A featured snippet on Google provides a quick answer to the user’s question directly in the search results, without the user necessarily needing to click through to the site from Google. The featured snippet appears first on Google, so it often generates many clicks to the site whose content is featured, even if not everyone clicks on it. Featured snippet optimization is a technique used by SEO professionals to promote pages already ranking on the first page to the first position on Google. If you want to optimize your pages so they appear as a featured snippet, here’s how you can do it.
What is a featured snippet?
A featured snippet is that information box or info box that sometimes appears in Google’s search results in position zero, a little larger and more prominent than regular search listings. Google automatically decides which pages are displayed as a featured snippet. Typically, this position shows content that explains a specific topic very easily and simply in two or three sentences. Featured snippets often include content that answers a searched question.
A featured snippet search result looks a bit different from regular search results on Google. A featured snippet can be in text, list, or table format, and they often include images. Below are examples of featured snippets I’ve obtained on my flower blog Slow Flower Garden.
How to get a featured snippet?
If your content is good enough and explains the topic simply and concisely, Google can promote your page to a featured snippet. Featured snippets often feature pages that are already ranking in positions 1-5 on Google’s first page. If your page ranks in these positions, you can try to edit your content so that it is more likely to become a featured snippet.
Here’s how you can get a featured snippet:
- Add a “What is” heading (Answers to searched questions usually become featured snippets)
- Use an “is” sentence structure (Edit content so that it directly answers the question)
- Explain the topic in 2-3 sentences.
- Match the featured snippet format. (For example, if a featured snippet now appears as a list, add a list to your page)
- Brand terms usually don’t become featured snippets.
- Prioritize ranking in the top five positions, as those pages have the highest chance of becoming a featured snippet.
My featured snippet optimization
With these tips, I have optimized various sites for featured snippets. In my Slow Flower Garden blog, I optimized four pages in my first test according to these guidelines, and three of them became featured snippets within 3-4 weeks. The success rate was 66.6%, so I should continue with featured snippet optimization. Generally, it is safer to expect a 10-20% success rate, depending on the industry and the competition on Google, but it’s worth testing to see if you can get featured snippets on Google and rank first in search results!
Sources
Long, C. (2022, December 7). How to Get Google Featured Snippets: 9 Optimization Guidelines. Search Engine Land. https://searchengineland.com/how-to-get-google-featured-snippets-9-optimization-guidelines-312241
Soulo, T. (2017, May 30). Ahrefs’ Study Of 2 Million Featured Snippets: 10 Important Takeaways. Ahrefs Blog. https://ahrefs.com/blog/featured-snippets-study/