How to Get the Most Out of Google Featured Snippets {Updated}
– What is a Google featured snippet?
– How do Google featured snippets work?
– What are the benefits of Google featured snippets?
– What is an easy way to get a web page featured on Google answer box?
These types of questions are ones faced by many business owners and bloggers everyday.
Now, it’s time for you to get the answers to all of these important questions.
It’s no surprise that the vast majority of site owners choose to improve on-site SEO, provide quality content on web pages and focus on building links for a website.
They do this in order to get higher rankings for the necessary keywords.
Keep in mind that your site’s web pages can easily get into Google featured snippet (also known as Google answer box).
Here is how to get the most out of Google Featured Snippets and rank 0
Interesting Facts about Google Featured Snippets
Now, let’s take a quick look at Google featured snippets. Below, I’ll provide you with the important statistics about Google featured snippets.
This will help you get a better understanding of Google featured snippets.
- According to the latest statistics, Google featured snippets are shown in more than 13% of all Google queries. It’s worth noting that this number is likely to increase significantly in the nearest future.
- The statistics also shows that over 97% of Google featured snippets provide the correct answer to Google searcher’s question.
- Actually, there are 4 different types of Google featured snippets. These include: a small piece of text, a table, a YouTube video as well as numbered (or bulleted) lists.
- We all know that voice search continues to gain in popularity these days. It’s important for you to know that over 85% of Google featured snippets are shown in voice answers.
- Another important thing that you need to be aware of is that up to 30% of web pages shown in Google featured snippets are also displayed the on the 1st page of Google search results.
- A web page that ranks #1 and is shown in Google featured snippets usually gets up to 30% of Google search traffic.
- Over 85% of web pages that appear in featured snippets are optimized for long-tail keyword phrases.
- Bear in mind that Google featured snippets may provide several answers to the question. This gives you the perfect opportunity to get the best possible answer to the question.
- Sometimes, 2 or even more featured snippets are shown in Google search results. That means that you shouldn’t get surprised if you see several Google featured snippets in the search engine. If these kinds of things happen, you’ll be able to analyze Google featured snippets carefully and pick the answer that you like most.
Tips for Optimizing Google Featured Snippets
The big question is – what does need to be done to get your site’s web page featured in the Google’s answer box?
Here are a few tips for optimizing your articles for Google featured snippets for target keywords.
- It’s crucial for you to optimize a web page for the right keywords. Obviously, it makes a lot of sense for you to focus on keyword phrases that contain questions. Over 90% of web pages which are optimized for long tail keyword phrases (that contain words “how”, “what”, “why”, “where” and others) get featured in Google answer box.
- Small texts that contain between 40 and 50 words are displayed in Google answer box more frequently.
- Content that contains long lists (lists with more than 8 items) has a better chance to get featured in Google answer box.
- It’s a great idea to add images to the content. According to the statistics, web pages that are shown in Google featured snippets contain on average 12 images.
- If a web page gets featured in Google answer box, you’ll find it easy to improve its rankings in Google search results for target keywords.
- It would be great for you to turn your website domain from HTTP to HTTPs. The reality is the vast majority of web pages that appear in Google featured snippets have HTTPs.
- Mobile friendly web pages tend to get featured in Google answer box more frequently. That’s why it’s so important for you to improve mobile usability of your website.
- Outgoing link citations work pretty well for Google featured snippets. If you take a closer look at the statistics, you’ll see that web pages that have 30 to 40 outgoing link citations appear in Google featured snippets more frequently.
- You should aim to make your content easy-to-understand. Work on readability of your content and do everything possible to avoid errors in your texts.
- Site authority is another important aspect that you need to work on. If you attract more trusted backlinks to your web page, then you’ll be able to increase the chances for your content to be displayed in Google featured snippets.
- Is your website built on the WordPress platform? If so, I would recommend you to take advantage of the Schema Pro plugin. Bear in mind that the plugin of this type has been designed to make it easy for you to optimize your site’s pages for Google featured snippets.
- A blog will be a good addition to your website. Once you add a blog to a website, you need to update it with fresh content regularly. And of course, it would be nice for you to create “how-to” as well as “question-answer” articles for a site’s blog.
- It would be great for your blog post to contain headings as well as sub-headings. Use H1, H2, H3, H4, H5 as well as H6 tags to divide articles into sections. By doing this, you’ll be able to make your article’s structure SEO friendly.
- Make sure that semantic HTML is implemented into your site in the right way. In this case, Googlebot will certainly find it easy to understand your web page’s structure.
- You should know that Google featured snippets tend to reward web pages which are incredibly popular on social media sites. That’s why it makes a lot of sense for you to integrate your website with popular social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Google +, YouTube, Instagram and others. Your job is to make it easy for website’s users to share your content on social media sites.
Steps to Take to Get Your Content Featured in Google Answer Box
It’s worth noting that getting content featured in Google answer box for target keywords is not always easy.
Below, I’ll explain to you what needs to be done to increase a chance for your site’s content to be included in Google featured snippets.
Step 1: Perform SEO analysis of your website
It all begins with checking site’s SEO. First of all, you need to figure out for which keywords your site’s pages rank well.
Doing the SEO analysis of a website will make it easy for you to measure site’s traffic, check site’s ranking positions for target keywords and perform competitor research.
Without a doubt, the help of SEO tool for position tracking such as SEMrush is immeasurable in these types of situations.
Your job is to create the list of keywords for which your site’s web pages don’t appear in Google featured snippets.
After that, you have to do optimization of your site’s web pages.
By doing so, you’ll be able to increase the chance of getting your content featured in the Google answer box.
Step 2: Analyze Google featured snippets of your competitors
Obviously, you should make use of the SEO tools to analyze Google featured snippets of your competitor’s sites.
Doing this type of work makes it possible for you to find keywords for which your competitor’s site appears in Google featured snippets.
As a result, you’ll be able to add new keyword phrases to your list of keywords.
Step 3: Start with low competition keywords
Keep in mind that your list of keywords has to include primary keywords as well as secondary keywords.
Clearly, it can be difficult for you to get your website’s content featured in Google answer box for high competition keywords.
However, things are likely to go easy if you choose to optimize your site’s web pages for low competition keywords.
Obviously, it makes a lot of sense for you to find the keywords which are related to your primary keywords (also known as match type keywords, secondary keywords and long tail key phrases).
And of course, you need to focus on long tail key phrases.
Make an attempt to get your content featured in the Google answer box for low competition keywords first.
Monitoring Featured Snippets
Let’s assume that you’ve identified the keywords for your SEO strategy and optimized your website content for Google featured snippets.
In fact, it’s half the battle.
After that, you’ll have to monitor your site’s rankings in the Google answer box for target keywords on a regular basis.
It’s pretty easy to monitor Google featured snippets with the SEMrush Position Tracking tool.
First of all, you need to pick keywords for which you would like to monitor your site’s rankings in Google featured snippets.
Then, you’ll have to add the target keywords to the tracker.
As a result, the online tool will provide you with the detailed report on the keywords that you’ve decided to target.
So, you’ll be able to see for which keywords your site appears and doesn’t appear in Google featured snippets.
Plus, the SEMrush Position Tracking tool will provide you with the keyword phrases that it would be nice for you to target.
The tool also shows the amount of search traffic that you are expected to get if your website ranks in Google featured snippets.
Now, your job is to analyze the data of each of targeted keywords carefully and make the necessary changes to your site’s content optimization strategy.
It’s also important to note that the SEMrush gives online marketers an opportunity to test its Position Tracking tool.
In other words, the company provides its prospects with the 14 days trial period.
Final Thoughts
There is no doubt that optimizing site’s web pages for Google featured snippets is a great way to build website traffic.
That means that you’ll be able to attract high amounts of search traffic to your site if your web pages appear in the Google answer box for target keywords.
And of course, you should aim to optimize your site’s content for Google featured snippets for as many keywords as possible.
If site’s content optimization is done right, Google featured snippets will contribute greatly to your site’s SEO and will definitely drive additional search traffic to your website.
Another important thing that you need to know is that the traffic that’s generated by the Google answer box converts pretty well.
That means that you’ll find it easy to turn your site’s visitors into prospects, sales and profits.
Above all, optimizing content for Google featured snippets will make it possible for you to increase the awareness of your brand dramatically.
All of this means that work with Google featured snippets needs to be a part of your SEO strategy.
As you can see, there are many important things that you need to know in order to optimize your site’s content for Google featured snippets in an efficient way.
On the other hand, this process is very time consuming.
So, it would be better for you to trust this important task to real online marketing professionals particularly if you don’t have knowledge, skills and experience in doing this type of SEO work.
Do you need help with optimizing your website content for Google featured snippets?
If so, contact us for a free quote to see what we can do to help optimize your site better for featured snippets.
We will develop a strategy that will allow you to use Google featured snippets for getting more search traffic.
Want more great SEO related information? Check out these past posts that will help you with your SEO game:
What You Don’t Know About SEO is Killing Your Business
Ever-growing Importance Of Featured Snippets In SEO
Why Is Maximizing Your Local SEO Important?
How To Find SEO Errors That Negatively Affect A Site’s Ranking