What Are Visual Elements? #
They’re the pieces of Google’s search results page you see and interact with, like titles, snippets, images, videos, and more. Different results show different combinations of these elements depending on your device, location, query, and Google’s updates.
Main Types of Search Result Visual Elements #
| Visual Element Type | What It Is | How You Can Optimize |
| Text Result | Basic blue-link results based on page text content. Includes title, snippet, URL, etc. | Use strong page titles, meta descriptions, structured data for rich snippets. |
| Rich Result | Enhanced results with extra visuals or interactive features (reviews, recipes, FAQs). Powered by structured data. | Implement structured data markup to enable rich results. |
| Image Result | Results based on images embedded on pages, shown especially for image-related queries. | Optimize images (alt text, filenames, size, loading speed) & image sitemaps. |
| Video Result | Results based on embedded videos, shown especially for video queries. | Use video SEO best practices: video sitemaps, structured data, thumbnails. |
| Exploration Features | Tools like “People Also Ask” or related searches that help users refine or expand searches. | Indirect control—monitor related queries for content ideas. |
Attribution Elements (Source Info) #
These appear in many result types and tell users where the content is from:
- Favicon: The small site icon next to results.
- Site Name: The name of the website.
- Visible URL: The displayed URL, showing domain + breadcrumb path.
- Domain: The website’s domain name (e.g., example.com).
- Breadcrumb: The page’s position within the site hierarchy (shown as clickable paths).
How to optimize:
Provide proper favicons, use structured data for site name and breadcrumbs, and ensure clean URL structure
Anatomy of a Text Result #
- Attribution: Source/site info
- Title Link: Clickable page title
- Snippet: Description or summary text
- Byline Date: Date of publication or update (if available)
- Sitelinks Group: Cluster of additional links from the same domain under a result
- Sitelink: Individual link within sitelinks group
- Text Result Image: Relevant image from the page, shown alongside text result for some queries
Anatomy of an Image Result #
- Image Thumbnail: Clickable image preview
- Attribution: Source website info
Optimize images with SEO best practices to increase chances of showing here.
Anatomy of a Video Result #
- Video Thumbnail: Preview image for the video
- Title Link: Title linking to the watch page
- Attribution: Source/site info
- Upload Date: Date video was published (from metadata)
Follow video SEO best practices to improve visibility in video results.
Exploration Features (Helpful for User Search Refinement) #
- Related Searches Group: Cluster of queries related to the original search (like “People Also Search For”)
- Related Questions Group: List of questions related to the query (aka “People Also Ask”), expandable with featured snippets
No direct control but useful for content strategy insights.
TL;DR for Website Owners & SEOs: #
- Optimize your page titles, descriptions, and structured data for rich and text results.
- Provide clear favicon, site name, and breadcrumb structured data for better attribution.
- Optimize images and videos with proper metadata, sitemaps, and thumbnails.
- Monitor exploration features as inspiration for new content topics.