L O A D I N G
Search engines have advanced and refined the results that they display for users. As a matter of fact, more queries have featured snippets in order to answer searchers’ questions. So, what exactly are featured snippets and why using schema in SEO is important?
What is a Featured Snippet?

Featured snippets are the content or answer boxes displayed at the top of a search engine results page (SERP). The Google featured snippet is found right above organic search results and below the ads in order to potentially answer a user’s question.

Types of Featured Snippet

The popular featured snippets include:

  • Paragraph: Paragraph featured snippets are the common type and include information in the form of a paragraph in order to answer a user’s query.
  • List: List featured snippets attempt to answer a searcher’s question in a summarised list.
  • Table: Information is organised in a table to make answers or data easy to read in a table featured snippet.
  • Video: Videos are embedded onto the SERP to answer a user’s query.
Why Featured Snippets Are Important

Other than possibly reaching “Position Zero,” featured snippets are beneficial for you because they can contribute to an increase in site traffic. With an increase in website traffic, you may also see that you have more organic conversions by simply having the answer that users are looking for.  

Featured snippets are especially beneficial for those who wish to engage with voice searchers. If you have the featured snippet for questions asked via voice search, users with digital assistants will lead to a definite increase in website traffic.

As a result, you will experience an increase in brand awareness, exposure, and click-through rate (CTR.) This is because a search engine will give your website more authority the more users choose your content as a satisfactory answer.

Using Schema in SEO - How featured snippets influence search
Using Schema in SEO – How featured snippets influence search
How to Get a Featured Snippet

How do featured snippets work? Well, ultimately, the search engine’s algorithm has the final say in what ends up as a featured snippet. However, there are a few best practices that can increase your chances of having featured content:

  • Structure your pages. Your content should use heading and paragraph tags to be understood by the search engine.
  • Use steps when needed. For questions that have a step-by-step or in-depth answer, structure your answer appropriately. Use a list format.
  • Keep paragraphs short and straight to the point. In general, a featured snippet in paragraph form is 54 words to 58 words long.
  • Keep keyword research in mind. More often than not, featured snippets are triggered by keywords. Specifically, in SEO, long-tail keywords so the more words that a searcher types into the search box, the higher the chance it will have a featured snippet. Start with the basics (e.g., why, what, how, why, etc.) then think about other question-based words (e.g., do or can.)
  • Take advantage of schema markup. Schema markup can tell a search engine exactly what content your website has to offer and whether or not it is what a searcher is looking for.
What is Schema Markup in SEO?

Schema markup is  a semantic code placed on your site to help search engines understand information and relay it to users. When search engines understand what your content means, this structured data is indexed and returned in a SERP.

Benefits of Schema Markup

Schema markup can help you rank better for various types of content because users will be able to get all of the answers they need at a glance. The advantages of structured data include the fact that you have a higher chance of increasing your CTR, brand visibility, organic traffic, and credibility.

Types of Schema Markup

The different types of schema in SEO that you can incorporate into your content include:

  • Review/Rating
  • Product and Offer
  • Breadcrumbs
  • Frequently-Asked-Questions (FAQ)
  • How-To
  • Question and Answer (Q&A)
  • Organisation
  • Article
  • Event
  • Recipe
  • WebPage
  • Blog
  • Video
Using Schema in SEO - How featured snippets influence search
Using Schema in SEO – How featured snippets influence search

Here is the full list of schema types available

How To Add Schema to a Website

You don’t need to be a programmer to add schema markup to your website. For example, Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper can generate and implement schema onto your website. You simply need to highlight the content on your website that you would like to mark up, label accordingly, then click on “Create HTML” for the code to be generated. Choose from the following languages of code:

  • Resource Descriptive Framework in Attributes (RDFa)
  • Microdata
  • Javascript Object Notation for Linked Objects (JSON-LD)

Other popular schema generators include MicrodataGenerator.com and Merkle’s.

Test and Validate Schema

While using a schema generator helps create error-free code, it is a good practice to double-check and perform a schema markup test. To do this schema check, you can use the following testing tools and validators:

Step Up Your SEO

Learning how to use schema markup and implementing it in your websites is another SEO best practice. If you’re aiming to rank better, increase organic traffic, and CTRs, schema markup has the potential to help you reach these goals. Acquiring GTECH well oriented SEO company in Dubai can also helps you out in implementing schema markup in your website as well provides you a complete SEO strategy for your business

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