What Are The 16 Quality Marks In Yandex Search

We’re nearing the end of a decade, and over the past 10 years, there has been a huge leap in web technology and user accessibility.

The number of Internet users has more than doubled, and the share of mobile traffic has grown from 0.7% to 52.2%. 

With the availability of smartphones, the number of active Internet users is growing at a tremendous speed, and it is increasingly difficult for new users to find sites that are useful to themselves. 

It would seem that they are lost in the abyss of useless spam, and the search for a resource only tires and increases the desire to hammer and just close the browser. Therefore, Yandex in 2018 developed a tagging system to assist in orientation in the search system.

Users are now presented with 16 different quality marks to discern quality results and help cut down on the noise.

The 16 quality mark icons that can be displayed in Yandex SERPs represent (and can be acquired from):

  • It’s a popular website
  • It’s a user choice website
  • It’s a quick loading website
  • Content and website is served over a secure connection
  • Turbo pages (AMP)
  • Airline
  • Embassy
  • Visa Center
  • Service center
  • An official brand website
  • Navigation answer
  • Verified Profile
  • An official site according to Yandex.Directory
  • An official dealer according to Avto.ru
  • Organization from the register of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation
  • A Yandex Service

Icons are assigned by an automatic algorithm for which all resources are completely equal. Labels may vary by country. The presence of signs does not guarantee the issuance of a site among the first. This is just to help users find a more accurate and relevant query.

Let’s explore some of these further. Note, some icons are reused for multiple reasons – so when conducting competitor analysis don’t just assume reasons why.

It’s A Popular Website

This is a site with high traffic and a constant audience. Such sites include Wikipedia, Google, Youtube, RIA Novosti and other, mainly information and entertainment resources.

It’s A User Choice Website

It’s simple: users love this resource, usually spend a long time there and return there several times a day. But! The User Choice sign does not guarantee that your site will come first in the search results.

It’s A Quick Loading Website

If your website loads fast, you get the icon. If Turbo pages are connected, the “Quick Website” icon will not be displayed in the results and webmasters, instead, the “Turbo Pages” icon will be displayed.

Turbo Pages

How to get a Turbo Pages quality mark

You must create an RSS feed, upload it to your website’s Yandex Webmaster Tools profile, specify a counter and configure.

Development instructions can be found here, as well as information on any additional plugins.

Content And Website Is Served Over A Secure Connection

If the site runs on HTTPS and doesn’t support deprecated TLS connections, you’ll get the padlock icon.

Official Website Icon

The official site icon is used when a site meets a number of the 16 quality marks.

This blue checkmark is used for:

  • Airlines
  • Embassies
  • Visa Centers
  • Service Centers
  • An official brand websites
  • Navigation answers
  • Verified Profiles
  • An official site according to Yandex.Directory
  • An official dealer according to Avto.ru
  • Organization from the register of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation
  • A Yandex Service