This document provides tips on achieving featured snippets in Google search results. It discusses what featured snippets are, how to identify opportunities for them, and how to optimize webpages to earn them. Featured snippets come in three formats: paragraphs, tables, and lists. To earn them, the document recommends targeting informational and transactional keywords, using clear headers and formatting on landing pages, and optimizing images and markup with schemas like FAQ and How-To. Regular evaluation of successes is also suggested.

1. How to achieve
Featured Snippets
From a webinar with Izzi Smith, SEO
Manager of Sixt

2. Summary
•What are featured snippets?
•Identifying your featured snippet
opportunities
•How to get Featured Snippets
•Revaluate your success

3. What are featured snippets?
These are the giant answer boxes at the top of the SERPs in
position ‘0’.
They’re so sought after because of their traffic-rich position, but
also because of the impact they can have on trust signals, boosting
conversions too.

4. There are 3 formats: Paragraph: 60% of FS
(see prev page)
Tables: 11% of FS
Lists: 29% of FS

5. Featured snippets are very prominent and have a huge impact on
traffic.
• They can increase the quality of your traffic
• Increase your brand awareness
• Appear in voice search, especially if you achieve a Mobile FS.
Featured snippets using Preposition keywords make up about
18%, with snippets using Comparison keywords making up 23%
of FS and Question keywords making up 42% of FS.
‘Without’ ‘With’ ‘In’
‘Best’ ‘Worst’ ‘Least’ ‘Highest’
Google is testing algorithms all the time and so featured snippets
fluctuate. It can be common to only have a FS position for the copy
only or the image only.
‘Why’

6. Identify Your Featured Snippet Opportunities
Identify keywords that are already bringing you traffic.
Top tip: Use Search Console but via Google Analytics.
GA>Acquisition>Search Console>Queries>’Matching reg ex’

7. Evaluate potential rankings:
What are you missing out on? Target long-tail terms!
USE ANSWER THE PUBLIC
USE PEOPLE ALSO
ASK BOXES
USE RELATED TOPICS
AVOID KEYWORDS WITH KNOWLEDGE CARD RESULTS

8. How to get featured snippets:
What are the most effective types of Keywords to target for
Featured Snippets?
Informational Keywords
are useful for getting
featured snippets but
can prevent click
throughs
Transactional keywords
help towards a local pack
ranking, and navigational
keywords don’t help with
a featured snippet.
Informational
Transactional
Navigational
To find a specific
site: e.g.youtube
‘How-to’ etc,
looking for
information
‘Buy’, ‘purchase’,
‘order’,
products/brands

9. Featured Snippet Gold:
Transactional + Informational keyword combo
Build up a featured snippet keyword wish-list, focusing on intent.

10. Landing Page Approaches:
Holistic and specific
Holistic: Improve existing
Refresh a landing page that
already exists – an FAQ page
for example, using clear
headers and subsections.
Specific: New pages
The topic should be explained
in detail.
Make sure it’s factual + concise
Written for humans
Avoid KW stuffing
Use supporting data and
sources
Page features:
Paragraphs should start
with a ‘W’ question.
Should be around 40-60
words in a paragraph
Present comparisons
and numerical data in
HTML tables
Make list articles with
good headers and clear
images and bulk them
out to achieve ‘read
more’
Fetch +render page in
GSC
Featured snippet top tip:
Prove you’re an expert: E-A-T: Expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness –
supporting data and related content

11. Optimise your images optimizing images for FS
Schema.org
Use Schema.org
• Less than 600px
have a 4:3 aspect ratio
• Then compress in
tiny.png
• Make sure they’re
landscape format
Simple tags can be added to
mark-up a page and help
google to understand it.
For example:
FAQ = ‘QAPage’ markup
(Common schema)
‘HowToStep’:
https://schema.org/HowTo
Step

12. Featured snippets can be shared
between two domains:
Be wary of simplistic landing
pages that don’t show expertise:
Featured Snippet Difficulties
Make sure your landing pages aren’t too
simplistic, with content sandwiched
between a question and an answer.
Visitors clicking through will be frustrated
and you probably won’t get an FS. Always
try to demonstrate your expertise.
In a Featured Snippet the links at the bottom are
expandable with drop downs to other domains.
Images can also link to one domain with the rest
linked to another.
A whole FS isn’t necessarily all owned by one
domain.

13. Re-evaluate your successes
Check your keyword progress in Advanced Web Ranking
https://app.advancedwebranking.com/ranking/keywords
For Sixt case study examples see presentation slides here:
https://www.slideshare.net/IsobelSmith10/practical-insights-into-
winning-featured-snippets-intss-2018

14. Any questions?