Earlier this year Google announced changes to the snippets users see on search engine results pages (SERP), and now the search giant says it will be introducing "rich snippets" to help searchers find the relevant content they’re looking for.

At today’s Searchology event, Google announced that these new forms of snippets will feature data embedded in websites to help give Google users a summary of the search result.

In a post on Google’s Webmaster Central Blog, the company says the new feature is likely to increase traffic to relevant results.

"When searching for a product or service, users can easily see reviews and ratings, and when searching for a person, they’ll get help distinguishing between people with the same name," Google says. "It’s a simple change to the display of search results, yet our experiments have shown that users find the new data valuable – if they see useful and relevant information from the page, they are more likely to click through."

In a separate post on the Official Google Blog, vice president of search products and user experience Marissa Mayer and group product manager Jack Menzel say the company will be seeking the help of web publishers to enhance the service and says the new feature will be rolled out slowly in order to make sure search results remain high.

Katherine Griwert is Brafton's Marketing Director. She's practiced content marketing, SEO and social marketing for over five years, and her enthusiasm for new media has even deeper roots. Katherine holds a degree in American Studies from Boston College, and her writing is featured in a number of web publications.