Featured Snippets

Reaching the number one position in Google's organic search results is a constant struggle. But just because it's difficult doesn't mean it can't be won. Even if you don't reach the top spot, you can still go further.

But how? Is that even possible? Yes, it is possible – by claiming a recommended section.

In this article, we will look at what recommended clippings are, what types exist, what advantages they offer, and how you can optimize your content for them.

What are featured snippets?

Featured snippets are short snippets of text that appear at the top of Google's search results pages to quickly answer a searcher's query. The content that appears within a featured snippet is automatically pulled from web pages that are indexed by Google. Common types of featured snippets include definitions, tables, steps, and lists.

Focus on optimizing featured snippets

First, this improves your website's visibility in the relevant Google search results. Position 0 means that only paid ads will appear above position 0, while the remaining organic search results are pushed down. Many complain that users find the answer to their question in the snippet and therefore have no reason to click on the website.

While this may be the case for very simple search queries, for more complex information Google only displays an excerpt of the text, list, or table in the snippet, requiring users to click the link and go to the landing page to see all the information. In other words, this SERP feature offers an excellent opportunity to SEO and to use content marketing to improve organic visibility and generate more organic traffic.

Where should I start?

If you're thinking about optimizing for featured snippets, you should ask yourself the following questions:

How effective are they in my industry?

The frequency of featured snippets varies significantly from industry to industry. According to a study by Searchmetrics, the healthcare industry has the highest number of featured search results, appearing in 14,4% of the health-related keywords analyzed. Featured snippets are far less common in e-commerce, travel, and media – in these sectors, a result appears in position zero in less than 3% of Google searches.

When do featured snippets appear?

To find out when featured snippets are displayed and for which search queries, your first step should be to analyze your own keywords. This is best done with the Searchmetrics Suite.

If you find that featured snippets are displayed for a high percentage of your keywords, it makes sense to select them as your SEO keywords and increase your chances of reaching position 0.

Don't forget to analyze your competitors' snippets and corresponding URLs so you can create better text or list snippets with high-quality content.

How do I optimize for featured snippets?

• First, it is important to fully utilize the targeted keyword or keyword phrase on the website that Google should refer to for the snippet.
• It also makes sense to replicate the keyword phrase as a question in a header tag, ideally in an H2 tag relatively high up on the page.
• For a text snippet, it is important to write one or two optimized sentences with a simple sentence structure as an answer to the header tag question.
• To optimize for a list snippet, use the question as a header tag with plenty of trigger words, and then list the bullet points. Google displays a maximum of only a handful of bullet points, so users who want to see more can click through to your page, increasing your click-through rate (CTR).
• To create content for a table snippet, the keyword phrase should be integrated as a header tag, and a simple table with many rows should be created for the content. If you optimize your content in this way, Google will not display the entire table in the featured snippet.
• After optimizing your page content, you can use the tools in Google Search Console or our Searchmetrics Suite to see how successful your optimization has been for a list snippet, a table snippet, or a text snippet. Use Search Console to evaluate every ranking position, including position 0, so you can see the different CTRs, clicks, and other metrics for each position.

Why are featured snippets important for SEO?

Featured snippets influence SEO in two ways. First, featured snippets are a way to generate more clicks from organic search results… without higher Google rankings.

In fact, many SEO experts refer to the featured snippet field as "position #0" because it appears above the traditional position #1.

According to Search Engine Land, a featured snippet receives approximately 8% of all clicks. Therefore, if you manage to get your content into the featured snippet, you can significantly increase your organic click-through rate.

According to Google Search Console, our organic CTR for this page is 13,7%. Secondly, featured snippets increase the number of "no-click searches"—in other words, when Google users don't click on any of the search results. This is because the featured snippet often provides the answer someone is looking for.

Therefore, before choosing a specific keyword, it's important to consider whether the search results have a featured snippet or not. According to an industry study by Ahrefs, SERPs with a featured snippet receive fewer clicks compared to results without one.

However, this doesn't mean you should automatically exclude a keyword just because it has a featured snippet. After all, Semrush reports that 6,36% of all queries have a featured snippet.

This means that it will be difficult to completely avoid keywords with a featured snippet. Rather, featured snippets, along with competition and monthly search volume, should be considered in your keyword selection process.

Types of Featured Snippets

Featured snippets typically appear in the 4 most common forms:

• heels
• Listed numbers / points
• Table
• Videos

Depending on the search query, Google can automatically extract any piece of content from the highest-rated websites and display it as a selected snippet in one of these formats.

Paragraph snippet

Paragraph snippets are the most common type of featured snippet in SERPs. They consist of a short piece of text that provides a concise answer to questions such as "How," "Who," "Why," "When," and "What." Paragraph snippets are typically about 40-60 words long.

Bulleted/numbered snippet

Listicle Featured Snippets are answers presented in numbered or enumerated lists. They are typically displayed for "how" or "what" questions that require answers in the form of step-by-step instructions or a list of items.

Listicle Featured Snippets can be either:

Ordered lists – They usually display the list of ranked items or a series of steps (e.g. for queries such as "Top 10 Movies 2021" or "How do I set up a new Android phone?").

Unordered lists – a list of items that do not need to be ranked in any particular order (e.g. for queries such as "Which dog breeds are the friendliest?")

Table snippet

A table snippet provides data extracted from a specific page and displayed as a table in response (e.g., for search queries like "What sizes are pants?"). It typically consists of rows and columns displaying values ​​such as prices, rates, years, or other numerical data.

Video snippet

In some cases, Google also displays a featured video snippet (usually from YouTube) with a preview of the playback timestamp, starting at a specific point in the video. According to a study, video snippets typically appear in "how-to" searches where the video title matches the entered search query.