One of Google Search’s more recent additions is the featured snippet, which provides bite-sized information that quickly answers a given search query. These appear in a small window at the top of the search engine results page (SERP). If your content lands a featured snippet position, it’s all but guaranteed to be the first thing a searcher sees when their results load.
The featured snippet is often called “position zero” because it precedes the first blue link on a SERP. It’s also been dubbed the “answer box” because it intends to resolve the searcher’s query as quickly as possible, without the searcher even having to click on their search results. The most common snippet type, the paragraph snippet, consists of one paragraph of text and often an accompanying photo from the source website.
Not only do featured snippets provide a helpful boost to your organic search key performance indicators (KPIs), but they also help build brand recognition due to the sheer volume of searchers who are exposed to snippets. In my opinion, featured snippets are the unsung heroes of a successful search engine optimization (SEO) strategy.
As more and more search pages incorporate snippets, it’s important that you secure that coveted real estate for your content. Marketers who optimize their content to include featured snippets may see a higher click-through rate (CTR) from organic traffic as well as an increase in overall traffic.
How To Optimize For Featured Snippets
As the CEO of IronMonk Solutions, a full-service digital marketing agency, I’ve helped many clients land featured snippets since they were first introduced by Google in 2014. Below, I’ve outlined the necessary steps we follow to land position zero.
1. Shoot For The First Results Page
If you want a featured snippet, your first priority should be to rank in the top 10 search results on Google. According to research by Ahrefs, almost all featured snippets are from pages that ranked on the first SERP to begin with. Therefore, your first step is to employ basic SEO best practices to build domain authority and PageRank “link juice” so your page is more likely to rank in a top position.
If you already have a page that ranks in the top 10 for a search term, then you’re well positioned to modify the existing content to produce a featured snippet.
2. Find And Filter Commonly Asked Questions In Your Niche
Use Google’s autocomplete or suggestions box to find questions that are frequently asked within your niche (or, reach out directly to customers or marketers to ask about common pain points). Google’s autocomplete box and the “people also ask” section at the bottom of the SERP should provide you with enough material to narrow down a list of 10-20 potential questions.
For a closer look at the utility of a given search term, use a keyword research tool like SEMrush or Ahrefs to rank each search term for volume and clicks. Those that rank the highest out of these two metrics should be given priority because they’re the most frequently asked questions that generate the most frequently clicked-on results. If no data is available for a potential search term, you should eliminate it from your list because a lack of available data generally indicates an infrequently searched phrase.
3. Write Content That Directly Answers The Question
Now that you’ve narrowed down what questions you want to answer, it’s your job to create content that answers the question more succinctly and in more straightforward terms than your competition.
We’ve seen the most success by using the first 50-75 words of an article to directly answer the question posed in the headline of the article in simple language. Then, use the remaining sections of the article to expand on your point. That initial 75 words of your article is what Google will use for your snippet, so make sure you spend time perfecting that all-important section.
4. Offer Additional Value
Don’t get lazy after writing your target featured snippet section. Google aims to promote content that provides maximum value to web users. That’s why you should expand on the article to answer related questions that searchers might have within your niche. The more questions you answer, the more trust you will build with search engines, and the more likely you are to rank and get featured.
Is Mastering The Snippet The Key To SEO Performance In 2020?
Featured snippets are most commonly deployed in voice-activated search queries. Today, 45% of people use voice search daily. Therefore, an increasing share of Google search users won’t be scrolling down a SERP to find your page buried at the seventh or eighth position. Instead, snippets will likely drive the most results.
By following the four-step procedure outlined above, you stand the best chance of having your content featured in Google’s coveted “position zero” and having your content seen before anyone else’s.