The term featured snippets is becoming increasingly common. Therefore, chances are you have heard of it before. Especially when it comes to creating more organic search traffic, this term still comes up quite often. But although the term rings a bell, you have no idea what it means exactly. Or are you among those who do know what these are, but don't know how to get them?
Whatever the case, it is high time to delve deeper into this. After all, featured snippets are increasingly used to get a higher position within Google. To stand out better and attract more organic search traffic. In this article, we will elaborate on the meaning of featured snippets, explain how to get them and what advantages they have. We also tell you which sites they are especially great for.
What are featured snippets?
Featured snippets are small pieces of text from your website that are highlighted within search results in Google. These are answers to questions entered in the search bar. These snippets are mainly displayed for really specific questions. Sometimes a featured snippet also appears when a term is entered. In that case, you will be shown a short explanation of the term.
Featured snippets were invented for a good reason. Over the years, Google has been trying to offer its users an increasingly better user experience. When people are searching for a certain term or want an answer to a specific question, they often do not feel like reading through endless texts on websites. They want a quick answer to what they want to know, so they can get started.
To improve the user experience, Google has made sure that questions, from search engine users, are answered as quickly as possible. Simply by already briefly highlighting the answer, as this saves search work for the search engine user. The use of featured snippets thus helps a user quickly and efficiently. For you as a website owner, appearing in featured snippets can also have advantages. After all, it is a free form of marketing. Your website will be highlighted above all search results.
The different types at a glance
Remarkably, the results of featured snippets can look quite different from one query to another. In fact, there are a lot of different types known. You certainly won't just end up in these with clear text. Here you can think of the following four types:
- People also ask: eand enumeration where no clear order is known. You see this especially when you ask a general question about a specific topic. For example: what do people prefer to eat in Italy? In that case, you are immediately treated to an enumeration with no order of Italian food.
- Tables with concrete information. When questions are asked that can only have one clear answer, tables will also often be displayed. Consider, for example, making a comparison between various prices, sizes and so on.
- Definition box: short text explaining a concept or concrete answer to a question. This is among one of the featured snippets most often seen. The piece of text that is extracted from a piece of text and highlighted at the top of the search results. This way, the searcher only has to read through this paragraph (or a few sentences) to get the answer to his or her question.
- A list of different steps. Sometimes people also ask how to do certain things. Step by step, this is then highlighted. This is often shown in featured snippets when it is a clear, compact list that can be easily highlighted. A well-known example, for example, is a recipe. For example: How do I make tiramisu? Then a step-by-step plan is already highlighted immediately.
Featured snippets: how to get them?
Now that you know what a featured snippet is, you are probably also curious about how you qualify to be shown in featured snippets. How do you make sure you stand out? The big disadvantage of this is that you have much less influence on standing out within featured snippets. It is not clear to 100% what Google pays attention to and how to make sure you get picked and not the competitor. This is all done by robots. It is not clear what exactly is the deciding factor and what you should avoid. What is clear, however, is that Google pays attention to how questions are asked and how they are answered. These are our findings when it comes to getting a featured snippet.
Short and clear answers
Google likes short and clear answers. Short sentences, clear language, easy to understand for everyone and easy to read away. After all, that way the text attracts all audiences entering this search query. Answers should ideally be between 40 and 60 words.
Incorporate questions multiple times in the text (but don't overdo it!)
You have little chance of being highlighted within search results if Google does not know that you have the answer to a particular question. That is why it is important to formulate a clear question in your text. For example, in a heading. It is also good to ask that question again a little later in the text. Just make sure this happens naturally and don't overdo it. Otherwise, the whole thing could be considered spam and that will have a negative impact on the findability of your website.
Make use of lists
To make the answer clear quickly and provide a brief explanation, it is important that you also keep it as short and sweet as possible. Google loves lists. Preferably make a short list with a clear enumeration of no more than a few words per point.
Choose appropriate, unique images
It has been said before that images are good for the findability of your website. With unique, appropriate images, you illustrate the written text and make it come alive even more. Google values texts with images. They tend to have a higher quality. Especially when they are unique images. Therefore, make sure that good images are used alongside relevant answers to questions.
The benefits of featured snippets
Most people have come across featured snippets when using a search engine a lot. Yet they have not been offered for very long at all. It was only in 2014 that featured snippets were first introduced. Back then, it looked very different from what it does today.
Secretly, though, it has attracted more and more people over the years. Think for yourself how often you use a featured snippet. For instance, when you quickly want to look up the definition of a term or if you have a specific question and are looking for a short, clear and concrete answer. Then a featured snippet is really nice to read. This way, you quickly know the answer to your questions and can use this information immediately.
The benefits for search engine users are clear by now. But what about those who own their own websites? Why should they in particular find it very interesting to qualify for featured snippets? That's simple. Because it has numerous benefits for your website.
It potentially generates more visitors
It is not entirely clear how many extra visitors a display in the featured snippets gets you. It also depends on how the featured snippet is displayed. If a snippet about a concept is extracted from your text, chances are that the person in question will not click further because they already have the information they need. However, are they searching for a recipe or step-by-step plan and the featured snippets tease them with only the first steps? If so, they are much more likely to click on your website to get the rest of the information as well.
It creates clicks
The average featured snippet gets 8.6% of clicks. On a search results page without featured snippet, the first result gets about 25% of all clicks. On a search results page with featured snippet, the first result gets a lot fewer clicks: only 20% of all clicks. In other words; so you 'steal' a lot of clicks from the first search result.
Quickly increasing visibility
Of course, this advantage is obvious. After all, you do everything you can to end up higher in search results. The higher you end up in search results, the more likely people are to land on your website and take action here. However, this often takes a lot of time, effort and sometimes even a bucket of money. Appearing as featured snippets is completely free of charge and provides instant visibility provided it is qualitatively strong, concise and accurate. After all, people can no longer ignore your website and you are immediately highlighted at the top of search results. This is guaranteed to result in better findability and brand awareness.
Better reputation
A featured snippet shows the quality of your website. Google values the information you provide enough that it highlights a snippet at the top of search results. A search engine user recognises this and understands that your website is valuable enough. This not only generates more visitors, but is also good for your reputation. After all, you show your authenticity and expertise on specific topics. In addition, Google itself values authority. This is one of the factors that matter when testing the quality score.
If you have been displayed as a featured snippet before, this is a sign to Google that your website is valuable enough. So ultimately, this can also affect your position within the Google rankings.
Disadvantages of displaying in featured snippets?
Unfortunately, it is not really possible to influence the result of featured snippets. All you can do is provide valuable content and hope Google picks it up. But should you really want such a display in the featured snippets? This is where opinions are divided. Because while there are huge benefits, there are also definitely some drawbacks. We list the four most important ones:
- It does not always go well. This is unfortunately a fact. Because while Google does everything it can to keep the user experience as good as possible and share accurate information, sometimes things do go wrong. It can't be otherwise. Certainly not with the different languages and robots that have to use an algorithm to determine whether something is valuable enough to publish. For instance, there have been times when a very strange answer to a question was highlighted at the top of search results. While this kind of thing is usually resolved quickly, it can have a big impact on the website being shown. After all, you don't want to be the website that gives the wrong answer to a very easy question.
- Featured snippets do not always generate additional visitors. You might expect that every time your website is highlighted, it will lead to extra visitors. After all, you try so hard to end up high in the search results for a reason. Therefore, ending up at the top of all search results is a dream come true. Yet in this case, featured snippets sometimes have drawbacks. This is because Google sometimes gives away just too much information in featured snippets. As a result, the person's question has already been answered and they do not need to click further. As a result, the number of visitors does not necessarily increase. Especially not when you appear in the featured snippets based on a definition.
- You can also lose your nice position in no time. It sometimes seems like Google changes something in its algorithm every day. If you search on a certain topic today and ask the exact same question next week, chances are you will get completely different information twice. Especially if you search on popular topics. So no matter how well you have tried, you can easily lose your ranking. It is good to take this into account.
In short: there are also some clear disadvantages of featured snippets. Yet all of these outweigh the free publicity you receive. Because no matter how briefly you are shown in this little listing, your name does stick. And that, of course, is a very powerful marketing tool!
How do you know if you will be shown in the featured snippets?
You can choose to enter some relevant search queries in Google and hope that your website will appear at the top, but this is very time-consuming and also not really easy.
Therefore, it is better to make use of some special tools to quickly find if you are at the top of the search results. There are several programmes that allow you to easily filter relevant searches for your website. That way, you can see at a glance what your position is and whether you might even be in the featured snippets. Good to know and thus also possibly explain where a whole new stream of visitors is coming from.
For example, we use SEMrush and can see which keywords are featured snippets through this tool. For example, SEMrush indicates this with a crown.
How often are featured snippets shown on Google?
Do you use Google regularly, but have you never actually noticed these featured snippets that much? If so, this is actually quite possible. This is because these snippets of text are by no means displayed for every search query. Only for specific questions that can be answered concisely. For example, the question: What is online marketing? In that case, there is a good chance a featured snippet will be displayed with a short explanation. On average, a featured snippet is shown in around 15 per cent of all search queries.
While no one knows exactly what determines display in featured snippets, we do know what increases the chances. This is all about writing quality content. If you do this, there is even a possibility of multiple snippets from your piece of text.
How do we view featured snippets?
As far as we are concerned, this is often an understudy in SEO strategies. Many times the focus is on content optimisation, more text, more link building or implementing better techniques in the code.
Featured snippets may not be instant quick wins, but they are certainly not indispensable either. It is not for nothing that Google lets these be in its search engine results. This is where you draw the attention of a search engine user and not only provides more visibility and traffic, but also often improves the user experience by providing quick, helpful and accurate information to the user.
Did you know:
- Being displayed in featured snippets could even make previous visitors remember your company better? Even when they did not press directly on the web page. While reading the displayed information, they will stumble upon the name of your website. They will subconsciously store that name. This makes it much more likely that your target audience will remember you. It may not directly bring you more visitors, but you will continue to haunt their subconscious. As a result, your name is more likely to be mentioned when certain searches are carried out and a feeling of trust is more likely to emerge.
- 99.6% of all feature snippets come from 1 of the top-10 search engine results?
