Optimizing for Featured Snippet
It’s becoming difficult to build referral traffic from Google. This is because competition has become tougher and Google’s algorithms keep changing.
So, how can you adapt?
Google has always been optimizing its search algorithm. And they always focus on improving the user experience – making it easier for users to find what they’re looking for and avoiding spammy, low-quality results.
To make it easier for users to find what they need quickly, search engines are now placing a huge emphasis on featured snippets. Thus, you need to know how to get your content to appear in them.
According to HubSpot research, content with a featured snippet gets a two times higher click-through rate.
These are great results, right?
Five Tips for Optimizing Your Content for Featured Snippets
1. Provide Short, Clear Answers to Specific Questions
While Google loves long-form content, you’re more likely to get more featured snippets if you keep your answers concise and specific. This also helps with the content organization, which boosts user retention.
The average length of paragraphs with featured snippets is 45 words. Keep this in mind as you create content that you want to get recognized as a featured snippet.
However, this doesn’t mean your content should be one paragraph long. Google seems to favor long-form content that’s broken down into logical subsections and contains attention-grabbing images. Also, cornerstone content will help you cover more related questions within one article.
If you want to get a featured snippet, you may have to change your blogging style a bit:
2. Write Data-Driven, Well-Structured Content
Google loves lists, steps, and numbers. And featured snippets often list the actual ingredients, the number of steps, time to cook, city and year of birth, etc.
Therefore, in the paragraph answering the target question, list useful numbers and names. Make sure your answer is factual.
Comparison lists and charts are an easier way to get featured snippets because search engines love structured content. Even for branded queries, Google is more likely to pick a table from another site and not the answer from the brand itself if it has no table.
So, how can you adapt?
Google has always been optimizing its search algorithm. And they always focus on improving the user experience – making it easier for users to find what they’re looking for and avoiding spammy, low-quality results.
To make it easier for users to find what they need quickly, search engines are now placing a huge emphasis on featured snippets. Thus, you need to know how to get your content to appear in them.
According to HubSpot research, content with a featured snippet gets a two times higher click-through rate.
These are great results, right?
Five Tips for Optimizing Your Content for Featured Snippets
1. Provide Short, Clear Answers to Specific Questions
While Google loves long-form content, you’re more likely to get more featured snippets if you keep your answers concise and specific. This also helps with the content organization, which boosts user retention.
The average length of paragraphs with featured snippets is 45 words. Keep this in mind as you create content that you want to get recognized as a featured snippet.
However, this doesn’t mean your content should be one paragraph long. Google seems to favor long-form content that’s broken down into logical subsections and contains attention-grabbing images. Also, cornerstone content will help you cover more related questions within one article.
If you want to get a featured snippet, you may have to change your blogging style a bit:
- Ask the target question in your content
- Answer the question with a one-paragraph answer
- Give detailed information in the article
2. Write Data-Driven, Well-Structured Content
Google loves lists, steps, and numbers. And featured snippets often list the actual ingredients, the number of steps, time to cook, city and year of birth, etc.
Therefore, in the paragraph answering the target question, list useful numbers and names. Make sure your answer is factual.
Comparison lists and charts are an easier way to get featured snippets because search engines love structured content. Even for branded queries, Google is more likely to pick a table from another site and not the answer from the brand itself if it has no table.