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How to: Get Content Featured in 'Featured Snippets'

And Why It's Important!

Featured snippets on Google are valuable digital real estate for your content marketing assets. These snippets are quick answers to search questions. Although snippets are designed to provide answers for the user without having to clickthrough to the page, Hubspot found that content with a snippet had a higher click-through rate of 2x or more, making this search feature important to your SEO strategy. If you can get your copywriting featured as a snippet, it builds your authority and visibility.

Types of Featured Snippets

There are many types of featured snippets, but what they have in common is the purpose of helping the user get relevant information. Here are the most popular types of snippets that Google returns in search results. Work with your skilled copywriters to create content that can be featured in snippets.

  • Short paragraphs
  • Lists
  • Tables
  • Videos with easy descriptions

Tips for Getting Content Featured in Snippets

Snippets are organic search results. You can’t pay to get featured. All you can do is create content that your audience and Google will love. Organize your digital content to make it easy for both humans and search bots to understand.

Answer Questions

Use tools such as “Answer the Public” or the Google feature – People Also Ask – to learn what people want to know about a particular topic. Then use that information to create high quality content. Combine that information with your keyword research to support your SEO strategy. Examine which keywords show up in snippets.

Use Words that Lend Themselves to Snippets

One study about snippets found that these words – recipe, best, Vs., make, and definition, lend themselves well to snippets and have a better chance of getting featured. There are a lot of terms in your industry that customers don’t understand; you can help them get clarity. You may not be in an industry that uses a lot of recipes, but you can certainly optimize your content for definitions and comparisons. Of course, you can also be creative with things like, “a recipe for lead generation”, “a 10-minute recipe for speed networking”, “recipes that deliver buyer delight”, and so on.

Structure Pages to Be Featured in Snippets

Instead of writing multiple pages, focus on pillar pages and cluster posts with plenty of FAQs around one topic. Answer questions that lend themselves to snippets by watching your word count. Snippets tend to use answers of 50 to 70 words. Studies show that once a page gets featured in one snippet, it’s more likely to be used in other snippets.

Use Your Search Positioning to Meet Your End Goals

If you do get a position in a featured snippet, be ready to take advantage of the opportunity. Make sure your page has a call-to-action to direct the reader to the next step. Take advantage of the featured snippet not just to drive traffic to your site, but also to get real leads and conversions.

Staying on top of your content strategy can be an ongoing challenge. Talk to a content agency about SEO and copywriting services so you can focus on your entire business. MintCopy can help you plan and create content that resonates with users and bots. Contact us to get started.  

Use our online form to get in touch. You can also follow us on FacebookLinkedIn, and Twitter to stay up-to-date with the latest content marketing trends.

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