Ranking on the first page of Google results as the first result is a big deal. If you rank for the right keywords, you will get thousands of targeted visitors. Did you know that your website can rank even higher? Read this article to learn how to do this.
Featured Snippets are the key (Featured Snippets)
If your website appears as a “featured snippet” on Google's search results page, it will appear above the first page of results.
Featured snippets appear only for some search queries. Typically, the snippet contains short text of the listed web page, as well as the title and URL of the page. Google tries to display the answer to the searcher's question directly in the featured snippet box:
As you can see, the featured snippet is much more prominent on the first page of results than the first regular result. If your website appears as a featured snippet, you will get many more visitors than before.
How to appear with a featured snippet
1.- Check the theme of your website
Featured snippets don't work for all websites. Queries with financial, transition, or math questions typically have a featured snippet on the search results page. The same goes for questions about the weather, health, DIY projects, etc.
If you have a local business, Google is unlikely to show a featured snippet. Featured snippets are also unlikely for image/video searches and shopping searches. In that case, it is better to invest your time in website optimization and link building (which is also important for all other sites).
2.- Find relevant words
Use keyword suggestion tools to find keywords that could show featured snippets. In general, higher volume search terms often get a featured snippet if the search term includes “who,” “how,” “where,” “what,” etc.
Search “how to” in keyword suggestion tools and you will get many “how to” search terms. Of course, this works with other questions too.
There are also words that can imply a question, for example “make”, “get”, “make”, “cook”, etc. The “People Also Ask” section on the search results page can help you find new keyword ideas.
3.- Invite Google to choose your website for the featured snippets section
If you want to increase the chances of Google choosing your website for a featured snippet, you need to show Google that your page is the correct page for a question. You can do this by doing the following:
- Repeat the search term or question in the title and subtitle of your page.
- Answer the question directly below the title. The answer must be brief, clear and precise. Sorted lists often help. The answer should not be longer than one paragraph.
- Add additional information (images, videos, etc.) to ensure the question has been answered as completely as possible.
Use clean and structured HTML code that facilitates the analysis of your pages (headers, lists, etc.). If your page content is in a question/answer format, Google might also choose a short answer from your page as a featured snippet for a question.
This has a very positive side effect
Google only selects the best pages for featured snippets. When optimizing your web pages for featured snippets, you have to make sure that your web page is the best page that answers the search engine's question.
It is important to structure and improve the content of your web pages so that they appear as a featured snippet. It is even more important to ensure that your website offers the best solution. This will be rewarded by Google and your website visitors.
