How do you optimise for featured snippets?

What are the Types of Featured Snippets?

There are a number of different featured snippets:

• Paragraph snippets are the most common, shown as a snippet of text taken from your web page to answer the users question, providing an informative summary of the information the user is looking for
• List snippets are displayed as numbers or bullet lists that answers the users query. It often includes how to, steps to, or ways to.
• Table snippets provide valuable information in a table format, often taken from your web page. It shows data in rows and columns providing a structured overview of information
• Video snippets includes a thumbnail and link to a video from a relevant source. They are easily understood, offering interactive content including demonstrations, informative videos, and presentations.

Why Should I Optimise for Featured Snippets?

When you optimise for featured snippets you improve your visibility and website traffic. When you optimise for featured snippets, you enjoy:

• Improved visibility – appear at the top of SERPs, a prominent placement that increases your visibility
• Improved Click-through rate – featured snippets offer direct answers, they are appealing to users looking for a quick answer to their question. When you appear in featured snippets, you attract users, improving your click-through rate.
• Improved credibility – when featured, you are seen as an authoritative source for information, boosting your brand credibility, showing you as a reliable source of information
• Competitive edge – featured snippets are in a prime spot in SERPs, giving you a competitive edge over any rivals, enabling you to outrank your competitors, capturing your audiences attention

How Do You Optimise for Featured Snippets?

Featured snippet optimisation is specific strategies to boost your chances of being selected and displayed:

• Identify keywords – use long-tail keywords that align with search intent, including how to, best ways, step by step, differences, and benefits
• Know the different featured snippet formats – identify what type of featured snippet aligns with your content 
• Analyse search results – examine existing featured snippets that appear in search results relevant to your industry. This helps to identify format, structure, and content presentation
• Use well-structured headings – provide clear and organised headings for your content, helping search engines identify and extract relevant information
• Do not use first person language – deliver objective information to accommodate the reader, first person language implies the information is specific to a product or person
• Add structured data on your page – Structured data is important when optimising content for featured snippets, providing additional context to search engines.
• Monitor performance – take the time to regularly monitor your performance to see if and how your content is appearing in featured snippets, enabling you to make adjustments if needed.

Conclusion

Featured snippets can offer you a wealth of benefits when it comes to your SEO strategy, helping you improve visibility, improve click through rates, improve credibility, and competitive edge. Follow the tips above to optimise your content for featured snippets, improving your online success in the long run.