Consider when you last utilised a search engine to find a fast answer to one of life’s many questions. Do you really have to sift examine a lot of information to discover the answer?
You could have found what it was you were searching for right at the top of the search engine results tab even without simply clicking. You saw a Snippet if there was a box at the top of the search heap with the response right there in it.
Snippets were established in order to make Google’s users’ lives easier. Any entrepreneur, company owner, or advertiser may use them as a marketing tool.
If you can utilise this approach to get into that desired snippet box, understanding how to turn up in a highlighted snippet can help you boost traffic to the website. This can enable you to keep more in touch with your clients by forcing you to consider what they want carefully.
What are Google Featured Snippets, and how do you use them?
Featured snippets are text excerpts from web sites that usually appear on Google’s search results pages. Snippets, which comprise lists, key points, and descriptions, are provided to offer rapid responses to search inquiries.
Featured snippets are frequently pulled from pages besides the highest ranked page, despite the fact that they are normally chosen from high-ranking pages. As a result, if you can get a featured snippet, your information will appear above the information of higher-ranking pages. Furthermore, snippets include more substance than standard listings, making them more appealing.
What Are Featured Snippets Used For?
Recognizing what Google wants to achieve with snippets is the very first move in optimising a site for them. Featured snippets are meant to respond to search queries without requiring the visitor to visit the page that has the content. It may appear that obtaining a snippet is unproductive. You do, and besides, want visitors to come to your website. There will be a huge rise in click-throughs if your page is not in the top three SERPs.
What Kind of Content Does Featured Snippets Have?
Realising what kind of information Google chooses for snippets will be the next step. Featured snippets on Google usually include words or a video. When it comes to videos, this is almost always YouTube videos. A paragraph, numerical checklists, bullet-point lists, or charts are all examples of text snippets with an average length of 160 to 320 characters.
As a result, the perfect length for highlighted text samples is somewhere between 160 and 320 characters, or roughly 50 words. The text can indeed be formatted as a paragraph, numbered list, bulleted list, or chart. When you can reply to a question concisely within those limitations, you’ll have a better chance of getting a featured snippet.
How Do You Find Ownable Snippets?
You may sit there and wait for the bits to arrive. Naturally, a website with a good Google rating and sites that address inquiries will obtain snippets.
You may, however, be much more engaged in your attempts to own snippets, even though there are no certainties, as there are with SERP placements. Here are a few tips for determining which search results to target in order to receive Google highlighted snippets.
- Remember Why Google Featured Snippets Exist –
As previously stated, Google snippets are used to respond to search inquiries. So, if you want to earn a snippet, think about the queries that individuals are likely to ask Google.
Begin to consider the terms used in questioning, such as what, why, who, when, where, how, does, is, can, and are. Then think about how those questions may be applied to your material.
For example, if you type what, why, who, when, where, how, does, can, and are into Google, it will most definitely stick a paragraph or list of highlighted snippets.
- Snippets from Competitors –
Google highlighted snippets do not last indefinitely. As a result, you may grab snippets from your opponents if you can deliver a better solution. SEMrush can help you locate competitor-owned snippets while also revealing which snippets you control.
- Conduct a Google search –
You may also use Google to look for prospective snippet targets. Searching for pertinent questions you believe others would ask, for example, will display the presently held snippet for that query.
The SERP’s People Also Ask area may be a great place to find comparable questions that you might be able to answer.
- Keyword Analysis –
Common queries can also be discovered through classic keyword research. Keyword research may be done using Keyword Research Tool or other applications such as SEMRUSH, Ahrefs, and Moz.
If your site currently scores for a keyword, changing the content to answer frequently asked questions in the right way might help you get Google snippets. Improving webpages for keywords would, of course, increase your odds of getting ranked for those webpages and receiving snippets.
- Use “Answer the Public” as a tool –
Answering the Public is another useful site for identifying frequently asked questions. If you enter in a keyword, this website will show you a list of all the questions that have been asked about that term.
How Do You Make Snippet-Friendly Content?
You must optimise your content for snippets once you’ve found appropriate target questions. However, if you’re already optimising content for search engines, this isn’t a difficult task because it follows a similar pattern:
- Respond to Frequently Asked Questions –
Determine which typical questions are pertinent, and then ensure that your material includes solutions to those queries. To incorporate frequent queries surrounding your term, utilise SEMRUSH or the public tool known as The People Also Ask or Answer.
- Make Snippet-Friendly Content –
Make sure your responses will be in a snippet-friendly manner. Respond to the questions in 50 words or fewer. Include a heading that identifies the question that will be addressed.
For your replies, use brief paragraphs, tables, or bullet or numbered lists. If your information doesn’t lend itself to these forms, add FAQs or a How-To section to your page or blog.
Here are some pointers you may use on your page:
- Make a FAQ section at the bottom of every page.
- Write your question in an H2 header, tag it, then respond in a basic paragraph or bullet point format.
- Try to keep your response to your query around 50 words so that the Google crawler can find it.
- Include high-resolution graphics –
Including high-quality images can also help you earn a featured snippet, especially if your rivals don’t have any.
Snippets of YouTube videos, for example, are common. Along with the text, relevant photographs that add to the explanation or solution are frequently included.
- Respond to a variety of questions –
According to Ahrefs, after a page has received one highlighted snippet, it is more likely to receive further snippets.
If you have a snippet on your page, providing additional responses will help you get more highlighted snippets.
Don’t limit yourself to a couple of questions; instead, answer numerous questions about your content and allow Google’s algorithm to choose the query that best fits the inquiry.
- Make Keywords a Priority –
Google must be able to determine whether a page is relevant to the query. As a result, keyword optimization is just as important in this case as it is in general Google ranking.
Also keep in mind that there are other ways to ask a question. As a result, using synonyms for your keyword in your content will increase your chances of being included in a snippet.
Conclusion
Receiving a Google featured snippet may propel your website to the top of Google’s search result pages, resulting in increased visibility and traffic. It may also provide an opportunity to leapfrog higher-ranked opponents. There are no certainties in SEO services, as there are in anything else. Nonetheless, following the aforementioned guidelines will increase your chances of securing a Google job.
Do you want your content to be featured on Google snippets? Then, get in touch with The Social Lions and our experts will help you attain that.
