Featured Snippet

What is a featured snippet?

The term ‘featured snippet’ refers to an excerpt of a web page’s content that gets displayed at the top of page one of Google’s search engine results pages (SERPs). Its main purpose is to give users the answers they are looking for more quickly either in part or in full, depending on the question.

If you want a more in-depth understanding of this topic, check out the FAQ section below:

Question #1: What is the benefit of having my content being displayed as a featured snippets?

The biggest benefits of having your content displayed as a featured snippets are increased visibility and higher click-through rates. Let us take a look at each one in more detail.

First, as we have seen earlier, a featured snippet shows up at the top of the first page of Google’s SERPs—beating even the top search result. This means it is the very first thing users would see.

In addition to this, however, featured snippets also get more ‘preview’ space than regular organic search results. Instead of just getting two lines of text, they can display entire paragraphs, tables, and bullet points, making them much more informative and appealing to users, ultimately increasing their likelihood of getting clicked.

Question #2: How do I get my content displayed as a featured snippet?

The easiest way to get your content displayed as a featured snippet, is to craft your content in a question-and-answer format. The goal is to craft your subheadings in the same way a user might type a question into Google and then answer them clearly in the body.

For example, if you write an article called Everything You Need to Know About Compound Lifts, your subheadings might include:

• What are compound lifts
• What are the best compound lifts?
• What is the difference between compound lifts and isolation lifts?
• Are compound lifts better than isolation lifts?

But that is just the first part. Once you have your subheadings, you will need to answer each one in a clear, concise manner. Let us take the second subheading above as an example. To answer it, you can say something like:

‘Compound lifts are resistance exercises that involve multiple joints. Examples include the squat, bench press, and deadlift.’

Take note, however, that for this to work, you need to know the exact keywords your target audience might use, so you need to do proper keyword research before you actually start writing.

Question #3: What types of content get displayed as a featured snippet?

The types of content that get displayed as a featured snippet are:

1. Definitions
2. Steps
3. Lists
4. Tables

Let us take a closer look at each one:

Definitions, as the name suggests, refer to snippets that explain what a term or concept means. This is the type of featured snippet we have seen in the previous section.

Steps, one the other hand, are pretty self-explanatory as well. They simply outline the procedure for a particular task. For example, a steps featured snippet about how to perform a squat might look something like:

To perform a squat, follow these steps:

Step 1: Load the bar with the appropriate weight. Skip this step if you are a complete beginner.

Step 2: Get under the bar. It should rest evenly on your traps and shoulders.

Step 3: Squat down to knee depth or lower, hinging at the hips. Make sure you do not round your back throughout the movement

Step 4: Use your quads and glutes to stand back up.

Lists, as you may have already guessed, simply enumerate things. For example, a list featured snippet about the lifts powerlifting programs typically include may look something like:

The typical powerlifting programs incorporate these three lifts:

1. Squat
2. Bench Press
3. Deadlift

Finally, tables are a great way to present complex data to users. For example, a table featured snippet about a typical metabolic resistance training workout might look something like this:

Exercise	Weight	Reps	Rounds
Military Press	40 kg	Start with 8 Reduce by 1 per round	8
Squat
Row
Bench Press