Featured snippets appear on some search engine results pages when a user poses a question-based search. The snippet showcases content from one of the top-ranked pages that answers the query.
Google has recently refined the way it displays results to users by increasing the number of featured snippets in search results. For example, if you type in the question “How to make wine?” Google will not only give you thousands of search results, it will also provide a sequence of wine-making steps that will show up without your having to click on a web link. This is known as a featured snippet.
(Pixabay / JuralMin)
Many people feared that the introduction of featured snippets would decrease the number of people clicking on the pages within their results. This never crystallized, because the featured snippets dramatically increased the CTC rate of the ranked sites that the featured snippet comes from.
Getting yourself featured
Unfortunately, there is no exact formula for getting your website in the featured snippet section of Google. Google does have a checklist of procedures spelling out which websites should be chosen for featured snippets in the search results. However, what you can do are some basics.
- write content formatted in a way that answers a question
- improve the content with search engine optimization improvements
- incorporate schema to tell search engines what you’re discussing instead of leaving it up to interpretation
The goal of featured snippets is to answer people’s questions quickly and appropriately. If that is your website’s mission, you are one step closer to having Google feature your information. The more efficiently you address popular questions, the more likely Google will be to showcase your content as part of a featured snippet.