No wonder that Google is the dominant power on web or mobile search, but almost two thirds of searches do not leave the giant’s search results page. That is because people find what they are looking for easily and that is what we call ‘zero-click’ or ‘no-click’ search.
In the past, Google was generating a set of ten blue links to the most relevant web pages. Later on, it adopted the organic results mechanism and links to different types of content began to appear.
Based on that, entrepreneurs and large brands were happy with creating the content, which people were looking for and Google was redirecting them to their stuff for free.
Forget about the past and focus on what is going on now!
Google's algorithm is continually developing in order to provide the greatest digital experience to its users. It does not care about the volume of modifications to the provided content, but the information, which searchers are looking for. Accordingly, it has created the ‘no-click’ search results, which allow them quickly access what they really need. On one hand, imagine that you keep scrolling through pages to get your question answered, but on the other, Google is directly providing only the necessary answer.
What are Google's featured snippets?
Featured snippets are short parts of text, which appear at the top of the results on Google and quickly answer a searcher’s question. They are automatically extracted from websites in Google’s index and include paragraphs, tables, lists and videos.
Paragraphs:
Lists:
Tables:
Videos:
Featured snippets increase the number of ‘zero-click searches’ because they often give searchers the answer they’re looking for.
Optimizing content for featured snippets
There is no magic wand to wave and get your website featured in the blink of an eye! To get your content featured, you simply need to provide very useful answers to user questions. Here are some helpful hints:
- State facts and be more organized
As long as we speak about lists and tables, your content should be to the point and use factual information (numbers, names, statistics…etc.)
- Length of content
Recent studies have shown that the average length of an answer to a user’s question ranges between 45 words and 97 words at the maximum. However, cornerstone and long-form content containing the abovementioned features will help you cover more related search results. You can ask a direct question in your piece of writing, get it answered in one paragraph and then, elaborate your topic.
- Address a number of topics in your answer
Once your content is featured, it is likely to appear in searches for lots of similar inquiries. Accordingly, it should be organized and phrased in such a way that it answers a variety of relevant questions.
- Eye-catching & striking visuals
Make sure that your content displays eye-catching and striking visuals. Interesting and unusual images, maps or videos are more likely to be featured snippets compared to the regular ones.
- Keywords
Monitor organic keywords and make sure that your content includes popular words and terms, which are commonly used by Google searchers.
Conclusion
You need to work hard on your content to be featured on Google. Creating it based on the above criteria takes a lot of time and efforts, but does not ensure by 100% that you will achieve quick and satisfactory results. However, it will enhance your experience, improve your search results, and help you generate new creative ideas and structure your writings in a better way.