Rich results are search listings that show more than the standard blue link, URL and snippet. Examples include star ratings, product prices and availability, breadcrumb trails, video thumbnails, event dates and job details. Google uses structured data on the page as one input for many of them. Rich snippets is the older name, from the period when these enhancements were mainly extra lines in the snippet.
How structured data relates to rich results
For most rich result types, Google needs valid structured data with the required properties before a page is eligible. Eligibility is all you get. Google decides whether to show the enhancement per query and per result, and it says that valid markup does not guarantee a rich result. Quality, relevance, policy compliance and the layout of the results page all play a part.
Some features need no markup at all. Featured snippets and sitelinks, for example, come from Google's own analysis of the page.
Types relevant to SaaS sites
The list of supported features changes, so check Google's Search Gallery for current status. Types that SaaS teams commonly use include:
- Breadcrumbs, on almost any page
- Organization details such as logo, which feed knowledge panels
- Article details, such as headline image and date
- Software app and review snippets, with rating and price
- Video, for product demos hosted on your own pages
- Event, for webinars with a real start date
- Job posting, for careers pages
Retired and restricted features
Google has removed or narrowed several features over time. HowTo rich results were removed in 2023, FAQ rich results were limited the same year to well-known government and health sites, the sitelinks search box was retired in 2024, and in 2025 Google phased out a further group including ClaimReview fact checks and course info. Leftover markup for retired features does no harm but earns nothing.
Example
Checking what a template can earn
A survey tool, Mistlebrook, wants stars on its product page. It adds SoftwareApplication markup with offers and aggregateRating sourced from a third-party review platform shown on the page. The Rich Results Test reports the page eligible for a software app result. Whether stars appear for a given query is then up to Google.
Common mistakes
Promising rich results
Valid markup makes a page eligible, nothing more. Report eligibility and impressions in Search Console rather than guaranteeing a visual change.
Chasing retired features
Tutorials written before 2023 still recommend FAQ and HowTo markup for visual gains that no longer exist for most sites.
Questions
In practice, yes. Google moved to the term rich results to cover enhancements beyond the snippet text, such as carousels and visual cards.
Google has not described structured data as a ranking factor. Rich results change how a listing looks, which can affect clicks, but they do not move a page's position by themselves.
