Do you know that your site can rank higher than number one in Google? You might have seen this feature before and even use it several times. It is called Featured Snippets. Featured snippets are the boxes shown right below the number of searches and above of the number one spot. According to research by a SEO services provider called Search Engine Land, featured snippets get 8.6% of all clicks! You are going to get a serious boost on your organic click-through-rate if you can get your content in the featured snippets. Continue reading this article to learn more about it!
Because they are placed right below the search bar, featured snippets are also called the “zero positions”. Their main purpose is to provide people with content without having to click on any search result. When a snippet appears on a search, it most likely will monopolize the first screen and increase its site CTR. Some studies report a four-fold CTR growth. This is why organizing your content to appear in the featured snippet is crucial.
Here are some tactics that are worth trying to land your content into this box!
1. Identify Your Pages That Already Rank in the Top 10
You should start by figuring out the most successful page on your site. It’s a little bit harsh but the truth is Google tends to pick pages from the top 10 for featured snippets. So, it is almost impossible for your page to be featured if it ranked at 99.
2. Use Question-Based Keywords and Provide Structured Answers
For Google, a query such as “how to swim” is easier to interpret than a query like “swimming”. The first query is able to describe clearly its user’s intention rather than the latter. So, it is easier for Google to provide the suitable answer. Besides questions, there are words that narrow down a search intent quite a lot: “best”, “recipe” and “instructions” for example.
And the best response to those kinds of queries are by giving answers. Remember to write the way you speak. It’s easier to understand. “How to cook spaghetti? – Start with boiling water…”.
Another tip, break your article down into steps and use numbers to divide your content logically to answer a query that starts with “how to” better.
3. Make Sure to Use Header Tags Properly
Flawless code and clear markups are search engine bots’ favorites. So, it is essential to use format correctly when writing contents. If they can easily scan the structure, extract the most valuable information and index it properly without spending any additional crawl budget, it definitely helps you get higher rankings. A correct use of H1-H6 tags is crucial if you want your content to be included in the featured snippet.
There is no guarantee that once a page gets into the featured snippet box, it will stay there forever. Just as page ranking, Google can easily replace pages that get in that box. So, there is a chance to steal that spot from your competitors and defend it at all cost once you get it.