Featured Snippet who are you and why can't you just stay put?

Not that the tech giant is aware but for the last many years Google and I have had a tumultuous relationship. They have been the bearer of both good and bad news via gmail; they have sat idly by without judgement as I vented on my drive; and they have kept me from seeing the truth as I would have it. My current issue is with the Featured Snippet, first you see it, then you don’t!

Today I am succeeding at search engine optimization (SEO) but tomorrow is new day. My last couple blog posts have been elevated to Featured Snippet level almost retroactively following publication, but then they disappear to not to be found on the search engine result pages (SERP).

After waiting patiently my post appears once again, in the spot light. Is it really a problem to be recognized by Google even if it’s sporadic?

Karen’s Snippet

A Woman’s Perspective

As she rounds the corner, preparing to stroll down Fifth Avenue, the first store front catches her eye. Neither does she have the time or attention span to do anything but window shop. And right there at her initial glance is the solution she is looking for.

The high-end store front that is positioned on prime real estate has the answer to meet her wardrobe needs. There isn’t even a need to step inside because with a few strokes on her phone’s keyboard the purchase will be made. She decides to continue and stroll.

After walking the block and not seeing anything else that compares, she returns to the first store. Doing a double-take, she notices it's no longer there. The featured outfit vanished from the window. As quickly as her needs are met, they disappear.

The Featured Snippet

Ten years ago, Google implemented Featured Snippets on their search engine results page (SERP). The snippet is a feature to help the user find what they are looking for quickly. It is a highlighted excerpt that appears at the top of the search results.

The highlighted post is placed at a prime location on the search engine result page. It’s to meet the needs of a society that has a shrinking attention span.

If the publisher answers an information query meeting Google’s guideline, they just might be fortunate enough to have part of their post be a Featured Snippet. At times I am having success with this feature.

example of Google's Featured Snippet — At one time this post was a Featured Snippet. As of today it still is.

Abuse It Ends With Recovery is currently one of my Featured Snippet posts and well worth the read!

The Selection Process

After Google crawls the newly published post it determines if the post meets the guidelines to be a Featured Snippet. The following is a partial list of criteria Google uses:

Content quality: The post should be comprehensive, a trusting source, and authoritative.
Relevance: The content within the post should directly answer the query question.
Page Authority: The website needs to have a strong domain.
Page Structure: The post should be user-friendly and easy to navigate.

Ranking for the Selection of a Featured Snippet

Just because you follow the above bullet points and meet Google’s criteria doesn’t mean you automatically will be awarded a Featured Snippet. It is about earning the status and building your authority on Google. And this takes time.

To be selected first the website needs to rank on the first page of the search results, the higher the better. Google selects from the first page of SERP. A combination of ranking and content optimization is what determines the Featured Snippet.

According to Ahrefs study 99.58% of all Featured Snippets are already rank in the top ten of SERP. My Codeless Website shares 13 mind-blowing statistics. Not to sound boastful, but after review of the last several months of my weekly blog posting, the majority of my posts consistently rank towards the top of the SERP. I have proven to Google that my information is relevant and I consistently meet their criteria.

Tips for Higher Google Ranking

The platform I use to create my weekly blog post is WordPress. At the conclusion of my post WordPress offers useful tools to help with SEO. When I write my blog post I keep the following criteria on the forefront to structure my post.

Keywords: Selecting a title that includes the post Keywords and use them properly throughout organically, not forced. The key is to not overuse them.
Meta description: This description should be engaging, relevant, and include important information about the page.
Text Length: Longer is better.
Backlinks: Considered one of Google’s main ranking signals, are links from one website to another.
Images: Include images that have attributes and reflect the topic and include the keyphrase.
SEO Title Width: The preferred title width is 50-60 characters in length.

Why the Featured Snippet Disappears?

The problem is that once the status is achieved it easily can be removed. AI has an extensive list to discover why they may have disappeared. The Curious Case of the Disappearing and Reappearing Google’s Featured Snippet is a comprehensive guide but it is out of date (2015).

Content policy violation: Google’s algorithms automatically remove content that violates its policy.
Robots.txt: If a page is blocked by robots.txt, it won’t appear.
Query type: The type of query a user enters can affect whether a featured snippet appears.
Query volume: The volume of searches for a specific query can affect whether a featured snippet appears.
Match to query: How well a page’s content matches the query can affect whether a featured snippet appears.
Website authority: The authority of the website can affect whether a snippet appears.
SERP engagement: How users engage with search engine results pages (SERPs) can affect whether a snippet appears.
User location: The user’s location can affect whether a snippet appears.
Device: The device the user is using can affect whether a snippet appears.
Personalization: Personalization can affect whether a snippet appears.
Author rank: The author’s rank can affect whether a snippet appears.

To Reappear

Google's featured snippet status is gone. — After the snippet disappears from SEO it popped back up in the #1 spot.

The competitive nature of the SEO landscape allows for the underdog to come in and stake claim to the prime real estate. Google is constantly changing their algorithms which allows for fresh information.

Essentially the Featured Snippet comes and goes because of technology and Google’s attempt to improve search result quality and offer a better user experience.

AI takes the top spot on Google. — And then reappears as a Featured Snippet with AI in the lead.

Karen’s Staying Put

Regardless if my post is fortunate enough to be elevated to the highest Google rank, excellent! Chances are that it just might get knocked off but still rank in the top ten, great! Whatever the outcome Google offers me the opportunity to share. All I need to do is to continue my blogging by writing passionately and following Google’s guidelines.

At the end of the day Google decides who should be seen and what voices should be heard. I am grateful that my writing is taking off and remain hopeful that it ranks well on Google. In the end Google will help build my brand and grow my grow-together.blog.

Most importantly I know that if I write to fulfill my purpose everything else will fall into place! What really matters is that I continue to create from my heart, providing relevant information to help that one user, and I will continue to grow as a writer.

Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.
Proverbs 16:3 ESV