Have you ever wondered how some web pages appear at the very top of Google search results in a special box? Those are called featured snippets, and they can drive huge amounts of traffic to your website.
Featured snippets (sometimes called "position zero" or "answer boxes") are short excerpts from a web page that appear above the #1 organic listing in Google search results. They provide quick answers to users‘ questions, pulling content directly from web pages that Google deems most relevant.
Featured snippets have increased in prevalence over the past few years. According to a 2022 study by Semrush, featured snippets now show up in approximately 19% of search queries – nearly 1 in 5 searches! And for queries with question-based keywords like "how", "why", "what", etc., they appear even more frequently.
If you can get your content to appear as a featured snippet, it can drive significantly more organic traffic compared to a regular search listing. One case study found that the click-through rate (CTR) from a featured snippet was over 8%, compared to about 2% for the #1 regular listing.
So how can you optimize your content to rank in Google‘s featured snippets? While there‘s no guaranteed formula, there are proven best practices you can follow to improve your chances. In this guide, we‘ll break down exactly how to identify opportunities and structure your content to appear in this highly coveted "position zero." Let‘s dive in!
Types of Featured Snippets
Before we get into optimization tactics, it‘s important to understand the main types of featured snippets. Google displays featured snippets in three main formats:
- Paragraphs – The most common type, these snippets show a brief text excerpt (typically 40-60 words) that directly answers the search query. Often they appear for question-based searches.
Example: "What is SEO?"
- Lists – Numbered or bulleted lists are used to provide step-by-step instructions, best practices, or rankings. List snippets are triggered by searches with words like "how", "ways", "tips", "best", etc.
Example: "How to bake chocolate chip cookies"
- Tables – Table snippets display structured data comparing attributes like prices, rates, dimensions, features, etc. They often appear for comparison searches.
Example: "iPhone 14 vs Samsung Galaxy S23 specs"
Google will automatically pull content from your page into these formats if it deems your content the most relevant for the search query. However, you can use some tricks to make your content more snippet-friendly, which we‘ll cover below.
How to Optimize Content for Featured Snippets
Getting your content to appear as a featured snippet requires a combination of keyword research, content creation, and formatting best practices. Here‘s a step-by-step process you can follow:
1. Find Keywords You Already Rank For
The easiest place to start is to look at keywords you already rank in the top 10 on Google for. According to research by Ahrefs, 99.58% of featured snippets are pulled from pages that already rank in the top 10 results.
So pull up your keyword tracking tool of choice and filter for keywords where you rank between positions 1-10. Export that list.
Then do a manual search for each of those keywords and look for any that have a featured snippet appearing. If the snippet is being pulled from a competitor‘s site, that‘s a great opportunity for you to steal their spot by optimizing your own page targeting that keyword.
2. Do Question-Based Keyword Research
The majority of featured snippets appear for long-tail keywords phrased as questions. Semrush found that searches beginning with question words like "why", "how", "what", "when", "who", etc. are much more likely to generate featured snippets compared to regular searches.
So the next step is to perform keyword research to uncover relevant question-based searches your target audience is making. There are a few useful tools for this:
- Answer the Public – Enter a topic and get a visualization of all the questions people ask about it
- AlsoAsked – Shows questions related to your search along with search volumes
- Keyword Explorer by Ahrefs – Select "Questions" under keyword ideas to see popular question searches
- People Also Ask boxes – Look at the PAA boxes that appear in Google search results to see related questions
Gather up a list of relevant question keywords with search volume that you want to target with your content. Aim for ones that are specific enough that they could be answered in a short paragraph or list.
3. Create Content That Answers The Questions Directly
Now that you have your target keywords, it‘s time to create content that is specifically aimed at answering those questions as directly and thoroughly as possible. This is the key to getting your page pulled into the featured snippet.
Your content should be able to stand on its own as the best answer to the target search query. Don‘t just stuff the keyword in there and write a tangentially related post. Address the question head-on in a clear, concise way.
Imagine you wanted to create a snippet-optimized post for the keyword "how to poach an egg." Here‘s how you might structure it:
- Title: How to Perfectly Poach an Egg Every Time
- Intro paragraph that briefly describes what poached eggs are
- H2: Step-by-Step Instructions for Poaching Eggs
- Numbered list of 5-7 steps for the poaching process
- H2: Tips for the Best Poached Eggs
- Bulleted list of 5-7 tips
- Concluding paragraph
The key is to make the main content extremely focused and direct. Use headings, lists, and tables to provide structure and make it easy for Google to parse.
4. Format Your Content for Featured Snippets
In addition to creating highly targeted content, the way you format your posts can make a big difference in featured snippet optimization. Here are some best practices to follow:
Paragraphs:
- Keep them short and to the point, around 40-60 words is ideal
- Ask the question in a heading directly above the answer paragraph
- Use
tags to delineate the paragraph
Lists:
- Use H2 or H3 headings to introduce the list
- Use
- tags for numbered lists and
- tags for bulleted lists
- Aim for around 5-8 items per list for maximum readability
Tables:
- Use proper
tags including
for rows and for header cells - Keep tables relatively small, around 5 columns and 5-7 rows
- Title your columns and rows
- Use tables only when they make sense to display data or comparisons
The goal is to spoon-feed the content to Google in a structure that‘s easy to pull into a featured snippet. Well-formatted content has a much better chance of getting featured.
Advanced Tips to Increase Your Odds
Once you‘ve implemented the basic best practices above, here are a few additional tips to really take your featured snippet optimization to the next level:
Update and refresh your content regularly. Google tends to favor fresh, up-to-date content for snippets.
Build high-quality links to your snippet-optimized pages to show Google they are authoritative and deserve to rank at the top.
Create multiple pages focused on different long-tail question variations to increase your chances of getting a snippet for a broad topic.
If you have an expansive snippet-optimized page, consider breaking it up into multiple posts, each focused on a specific question. Unbounce found that 70% of snippets came from sites with fewer than 1,500 words.
Use images and videos alongside your text content to make your page more engaging. Some snippets will pull in multimedia content too.
Provide specific, direct answers, not just general information. If you‘re too broad, Google may pull a more specific excerpt from another page.
When to Opt Out of Featured Snippets
In most cases, featured snippets are very beneficial as they drive more traffic and brand visibility. However, there are some instances where you may want to opt out of them on certain pages.
If you notice a large drop in organic traffic after earning a featured snippet for an important keyword, it may be a sign that the snippet is cannibalizing your clicks. People may be getting the info they need from the snippet without actually visiting your page.
This tends to happen on queries with a very quick, direct answer where searchers don‘t need to dig any deeper. For instance, if you rank for "how many ounces in a gallon" and the snippet clearly shows "128", you‘re unlikely to get many clicks.
In these cases, you can opt out of the snippet by adding a "nosnippet" tag to your page:
This will prevent your content from being eligible for snippets while still enabling it to rank normally in search results. Just be careful before implementing this and make sure the snippet is truly causing you to lose traffic.
Measuring Featured Snippet Performance
Finally, as with any SEO tactic, it‘s critical to measure the results of your efforts and adjust your approach accordingly. The best way to track featured snippet performance is Google Search Console (GSC).
In GSC, go to the Performance report and select "Search results" under "Search type." Then click the "+ New" button and filter by "Search appearance: Rich results." This will show you which keywords you are earning featured snippets for.
You can then compare metrics like impressions, average position, and click-through rate for snippets vs. regular search results to gauge their impact. If certain snippets are underperforming, consider testing new formats or opting out of them.
By regularly monitoring your snippet performance in GSC, you can continuously optimize your approach and ensure they are providing value in terms of traffic and visibility.
Wrap Up
Ranking in Google‘s featured snippets can provide a major boost to your organic search performance. By following the tactics and best practices outlined in this guide, you can greatly increase your chances of scoring that coveted "position zero."
To recap, here are the key steps:
- Find keywords you already rank in the top 10 for that have snippet opportunities
- Do research to identify relevant question-based keywords to target
- Create focused content that directly answers the questions
- Format your content with proper heading, paragraph, list, and table tags
- Implement advanced optimization tactics like using fresh content and multimedia
- Monitor your results in Google Search Console and adjust as needed
Remember, featured snippets are just one aspect of a well-rounded SEO strategy. Make sure to also focus on foundational tactics like keyword research, high-quality content creation, technical optimization, and link building.
By staying up-to-date on the latest developments with featured snippets and continuously testing and refining your approach, you can stay one step ahead of competitors and drive more organic traffic to your site. Now go out there and claim your spot in "position zero"!
