In order to give users a quick and accurate answer to their search query, Google introduced a new rich featured snippet to their SERP results: THE ANSWER BOX. It has been around for a while but is now becoming more prominent for quick answers, event listings, recipes, maps, and more.

WHAT IS GOOGLE’s ANSWER BOX?

Google answer box or featured snippet provides quick and easy answers to questions that a user can quickly read without having to scroll through a lengthy article. This featured snippet is typically displayed at the top of the results page, but below ads.

This is Google’s way to directly answer your questions or queries without clicking a SERP result and reading the entire article.

WHY DOES THE ANSWER BOX MATTER?

Well, aside from it will help increase your desktop visitor, appearing on Google’s answer box will also help you target those mobile users. Digital personal assistants like Siri, Cortana, Alexa, and Google’s assistant pull their voice search results from answer boxes.

Optimizing your content answer boxes is the best way to start preparing for voice search.

Here is an example of Google’s Answer box:

Getting content to the very top of Google search results is the single most important task of a digital marketer. And to get to the top of Google search results you’d be a fool to ignore the only target more elusive than ranking #1: THE ANSWER BOX.

HOW TO WIN GOOGLE’S ANSWER BOX?

So how does Google choose which content to appear in its Answer Boxes, and how can you optimize your content to appear in Google’s Answer Box?
Here are seven effective SEO tips to make it to Google’s Answer box or the “zero position”:

• IDENTIFY QUERIES

  When carrying out keyword research, look for questions that you will be able to answer in great depth.

  A good way to find queries around a certain keyword or phrase is to look at other suggestions that Google suggests when searching for a term. Take a look at the image below:

  

  You can also use the queries in the “Related Searches” box at the bottom of your search results:

  

  You may see a “People also ask” box for some queries:

  

• DIRECTLY ANSWER THE QUESTION

  Whether you are providing a definition for a certain term or answering a question or query, you need to be clear cut with your content and don’t beat around the bush. Answer the question clearly, quickly, and in under 100 words or no more than 3-4 sentences.

  Make sure to place the answer near the top or at the very top of your content. Start by using the query or key phrase in your headline, then explicitly answer the question somewhere in your content.

  The biggest secret to winning answer boxes is to get straight to the point.

• CONSIDER USER EXPERIENCE

  User experience is always important to Google. So, make sure there are no roadblocks on your site that may cause a user to bounce off your content, and that everything in your content is clear and consistent. Structure your content using H tags, paragraphs, and images, and use bullet-points and tables if needed.

  The way your website is structured and how your content is formatted can be beneficial for Google, for the users, of course to you also.

• INCLUDE SEO BEST PRACTICES

  Before publishing your content, make sure to implement all the basic SEO techniques to ensure your content has the best chance of ranking and of being featured in Google’s Rich Answer Box. Include your keywords, meta description, alt tags, and URL structures.

• INCLUDE ORDERED OR UNORDERED LISTS

  Ordered and unordered lists can help your content land at the top of Google search results. They are very common in answer boxes especially for a keyword or queries that begin with “How”.

  When including a list in your content, use a heading tag with the keyword on it and place it just above the list. That way, Google knows exactly what the list is all about.

  For example:

  

• CREATE A TABLE OR GRAPH

  Google also really loves to include tabular data. Why? Because tabled data will help Google provide the best information to the searchers especially when the question requires different pieces of information to fully answer a query. Oftentimes keywords like salaries, research, or data, will feature tables in their answer boxes.

  

• MAKE A HIGH_QUALITY CONTENT

  The Featured snippet in the answer box may only display 100 words, Google wants to give its users the best content and thus having quality content is very important to win the “zero position”. Create a content that is relevant, useful and informative, credible and engaging.

  If you find your content a little plain, enhance your piece of content with additional information related to your answer box target. You can find ideas for related information from the People Also Ask box and the related searches listed at the bottom of the SERP as shown earlier. And the longer your content, the better.

WRAP UP

With these effective tips, you are now ready to win some answer boxes!

If you need help in optimizing your content or optimizing your entire website, go2designlab is the best team for that job. We are a digital marketing agency that specializes in web design and development, Search Engine Optimization ( SEO ) and online marketing. Contact us now!