SearchLove London 2016 | Rob Bucci | Taking the Top Spot: How to Earn More Featured Snippets

TAKING THE TOP SPOT How to earn more featured snippets

@STATrob #SearchLove

Featured snippets are a super interesting phenomenon.

KEY FEATURES OF OUR RESEARCH

KEYWORDS 1,000,000

CPC RANGE $9.55 – $1,006.56

SEARCH VOL. RANGE 10 – 2,740,000 average searches

DEVICE Desktop & Mobile

MARKET United States, English (Google.com)

WE’RE SEEING MORE SNIPPETS THAN EVER%

of S

ERPs

with

sni

ppet

s

0%

6.25%

12.5%

18.75%

25%

15%

9%

January (Desktop) July (Desktop)

MOBILE VS. DESKTOP%

of S

ERPs

with

sni

ppet

s

0%

6.25%

12.5%

18.75%

25%

15%17%

July (Mobile) July (Desktop)

AND THEY’RE WORTH MORE THAN EVERTo

tal C

PC

$0

$1,000,000

$2,000,000

$3,000,000

$4,000,000

$3,087,960

$1,750,392

January July

SNIPPET TYPES

@STATrob

This is a “paragraph” snippet.

This is a “table” snippet.

This is a “list” snippet.

HOW OFTEN DID WE SEE EACH SNIPPET TYPE?

Paragraphs

Lists

Tables16%

19%

63%

7%

10%

81%

January (Desktop)July (Desktop)

HOW OFTEN DID WE SEE EACH SNIPPET TYPE? MOBILE VS. DESKTOP

Paragraphs

Lists

Tables16%

19%

63%

17%

20%

64%

July (Mobile)July (Desktop)

THE FORMAT OF YOUR CONTENT DETERMINES THE FORMAT OF THE FEATURED SNIPPET.

@STATrob

WHICH FEATURED SNIPPETS HAVE IMAGES?

Paragraphs

Lists

Tables4%

6%

20%

18%

26%

28%

January (Desktop)July (Desktop)

WHICH FEATURED SNIPPETS HAVE IMAGES? MOBILE VS. DESKTOP

Paragraphs

Lists

Tables4%

6%

20%

2%

4%

13%

July (Mobile)July (Desktop)

WIKIPEDIA OWNS 15% OF ALL SNIPPETS WITH IMAGES Images are in 36% of Wikipedia’s featured snippets.

@STATrob

UNIVERSAL RESULTS

@STATrob

HOW OFTEN DID WE SEE UNIVERSAL RESULTS?

Places

Video

Images

News

Shopping 1%

3%

13%

11%

13%

2%

3%

20%

11%

13%

January (Desktop)July (Desktop)

HOW OFTEN DID WE SEE UNIVERSAL RESULTS? MOBILE VS. DESKTOP

Places

Video

Images

News

Shopping 1%

3%

13%

11%

13%

3%

7%

7%

18%

38%

July (Mobile)July (Desktop)

HOW OFTEN DID THOSE RESULTS APPEAR WITH FEATURED SNIPPETS?

Places

Video

Images

News

Shopping 1%

4%

10%

12%

0%

1%

5%

11%

14%

0%

January (Desktop)July (Desktop)

HOW OFTEN DID THOSE RESULTS APPEAR WITH FEATURED SNIPPETS? MOBILE VS. DESKTOP

Places

Video

Images

News

Shopping 1%

4%

10%

12%

0%

2%

10%

3%

19%

0%

July (Mobile)July (Desktop)

TWEETABLE TIP

PLACES PACKS NEVER OCCUR ALONGSIDE FEATURED SNIPPETS. Local SEOs don’t get to play. Sorry. :(

@STATrob

PEOPLE ALSO ASK

@STATrob

HOW OFTEN DOES PEOPLE ALSO ASK APPEAR WITH SNIPPETS?

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

44%

22%

January (Desktop) July (Desktop)

HOW OFTEN DOES PEOPLE ALSO ASK APPEAR WITH SNIPPETS? MOBILE VS. DESKTOP

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

44%43%

July (Mobile) July (Desktop)

HOW OFTEN ARE SNIPPETS ALSO THE FIRST PAA ANSWER?

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

5%

24%

January (Desktop) July (Desktop)

HOW OFTEN ARE SNIPPETS ALSO THE FIRST PAA ANSWER? MOBILE VS. DESKTOP

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

5%0%

July (Mobile) July (Desktop)

TWEETABLE TIP

LET PEOPLE ALSO ASK BOXES INSPIRE YOUR OWN FEATURED SNIPPET CONTENT. Google is telling you what answers they like for similar queries.

@STATrob

KEYWORDS MATTER

@STATrob

BE CAREFUL ABOUT IMPLIED QUESTIONS

QUERY SNIPPET

what is a mctwist? TRUE

mctwist TRUE

how do I build a roof? TRUE

build a roof FALSE

TWEETABLE TIP

PAY ATTENTION TO KEYWORD VARIANTS. SNIPPETS ONLY APPEAR FOR SOME. Your research just got harder. Sorry!

@STATrob

COMMON SNIPPET QUERY TYPESQUERY TYPE JANUARY (Desktop) JULY (Desktop) CHANGE

FINANCIAL 46% 54% 20%

MATHEMATIC 52% 56% 8%

REQUIREMENTS 56% 56% 0%

HEALTH 44% 52% 19%

DIY/PROCESS 50% 58% 16%

COMMON SNIPPET QUERY TYPESQUERY TYPE JULY (Mobile) JULY (Desktop)

FINANCIAL 54% 54%

MATHEMATIC 53% 56%

REQUIREMENTS 49% 56%

HEALTH 30% 52%

DIY/PROCESS 31% 58%

UNCOMMON SNIPPET QUERY TYPESQUERY TYPE JANUARY (Desktop) JULY (Desktop) CHANGE

LOCAL 0.71% 1.84% 159%

SUBJECTIVE 0.41% 18.14% 4280%

INFO/HELP 1.23% 4.64% 277%

FACTUAL 0.99% 6.63% 570%

SHOPPING 1.28% 6.46% 226%

UNCOMMON SNIPPET QUERY TYPESQUERY TYPE JULY (Mobile) JULY (Desktop)

LOCAL 5.15% 1.84%

SUBJECTIVE 11.84% 18.14%

INFO/HELP 11.65% 4.64%

FACTUAL 5.64% 6.63%

SHOPPING 8.71% 6.46%

TWEETABLE TIP

REVIEWS AND OPINION BASED CONTENT CAN NOW SNAG SNIPPETS. GO AND GET ‘EM!

@STATrob

SNIPPET FREQUENCY FOR “FINANCE” WORDS

salary

cost

refinancing

taxes

fees 58%

58%

46%

59%

68%

40%

36%

43%

57%

77%

January (Desktop)July (Desktop)

SNIPPET FREQUENCY FOR “FINANCE” WORDS. MOBILE VS. DESKTOP

salary

cost

refinancing

taxes

fees 58%

58%

46%

59%

68%

67%

59%

53%

67%

80%

July (Mobile)July (Desktop)

SNIPPET FORMATS VS. QUERY TYPES

@STATrob

THE BEST INSIGHTS ARE IN THE INTERSECTIONS OF THE DATA. We can make some assumptions about the content formats we should be using for different queries.

@STATrob

DESKTOP SNIPPET FORMAT FOR “FINANCE” WORDS

salary

tuition

fees33%

66%

58%

13%

1%

0%

53%

33%

42%

ParagraphListTable

MOBILE SNIPPET FORMAT FOR “FINANCE” WORDS

salary

tuition

fees32%

58%

52%

13%

1%

0%

55%

41%

48%

ParagraphListTable

DESKTOP SNIPPET FORMAT FOR “SUBJECTIVE” WORDS

rankings

review

comparison64%

87%

79%

11%

2%

20%

25%

10%

1%

ParagraphListTable

MOBILE SNIPPET FORMAT FOR “SUBJECTIVE” WORDS

rankings

review

comparison56%

72%

72%

14%

3%

27%

30%

26%

1%

ParagraphListTable

DESKTOP SNIPPET FORMAT FOR “INFO/HELP” WORDS

course

programs

storage8%

56%

56%

18%

25%

9%

74%

20%

35%

ParagraphListTable

MOBILE SNIPPET FORMAT FOR “INFO/HELP” WORDS

course

programs

storage12%

54%

49%

22%

27%

18%

66%

19%

33%

ParagraphListTable

[course requirements for physical therapy]

[texas approved driver safety course]

[medical school course requirements]

THIS IS A WEAK SNIPPET. It’s evident that Google prefers tables in this query space, so optimize your content with tables.

@STATrob

29% OF SNIPPETS ARE TABLES. Google is using them for a reason. They’re good UX for certain queries. Use this to your advantage.

@STATrob

[main insurance companies]

[RN salary los angeles]

[best miles reward credit card]

[online nursing schools]

[online accredited christian colleges]

There’s data missing from the snippet, and they’re using <div>!

THIS IS A WEAK SNIPPET. Put this data in a table so that Google can extract it with confidence, and you’ll take it from them.

@STATrob

TWEETABLE TIP

YOU CAN STEAL WEAK SNIPPETS. USE THE FORMAT GOOGLE REALLY WANTS TO SEE FOR A QUERY.

@STATrob

WHAT ABOUT THE OTHER SNIPPET TYPES?

@STATrob

DESKTOP SNIPPET FORMAT FOR “GENERAL QUESTION” WORDS

does

what

how2%

6%

3%

42%

4%

0%

56%

90%

96%

ParagraphListTable

MOBILE SNIPPET FORMAT FOR “GENERAL QUESTION” WORDS

does

what

how1%

6%

3%

43%

4%

0%

55%

89%

97%

ParagraphListTable

THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF “HOW” QUERIES

HOW QUESTION SNIPPET TYPE

how do I poach an egg? list

how does evaporation work? paragraph

how do I wax a car? list

how do frogs croak? paragraph

TWEETABLE TIP

RESEARCH THE FEATURED SNIPPETS IN EACH QUERY SPACE & FORMAT YOUR CONTENT TO MATCH.

@STATrob

I SENSE A GOLD RUSH COMING.

@STATrob

[online nursing schools] in USA (Google.com)

[online nursing schools] in Canada (Google.ca)

TWEETABLE TIP

LOOK FOR MISSING FEATURED SNIPPETS IN OTHER MARKETS. Create geographically relevant content to target them.

@STATrob

WRAPPING IT UP

@STATrob

FEATURED SNIPPETS AREN’T GOING ANYWHERE. They’re a corner-stone of Google’s strategy for mobile and voice search.

@STATrob

TWEETABLE TIP 1

YOU HAVE TO USE A TOOL TO TRACK FEATURED SNIPPETS.

@STATrob

TWEETABLE TIP 2

LOCAL-INTENT QUERIES NEVER HAVE FEATURED SNIPPETS. Local SEOs don’t get to play. Sorry. :(

@STATrob

TWEETABLE TIP 3

LET PEOPLE ALSO ASK BOXES INSPIRE YOUR OWN FEATURED SNIPPET CONTENT. Google is telling you what answers they like for similar queries.

@STATrob

TWEETABLE TIP 4

PAY ATTENTION TO KEYWORD VARIANTS. SNIPPETS ONLY APPEAR FOR SOME. Your research just got harder. Sorry!

@STATrob

TWEETABLE TIP 5

REVIEWS AND OPINION BASED CONTENT CAN NOW SNAG SNIPPETS. GO AND GET ‘EM!

@STATrob

TWEETABLE TIP 6

YOU CAN STEAL WEAK SNIPPETS. USE THE FORMAT GOOGLE REALLY WANTS TO SEE FOR A QUERY.

@STATrob

TWEETABLE TIP 7

RESEARCH THE FEATURED SNIPPETS IN EACH QUERY SPACE & FORMAT YOUR CONTENT TO MATCH.

@STATrob

TWEETABLE TIP 8

LOOK FOR MISSING FEATURED SNIPPETS IN OTHER MARKETS. Create geographically relevant content to target them.

@STATrob

Download the whitepaper, data set, and slides at getSTAT.com/searchlove