What are Featured Snippets and why are they good for SEO?

Featured Snippets are concise summaries or excerpts from web pages that appear at the top of the search engine results page (SERP) as a speedy response to certain searcher queries. These snippets are designed to provide users with quick and relevant answers to their questions without having to click through to a specific website.

The content that appears inside a Featured Snippet is automatically pulled from web pages that are stored in Google’s vast index. Common types of Featured Snippets include definitions, tables, and lists.

Here are some examples of featured snippets recently gained for our strategic content clients. You can see it pulls the content that answers the search query most succinctly:

Here is an example of one of our featured snippets in list form:

Why are Featured Snippets good for SEO?

Featured Snippets are beneficial for Search Engine Optimisation for several reasons:

1. Increased visibility. Featured snippets appear at the top of the search results, even above the first organic result. This prime placement can significantly increase the visibility of your content to users, leading to higher click-through rates.
2. Higher click-through rates. Because featured snippets provide concise and direct answers to users’ queries, people are more likely to click on the snippet to learn more. This can lead to a higher click-through rate (CTR) for your website, driving more organic traffic.
3. Credibility and authority. When your content is selected for a featured snippet, it implies authority and expertise in the eyes of users. People tend to trust the information provided in featured snippets, which can enhance your website’s credibility and reputation.
4. Improved user experience. Featured Snippets offer users immediate answers to their questions without having to click through to a specific website. This improved user experience can enhance your site’s reputation and increase user satisfaction, potentially leading to return visits.
5. Competitive advantage. Securing a Featured Snippet can give you a competitive advantage over other websites in your niche. It allows you to outrank competitors for specific queries, even if they hold higher positions in the organic search results.
6. Voice search optimisation. With the rise of voice search, Featured Snippets are crucial for providing voice assistants with the information they need to answer users’ spoken queries effectively. Voice assistants often rely on Featured Snippets to provide responses.
7. Mobile and local search optimisation. Featured Snippets are especially valuable for mobile users, as they provide quick and concise answers, which is essential on smaller screens. Additionally, for local businesses, Featured Snippets can appear in local search results, helping businesses attract nearby customers. As specialists in local SEO, our strategic content has delivered some great Featured Snippets for clients and has helped them to win new customers in their target areas.

Our top tip for optimising content for a Feature Snippet:

Make Me Local’s Content Marketing Executive, Nicola Younger, recommends:

“To optimise your content for featured snippets, focus on creating high-quality, informative, and concise content that directly answers common user queries related to your niche. Use clear headings, bullet points, and structured data markup where appropriate. By aligning your content with user intent and providing valuable information, you increase your chances of being selected for a Featured Snippet, and in turn, enhancing your SEO efforts”.

If you would like help with optimising your website for SERPs in anyway, the team at Make Me Local would be delighted to create the ideal SEO strategy for your needs and objectives. Get in touch at your convenience, and we’ll do the rest.