Data-backed insights on highlighted bit optimization
Around one-fifth of all keywords activate a featured bit
99 percent of all included snippets tend to appear within the first natural position and take over 50% of the screen on mobile phones, driving higher-than-average click-through rates (CTR).
The key to included bit optimization depends on a few particular locations: long-tail- and question-like keyword technique, date marked material that comes at the best length and format, and a concise URL structure.
Google has constantly been quite hazy on any details about winning highlighted snippets. This held true when they were initially presented, making them something companies considered to be the cherry on top of their SEO efforts, which is still largely the case. Having first-hand understanding about the value and power of highlighted snippets, Brado partnered with Semrush to conduct the most extensive research study around included bit optimization to discover how they really work, and what you can do to win them.
Exposing the highlights from an Included bits study that examined over a million SERPs with featured bits present, this post unwraps actionable suggestions on amping up your optimization strategy to finally win that Google prize.
General patterns throughout the included snippet landscape.
With billions of search inquiries go through the Google search box every day, our research study discovered that around 19 percent of keywords activate a highlighted snippet. Why does this even matter? Included bits are known to drive greater CTR-- as another study uncovered, they are accountable for over 35 percent of all clicks.
Additional showing the enormous power of featured snippets, our study showed that they use up over half of the SERP's real estate on mobile screens.
Integrate this with our findings that 99 percent of the time featured snippets take control of the very first organic position, which they are in many cases set off by long-tail keywords (suggesting specific user intent), and you'll get the reason behind exceptionally high CTR numbers.
Are some markets most likely to set off highlighted snippets?
In the study, we defined industries by keyword classifications, discovering that, undoubtedly, featured bit volume is irregular throughout numerous sections.
The top industry, seeing a featured snippet in 62 percent of all cases, is Travel and Computer & Electronics, followed by Arts & Home entertainment (59 percent), and Science (54 percent), while Real Estate keywords drag all the rest with only 11 percent of keywords setting off an included bit.
featured snippet optimization insights on keyword classifications that activate.
On a domain level, the industry breakdown differs a little, with Health and News sites having similar featured snippet volumes.
You can discover the full industry breakdown within the study.
Included bits are all about earns, not wins.
Simply hoping your content will win you a featured bit isn't enough-- as our research study showed, it's everything about hard-earned content optimization outcomes.
1. Optimize for long-tail keywords and concerns.
When it comes to optimization and keywords, use 'the more the much better' reasoning.
Our research study discovered that 55.5 percent of featured bits were triggered by 10-word keywords, while single-word ones just showed up 4.3 percent of the time.
Something even better than long-tails is questions. In reality, 29 percent of keywords triggering an included snippet start with question words-- "why" (78 percent), "can" (72 percent), "do" (67 percent), and in the least cases, "where" (19 percent).
featured snippet optimization insights on Visit this site concern keywords that trigger.
2. Use the best content length and format.
The SERPs we examined included four types of featured snippet: paragraphs, lists, tables, and videos:.
70 percent of the results showed paragraphs, with approximately 42 words and 249 characters.
Lists was available in as the second-most-frequent highlighted snippet (19 percent), with approximately 6 product counts and 44 words.
Tables (6 percent) typically featured five rows and 2 columns.
Videos, whose average duration stood at 6:39 mins, showed up in only 4.6 percent of all cases.
Obviously, don't blindly follow this data as the golden rule, rather see it as an excellent starting point for featured-snippet-minded material optimization.
Plus, keep in mind that content quality always dominates quantity, so if you have a high-performing piece that includes a 10-row table, Google will merely cut it down, revealing the blue "More rows" link, which can even improve your CTR.
3. Do not overcomplicate your URL structure.
As it ends up, URL length matters in Google's option of a website that is worthy of a highlighted bit. Try to stay with cool website architecture, with 1-3 subfolders per URL, and you'll be most likely to win.
Just for referral, here is an example of a URL with three subfolders:.
xyz.com/subfolder1/subfolder2/subfolder3.
4. Make regular material updates.
In the "to add or not to add a post date" dilemma, based upon our included snippet analysis, we 'd recommend that you release date-marked content.
The majority of Google's featured bits consist of a short article date, with the following breakdown: 47 percent of list-type featured snippets come from date-marked content, paragraphs-- 44 percent, videos-- 20 percent, and tables-- 19 percent of the time.
While fresh-out-of-the-oven content can be favored by Google, 70 percent of all content making it into the featured bit was anywhere from 2 to 3 years old (2018, 2019, 2020), meaning as soon as again that content quality matters more than recency, so you should not worry that putting a date on it will work against you.
