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Google Bolding Answers to Some Organic Search Result Queries

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google bold answersGoogle appears to be testing some changes in their search results by bolding the specific information they feel searchers are looking for.  For example, when searching for “<profession> salary”, Google is bolding the salary amount in the search results, at least for results from Glassdoor.

google bold salarygoogle bold salary2For the Glassdoor example, they don’t appear to be using any markup on the page that would trigger this.  So it would seem that Google is using functionality similar to how it pulls out answers for knowledge boxes and showing them in the search results as a regular search result but with the answer bolded.

However, even though other search results also show salary information in the search results, only Glassdoor is having their snippet with the answer bolded. Because their search results are laid out the same for various professions, it might have made it easier for Google to reliably parse that information to bold the relevant part.

And for the “engineer salary”, there is also a featured snippet for that result, but it actually shows a different answer.  And even more interesting, when you look at the search result (#3) for the site that got the featured snippet, the salary isn’t bolded in their regular search result either.

google bold salary3It does raise the question of CTR.  Would more people click on it because it has the answer, so they want more details?  Or does the bolding answer the question so that the searcher no longer needs to click through?  It is definitely one of those debates many webmasters have when it comes to the search results.

H/T to Ross Hudgens who spotted the example.

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Jennifer Slegg

Founder & Editor at The SEM Post
Jennifer Slegg is a longtime speaker and expert in search engine marketing, working in the industry for almost 20 years. When she isn't sitting at her desk writing and working, she can be found grabbing a latte at her local Starbucks or planning her next trip to Disneyland. She regularly speaks at Pubcon, SMX, State of Search, Brighton SEO and more, and has been presenting at conferences for over a decade.

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