If your business wants to gain and keep the attention of the world’s largest search engine, it will have to master as many of Google’s features as possible. What’s super frustrating is that Google is constantly changing its features.
When consumers search for something on Google, they now receive much more than a list of links. The first thing that many people get is a list of Google featured snippets, which can help answer questions, solve problems, and deliver more traffic to your website.
What Is a Google Featured Snippet?
A featured snippet is a search engine response that is shown above the regular listings. It contains a summary from a webpage that generally answers the question from the search query. Examples are, “Is the post office open on President’s Day?” or “How do I block an email address?”
Featured snippets can come in several forms, but most include a title, some text, an image (sometimes), and the source page URL. In general, there are four main types of Google featured snippets that searchers will see.
1. Paragraph
A majority (roughly 80 percent or more) of featured snippets are in paragraph form. The searcher asks a question, like “How do tides work?” and Google provides a “snippet” from a website it deems an authority that gives the best answer.
Paragraph snippets will show up in response to searches asking for comparisons (A vs. B), or ones that begin with "Why is", "How is", "Who is", or "What is."
2. List
Another type of featured snippet is the list. It can be a bulleted or numbered list, and these are generally in response to searches asking how to do something. Examples are building something or requests for recipes.
3. Table
If your searcher is looking for a collection of data, they might get a table as a featured snippet. An example is the current year’s tax rates. Even if the page source doesn’t have the data assembled into a table format, Google will do this if it picks that page.
4. Video
The last type of featured snippet that you’re likely to see are videos, which are growing in popularity since Google owns YouTube. These will be common when there are requests for “how-to” instructions.
Why Digital Marketers Should Care About Snippets
Now that you know what a featured snippet is, why should you care? These items are vital to your digital marketing strategy because featured snippets are showing up for more and more searches.
One of the reasons that you should give more attention to featured snippets is because they are some of the only results searchers get for mobile queries. Mobile search has now overtaken desktop search, and both Google and Bing agree that voice search could account for half of all mobile searches in 2020.
Even though featured snippets are designed to give searchers answers to their questions on the spot, many want to learn more. This provides you with a golden opportunity. When you’ve landed a featured snippet spot for a given search term, you’re likely to get additional traffic to your website that can drive conversions.
Optimizing Your Digital Content for Featured Snippets
Landing a featured snippet is tough because Google is only going to choose one page to answer a question and then others for related queries. In general, Google only pulls content from pages that have already achieved a top ten ranking for that search term, so this has to be the first order of business.
If you’re not sure where to begin, here are some steps for identifying opportunities and optimizing your online content for potential featured snippets.
1. Spy on Your Competitors.
You might have some search phrases in mind for ranking, such as “dentists in San Jose,” but it’s a good idea to check out what your competitors are doing. You can use a tool like SEMrush to enter a competitor’s website and click “Organic Research.” Then hit “Featured snippet” and this will tell you which terms they’ve been successful in securing. If you can create better content than theirs, you stand a good chance of unseating them.
2. Uncover Opportunities in Google.
Spend some time on Google getting into the mind of your typical customer. What would they search for if they don’t understand your products or are trying to solve a problem you can address? Enter some questions and examine the featured snippets. Also, review the related queries below the featured snippet and at the bottom of the page for additional ideas.
3. Make Sure You Answer the Questions.
Doing research is vital, but you need to make sure that you answer the question correctly and with some authority. You also don’t need to put each of those ideas that you just generated onto separate pages. According to a study by Ahrefs, once a page earns a featured snippet, it has a greater chance of getting featured in related queries.
4. Format Your Content Correctly.
Formatting is essential to securing a featured snippet. If the questions call for a list, make a bulleted or numbered list. If it calls for a table, short paragraph, or video, create those. Also include section headers with titles that contain your keyphrase, and keep everything neat and concise.
Enhance Your Google Visibility With a Strong Digital Marketing Strategy
Today’s consumers don’t have the patience to scroll through several pages of Google to find an answer or solve a problem. Featured snippets are designed to help searchers get what they need quickly, but they can also drive traffic to your website.
If you haven’t taken advantage of all the features Google is offering, it’s time to start. Contact us now to learn more about how Connection Model’s wide range of digital marketing solutions can help your company increase its visibility and achieve its goals.
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Written By: David Carpenter
