October 16th 2023.
For years, search engine optimization specialists have been trying to make sense of Google’s ever-changing algorithm. The race to conquer the first spot on the search engine results page has been replaced by the battle for featured snippets.
Featured snippets are an extraction of key information by Google from a website and are used to answer a user’s query. They help answer questions quickly and accurately, and they are usually placed in position zero on the SERP. On average, featured snippets are around 300 characters or 40-50 words in length.
The three main types of featured snippets are paragraphs, lists, and tables. Paragraph featured snippets are the most common and are extracted from a website in answer to a user’s query. Lists are for ranked items, unranked items, best-of lists, and feature lists. Tables are used to organize data and can include product features, pricing, rates, and other data. Video snippets are hosted on YouTube, and there are also carousel, double-featured, definition box, and two-for-one snippets.
How do featured snippets work? Google fetches information from a third-party site and presents it as the first organic result, with the page title and page URL included. There are certain rules regarding what content is and is not allowed to be featured, such as sexually explicit, hateful, violent, dangerous, or harmful content.
Featured snippets are great for SEO as they can increase brand authority, visibility, traffic, and click-throughs, and can give a head start with voice search technology. They can also help outperform the competition by finding users who are looking to make a purchase and increasing the number of no-click searches. With so many benefits, it’s no wonder why SEO specialists are so keen to acquire featured snippets.
For years, search engine optimization specialists have tried to stay on top of the changes brought about by Google's algorithm. One such development is the battle for featured snippets, which has become a major part of optimizing websites for better search engine performance.
Featured snippets are an extraction of key information from a website that is used to answer a user's query. They are helpful for giving concise and accurate answers to questions and, as such, traditionally occupy the first spot on the search engine results page. These snippets are typically short, with an average length of 300 characters or between 40 and 50 words.
There are several different types of featured snippets, including paragraphs, lists, and tables. Paragraph-featured snippets take the form of a short and concise paragraph that is extracted from content on a website. List featured snippets can be numbered or bulleted, and table featured snippets organize data in a comprehensive way. Other types of featured snippets include video, carousel snippets, double-featured snippets, definition boxes, and two-for-one featured snippets.
So, how does Google's featured snippet system work? At its most basic level, Google fetches relevant information from a third-party website, followed by the page title and the page URL. This featured snippet is then highlighted and brought to the user's attention in the first place among the organic results.
But why should SEO specialists strive to acquire featured snippets? Because they can help increase brand authority, credibility, and visibility, which can lead to increased traffic, click-throughs, and conversions. It can also give businesses an edge with voice search technology, and help them outperform their competition.
It is also important to note that there are some content types that are not considered featured snippets, such as knowledge graphs and rich snippets. In addition, Google disallows certain types of content, such as those that are sexually explicit, hateful, violent, dangerous, or harmful, as well as content that contradicts public interest topics.
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