If you’re an SEO beginner, you might not have heard of feature snippets, and you therefore might not be optimising your website for them. However, if you’re not then you’re missing out.
Basically, featured snippet is the name given to the small entries that appear at the top of the search results. These include things like the “people also ask” boxes, and the “featured result” at the top of a search page.
If you really want to succeed when it comes to SEO, you need to make sure that you’re optimizing your content for featured snippets. Otherwise, you will be missing out on a great opportunity, and your website will suffer.
With this in mind, I’ve put together this short guide to featured snippets and the best ways to achieve them.
What Is A Featured Snippet?
To put things simple, a featured snippet is an answer that the search engine – be it Bing, Google, or another – has taken from one of the pages that rank for the search term in question.
It is usually framed by a box and positioned above the number one search result, which means that it’s a great place to be. It’s important to note that featured snippets aren’t always taken from the number one search result, which means that there’s a chance to grab one even if you’re not right at the top of the ranking pages.
How Do I Create Featured Snippets?
Basically, you need to follow some pretty strict rules if you want to achieve a featured snippet.
- First, you need to identify the keyword or phrase that you want to rank for, and make sure that your content is optimised for it.
- Next, you need to try and get a decent ranking for this phrase – ideally in the top 5 on the first results page.
- Finally, you need to make sure that you write a clear answer to the key phrase/question that you’re targeting. Make sure that it includes the keywords, and make sure that it answers the question properly.
It’s important to experiment and play with things a bit, especially if you’re not really sure what you’re doing. Make use of your Google Search Console tools, and keep working on it until you achieve your first featured snippet – you won’t regret it!
What Are The Benefits Of Featured Snippets
Realy, the fact that featured snippets appear at the top of the search engine results pages, above the number one ranked result, should speak for itself. If you can achieve a featured snippet, you will have:
- Increased traffic to your website.
- Increased website and brand visibility.
- In theory, increased income and online success.
Final Word
If you’re serious about succeeding in the competitive online world, you should commit a decent amount of your marketing budget to SEO and try and get at least a few featured snippets. If you don’t have the SEO skills to do this yourself, then I’d recommend employing the services of a professional SEO agency.
Good luck, and remember – SEO success takes time!