Featured snippets – everything you need to know
Everyone knows how important it is to optimize text for SEO, as evidenced by the constant race for places on the first page of the Google search engine for a given phrase. However, the first page in Google also contains – for specifically formulated queries – an element whose use can significantly benefit your website. We are talking about the so-called featured snippets.
What are featured snippets?
Featured snippets are short passages of text that Google selects from one of the search results, containing a concise answer to a given question.
An example of a featured snippet, i.e. text with a hint.
Featured snippet can take the form of a definition, table or list. Their important feature is their position – they are always displayed at the very top of the page, which is why they are automatically the first thing that catches the eye. In addition, they always contain a link to the website from which they were captured, which can additionally increase the number of visits.
Featured Snippets generate approximately 8% of all clicks.
Additionally, it is estimated that over 11% of all search results contain some form of featured snippets. This can be a great way to gain some popularity from your competitors and increase the organic number of visits to your website.
Types of featured snippets
As mentioned, depending on the type of question asked, featured snippets can appear in one of four forms:
- Definition field – a fragment of text (as in the graphic attached above) whose purpose is to provide a definition or explanation for a concept. The average length is 40 to 60 words. So, if we ask what ‘copywriter XYZ’ is, we will receive a snippet in this form.
- Table – used to provide values. Listing types and their parameters, e.g. dimensions of individual T-shirt sizes.
- Ordered list – a collection of information that must be presented in a specific order. For example, recipes, but also lists or rankings.
- Unordered list – a set of information or phrases whose internal order is not important. It will be, for example, a list of the best tools for verifying key phrases.
How to use featured snippets to your advantage
We have established what featured snippets are and why it is worth paying attention to them. Now let’s get down to specifics – how to “equip” your website with such an important element.
We already know that featured snippets are pre-existing fragments that Google extracts from ready-made pages. Therefore, there are rules that are used to find and extract such elements. Below we will present, in simple steps, how you can adapt the content of your website to this possibility.
Find relevant content under featured snippets
A key element without which we cannot move forward. Estimates show that 99.58% of all featured snippets come from pages that are displayed on the first page of the search engine for a given phrase. The first step is therefore simple – find the keyword phrases for which you are ranked highest.
Then, after identifying the relevant phrases, see which of them already have a snippet. We will then know whether Google is actually displaying this element for a given query. Additionally, you will see what type it is (definition, list, etc.), which will also enable more precise content optimization later.
Match the text on the page to a specific type of snippet
The specific content architecture on the website is a good “bait” for Google. We can use it to signal that our content is a good candidate for snipping of a given type. Here’s how to optimize your page (depending on the type of snippet):
Definition
Provide a short (40-60 words), unbiased definition for the concept. Think of it as a dictionary entry. It is also worth providing it with a heading in which a given word appears – e.g. “What is X”?
Table
When presenting snippets in the form of a table, Google often uses ready-made data, presented in this way already on the website. So take a look at the information you already have – perhaps some of it can be formatted as tables.
Ordered list
In this case, it is worth ensuring that you website have the appropriate text structure and headings. If the information is in the form of an instruction (or any other form that requires sequential execution), it is worth placing its individual steps in the H2 or H3 heading. Additionally, it wouldn’t hurt to start each of them with a phrase suggesting order (so add “Step 1”, “Stage 1”, etc. before the phrase itself – this way, Google, while searching the content of the page, will find words suggesting the form of an ordered list and will know that it is good material for a snippet of this type).
Take care of the so-called long-tail keywords
It has been observed that most featured snippets appear when we are dealing with long-tail keywords. They more often resemble sentences of a natural language than a set of tags for a given topic that are not connected in any way.
‘Burger Lekki’ – an example of a regular keyword phrase;
‘what are the best burger places in Lekki’ – long tail phrase.
It is worth making sure that our content is also optimized for these long phrases, because their search results are more likely to include a snippet.
Don’t limit yourself to just one phrase
Your single website can serve as a potential source not only for several types of snippets, but also for ones on various topics. If you present readers with a valuable and cross-sectional article on a given issue, you can answer most of the questions people ask about it. So make the most of what you already have.
Summary
We hope that the above guide has been helpful if you want to improve the content of your website and generate additional traffic, which – as we have shown – does not have to be problematic at all. The answer isn’t always creating new content. Sometimes properly adjusting the existing one is just enough.
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