We each ask Google an average of ten questions a day. Searching through the listings for each of those ten questions would be a full-time job. That’s why we have featured snippets.
Designed to appear at the top of a question query to provide the most concise answer, featured snippets tend to be either small paragraphs of text, lists, or video embeds. They appear at the top of a Google search and take up a significant amount of page space. Even better, unlike needing to secure a spot in Google’s top three, a piece of content only needs to appear on Google’s first page to get featured.
Admittedly, there is some debate about the value of featured snippets for digital marketing. After all, by providing information upfront, they don’t necessarily increase clicks. At least, they might not if you don’t also implement these top tips for turning featured snippets into marketing gold.
# 1 – Be Informative (but not too much)
Google favours informative content when it comes to featured snippets. If you produce SEO optimised articles that quote plenty of verified stats, as well as content like how-to-guides, you have a much higher chance of getting featured. Yet, if you provide too much information, you remove the need for users to ever click on your page.
To avoid that, it’s important to be informative, but not too much. Don’t simply reveal all of your stats at once, but perhaps instead focus on one keyword optimised relevant fact and litter others throughout your article. Or, break that how-to guide into digestible chunks that users need to click for to get full use.
# 2 – Use High-Quality Images and Video
More than a third of featured snippets incorporate an image or video. This is great because these additions help your SEO ranking in themselves. Image-based featured snippets are also useful because users still have to click through.
Companies with active YouTube channels and informative ‘how-to’ titles can perform especially well in this sense. However, even if you don’t have the budget to afford that sideline, stat-based infographics can serve much the same purpose. They could also be as simple to produce as asking your client base a few questions and creating that image using free software.
# 3 – Provide Additional Value
Let’s say your article won a featured snippet and gained some clicks. Given that the people behind those clicks are answering a specific question, it may not go much further than that.
You also need to provide additional content value. A classic call to action is perhaps the most simple of these and will direct interested parties towards your products.
However, you might find it even more effective to pair your CTAs with stat-backed links to other relevant blogs on your page, or links to query-specific products that could end up being an even more effective answer for any questions posed.
Are featured snippets useful from a marketing perspective? They could be if you make the most of them using these top tips.