The featured snippet, sometimes referred to as “position zero”, is one of the most valuable spots your site can achieve on Google. In short, the featured snippet is a small box of text that appears at the very top of the search results, ahead of the organic listings. Its role is to give the searcher a quick answer to their query, usually in the form of lists, definitions, tables or a set of instructions.
The text used in a featured snippet is automatically taken from a web page, along with a link to the source. This is what makes it so sought-after, as it can put a snapshot of your content right at the top of the search results ahead of your rivals, with the potential to generate a lot of organic traffic.
So, how exactly can you get your page to that precious featured snippet? It’s a tricky feat to achieve, but there are various ways to increase your chances. To give you a hand, we’ve listed some of the steps you can take below.
Answer the right questions
If your site’s content doesn’t answer your target customers’ questions, then you have little chance of getting the featured snippet. So, the first thing you need to do is ensure that your site contains the information it needs.
Some research is necessary here. What questions are your customers asking? What do they want to know? Find out what searchers are asking about your industry, and then be sure to answer these on your site clearly and concisely.
Structure your content correctly
Including the right content is vital, but you can really improve your chances by presenting it in a way that makes Google more likely to feature it. There are lots of ways you can do this, but perhaps one of the most important is to ensure you use an effective heading.
Above your content, try to include a heading that’s phrased as a question. If you’re optimising your page for a commonly searched question, tailor the heading to match this. Using the phrase “What is…” in your heading is also a good way of achieving this. It’s also important to keep your content concise (around two to three sentences), as the featured snippet aims to be as quick as it is informative.
Finally, think about the best format to present your answer. Remember, featured snippets are usually either short paragraphs, tables, lists or steps, so try matching your content to whichever of these is the best fit. It may require some trial and error to find the one that works, but a shortcut can be to check the existing featured snippet for your search term (if there is one), then copy the existing approach.
Optimise
In truth, it’s unlikely that Google will feature any page that isn’t already ranking in the top 10. So, if you want to get that featured spot, then you need to make sure your site is optimised to the max across all fronts.
As well as optimising the rest of the page for the target keyword, be sure to check your site for technical errors and try to bolster its link profile as much as possible. This will take time, but getting to position zero means getting into the top 10.
Try and try again
Sometimes the key to success is nothing more than sheer persistence, and that’s often the case with the featured snippet. There are countless ways you can get your site into that sought-after position zero, so you may not get there on the first try. If one approach doesn’t work, go back to the drawing board and make one or two small tweaks at a time.
Try refining the format or heading, or perhaps see if you can re-optimise the page itself. One heading may not have worked, but another may be all it takes. Perhaps presenting your answer as a table rather than a bulleted list will help. All of these things can be revisited to get your site where you want it to be.
Find out more
For more information about content marketing and other areas of digital marketing, head over to our blog. Alternatively, get in touch to learn more about how we can help.