As a fundamental tenet at SEO Melbourne, having content that is unique, well-written and of high quality is key to the foundation of any strategy. A well-considered product serves the user query best, and is the building block to all valuable user experiences.
It makes some sense, then, to consider featured snippets as the most efficient means of bringing this value to the audience – essentially by combining the search and solution in the SERPs alone.Â
This isn’t entirely the case, though. While the benefits to displaying your content this way are certainly competitive, it’s important to assess the opposing consequences that might affect your site performance before optimising your content this way. Here are a couple pros and cons to consider before making a decision:
Featured Snippets PROS:
- Creates value for the user by ending their search cycle one step earlier
- Brings your brand name to the fore, filling the figurative shelf space with your brand presence
- Impresses authority on the search query’s subject matter, by being the highlighted response proposed by Google
- Snatches traffic from the top organic search, also giving potentially smaller platforms a means of increasing their site presenceÂ
- Extends to third party devices like Google Home or Alexa as the selected answer to voice-searched queries
Featured Snippets CONS:
- Ending the users’ search at the SERPs also means reducing traffic and CTR on your site
- Successfully appearing as a featured snippet for a given search query also means the ineligibility for your site to rank as the #1 organic search
- Rather than drawing traffic from the top result, your snippet may be facilitating zero-click searches, as opposed to funneling these users into exploring your site
- Being convenient, the highlighted information may be surface level to accommodate its limited SERP space, potentially misserving users without appropriate depth
- By being answered outside of your page, featured snippets may not be contributing to site goals like building user engagement or domain authority
Key Takeaways – SEO Melbourne
The bottom line poses executive questions to your SEO goals; what KPIs do you wish to prioritise?
Conversions and click traffic, or brand presence among competitors? The decision to optimise for featured snippets is circumstantial. Considerations such as whether or not your website holds a strong market share over the keywords it targets are vital, as is the user intent you wish to capture behind these deliverable keywords.
For those weaker in SERPs, snippets may be worthwhile as a means of maximising brand real estate, while also appearing more authoritative on your subject matter. If your site is already competitive for its targeted keywords, though, integrating featured snippets might do more harm than good by taking away your organic placement.
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Still keen on more in-depth insights? Contact us for consultation on whether your site should be considering snippets or not!
