Introducing rich cards

Posted: 17 May 2016 02:22 PM PDT

Rich cards are a new Search result format building on the success of rich snippets. Just like rich snippets, rich cards use schema.org structured markup to display content in an even more engaging and visual format, with a focus on providing a better mobile user experience.

Evolution of search results for queries like [peanut butter cookies recipe]: with rich cards, results are presented in carousels that are easy to browse by scrolling left and right. Carousels can contain cards all from the same site or from multiple sites.

For site owners, this is a new opportunity to stand out in Search results and attract more targeted users to your page. For example, if you have a recipe site, you can build a richer preview of your content with a prominent image for each dish. This visual format helps users find what they want right away, so you’re getting users who specifically want that especially delicious cookie recipe you have.

We’re starting to show rich cards for two content categories: recipes and movies. They will appear initially on mobile search results in English for google.com. We’re actively experimenting with more opportunities to provide more publishers with a rich preview of their content.

We’ve built a comprehensive set of tools and completely updated our developer documentation to take site owners and developers from initial exploration through implementation to performance monitoring.

Explore rich card types and identify where your content fits

Browse the new gallery with screenshots and code samples of each markup type.

Test and tweak your markup

We strongly recommend using JSON-LD in your implementation.

§ Find out which fields are essential to mark up in order for a rich card to appear. We’ve also listed additional fields that can enhance your rich cards.

§ See a preview in revamped Structured Data Testing Tool of how the rich card might appear in Search (currently available for recipes and movies).

§ Use the the Structured Data Testing Tool to see errors as you tweak your markup in real time.

Keep track of coverage and debug errors

Check how many of your rich cards are indexed in the new Search Console Rich Cards report.

§ Keep an eye out for errors (also listed in the Rich Cards report). Each error example links directly to the Structured Data Testing tool so you can test it.

§ Submit a sitemap to help us discover all your marked-up content.

Find opportunities for growth

In the Rich Cards report, you’ll see which cards can be enhanced by marking up additional fields.

Monitor performance

A new “Rich results” filter in Search Analytics (currently in a closed beta) will help you track how your rich cards and rich snippets are doing in search: you’ll be able to drill down and see clicks and impressions for both.

Q: Can I keep my existing rich snippets markup?

A: Yes, you can! We’ll keep you posted as the rich result ecosystem evolves.

Q: What about the Structured Data report in Search Console?

A: The Structured Data report will continue to show only top-level entities for the existing rich snippets (Product, Recipe, Review, Event, SoftwareApplication, Video, News article) and for any new categories (e.g., Movies). We plan to migrate all errors from the structured data report into rich card report.

Q: What if I use the wrong markup?

A: Technical and quality guidelines apply for rich cards as they do for rich snippets. We will enforce them as before.

Learn more about rich cards in the Search and the mobile content ecosystem session at Google I/O (which will be live streamed!) or on the Developer site. If you have more questions, find us in the dedicated Structured data section of our forum, on Twitter or on Google+.

Posted by Na’ama Zohary, Search Console Team, and Elliott Ng, Product Management Director, Search Ecosystem

Posted: 17 May 2016 01:55 AM PDT

Mobile is close to our heart – we love seeing more and more sites make their content available in useful & accessible ways for mobile users. To help keep the ball rolling, we’ve now launched a new Mobile Friendly Test.

The new tool is linked from Search Console’s mobile usability report or available directly at https://search.google.com/search-console/mobile-friendly

The updated tool provides us with room to continue to improve on its functionality, and over time, we expect it to replace the previous Mobile Friendly Test. Additionally, of course this tool also works well on your smartphone, if you need to double-check something there!

We’d like to invite you to take it for a spin, try your website and other sites that you’re curious about! Let us know how you like it – either here in the comments or in our webmaster help forums.

Posted by Yaniv Loewenstein, Search Console Team