Position 0 search rankings and featured snippet search results are two of the easiest ways to improve the exposure of your brand’s site content. They put your website just one click away from potential conversions and new customers, making a case for being a top organic search strategy. But what exactly are these search elements, and how do you even begin to build them up organically?
Top of SERP, Top of Mind
Featured snippets were introduced by Google in 2014, and they have held a VIP invitation to organic search strategy roadmaps ever since. Featured snippets, like other position 0 search results, sit on top of the search engine results page (SERP). A small snippet of your website’s content, or another on-page resource like an image, chart, or video, is presented to a user with a relevant search query, giving them a fast answer to their question.
What makes these results so valuable is their placement above industry competitors, and the ease with which a user can click into your website. The improved placement can lead to increases in organic traffic to your domain, but it also helps build credibility with users when they find what they are looking for in the text or elements pulled from your site.
So How Do I Become a Position 0 Hero?
The infamous Google organic search ranking algorithm has continually changed over the years, and several different factors play a role in the big bad bot deeming your site worthy of a featured snippet. Top priorities for your site should remain the same as what you focus on for overall organic search ranking improvements, however, focusing on strong content, enjoyable user experiences, and a technically sound domain. Once that groundwork has been laid, you can start to make additions to your site that are optimized for featured snippet placement.
Most featured snippets are information-based results, answering user questions that often contain terms led off with who, what, when, where, and why. A great first step is to look at the types of searches that are already pointing to your site to get a better idea of what users are looking for when they choose your business. This combined with keyword research in your industry can paint a clearer picture of what types of long-tail searches are being conducted in the space. This data makes for easy brainstorming fuel when planning content and page buildouts for your website, as you will be able to add text and other elements that answer the questions you know are actually being asked. Beyond regular content, you can look to add things like comparisons, how-to’s, and lists that provide information in more interactive ways. FAQ-style pages can be solid additions as well, giving you the opportunity to place real questions on your site and answer them directly.
But What About My Competitors?
Look at your competition, use them to drive your featured snippets efforts! Not only are competitive audits and comparisons a great way to see how you can improve your site technically, you can also see what they rank for organically (including featured snippets and position 0 results)! If you know that you provide the same service or information as a competitor that is sitting on top of the SERP in a featured snippet, you can look to optimize the corresponding page on your site with improvements to content and user experience. When you create a stronger, more concise answer to a user-generated query, Google will take notice. If the algorithm sees that the answer and experience you provide is more rewarding and informative to actual users, the chances of seeing your site take the literal top spot are higher.
Where Do I Go from Here?
Start researching! It’s only a matter of time before you find a valuable search query that has little or no competition at the top of the SERPs. Optimizing your site is something you should make time for regularly, but adding in content and page updates to push a featured snippet initiative is an easy way to improve the delivery of resources that your customers are looking for.
Forthea has a team of certified SEO specialists ready to help you build a content plan for featured snippet and position 0 optimizations, increasing the scope of your business’ reach and authority. Contact us today to learn more about getting started with Forthea.
