How to Rank in Google’s Featured Snippet

For example, when you type a search Google sometimes displays a featured box where you will find quickly relevant information.

Are you wondering how to get the box to feature answers from your blog or website? Well, you’re in the right place then.

What are Google’s featured snippets?

Google aims to offer Internet users more and more relevant results in search results. Since 2014, this includes featured text that they believe to be the answer to the question asked, the URL, the page title, and a link.

Did you know that Google pulls voice search results from snippets?

When a user enters a query that suggests he is looking for an answer to a question, Google offers an “answer box” that appears at the top of the natural search results.

Create Content That Your Audience Is Seeking

Now that we know what featured snippets are, it’s time to dive deeper.

If you create content by keeping your target audience in mind, you’ll get a lot of love from them regarding search rankings. Google is for users, not websites. Keep this statement in mind when creating content and you’ll have more chances of getting the featured box for your site.

This way, users get direct, quick and quality answers for their searches. When you click on a featured link, Google redirects to the particular content page with detailed information. The excerpt block shown includes a summary of the reply that extracts content from a website or blog with a link to the page, page title, and URL.

Google Featured Snippet Example

SEO benefits of getting featured snippets

So, what are the SEO marketing benefits of obtaining featured snippets for your site? Let’s talk about it now.

Research has shown featured snippets increase your website traffic by as much as 55%.

Think about organic search results for a second. How awesome would it be if a user would get a high-quality response directly without going through a lot of links on the internet?

Your target audience gets direct answers to their questions, and of course, that will improve your ranking.

Capturing the snippets start with ranking high in the organic search results. Most of the time, the top five search results are the chosen few in the featured snippet. Make sure you rank high in the organic search results. You can check your ranking using one of these SEO tools.

Now let’s talk about how to get a serps featured snippet for your website content to show up in the organic search results. Are you ready? Let’s discuss the details.

Google Searches that trigger the featured box

The first step is to find which searches on your subject generate a featured snippet. Not all questions produce a snippet, and not all queries are in question form.

The featured box appears when a user asks a question, but it’s not always that simple. Some people refer to these as Google answer boxes.

How to get a featured snippet

Start by discovering fundamental questions your target audience might have.

Questions such as “how to cook” and “how to start a blog” often get direct answers extracted from a web page. They mostly show featured snippets for fundamental questions.

If you want to get Google to present snippets for your page, make sure to find a list of all the basic questions that your audience might have.

Answer questions for your audience and you are well on your way.

Consider what they might type into the search field for answers. The more you understand about your audience, the better the chances are that you might get a featured box on the search results.

Focus on the most fundamental issues or concerns in your field. For example, if you have a site about blogging, “how to set up a blog” may be one of the most fundamental questions. When you answer questions, you boost your chances of getting featured.

If you can position your page with a featured result, you will potentially rank higher than all the other natural search results.

Also, you will position yourself as an authority on the subject, and this will encourage people to come back to your site if they need further information relevant to your topics.

Therefore, provide clear, simple and direct answers through your page.

Using Semantic Markup

For example, using the rel = “editor” tag will indicate that your website content associates with a credible source, as Google looks for authoritative sites for consideration in snippets.

Read my blog post on structured data for more info.

You can use google search console to test your structured data.

Use Wikipedia and Google+

Creating a company page on Wikipedia can contribute to the same process of authority and trust, with an additional step of setting up a page on Wikipedia. To counteract this lack of authority, you can start by creating a Google+ page, using the name by which people know you. If your site is recent and has not had time to build its authority and confidence, it will be harder to position yourself within a featured spot.

Publishing articles or blog posts is not enough

Make sure to format your work appropriately for your audience. People who read online have less of an attention span. As a result, format your blog content with that taken into account, and you’ll get more attention from your readers.

Users like to browse a website quickly. It is essential to make your post formatting compelling and easy to consume. If you do that, then you’ll not only get a better readership, but you’ll end up with search rankings.

Do not write long and tedious paragraphs. Try to keep your paragraphs short and use bullet points if possible.

If you write detailed and useful information on “how to” with several bullet points, you will have a better chance of getting a featured box in the search results. Include a summary by answering the most fundamental questions in your industry.

Yes, you must rank well organically by building high-quality backlinks.  But, a top ranking for a keyword does not guarantee you will show up with a featured extract on the search results. It is all about better formatting, giving direct and helpful answers to your readers.

Sometimes you get the featured box even if you rank second or third. The reason for this is usually because the writing of the featured page is more straightforward, direct, and useful.

Always remember that Google shows featured snippets primarily for the top five organic results. It is important to rank in the top five search results for the keywords you want to get snippets.

In Closing, Do you want to be found on TOP

If you are still unclear how to rank in Google’s featured snippet, consider hiring a Professional SEO Expert to review your website and make recommendations.

I have more than 20 years experience in digital marketing and growing online businesses.