How to Get Featured in the Google’s Featured Snippets Section

There is ground zero in every stream where all the actions happen!

Think you’re missing out on it till now?

Yeah, other than no 1 position Google has started recognizing the power of zero given by the famous
Indian astrologer Aryabhatta.

Not following up here?

There is a section being introduced by Google which has quickly become the apple of many eyes. Like, literally! As it
appears first whenever you click search on Google.

(Wait, as it is ranked on zeroth position do we call this result first or above
first?)

We’ll talk about that later but now, let’s talk about how to get featured there and even before that how it can help you
to get more no. of clicks and even before that what are featured snippets?

Google’s Featured Snippets

These are the naughty little answers that don’t understand the bounds of SERP rankings; they come in all shapes, sizes
and forms.

E.g. a featured snippet result may comprise of

• Text
• Lists
• Images
• Tables
• Charts
• Knowledge Graph etc

These come handy with relevance, so you might be featured in that column even when your site is not ranked in the top 10
search results.

There is not a direct method to make your content appear in this category; however, you can opt out of it if you want
using the following code on that specific page

No money can buy you a place in that section; however, you can come above that by using sponsored ads.

(Also read top mistakes to avoid with Google AdWords)

But that is more organic, and unless you have that kind of money, you’ll have to do with that only.

Now, let’s talk about what benefits it adds to a website.

Benefits of Featured Snippets

• Your website gets more views and CTR.
• Your trust and the credibility increases almost exponentially, not yours really!
  (How a link can do that? Unless you have some links with the higher authorities)
• You get visibility in search results more than you deserve! (the whole website I mean)

There is a benefit for readers as well, but I’m not sure whether you’ll like it or not!

This almost gives them the answer to their question, like almost! They might click
on it or might not if they are satisfied with what they’ve read. So, even being ranked on zeroth position may lead to
otherwise.

That’s hardly the case with the amount of text shown in that section so let’s ignore that and consider the benefits
only, otherwise, why would you read the remaining blog?

How can I secure a place in the featured snippet section?

Above are the deciding factors to getting featured in this section, let’s discuss them; I’ll only provide you with the
knowledge, implementation part is up to you.

Don’t be shy! We always have to thrive towards success with other’s help, but only help.

1.) Provide Answers

Yeah, we all have to answer God one day for our sins, but until that happens,
we’ve got a more important task at hand.

Know what the readers in your niche looking for, e.g. If you’re in content oriented field then

How to get more followers on Google Plus?

You shouldn’t just answer that question directly; make sure to backup your statement with facts,
figures and case studies. Google looks for the answer that appears to it as a rich
text responding the question in an enriching manner that no other site is providing.

You should also know about the fields where there are high chances of featured snippets to appear and fields that have a
significantly low quotient of featured snippets, so depending upon your business make your content accordingly.

According to a blog on MOZ, fields that run high on featured snippets:

• Financial
• Mathematical
• Time
• Transitional
• Health
• Requirement
• DIY Processes

And fields that do not

• Local
• Info/help
• Shopping etc

To make it even simpler, use these terms before anything and see the magic:

How to, What is, How can, Why do, etc.

Now you must be wondering about how to use them, right?

The answer lies with long-tail keywords. E.g. instead of targeting marketing tricks as your main
keyword, use “the best marketing tricks of 2017” as a whole.

You might have a fine piece of content that has a table, a list, steps, a paragraph, a knowledge graph, etc. If the user
is looking for steps, then 1 to any number of steps can be made visible in RTF format depending upon the
relevancy and user’s needs.

And how do you know what your users are looking for? By praying to God for the
revelations!No, I mean yes! But to the God which is as real as it can be i.e. Google!

In my previous blog, I have mentioned the change of devotion and how Google knows what
you’re looking for and going to do with your life.

Google suggestions appear whenever you type something into the dialogue box, and it automatically fills
up the remaining text with the most popular searches.

2.) Deliver Engaging and High-Quality Content

Believe me; many people already know about what you are going to write! Like this
point, many would have already anticipated that this one is coming.

So, either you’ve something interesting to share with your audience, but that cannot be true all the time, so you need
to share with them the engaging content, which may or may not be new all the times.

One thing I believe in is, a person who can make you read what you’ve already
known, is truly an artist! (I wouldn’t take too much credit myself, but if you’ve following me till now, then what I
just did is an artistic brainchild)

With making content engaging, try to put as much in-depth knowledge as you could. This
can be achieved by making every point count, and for that start as a beginner and by the end, your readers should have
become experts with you about the topic.

Want to know what to write? Just enter your category in the Google’s dialog box, and in people also ask category, you’ll
know which keywords to target.

3.) “Snipp-able” Content

Yeah, Google keeps on looking for the content to put in that section, and it definitely doesn’t depend on SERP
positions only.

The better the engagement metrics, the more chances are of getting it a place in the featured
snippets. As the most time on site/page seems like quality content in the eyes of Google.

(Also read: How to reduce bounce rate of your site/page)

Having your content in that format is necessary as it’s been articulated as a fact that it gets you almost 10
times more CTR than what you used to get.

Other than that, it needs to precise, short, accurate and to the point, like you don’t already do that!

The Conclusion

Aim for the bull’s eye i.e. you should aim to get a zero. As zeroes matter (even
without a one here)

You’ll experience a significant growth in your content’s ongoing demand which’ll eventually turn out to
be best for your business.

Make sure to use these guidelines if you want to be over the top, like literally!