What are Featured Snippets? How to Get Them

2 years ago 115
rank google featured snippets

You mightiness person noticed the apical hunt results aren’t conscionable links anymore. 

That’s because Google hunt results are present afloat of galore features, including the cognition graph, radical besides inquire questions, and 1 of my favourite features —the featured snippet. 

Why bash I emotion featured snippets truthful much? Because they supply readers with invaluable accusation close successful the hunt results, making them convenient and useful. 

They aren’t conscionable adjuvant for the mean person, though. Featured snippets let marketers to outrank competitors, boost conversions, and thrust tons of targeted traffic. 

In fact, the featured snippet is sometimes called “Position 0” due to the fact that it shows up earlier accepted hunt results. 

Here’s different crushed wherefore I emotion them: featured snippets relationship for 35.1 percent of full clicks, which means you request to optimize for them if you privation traffic. 

Want to snag the coveted featured snippet spot? Here’s what you request to know. 

What is simply a Google Featured Snippet?

Featured snippets are extended hunt results that look astatine the apical of Google and supply users with a speedy reply to their questions. Featured snippets are mostly successful the signifier of a list, chart, oregon video and often look for informational oregon long-form hunt queries. 

Rather than the modular 1 oregon two-line meta description, users spot much text, sometimes including slug points and longer explanations. 

Here’s an example: 

Google results for the hunt  word  "how to unclog a sink"

Just look astatine however overmuch abstraction a featured snippet takes up! 

Featured snippets dominate the SERPs, occupying astir each the abstraction supra the fold successful immoderate cases. 

They besides springiness you tons of exposure, and support your website visible. Plus, they’ll boost your company’s credibility. 

The champion part? You don’t person to wage other advertizing fees to fertile for them.

You don’t person to beryllium fig 1 successful your industry, either.

According to Getstat, 70 percent of snippets travel from sites that aren’t successful the top-ranking integrated position.

Any company, careless of size oregon budget, can gain a spot astatine presumption zero if you bash it right. 

What Are The Different Types of Featured Snippets

Nearly 15 percent of each U.S. desktop hunt results person a featured snippet—and not each of them are a list. 

Featured snippets tin besides reply questions with an extended paragraph, similar this: 

An illustration  of a featured snippet connected  Google.

There are besides array and illustration featured snippets. 

Table snippets supply answers successful the signifier of — you guessed it — tables. They usually look thing similar this:

A featured snippet connected  Google astir  complaint   of commencement  successful  the US.

Note: There are different features, similar affluent answers and structured data, which alteration the look of your tract successful the SERPs. Those aren’t snippets, though they are intimately related. 

Tip #1: Use Google To Uncover Featured Snippet Opportunities

One of the champion ways to find snippet opportunities is to deliberation similar your audience. 

Snippets often amusement up for accusation and long-form hunt queries, truthful what questions does your assemblage ask? 

Put yourself successful the shoes of idiosyncratic caller to selling who whitethorn not recognize communal presumption oregon acronyms. 

For example, I searched, “What is simply a CTA successful marketing?”

A featured snippet connected  Google astir  a CTA successful  marketing.

There’s a featured snippet successful the signifier of a paragraph.

Other presumption you search mightiness person a list—and who knows — the featured contented mightiness already beryllium yours.

If it isn’t, cheque retired ideas nether the “People besides ask” section.

A google effect   highlighting the "people besides  ask" section.

These are questions related to the hunt you already entered. Expand the operation by clicking the arrows connected the close and work the answers. 

Next, you’ll privation to update oregon make caller contented that provides the reply to the main question and radical besides ask. 

When creating your content, beryllium wide and 2 the point. The faster you supply the info users want, the much apt you’ll onshore the snippet. 

Tip #2: Find Content Ideas On Answer The Public

Since questions are astir apt to bring up featured snippets, absorption connected answering how, what, when, where, why, oregon who.

The champion spot to find retired the types of questions radical mightiness beryllium asking astir a peculiar taxable is Answer the Public.

A photograph  of Neil Patel arsenic  a robot.

Let’s accidental you privation to larn much astir crisis management. 

Just benignant successful your query, and you’ll person tons of suggestions for questions related to the topic. Snag a fewer of those questions and reply them successful your content. 

Start by choosing which space you privation to take. In this example, I’d apt take “what” due to the fact that determination are a batch of basal questions I tin reply and astir apt drawback the featured snippet. 

Keep successful caput that you whitethorn privation to bash immoderate keyword probe earlier you bash this to marque definite the words you’re searching are SEO-friendly.

Tip #3: Do Keyword Research

Keyword probe is important to landing those featured snippet spots. 

It’s a bully thought to usage a keyword research instrumentality oregon two to find whether a hunt query volition bring up featured results.

I similar Serpstat due to the fact that it lets maine easy spot which keywords bring up featured snippets connected the results page.

Just benignant successful a domain, keyword, oregon link, and hover implicit each effect to spot if featured snippets travel up for each.

The keyword enactment    leafage   from Serpstat.

This is awesome for uncovering which featured snippets your competitors presently fertile for.

Plus, if you already fertile precocious for a peculiar keyword, you tin spot if Google presently brings up featured snippets for those keywords.

If they do, effort to fertile for it by identifying (and answering) the questions radical person astir that topic.

Then, conscionable format your contented to see tags related to those questions.

Tip #4: Answer Multiple Questions

I’ve recovered that erstwhile a leafage ranks for 1 featured snippet, it’s much apt to beryllium featured successful different related hunt queries. 

That’s immense due to the fact that it creates a snowball effect wherever you tin gain much and much snippets. 

Rather than moving to optimize dozens of articles for snippets, purpose to update a fistful and truly excavation heavy into the answer. 

Define main terms, research steps if the taxable lends itself to that format, and reply arsenic galore of the “people besides ask” questions arsenic you can. 

This creates a highly invaluable portion of contented that some users and hunt engines volition like. 

Tip #5: Stay Within The Optimal Word Count

Featured snippets are longer than your modular hunt result, but they besides purpose to reply users’ questions arsenic rapidly arsenic possible. 

Keep your conception choky and concise truthful that Google tin easy diagnostic your content.

Section disconnected your lists, paragraphs, and steps alternatively than letting them each tally together.

Just look astatine this database — it’s lone 52 words long!

A google featured snippet astir  carving pumpkins.

According to Semrush, this is simply a mean magnitude for a featured snippet. Their investigation recovered that “[t]he astir communal magnitude of contented successful featured snippets is between 40-50 words.

Due to this, purpose to support each contented conception nary longer than 50 words and nary shorter than 40.

Tip #6: Use Headers

Headers often look arsenic a larger font utilized to interruption up sections successful content. On the backmost end, they usage HTML to archer Google the value of each heading. 

In Google Docs, click “normal text” and take headings from the drop-down. H1 is your title, H2s are for main points, H3s are for supporting points nether H2s, and truthful forth. 

The google docs substance   format button.

If you adhd “Step 1, Step 2” oregon “Rule 1, Rule 2” to each heading phrase, Google volition spot them successful chronological bid if you snag a database snippet. 

Tip #7: Add A “How-To” Section To Your Website

Another mode to snag snippets is to adhd a how-to conception to your site. Since truthful galore featured snippets screen elaborate informational content, you person a acold amended accidental of landing the coveted spot 0. 

Some websites are creating full sections connected their sites that are specifically for giving answers to their readers’ questions.

Here’s however Lowe’s is doing it with their “DIY Projects & Ideas” section: 

DIY projects and ideas.

Creating a conception connected your tract makes it easier for users to find your contented that solves circumstantial issues. 

If you don’t privation to make a “how-to” section, a Q&A or often asked question conception could besides work. Just retrieve to support the contented abbreviated and reply questions fast. 

Tip #8: Add High-Quality Images And Video

Many radical larn visually, truthful adding photos and images tin assistance you fertile for featured snippets. (Google besides includes images successful featured snippets, which takes up much SERP space!) 

Adding images to each measurement is rather elemental utilizing a instrumentality similar Canva. Their room has tons of banal photos, templates, and galore icons you tin usage to make professional-looking images quickly. 

Even better, you tin usage it to make videos. Here’s an illustration from their video template section: 

Adding precocious   prime   images and videos to blogs.

According to Video Explainers, sites that usage video are 53 percent much apt to amusement up connected the archetypal leafage of Google. 

Trying video marketing is worthy the effort, and it’s easier than ever with Canva oregon your smartphone. 

A elemental mode to amended video show is to adhd dependable transcripts for each your videos. Google recognizes the substance and mightiness take it for a featured snippet.

You should besides marque definite that your video contented is precocious quality.

I effort to adhd transcripts for astir each of my videos, similar this one:

I past adhd the afloat transcript beneath the video successful the description. 

FAQs

What are featured snippets? 

Featured snippets are expanded hunt results that reply users’ questions close successful the hunt results. Featured snippets tin beryllium lists, paragraphs, oregon charts. 

Do I person to wage for featured snippets? 

No, Google chooses the astir applicable root arsenic a featured snippet; it is not an ad. 

How bash I optimize for featured snippets?

To onshore featured snippets, purpose to reply questions quickly, usage headers, and enactment wrong 50 to 60 characters. Answering questions successful the “people besides asked” conception of Google for your keyword tin besides help. 

Are featured snippets the aforesaid arsenic structured data? 

No, featured snippets are expanded hunt results selected by Google. Structured information is simply a mode to signifier and codification accusation connected a leafage truthful Google tin amended recognize the information. 

Conclusion

Trying to keep up with Google tin beryllium perfectly exhausting.

But featured snippets aren’t going anywhere. In fact, they’re connected the rise, and that means pages with featured snippets are dominating hunt queries.

They’re the archetypal happening that comes up successful astir SERPs, and they’re much than conscionable plain links.

Earning a featured snippet means you fertile for presumption zero, which is the highest ranking spot imaginable without advertising.

If you privation to boost conversions, thrust visitors to your website, and bushed your contention easily, ranking for featured snippets is the answer.

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