It is clearly obvious to every website publisher these days that shady link building practices cannot consistently get your site ranked higher on Google anymore. You actually need to pick from one of the multiple genuine ways which let Google and other popular search engines know, that your website is the most relevant one for a targeted query. Even the lesser of the SEO experts Cochin has to offer, would know how to implement such white hat strategies for the good of your website, and make it show up on the first page of SERPs.
Optimizing website content will always matter – it definitively signals Google that your site has all the relevant answers to what the user is searching for. However, because the digital market has grown very competitive these days, it might not be as beneficial today getting just anywhere on the first search result page. One specific obstacle is the high of “rich search results” Google itself puts up on top, which are more likely to get clicks by an end user.
Colloquially termed as “position zero” or “rank zero”, these “rich search results” include knowledge graphs, featured snippets, map results, and rich snippets. Sometimes, they may include related images and local businesses as well, depending on the keyword. Interestingly, there are ways to optimize a website for rank zero. Just remember that as Google constantly changes its search algorithms, there are no unchanging techniques to stay on top – to stay updated and rank higher on the SERPs, you will always need the help of one of the more capable SEO experts Cochin has to offer.
How to Optimize for Rich Search Results
Rich search results can be broadly categorized into different categories. For instance, there are rich snippets which put an organic search result with more information on display instead of plain text, and these expand on clicking. These are visually more appealing, dynamic, and engaging. Then there is the featured snippets category also, which answers questions the user probably has. These too expand to offer more information related to the query and are usually listed items or text content out of a page post.
Although there are various things which factor into getting a web page to appear as a rich search result, it mostly runs around user intent, relevance of site content, specific industry, quality of information on the website, as well as proper use of structured data. Note that Google also pulls data from its other apps and tools in order to come up with better search results. Below are a few different categories in which a website is placed at position zero, and how to optimize for each.
Text Snippets
This is the most competitive of all. To optimize your website for this, you need to understand what your customers would search for, and then answer their queries precisely with quality content posted on your web pages. The “content is king” paraphrase heavily applies here. Simply put, you need to research well and then come up with great quality content to satisfy the search hunger of internet users.
Paragraph Snippets
These are the type of featured snippets that show around 50 – 60 words of text from the web page, alongside the page title and URL. Sometimes, they also carry a featured image thumbnail inside the snippet box. To optimize for this, you need to answer all possible queries relevant to your product or service on the site. A simple Q&A format also works great to rank the specific web page, and get it placed on position zero.
Data Table Snippets
Using proper markup tools to inform Google that you are using a table on the site to better clarify user queries, is a great way to rank higher on the SERPs. Although a much under-utilized content type, tables can be an effective way to deliver information on different products and services in one go. To optimize for table snippets, you need to research on what questions your customers would want answered in a single snapshot. Besides, the quality of content matters here as well.
Video Carousels
As said, Google incorporates results from its other platforms as well to give users what they are searching for. YouTube videos are the most common in this regard, and sometimes appear as a carousel right above the other organic search results. To optimize for that, you need to have the search engines understand the video content with relevant titles, meta descriptions, and tags.
Product Carousels
The product carousel is a more direct answer to the search query of a user, showing the exact product he/she is looking to buy or needs information on. There is little research at this part, but it is said that branded search volume plays a key role here. The best way to optimize for this category is to have adequate information and markup on product pages, like prices, variants, availability, customer reviews, etc.
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