New Study Shows Ranking Factors For Featured Snippets

A new study about the Google Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) shows the best website SEO optimisation techniques to maximise the odds of ranking for featured snippets. Businesses are advised to invest in website SEO analysis so that they can determine the correlations between pages that rank for featured snippets and other search positions.

In the study, Brado and SEMrush analysed random search results with featured snippets to identify the similarities between them. The data can be used by businesses and website owners as a basis to write better content and get a higher chance of ranking as a featured snippet.

There were about 160 million keywords that were studied on desktop and 46.1 million keywords on mobile devices to find what percentage of keywords generate featured snippets. They found out that companies and brands that had the most featured snippets usually operate in science, art and entertainment, computer and electronics, and travel industries.

Moreover, they found out that featured snippets usually have keywords with specific search intent, like long-tail keywords. There is a huge difference between long keywords and single keyword searches. 55.5 per cent of the featured snippets came from questions with ten words typed in by the user. On the other hand, only 4.3 per cent of the featured snippets came from questions with a single keyword.

As the users add more words to their questions, the percentage slowly improves but drops off after ten words.

Aside from the percentage, they also studied the factors that each featured snippet had in common.

For question-based queries, the study shows that 29 per cent of the queries with featured snippets start with question-based words like “can”, “do”, and “why”. The question word that triggered the most featured snippets was “why”.

Focusing on questions that start with the “why” word, they found out that 77.6 per cent returned a featured snippet. The second-largest percentage that triggered featured snippets was “can” at 72.4 per cent.

Another factor that determines the chance of getting featured snippets is the date of the content. Most of the time, Google returns dated content in featured snippets. According to the website SEO analysis, here are the percentages of content with a date:

List - 47 per cent

Paragraphs - 44 per cent

Videos - 20 per cent

Table - 19 per cent

In addition to this, 70 per cent of the articles that had featured snippets were published recently – no later than two to three years ago. This does not necessarily mean that older articles do not have any chances of ranking for featured snippets. For older articles, the relevance and usefulness of the answers to the queries matter the most.

Finally, they learned that combining multiple questions in a single article increases the chance of ranking for featured snippets. SEMRush advises businesses and website owners to make a “featured snippet hub” by answering several questions in one article. This could even raise the chances of getting multiple featured snippets with just one link.

Featured snippets are one of the most crucial parts of SEO. These are search results – usually in boxes – that Google chooses to show on top of the organic search results. Their very purpose is to answer the question of the user immediately, so there is no need to click through the featured snippet’s link unless you want to read more. Hence, they’re also called “answer boxes”.

It is highly recommended for you to work on your website SEO so that your content ranks as a featured snippet for your chosen keywords. If your content is selected by Google to be shown on top of the SERPs, this means that you’ll get extra brand exposure online.

Here at Position1SEO , we will not only will help you rank for featured snippets; we’ll also make sure that your website ranks on the first page of Google. Our team will write relevant and useful content that your target audience is looking for to boost your site traffic and, eventually, revenue.

If you want to work with professional SEOs, write to us today at office@position1seo.co.uk. You may also give us a ring via 0141 846 0114.