Whenever you type a query into the Google Search box, it’s easy to notice a selected answer which shows up on top of the search results. This is called the featured snippet, which is simply a summary of the answer to your query. It can be extracted from a website and include the URL and title of the site.
Depending on your query, featured snippets can be classified into 3 main types:
- Table
- List
- Paragraph
It is estimated that the most common type is paragraph snippets, which accounts for nearly 82%. The list and table snippets show up 10.8% and 7.3%, respectively, in research results.
The importance of featured snippets
If you want to take a shortcut to the first rank on Google Search, featured snippets can be an effective and quick way. In general, they provide the following benefits.
- Maximize authority
Since a featured snippet usually shows up in the first position in Google search, you can show that your site is the most helpful sources for the users to look for an answer to their queries.
- Beat your competitors
When your website is selected by Google to feature in a snippet as a quick answer to a query, the result will be displayed above other organic results. This means that you are beating your competitors, even when they might have the first ranking for a specific search result.
- Increase the traffic to your site
Most people like a featured snippet simply because it gives a quick answer to their queries. As a result, it can increase the traffic to your site, which can be up to 20 or 30%.
How to get a featured snippet for your site?
Here are 5 basic steps to feature your site on a snippet:
Step 1: Study keyword opportunities
Start with searching a suitable keyword to target with the help of the right tools. Make sure that the selected keywords are relevant to the purpose and content of your site.
Step 2: Target snippets with strategic content
The next step is to create new and smart content that can target featured snippets. Keep in mind to take user experience into account and come up with ideas which are relevant to your business. Avoid unnatural content as it would end up harming your ranking.
Step 3: Create FAQ format
Create a new page to answer a single question that would be featured on snippets. In some cases, it is a good idea to incorporate you Q&A into content.
Step 4: Edit content with tables, lists, and subheadings
This will make it simpler for Google to access and rank your answer.
Step 5: Polish the current snippets to get a higher CTR
In a good article by Soderman Marketing, getting a featured snippet could be as easy as editing a piece of info that you currently rank for. If you have an existing snippet, it is recommended evaluating and editing them frequently to make sure that your website would get a constant traffic.
Numbers about featured snippets
In a recent study, STAT has examined and analyzed 1 million high-CPC queries to have a deep insight into featured snippets. Below are some interesting numbers that you should consider.
- – Nearly 9.3% out of the 1 million queries in the STAT study contained snippets
- – Over 70% of these featured snippets were not produced from the very first organic results
- – Approximately 27.6% of the featured showed up with an image
- – Those keywords with a high volume of searching have featured snippets twice as frequently
- – More feature snippets often come from higher counts of the question word
- – In readability examinations, URLs with featured snippet have a bit better score
- – In those popular platforms such as Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Facebook, the social share count of featured snippets was 12.5% higher than the average.