How to Optimize A Website For Google Featured Snippets?

  • By Melissa Howard
  • 26-01-2023
  • SEO
how to optimize a website for google featured snippets?
Undoubtedly, featured snippets are powerful, which is why every SEO professional needs to aim for an available featured snippet. To run a business or provide services on the internet, it must help you rank 1st on the search results. Who does not want that? I am dam sure you want that!
 
Making a digital leap will not be enough, as you must be more strategic and look for possible tactics. We have had lots of success in optimizing for the featured snippet and now will share that with you, like how these strategies will help you. So, let’s begin!

What Do You Mean By Featured Snippet?

A featured snippet is a summary of two or three sentences that will be at the top of Google. It would help if you had a featured snippet that would answer the query of the users in the search results. It will contain quick information and help the user get answers to their questions.
 
When you receive the featured snippet, that will result in more organic traffic for that page. The Google Featured snippet will consist of information from news articles or official websites.    

Why Featured Snippet is Crucial?

We describe Featured Snippets as a crucial element for the specific search results, which will be at the top of the organic results on Google. It will have ‘position zero’ that will show you some answers to the questions on the first page. 
 
Its existence aims to answer the questions of people. You may have noticed that these featured snippets do some search queries which will start with the words such as "what," "why," "how," "when," "where," etc. 

Type of Featured Snippet

1) Paragraph Featured Snippet 

About 70%of the featured snippet is paragraph type with an average of about 42 words or 250 characters. This featured snippet starts with the “What” or “Why" that indicates that it will offer you information.  

2) Listicles Featured Snippet

About 19 of the featured snippet are of the Listicle type, and that need to consist of an average of 6 items which is 44 words. There are two types of listicle featured snippets: Ordered list and unordered list. It is derived from “How” and “Why” keywords.  

3) Table Featured Snippet

Table Featured Snippet has an average of five rows and two columns with 40-45 words. You can optimize this type of featured snippet that will mark up the relevant content in the table format and are tempted to make the graphics for this table. 

4) Video Featured Snippet

When your audience loves the video content, then video featured snippet is the best way to your success. But it would help if you looked for the keywords that have low search volume, and that are it.  

Tips for Optimizing Featured Snippets  

1) Look for the Competitors' Featured Snippets

Stealing may not be good, but here I would ask you to do so. Stealing the featured snippet for your competitors is not easy.
 
But you can do that by putting the competitors' URLs and looking for the keyword with its own featured snippet. After that, you need to export the list and categorize them into different types of featured snippets. Once you do that, sort them according to high search volume and gather them to initiate planning. Look for the featured snippet for which you should your competitors are getting high search engine ranking.
 
You should make the calendar template and start planning, implementing, and optimizing the content. But do not forget to add the topics of the content and featured snippet type because that will help you keep track of the optimized page.

2) Understand the Searcher's Intent 

The one thing I know and you also need to understand is that you are creating this content for the audience. You need to understand the searcher's intent, like how they think and search for things. 
You may even find different types of people who search for these keywords, such as-
 
- An influencer who persuades the potential customers
- Potential customers
- Your competitors 
 
While writing the content, it is essential for you to consider these things. Each of these audiences will have different thinking and would love to get the information. There is only one search intent for the featured snippet, and that is why I would classify them in further categories like how you can answer them –
 
- Specific answer
- Brief answer
- Video
- Comparison 
 
It is crucial to understand these types of search intent and provide them with the information according to their search query. When you do so, it will help in planning and optimizing the content in a better way. 

3) Conduct Research for Keyword

It is always better to start the research with keyword research. It may be an old but productive method for your off-page. It is crucial for your content, even if you are getting that for the featured snippet. There are several tools that will help you in providing the queries and will give you the featured results.  

4) Run a Competitive Analysis 

You may have known this before also; competitors analysis is always worth your time. When we consider featured snippets, competitive analysis is something that one should consider. 
 
When you search for these things, that will help you bring up the featured snippet that will help you get the higher rank you have asked for. It will be the best way to get valuable information about editing content so you can have perfect optimization. 
 
If you want to do that, you need to choose the top 10 rival targeted keywords and look for some suggestions, like how they use the targeted keywords.  

5) Create the Content Outline

Hopefully, I was clear above, and you have understood that targeting a keyword, type of featured snippet, search intent, and pool of SEO recommendations are crucial for the competitors’ snippet. 
 
When you write new content, then it is crucial for you to create an outline of the content. But if you already have the content, you can just update the outline according to the research you have gathered. 

6) Create Better Content Than Your Competitions

Do you want to become better? Do you wish that people should visit your website? If you want that to happen, then creating the best content for your competitor is essential. The things which you need to consider are-
 
- Cover the basic information that the user may expect in the search results.
- You can make your content more valuable if you include rich media, examples, statistical data, and more.
- You should write simple and short sentences that will improve the readability of the content.
- The person should focus on research-based content because that will help Google understand things better.
 
I would always recommend you create high-quality content delivering value for several years. 

7) Organize the Content for Search Engines and Readers

Well-organized content is easy for the person to scan, read or understand. If you are uploading the content, then you have to make sure you are organizing it in the right way. 
 
Whenever I write an article, I make sure that the content is in proper paragraphs, and adequate headings should also be given to the users. If you do the same, then it will make things easy for people to read the content.   

8) Add Some Question Keywords 

As I have mentioned below, you must organize a featured snippet's content. But that will only be complete if you add some questions keywords in the heading tag. 
 
Whenever I create new content, I make sure that some relevant question keywords are added. These keywords should have a high search volume that will put them in the heading tags.  
 
Ensure you get the right question keyword at the right place because that will be the only thing that makes a difference. 

9) Add ‘People Also Ask’ Column 

It does not matter what type of business you or I am running. It is essential to check the "People also ask" section, where you can find the related question. It will give you great insight and offer you some questions related to the topic. 
 
It is enormous as you can search for more questions and will read the answers and expand your search area.

10) Add Some Related Graphics 

Graphics is one of the crucial factors in the featured snippet. It is used mainly for the listical or paragraph-type featured snippet. 
 
If you want to improve the ranking and get people's attention, adding custom-made graphics or real-life pictures will be the best option. I think it is the best option one can have that will improve the experience of users. 
 
I believe that our website or offers must be available for the users that we call multi-intelligence. But make sure it will convey your message in text form with high-quality information.   

Google Featured Snippets FAQ

1) What is Featured Snippet Optimization?

Featured snippet optimization is a process of getting website or blog to show up on the first page of Google when a customer search for certain keyword on search engine. 
 
The benefit of featured snippet optimization is that you can get drive more traffic to your blog.

2) How do I Improve my Blog Post by Targeting Google Snippets?

Google snippets are written quickly by Google and focus on giving you quick keywords to improve your blog post. It can be helpful for people who update their blog every day as creating new content for a blog will take up a lot of your time and energy. 
 
By targeting Google snippets, you can increase your traffic, improve your positioning in search engine results pages.

3) What is the Best Way to Obtain a SERP Featured Snippet?

Your best way to obtain a SERP featured snippet is to create great content that ranks well for related queries. 
 
Use keywords that are in the search volume, targeting specific user groups, and made of high-quality content. Another thing you can do is optimize your site for mobile devices. 
 
The content on your mobile version should be enhanced with audio and video to rank higher on mobile search results pages.
Google Featured Snippets Disappearing after Seconds?
 
I noticed that many regular featured snippets on Google were disappearing after seconds. This happens because Google uses these snippets to create a higher-quality user experience, so when we select one, you'll see that it loads quickly.

4) How does Google Choose Featured Snippets?

Google uses a variety of factors, including the language of the content and anchor text, to determine which snippets are associated with pages in Google Search. 
 
For example, if you have a generic and straightforward piece of content that has many similar results, your snippet may be less likely to be featured in search results. On the other hand, if your page has very specific search terms associated with it

Conclusion 

When you consider featured snippets, that will be the situation trending now and will help you get more benefits. If you are aiming to increase website traffic, then these are the best options to help you make it happen! 

Last Updated in April 2024

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Author

Melissa Howard

Melissa Howard is a managing partner at Split Reef, a web design & digital marketing company that helps to grow businesses online and create high-performing, responsive websites for your business. Our team can also help you develop customized iOS mobile applications for business needs.