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    Categories: GoogleSEO

Google Bolding Entire Snippet in Search Results

If you are looking for a way to make your organic search result to stand out from the others, this entirely bolded snippet/description in the Google search results should do it.

It is common to do a Google Search and see specific keywords bolded by Google to make it easier for searchers to see the relevant keywords in titles and descriptions.  And sometimes similar words will also be bolded when words have a similar meaning or when they are commonly used interchangeably by searchers.

Google is taking this a step further by highlighting entire parts of the snippets pulled as the description in the search results, when the user is searching for quotes.  While searching for quotes with Google’s new knowledge cards for quotes by famous people, I noticed that Google is also highlighting the entire quote in the search results, which in this case happened to be the entire snippet.

As you can see, it does look a bit strange, albiet very noticeable, to see a search result almost entirely bolded.

Here is another example, although not bolded to the extent of the first example.

This is pretty interesting, although likely completely automated.  It would make it a bit easier for people to see quotes quickly when scanning the search results, particularly when the knowledge card either didn’t have a specific quote or the person did not result in a knowledge card showing, such as with Neil deGrasse Tyson.

The first example is the only time I have ever seen an entire snippet bolded in the search results for a generic search query.  The only time I have seen something similar is when doing a very long tail search in quotes, such as when checking for plagiarism, and only when that search matches the number of words displayed in the snippet without going over Google’s 32 word search query limit.

Definitely interesting to see, and something that quote websites could work on so that their snippets are bolded when someone does a search for “<name> quotes,” especially those who are suffering traffic drops with the new knowledge card quotes.

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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.
Jennifer Slegg :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.