The featured snippet is a much sought-after ranking in the search engine results pages because it typically appears the highest and can increase your website’s visibility.
Featured snippets are a special answer box that appears at the top of search results. It contains a basic answer to the user’s search queries and a link to the website where they can find more information.
This post will discuss featured snippets, the different types, and how you can optimize your content to appear in them.
What is a Featured Snippet?
A featured snippet is a Google algorithm to surface content from webpages on the organic search results page. This algorithm looks for certain types of content, such as headings, lists, and tables, then displays them above the regular search results.
The featured snippet gives users quick and easy access to crucial information from a web page. Featured Snippets are a subset of rich snippets, and are great way to see your website by more people, leading to increased click-through rates and organic traffic.
Importance of Featured Snippets for SEO
There are many important reasons to focus on Featured Snippets for your SEO strategy.
The first reason is that they provide an excellent opportunity to get in front of your audience and capture their attention. When you have a featured snippet, your content appears at the top of the search engine results page (SERP) and attracts more web traffic.
Additionally, featured snippets tend to help improve your click-through rate (CTR), as they provide searchers with an easy and quick way to find the information to users’ search queries.
Finally, if you do manage to appear your featured snippet, it means that Google has trust in your website that you can provide relevant information. This means that your website has a good chance of potentially ranking for other terms by leveraging this trust that you have built.
Types of featured snippets
There are various types of featured snippets, but the most common are definitions, tables, numbered/ordered list, and unordered list.
1. Definition Featured Snippet
Definition featured snippets are a brief, one-sentence definition that answers the query of the definition straight away.
Definition featured snippets increase your CTR, giving users a quick and easy way to learn more about your page.
It is best to use definition featured snippets when your page is a good match for the user’s search queries.
If your page is not a good match, you may consider using another type of featured snippet.
The alternative to this is to create a whole new page specifically targeted to rank and steal this featured snippet position.
Some examples of phrases that trigger a definition featured snippet include:
- “define”
- “what is”
- “meaning of”
2. Table Featured Snippet
The table featured snippets are ideal for when you want to compare a few different pieces of information quickly.
It is best to use this type of featured snippets when you have data that you can readily display in a table format. It includes things like prices, specs, or nutritional information.
Some examples of phrases that trigger a table featured snippet include:
- “compare”
- “contrast”
- “similarities and differences.”
3. Numbered/Ordered List Featured Snippet
Numbered/Ordered List featured snippets are what they sound like. Google will display featured snippets as a numbered list, often with some additional information about each item on the list.
Using number/ordered list featured snippets is best when your content is a list of items, steps, or instructions. For example, recipes often show a list of ingredients
If your content is not already in list format, you may need to reformat it to take advantage of this type of featured snippet.
Some examples of phrases that trigger a numbered/ordered featured snippet include:
- “first”, “second” …
- “1st”, “2nd” …
- “one”, “two” …
4. Unordered List Featured Snippet
An unordered list is a list in which the order of the items does not matter.
For example, a recipe might use an unordered list to list the ingredients needed to make the dish. Using this type of featured snippet is best when you want to list ideas, steps, or ingredients.
However, if a list of completed items should be in a specific order, then an ordered list would be more appropriate.
Some examples of phrases that trigger a unordered featured snippet include:
- “what is”
- “who is”
- “when is”
How to optimize your content featured snippet?
Suppose you are wondering how you can optimize your content to feature in a Google snippet. Well, you can do a few things to increase your chances.
Step 1: Look for Featured Snippet Opportunities
When optimizing for featured snippets, it’s essential to look at SERPs.
By looking at SERPS, you can get an idea of a user’s search query and how your content can best answer their needs.
Additionally, looking at SERPS can help you identify opportunities to improve your content and optimize your content further.
There are things to keep in mind when looking at SERPS:
-Featured snippets usually appear at the top of the SERP, above organic search results. If you aim to rank in a featured snippet, you’ll need to focus on your SEO.
-The content in a featured snippet is pulled from within the page that has relevant content to the users query. If you want to optimize for featured snippets, you must ensure your web page content is high quality and relevant to the user’s search query.
-Featured snippets can change over time, so it’s essential to keep an eye on your SERPS and ensure you’re still ranking in the featured snippet.
A. Search the keywords one-by-one
You can look for featured snippet opportunities by searching for your target keywords one-by-one on Google. Look at the results and see if they have a featured snippet. If they do, take a close look at the content to see if there is anything you can do to improve it.
Look for keywords that have a “People Also Ask” section and expand all of the questions. Look at the first 3-4 results on the SERP – if there is no featured snippet, then it is an opportunity!
B. Use tools
Tools can help you quickly identify which pages on your website are eligible to rank for featured snippets. In addition, tools can help you track the progress of your pages over time and see how they are performing against your competitors.
When it comes to featured snippets, there is no one-size-fits-all approach. The best way to optimize your chances of ranking in featured snippets is to see what works best for your audience and website.
Using tools is necessary if you’re serious about ranking in featured snippets. There are different tools available, both free and paid. The more popular ones include Ahrefs, SEMrush, and Google Search Console.
Ahrefs
Ahrefs is an SEO tool that can make it easier to find featured snippets. To find featured snippet opportunities using Ahrefs, enter a keyword into the search bar and click on the ” SERP overview” tab. Look for the “Featured Snippets” section and click on the + icon to expand it. Here you’ll see all of the featured snippets that appear for that particular keyword, along with their respective URL and position on the SERP.
To get the most out of this data, click the “View as HTML” button to see a more detailed breakdown of each featured snippet. It will show you the page title, meta description, and even the code used to generate the featured snippet.
SEMrush
SEMrush is a powerful research tool that lets you see how your site ranks for various keywords and also find out which keywords your competitors are ranking for
To find featured snippet opportunities, enter a keyword into the SEMrush search bar and click on the “Featured Snippets” tab. It shows a list of all the competitors’ snippets displayed for that keyword.
Google search console
Google offers the search console as a free service to help you monitor, maintain, and troubleshoot your site’s presence in google’s search results. You can use it to submit and check sitemaps, test robots.txt files, and view your site’s search analytics, including the number of clicks on your site from google’s search results.
While the Google search console is a valuable tool for all site owners, it can benefit those trying to rank in google’s featured snippets.
To find featured snippet opportunities using the Google search console, enter your site into the google search bar and then scroll down to the “Search Results” section. You’ll see a list of all the top ranking pages on your site found by google and are eligible to be featured in a featured snippet.
You can click on any of these pages to get more information about why google thinks it’s a good candidate for a featured snippet. This information can help you optimize your page to better fit google’s criteria for featured snippets.
Step 2: Optimising for Types of Featured Snippets
A. Definitions
You optimize your website for definition type of featured snippets by a few things.
First, define the terms you want to rank for on your page. You can do this by including the term in the title of your page and the body content.
In addition, you’ll want to use schema markup to help Google understand the definitions on your page by adding the “definition” property to the relevant terms on your page.
Finally, include examples of the term’s usage in context. It will not only help Google understand your definition, but it will also help searchers who are looking for more information about the term.
You will need to ensure that your page is a good match for the user’s query. You can optimize your title and meta description to include the keywords that users are searching for.
Ensure also that your page content is relevant and informative. If you can do all of these things, you stand a good chance of being featured in a description snippet.
The best way to increase your chances of ranking for this featured snippet is to repeat the query as a header tag/title eg. H2 or H3, and then start the paragraph with “the definition of …” or “A <query> is a…”
Eg.
What is a featured snippet?
A featured snippet is a …..
B. Table
You can optimize the table type of featured snippets with a few things.
First, make sure your tables are well-structured and easy to understand. Google looks for clear and concise tables, so avoid using complex language or jargon.
Second, use header tags (H tags) to label the different sections of your table so that Google can understand your content’s hierarchy and make it easier for users to scan your table.
Lastly, pay attention to the length of your tables. Google displays featured snippets between 50-60 words long, so keep your tables within that range.
C. Number/Ordered List
To optimize your content for a number list type of featured snippet, include a how-to guide with numbered steps. Include keyword phrases like “how to” and “number list” in the title and throughout the article.
Keep your how-to guide focused and concise for best results—aim for no more than eight steps.
Finally, remember to include a call-to-action (CTA) at the end of your how-to guide, encouraging readers to try out your tips for themselves.
With some optimization, you can earn that coveted spot in Google’s featured snippet answer box—and drive more traffic and engagement to your site.
D. Unordered List
You can optimize your unordered lists for featured snippets in some ways.
First, make sure that your lists are well-formatted and easy to read. It means using short, concise sentences and bullet points instead of long paragraphs.
Second, use keyword-rich titles for your lists. It will help Google understand your list and make it more likely to appear in the featured snippet.
Finally, remember to keep your lists updated, as Google loves fresh content. So if you can regularly update your lists with new information, you’ll be more likely to appear in the featured snippet.
Summary
With some optimization, you can create content that can earn that coveted spot in Google’s featured snippet box—and drive more traffic and engagement to your site.
Here are the tips to optimize your content for Google’s featured snippets:
-Define the terms you want to rank by including the term in the title and the body content.
-Use schema markup to help Google understand the definitions on your page by adding the “definition” property to the relevant terms on your page.
-Include examples of the term’s usage in context to help Google understand your definition and also help searchers looking for more information about the term.
-Optimize your title and meta description to include the keywords that users are searching for.
-Ensure that your page content is relevant and informative.
-For a table type of featured snippet, ensure your tables are well-structured and easy to understand. Use header tags (H tags) to label the different sections of your table.
-For a number list type of featured snippet, include a how-to guide with numbered steps. Include keyword phrases like “how to” and “number list” in the title and throughout the article. Keep your how-to guide focused and concise for best results—aim for no more than eight steps.
-For an unordered list type of featured snippet, ensure that your lists are well-formatted and easy to read. Use keyword-rich titles for your lists. Remember to keep your lists updated with fresh content regularly.
