When it comes to rankings most people try to aim for the number one spot. After all, the number one spot in Google is still very coveted real estate. However, there’s a new kid on the block that might even be more valuable, #0.
You’ve probably seen this little box before. It’s called the Google featured snippet and it appears before the #1 spot. In this case, #0 beats out #1. And for those already ranking on the first page, it provides you with the chance to get even more traffic to your site.
Below we look at what the Google featured snippet actually is and how you can properly optimize your site to increase your chances of landing this valuable spot.
What is the Google Featured Snippet?
The Google featured snippet is the little box that you’ll see above the search results. The goal of this is to provide the user with an immediate answer to their inquiry.
Typically, this snippet will be pulled from the site that’s ranking number one, but it doesn’t always work like this. Sometimes it will be pulled from a page that’s further down in the rankings.
Landing this spot comes with all kinds of benefits, like increasing the amount of traffic to your site, and boosting your authority.
How to Increase Your Chances of Appearing in the Google Featured Snippet
There’s no way to ensure your site will rank in the featured snippet, but there are a few things you can do to increase your chances. The tips below will help to move your page in the right direction.
1. Answer the Question Explicitly
If you take a look at the featured snippet box you’ll see that you don’t have that much space to give the best answer possible. So, make sure you sum up the answer to the keyword in the most useful and direct way possible.
Also, incorporate this answer into your content, towards the beginning if possible. One way to do this is to create a small formatted section that acts an introduction to what you’re going to cover in the post. This sum up section gives Google a great synopsis to feature and it helps your reader experience by letting them know what your post will be about.
2. Optimize Your Site Properly
Onsite optimization isn’t something you’ll want to neglect. Just because you’re trying to get the number zero spot doesn’t mean you should forget the basics.
Proper on-page SEO practices can go a long way. For example, make sure you’re optimizing your titles, meta description, post content, and images for your chosen and related keyword. Finally, another great way to improve your content is by implementing schema markup. If you’re using WordPress you can install a plugin like Schema, which will make this process even easier.
3. Format Your Content
Content formatting plays a huge role because it makes it easier on the search engines to find the answer they’re looking for. Since the featured snippet appears as a quote, a numbered list, a chart or table, or as bullet points you should use these throughout your content.
Of course, you don’t want to utilize all of them, but whichever one makes the most sense for displaying your information and answer to the keyword or question from the user.
4. Create Something Very High-Quality
Just because your use proper on-site optimization, format your content the right way and answer the question doesn’t mean your page is going to rank. You also have to create something very high-quality.
Think of optimizing for the featured snippet position as something you do after your page is already ranking. If you’re nowhere to be found on the first page you’re going to have a hard time stealing the featured snippet.
Employ SEO best practices like, creating epic content, and doing outreach to gain social shares backlinks before you even think about optimizing for the featured snippet.
Hopefully, the tips above will help you improve your chances of landing your site in the valuable #0 spot. If you want to take your search engine rankings to new heights in the coming year, then reach out to our team today.
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