One of the best results on Google is ranking number one of the first page of SERPs, more so if it’s a featured snippet that displays with the website’s URL, a featured image and product or service details.
So, what is a featured snippet?
A featured snippet is a special organic search result box in search engine results pages (SERPs) that provides users with direct answers to their search query from a relevant listing. A featured snippet usually displays in position one (formally knowns as position zero) of SERPs, and it details the website’s URL, a featured image and a summary that answers the user’s search query.
Feature snippets tend to get a significant click-through rates, because they’re the first result a user gets to see. It captures the user’s attention quickly without them having to click on any result.
Difference between a featured snippet and rich snippet?
Rich snippets can be mistaken for a featured snippet (and vice versa) as they both look similar and are displayed in the top position in results pages.
A rich snippet can be defined as an enhanced organic search result that has additional information (structured data) embedded in HTML that displays a specific product, service or thing’s details. A rich snippet can be a recipe box or review in SERPs with more information about the recipe.
The difference between the two is that featured snippets don’t need structured data but rely on quality website content that answers the user’s question query.
Three types of featured snippets
There are different types of featured snippets you can find in SERPs, all of which will answer the user’s query by displaying the most relevant content or listing Google can find.
They include:
- Text/summary
- Tables
- Steps and lists
How to get a featured snippet?
There are a few ways of getting a featured snippet on Google, and one of them is enhancing page copy. It is vital to remember Google’s purpose, and that is to help users find what they are looking for on the internet. Therefore, that means a featured snippet requires quality page copy, one that answers the user’s search queries.
Using Google Search Console and keyword research can help SEO specialists identify opportunities by looking into what users are searching for, especially in voice search. That entails using informative and navigational keywords (long-tail keywords) to provide users with direct answers.
Also, don’t forget to use structured data to enhance your websites content. Providing Google with structured data means you are giving more information about the product/service or blog post. I know I previously mentioned that rich snippets are different from featured snippets because they don’t need structured data to rank, although having structured data will help enhance search engine’s understanding of a webpage.
In conclusion
The most straightforward strategy that I would recommend is that you analyse your current search performance using Google Search Console to see what your users are searching for and analyse what your competitors are doing, so that you can outplay and outrank them on Google.
If you are not sure about the strength of your Google Search Peformance strategy, contact the Algorithm team for more advice and guidance.
