What are featured snippets and how to optimize them

To get on the top of the search results page, feature snippets stand as one of the most valuable opportunities to put in play. Google featured snippets affect the ranking of a website on SERPs as they quickly answer the user’s queries.

Suppose that a user searches for “how to do competitor analysis,” and one of your blogs comes up as a result in the form of a featured snippet, so the chance of the visitor reaching your website would get higher. The first thing that the user is going to glance at is your web page result. It will surely increase the traffic rate and bring more genuine users to your website. This blog will familiarize you with featured snippets more concisely. We would also briefly discussion on the process to optimize them. There are different types of featured snippets which will also be a discussion point in this writing. Featured snippets SEO quite get complicated sometimes, so in that case, opting for a digital marketing agency is not a bad idea. It will help you to optimize the same for your website.

What are featured snippets?

Now, the question is, what do you mean by featured snippets? So, to answer that in brief, have a quick look at the image given below. The image itself explains that they are specific texts where the simple result format is in reverse order.

In simple language, featured snippets are the descriptive snippets displayed on top of Google’s organic results. They answer the user’s questions right away. Being featured gives you additional brand exposure in the search results.

According to the reports, a 20% to 30% increase in traffic can be seen when your website possesses Google featured snippets. As engaging content holds the traffic and decreases the bounce rate, introducing featured snippets increases the click-through rate. The online data states that introducing a quick answer box can increase CTR (click-through rate) from 2% to 8%.

Types of featured snippets

There are different types of featured snippets but mainly they are divided into three categories: –

• Paragraph

In this type of snippet, the answers are given in the form of text or a box filled with text. Sometimes an image is also included in it. This snippet is designed to provide information directly to the users in a descriptive manner.

• List

It is the type of featured snippets where the answer is given in the form of a list. Most of the time, the data presented here are in the form of lists or rank-wise. The data can also be displayed in the form of a simple list without any ranking. You can check the below example to get a clear idea of it.

• Table

The answer in the form of a table comes under these types of featured snippets. It is where data is pulled by Google and presented on the page in the form of a table. Have a glance at the below-given image to have an understandable view.

Are featured snippets and answer box the same?

The terminology may confuse you. Most people can think of Google featured snippets as an answer box. It is evident because an answer is displayed as a result when the user searches any query.

But, there is a difference between these two. The answer box provided by Google comes without any URL. As you can see in the given picture, Google delivers a box with the quick answer without linking to any source. It simply means that it won’t come with an URL.

On the other hand, when we talk about Google featured snippets, it always comes with an URL below the text because these are the texts created to give extra exposure to the site connected. It is crucial for the website owner as it is working to increase brand exposure and bring more quality traffic to it.

Identify the opportunities to be featured

Start with a keyword research

Considering keyword research, the first thing that pop-ups in mind are where to conduct it. So, for that, there is a lot of solution. You can take the help of Google ads keyword research tool or Google trends for the same, or you can hire professional assistance from any reputed digital marketing company.

But the main agenda here is different. According to the studies, most of the featured snippets are triggered by long-tail keywords. It is a fact that more words as keywords increase the chances of appearance of featured snippets.

There are a few ideas that you can follow while conducting keyword research by keeping the idea of featured snippets in mind:-

• You can start with search queries with “wh” words. The idea here is to use question words like “what”, “how”, “why”, etc. as the identification of these is the easiest.
• Also, try to target informational intent. As the main task of featured snippets is to answer users’ questions immediately, long-tail keywords without question words are also good to be triggered.

How to optimize for featured snippets

Ranking high is reasonably necessary if you want your site to be featured. Though there is no magic trick to get featured snippets SEO but if you are maintaining your top SEO rank, then the chances get higher for sure. It is not only about the website, but you need to rank high for the query asked by the user as well.

In conclusion, the best way to earn featured snippets SEO is to provide an appropriate and straightforward answer to the users’ queries. Longer queries can often unfold intent as they tend to be more specific than shorter ones. For instance, you might earn a featured snippet for shorter keywords like affiliate marketing, but you will likely have better luck and more visitors if you chose a more specific keyword like ‘How to earn money from affiliate Marketing?’ which is clearer with the intent.

1. Answer each question concisely

By conducting some research, it is seen that Google prefers to feature an answer within one paragraph. The average length of the answer could be from 45 words to 97 words. Have a glance at the image below to clarify the guidelines as to how long the answer should be to get featured.

But this is not necessarily needed to be one paragraph long. Instead, Now, Google prefers long-form articles that are broken into subsections and include eye-catching images. Writing a long article can help you cover more relatable questions within a single article, increasing the chances of being featured.

Here’s how you can fix the structure of your article: –

• • Make your subheading question
  • Answer those questions within one paragraph briefly
  • Talk about it further in the article

2. Keep your content factual and organized

Google has a fascination with numbers, lists, tables, etc. The number of steps, actual ingredients, time to cook, year, city of birth etc., are usually listed in the answer box of Google featured snippets. So, in your paragraph, never forget to list user names and numbers.

According to a study, comparison charts and lists are a great way to get featured because Google always prioritizes structured content.

So, the more factual, number-driven and well-structured your content is, the more likely your content will make it to the featured snippets SEO. The digital marketing company has sharp pen writers that can help organize the content and carry out content marketing. The content should be amazing and engaging to drive users’ attention to it and with the help of certain writers, it is easy to follow.

3. Answer similar questions as much as possible

It is seen that 29% of keywords that triggered a featured snippet started with a question-based word such as why, do, can.

• • 6% of the queries start with “Why” and
  • 4% starts with “can”.
  • 6% with “where” that triggers featured snippets the least.

According to a study conducted by Ahrefs, it is found that once your page is featured, it is more likely to get featured in a host of similar related questions. So, it is not a good idea to create a different page to answer each specific question because Google can easily find synonyms of and closely related queries. Creating one comprehensive article that leaves no questions left is a more innovative way to get featured in answer boxes.

4. Organize your questions properly

Your content must be organized very well. To do so, your questions need to be structured as there are too many closely related queries. So here’s how you can organize your keyword.

• • A generic keyword makes a section of the blog
  • A more specific keyword becomes the title of the article
  • More specific keywords can be used as subheadings

There are queries so closely related to each other that they will fall under one subheading. That way, the chance of plagiarism decreases and the readers are getting the answers to their searches in a precise manner.

5. Use eye-catching images

Google randomly picks images from the page to use in the answer box, so it is always a better idea to use eye-catching, branded and annotated images so that you don’t have to worry about looking nice in the Google snippet.

The average graphic in a featured snippet is 159 pixels tall and 197 pixels wide. Try to keep that ratio for your images. If Google uses them, it will create a thumbnail so that you can scale up to 960×1200 for better quality.

You can use a banner sack to use attention-grabbing branded images. You can make graphics, resize them for so many purposes and organize all. There are other ways to optimize images for the website as well.

6. Date your content

Who doesn’t like appropriate well-organized content? Dating is the best way to do so because it will show the users fresh content every time they search for a query.

• • Dating your content is best for the reader because it reduces confusion and frustration.
  • It builds trust, especially when it shows that it’s been updated with current information.
  • Algorithms may show preference based on fresh content.

7. Add a Q&A to your website

Adding Q&A pages increases your chance of earning featured snippets. It is a way to display your expertise by addressing concerns. It also maintains the interest in the user’s mind and keeps you connected with them.

Answer all the queries your user might have about your product or services to create a good image in your customers’ eyes, plus you gain their trust. This will make the process of featured snippets SEO easier. If the process seems tangled, then you can hire any reputed digital marketing company to do so.

Difference between rich snippets and featured snippets

Getting confused between these two terms is pretty obvious. So to get a more evident mindset, the difference between them is explained below.

What are they?

Featured snippets are the content that answers the users’ queries. They are extracted from a page and placed in a highlighted box. In contrast, rich snippets are the additional visual elements that include reviews and ratings.

Where they are placed?

Featured snippets as usually placed at position 0 above the blue highlighted title and meta description but for that, the page must rank in the top 10 results for the precise query. On the other hand, rich snippets are located below the meta description of the search result.

How they affect the CTR

Featured snippets increase the CTR by simply answering the query in SERP without needing users to click the resultant website. In contrast, rich snippets increase the CTR with their enhanced visibility and targeted results.

Conclusion

Earning a featured snippet is a long-term game. It takes a lot of research, planning and patience to see the results that you want. Being featured in Google search results is your incentive to work harder on your content. You will have to rank for position zero, which is the highest-ranking spot possible without advertising.

A digital marketing company can easily carry out featured snippets of SEO. You can avail services like SEO audit, SEO reports, link building, social media marketing, reputation management, etc., needed for your website to rank and highlight it in front of viewers.

Reference

• 9 Tips for Ranking in Google’s Featured Snippets
• A Complete List of Google’s Featured Snippets Types