site’s branding and click-through rate. In our tool, you tin cheque if it’ll look bully successful Google’s hunt results.

The image

You’ll find an representation successful the mobile mentation of our tool. Sometimes, Google adds this representation to its hunt results snippets connected mobile. To mimic this behavior, we automatically adhd your post’s featured representation to Yoast’s Google preview.

But, I spot thing other connected Google?!

Unfortunately – oregon possibly not – we cannot afloat power what Google shows successful the hunt results. You tin acceptable a rubric and meta description, but successful the end, Google decides. In immoderate cases, Google chooses different meta description oregon changes the title for you. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t enactment immoderate effort into penning those. Although there’s nary guarantee, they connection you the accidental to radiance successful the hunt result. So drawback that opportunity!

Use the Google snippet preview to optimize your posts

I anticipation this station has made it wide however you tin usage the Google preview diagnostic to summation click-throughs from the hunt results. This functionality is disposable successful our Yoast SEO plugin for WordPress and Shopify and, of course, in Yoast SEO Premium as well.

Become a Yoast SEO pro series