What Is Snippet In SEO?
A snippet is a single search result displayed on top of SERPs that answers a user’s query in brief. The succinct answer that appears in the featured snippets is pulled out from the webpage that covers the topic in detail. Thus, they help users decide whether to click on a result or not. And also saves time helping searchers find their answers without having to dig through the entire article.
Search engines, like Google, select snippets to give the best possible match for a user’s search intent.
For instance, you search for a query – “What is featured snippet in SEO”. Goggle’s SERPs will bring out a brief answer above the organically ranking blogs and articles. In fact, studies have shown that snippets can increase CTR by 8.6% if used mindfully.
So, if you’re aiming for more visibility, CTR and authoritativeness of your websites, snippets are your SEO-ranking targets to aim for.
How Many Types Of Search Snippets Are There?
Search snippets come in several forms. Each of them serves a different purpose. Here are some common types of snippets:
- Text snippets: The most common type, where a brief excerpt of text answers the searcher’s query.
- Video snippets: A short video from YouTube, displayed in search results.
- Image snippets: Relevant images pulled from a page to answer visual queries.
What Is Featured Snippet In SEO?
What is featured snippet in SEO, you ask? To answer you, a featured snippet is an “Answer box” highlighting the answers to a query directly on the SERP. A featured snippet is often at the coveted “position zero.”
The #Zero position is located one step above the first organic result. If you want to get your content to rank on the featured snippet section, then you have to earn it by providing rich and value-based content, defeating the top-ranking pages. Reports by Ahrefs show how it can even lower the organic clicks of the first ranking page by 20%.
Now featured snippets come in a variety of forms. Typically, featured snippets can be seen as:
- Paragraphs – Paragraphs are a chunk of text that directly answers the query. Almost 70% of queries are answered as paragraph snippets. However, Google or other engines can index relevant images with the snippet answe
- Lists– A bulleted or numbered list summarizing steps or options is another way a featured snippet may appear. Usually, for How-to Guides or listicles, you can observe snippets in numbered lists or bullets.
- Tables – These present content in a structured format in a table. They prove best where users need to take decisions by comparisons.
Featured snippets are incredibly important for both users and website owners. Wondering why? The next section answers it all in detail.
Importance Of Featured Snippets In SEO
Now, why is the featured snippet so important? Well, it has the power to drive a high percentage of organic traffic to your site.
Research shows that featured snippets significantly affect a website’s click-through rate. A study by First Page Sage found that featured snippets can steal a CTR of 42.9% compared to traditional organic results.
This means that even if you’re not ranking first in SERPs if you gain the snippet position, you boost your traffic and engagement. All you need is well-optimized content to claim this spot.
Do Snippets Help SEO?
If you read till here, you might have already got the answer to this question.
Absolutely, snippets, especially featured ones, help the SEO of websites by:
- Improving the Visibility of your website. A great snippet acts as a ‘teaser’ for your content. It gives them a taste of what they’ll find if they click.
- Increasing CTR rates. Increased CTR rates mean the readers love the content. This also leads to the trustworthiness of the website.
- Leads to brand authority building.
Factors That Influence The Appearance Of Snippets In SERPs
Search engines don’t just pick any webpage to feature as a snippet. Several factors come into play when determining which page is most suitable:
- Content relevance – The content must directly address the query.
- Formatting – Structured content (like tables and lists) often gets picked for snippets.
- SEO optimization – Strong SEO practices, including keyword usage and meta descriptions, enhance the chances of your page being selected.
Where Can You Add Snippets On Your Website?
You can optimize your website for snippets, especially in sections like:
- FAQs – A well-structured, Frequently asked question (FAQ) page can be an ideal place to feature snippets.
- How-to guides – Step-by-step guides often rank as featured snippets.
- Blog posts – By providing concise answers to common questions can help your blog posts secure snippets.
How Do You Write An SEO Snippet?
To craft compelling and SEO-friendly snippets that attract clicks, follow these tips by us. We swear by them, and trust us, they work.
- Do your keyword research.
- Focus on answering specific questions that are popular queries. Use Quora, Reddit or Youtube for assistance to know what people are asking more about.
- Snippets are meant to be short. Aim for answers that are clear, direct, and no longer than 40-50 words.
- Check the “People also ask” section on Google. You can also use tools like Answer The Public to get a better idea.
- Google loves content that is well-organized. Use bullet points, relevant pictures, or tabular formats. Well formatted content gets more picked up by Google.
What Is No Snippet Tag In SEO?
Webmasters use a no snippet tag to stop a search engine from displaying a snippet for a specific page. This tag can be useful when you don’t want your content displayed as a snippet for certain queries.
For example, if the content of your page is too complex to be summarized effectively or you want users to visit the page for full details, the no snippet tag can help.
What Is Snippet Variables In Yoast SEO
In Yoast SEO, snippet variables are shortcuts used to automatically fill in meta titles and descriptions for your content.
Now, you don’t have to manually write meta descriptions for every blog post or page. You can use snippet variables in Yoast SEO to automate the process. This way you also save a lot of time. A win-win situation, right?
Let’s say you’re writing a blog titled “How To Reduce Spam Score Of Website” under the SEO basics guide section.
Now, Instead of writing a meta description by yourself, you can use the following template in Yoast:
Learn %title% in this detailed SEO Basics guide. Updated on %date%.
YoastSEO will automatically generate the meta description as:
Learn How To Reduce the Spam Score Of your Website in this detailed SEO Basics guide. Updated on 20 August 2024.
Frequently Asked Questions About What Is Snippet In SEO
Snippets are brief answers taken from a webpage to answer the searcher’s query.
They pop up on the top of search engine results (SERPs) on “position zero.”
To write an SEO snippet, focus on:
- Answering the searcher’s query concisely,
- Using structured data where possible.
- Optimizing the content with relevant keywords that may be public questions and queries
