Featured Snippets: How to Get Your Content Optimized for Featured Snippets?

Did you know that featured snippets get a 10% increase in traffic and a 6% increase in click-through rates?

Many marketers have cracked their heads over as to how to get the featured snippets right and to be at the privileged position in the Search Engine Results Page(SERPs). Well, there is no magic formula, but just the right combination of good keyword research strategy, SEO, and content. 

What are Featured Snippets?

Featured Snippets are ‘answers’ to search queries that appear in a box at the very top of the SERPs. As Google perfects its understanding of search intent, a featured snippet is Google’s way of providing an instant reply to the searcher’s question. They appear at the very top of the SERPs which could be both above or below the ads. But they are always above the #1 organic search result. It is also referred to as ‘position zero.’  The best part – your blog could be at fifth or sixth position in SERPs, but if your content is structured well, it might be featured as a snippet by Google.

Different Types of Featured Snippets

Paragraphs, lists, and tables are the three types of featured snippets.

Paragraph Featured Snippets

Google takes the content from the source page and displays an easy and quick answer to a query, a definition or a brief overview of the topic.

How to Optimize Content for Paragraph Featured Snippets

Be sure to add the question as a heading and the answer should have an ideal limit of 40-50 words. Paragraph snippets work the best for comparisons and the who, what, why, and how should be given in the answer.

List Featured Snippets

List snippets have two options: the numbered or bullet lists. The numbered list is used when the content is in order or has a step-by-step process like recipes, etc. The bullet list is shown when the order isn’t important. 

If the list is too big to be displayed, the rest of the content is placed in the link ‘More items’ just above the source page. This will increase click-through rates for the page.

How to Optimize Content for List Featured Snippets?

You can optimize list featured snippets in just the same way as you would for paragraph featured snippet with a question and answer format. One of the other options would be to present the answer as a bullet or numbered list.  

Table Featured Snippets

The table snippets are a very small percentage in the featured snippets. Google uses them to show collections of data such as numerical data. The best part, the data doesn’t have to be in a table format. However, presenting the data in a table format would be good for the users and Google.

How to Optimize Content for Table Featured Snippets?

Just as other snippets, a proper heading with the data in table format is a way to optimize the table featured snippet. 

How to Rank Featured Snippets?

The featured snippets should be brief and sharp with a 40-45 word limit. Ensure that the content is well structured and organized. Do proper keyword research and add the keyword chosen for optimizing the snippet within the answer and the heading.

Even though there is no guarantee that Google would use the images that you add, make sure you always use high-quality images in your post. Look out for points that be added to your content in Google’s auto-suggest and People Also Ask section.

The ultimate aim is to increase traffic and thereby get more leads and featured snippets can do just that. Email us to know more or better still, give us a call.