Improving SEO Through Featured Snippets in Google Search Results

 Posted on September 06, 2017 in Search Engine Optimization

Today, the primary way people find information is by searching for answers on Google or other search engines. It is important to rank high in search results for queries related to your area of business, which is why Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a key part of any modern marketing strategy. In Google’s search results, sites can greatly benefit from appearing in featured snippets.

What Are Featured Snippets?

Google’s standard search engine results pages (SERPs) typically feature a list of relevant pages related to a user’s search query. However, for some queries, Google SERPs also include a featured area at the top of the page that excerpts content from one of the search results and provides a quick answer to a user’s question.

These featured snippets can take the form of a paragraph of text, a list, or a table. They are also often accompanied by a “People also ask” section that contains several similar queries, each of which can be expanded to view additional featured snippets.

Including Your Site in Featured Snippets

Having your site highlighted in a featured snippet at the top of search results can generate a great deal of traffic to your site. Since featured snippets are generated programmatically by Google, there is no way to automatically have your site included, but you can increase your chance of being featured by following these tips:

• Follow SEO best practices - Featured snippets are only shown for pages which already rank among the top 10 results for a query, so it is important to ensure that your site and its content are optimized for search.

• Identify your high-ranking pages - Use Google Search Console to find out which pages on your site already rank among the top 10 search results, then optimize the content on those pages to provide concise answers to the queries that people are searching for.

• Research additional questions to answer - Look at the related queries that Google includes at the bottom of a SERP and the questions that people also ask. This will give you an idea of content that you can create or optimize to answer these questions and be included in featured snippets.

• Include lists or tables in your content - Featured snippets often include structured, organized information. Including relevant numbers, facts, and names in your content is a great way to have that content excerpted in featured snippets.

Optimizing your site for ranking high in search results and being included in featured snippets can be an intensive, time-consuming process. If you are looking to improve your SEO strategy and generate more traffic and leads, the marketing professionals at OVC Lawyer Marketing, Inc. can help you determine the best way to proceed. Call our office at 630-635-8000 or contact us online.

Sources:

https://moz.com/blog/optimize-featured-snippets

https://getstat.com/blog/featured-snippets/