Google’s Featured Snippets: How to Optimize and Track Effectively

SERP features make the most helpful results stand out, with Google’s featured snippets being particularly eye-cathing. When a page gets featured for a certain search term, the snippet takes up a lot of the screen’s space so users can’t miss it. It doesn’t come with a surprise that the more visible the page is in the SERPs, the more visitors it gets.

However, with the introduction of AI Overviews (AIOs), the role of featured snippets is becoming less clear. How will AIOs impact featured snippets? Will they complement each other, or will AIOs overshadow featured snippets in providing quick, useful information to users?

In this post, we’ll explore different types of featured snippets, assess their impact on search optimization, and discuss how they will coexist with AIOs in the future. What’s important, we’ll also break down how to optimize for featured snippets and track their performance.

So, let’s get started!

What are Google’s featured snippets?

Featured snippets are highlighted blocks of content extracted from a web page. They usually appear at the top of Google search results, which is why featured snippets are widely known as the “zero position results.”

Unlike standard listings that are generated from the title and description tags, featured snippets dynamically adjust to the query and showcase the most relevant information from the page. The main idea Google puts behind featured snippets is to make it easier for users to quickly find essential information.

Relationships between featured snippets and AIOs

Featured snippets, once a groundbreaking SERP element, now face competition from a newer response format—AIOs. 

Essentially, AIOs offer quick yet more comprehensive and informative answers to user queries. This has led to speculation within the SEO community about whether AIOs could eventually replace featured snippets altogether.

For now, SE Ranking’s extensive AIO research indicates that featured snippets appear alongside AIOs 45.39% of the time. This is a considerable increase from the previous rate of 23.03% at the beginning of this year. In contrast, featured snippets appear in only 8.61% of searches when AIOs are absent. Based on these insights, we can assume that AIOs and featured snippets may be triggered by similar types of queries.

Plus, our analysis shows that in over 61% of cases where featured snippets and AIOs appear together, they link to the same source. This suggests that Google might be using this overlap to enhance the credibility of AI-generated responses.

While this dual approach of offering both concise featured snippets and detailed AIOs provides thorough answers, it could potentially lead to redundant content and impact user experience negatively. For example, if the featured snippet and AIO rely on the same source of information, users might feel they are reading the same information twice.

In the future, Google might be experimenting with its algorithms to perhaps determine whether to display a featured snippet or AIO based on the query and user intent.

Types of featured snippets

There are several types of snippets Google typically displays in search: paragraph, listing, table, and video. Let’s take a look at each snippet variation.

Paragraph snippets

The simplest type of featured snippet is a single paragraph that either gives a short answer to a query or provides a hint on what information a web page contains. It can be accompanied by images but sometimes it’s just merely a text paragraph:

As you can see in the screenshot above, important details in paragraph snippets are highlighted in blue to point out the main message.

Google always offers an option to leave feedback and indicate if a snippet violates any content policy:

List snippets

Lists are a great way to structure information and make it more digestible. A featured snippet can contain numbered or bulleted lists which get generated if a searcher looks for a set of items:

Or, when the search is about a multistep process:

Table snippets

Another typical featured snippet is a table that highlights a part of the table present on the page. It’s usually generated for queries related to rankings and comparisons. Users can see how many rows are included and expand them right in the snippet.

Video snippets

Most videos appearing as featured snippets address popular how-to queries. They often have a certain part of the video highlighted and quoted:

Additionally, searches that are easier to visualize often result in a video snippet.

How to optimize content for featured snippets?

You can’t directly control whether your content will be featured as a featured snippet. However, there are strategies to optimize your URLs for a better chance of appearing in position zero.

Firstly, your page needs to rank on Google’s first page. If your content ranks on the second page or lower, there are almost no chances to appear as a featured snippet.

Now, let’s explore different optimization techniques for each type of featured snippets.

• Paragraphs

To optimize for featured snippets using paragraphs, start by directly answering the question in a concise, clear manner. Aim for responses that are around 40-60 words, providing straightforward answers that satisfy the search query and user intent behind it. Incorporate relevant keywords and related terms to increase relevancy for search engines.

Use proper formatting with heading tags (H1, H2, H3) for well-structured content. Besides just answering the question, offer comprehensive information that adds value. 

It is also believed that the “inverted pyramid” technique is a smart way of getting featured snippets. The inverted pyramid means starting from the most fundamental information and then going into the less important details. If it doesn’t affect the writing style, it’s a good idea to place the most important statements at the beginning of each paragraph. 

On top of that, long-tail keywords often generate more specific search results, which are ideal for featured snippets. They allow search engines to provide direct answers to user queries. Plus, with less competition, your content has a better chance of being featured. So, consider targeting relevant long-tail keywords within your content to increase your chances of ranking in the top search results.

• Lists

Just like for paragraphs, headings are also essential for list-style featured snippets. The better you structure your content, the easier it will be for Google to understand your content and display it effectively in search results.

Google often pulls information from multiple headings within your content to create the featured snippet. For instance, a list of spinach health benefits could be compiled from various section headers throughout your article.

At the same time, to directly optimize for list-style featured snippets, incorporate actual bulleted or numbered lists into your content.

• Tables

To increase your chances of securing a table snippet, include an actual table within your content. Ensure the data in your table is accurate, up-to-date, and relevant to the search query. Plus, clearly label the table’s content with a descriptive heading and make your table visually appealing (with consistent formatting, clear fonts, and sufficient spacing).

For instance, compare the featured snippet for “cost of living in the us by states comparison” to the corresponding table on the webpage.

Besides, you can implement schema markup for tables to help search engines understand the data better.

• Videos

Although video snippets are less frequent than other snippet types, their potential impact is significant considering one-third of all online activity involves video consumption.

While Google can directly source videos from websites, it primarily relies on YouTube. 

To optimize video content for search, craft engaging titles and descriptions rich in relevant keywords and questions. Provide transcripts to enhance search engine comprehension and optimize thumbnails with visually appealing images to boost click-through rates.

Additionally, prioritize improving engagement metrics like watch time and comments, as these factors influence video visibility in featured snippets. Strong engagement signals to search engines that your content is valuable and relevant to users.

How to track featured snippets?

There are SEO tools at your disposal that give more information about snippets. SE Ranking’s Position Tracker allows you to check which of the added keywords have featured snippets and if your website owns any of them. After setting up your project, take a look at the SERP Features column:

• If the featured snippet icon is highlighted in blue, it means your web page ranks above the rest of the results. Track the traffic of that page keeping in mind the featured snippet so that you can evaluate how beneficial it is to get featured in the search. 
• If the featured snippet icon is highlighted in grey, it indicates that another page owns it. You can examine that competitor page and extract some insights to do better with your content and win over that snippet. 
• If there’s no featured snippet icon in the column, it isn’t generated for this query. But it doesn’t mean it won’t be, so keep working on the chosen keywords. 

You can also use SE Ranking’s Competitive Research Tool to see what SERP features your competitors appear for.

For this, go to the tool and go to the Organic Traffic Research section. Here, you’ll be able to see the list of all keywords your analyzed website ranks for. To see which keywords trigger featured snippets, hit Filters and choose Featured Snippets.

That’s it! Now, you can see which keywords feature snippets in your niche and find new snippet opportunities for your business.

Why are featured snippets important for SEO?

To begin with, if Google has selected your article for a featured snippet, it indicates a level of trust in your website’s content. Without a doubt, it means that Google finds your content useful, valuable, and relevant (and most users will likely share this view). 

However, securing a featured snippet spot offers way more SEO benefits than just this recognition. 

Typically, SEO professionals optimize for featured snippets to achieve two primary benefits: increased visibility in SERPs and higher click-through rates.

Enhanced visibility

The most obvious reason why featured snippets are so valued in the SEO is because they are impossible to miss out of sight in SERPs. 

The thing is, we’ve become so accustomed to the standard format of search results with titles and descriptions. Featured snippets, in turn, instantly grab users’ attention, especially on mobile devices where they take no less than half the space and sometimes more.

When users see your content highlighted in this prime location, they’re naturally drawn to click on it. This doesn’t just boost your traffic; it positions your brand as a leader and authority in your industry. You can only imagine the competitive edge you can gain over others vying for top spots in organic search results.

However, the rise of AIOs presents a major threat to the visibility of featured snippets. Currently, these snippets only appear in 8.61% of searches when AIOs are absent. As AIOs continue to expand into markets outside the US and become more widespread, the traditional format of featured snippets will no longer be as prominent as it used to be. 

So, it’s important to monitor any changes in SERPs and be prepared to come up with new strategies to ensure content remains visible to users.

High click-through rates

Users often click on the first result they see, especially if it provides a quick, clear answer to their query. When your content is showcased in a featured snippet, it tells users that your site is the go-to source for the information they need. This means more clicks, more engaged visitors, and higher-quality traffic. Plus, users who click on featured snippets are typically highly motivated and interested, which translates to better engagement on your site. 

For example, our SEO news blog post on Google retiring cache links got a spotlight as a featured snippet.

The Google Search Console reports that our organic CTR for that page is 12.2%.

And this is while “the median value for all companies across all industries for CTR is 1.51%.”

Besides, keep in mind that higher CTRs send a strong signal to Google that your content is valuable and relevant, which can potentially give your rankings an extra boost.

To sum up

Featured snippets are visually appealing and informative answers to certain queries that can increase your website’s traffic and authority. By getting snippets, you’ll be able to steal users’ attention from other web results, especially in the context of mobile and voice search, and attract them to visit your pages. 

Even if you don’t get the featured snippet, optimizing for one generally improves the quality of your content by making it more structured and easily readable. So it won’t hurt chasing the snippets, but before you do, learn what keywords from your website’s semantics with a sufficient monthly search volume are most susceptible to featured snippet generation.