Imagine getting organic website traffic consistently and not having to constantly market your business elsewhere. If you can land the featured snippet, this can become a reality.
But what is the snippet and why does it matter? Read on to learn the answers to all of your questions!
What Is the Featured Snippet?
A featured snippet is a special search result that appears at the very top. Instead of looking like any old result, it shows a bit of information from the website.
For example, it may show the list of headings in the article. Or it may just pull a paragraph to answer the basic query.
Types of Featured Snippets
You may see a few different types of snippets. For example, the photo above shows a list snippet.
Other examples include a tutorial, which is like a list but shows steps. You can also find snippets with tables or simply just text.
The type of snippet depends on the keyword or question. Google wants to be as helpful as possible. So it makes sense for the snippet above to be a list of unaccompanied flute solos.
Why Getting a Featured Snippet Matters
As you optimize content on your blog, you should try to optimize it for the featured snippet. Consider the following reasons why.
Increase Website Clicks
The higher up you can get in the search engine results, the more clicks you can get on your website. A snippet gets about 8.6% of clicks on average.
Even if you don’t get a featured snippet, optimizing for it could help you get near the top. If there’s no snippet for a keyword, you can get as many as 26% of all clicks for that keyword.
Imagine getting featured snippets or even the regular first result for 50 keywords. That could help you significantly increase website traffic so that you can generate new leads for your business.
Decrease Clicks to Your Competitors
When there’s a snippet, it also takes clicks away from other search results. The first regular result gets over 6% fewer clicks when there’s a snippet above it.
You can then start to compete with other businesses in your city and industry.
Build Brand Awareness
Even if people don’t click on your website, getting the top spot in Google could help you build awareness for your brand. People can get to know the name of your business.
Someone can see the name of your website. If you start to show up in multiple search results, they may eventually want to click and learn more about your business.
Plus, you can add a featured image or graphic to each blog post. That may show up next to the snippet content, and it can further help with your branding.
Voice Search Results
More and more people are starting to use voice search on their phones. If you want to attract those users, you need to get the top spot, snippet or otherwise.
Siri, Google, and other voice assistants will give people the first result. So you could miss out on a lot of traffic, even if you’re in the second spot on Google.
Tips to Optimize for a Featured Snippet
If you want to land the top spot in search results, you should do a few things to help optimize your content. Here are some tips I’d recommend.
Review the Given Keyword
First, you should search for the keyword you want to target. See if it even has a featured snippet because not all keywords have it. If there is a snippet, look at what type it is.
For example, maybe the current listing is a bullet list. That means you should make a list post with the same keyword. On the other hand, if the snippet is a table, you’ll want to include a table in your article.
If there’s no snippet, take your pick. Consider the search intent of the keyword, and outline your blog post accordingly.
Write an Objective Definition
One of the best ways to optimize for a standard text snippet is to include a definition or otherwise answer the query. The snippet should be objective and like an encyclopedia entry.
You can include various examples of this throughout the text. That way, you may be able to get the snippet for different keywords.
Avoid including the words “yes” or “no” in these paragraphs. If you include those words, you can limit the opportunity to show up near the top, especially when there are question-based keywords.
Use Headers Strategically
If you find the keyword you’re targeting has a list snippet, you’ll want to turn your headers into a similar list. This is where Google will pull the entry for the snippet from.
Choose headers that represent each entry in your list. You can then elaborate on each point in the paragraphs below their respective headers.
Edit High-Ranking Content
Once you have some blog posts that rank near the top of search results, you should go back in and edit them. Check out the results for the keywords you used and check out whether there’s a snippet.
Then, you can follow the same steps you would when writing a post from scratch. But since the post already shows up in Google, you won’t have to write as much new content.
You may also have an easier time moving up from, say, the fourth spot to the first spot.
Topic Ideas to Target the Featured Snippet
You can try to target the featured snippet in every post you publish. However, there are a few types of posts where snippet optimization is a bit easier.
Best Of Posts
Best of or roundup posts make for great list snippets. Each heading can be one more product, such as a piece of music. You can share more information in the body of the article.
Think of lists of things your ideal clients or students are searching for. Then, add those to your blog content calendar and publish articles on them.
Tutorial Posts
Publishing a tutorial is another option if you want to land the top spot. You can make each of the steps a sub-heading in your article. Add numbers to the steps to help Google turn those steps into a list for the snippet.
The nice thing about these posts is that you can provide the basics in the various headings. However, people have to click through to learn more, so you can start to get more website traffic.
Comparison Posts
Maybe you offer music lessons, and you get questions on how two instrument models compare. Add a table to your article to increase the chances of landing the featured snippet.
You can compare the features or specs. Not only will that help you land the first spot on Google, but it can make your blog post easier for people to read. Visual elements are super helpful.
Final Thoughts
Landing the featured snippet can be a great way to get more brand awareness and even website traffic. You just have to know how to optimize for it.
If you’re looking for help with that, let’s work together! Learn more about my content creation services.
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