Data-backed insights on featured bit optimization
Around one-fifth of all keywords activate a highlighted snippet
99 percent of all featured snippets tend to appear within the very first organic position and take over 50% of the screen on mobile devices, driving higher-than-average click-through rates (CTR).
The key to featured bit optimization depends on a few specific locations: long-tail- and question-like keyword strategy, date marked content that comes at the right length and format, and a concise URL structure.Google has always been pretty hazy on any information about winning featured bits. This held true when they were first presented, making them something businesses considered to be the cherry on top of their SEO efforts, which is still mainly the case. Having first-hand understanding about the value and power of highlighted snippets, Brado partnered with Semrush to perform the most thorough research around included bit optimization to discover how they really work, and what you can do to win them.
Revealing the highlights from a Featured snippets research study that analyzed over a million SERPs with highlighted snippets present, this post unwraps actionable tips on amping up your optimization strategy to lastly win that Google reward.
General patterns across the included snippet landscape.
With billions of search inquiries go through the Google search box each day, our research study found that around 19 percent of keywords trigger a featured bit. Why does this even matter? Included bits are understood to drive higher CTR-- as another research study discovered, they are accountable for over 35 percent gold coast seo specialists of all clicks.
Additional showing the enormous power of featured bits, our 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 included snippets take over the very first natural position, which they remain in most cases triggered by long-tail keywords (implying particular user intent), and you'll get the factor behind incredibly high CTR numbers.
Are some industries most likely to set off highlighted bits?
In the research study, we specified markets by keyword categories, finding that, certainly, included snippet volume is inconsistent throughout numerous sections.
featured bit optimization insights on keyword classifications that trigger.
On a domain level, the market breakdown varies slightly, with Health and News websites having similar highlighted snippet volumes.
You can discover the full market breakdown within the research study.
Included snippets are all about makes, not wins.
Simply hoping your content will win you an included snippet isn't enough-- as our research study showed, it's all about hard-earned content optimization outcomes.
1. Optimize for long-tail keywords and questions.
When it concerns optimization and keywords, use 'the more the better' logic.
Our research study found that 55.5 percent of highlighted snippets were activated 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 questions. 29 percent of keywords activating a featured snippet begin with concern words-- "why" (78 percent), "can" (72 percent), "do" (67 percent), and in the least cases, "where" (19 percent).
included snippet optimization insights on question keywords that trigger.
2. Use the right content length and format.
The SERPs we examined included 4 types of highlighted bit: paragraphs, lists, tables, and videos:.
70 percent of the results revealed paragraphs, with approximately 42 words and 249 characters.
Lists can be found in as the second-most-frequent featured bit (19 percent), with an average of 6 product counts and 44 words.
Tables (6 percent) normally included 5 rows and 2 columns.Videos, whose average duration stood at 6:39 mins, appeared in only 4.6 percent of all cases.
Naturally, do not blindly follow this data as the golden rule, rather see it as a good beginning point for featured-snippet-minded material optimization.Plus, bear in mind that content quality constantly dominates quantity, so if you have a high-performing piece that includes a 10-row table, Google will simply suffice down, showing the blue "More rows" link, which can even improve your CTR.
3. Don't overcomplicate your URL structure.
As it ends up, URL length matters in Google's option of a site that should have a highlighted snippet. Attempt to stay with neat site architecture, with 1-3 subfolders per URL, and you'll be more likely to win.
Just for referral, here is an example of a URL with 3 subfolders:.
xyz.com/subfolder1/subfolder2/subfolder3.
4. Make frequent content updates.
In the "to include or not to include a post date" dilemma, based upon our featured bit analysis, we 'd suggest that you publish date-marked material.
The majority of Google's highlighted snippets include a short article date, with the following breakdown: 47 percent of list-type highlighted snippets originate from date-marked material, paragraphs-- 44 percent, videos-- 20 percent, and tables-- 19 percent of the time.
