An Ultimate Guide to Creating Winning Featured Snippets

Google’s algorithm is constantly changing!

This has launched a range of incredible features i.e., Google maps, auto-narrated audiobooks, etc. And, on top of the list rests “snippets”.

Websites that don’t rank on the 1st position on SERPs can easily outrank it with Google’s featured snippets. But the question is how?

Well, according to the experts of best SEO services in Liverpool the key to ranking for snippets is SEO-optimized content!

The best news that you can easily start your journey with this ultimate guide. Continue reading because we’ve got you everything you need to know about featured snippets. So, let’s get into this…

What Is a Google’s Featured Snippet?

The easiest answer to this is in the image above.

To be precise, a featured snippet provides a quick answer to a search query that is depicted in a small box on top of the SERPs. Snippets persuade the users to click on your page. Hence, resulting in increased traffic.

In order to rank for featured snippets, you need to understand the different types of snippets. Let’s walk through each of the category one by one:

Rich Paragraph: They provide answers to the questions that start with how, why, what, etc. in a few lines.
Bullet Points: Ultimate guide or step-by-step procedures that usually appear in the form of bullet points.
Tables: This depicts well-organized data charts.

The best SEO services in Liverpool and all around the world, usually use a combination of these types in their content.

Here is an example, while writing a blog on any topic i.e., “why investing in Google AdWords is worth it” writers try to use a small paragraph that provides an answer to this particular question. And, in the same blog, they list down the reasons in bullet points and depict numerical data in charts. Over time, the best part of their content starts ranking for snippets.

Featured snippets are also a reason why the SEO services in Liverpool are picking up the steam. Just because they know how to write perfect content for snippets and your users!

How to Optimize Content for Featured Snippets?

As mentioned earlier, quality content is all you need to rank for snippets.

Remember, only the blogs that fulfill the requirements of both search engines and the audience can win the snippets. Thus, before starting off, find your niche’s topic and learn how to write viral-worthy blogs.

Along with that, you also need to follow the steps given below, if you’re serious about ranking for snippets:

1. Understand the Autonomy of Snippets

Knowing the format of the snippet can help you learn which part of your content receives more attention.

A regular search snippet does not look like random pages on SERPs. Instead, Google uses a different format for them, just as shown in the image below:

A small part of the content, title tag, and page’s URL are showcased on top of snippets. Which indicates that you need to draft provoking headings and content that persuade your users to click on them.

No matter, whether you want to create content yourself or with the help of the best SEO services in Liverpool, your prime focus should remain on creating keyword-rich content, and title tags.

This is what we’re going to discuss in the next steps.

2. Conduct a Thorough Key-Word Research?

After website development, the next thing every business owner needs to do is keyword research.

Whether it’s about creating content for snippets or uploading images, keywords are to be inserted everywhere.

What matters the most is “choosing the right kind of keywords”. By this we mean, selecting words and phrases of your niche that your audience types in search bars.

If you add irrelevant keywords your snippets would never rank!

Let’s suppose, you’re running a digital marketing agency but the phrase you’ve selected are somewhat like, “web hosting agency in Liverpool” etc. In this case, your content won’t appear for keywords i.e., “best SEO services in Liverpool”, or “best social media marketing agency in Liverpool”, etc. Instead, your page would pop up when someone searches about server types or anything related to hosting.

In that case, your site would be left with zero clicks and profits.

Thus, conduct a competitor’s analysis to find out what keywords are worth working on. Apart from that, you can also use different online tools for i.e., Ahrefs, Ubersuggest, etc., for this purpose.

3. Add Different Questions in Your Content

The best way to get featured for snippets is to address different questions in one single blog.

Use “why, which, how… etc.” throughout your content and try adding oodles of questions in your headings. For instance, for writing a blog on any topic related to “social media marketing”, you can add different questions, i.e., how to avoid social media marketing mistakes? etc.

The real struggle arrives when you have to find your audience’s queries. How would you know that what your users want are looking for?

Well, for this you can check out your competitor’s website and read their blogs and FAQs. Apart from that, you can also jump into different Q/A sites i.e., Yahoo! Answers, WikiAnswers, Answer blog, etc. These platforms are specifically used to address users’ questions. From here you can have a clear idea of what your users want.

After gathering your keywords and Q/As, you’re ready to write and post your blog!

4. Post Fresh and High-Quality Content

Without content, you cannot rank for snippets and that’s a fact!

Instead of adding random keywords or questions to your website, draft high-quality blogs. This would provide you an opportunity to appear in front of your audience whenever they search for your niche’s services.

But, never use plagiarized content. You can wear your audience out and even get your ranking dropped on Google!

Sounds like a disaster? Right?

Remember, Google doesn’t like plagiarized content. No matter, how many keywords you’ve added, if your blogs are copied and provide no new information, Google would simply penalize your website. Hence, it’s important to create your own quality content.

Here’re some tips for you:

Draft new but keyword pivoted title
Do a thorough research
Add unique facts and starling stats
Avoid all the deadly SEO mistakes
Divide the content into paragraphs
Learn important copywriting rules
Don’t ignore the latest SEO trends
Add subheadings, bullet points, etc.
Proofread and avoid factual errors
Use high traffic words and phrases
Don’t ignore alt tags while adding images or videos

Don’t forget, contents that remarkably solve users’ issues tend to rank higher on snippets. And, also reinforce their purchase decision! Isn’t what you want?

5. Add FAQs Page to Your Website

Adding FAQs to your site can do wonders!

Not only do they demonstrate your field expertise but can also help your page to rank for snippets. In simple words, it provides your users all their answers in one place.

Still, website owners tend to overlook its importance and don’t work on FAQs at all!

You would have noticed, every top-ranking website, whether it appears for a snippet or not have a Q/A section on their site. Well, such pages are winning the race leaving other sites far behind them.

You don’t believe us? Have a look at the image below:

YouTube is one of the top-ranking websites, and their FAQs are playing a major role in this!

Still, if you haven’t worked on FAQs, then it’s the right time to get started! Make sure, you consider the following tips while working on FAQs:

Answer the questions that most people want to know
Keep answers short and add keywords
Find relevant questions from Google Quora
Check out your competitor’s Q/A sections
Avoid jargons and try to start the answers with “yes” or “no”
Write questions in the first person, i.e., “How can I choose the best SEO services in Liverpool?”, etc.

In the end, make sure your FAQ page appears on top of the home page. Users are eager to find answers and if they could not easily spot Q/A sections, they might turn away!

Key-Take Away: Get the Best SEO Services in Liverpool to Rank Your Content for Snippets

Writing excellent content for snippets is indeed an overwhelming task. However, getting the best SEO services in Liverpool or wherever else you’re located can help.

They conduct keyword research, write content as per your audience’s need, optimize it for snippets, and delivers it right at your doorsteps!

Well, with so many benefits, investing in SEO services sounds like a lucrative deal!

Keeping up pace with Google can be a tough call! But, with featured snippets, you’re more likely to uplift your ranking and even profits with much less frustration. So, start working hard on snippets if you really want to outrank the top position on SERPs!

By VROX Content Team - 28 May 2021