Snippet
Also called: text fragment
A snippet is a fragment or sample of a longer text used to give an impression of the entire version.
Search engine results use snippets (combined with a title and the URL of the page found). Search engines like Google usually display a snippet of text that comes from the page in question. Showing a one- or two-sentence snippet of text that contains the keywords that were searched for tells the user something about the context in which these keywords appear in the text. If no suitable sample can be found, the meta-description is often used. The snippet displayed on the results page determines the likelihood that a user will click on a result.
When other meta information besides text is displayed, such as reviews and images, we refer to it as rich snippets.
However, snippets are also used in places other than the search functions of search engines and Web sites. For example, in e-mail programs that display the first sentences of a message in the list of e-mail messages in addition to the sender and subject line. Within e-mail marketing, this is cleverly capitalized on by having the message begin with a stimulating opening, which often includes a personalized salutation. Making clever use of these snippets can increase the opening percentage of emails.
