A key SERP opportunity stands out as the most valuable and relevant available in the drive to appear on Google’s front page: highlighted snippets. Featured snippets, which appear at the top of many Google informative searches, can send a lot of traffic to your site and can be a significant marketing tool.

How can you make content that will be featured in featured snippets?

While many marketers believe featured snippets are only for SEO gurus or an SEO agency with multimillion-dollar marketing budgets, this is far from the case.

In truth, ranking for featured snippets using purely organic material is simple. All you need to know is how.

How does a Featured Snippet work?

The informational content that appears behind the adverts and sponsored posts in Google’s SERPs is known as featured snippets (if available).

Since its beginning in 2014, featured snippets have grown in popularity. According to Moz, highlighted snippets appear on 23% of all search result pages. A featured snippet is usually the first thing consumers see on the SERP. According to a recent study, the number of results in Google’s Position zero, or highlighted snippets, has been continuously increasing year after year. Advertisers can soar above their competitors on page one, increase web visitors, and enhance conversions by using Google highlighted snippets.

This search for “how is grass green? features a snippet from Live Science:

If sponsored advertising were available for this search phrase, they would appear above the snippet, which is the top organic result. Because it is focused on meeting user intent, Google displays what it considers high-quality material in this section.

Google’s search results now include a lot more than just links. When most users search for a term or phrase, the first thing they encounter is featured snippets. They’re also growing in popularity year after year. Take a peek at how many snippets were featured in posts in 2016 versus 2014:

Isn’t there a significant difference? But what is it about them that makes them so popular? 

It’s because they provide simple, rapid, and easy-to-read answers to the questions consumers are looking for. To find what you’re looking for, you don’t have to click through anything. However, they aren’t only useful for the typical person. Featured snippets allow businesses to outperform their competitors, increase conversions, and direct visitors to their website.

Ranking for a featured snippet is far more beneficial and successful than ranking for #1 in terms of sending traffic to your site.

Take a look at how much room a featured snippet consumes!

They dominate the SERPs, giving you a lot of exposure and keeping your site above the fold. They will also increase your company’s credibility faster than any other approach. You also don’t have to spend any more advertising fees to rank for them. You also don’t have to be the best in your field. If you play your cards well, any organisation, regardless of size or money, can earn a slot at position zero.

However, there isn’t a set procedure for obtaining a featured snippet. And even if you achieve position zero, it may not persist indefinitely if Google determines that another page is better suited to rank for it.

Producing quality material and formatting it in a way that Google would appreciate is the simplest method to win a featured snippet spot. To ensure that Google recognises your link, you must make your material “snippable.” You’re in luck if you already have some high-ranking links.

According to Ahrefs, 99.58%of featured snippet pages already appear in Google’s top ten SERPs for a given search query.

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Adding questions to your headlines and subheadlines isn’t the only way to optimise for featured snippets. It’s a lot more complicated than that. You Can Target 4 Different Types of Featured Snippets

When it comes to optimising for featured snippets, it’s important to know what types of snippets are available.

When it comes to the types of featured snippets, there are three major categories: 

• Paragraph 
• Listicle 
• Tabular 

Featured Snippets: Paragraph 

The paragraph type accounts for 70% of featured snippets, with an average of 42 words and 250 characters. When it comes to paragraph featured snippets, Google displays the information in text than a list. There could also be an image to go along with the words.

The majority of the highlighted snippet titles begin with “What” or “Why,” indicating that they are primarily instructional.

Pro Tip: The majority of “What” question keywords have the largest search traffic, but to win them, you must pick question keywords with a low Keyword Difficulty (KD) score.

Featured snippet: Listicle 

Listicle-style snippets account for 19% of all highlighted snippets, with an average of 6 items and 44 words. The listicle featured snippet displays an answer in a listing format. 

Ordered and unordered lists are the two types of listicle highlighted snippets.

• Ordered list 

• Unordered list

Listicle feature snippets are derived from the keyword terms “How” and “Why.” They’re your go-to categories if you’re seeking featured snippets quickly. 

Featured snippets: Tabular 

In position 0 of the SERP, the table featured snippets display content in the form of a table. Tables make up about 6.3 per cent of featured snippets. They feature five rows and two columns on average, each with 40 to 45 words.

As per Getstat, the most popular type is a paragraph featured snippet. 

When trying to rank for Google’s featured snippets, the first step is to establish which featured snippets your competitors are ranking for.

What is the purpose of featured snippets?

Featured snippets give material on websites the most exposure possible. They are more valuable than ordinary search results because people perceive them as Google recommendations.

The best part about the featured snippet is you don’t have to be at the top of the SERP to appear there. If your material is related to what the end-user is looking for, you can rank in Position 3 or 5 and still get a featured snippet. Many businesses question if highlighted snippets promote traffic as customers can acquire required information without clicking the website.  

The easiest strategy to increase traffic through the featured snippet is to include as much information as possible in your post. When Google displays your content snippet as a list or table, it will provide a “More items” or “More rows” link at the bottom. Users are more likely to click on the link if they want more information.

Is there a chance I’ll be featured?

According to a survey done by Ahrefs, 99.58 % of highlighted snippets appear in Google’s top ten search results. If you are currently ranking well for related search queries, you have a good chance of being featured. However, according to another study, 70% of snippets come from sites that aren’t in the top organic search results. As a result, the page must be in the top ten, but it is not necessary to be number one to be featured.

Another method to increase your chances of ranking in featured snippets is to look for topics that people inquire about online.  The likelihood of your content being included in Position 0 grows as you address those queries in your content. If you already have content that answers the majority of inquiries and ranks at the top of the SERP, aim to improve it, even more, to get in Position 0.

Identifying Opportunities for Featured Snippets

Look for similar keywords that are ranking for highlighted snippets while developing new content for your website. Take a page from the content that is already ranking and try to write something more informative to take over the featured snippet position for the keyword.

The more questions you answer in your material, the more likely it is to be listed in Position 0. If you have top-ranking content covering popular questions, you can improvise it to get it at position 0. 

Content Optimisation Tips Featured Snippets

The most common concern among website owners is how to optimise fresh and existing material to appear in featured snippets. If you know how to do it correctly, getting your content to rank in Position 0 is not impossible. You can use these top strategies to improve your content’s chances of ranking in position 0 of the SERP.

• To get to the top of the search results, optimise your content.
• Create content that provides answers to questions.
• Respond to Related Questions
• Throughout the content, stay focused on answering questions 
•  write short, concise responses.
• Including a FAQ section in your content format is a good idea.   
•   Featured Snippets Content Structure
• Create a table of contents that includes anchor links.

Content optimisation top top-rank 

Before attempting to rank for the highlighted snippet on Google, you must first strive for the top spot on the SERP. The featured snippet is most likely to appear in the SERP’s top five results.

Create content that provides answers to questions

When searching the internet, most individuals use search keywords that begin with words like what, when, how, whom, why, or where. As a result, make sure your content is optimised for question-based keywords. Also, while you’re writing material, make sure it comfortably addresses these queries. You’ll have a better chance of ranking in the featured snippets this way.

For example, instead of writing, ‘5 simple ways for smooth skin,’ try writing, ‘how to have a smooth skin?’.

Answer queries 

Whatever topic you choose, make sure to include all relevant search terms on the same page. You can conduct research to identify related questions to your main topic and then optimise the content to address them. Finding related questions on any given topic can be aided by tools like Ahrefs’ question section. You may also use Google’s “related search” suggestions to get a sense of the different connected topics you should cover.

Throughout the content, stay focused on answering questions.

Throughout the post, you should be focused on addressing questions while providing information. Every section of the content, including H1, H2, H3, and so on, should provide answers to inquiries about the target keyword. According to a report released on Moz by Jumpshot, question-based search terms accounted for over 8% of all search terms in 2017.

Analysing the “People also asked” area of the SERP is the greatest technique to identify the queries asked by the target audience. People commonly ask these questions on Google, and addressing them more effectively might help you identify featured snippet possibilities.

Provide concise responses

The more concise your response, the easier it is for Google to recognise the information and determine whether or not it answers the internet query. Whenever feasible, attempt to answer questions in 40-50 words using your goal keywords.

Adding FAQ section in the content 

Your chances of being featured in the featured snippet can be improved by including a FAQ section. Proper schema markup for FAQ sites can offer a useful search result to the right audience, increasing CTR and increasing the chance of ranking in Position 0.

For Featured Snippets, format the content structure

Attempt to format your website material to meet the five sorts of featured snippets listed in the previous section. List-structured content has the best chance of ranking as a featured snippet. Create a list structure for your material by using header tags like H2 and H3. Also, make sure to include a heading for each step that is explained.

Optimise image for a featured snippet 

You should aim to optimise the image for featured snippets in addition to the text used in featured snippets. The image that appears alongside some excerpts, unlike the text, may come from a different source. Look for the current featured image for a term and try to replace it with something more appealing on your site. Add an alt text to the top of your blog post/website content that is more relevant to the keyword and the specified query. Also, make sure you only use original photographs.

Improvising the existing content for the snippet 

Look for a featured sample and try to figure out what gaps in your material are keeping it from ranking in the top spot. Try to stick to the content structure and tone, and add any additional information that is missing from the featured snippet’s existing material. Research the search-intent keywords thoroughly and strive to respond to them more comprehensively than your competitors.

Before we move to 2022, remember this for featured snippets 

To get your content on Google, you’ll need to do a lot of study and planning. You can’t predict when you’ll get the results (especially if you don’t have many of the top 10 rankings right now). In any case, consider the following: Being listed in Google featured snippets is a great motivator to improve your content.

If you follow the steps outlined in this article, you will see a significant approach for how to increase traffic to your website, as well as views on your content and brand awareness.

Not only will you be able to engage an audience, but you’ll also be able to produce leads and revenue. However, reaching this aim will be difficult because many organisations aspire to be in this position.