, relevant snippet from one of the top-ranking pages.
6 featured snippet google
If you already rank on the first page for a query with a featured snippet at the top, it may be possible to win that position with a bit of on-page SEO.
You can check your current ranking position in Google or with Ahrefs’ free rank checker. Just plug in your keyword, country, and domain.
7 free rank tracker
SIDENOTE. It’s best to use a rank checking tool as Google search results are often personalized based on your browsing history, location, and other factors. Using a rank checker removes this bias from the equation and gives you a more accurate sense of your true ranking position in your target country.
From there, assuming you rank in the top 10, it’s a case of making sure your page is optimized for the snippet.
We explain this process in more detail here, but the basics are quite simple.
First, make sure that your page actually provides the information that Google wants to show in the snippet. For example, if we look at the featured snippet for the keyword “guest blogging,” we see that it’s a definition.
8 guest blogging snippet
Our guide to guest blogging ranks in position 7, but as we didn’t define the term on the page, it would probably be impossible for us to win the snippet. We’d need to write and add a definition to the page to be eligible.
Second, make sure the information is in the format Google prefers. This varies depending on the keyword. For “guest blogging,” the snippet is a short paragraph. For “how to do affiliate marketing,” it’s a numbered list.
9 numbered list snippet
Recommended reading: How to Optimize for Google’s Featured Snippets
HOW TO FIND LOW-HANGING FEATURED SNIPPET OPPORTUNITIES
Paste your domain into Ahrefs’ Site Explorer, go to the Organic keywords report, then filter for keywords with featured snippets in the results where you currently rank in positions 2-10.
organic keywords featured snippet opportunities
For example, we rank second for “google search operators” but don’t own the snippet.
10 no snippet
With a bit of on-page optimization, we could probably change that.
How to get to the top of Google with SEO
If you see regular ‘blue link’ organic results on top of Google, you’ll need to invest in SEO.
As a starting point, that means paying attention to SEO best practices and having a site that’s:
Mobile-friendly
Fast loading
Easy to use (clear navigation, good UX, etc.)
Secure (i.e., HTTPS not HTTP)
Well-structured
Free of other technical SEO issues.
However, best practices and optimizations will rarely be enough to rank in the top spot. If you’ve got the basics covered and are still nowhere to be seen, run through this flowchart:
03 how to get on top of google search
We explain how to execute this process from start-to-finish in our guide to ranking on Google’s first page, but here’s a simplified version to get you started:
Check the competition
Align your page with search intent
Cover the topic in full
Build high-quality backlinks
Add internal links
Step 1. Check the competition
Ranking on Google is not a single-player game. Every site ranking on the first page is your competitor. You’ll have to surpass them to get to the number one spot. So the first thing you need to do is check the strength of the competition relative to your website.
To do that, search for your keyword and eyeball the caliber of sites on the first page.
If we do this for the keyword “womens pajamas,” the top results are dominated by huge brands like Kohls, Target, and Amazon.
11 womens pajamas serp
Unless you’re also a big brand, it’d probably be pretty challenging to outrank these sites.
For a keyword like “tall womens pajamas,” things look a bit more promising. There are a few lesser-known brands on the first page there’s even a small brand ranking #1.
12 tall womens pajamas serp
If things look difficult at this stage, it’s probably best to pursue a different keyword—at least if you want a chance of ranking in the short-to-medium term.
Recommended reading: Keyword Difficulty: How to Determine Your Chances of Ranking in Google
Step 2. Align your page with search intent
Search intent is the reason behind a searcher’s query. For example, if you search for “blogging tips,” you’ll notice that all of the top-ranking pages are unordered lists of tips.
13 blogging tips serps
If you search for “how to write a blog post,” they’re all how-to guides with step-by-step instructions.
The workload like this whatsapp number list allows both the vendor and the affiliate to focus on. Clicks are the number of clicks coming to your website’s URL from organic search results.
14 how to write a blog post serp
To stand the best chance of ranking at the top of Google, you should create the type of content that people are looking for. You can do this by searching for your target keyword and identifying the three C’s of search intent:
Content type: Are the top-ranking pages mostly blog posts, product pages, product category pages, or landing pages?
Content format: Are the top-ranking pages mostly how-to guides, step-by-step tutorials, list posts, opinion pieces, reviews, comparisons, or something else?
Content angle: Is there a dominant unique selling proposition used by the top-ranking pages? (e.g., for beginners, in 2020, etc.)
Recommended reading: Searcher Intent: The Overlooked ‘Ranking Factor’ You Should Be Optimizing For