Google has made it simple for users to look for information using featured snippets. Featured snippet appears as one of the search results on the Google search engine. The search engine results page (SERP) is no longer loaded with links of other websites. Featured snippet provides the answer to the question asked in a few sentences right on the SERP.
Since featured snippets deliver the answer on the SERP, it is important to optimize your website for Google’s featured and rich snippet. Also, it gives marketers a chance to boost conversions, beat competitors and drive traffic to their website. So it is a win-win for everyone.
Ways to optimize your website for Google’s featured and rich snippets:
Find the snippets earned by your competitors
To start with, you should determine the featured snippets your competitors are currently ranking for. You can perform searches on Google to find out or even use a tool like SEMrush.
After determining the keywords and topics that are earning featured snippets, you can optimize your website and blog content for the same. You can also check for the variations of the keywords and rank for those.
Uncover snippet opportunities using Google
Put yourself in the shoes of your audience and use Google to find answers to common terms, basic questions, acronyms and problems that your service is helping with. Make a list of relevant questions that are looked into by checking ‘People also ask’ section.
Find content ideas on Answer the Public
Platforms like Answer the Public helps find the types of questions searched for a particular topic. On this website, when you search for a keyword it returns results with the questions relevant to the keyword/topic. Out of those, you can make a list of the questions you want to answer.
The most important part here is to perform keyword research and then searching for it on this website.
Use tools for keyword research
Use tools like Serpstat to check if the keywords picked will bring up featured snippets on the SERP. Choosing the right keywords are of utmost importance – both while looking for more content ideas on other platforms and while incorporating them into your content to optimize for featured snippets.
So it is of utmost importance to perform thorough keyword research at regular time intervals.
Cover multiple related questions in each article
Ahrefs study reveals that, once a page earns a featured snippet it is more likely to become featured in other related queries.
Your focus should be on creating solid articles that answer all the immediate and relevant queries of the main question answered.
This also makes it easy for the reader to find all the information in one location, so generate content that answers multiple queries in one article rather than formulating several individual articles.
Keep a check on word count
According to SEMrush, the most common length of content in featured snippets is between 40-50 words. Keep your content interesting and concise. Break the content into lists, paragraphs, and steps. Use the long-tail keywords naturally in the content keeping the reader in mind. See tools such as word count tool.
Use headers
When you break your content as lists, steps and paragraphs use headings and subheadings to organize the content. Ensure to organize sub-headings by size while posting the content on your website because Google places tags in chronological order. The more you work in Google algorithm’s favor, the more likely your content is to get featured. Because when you adapt to the changes it rolls out and abide by it, your website will rank higher.
Constantly update the ‘How-to’ section of your website
This section is dedicated to answering people’s questions. When you constantly add rich content in this section, you regularly contribute to generating featured snippets for your website. If the ‘How-to’ section is not very apt for your services, FAQ or Q&A is the alternative. This section solves pain points/answers questions of your potential customers in one place.
Add high-quality visual content
Photos, videos, and infographics help to rank for featured snippets. Creating high-quality videos is a great factor for customer engagement. 79% of consumers prefer watching videos to reading about a product.
Conclusion
Use the above ways to optimize your website for Google’s featured and rich snippets. By earning featured snippets, you can rank for position zero – the highest spot on the results page without paid advertising. Boost conversions, increase traffic and sales using featured snippets.
Originally posted 2019-03-25 18:19:02. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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