Top 8 Ways To Get Featured Snippets In Google

Top 8 Ways To Get Featured Snippets In Google
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  • 6 min read

Remember when the goal of SEO was just to be on the first page? Then we would all get so excited when we ranked #1 on the Search Engine Results Page (SERPs). Well, the 0 result or featured snippet is definitely worth printing and putting on your fridge.  

Featured snippets are a fantastic brand awareness play. Brand awareness is hard to come by so be sure to celebrate the win. With that said, the SEO risk of featured snippets is your quote will be seen, but most people won’t click through to your website. Which means, a feature snippet is ultimately a zero-click result.

“Between January and December 2020, nearly 65% of Google searches ended without a click to another web property — up from 50% in June 2019, according to a SimilarWeb study published by Rand Fishkin, founder of SparkToro.”

Search Engine Land

Featured Snippets are truly the Valhalla of Google SEO. So how will you get them? We have 8 tips to help get your content in a featured snippet, something you can brag about to all of your friends and family that actually know what featured snippets even are…

Table of Contents

Featured snippets are the results at the top of a search in Google, Bing, etc. Sometimes SEOs call them zero results or Position 0. They’re super helpful for mobile and voice search users, but essential for screen readers. 

Featured snippets are basically quick answers. What’s Michael Jordan’s net worth? (2 Billion Dollars) What was the Best Picture in 1976? (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest) Where is Miami?

“There are eight ‘Miami’ cities in the United States. None of them are home to the University of Miami or Miami University.”

Hero Sports

Our only disclaimer is that these zero results aren’t always facts. I’ve encountered featured snippets that were satirical in nature or that used a false example in a didactic article. Be careful with featured snippets. They’re not necessarily true.

Search Engine Optimization isn’t just an acronym (SEO). It’s truly “findability.” How will users (consumers, buyers, customers, clients) find your content? Where will users find your content? How will users experience your content? Will users trust your content? A featured snippet in SEO is shows that Google sees your content as authoritative.

“You might find featured snippets on their own within overall search results, within the ‘People also ask’ section, or along with Knowledge Graph information.”

Google

According to Google, the writer of the Featured Snippet playbook, the structured data they support include the following categories: 

  • Article
  • Book
  • Breadcrumb
  • Carousel
  • Course
  • Dataset
  • Education Q&A
  • Employer Aggregate Rating
  • Estimated Salary
  • Event
  • Fact Check
  • FAQ
  • Home Activies
  • How-To
  • And more — we can’t just rip off their article. But you see where we’re going with this.

Basically, if you’re looking to get more eyes on your content, know what types of content are recognized by Google. That’s step one. Well, step one is finding the keyword.

“Rich results: Add structured data to your site to help Google understand the page: for example, a review, recipe, business, or event. Learn more about how rich results can improve your site’s listing in search results.”

Google Developers

Ah-ha! Did you read the whole article or did ya skip down here? If you skipped, or better yet found this because of a featured snippet, we’d love to know too. Everyone wants to know how to get featured snippets in Google; few want to do the work. We believe in you!

If you’re ready to optimize your content, keep on reading because we have 8 quick and dirty tips to get featured snippets in Google.

  1. Research Keywords for Optimization
  2. Create Content with Featured Snippets in Mind
  3. Structure Content for Searcher’s Needs and Structured Markup
  4. Write Headers Intentionally
  5. Leverage Existing Content
  6. Expand Your FAQs
  7. Stay Inside the Optimal Word Count
  8. Use Bullets and Numbered Lists

Optimizing content for featured snippets starts at the basics. What keyword do you want to be featured in Position #0? Not only does the keyword help focus your writing, but which articles are optimized first. Boom. Tip 1 done.

Featured Snippet Tip 2 — Create Content with Featured Snippets in Mind

If your content doesn’t have the goal of being found on Google, we have a bigger discussion. If you want your writing to show up in a featured snippet, write something snippet-able. That sounds odd, but it’s true. Keep reading our tips.

Featured Snippet Tip 3 — Structure Content for Searcher’s Needs and Structured Markup

If you have a killer tortilla soup recipe and you want that shown in the featured snippet, then structured markup is the key. Not sure how to do it? No worries. Both Yoast and RankMath will add structured data for you.

Structure Content for Searcher's Needs and Structured Markup - Example of a recipe featured snippet

Did you notice our first header is a question? “What are featured snippets?” That question is answered in a complete sentence. Using questions in a header and then answering them in one complete sentence is the key to featured snippets.

Write headers intentionally for a better chance of landing a featured snippet

In this screenshot, the featured snippet grabbed the question and the answer. “So What is Object Caching? Object caching involves storing database query results so that the next time a result is needed, it can be served from the cache without having to repeatedly query the database.” We don’t even have to visit WP Rocket if that satisfies our query.

It’s of note that the text shown in the featured snippet for “what is object caching” appears in the middle of their article – not the beginning.

Featured snippets can come from anywhere on your page, not just the top

Featured Snippet Tip 5 — Leverage Existing Content 

Your existing content is ripe for the picking so leverage it for featured snippets by editing it. Prioritize optimization by looking at specific keywords and topics you’d like to be featured in the zero result or “Position #0.” Work on editing one piece of content a week. Make a list. You can do it!

Your Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) don’t have to be relegated to the FAQ Page. When Customer questions show you that other people are searching, too. So, be the featured snippet by answering FAQs in complete sentences. It’s a great way to beat the competition.

According to Moz’s 2017 research, the optimal word count for a potential featured snippet is 40-50 words. Since an optimal meta description is about 155 characters, double that as a good frame of reference and you’re good to go. Think 3 lines.

Optimal word count to land a featured snippet is 40-50 words

This screenshot shows a featured snippet written in 42 words saying that the best length of a paragraph to be featured is about 40-50 words. Of course this is from Moz, a brand we all know and love. 

If you’re wondering why you should care about featured snippets, here’s our 7 reasons:

  1. Featured snippets give your brand authority.
  2. Featured snippets are a better user experience.
  3. Featured snippets reach mobile users.
  4. Featured snippets settle arguments at the dinner table. 
  5. Featured snippets make Alexa easier to use (and other voice assistants).
  6. Featured snippets makes your writing concise. 
  7. Featured snippets give brands visibility over Google Ads.
Using bullets and numbered lists are a great way to display your featured snippet

This featured snippet from Eventible uses bullet points points to well, prove their point. It’s an easy win in the featured snippet for their brand awareness. I didn’t know they existed. Now I do. Even better, they know the featured snippet won’t show all of their 17 Must Have Items, so now I have to click. I bet you do, too.

Your quality content is sure to be in Position #0 too with a performant hosting platform like Rocket.net. The only question which featured snippet will be your first? Have questions? Let us know.

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