Would you like to unlock some of the most coveted real estate on Google’s search engine results?

Of course! Who wouldn’t?

You may recall from our previous post on reaching position zero on Google, that there are serious advantages to getting your website onto a featured snippet. It’s one of the best ways to maximize web exposure and attract customers. If you’re unfamiliar with featured snippets, we encourage you to revisit that article, and then check out these proven ways to get into position zero.

Make Menu Sections with “What Is” in the Heading

You’ll notice that many featured snippets begin with the phrase “what is” since that’s the way many users type search terms. SEO experts believe you improve your chances of getting into position zero if you make the items on your website match this verbiage. For example, you can have a menu section titled “What is a Lift Kit?” if you’re running an automotive service center.

“Is” is a Critical Term

Most of the snippets give explanations that look something like: “Automotive Brake Repair is . . .” They define a concept in plain language, almost always using the term “is” in a simple and readable format. Therefore, it helps to write at least some of your web content in this format.

Define a Certain Topic in Two/Three Sentences

Featured snippets are short and to the point. They’re normally two or three sentences that explain a concept, culminating with a link to your website for more information.

Follow the Feature Snippet Format

There are a few ways to format a snippet, but some work better than others. The simple paragraph format works the best, whereas some snippets will appear in bulleted/numbered formats. Tables rarely work well for this.

Keep Your Brand Name out of the Featured Snippet

Featured snippets MUST conform to Google’s voice search technology (a tool that reads results out loud), which will NOT accommodate brand names. If you put your brand name in the content, it’s ineligible for a snippet.

Avoid First Person Language

Don’t use “I” or other first-person terms in the snippet content. Think of it as a dictionary definition or encyclopedia description. Like those, it should be impersonal and neutral. If for no other reason, this also causes trouble for Google’s voice search technology.

Focus on HTML Elements

It’s possible to scale your featured snippets by tweaking the HTML format, namely the header configurations. This takes some trial-and-error, but it boils down to experimenting with different H2s, H3s, bullets, and so forth.

Do What it Takes to Get in the Top 5

As always, your chances of getting a featured snippet vary positively with how often you reach the top five positions in the search results. Everything in SEO goes together cumulatively, so do whatever it takes to reach the top of the rankings every time.

Rinse & Repeat for Other Topics

Why stop at just one featured snippet? If you do the previous eight steps, and finally conquer the feature snippet milestone, then do it again with another topic where you possess expertise. This will work wonders for your business website SEO.

If you found value in these nine optimization tips, then you’ll enjoy all the other expert guidance through the services of DigiSphere Marketing. Contact us anytime to learn more about SEO and web management by calling 941-803-4141.