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Why Snippets Are An Important Part Of An SEO Strategy

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Boosting your company’s website in search engine results requires creative thinking and a high level of understanding of Google’s powerful SEO tools. One of the most effective ways you can increase your organization’s visibility on search engine results is by mastering featured snippets on Google. The team at Unwired Web Solutions provides proven strategies to help you get closer to the top of the search engine listings, including using SEO featured snippets. Here is why snippets are a vital part of any SEO strategy.

What Are SEO Snippets?

SEO snippets started being used on Google’s search engine results page in 2014, and they continue to help drive more traffic to specific websites.  The snippet is the box of text that appears at the top of a search engine query results page. Featured snippets lift text from a relevant page or article and present it in an “answer box” format at the top of the page, even before the first web page listing from the search.

Featured Snippets Results

Google search snippets usually feature the first few lines of text from a page or article, along with relevant images that answer the question in the search query. Depending on what was typed in the search box, the featured snippet may be presented in a variety of ways.

Some snippets are simply definitions of the term along with images. A snippet may also be shown as a table, especially if there is numerical information. Ranked or unranked lists may also be used in the featured snippet spot.

Research Keywords and Questions

So if you want to learn how to get featured snippets, there are some specific steps your team can do with your marketing campaign. Featured snippets are most often seen when there is a specific question asked in the search engine box.

Our team starts with researching keywords and essential questions related to the keyword when aiming for a featured snippet spot. We don’t just use the traditional search query methods when looking for information; we also go offline and delve deeper into the topic or question by asking real individuals.

Create High-Quality Answers

Once you have the right questions and keywords being used, you can then move on to developing high-quality answers that are thorough and engaging to users. Our approach develops answers into compelling content that fully answers multiple questions related to the keyword.

A comprehensive answer also needs to be concise and not overly wordy in order to make it to that coveted featured snippet spot. Additionally, content needs to be accurate and well-written in order to make an impact on Google’s algorithm.

Organize and Add Images

The last big part of getting on featured snippets is to have a well-organized article or page of content and memorable photos. Google knows that readers prefer content that is easier to digest, so organizational text features, such as subheadings, bullets, lists, bold print and other details, help make content rank higher.

Your images also matter when it comes to featured snippets. Your content has a higher chance of being chosen for snippets if you have original, high-quality images that are professional and clear.

The Power of SEO Featured Snippets 

When you put all of these tactics together to create great content, you may also get featured in the Google snippet spot. Developing strong content that is optimized for snippets isn’t something to tackle on your own. Instead, you should look to the experts in SEO and featured snippets, Unwired Web Solutions.

Looking to give your web pages a boost and get a spot as a featured snippet? Your content may need a makeover to be SEO optimized as the top-quality piece that answers web users’ questions. Learn how content optimization with Unwired Web Solutions could work for you.

Why Headings Are Important for SEO

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Consumers are constantly bombarded with content throughout the day. To keep up, people have developed short attention spans. Headers help readers to skim through information and determine what to read and why. It also breaks up chunks of information, so it appears less overwhelming. Did you know your SEO company also prioritizes headers because it helps with search engine optimization?

Why Google Cares About Headers

Google has built a solid reputation for being able to answer people’s most pressing questions. Its brand name has become synonymous with searching for information online. To accomplish this, Google uses algorithms to determine how well a page speaks to the specific query posed during a search.

Headers call out the importance of specific topics throughout a web page. If an article or page contains headers that include the keyword from the search query, the page might rank higher. While headers are not the only weighted factors Google considers, it is one of the most important.

How Headers Align With Featured Snippets

For years, companies competed for the position of the first result on a page. Now, companies work hard to earn search position zero or the featured snippet. Google sometimes uses a paragraph or a few sentences to answer a question. However, it often compiles a list of the headers in the article, particularly when those headers are numbered and form part of a process.

It’s important to note that headers do not necessarily carry weight by themselves. Instead, they provide context so that Google bots can better understand the bigger picture. This, in turn, increases the weight provided to the content, which also improves where it ranks.

Why the Specific Headers Do Not Matter

In the past, bloggers and marketers used Title formats for the title of the page or article. Then, they used H1 headers throughout the article. Over the years, this practice changed to make H2 the first subheader throughout the article. Reports from top Google workers imply that this might result more in cosmetic than SEO benefits.

Google does not, at present, seem to weigh different headers more than others. It might, however, help Google to organize information better. For example, H3 headers might create a list under a specific H2 header. Without that change, Google bots might not immediately understand how to organize the information in a featured snippet.

How Headers Align With Images

Google increasingly turns to images for context clues about the body of an article and vice versa. In fact, images can rank separately in searches, even when people do not explicitly look for images. Headings above photos are one of the contextual clues that Google uses to determine what images mean.

It’s worth noting that headings are not the only tools Google uses to understand images. It also relies on alt text and other markup data. Sometimes, even the name of the file can be helpful.

How the Right SEO Company Can Help

Google makes minor updates to its algorithm daily and makes more significant updates a few times each year. Whenever this happens, big websites wait with bated breath to see how the new algorithm might rank their websites. This is nerve-racking and can feel more like a gamble than a strategy. When you work with a trusted SEO company, we do the reverse engineering for you and adjust your content accordingly. This allows you to enjoy greater consistency in how well you rank.

An important consideration is that Google aims to create bots and search engines that follow the same line of thought as the people it serves. With this goal in mind, it continually encourages marketers to create high-quality content instead of focusing on SEO. 

Would you like to work with SEO professionals who write compelling content to nurture existing customers and attract new ones? Contact Unwired Web Solutions and ask for your free quote.