Google and other search engines have become an essential part of the way we live our lives: they help us to find information quickly, and work to connect businesses with prospects who are seeking relevant products and services. According to one estimate, Google processes roughly 5.6 billion searches per day – or 3-4 searches per day for the average Internet user.
The company is constantly experimenting with new ways to make its product more helpful to users. In Summer of 2021, for instance, it released a two-part update to its core search algorithm. And almost ten years ago, it introduced featured snippets, which hover in “position zero” of Google’s search engine results pages (SERPs).
Since then, many have debated the value of position zero: should businesses try to rank for it? How does it benefit them? As it turns out, the answer to both these questions is somewhat controversial – but in this article, we’ll try to provide one, beginning with an explanation of position zero and featured snippet types.
Since the day it launched in 1998, Google has featured ten results per SERP by default (although users can change this in their preferences). Today, these ten standard results are sometimes preceded by a featured snippet, which is said to be in “position zero,” since it comes first. On average, 19% of Google search pages include a featured snippet.
It's important to distinguish between featured snippets and two other content varieties that can appear in position zero: rich answers and knowledge graph carousels are generated from Google’s own database, and do not link to a source. There are also rich snippets, which are just normal search results enhanced by special features using structured data – “rich snippets” are not “featured snippets,” and they do not appear in position zero.
Featured snippet types which websites can rank for come in four varieties:
All featured snippets include a backlink to the article or source from which they originate, which can drive traffic to a brand’s website or its social media platforms.
Is it worth your time to optimize for featured snippets – and if so, why?
The answer to this question is more complex than many assume: like any other position on Google’s front page, ranking for position zero can be helpful – but it doesn’t work like a normal search result, and there are drawbacks. As for benefits, featured snippets can:
All that being said: the whole point of position zero is to provide users information without requiring them to click on anything, so it shouldn’t be surprising that links in position zero receive significantly fewer clicks than the top Google result – 8.6% vs. 19.6% when a snippet is present, and 26% when there are none.
Consequently, search marketers have diligently avoided optimizing for position zero if they already had a top result to avoid a sharp decrease in traffic – and this was true even before Google’s 2020 update which prevented duplication of top results with featured snippets.
Ultimately, snippets should be seen primarily as an extension of your content strategy: while they can boost your traffic in certain cases, their primary benefit comes from increased brand authority and reach.
Ultimately, Google’s algorithm decides who is and isn’t in position zero; featured snippets are generally more volatile and finicky to optimize for than other Google results. But it is possible to push the algorithm along by feeding it data and formatting your content in a strategic way.
The advice below primarily applies to paragraphs and bulleted lists – tables and videos account for a minority of generated snippets, with videos being drawn from video sites (like YouTube) and tables requiring an HTML-formatted table on your site.
At this point, many sources advise businesses to use structured data formatting for better chances of generating a featured snippet. But this point is controversial enough that it requires extended discussion.
In the past, Google has given mixed messages about the impact of structured data (SD) on search rankings – but it has settled on the position that SD is NOT a ranking factor: in other words, Google does not consider the presence of SD to be a reason for ranking one website higher than another.
That being said, SD can be indirectly beneficial by helping Google to understand your website better. This correlates with higher rankings, and a better chance at snagging position zero. While using structured data is by no means necessary for generating a featured snippet, it certainly can’t hurt, as 66% of featured snippets are drawn from websites with structured data.
Organic search still accounts for 53.3% of web traffic, with B2B companies generating twice as much revenue from search than from any other channel. Search – and therefore search engine optimization (SEO) – are still important factors for your marketing success, and understanding how to use rich features like search snippets is a crucial competitive advantage. At Conveyance, our diverse team of marketing experts can help you to assess your SEO opportunities and help you to exploit them.
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