4 SIMPLE Ways on How to Optimise for Google Featured Snippets

Featured Snippets

To most online marketers, being listed on the first page of Google is equivalent to striking gold, and there are enough reasons why you should strive to achieve this goal. One of the main reasons is that highly ranked sites get more organic traffic than their counterparts’ do, as most searchers do not bother to look at the websites listed on the other pages. 

Google introduced featured snippets a few years ago to help digital and content creators to display their sites and content uniquely and efficiently to its target audiences. This box is displayed above the organic search results and below the paid ads. The size of the box and visuals such as pictures help to grasp the attention of the readers and motivate them to click. 

Here are four tips on how to optimize for Google featured snippets. 

Focus on High Ranking Pages 

You probably have several website pages that rank well on search engines. Take advantage of them to get features on SERPs with Google snippets. For example, if you currently rank well for a keyword phrase such as “Singapore digital marketing firms” use this success to triple your results with featured snippets.  

Renowned SEO experts in Singapore are of the idea that a page that ranks position 1-5 on SERPs for a specific keyword has a higher chance of getting a snippet spot than the other lowly ranked pages.  

Brainstorm and use keyword research tools to know which terms that people use to search for information related to your business. Then optimize your content for such queries and include relevant tags. 

Provide High-Quality Content 

If you are to succeed in online marketing, you have to produce high-value content consistently. According to Neil Patel, a search engine expert, if your content does not address the questions that searchers ask, your chances of getting a Google featured snippet are slim. Here are three tips on how to ensure that you create valuable and relevant content. 

  • Your content should not just answer the question, but also discuss other topics that are related to the question. Doing so will ensure that the reader does not end up visiting other sites for additional information. The more time they spend reading the article, the more chances you will get to motivate them to convert. 
  • Engage with your audience at a deeper level by telling a story that is related to the information that they are looking for. For example, you can discuss a case study to show the impact of email marketing on ROI. 
  • A large percentage of your audience is visual learners. Also, our brains are naturally attracted to visuals, and that is the main reason why content with videos and images is so popular and often end up going viral. Demonstrate steps by using images and videos. 

Consider Adding New Sections to Your Site 

Google snippets give companies an excellent opportunity to get more organic traffic and take their content to the next level. Companies such as Home Depot have brand new section “How-To” that answers most of the questions that their customers ask. Whenever someone uses questions to look for information about outdoor living or DIY projects, this site stands better chances of being featured in a spinet because it has content that specifically addresses the questions.  

Go ahead and create a Q&A or How-To section that addresses your audience questions and concerns. Make sure that you provide accurate and content-rich answers to increase your chances of being featured. 

YouTube 

The demand for video content is increasing rapidly, making it a crucial area for content creators and Singapore digital marketers to focus on. A recent report showed that 65% of people who watch videos on YouTube watch at least three-quarters of the videos. In another report, 59% of company executives believe that if you provide text and video content on a particular topic, Google is most likely to select the video and feature it in a snippet. Here are insider tips on how to improve your YouTube videos. 

  • The title of the video should be the same as the question that you want to rank for 
  • We have noticed that Google often pulls text from the voice script, and so it is recommended to create one 
  • The content in your videos needs to be top-notch and valuable to the audience. One guaranteed way of achieving this goal is by extensively answering their questions 

Conclusion 

Being featured on Google Snippets after applying these tips in your content marketing strategy is a gradual process. It may take weeks or even months depending on the competition in your niche and the quality of your content, but if you apply the above tips properly, you will eventually get positive results.   

About the Author

Tom Koh

Tom is the CEO and Principal Consultant of MediaOne, a leading digital marketing agency. He has consulted for MNCs like Canon, Maybank, Capitaland, SingTel, ST Engineering, WWF, Cambridge University, as well as Government organisations like Enterprise Singapore, Ministry of Law, National Galleries, NTUC, e2i, SingHealth. His articles are published and referenced in CNA, Straits Times, MoneyFM, Financial Times, Yahoo! Finance, Hubspot, Zendesk, CIO Advisor.

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