{"id":1038,"date":"2020-01-30T10:09:54","date_gmt":"2020-01-30T10:09:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sheerseo.com\/blog\/?p=1038"},"modified":"2020-02-19T16:47:18","modified_gmt":"2020-02-19T16:47:18","slug":"beyond-basic-seo-powerful-google-features-improve-organic-search-results","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sheerseo.com\/blog\/beyond-basic-seo-powerful-google-features-improve-organic-search-results\/1038\/","title":{"rendered":"Beyond Basic SEO\u2014Powerful Google Features Improve Organic Search Results"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>SEO and Google are like soup and salad\u2014you\ncan\u2019t have one without the other. But are you making the most of what Google\nhas to offer to boost your rankings? Let\u2019s look beyond the basic social media\nstrategy to see how some powerful Google options can help put you on top.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_40 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" area-label=\"ez-toc-toggle-icon-1\"><label for=\"item-6a07e1f7e722d\" aria-label=\"Table of Content\"><span style=\"display: flex;align-items: center;width: 35px;height: 30px;justify-content: center;direction:ltr;\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/label><input  type=\"checkbox\" id=\"item-6a07e1f7e722d\"><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sheerseo.com\/blog\/beyond-basic-seo-powerful-google-features-improve-organic-search-results\/1038\/#Focus_on_Featured_Snippets\" title=\"Focus on Featured Snippets\">Focus on Featured Snippets<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sheerseo.com\/blog\/beyond-basic-seo-powerful-google-features-improve-organic-search-results\/1038\/#How_does_Google_determine_what_goes_in_a_featured_snippet\" title=\"How does Google determine what goes in a featured snippet?\">How does Google determine what goes in a featured snippet?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sheerseo.com\/blog\/beyond-basic-seo-powerful-google-features-improve-organic-search-results\/1038\/#Get_Your_News_into_Top_Stories\" title=\"Get Your News into Top Stories\">Get Your News into Top Stories<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sheerseo.com\/blog\/beyond-basic-seo-powerful-google-features-improve-organic-search-results\/1038\/#Getting_Found_is_a_Carousel_My_Friend\" title=\"Getting Found is a Carousel, My Friend\">Getting Found is a Carousel, My Friend<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sheerseo.com\/blog\/beyond-basic-seo-powerful-google-features-improve-organic-search-results\/1038\/#Did_We_Just_Mention_Reviews\" title=\"Did We Just Mention Reviews?\">Did We Just Mention Reviews?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sheerseo.com\/blog\/beyond-basic-seo-powerful-google-features-improve-organic-search-results\/1038\/#Think_About_the_Knowledge_Graph\" title=\"Think About the Knowledge Graph\">Think About the Knowledge Graph<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sheerseo.com\/blog\/beyond-basic-seo-powerful-google-features-improve-organic-search-results\/1038\/#i\" title=\"&nbsp;\">&nbsp;<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sheerseo.com\/blog\/beyond-basic-seo-powerful-google-features-improve-organic-search-results\/1038\/#Create_Your_Own_Knowledge_Panel\" title=\"Create Your Own Knowledge Panel\">Create Your Own Knowledge Panel<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sheerseo.com\/blog\/beyond-basic-seo-powerful-google-features-improve-organic-search-results\/1038\/#A_Final_Snippet_of_Advice\" title=\"A Final Snippet of Advice\">A Final Snippet of Advice<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Focus_on_Featured_Snippets\"><\/span>Focus on Featured Snippets<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>That box of text that appears above regular\nSERPs (Search Engine Results Pages) is the featured snippet; it can contain\nshort answers, lists or tables generally less than 29 words long. Although\nGoogle introduced featured snippets back in 2014, many marketers fail to take\nfull advantage of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The featured snippet appears below any\nGoogle Ads and directly above all other organic results. This is prime real\nestate, as it provides information considered key to the search query without\nneeding to click around various websites to find it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, when you search for \u201cfeatured\nsnippets 2019\u201d:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"945\" height=\"472\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sheerseo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/featuresSnippets2019.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1039\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sheerseo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/featuresSnippets2019.png 945w, https:\/\/www.sheerseo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/featuresSnippets2019-300x150.png 300w, https:\/\/www.sheerseo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/featuresSnippets2019-768x384.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 945px) 100vw, 945px\" \/><figcaption>features snippets 2019<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Note the link to a particular page that\nappears before all the other results. Since it appears above the first organic\nresults, it\u2019s sometimes called \u201cposition 0.\u201d That position is where users are\nmost likely to click on first. That\u2019s where you want to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_does_Google_determine_what_goes_in_a_featured_snippet\"><\/span>How does Google determine what goes in a featured snippet?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Obviously, if you want to be the featured\nsnippet, you have to figure out how Google determines what winds up there. But\nas you might expect, Google isn\u2019t totally transparent about this, beyond <a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.google\/products\/search\/find-fresh-information-featured-snippets-google-search\/\">saying<\/a>,\n\u201cContent on the web is always changing&#8230;so our results on any given query can\nchange&#8230;We strive to update our systems to keep our results relevant and\nuseful.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The mystery behind what Google does to\nelevate listings to the feature snipped position is of late a bit of\ncontroversy, stemmed in part by what SEO professional Lily Ray terms the <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/lilyraynyc\/status\/1220364401422884864\">Featured\nSnippet-apocalypse<\/a> regarding Google core algorithm updates in January 2020.\nAt this point, it\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.semrush.com\/blog\/experts-google-featured-snippet-core-updates-january-2020\/\">debatable<\/a>\nwhether this is a good or bad thing, or how it will change SEO practices,\nparticularly as it relates to featured snippet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Perhaps the best advice is to review and\ntest your own data and see if your organic Google search is declining or\ngrowing. Then you may want to tweak your listing to see how you might optimise\nit for better results. Which is good practice in any event, regardless of the\ncurrent hubbub.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since only <a href=\"https:\/\/support.google.com\/webmasters\/answer\/6229325?hl=en\">Google\ndetermines whether a page becomes a featured snippet<\/a>, how could you\npossibly game the algorithm gods to get your site on one? Educated guessing is\na good start. Here are a few things you can do on your page that is likely to\nincrease your chances of landing in a featured snippet:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Add some questions<\/strong>.\nFeatured snippets like to display questions. Add the question to the H-tags and\nwrite an answer. Typical questions should address \u201cWhat is\u201d and How to.\u201d <\/li><li><strong>Add Schema.org markup. <\/strong>Schema\ncode identifies different elements on your page so Google gets a better idea of\nyour content and page structure. For example, the markup <em>itemtype <\/em>identifies whether content refers to, say, a book or\nsoftware, while <em>itemprop<\/em> points to\nits features, say a thriller or accounting tool. The more Google knows about\nyour site, the greater the likelihood it gets plugged into the search\nalgorithm. <\/li><li><strong>Include Bullet Points, Lists and Tables.<\/strong> Featured snippets frequently display bullet points, lists and\ntables as a way to best summarise information. So if your website includes\nbullet points, lists and tables, the more likely it is that Google will pull\nthem into a featured snippet.<\/li><li><strong>Get ranked on the first page. <\/strong>You don\u2019t get a chance to be a featured snippet if you aren\u2019t\nlanding on the first page results. You don\u2019t need to be first, but you need to\nbe somewhere on that page. So if your site isn\u2019t on the first page in the first\nplace, you need to do some basic SEO to get back there before you even think\nabout optimising for a featured snippet. Things you should be doing anyway\ninclude making your site mobile-friendly, easy to navigate and readable, with\nhigh-quality optimised images.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Important\nNote: <\/strong>&nbsp;Google\nno longer repeats a listing in the overall search results if it appears in the\nfeatured snippet. The rationale is this \u201cdeclutters\u201d search results by\neliminating repetition so users can find relevant information more quickly. In\nsome cases, getting off the main page but into the <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/timsoulo\/status\/1220174596491472896\">featured snippet\ncan actually hurt your SEO results<\/a>.&nbsp;\nIn this event, use the&nbsp; <em>nosnippet<\/em> tag to tell Google you don\u2019t\nwant to be there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If it turns out that featured snippets\naren\u2019t going to improve your SEO, here are some other similar types of Google\nsnippets to check out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Get_Your_News_into_Top_Stories\"><\/span>Get Your News into Top Stories<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"946\" height=\"410\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sheerseo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/topStoriesNolan.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1040\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sheerseo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/topStoriesNolan.png 946w, https:\/\/www.sheerseo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/topStoriesNolan-300x130.png 300w, https:\/\/www.sheerseo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/topStoriesNolan-768x333.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 946px) 100vw, 946px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Google\u2019s Top stories is a separate channel\ndisplayed on the first position of SERP. But you don\u2019t necessarily have to be\nCNN to qualify. To <a href=\"https:\/\/support.google.com\/news\/publisher-center\/answer\/9607025?hl=en\">appear\nin Google News<\/a>, use the Publisher Center tool to share your news content.\nThe more high-quality, current and relevant content you can feed to Google\nNews, the greater the likelihood you\u2019ll get a top story today mention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Getting_Found_is_a_Carousel_My_Friend\"><\/span>Getting Found is a Carousel, My Friend<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"929\" height=\"383\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sheerseo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/gettingFoundinCarousel.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1041\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sheerseo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/gettingFoundinCarousel.png 929w, https:\/\/www.sheerseo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/gettingFoundinCarousel-300x124.png 300w, https:\/\/www.sheerseo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/gettingFoundinCarousel-768x317.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 929px) 100vw, 929px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Carousel Results appear at the top of the\npage in responds to general questions, such as \u201cWhat are the best&#8230;\u201d or \u201cWhat\nare the top selling&#8230;\u201d Clicking on one of the Carousel results sends the user\nto a new set of search results, which may include your site. To increase the\nchances of your site being found in such a Carousel:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Optimise\nyour GMB (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/business\/\">Google My Business<\/a>)\ndirectory. Add important and pertinent information related to your business\n(such as videos and links), descriptive text about what your business does, and\nmake sure all your contact information is current.<\/li><li>Use high\nresolution visuals to represent your brand and draw attention to your products\nand services.<\/li><li>Track\nkeywords related to your business that display on Carousel Results. <\/li><li>Post\npositive customer reviews and testimonials of your products and services on\nyour website.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Did_We_Just_Mention_Reviews\"><\/span>Did We Just Mention Reviews?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition to publishing testimonials,\nyour clients can rate your website using the star system, with five stars being\nyour goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"689\" height=\"176\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sheerseo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/reviewsNolan-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1047\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sheerseo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/reviewsNolan-1.png 689w, https:\/\/www.sheerseo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/reviewsNolan-1-300x77.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 689px) 100vw, 689px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Add a rating form to your site if you want\nstarred reviews to display on your search results. How you get five star\nreviews is to provide your customers with excellent service. You can ask\nsatisfied customers to provide reviews. Resist the temptation to consider\nproviding your own reviews as \u201ccreative advertising\u201d\u2014Google is resolute in\nrooting out and penalising fake reviews. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Think_About_the_Knowledge_Graph\"><\/span>Think About the Knowledge Graph<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The Knowledge Graph is a block on the right\nhand side of the page that provides some description related to a query. For\nexample, if you were to search for the author Ernest Hemingway, the Knowledge\nGraph display a series of images and pertinent information such as his books,\nquotes and personal history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"975\" height=\"833\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sheerseo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/knowledgeGraph.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1043\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sheerseo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/knowledgeGraph.png 975w, https:\/\/www.sheerseo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/knowledgeGraph-300x256.png 300w, https:\/\/www.sheerseo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/knowledgeGraph-768x656.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 975px) 100vw, 975px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Frequently, the results displayed in the\nKnowledge Graph are derived from Wikipedia. To maximise your chances of getting\non the graph, create a company Wikipedia page. Also, since the Knowledge Graph\ndraws on the display of graphics, optimise all your images for a commercial\nquery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"i\"><\/span>&nbsp;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Create_Your_Own_Knowledge_Panel\"><\/span>Create Your Own Knowledge Panel<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>You can create a Knowledge Graph that\nrepresents your business. This is generally called a Knowledge Panel (yes, we\nknow it\u2019s confusing, since the so-called graph is actually a panel, but bear\nwith us). The difference is that for specific kinds of searches (\u201cWhat auto\nrepair shop is located within five miles of my location?\u201d), Google may look for\na GMB account. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To increase the chances that your own\nKnowledge Panel displays for a relevant search:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Verify\nyour site with the Google Search Console.<\/li><li>Add\nstructured data markup for your business and employ an SEO service to output a\ncomplete structured data graph for your website pages.<\/li><li>Ensure all\nrelevant information pertaining to your location, services, contact information\nand images in GMB are accurate.<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.google\/products\/search\/get-verified-manage-your-presence-google\/\">Verify<\/a>\nyour panel.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"A_Final_Snippet_of_Advice\"><\/span>A Final Snippet of Advice<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Above all, you want to create great content. All these snippets can\nhelp searchers find just how great it is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Author Bio<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Richard Nolan is the founder of the digital marketing agency <a href=\"https:\/\/rife.agency\/\">Rife Interactive<\/a>, specializing in SEO services, promotional videos and dental marketing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SEO and Google are like soup and salad\u2014you can\u2019t have one without the other. But are you making the most of what Google has to offer to boost your rankings? Let\u2019s look beyond the basic social media strategy to see how some powerful Google options can help put you on top. Focus on Featured Snippets [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":1041,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sheerseo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1038"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sheerseo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sheerseo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sheerseo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sheerseo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1038"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.sheerseo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1038\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1056,"href":"https:\/\/www.sheerseo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1038\/revisions\/1056"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sheerseo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1041"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sheerseo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1038"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sheerseo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1038"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sheerseo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1038"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}