How to Optimize Content for Google's Featured Snippet Box?

Featured Snippet is one of the SERP’s most coveted features, allowing your site to quickly jump to the top search results. Optimizing for Featured Snippets can help Google better understand when your when page is the best answer for the relevant query.

If you can get your content in the Featured Snippet, you can give your website an organic boost. So, are you ready? Here’s a comprehensive guide outlining the best ways to optimize content for the Featured Snippet. Put forth the effort and see if you can snag that coveted spot.

Table of Contents

What are the 4 Major Types of Featured Snippets?

Before you jump into optimizing the content for Google’s Snippet box, it’s mandatory to understand their types. Scroll down the page and learn about each type to make the appropriate choice.

Paragraph Featured Snippet

Let’s begin the list with the most common option – The paragraph Featured Snippet. Around seventy percent of featured snippets are paragraph-type, with an average of 250 characters and 42 words. Most featured snippets begin with what or why, thus indicating that they contain lots of information.

Table Featured Snippet

Tablet snippets are also pretty common and comprise five rows and two columns with 40 to 45 words. It is mainly used for reflecting statistics and numerical data.

Listicles

The type that gives stiff competition to paragraph snippet boxes is listicles. It usually contains an average of 6 items and 44 words and is further classified into two types, namely ordered lists and unordered lists. These generally begin with How and Why keyword terms and appear as your go-to options for direct results.

Video Featured Snippet

Only 4.6% of snippets are of video type, making it the least common snippet type. The average length of video snippet type is around 6 minutes and 35 seconds. While it is the least used snippet type, it is ideal for those businesses whose audience heavily consumes video content.

The 5 Practical Tips to Optimize Content for the Featured Snippet Box

A featured snippet box is a great way to optimize your content and get it noticed by potential customers. However, getting your content featured on this SERP’s most coveted spot is still a mystery, even for SEO experts.

So, if you want to make your content appear in the Featured Snippet box, you can do a few things to increase your chances. Here’s a quick rundown of the five simple yet effective tips to get it done.

Target Question-Based Queries

Always start your content with target-based queries to accentuate your chances of being featured in Google’s Snippet Box. Look for a place in your content to add a “What is” heading tag, as it signals Google that your upcoming text could be helpful as a featured snippet.

To make the most out of this fact, add this “What is” heading as close to the top of the content as possible. Inserting it just below the introductory paragraph is the best, as it fuses well with the content without affecting the overall flow.

However, when targeting question-based queries, Keep your content concise and focused. The featured snippet box is designed to showcase short, punchy pieces of content that directly answer a searcher’s question. Lengthy, rambling articles will not fare well in this SERP’s most coveted spot.

Use Keyword-rich Titles and Subheadings

There’s no denying that long-tail keywords trigger a majority of featured snippets. The more words are typed into a search box, the higher the chances of appearing in a featured snippet.

Hence, keeping your title and subheadings keyword-rich is always good to optimize your content for Google’s Snippet Box. Use keywords you think a searcher might use when seeking information on your topic.

Give the maximum information about the topic in 2-3 sentences

It is probably the essential rule to follow when optimizing content for Google’s Featured Snippet Box. Unlike other content pieces, featured snippets should provide users with as much information about the topic as quickly as possible.

It means that the content you are optimizing with must try to describe the topic entirely but in 2-3 sentences. To follow the rule, you must try to keep the content concise and informative.

The first sentence should define the topic, while the rest 2 or 3 sentences must include 2-3 must-know facts about the same. Avoid using any extraneous phrase in your definition, as it can reduce your chances of being appeared in the snippet box.

Never use your brand name in the featured snippet text

The next thing to consider when optimizing content for Featured Snippet box is never to use your brand name, it makes the result ineligible for the featured snippet. Remember that featured snippets fuel voice search; hence, they must make complete sense in this context.

It is advised to replace the brand name or any such thing with general language to give content a higher chance of receiving a featured snippet.

Avoid Using First-Person Language

Last but not least, avoid using first-person language when optimizing the content for this SERP’s most-desired spot. Limiting this type of phrasing also help you improve your chances of featuring in a featured snippet.

Google wants to feature content that will be most helpful to its users, so make sure your piece is exhaustively researched and covers everything there is to know about the subject.

Summing Up

That’s all about the step-by-step guide to optimizing the content for the featured snippet box. Use the tips and tricks mentioned above appropriately and boost your organic click-through rate.