Featured snippets are a really powerful, yet often overlooked, source of SEO juice. In this post Mash Media SEO Manager Camille le Goff, an expert on organic search and website optimisation, will cover the most important points of featured snippets. By the end, you’ll want to be above position 1 in Google too!
Mash: Why is it important to know about featured snippets?
Camille: Featured snippets matter because they are an opportunity to show content above the fold. This means it might be the same content that ranks at the bottom of page one, but a little bit of it could be featured at the top of the same time. It is a presence in two different places on page one of Google. Also, it helps click-through rate. If you are in position 3 and also “position 0”, you get the click-throughs of your search position plus the snippet higher up the page. At Mash Media, we have achieved featured snippets for our clients many times and they’ve reaped great SEO results.
Mash: Why did Google bring in featured snippets?
Camille: Google is always striving to bring better search results to their users and they test out thousands of new features on and off every year. Featured snippets were one of those that worked and has stayed. Myself, I tend to choose the quick answer when the snippet seems right to me – other times I won’t bother. But, if at first glance it seems relevant, I would click it.
3 featured snippet facts:
1. There are 3 types of featured snippets: paragraph, list (numbered and bulleted) and tables.
2. Featured snippets are also referred to as ‘position zero’ and ‘Google Quick Answers’.
3. Feature snippets are most often triggered by ‘how to’ searches and queries that ask questions.
Mash: What are the things people don’t realise about featured snippets?
Camille: People don’t really know featured snippets exist or perhaps they never really saw the need for them. A lot of people don’t think they have any control over them. That’s true, but instead you can influence them. You can maximise your chances of being in a snippet, but there is no guarantee. For a start, you need to be on page one for a search query trigger sa featured snippet. Then you look at all the elements of SEO – technical, relevancy and authority to identify what kind of actions you can implement to maximise the chances.
Why do you want a featured snippet?
If your page ranks anywhere in the top 10 Google results, it has also a chance of having a snippet in the “position 0” spot. Recent studies show that position 0 steals the clicks from the position 1. However, if your URL is featured at position 0 you still capture more clicks in total because your listing appears twice on the page.
Mash: What do featured snippets mean for the businesses that have them?
Camille: Having a featured snippet means more visibility for someone’s content. That is, more visibility for their already well-performing content. Getting a featured snippet also means they have accurately answered what the audience is asking the search engines. So, with a featured snippet you get:
- Potentially more clicks from organic search results
- More real estate on page 1 for particular queries
- Confirmation that you are doing a great job with your content.
Mash: What can a business do to get a featured snippet?
Camille: It should make pursuing them a project for internal marketing teams or it should speak to an SEO consultant who can help identify the opportunities for scoring featured snippets.
Featured snippets are super SEO
Now that you know a little more about featured snippets, you can see why they are so powerful for SEO. It is a mark of high distinction when Google specifically chooses your content for its outstanding relevance and authority to users. If you want to chase featured snippets, you can also see how it’s a game of careful research and content tailoring. And that often means talking to an expert agency like Mash Media.
