Climbing up to “Position Zero”: How to Win Featured Snippets

When one conducts a search through a search engine online, mainly on Google, since it dominates the scene, the Search Engine Results Page or SERP returns, not only the paid ad on top, followed by the organically obtained search results, but usually in between the two, one or more featured snippets, neatly positioned above all organic results, placed on what has come to be known as “Position Zero” on the SERP.

In essence, featured snippets are a box, in which Google displays an excerpt from a top results page, where the answer to the search query can be found. Google implemented this feature in its attempt to answer search queries in the best possible way to satisfy its users, who seek to find a summarized answer fast but may also need further information, which can then be obtained by clicking through to the URL listed under the featured snippet.

Thus, feature snippets are a powerful tool under the belt of any online entrepreneur since they are a new, proven method for boosting a site’s traffic, leading to conversions and profit. As such, winning featured snippets has become an integral part of every successful digital marketing strategy, closing intertwined with the overall SEO efforts of any online venture.

At Netresort, we pride ourselves of being on top of our field and very responsive to new trends that can help our clients succeed and grow, so we have worked hard with our team of resident experts to master the art of winning featured snippets and let all our clients benefit from our expertise in order to boost their websites’ traffic. This is why we have developed a tried and effective set of content optimization tactics to identify, assess and win featured snippets.

Featured Snippets were first released by Google back in 2014, building on the previous development of Google’s Knowledge Graph in 2012 and the Answer Box feature in 2013. Unlike the latter two features, however, which displayed results sourced directly from Google’s own database, Featured Snippets’ results come entirely from third-party sources, providing users with new and better possibilities for getting quick answers to their questions. Ever since, featured snippets have grown exponentially in use and popularity.

Types of Featured Snippets

From the analysis we have performed, it emerges that there are broadly three different types of Featured Snippets that one could aim to attain, namely Paragraph Snippets, List Snippets, and Table Snippets. Paragraph Snippets are usually chunks of text which answer WHAT questions, while List Snippets, which can be bullets or steps, usually answer HOW questions, while table snippets are usually of a more infographic nature. Successfully winning featured snippets for your own site, requires that you know the types of featured snippets that exist to be able to build your web pages accordingly and include content that will qualify as worthy of becoming a featured snippet, i.e. better meet Google’s selection criteria.

Why aim for Featured Snippets

Though some may argue that if you attain a Featured Snippet and rank on position zero on a SERP will lower traffic to the connecting website, since the searcher sees the information immediately without having to click away, evidence shows that this is not true. In fact, featured snippets do result in higher click-through rates, and attracting extra traffic to your website is thus the first reason you should aim to win Featured Snippets. Another reason why you should aim for Featured Snippets is that they can get you right on top of a SERP. The other two ways to get there would either be to rank high organically, which is not always feasible for various reasons, or it takes incredible amounts of time and effort, or appear on top of a SERP through PPC. But paid advertising costs money, and PPCs on Google are even pricier while securing position zero through a featured snippet could save any business thousands in PPC bidding.

Moreover, since Google selects the pieces qualifying as featured snippets very carefully, winning a Featured Snippet position indicates to users that your content is of high quality and is worthy of Google’s trust, thus adding incredible points to your overall image and credibility and making it easier to attract clicks, traffic, conversions and revenue. Contrary to appearing high through PPC, which means you paid your way to the top, landing on position zero through a featured snippet means you have rightly earned that position.

Why are featured snippets important?

Featured Snippets are so important because ranking well organically has become so difficult and search engine results pages are nowadays packed with features and enhancements that organic results need to compete with. Therefore, the danger of losing traffic, brand recognition, prominence and eventually customers is now graver than ever. To offset this danger SEOs can focus on featured snippets as a prominent organic SERP feature that they can have a direct impact on and which they can take advantage of if tackled correctly.

The importance of Featured Snippets is increased due to the fact that they are strongly linked to voice search responses. Due to the increase in searches conducted via mobile phones and the boom in conversational searches that are set to be a hot trend for a long time to come, landing on position 0 through a featured snippet, means that your result will be the one readout as the response to a voice query. This highlights the importance of optimizing your content to be able to serve this purpose and gain featured snippet status.

How to Earn a Featured Snippet

Managing to get your page content to be displayed in a featured snippet can give you a huge competitive advantage. But how can you actually achieve this? Truth be told there are no secret recipes and earning featured snippets is not exactly a task you can do on your own, but rather a strategy that your SEO expert, either in-house or outsourced service provider, should implement and carry out. Since Google uses its own algorithm to determine the page containing the most likely answer to a user’s question and then displays it as a Featured Snippet, you will need expert help from someone who can effectively decode Google’s algorithm. At Netresort we have that expertise and skillset and are at your disposal to help you earn a featured snippet, zero position.

Though we wouldn’t be revealing here exactly how the process is done, to help you decide if winning featured snippets is a task worth pursuing in your case, here’s a brief overview of the necessary steps to be taken:

• Researching keywords and feature snippet opportunities
• Adjusting Your Content
• Adding a Q&A Section

Now, let’s explore each of those in greater depth.

• Researching keywords and feature snippet opportunities:Before preparing your content, your first step should be to determine and identify the featured snippet opportunities that your content creates, as well as which type of questions asked by Google users you are geared to provide answers to. To win featured snippets you need to focus on more complicated questions that need several words to be answered since research shows that longer keywords tend to have a higher probability of Featured Snippets. To help with this research, you can use a keyword research tool, as doing the process on your own and manually would be very painstaking and time-consuming.

  

• Adjusting Your Content: Having identified the target keywords and questions you are aiming to answer through your content, then you should focus on your content itself and make sure that such answers are made explicit. Don’t get carried away in terms of length and bear in mind that your content should be short enough to fit the featured snippet answer box, i.e. approximately 50 words long. If your content is longer, you can adjust it accordingly by summarizing it or breaking it down into lists or tables. Structuring your content into the most suitable and relevant format is key in your efforts to win featured snippets. It also goes without saying that your content should be top quality, both in terms of its essence, true and authoritative, and also in terms of writing, the correct use of language and style and will capture a reader’s attention and gain their respect.

  

• Adding a Q&A Section: Another good way of earning featured snippers is through having an independent section to field questions on your site, especially if, as is often the case you have more than one target question that you are aiming at. By creating a dedicated Q&A section on your site, you can have all related questions together in one place, followed by well-structured and formatted answers. You can get help in setting up the list of all related questions, either through a keyword research tool or by seeing what comes up on Google’s related keywords at the bottom of each SERP.

  

At Netresort we have worked with hundreds of clients over the years, from across the globe, but have developed a particular insight into the fields of forex brokerages, fintech solutions, white label providers in this field as well as the field of cryptocurrencies, aided by the fact that we are located in Cyprus, which is a hub for such financial services providers.

Our very own success story when it comes to featured snippets is reflected in the fact that we have to date helped several of our clients in these fields, optimize their content and win several featured snippet, zero positions in a large number of SERPs, landing them right on the top for critical keywords and many related questions and queries.

Our team has helped these clients share their authoritative content with millions of users, enhancing their visibility and brand awareness, boosting their site’s traffic, skyrocketing their click-through rates, and leading them to unseen levels of client conversions and profit increase. Through the right targeting and prioritization, the clever re-arrangement of content to make it more Google friendly and more snippable and through various other techniques, we are proud that we have managed to boost organic traffic and secure many zero positions that boosted our clients’ overall growth and business development.

Our very own Success Story: Turning our Expertise into Featured Snippet Gold

The Challenge: To Rank Nationally on Google

start-business-online.com, provides forex turnkey solutions, a type of system built by a forex technology partner that can be easily implemented into a retail forex brokerage company. Their solutions and services cover everything a forex and Crypto broker needs to succeed.

The Solution: Awesome SEO

So netresort stepped in and researched the fintech industry to get an understanding of common pain points that people Interested to open a Forex Brokerage Business have and the numerous challenges are facing and help them answer a few important questions that led locals to start-business-online.com site, including the following search queries:

• Is It worth to Become a Forex Broker?
• How to Launch a Successful forex brokerage Business?
• What is a forex turnkey solution?
• How much does it cost to start a white label forex brokerage?

To address those important questions, our team wrote a few blog posts, including “Become White Label Broker – The Ultimate Guide for Starting a Forex Brokerage ” and “How to Start a Cryptocurrency Brokerage Business"

The Results: Rank Position 0 In Google for "forex turnkey solution" Keyword in less than 4 Weeks

After publication, we have tweaked the copy to keep them updated and relevant. And the work has paid off.

With a high time on site, well-written copy, and proper keyword placement, we succeded to have gain a Featured snippet (known as position zero) for the Keyword "forex turnkey solution" as a top-ranking organic link that answer question or have quick response.

What Could Winning Featured Snippet Mean for You?

As we continue to explore new featured snippet winning tactics, our expertise in the area keeps growing and you can use this to your benefit too! Here at Netresort, we are always ready, willing and able to help you identify featured snippet opportunities and shape on your behalf the right optimization strategy to take full advantage of them.

Let us know how we can help you with featured snippets or other content needs. Let us pave the way for your position zero grabbing future, today!

Posted by

George Milios

Lead Generation & Business Growth Specialist

Helping Companies Scale their Organic Traffic & Conversions over the long-term by implementing strategies that work. In addition, George is an avid cryptocurrency researcher, advisor, investor, and trader.