What Google’s Instant Answers Means for SEO (and How to Get in On It!)

Google changes the SEO game so often it’s hard to keep up. The new instant answers feature isn’t a low hanging SEO fruit, but we’ll show you how to get there.

Keyword(s): instant answers

Also known as featured snippets, Google’s instant answers received mixed reactions from SEO experts. One of the prominent complaints is that it devalues the essence of ranking top on SERPs. Its benefit is that it increases visibility for those lucky sites that get featured on the block.

Generally, the featured snippet is a game changer in the SEO world. As a website owner, you need to take the time to understand the essence of this feature and how you can use it to your advantage. The addition of this block on SERPs is one of many efforts of Google to improve the user experience.

In this post, I’m going to share some details on featured answers and how you can optimize your site for them.

Ready? Let’s get right into it.

What Is It Anyway?

An instant answer is typically a search result that Google shows at the top of SERPs. According to Google, this result is the most suitable answer to a question that a user asks in the search. This helps users to save time by going through the search results.

The snippet usually includes the:

• Summary of the answer, which Google obtains from a page or post
• Link to the post or page
• Post or page title

Essentially, the answer is programmatically extracted from a web page. When Google identifies a search phrase as a question, it picks out pages that best answer the question. It will then select the appropriate answer to show on the featured block.

There are different types of snippets, including paragraph, list, and table. The most common is the paragraph, accounting for about 80 percent of the featured results.

How Does It Affect SEO?

First things first. If your page appears in the top 10 results, it has a chance to get the “0” rank. In this case, you don’t need to struggle to get your page to position one. You only need to optimize the page to get the “0” spot. I’ll talk about optimizing your site later in this post.

The majority of the featured results are usually pages that rank in the top five. So, this means you need to scale up your SEO efforts. The snippets compel webmasters to focus on creating quality content that Google finds relevant.

It also impacts on how you do your keyword research. Typically, this shows that marketers will be targeting “question” keywords. Plus, these keywords need to be used with your content as natural as possible.

The featured snippet also affects how you implement your content strategies. Think about formatting and the use of lists, tables, and direct answers to questions. The use of prepositions and comparisons has also been noted to trigger snippets.

How to Optimize Your Pages for Instant Answers

Google was built for users, not websites. So, have that statement in mind when embarking on creating content. Here is how you should start:

1. Find the Right Keywords

Research on what users are searching and the volume of the phrases or terms they’re using. Various SEO tools can help you determine how your pages are performing for your target keywords. They also give you new keywords to use.

Try looking for long-tailed query and use them exactly as they are in your title and meta description. Ensure to make the entire search query on the heading tag. This helps to improve the relevancy of your page if the content answers the question directly.

2. Answer the Question in the First Paragraph

Directly underneath the heading tag, add the answer to the question. Ensure the answer is a single paragraph with the <p> tag. This section should provide a clear and accurate answer to the question. Keep the length of the answer between 54 and 58 words.

It should also be easy to read and understand for an average reader. So, ensure to check the readability test for your answer prior to publishing the copy.

3. Use a List or Table on The Page

If possible or convenient, consider creating a list or table for your answer. For the list, you want to use the <ol> tag. The HTML tag for the table is <table>. These are the two types of on-page markup that Google frequently shows on the snippet box.

Using this markup tags lets Google know that your page has content that it can show to users. Lists can use numbers, or they can be in bullet point format. Tables can be a chart-type or a comparison view.

4. Boost Your Domain Authority

Here, you want to think about earning quality backlinks. The more powerful links you have, the higher your domain authority. This will help to boost your search rankings.

As noted before, featured placement only considers pages that are ranking in the top ten. So, strive to get your pages to the top. Having a high engagement in the SERPs is also important.

5. Provide Accurate Answers

Google tends to look at pages and sources they can trust when showing instant answers. Your content must be structured properly to match the information provided by different authoritative sites across the internet, such as Wikipedia, WebMD, and Mayo Clinic. 

So, you want to ensure that your answers and content are correct and accurate. Readers should be able to get an adequate solution to the question they are looking for. The more clicks your post attracts for a particular query, the better.

The Takeaway

As you think about instant answers, bear in mind that there are no effective or proper guidelines for getting your pages on snippet placement. Google serves this result programmatically, and there are so many ranking factors it considers when selecting a page.

Getting your pages featured at the top is typically a good thing for your site. You will get more traffic, and you can also get more links. Focus on creating relevant answers to fundamental questions and provide more details to support your answer. While doing this, also work on both your On-page and off-page SEO.

If you have any question, I’ll be glad to answer it.