Data-backed insights on featured snippet optimization
Around one-fifth of all keywords activate a highlighted snippet
99 percent of all featured bits tend to appear within the very first natural position and take control of 50% of the screen on mobile devices, driving higher-than-average click-through rates (CTR).
The key to featured bit optimization lies in a few particular locations: long-tail- and question-like keyword method, date marked material that comes at the best length and format, and a succinct URL structure.
Google has constantly been pretty hazy on any information about winning featured bits. This held true when they were initially introduced, making them something services considered to be the cherry on top of their SEO efforts, which is still largely the case. Having first-hand understanding about the worth and power of highlighted bits, Brado partnered with Semrush to carry out the most extensive research study around included bit optimization to reveal how they really work, and what you can do to win them.
Revealing the highlights from a Featured bits research study that analyzed over a million SERPs with highlighted snippets present, this post unwraps actionable recommendations on Look at this website amping up your optimization strategy to finally win that Google reward.
General patterns across the included bit landscape.
With billions of search queries go through the Google search box each day, our study found that around 19 percent of keywords set off a featured snippet. Why does this even matter? Included bits are known to drive greater CTR-- as another study discovered, they are responsible for over 35 percent of all clicks.
More showing the enormous power of highlighted snippets, our research study showed that they take up over half of the SERP's realty on mobile screens.
Integrate this with our findings that 99 percent of the time featured bits take over the very first organic position, which they remain in the majority of cases set off by long-tail keywords (indicating specific user intent), and you'll get the factor behind exceptionally high CTR numbers.
Are some industries most likely to activate featured snippets?
In the research study, we defined industries by keyword classifications, discovering that, indeed, included snippet volume is inconsistent throughout numerous sectors.
The top industry, seeing a featured snippet in 62 percent of all cases, is Travel and Computer & Electronic devices, followed by Arts & Entertainment (59 percent), and Science (54 percent), while Real Estate keywords drag all the rest with only 11 percent of keywords triggering a featured snippet.
included snippet optimization insights on keyword classifications that set off.
Yet on a domain level, the market breakdown varies somewhat, with Health and News websites having comparable featured snippet volumes.
You can find the full industry breakdown within the study.
Featured bits are all about earns, not wins.
Simply hoping your content will win you a featured snippet isn't enough-- as our study revealed, it's everything about hard-earned material optimization outcomes.
1. Enhance for long-tail keywords and questions.
When it concerns optimization and keywords, utilize 'the more the better' logic.
Our study discovered that 55.5 percent of highlighted bits were set off by 10-word keywords, while single-word ones only showed up 4.3 percent of the time.
One thing even much better than long-tails is concerns. In fact, 29 percent of keywords triggering an included snippet begin with question words-- "why" (78 percent), "can" (72 percent), "do" (67 percent), and in the fewest cases, "where" (19 percent).
included snippet optimization insights on concern keywords that trigger.
2. Use the best content length and format.
The SERPs we evaluated consisted of four kinds of featured snippet: paragraphs, lists, tables, and videos:.
70 percent of the outcomes revealed paragraphs, with an average of 42 words and 249 characters.
Lists can be found in as the second-most-frequent featured bit (19 percent), with an average of 6 item counts and 44 words.
Tables (6 percent) usually included five rows and 2 columns.
Videos, whose average duration stood at 6:39 mins, appeared in just 4.6 percent of all cases.
Obviously, do not blindly follow this information as the principle, rather see it as a good starting point for featured-snippet-minded content optimization.
Plus, remember that content quality constantly prevails over amount, so if you have a high-performing piece that includes a 10-row table, Google will merely cut it down, showing the blue "More rows" link, which can even boost your CTR.
3. Don't overcomplicate your URL structure.
As it turns out, URL length matters in Google's choice of a website that should have a featured bit. Attempt to stick to cool site architecture, with 1-3 subfolders per URL, and you'll be more likely to win.
Just for reference, here is an example of a URL with three subfolders:.
xyz.com/subfolder1/subfolder2/subfolder3.
4. Make regular material updates.
In the "to include or not to include a post date" problem, based upon our included bit analysis, we 'd recommend that you release date-marked material.
The majority of Google's highlighted bits consist of a post date, with the following breakdown: 47 percent of list-type featured bits come from date-marked content, paragraphs-- 44 percent, videos-- 20 percent, and tables-- 19 percent of the time.
While fresh-out-of-the-oven content can be favored by Google, 70 percent of all content making it into the featured bit was anywhere from two to three years of ages (2018, 2019, 2020), suggesting when again that content quality matters more than recency, so you shouldn't worry that putting a date on it will work versus you.