#SMX #21A3  @glenngabeKnow the snippet. Win the snippet. Be the snippet.

The Power of Google Featured Snippets in 2016

Analysis, Case Studies, and Recommendations

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabe

• With everyone trying to gain an advantage in the SERPs, it’s hard to overlook one of the most powerful features of all…

• FEATURED SNIPPETS• Receive special SERP treatment.• Can drive huge amounts of traffic.• Builds near-instant credibility…• On that note…

The Power of Featured Snippets

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabe

The Power of Featured Snippets

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabe

The Power of Featured Snippets

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabe

The Power of Featured Snippets

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabe

Featured Snippets are POWERFUL!

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabe

And yes, even Ash can land one…

More about this soon.

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabe

• A lot.• Relatively high volume keyword.• Client won the featured snippet.• Yielded 41,144 clicks over the past 90 days.• 13.2% CTR.

How much traffic can featured snippets drive?

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabe

• That’s out of 60,673 total clicks to the landing page.• So the featured snippet accounted for 73% of total

Google traffic to the landing page during the past 90 days!

How much traffic can featured snippets drive?

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabe

• I published a case study on Search Engine Land.• Client won the featured snippet for a high-volume

query.• Drove massive amounts of traffic.• They lost the snippet… and 39K clicks over a two

week period.• Then gained it back = Big win.• Just checked, and they lost it again.• Yes, the algo is temperamental.

How powerful can they be?

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabe

• No, what can’t they look like?• They are shapeshifters.• Text, bullets, images, charts, KG, or a combination of

all.

What can they look like?

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabe

Text:

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabe

Bullets:

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabe

Images:

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabe

Bullets and Images:

Hey, that’s me!

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabe

Tables:

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabe

Knowledge Graph + More:

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabe

Now with query refinement.Connecting two featured snippets.

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabe

• Wrong! Any site can win featured snippets.• I’ve seen many different types of sites win featured

snippets in the SERPs.• For example…

Cool, but they’re only for large-scale sites, right?

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabe

Smaller sites and brands:

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabe

Smaller sites and brands:

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabe

Smaller sites and brands:

Hey, that’s me again!

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabe

Smaller sites and brands:

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabe

Smaller sites and brands:

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabe

• Definitely not!• Featured snippets are algorithmically

surfaced, which always leaves room for error.

• For example, 404s, spam, and some hysterical results.

Are they always the best possible result?

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabe

Not exactly a “featured snippet”

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabe

Not exactly a “featured snippet”

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabe

Not exactly a “featured snippet”

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabe

Not exactly a “featured snippet”

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabe

Not exactly a “featured snippet”

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabe

• Absolutely not.• I’ve seen sites win featured snippets when they rank

as low as #10 in the SERPs.• But always page 1 (based on my research).

Do you need to rank #1 to receive a featured snippet?

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabe

Who cares about your #1 ranking!

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabe

Who cares about your #1 ranking!

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabe

Who cares about your #1 ranking!

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabe

• No, definitely not.• I’ve seen featured snippets for topics and head

terms, as well as, for question-related queries.• For example:

Are they displayed just for “question” queries?

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabe

Not just questions anymore…

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabe

Not just questions anymore…

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabe

Not just questions anymore…

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabe

• No! structured data is not a factor.• I used to think SD could influence featured snippets,

but that was wrong!• John Mueller explained that “the team” once thought

of requiring structured data, but then chose to surface them organically.

• They didn’t want to bog down webmasters with even more code to implement.

Structured data must be a requirement, right?

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabe

Structured Data NOT required.

"We've discussed that with the team a few times, that maybe we should have a structured data markup that people can use to get featured snippets. But the team is happier to surface them organically. They didn't want to bog down webmasters with even more structured data markup to add to their pages."

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabe

• Cover a topic as thoroughly and clearly as you can.• Answer the question concisely and provide both the

question and the answer on the page.• Provide a concise section that answers the core query

(more about this step soon).• Use bullets or numbered lists for a process (steps).• Provide a strong image near the answer (for possible

inclusion in the featured snippet.)• Don’t forget about html tables. They yield compelling

featured snippets.

So how do you win a featured snippet?

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabe

• That has a great setup for receiving featured snippets.

• They provide a concise and clear introduction for each page on their site (located at the top of each page).

• Almost all of the featured snippets they are receiving are being surfaced directly from that module.

• And many of them.• Coincidence? Maybe… or maybe not. Dr. Pete seems

to agree.

Side note: So I’ve got this client…

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabe

Side note: So I’ve got this client…Concise intro covering the

topic at hand.

Main article.

Photo

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabe

• Yes. Scary, but true.• Logged in versus logged out.• Based on previous searches.• Location-aware.

Can featured snippets be personalized?

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabe

Personalization and Featured SnippetsLogged in.

Logged out.

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabe

Personalization and Featured Snippets

The ER closestto the user:

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabe

• That seems to happen very quickly.• I saw what looked like pre-processing and tracked

that url.• It received a featured snippet shortly after.• You can see by the description snippet how the

steps were being extracted.

How quickly does Google start to pre-process a featured snippet?

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabe

Pre-processing of a featured snippet.

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabe

• My favorite tool – SEMrush SERP features module.• GSC – filter by questions + #1 rankings.• Moz – project-based (tied to specific domain you’re

tracking)• And I might, or might not be, testing something very

cool. :)

How can you research/find featured snippets?

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabe

Tools for surfacing featured snippets: SEMrush

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabe

Tools for surfacing featured snippets: GSC

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabe

• Oh yes. There is.• Meet its big brother, FEATURED VIDEOS.• Talk about huge SERP real estate…• You almost have to click it!

Is there something even better than featured snippets?

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabe

GIANT Featured Videos

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabe

GIANT Featured Videos

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabe

GIANT Featured Videos

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabe

• Yes, you can.• I tested this in early September for one of my own

featured snippets. It took just seven minutes…• Also, Richard Baxter and Pete Meyers explained how

they did this for several featured snippets.• But be careful… remember, the algo is

temperamental.• You could lose it…

Can you refine featured snippets?

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabe

Refining a featured snippet: GSQi

Just 7 minutes later!

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabe

Refining a featured snippet: Moz

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabe

Refining a featured snippet: Builtvisible

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabe

• Yes, you can.• There is a feedback button under each featured

snippet.• Provide concise and clear information about the

inaccuracy.• I have done this a number of times and it does work

(although it could take some time).• John Mueller recently confirmed this is the best way

to provide feedback about inaccurate featured snippets.

Can you report inaccurate featured snippets?

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabe

The powerful feedback button.

"The feedback button is the best way to report inaccurate featured snippets. That information does get back to the team. But make sure it's easily understandable. Don't curse in all caps. Provide reasonable information for Google. That's something that over time our systems (algorithms) can take into account."

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabe

• Know your site. Surface your own featured snippets.• Analyze those pages and the content.• Find more in your industry/niche.• Go after them!• Track the traffic changes to those pages and via those

queries via GSC.• Use images, bullets, and numbering.• Don’t forget about html tables!• And remember, the algo is temperamental. Don’t get

discouraged.

Final tips and recommendations:

#SMX #21A3  @glenngabeLEARN MORE: UPCOMING @SMX EVENTS

THANK YOU! SEE YOU AT THE NEXT #SMX