Featured Snippets: Why & How to Get Them

WHAT IS A FEATURED SNIPPET?

A featured snippet is a section of search results that stand out on Google’s page for a given query. It typically appears at the top of the search engine’s results list.

Featured snippets are not constantly available, but are generally given in answer to questions that have been asked and keep searchers informed of their sought-out information in a quick and efficient way.

Google’s index automatically supplies the material that shows up inside a Featured Snippet.

Featured snippets should not be confused with answer boxes. Included snippets always have a link to the source material, in contrast to answer boxes that do not.

Answer boxes are often employed for queries that have a single exact response – for instance, ‘How many days are there in October?’

DIFFERENT TYPES OF FEATURED SNIPPET

There are many different types of featured snippet, but the 3 main ones are:

Paragraph
List
Table

PARAGRAPH

This is where Google shows a one paragraph answer.

LIST

This is the location where Google displays a selection of results in response to the user’s inquiry. Lists can be bulleted or numbered.

TABLE

This is the location where Google presents a table as an answer to the search query.

WHICH TYPES OF SEARCH QUERIES GET FEATURED SNIPPETS?

Snippets that are featured often appear when a person asks a query in a search engine. However, this is not always the case.

BENEFITS OF FEATURED SNIPPETS

One great advantage of having your content featured in a snippet is that it is often placed at the very top of the search results and is quite large in size.

Showing up right at the start of the search engine results can have a great effect on the number of people clicking on the link, which leads to an increase in traffic. Search Engine Land states that a featured snippet is clicked on approximately 8.5% of all occasions.

But being in position zero also has other benefits.

Beginning with this, you will be able to raise your profile, leading to an increase in the number of people who know you, like you, and trust you. Contemplate this – if the people you are trying to reach come across you frequently at the peak of search engine results, they will start to perceive you as a knowledgeable expert on the theme that you post about.

The highlighted excerpt is usually the search result that is spoken aloud in vocal searches, leading to a heightened awareness of the brand and more trust in the blog.

One of the biggest advantages of being featured in a snippet is the potential to surpass one’s rivals, even in highly competitive searches. As per Getstat, the majority of featured snippets used in searches originate from sources other than the highest-ranked organic result.

From my own experience, making adjustments in order to be featured in the snippet section has assisted me in beating many larger and more authoritative blogs, enabling me to be placed at the top of the first page on Google for search inquiries that I probably wouldn’t have had the chance to be seen on the first page for otherwise.

It appears that success in achieving the featured snippet is more about the sort of content, and the way it is presented, instead of depending largely on SEO ranking features such as links and popularity (although these also play a role).

In other words, by optimizing your blog content to obtain featured snippets, you can have a greater chance of being included. And that is what ‘snippet optimization’ is all about.

Why you should optimize for featured snippets

It is not a simple process to attempt to receive a prominent snippet. It is essential to remember that it is impossible to determine if Google will view your website as meeting their criteria for becoming a highlighted snippet. But it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try. You should definitely try to optimize for a featured snippet, even if there is only a small possibility of success. These are the primary benefits of appearing as a featured snippet.

Voice search

Only the most suitable response is given to people who use voice search technology. Being positioned on the first page of Google’s search results does not mean your website will be seen by those who use voice search. In order to succeed, you must be extraordinary and strive for the top, or attempt to secure a featured snippet.

Backlinko uncovered that close to 41 percent of all voice search answers emanate from a featured snippet. Mentioning as an aside, being a featured snippet is not the same as occupying the highest ranking in the search results. If, say, your website appears third in search engine results but you ended up with a featured snippet, it is probably because the voice assistant chose your response as the most suitable.

Credibility

Ahrefs’ research revealed that there is not a lot of clicking on featured snippets; however, their conclusion was that supplying a comprehensive answer within the featured snippet eliminates any need for clicking further. People tend to trust the featured snippets.

If your goal is to gain better click through results, then this method may not be the best choice for you. If you want to improve your reputation and heighten your brand recognition, being included in featured snippets will assist you in doing so.

Let’s come back to clicks

The quantity of clicks for featured snippets is not substantial. But who said it isn’t worth taking efforts?

In Ahrefs’ research, it was discovered that the first page result in a search query that bears no featured snippet usually obtains ~26% of all clicks. When a highlighted snippet appears as the first result, it usually receives around 8.6% of the clicks; the page under it then receives the remaining 19.6%. This suggests that even if your snippet doesn’t get a lot of clicks, it can still take clicks away from your major competitor.

How to optimize for featured snippets

Now that I have likely persuaded you of the apparent benefits of featured snippets, it is time to find out the steps required to be included in one.

Before you start

Beware that only webpages which show up on the first page of a search can be contenders for a featured snippet. Your main priority should be achieving a position on the first page of Google’s search results. Now is the time to begin with correct keyword exploration. Here’s a step-by-step guide to researching keywords.

Keyword research

The effectiveness of your plan to gain a featured snippet is contingent on the existing ranking of your content.

If your website doesn’t show up on the first page

Perhaps it’s time to contemplate finding keywords that are less difficult to rank for if you are not achieving a high position for the current ones? For example, if you created a guideline for making an apple pie, this keyword is already very common in search queries. But let’s go further. By using either the Ahrefs or Serpstat Keyword Research instrument, you can determine which phrases associated with your topic would be the most beneficial to you.

If your website shows up on the first page

You ought to refine your keyword exploration at this point in order to improve your chances of appearing in featured snippets. Start from focusing on the questions. Questions beginning with words such as “how to,” “what is,” and “when” usually generate featured snippets. It is not unexpected that these requests necessitate short and straightforward explanations that can be expressed in several sentences or as a list. To discover which questions people use to search for the related subject, you can take several steps:

Check ‘People also ask’ box. If you search for ‘homemade apple pie’, you’ll see such a box among the results:
Tapping on the arrows near the questions, you’ll be provided with more and more suggestionsUse Answer The Public. The service will show you the most asked questions on your topic

Once you have the queries that pertain to your subject, the next step is to pick additional specific terms. Questions are important for optimizing for featured snippets, but don’t forget about queries that don’t contain question words.

Firstly, the number of such queries still prevail. Secondly, you can incorporate these targeted keyword phrases into your responses to the queries which your website is ranked for.

Once you have done your research on the keywords you want to use, you should incorporate those words into any new or pre-existing content. To ascertain which posts are deserving of enhancement, visit Serpstat > Domain Analysis > SEO Inspection > Rankings.

Be cognizant of the terms that your web pages are already ranked well for in the top 10 of SERPs. If you are a free user, check the “Special blocks in SERP” to find out if there is a featured snippet available. Hover over the option to know more.

If you possess Plan A or better, you can simply apply a filter to view the search outcomes that contain highlighted snippets. This information will be useful in figuring out which material should be prioritized in order to increase the likelihood of getting a featured snippet.

Structured content

The greater the level of organization you have in place, the better the opportunity of getting a featured snippet for your page. Examining the majority of featured snippets, you will discover they contain numerical data, lists, and instructions to follow, and so on.

Your content should consist of short paragraphs. Organizing your content into sections makes it much simpler both for readers and search engines to determine the crucial information.

Use the questions in your headers. Headers can be used not just to separate the text into multiple sections, but also as an effective way to insert the terms that you wish your page to be ranked for. What question does your article answer?

ANSWER QUESTIONS

Occasionally, featured snippets come as answers to queries. One effective method to attain a higher presence in the featured snippets list is to address inquiries.

Consider what queries your audience might type into a search engine.

You have the option to either reply briefly to the question with a single blog post, or create a more extensive post on the subject that encompasses the question.

WRITE A BETTER ANSWER

Once you know the phrase you would like to focus on, your next step is to produce the type of response that Google is likely to choose.

Begin by looking up the search query you are targeting using Google, and determine if there is already a highlighted snippet.

If a featured snippet already exists, you have to come up with an even more comprehensive answer than the one already present.

(If not, your task is a little easier!)

ANSWER THE QUESTION EARLY AND CONCISELY

If you are hoping to have a concise response featured as a snippet, you should succinctly answer the question within the space of one paragraph.

Examining the top results provided by Google, you will notice that they almost exclusively tend to be brief; typically one to two sentences, ranging from forty to fifty words. This is what you should aim for!

It is best if you put your response in the introduction of your blog post as soon as you can. In most cases, it does not necessarily make sense to include your response in the beginning. Exercise good judgment in this situation.

Put the query directly above the response segment and emphasize the answer by highlighting it in bold. This will not only increase your chances of occupying the featured snippet position, but it will also enhance the user experience of the blog post.

BE FACTUAL

This is critically significant – and it’s an issue where bloggers oftentimes make mistakes with featured excerpts. Google does not ordinarily provide its own opinion in featured snippets, preferring to present factual information. It is recommended to refrain from phrases such as “I think”, “I consider”, “In my opinion” within your response.

USE LISTS

Google loves lists! Using H tags accurately can improve your chances of getting listed in a bulleted or numbered list in search engine snippets.

Ensure that you number your H tags (e.g. 1., 2., 3., or Step 1, Step 2, Step 3 etc.) to win in ranked lists. As an example, this post utilizes a target question, ‘How to optimize your blog posts to win Google featured snippets’ in both its H1 title and the relevant H2 subheading. Under the main heading, the H3 sub-subheadings have all been numbered.

USE TABLES

A terrific method to capture featured snippets is by adding a table. It may be difficult to accomplish depending on your specific area of expertise. If practicable, consider crafting a table that exhibits some of the details in your blog post!

Not many people consider putting tables in blog posts, so table snippets are usually quite simple to get.

Summary

In order to achieve a featured snippet, the first step is to optimize your content to be listed in the top ten of search results. When it ceases to be an issue, you can focus on the fine details required to obtain a highlighted summary. Questions and phrases that are longer in length, organized structure, detailed elements of the content, etc. are all important.

Understanding how to create content that is eligible to be featured as a snippet will help you increase interaction online and optimize the user experience.