Have you ever asked Google a question and noticed a short answer at the top of the search results?
That’s called a —- Featured Snippet.
Whether you’re looking for a recipe, a definition, a how-to guide, a US or UK shoe size table, or something else, Google Featured Snippets aims to provide the best possible answer right away. These snippets are designed to provide quick, precise answers without clicking a link.
Nowadays, every brand and marketer is trying to claim the featured snippet opportunity because it’s the new number one position for customers. As per Search Engine Land, a Featured Snippet gets more than 8.6% of all clicks, boosting organic site traffic.
In this blog, we will explore Featured Snippets, why they matter, and how to optimize your content to appear in these coveted spots & attract more visitors.
Let’s dive in and discover the power of Featured Snippets!
What are Featured Snippets?
Featured snippets are highlighted paragraphs of text consisting of two- to three-sentence summaries at the top of a Google search results page, also frequently called “position zero.” Its primary purpose is to answer a searcher’s query quickly.
Featured Snippet content is automatically pulled from web pages in Google’s index. Some common featured snippets types include definitions, tables, steps, and lists.
Here, you can see our Digital Guider featured snippets example below—as Paragraph Featured Snippets. These snippets are the most common featured snippet types, accounting for 82% of all snippets and providing rich information to answer search queries.
Here’s another one below…
Why Are Featured Snippets Important for SEO?
Featured snippets will likely appear as quick answers by Google or any search engine when users enter search queries. Google shows them above the organic search results, showing the relevant box section of a website as a list, a table, or text, and a related picture or video. Featured Snippets affect SEO in two significant ways:
1— Increase clicks from organic search
Featured Snippets are an opportunity to increase clicks from organic search results without higher Google rankings. Many SEO experts refer to the Featured Snippet box as “Position #0” because it appears above the traditional #1 spot.
As per Search Engine Land, a Featured Snippet receives over 8.6% of all clicks. Securing your content in a Featured Snippet can significantly increase your organic click-through rate. In 2023, LinkedIn research also discovered that featured snippets achieved a click-through rate of 42.9%, whereas the highest ad result recorded a CTR of just 2.1%.
2— Boost the number of “no-click searches”
Featured Snippets boost the number of “no-click searches”. In other words, when a Google user doesn’t click on any of the search results. That’s because the Featured Snippet often gives someone the answer they want.
Other featured Snippets Benefits are:
3— Increase Brand Awareness:
Reaching the top SERP results with additional space boosts your brand or company’s visibility and requires consumers’ attention.
According to SEMRush, 50%+ of a mobile screen is covered with a featured snippet. That means if you appear in position 0, you can quickly attract your target audience.
4— Grow Website Authority:
Featured snippets are a significant factor in building domain and page authority, leading to better and more qualified traffic to your website. They can help your website get more qualified traffic, leading to better rankings and organic traffic.
5— Optimize Conversion Rates:
Top search results can attract users who turn into customers by immediately addressing their queries and supplying the required information.
What Are The Types Of Featured Snippets?
At the most basic level, there are four featured snippet types: paragraph, list, table, and image.
How To Do Featured Snippets Optimization: 9 Guidelines To Follow
1— Improve Your Content to Get on Page #1
Optimized content is essential for providing users with the most relevant answers. Now, let’s explore the specific techniques and strategies for making this a reality.
You can try tactics on how to improve your on-page SEO while providing a better user experience:
- Build easy to navigate website with user-friendly URL addresses
- Make your website fast and mobile-friendly
- Diagnose SEO problems and fix any penalties
- Do internal linking and link the site to quality external sources
- Create content with search intent and keep it fresh
- If you use an HTTP protocol, switch to SSL
- Optimize your images
- Make your page readable and user-friendly
2— Conduct Keyword Research
You can start by conducting research & creating keyword funnel, an old but productive featured snippets SEO optimization method. It is essential to improve your content for featured snippets. Tools like SEMRush, Ahrefs, or Serpstat may help you because they provide some search queries that bring up featured results.
3— Optimize For Long-Tail And Question-Like Keywords
Long-tail keywords or question-like queries usually help you get featured snippets in their SERPs. As per Ahrefs’s study, most featured snippets in Google Search tend to be displayed for long-tail keywords or direct questions.
By enhancing your content with these specific long-tail & LSI keywords and queries, the search engine can consider them as possible responses and show them as highlighted snippets for those searches.
4— Find Competitors’ Snippets
Stealing competitors’ featured snippets is not that easy. SEO competitor analysis is worth your time. You must find featured snippets SEO of your competitors’ current ranking.
Additionally, while looking for these items, you might also be interested in checking if Google displays featured snippets for keywords you’re already ranking well for. After getting this valuable information, you can edit your content for the perfect featured snippet optimization.
5— Write Short & Succinct Answers
Google’s algorithms often prioritize crisp & short responses structured to provide maximum information within a short space.
You only need to adjust your blogging style a bit like:-
- Put a question in your article (maybe as a subheading)
- Immediately answer the question with a one-paragraph response
- Elaborate further in the article for more details
In this way, you are indicating to Google that your answer is worth ranking, even though you are explaining it deeply further.
Crafting the perfect answer may take some practice & time, but you should consider it if you want your content to rank as a feature snippet.
6— Structure listicle-style Content
When creating content as a listicle, structure the layout accordingly with ordered or unordered elements.
This listicle-style method simplifies digestibility for the audience and allows crawlers to extract important sections of your content for inclusion in listicle-style snippets.
- Optimize for Keywords: Include relevant keywords naturally within your lists.
- Add Subheadings: Break down long lists with subheadings for better readability.
- Highlight Key Points: Use bold or italics to emphasize relevant & essential points.
- Include Visuals: Enhance lists with images or icons to capture attention.
You can improve your chances of getting a featured snippet by implementing these listicle-style tips.
7— Include Tables
By efficiently utilizing tables in featured snippets, you simplify intricate data, making it easier to understand while enhancing the content for snippets that focus on tables. Here, you can see the featured snippets example below:
To optimize for table snippets:
- Format data into clear and well-organized tables
- Use descriptive headers and labels for rows and columns
- Provide context or explanations where necessary
- Use schema markup to enhance the visibility and understanding of table data by search engines
Using properly organized tables, whether for numerical analysis or categorization, enhances the audience’s understanding and the likelihood of them sharing the information.
8— Stay Focused On Present Topic
It’s important to minimize distraction and stay focused on the main topic while writing to maintain high reader engagement and remain relevant according to Google’s algorithms.
Even though turning off topic may happen unintentionally or may seem necessary at times, it’s essential to prioritize staying on track.
Whether explaining or outlining a series of steps, it’s crucial to consistently address the initial question without straying too far from it. This will help maintain clarity and ensure the content remains useful and valuable to the reader.
9— Answer Related Questions
Once you have answered one search query correctly with quality content, consider answering related & obvious questions that users might ask next. This strategy sets you as an industry expert. It will boost the chance that Google will include several parts of your article in back-to-back searches.
Suppose you run a blog about your salon business and write an article answering, “How often should you trim your hair?” After thoroughly answering this question, you could also address related questions such as:
- “What are the benefits of regular hair trims?”
- “How to maintain healthy hair between salon visits?”
- “What is the best haircut for different hair types?”
By addressing these connected subjects, you establish your salon’s blog as a go-to authority on hair care, boosting the likelihood of Google including different sections of your article in searches related to hair care.
Final Thoughts
Like almost every other Google feature, featured snippets will continue evolving. Although it seems like a lot of efficiency to win featured snippets on Google, remember that if you’re already putting out good content, you’re halfway there.
Simple modifications, like header tags and creating ‘how-to’ listicles, can increase your chances of winning “position 0.”
Note that nearly every featured snippet comes from the top 10 search results, so creating excellent content and boosting your website’s credibility will be beneficial in the long run.
Want assistance from our SEO professionals to boost your website authority & content quality. Contact us now @ +1-307-209-3608
