How to Make it in Google Featured Snippets

For the past few years, you’ve probably seen those boxes containing information on the top of the search results. These are called featured snippets and are a special preview of information provided in organic search results on Google. Because they appear on top of the search engine result pages, featured snippets offer an excellent opportunity for better traffic and are essential to your content marketing platform.

Ranking for a featured snippet is sometimes more helpful for driving traffic to your site, but you have to know how to get there. Here we discuss different ways to snag one for your site. 

How to Secure a Google Featured Snippets in 2019

1. Learn the Schema Markup

There are codes you place on your website. One of them is the schema markup, and this helps search engines provide more useful information as results. In other words, it not only tells what your data says but also what it means.

This is also called Schema.org, which is a semantic vocabulary of microdata (tags) that you incorporate to the HTML. By doing so, you can improve how search engines read and represent the page of your site in SERPs.

2. Never Neglect Keyword Research

For content marketing, the most indispensable tool to have is keyword research. This aspect is vital if you want to rank for featured snippets. Make sure to look for questions that you can answer for your target audience and customers when researching for keywords. You can search for keyword research tools that can help you find the right questions to ask.

3. Check the“People Also Ask” Box

The “People also ask” box is a section on the search results found beneath the featured snippet where you can find other questions asked by users. Clicking on one question will result in more inquiries, providing you more opportunities to expand on the topic you’ve conceptualized. So after doing your keyword research, also check the queries in the “People also ask” box to get more ideas.

4. Aim to Rank on the First Page of Google

Everyone strives to get to page one of the search results. But being here also gives you more chances to get a featured snippet. Almost all snippets can be seen on the first page of Google SERPs, which indicates that improving your rankings is still an essential practice.

So when enhancing your rankings, review how you handle the on-page SEO. Understanding excellent user experience is the way to go, which means considering search intent, building relevant backlinks, updating old information, performing internal linking, and being aware of any algorithm updates.

5. Consider Your Writing Style

When creating your content, always consider the style and tone of your writing. The best practice in optimizing your content is by using the Inverted Pyramid. This concept is used in journalism where the most important part is placed at the beginning, then succeeded by other supporting details. Even though it is a concept from a different field, understand that the Inverted Pyramid is a useful technique to boost the quality of your content to make it have a higher chance of landing featured snippets.

6. Adhere to the Word Count

Because featured snippets provide a preview of your content, it is vital to be aware of the word count. These snippets are typically made up of 40 to 58 words for quick consumption. Do not attempt to go beyond this and keep your answers concise and direct to the point. 

7. Observe Formatting

Featured snippets have different formats. The three main types are the following:

• Paragraph: a direct answer explained in a paragraph which often answers questions of who, what, when, why, and how (Image above)

• List: a numbered or bulleted list that usually provides information for step-by-step instructions and recipes

• Table: results that show data in a table or chart which also contains relevant values for comparison

Since featured snippets appear in various forms, it is important to structure your content based on how you want it to show up. If you want a table, place your answers in a table. If you’re aiming to have a paragraph showing up on the SERP, provide your answer in the appropriate word count in a paragraph. 

8. Be Mindful of the Structure of Your Blog

Know that content should always be structured properly. Google wants organized blog posts before it can provide any excerpts of the page. 

So when creating your content, first consider how you should go about the whole post. These include writing descriptive headers and using header tags (h1, h2, h3, etc.), and using short sentences that offer straight-to-the-point answers also give you favor. Use lists, bullet points, graphs, and tables. The content should also be rich with images and other media that are relevant to the snippet you’re answering. All of these benefit the overall user experience of your site and readability for your users.

9. Place a Q&A Page

Never forget to put a Q&A page on your site. Having this feature on websites is especially vital for site owners who offer products and services since it shows the level of competence and efficiency of your customer service. Having a Q&A page on your site also gives you a chance to show up in a snippet on a search result.

For your Q&A page, make sure that you provide facts. These details should be information that your audience wants to learn about. Provide short but complete answers that are straight to the point. But understand that you can also use the other techniques if you think this doesn’t apply to your platform.

Taking Advantage of Featured Snippets

It was in 2014 when featured snippets were introduced. Since then, most digital marketers have yet to capitalize and utilize them fully. Google always creates changes in its algorithm with the intent to provide a superb user experience, providing people with the best search results that are easy to see and read by placing them on top of the page. Having your content show up in such a position is the best reason to take advantage of featured snippets.

Must Read Also SEO Is Alive And It Will Be – Just Update Your SEO Tricks