Back in May 2016, we reported beta users seeing a filter in the Search Analytics tool in Google Search Console for featured snippets filtering. The filter has never been visible to the public, and it will never be. Google decided to not launch a feature in Google Search Console’s Search Analytics tool for featured snippet reporting because of internal politics. The weighted value of featured snippets is still going to increase, and you should definitely have it in your SEO strategy.
Featured Snippets and Quick Answers
Featured Snippets are algorithmically selected answers that sit in position 0, above the organic results. If you’d like to earn those coveted “position 0” spots, you need to start understanding what featured snippets are and how to earn them. By earning featured snippets, you can increase web traffic, boost visibility in Google SERPs and earn credibility and authority.
They can include paragraphs, images, and tables. For most kinds of queries, there is no longer a need to actually visit a third-party website, the answer will directly be provided in the search results, which is very helpful for the users, especially on mobile devices. This brings out the need for a strategy on how to optimize a site’s content to meet Google’s standards for featured snippets. Focus on really high-quality content, in a Q&A format, to make it easier for Google to extract the right content to show up as a featured snippet. Featured snippets are chosen because they provide a clear answer to a user’s question in a search query.
What about getting data on featured snippets in Search Console?
Gary Illyes, a Google webmaster trends analyst, indicated that Google had internally worked on a project to report on that, but its release was being blocked by Google higher-ups, they won’t be sharing any data on how your website is being used in the featured snippets.
Google is working on a solution to show publishers when their web pages are used by Google by voice search, but they do not have such plans for featured snippets. Voice technology presents a big opportunity for changing the way we process information. It is definitely an SEO trend to watch in 2018. According to Google, 1 out of 5 searches already come from voice queries. When it comes to setting up a search engine optimization strategy, the rise of voice search brings out the need to focus on more long-tail search keywords with a natural language, such as questions and intent focused.
Focus on the optimization of featured snippets for voice search
The combination of two growing trends in the search market can create a great opportunity for more companies to show up at the top of SERPs. This will bring out the need for more companies to learn more about search intent and how they can optimize their content to show up in a featured snippet (or answer box).
Don’t forget the SEO basics
Traditional SEO techniques are still effective, but a number of trends such as featured snippets or voice search are in the works that could significantly alter the practice of optimizing for search. Before getting featured snippets, remember that you must already rank well with high-quality content. Whether you are a small business that needs to do the SEO basics, you’re focusing on content marketing or you need to build your authority with link building, obtaining featured snippets is the least of your worries until you rank on the first page of search engines. At Revenue River Marketing, we are here to help you get that highly desirable position zero.