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How to Optimize for Google Featured Snippets: A 12-Step Guide
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How to Optimize for Google Featured Snippets: A 12-Step Guide
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Black Pearl Matrix
Key Tips You Should Consider for Optimizing a Featured Snippet on Google:
- 1- Pay Attention to the Size of Each Featured Snippet
- 2- Summary of the Answer in the Introduction
- 3- Map Your Keywords That Are On The First Page
- 4- Keep your Answer in H2
- 5- Use Bullet Points
- 6- Target featured snippets with H3 lists
- 7- Make a List of Key Terms in Your Industry
- 8- Optimize and Update the Content
Featured snippets are short, to-the-point answers that appear at the top of Google results when searching for a keyword.
It is notable that with each passing day, social networks and search engines are updating to offer the best possible experience to users.
With that in mind, Google created the Featured Snippets – or question box – that appear at the top of the results page.
In this article, we’ll explain what a snippet is, how to make one, and why it’s important to support your organic traffic strategy and increase your sales. Grab a notebook and pen and let’s go!
1- What are Google Featured Snippets?
Featured Snippets — These are short, to-the-point answers that appear at the top of Google results when searching for a specific keyword.
Also known as “search engine position zero”, they aim to directly answer the user’s question and search intent, without having to go to another page.
Above the top organic position, snippets can appear in three formats: paragraphs, lists, or tables. We will understand more about them later.
This concept mainly comes from the context of SEO (Search Engine Optimization or optimization for search engines), but the term Snippet is also known as blocks of code used in Visual Studio to speed up the development of HTML code.
However, in this article, we are going to focus on explaining the term linked to SEO strategies to help drive organic traffic to your sales website.
2- What Types of Featured Snippets Does Google Show?
So far, there are three types of Snippets that are most common to appear at the top of the Google results page. Let’s meet them!
2.1 Paragraph
Common among the three formats is the paragraph format. It appears in most snippets for questions, word definitions, and comparisons. See an example:
Some types of content that can appear Snippet in the paragraph are:
• Which is;
• How to make;
• Why;
• Who is he;
• Where is.
2.2 List
The second most popular format among Snippets is the list. They usually show up for rankings, tutorials, walkthroughs, recipes, etc.
See an example below:
2.3 Table/Table
While not as common as the other two formats, the table or frame template can appear in snippets.
You can find it on SERPs for product or price comparisons, some recipes, movie times, weather, and nutritional information about some foods.
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3- How Do Featured Snippets Work?
Now that you know what a Snippet is, it’s important to understand how it works to put this strategy into practice.
Google understands that Snippets are like the back cover of a book. They give a preview of the story that the reader will find and he decides whether or not to buy the book. It works the same way with websites or blog posts.
Normally, Google selects part of the content that is ranking on the first page (between 1st and 10th position) and that answers the user’s question in a simple and direct way. There is no confirmation on these criteria, but according to the Ahrefs study, being well positioned is a pattern among results that have Snippets.
Not all SERPs – Google results pages – have Snippet. This is because this format is tied to the user’s search intent when searching for a particular term.
As we already said, the goal is to provide succinct answers that answer the question without making the visitor leave the platform. However, depending on the keyword and the real intention, it may be that just that short answer is not enough, or even that it arouses more curiosity in the reader and leads him to click on your content.
Therefore, although Google does not want the user to leave the platform to access its content, in some cases the Snippets ended up increasing the CTR (click through rate) of the pages.
SERPs without Snippet receive 74% of clicks and pages with Snippet 70%, that is, only 4% less, according to the Ahrefs study.
4- How to Optimize Featured Snippets
4.1 Identify Competitor Featured Snippets
Stealing featured snippets from competitors isn’t easy.
Put the competitors URL in Semrush and look for the keyword groups that have the featured snippets.
4.2 Gather Keywords for Each Property Content
Once you’re done finalizing the content topics, it’s time to identify the keywords present in the content that currently has featured snippets.
Click the Semrush down arrow next to your selected keyword to see expanded information on keyword ranking in featured snippets.
4.3 Understand Researcher Intent
One of the most important considerations in optimizing for featured snippets is understanding the search intent behind each triggering query.
Three types of people search for your keywords:
• Potential customers;
• Influencers who persuade your potential customers to buy from you;
• And your competitors.
You will write the content of the first two. Each will have different intents during the search, but will always be informative (and navigational when users want to click on them).
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4.4 Perform a Competitive Analysis
Go back to Semrush and open your SEO content template tool. Enter your keyword or content topic, select the target location and click the green button.
You will get SEO recommendations below for your content to plan content optimization for featured snippets.
4.5 Create/update Content Outline
Now you have your content topics, your targeted keywords, featured snippet type, your search intent, and a set of competitor snippet SEO recommendations.
If you are writing new content, you will need to create the content outline. And if you’ve already written the play, you may need to rework the outline based on the research gathered above.
4.6 Create Better Content Than The Competition
Cover the basic information that users expect from the content based on the user’s search query and intent. Add more value than competing blogs by including stats, rich media, examples, tips, etc.
Simple and shorter sentences for easier reading. Focus on research-based content over opinion-based. Citations help Google better understand your content.
You should always aim to create the best content, i.e. content that will add value for years.
4.7 Validate the Content
Once you have the content ready, double-check that it meets your needs for:
• Your target audience. Defined user search intent;
• Targeted keywords;
• Suggestions listed.
Checking this out is vital to ensure you’re on the right path to getting a featured snippet.
4.8 Organize Your Content for Readers and Search Engines
Well-organized content is easy for users and search engines to scan, read, and understand.
4.9 Add Question Keywords in Title Tags
Organizing your content for featured snippets is incomplete without adding question keywords to your title tags.
Take relevant question keywords with high search volume and place them in your title tags. Most of the featured snippets you see on Google start right after a title tag.
4.10 Add Relevant Graphics
Graphics play a crucial role in owning a featured snippet, especially for paragraph and list type featured snippets.
Try to use real-life or custom images and graphics rather than stock images – this will improve the user experience and avoid looking generic.
Add as many images as needed for your content.
4.11 Implement SEO Tactics
Your content is ready for users. Now you need to help Google understand what the page is about quickly.
With this optimization process for featured snippets in place, we recommend looking at results at 7, 14, and 21 days.
4.12 Keep Optimizing Your Content Until You Get a Featured Snippet
If you see an improvement in impressions, you can work harder on clicks.
Be sure to track differences in impressions, rankings and CTR in Google Search Console, and traffic and viewability in Semrush.
Keep optimizing your content until you see a featured snippet and track results from it.
5- Why Optimize Your Pages For Snippets?
5.1 Conquer
Snippets are an important factor in achieving more success in your marketing and SEO strategy. After all, the more content that ranks at the top of the SERP, the more likely users are to click through to your page, learn about your business, and then buy from you.
5.2 Rank at the Top of the SERP
Featured snippets can be the fastest way to rank high on Google. After all, they are looking for the best answer to the user’s pain and you can deliver that.
If you have a content blog or a sales page, you should focus on your on-page SEO strategy to increase your chances of earning snippets or improve your organic ranking.
Check out some tips:
• Map SERPs that have Snippet to keywords relevant to your niche market;
• Optimize your blog posts to capture these Snippets;
• Write good product descriptions;
• Create a good meta title and meta description;
• Have a link building strategy;
• Optimize your local SEO.
While we’re talking about on-page SEO strategies, it’s important that you also keep an eye on how your pages are performing and whether they’re providing a good user experience.
5.3 Increase Your Pages CTR
CTR is the acronym for “click-through rate” which is nothing more than the percentage of users who click on a link in relation to the total number of impressions, that is, who viewed the page.
Even if Google’s idea is that the user stays on the platform, as we mentioned, many of them tend to want to delve deeper into the subject and, as a result, end up clicking on the content to consume the information in full.
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5.4 Gain Authority
Conquering Snippets places your business as an authority on the subject and differentiates it from other competitors, increasing its credibility.
It’s basically how Google understands that your content is the best for those who are searching.
5.5 Perform Voice Searches
Have you ever interacted with virtual assistants like Alexa or Siri? Well, when you ask a question, they usually use featured snippets to respond to users.
With that, your chances of appearing as a solution to possible doubts increase – since more and more people have been searching for voice.
6- How to Make Featured Snippets on Google?
There is no magic recipe for conquering Snippets, however, there are 8 steps you can follow to reach position zero more easily. Exit check!
6.1 Pay Attention to the Size of Each Featured Snippet
There’s no point optimizing your content if it’s in a size that doesn’t fit in the Snippets format, right? So look for a balance between the exaggerated and the minimalist.
According to a Moz study, the ideal length for a paragraph snippet is 45 words.
Lists average 4.2 items and up to 10 words for each item, but the maximum number of bullets that appear in the format is eight. So don’t be afraid to build bigger lists.
As for the tables or charts, the survey brings an average of 3.6 lines and 2.5 columns, with a maximum of 9 lines and 3 columns.
6.2 Summary of Answer in Introduction
A simple way to get to position zero is to objectively answer the question posed on the keyword in the first paragraph of the text.
6.3 Map Your Keywords That Are On The First Page
If you already have a content marketing strategy in place, it’s important to research all the top terms that are ranking on the first page of Google.
After all, it’s easier to start with content that you’re already well positioned and earn Snippets.
6.4 Keep your Answer in H2
One of the most common ways to get the snippet for the keyword is to summarize the answer to the H2 question or demand in a few words, 230-280 characters long.
6.5 Bullet Point
Another way to catapult the post to the top is to offer the solution to the search demand in a bulleted list. This list gains more strength when it appears right after H2 with the keyword.
6.6 H3s
In addition to bullet lists, you can target featured snippets with H3 lists. For this, in the same way, it is important that the list comes right after the H2 that contains the keyword.
6.7 Make a List of Key Terms in Your Industry
If you don’t have a content plan, the first step is to do keyword research with terms relevant to your niche market that you don’t rank for with any other content.
Then you should analyze the SERPs for those words and see if they have Snippets. The ones that have results with zero position, you put for the production of an article.
6.8 Optimize and Update Content
Once you’ve mapped out and organized your content, it’s time to optimize it to capture Snippets. Make any necessary adjustments based on the SERP results for your selected keywords.
Remember, focus on responding to the user’s pain. You need to deliver quality content that fits the established format for Snippets.
Google usually takes a while to update your content. But if it takes more than 30 days, it’s time to go back to the content and optimize it again.
Create this habit and build a content process into your strategy. It’s always good to update information and see what your SERP competitors are doing better than you.
7- "I'm already in First, and then?"
That might be your mindset. “I’ve reached the top, I don’t have to worry about Snippets.”
Well, yes you do! According to studies, Snippets have stolen, for the most part, clicks from the first place.
In addition to being an excellent form of attack, Snippets can defend your position and further expand the clicks you already received.
FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions About Optimizing Snippets on Google
1. Tips for creating a good snippet?
Pay attention to the size of each Snippet; Map your keywords that are on the first page; Make a list of key terms in your industry; Optimize and update content.
2. What types of Snippets does Google show?
Google shows 4 types of Feature Snippets: Paragraph, list, frame or table.
3. What is Featured Snippets?
In short, Featured Snippets are those short, to-the-point answers that appear at the top of Google results when searching for a specific keyword.
4. What content can be used for a Structured Snippets extension?
Structured snippet extensions, in turn, allow you to add data such as facilities, brands, courses and degree programs. They also allow you to add destinations, featured hotels, insurance coverage, models and neighborhoods.
5. What are snippets for?
Snippets, also called featured snippets, are those response boxes that appear after a Google search. They serve to facilitate the reading and understanding of the user, as they present, in highlight, a direct summary, in brief and in an organized way.
Conclusion
Getting featured can be great for getting more authority and generating clicks to your website. However, the well-known practices of SEO, linkbuilding and the production of relevant content for the persona cannot be left aside, as what can also influence the ranking is getting more CTR for the page and reducing the bounce rate.
The results usually come in the medium term, but if you think it is taking too long, reassess the other metrics, try to analyze if there is another problem with the site and, once again, redo the optimization in order to get the snippets on Google.
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