Direct answer – What do you have to do to achieve ‘Position Zero’ in Google?

What is Direct Answer and how does it work?

Direct Answers are most often displayed in the form of a definition, list, or table, and are intended to make it easier for readers to find information. You no longer have to browse dozens of pages looking for answers to your questions – Google serves them to you on a platter. Below is an example of DA.

There is no doubt that direct answers make it much easier for users to search for information. From the perspective of website owners, this option is also very beneficial – after all, it allows for increasing the visibility of the website on the web.

Direct answers are displayed in the so-called zero position – surpassing both the first place in the search results and Google Ads ads. Direct Answer displays the most relevant content to the user, choosing from positions 1 to 10. Pages that are on the second tab in Google have no chance of being at the very top in the direct box.

What to do to be in ‘position zero?

To obtain this honorable place, pay attention to the following guidelines:

1. In entries, it is worth creating short and concise rules or definitions that can be the answer to users’ questions, starting, for example, with phrases: what is it, why, what, when, where, how, etc.
2. Bulleted lists, paragraphs or tables can also end up in ‘position zero’, so it is worth using them in your articles.
3. The content should include keywords related to a possible user query, e.g. “what are the characteristics of a copywriter?”.
4. The text should be relatively up-to-date. Google is unlikely to promote outdated information in ‘position zero’.
5. It is worth taking care of the appropriate subpage title (meta title), description (meta description) and URL address. All of the above attributes should contain keywords.
6. In order for the text to be included in the direct box, your website must be positioned for a given phrase and be on the first page of search results – in positions 1 to 10. Further positions are not taken into account, so it is worth taking care of a high position in SERPs.

The operation of Google algorithms is still shrouded in mystery and we are not 100% sure whether our assumptions are correct or not. We can speculate based on observations and draw conclusions, but we will probably not get a guarantee as to the effectiveness of our actions.

How to check if your website is in Direct Answer?

The easiest way to check if your website is in the direct box is to manually enter phrases, but this will be quite tedious and time-consuming. You can also use the dedicated tool ‘Direct Answer’ from Senuto, which allows you to analyze direct answers on your website.

Advantages and disadvantages of Direct Answer

You already know what DA is and how to get to “position zero”. So it’s time to discuss the possible advantages and disadvantages of being in the aforementioned box.

Advantages

• Your website is at the very top, above the search results.
• You create an image of an expert and increase credibility in the eyes of your recipients.
• You instantly provide the user with the information they were looking for.
• It is possible that you will interest the recipient with a direct answer and they will go to your website, generating traffic in the process.
• An interesting presentation of the direct box attracts the attention of Internet users.
• Direct answers are convenient and useful for readers.

Disadvantages

• The biggest disadvantage of being in Direct Answer is the fact that the information provided to the readers may be sufficient for them and they will not feel the need to visit your site. You may therefore observe a drop in traffic if such situations occur frequently.
• There is a risk that the text displayed in DA will not specifically answer the user’s query or will be misleading, which will result in the user’s negative feelings towards the brand.

However, if you decide that by displaying your site in the ‘zero position’ you are losing instead of gaining, you can always block this option. Just place the following tag in the page code: