Data-backed insights on highlighted snippet optimization

Data-backed insights on featured snippet optimization

Around one-fifth of all keywords set off a featured bit

99 percent of all featured snippets tend to appear within the very first natural position and take over 50% of the screen on mobile devices, driving higher-than-average click-through rates (CTR).

The key to included bit optimization lies in a couple of specific locations: long-tail- and question-like keyword technique, date marked material that comes at the right length and format, and a succinct URL structure.

Google has actually always been pretty hazy on any details about winning highlighted snippets. This was the case when they were first introduced, making them something companies considered to be the cherry on top of their SEO efforts, which is still largely the case. Having first-hand knowledge about the value and power of featured bits, Brado coordinated with Semrush to carry out the most comprehensive research study around included snippet optimization to reveal how they truly work, and what you can do to win them.

Exposing the highlights from a Featured snippets study that analyzed over a million SERPs with highlighted snippets present, this post unwraps actionable suggestions on amping up your optimization technique to finally win that Google prize.

General patterns throughout the included snippet landscape.

With billions of search inquiries go through the Google search box every day, our research study found that around 19 percent of keywords trigger a highlighted bit. Why does this even matter? Featured snippets are understood to drive greater CTR-- as another research study discovered, they are accountable for over 35 percent of all clicks.

Further showing the immense power of highlighted snippets, our research study showed that they use up over half of the SERP's real estate on mobile screens.

Combine this with our findings that 99 percent of the time featured bits take control of the first natural position, which they are in most cases activated by long-tail keywords (suggesting specific user intent), and you'll get the reason behind exceptionally high CTR numbers.

Are some markets most likely to set off featured bits?

In the study, we defined industries by keyword categories, finding that, undoubtedly, included bit volume is inconsistent across various inbound marketing solutions - ionline.com.au sectors.

The top industry, seeing an included snippet in 62 percent of all cases, is Travel and Computer System & Electronic devices, followed by Arts & Home entertainment (59 percent), and Science (54 percent), while Real Estate keywords lag behind all the rest with only 11 percent of keywords activating an included snippet.

featured bit optimization insights on keyword classifications that set off.

On a domain level, the market breakdown differs slightly, with Health and News sites having comparable highlighted snippet volumes.

You can find the complete market breakdown within the research study.

Included bits are all about makes, not wins.

Just hoping your content will win you a featured snippet isn't enough-- as our research study showed, it's all about hard-earned material optimization results.

1. Optimize for long-tail keywords and questions.

When it comes to optimization and keywords, employ 'the more the better' reasoning.

Our research study discovered that 55.5 percent of highlighted bits were triggered by 10-word keywords, while single-word ones only appeared 4.3 percent of the time.

Something even much better than long-tails is questions. 29 percent of keywords triggering an included bit start with concern words-- "why" (78 percent), "can" (72 percent), "do" (67 percent), and in the least cases, "where" (19 percent).

included bit optimization insights on concern keywords that activate.

2. Use the best content length and format.

The SERPs we evaluated included 4 types of featured snippet: paragraphs, lists, tables, and videos:.

70 percent of the results revealed paragraphs, with an average of 42 words and 249 characters.

Lists can be found in as the second-most-frequent featured snippet (19 percent), with an average of 6 item counts and 44 words.

Tables (6 percent) normally featured five rows and two columns.

Videos, whose typical period stood at 6:39 minutes, showed up in only 4.6 percent of all cases.

Obviously, do not blindly follow this information as the principle, rather see it as a great starting point for featured-snippet-minded material optimization.

Plus, keep in mind that content quality constantly prevails over amount, so if you have a high-performing piece that includes a 10-row table, Google will merely suffice down, revealing the blue "More rows" link, which can even boost your CTR.

3. Do not overcomplicate your URL structure.

As it ends up, URL length matters in Google's choice of a site that deserves a highlighted bit. Try to stick to neat website architecture, with 1-3 subfolders per URL, and you'll be more likely to win.

Simply for referral, here is an example of a URL with 3 subfolders:.

xyz.com/subfolder1/subfolder2/subfolder3.

4. Make frequent material updates.

In the "to include or not to add a post date" problem, based on our included bit analysis, we 'd suggest that you publish date-marked content.

The majority of Google's highlighted bits include an article date, with the following breakdown: 47 percent of list-type highlighted bits come from date-marked material, paragraphs-- 44 percent, videos-- 20 percent, and tables-- 19 percent of the time.

While fresh-out-of-the-oven content can be preferred by Google, 70 percent of all content making it into the included snippet was anywhere from 2 to 3 years of ages (2018, 2019, 2020), suggesting once again that content quality matters more than recency, so you shouldn't worry that putting a date on it will work against you.