Greg Mcfee Six months have passed since the introduction of Smart Tags in search results, and it’s fair to say that feedback has been mixed. We think there are good things about this feature, but also recognize some concerns. And we’re working on how to address those issues – starting with a change that will appear in the next couple weeks.
We’re making a small change to the way Smart Tags work. In particular, we’re going to introduce a new “none” option that’s available as a value for any tag. The default will continue to be that all tags are included unless specifically designated as “none”. So if you have not added any specific values yourself, your search results always will include smart tags.
Smart_tag.js what is it for
With all the different smart tags, there are bound to be some that you don’t want to see in your search results. This is where smart_tag.js comes in handy. You can disable certain tags by telling Google not include them when it retrieves your search results (instructions below). This will also make your search results page load faster.
The smart_tag.js script is a very basic JavaScript file that anyone can edit to remove tags they don’t want to see. To use this script, first, log into the Search Console . Then follow these 3 easy steps:
1.) click on “search Appearance” under the search settings section
2.) click on “Edit” next to “Smart Results JavaScript”.
3.) add the ID for each of the tags you wish to remove and save.
What are Smart Tags and how do they work?
Smart Tags are a new feature in Google search results. They allow you to attach rich snippets of information right to the title and/or description of a SERP listing. For example, if you happen to have an Amazon Associate account, your search result for “black dress” will include Amazon’s recommended dress linked to your item detail page:
To have this happen for your site, you’ll need to submit a Rich Snippets application to Google. Once approved, all you have to do is add structured data markup to your search results page. For more information on how structured data works, check out our article at the following link: Introduction to Structured Data
Why use Smart Tags in your titles and descriptions?
We all know that CTR is a ranking factor, and this is usually pretty obvious. But accuracy and relevance also play a part in determining your rankings. For example, we anticipate that searchers are more likely to click on search results for “black dress” than those for “dress black”. In addition, if you happen to sell dresses but Google knows that your site is about men’s apparel, it will prevent you from appearing in the search results altogether.
How to add Smart Tags to your titles and descriptions?
You can submit your site for review to Google Webmasters Tools. Once approved, you will receive instructions on how to mark up your web pages with structured data. Learn more about the process of marking up web pages with structured data here: Structured Data Markup Helper .
You can also visit Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper to help you mark up your site with the necessary code. Here, you can enter in any page on your website and see how it will appear in search results. This is a great way to start marking up your pages before submitting them for review by Google
Conclusion
These are some of the newest features being released on Google search results. Although they are still new, it is likely that they will have a positive impact on CTR. It is easy to implement these HTML tags on your website and even easier to remove any tags you do not want in your SERPs using Smart Tags in Titles and Descriptions.
