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Google’s Featured Snippets: What Are They, How Do You Get Them & What Do They Mean for Your Brand?

ipad showing google search featured snippets

Search engines are the main channel for discovering information and services in the modern day. HubSpot estimates that Google processes approximately 63,000 search queries every second, translating to 5.6 billion daily searches and around 2 trillion global searches annually. 1 The average person conducts between three and four searches daily, and those numbers are expected to increase as time goes on.

If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you’re among those daily Googlers, and you may have noticed some queries show a featured snippet. For instance, if you search the inquiry, “what is a featured snippet?” Google returns this:

The block of text with a link and accompanying image is a featured snippet, an answer to an inquiry that Google’s algorithm deems most relevant. It’s displayed above organic search results with the purpose of answering users’ questions quickly and accurately.

With featured snippets taking up sizeable real estate that catches the eye, they naturally steal traffic away from search results, as users won’t be as compelled to scroll through the other search results further down the page.

So how does your company get to be the featured snippet for a specific topic, specifically if a competitor is already featured for a keyword or phrase you want? The secret is to produce great content that’s relevant to your users and, in effect, relevant to Google’s algorithms.

How Do I Create Quality Content?

High-quality content includes all the written and designed materials you produce to market and support your business, products, and services. It should be well-researched, tactical, informative, engaging, and provide specific value to its intended audience. The best content is designed to meet or exceed the expectations of its target audience and is considered valuable, relevant, and helpful, with emphasis on these characteristics:

  • Relevance: Content should be relevant to its intended audience, addressing their needs, interests, and pain points.
  • Accuracy and reliability: High-quality content should be factually accurate and trustworthy, with reliable sources cited where appropriate.
  • Value: The content should provide value to the reader, whether by educating, entertaining, inspiring, or informing them.
  • Readability: The content should be easy to read, with a clear structure, headings, and subheadings, and use simple and concise language.
  • Visual appeal: The content should be visually appealing, with images, videos, infographics, or other graphic elements used where appropriate to enhance the reader’s experience.
  • Shareability: High-quality digital content should be shareable, with social media buttons or functionality that allows readers to share it with their networks easily.

The first rule of content intended to capture a snippet is that it must be relevant to readers and serve a purpose. If you write a blog about an industry topic but needlessly carry off on tangents that look designed to repeat keywords as many times as possible or regurgitate common industry viewpoints without additional insight or value, your brand’s credibility as a thought leader can be hurt.

Quality content that achieves snippet status also needs an overall length that avoids being flagged by Google as “thin,” which correlates to word count. Writing 100 words for a blog post won’t only drive users away, but Google will devalue it among search results because of its brevity. Most blog or FAQ-style content that captures featured snippets should be anywhere from 850-1500 words. And that content needs to be grammatically correct and meticulously spell-checked; users won’t ever take your content or brand seriously if every blog has spelling and grammar errors.

In the quest for featured snippets, keyword research is also critical. If you want your content to snag a featured snippet for “what is a parsnip?” your blog needs to discuss the topic of parsnips as articulately and clearly as possible. But when going for a snippet that answers a simple question, ensure your content includes a synopsized answer in plain terms and similar language to the search that utilizes the keyword as naturally as possible, such as “A parsnip is a root vegetable with a long, tapering shape. Parsnips have a sweet, slightly nutty flavor and a starchy texture. Parsnips can be eaten raw or cooked, are often roasted, boiled, mashed, or used in soups and stews, and are a good source of fiber, vitamin C…”

I Have Quality Content On My Site, Now What?

If your website features quality content, but your brand still hasn’t been granted the coveted featured snippet on Google, here are a few things you can do. First, ensure your webpage is being indexed by Google, a process that can be done in Google Search Console, and subsequently by using a reliable SEO tool to check. Your content won’t appear in the search engine page results (SERPs) if Google doesn’t know it exists.

Next comes the hardest part – wait. Give your new post a few days to show up in the SERPs and see how it stacks up against the existing search ranking for a given inquiry. If it’s been a fair amount of time and you’re still not seeing your content show up, it may be time to reevaluate it or rethink your SEO strategy. As stated above, see what the competition is doing to achieve the current featured snippet and how you can iterate on their methods to do it better.

Don’t blatantly copy content, and don’t plagiarize. Both practices will render your content and brand untrustworthy to users and Google, likely penalizing it from showing up at all.

Special note here about newer technologies like ChatGPT and other AI content creation tools. While these tools don’t leave any specific “AI fingerprints,” they do regurgitate tons of generic outputs based on human programming, which follow specific formats and conventions to generate strings of sentences and paragraphs in a valuable and consistent way, like human writers. But tons of users inputting similar prompts to an AI will return similar outputs across the board, and there’s a high likelihood that Google will continuously devalue untweaked, generic AI outputs. Not to mention, AI is still far from perfect and has a long way to go to be a dependable source of accurate information. So, even the most foundational content pieces need some massaging or editing from a professional if it’s going to make a real difference in any KPIs.

Tweaking content also requires a lengthy round of the waiting game, so don’t change your content every few days because it isn’t performing. Instead, research and develop ways to make your content better and more relevant to visitors. Worst case, you end up with a piece of great content that’s most likely ranking on the first page of Google.

How Does A Featured Snippet Help My Brand’s Bottom Line?

Glad you asked. Featured snippets and other SERP features take up a lot of prime real estate, usually positioned above the organic search results. So off the bat, your featured snippet is being seen by more potential customers, and your brand is becoming more recognizable. These searchers not only see your brand, but they associate it with being a trustworthy source (this is where those golden rules of quality content come in again) and are more likely to visit your site for similar topics. More users on your site can result in more qualified leads inquiring about your products or services.

In addition, the more featured snippets your site has, the more exposure your brand will get for users searching your targeted queries. People will realize that your site is a hub of factual, insightful answers and has a boatload of quality content. That builds trust and credibility in your brand and subsequent trust in your products and services. In theory, more users exploring your site increases the probability of more paying customers.

Anything Else I Should Know?

A word of warning: don’t try and dethrone featured snippets from massive sites like Wikipedia or YouTube. In almost every case, it won’t work; they’ll outrank your (most likely) smaller and more specific site every time due to their size and the trust that Google places in them for quality search results.

Also, don’t take this guide as gospel; Google’s algorithms decide what content becomes a featured snippet. You can publish the greatest content ever, and Google may still think a competitor’s is superior. In that case, follow the tips above to reevaluate and enhance your content. Or, be happy with the probable high SERP ranking. Regardless of the outcome, you won’t regret featuring valuable, quality content on your site.

Need help creating quality content, improving SERP rankings, and converting leads into paying customers? Get help from the experts.

Sources: 25 Google Search Statistics to Bookmark ASAP

The post Google’s Featured Snippets: What Are They, How Do You Get Them & What Do They Mean for Your Brand? appeared first on Marketing Insider Group.

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10 Actionable Social Video Stats to Level Up Your Social Media Strategy

10 Actionable Social Video Stats to Level Up Your <a href=Social Media Strategy” width=”1600″ height=”800″ srcset=”https://www.convinceandconvert.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/CC-Blog-Featured-Image-Templates-29.png 1600w, https://www.convinceandconvert.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/CC-Blog-Featured-Image-Templates-29-300×150.png 300w, https://www.convinceandconvert.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/CC-Blog-Featured-Image-Templates-29-1024×512.png 1024w, https://www.convinceandconvert.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/CC-Blog-Featured-Image-Templates-29-768×384.png 768w, https://www.convinceandconvert.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/CC-Blog-Featured-Image-Templates-29-1536×768.png 1536w” sizes=”(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px” />

In the modern digital world, social media is where your prospects spend most of their free time. Cutting through the clutter  and holding their attention long enough to get your message across presents big challenges you need to overcome. 

Luckily, video content can be the tool that helps you do so… if you develop a strategy that makes sense by backing up your decision-making with accurate data.

To help you do just that, I’ve compiled a list of hard, actionable stats from some of the best video marketing agencies that show you just how effective social video can be. 

So let’s take a closer look at video content’s performance and how you can use it to level up your social media strategy going forward.

yum yum video analytics graphic

1. Watching Video Is One of the Main Social Media Activities

While the original purpose of social media was to help people connect with others, nowadays, users log in for a wide variety of reasons, one of which is to watch videos! 

Believe it or not, it’s been found that 59% of social media users spend a quarter or more of their time-consuming video content.

But what does this mean for your social media marketing strategy? Well, for starters, it means that you have a big window of opportunity to reach your target audience if you use the right type of content. 

It’s not rocket science. If they’re using a social media app, chances are people aren’t in the right mindset to read a blog post or page through an in-depth whitepaper. So, it’s going to be a hundred times easier to connect with them via content they’re already looking for.

59% of social media users spend a quarter or more of their time-consuming video content.
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2. Viewers Want to Be Entertained…

Now that you know why you should consider devoting at least your marketing efforts to social media videos, you might wonder exactly what kind of content you should produce. 

Well, social video stats show that 73% of people want to see “entertaining videos” on their preferred platforms.

Leveraging video merely for product or service promotion won’t work in today’s social media landscape. While you can certainly still share that kind of content and get good traction, you have to be smart about it and sprinkle it in between pieces that your audience will find interesting and entertaining.

Bear in mind, though, that “entertainment” isn’t only limited to the latest gossip or funny skit. You could also make throwback and unboxing videos, run contests and giveaways, and even share your expertise with a tutorial or how-to video.

73% of people want to see “entertaining videos” on their preferred platforms.
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3. …and They Love Storytelling!

If you’re not sure how to go about creating entertaining content, using the storytelling method is a good place to start because over 80% of customers want brands they follow to tell stories. So, instead of going over your product’s awesome features and benefits in a boring and monotonous list, pack the information in a relatable and engaging narrative!

The objective of storytelling is to evoke an emotional reaction to support and reinforce your key message.

Through this strategy, you’ll avoid coming across as “salesy,” helping you establish an authentic and meaningful connection with your followers and still getting all the relevant information across in a package your audience will appreciate. Something I can attest to myself, as I love basing our videos around telling cool stories!

Over 80% of customers want brands they follow to tell stories.
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4. Video Length Matters — A Lot!

The latest social video stats have something important to say about video length as well. While it can be tempting to go on and on about your brand and your products, the truth is that only 52% of viewers watch a video all the way through, and only 25% stay for videos longer than 20 minutes.

With this in mind, it’s important to choose one single topic or aspect to focus on and build your video’s script around it. 

If you still feel there’s more you could say about it, you could always work on a video series and devote one piece to a different angle of the same topic, as this type of content also tends to do well on most social media platforms.

5. You Have a Few Seconds to Impress Your Audience

Closely tied to the previous point is this video marketing statistic that says you only have 2.7 seconds to make an impact and grab your follower’s attention. 

I know it sounds crazy, but attention spans are getting shorter than ever, and that’s particularly true for social media channels, where users are constantly bombarded with all kinds of content in quick succession.

For this reason, I always suggest putting a lot of attention on hooking your audience with either emotional, thrilling, or visually-captivating beginnings that keep them from clicking away before you can actually deliver your message.

6. That’s Why Shorter Videos Are More Effective

If you’re struggling with getting social media algorithms to show your content to a bigger audience, then I have the solution for you. Yes, you guessed it — video content —but not just any video; short ones. Those that are just a bit longer than a minute at best.

It’s no secret by now thatsocial media platforms tend to favor video content over others. But do you know why? Because video keeps users on the platform for longer sessions. 

As a matter of fact, videos that are 90 seconds or less boast a 50% retention rate. 

The math is simple: if you publish videos, the amount of time that people spend on the platform will increase, and, in turn, the algorithm will reward you by getting your content in front of more people. Win-win.

social media videos

Videos that are 90 seconds or less boast a 50% retention rate.
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7. Not Just Any Kind of Video Will Do, Though

There are many, many different types of videos out there. However, not all of them will perform well on social media. 

A survey revealed that 72% of marketers leverage explainer videos, with 49% favoring presentation videos and 48% opting for testimonials. Sales videos and video ads are still popular, with 42% of marketers choosing them.

With this data in mind, you can start thinking about the kind of pieces you should devote your resources to, depending on the marketing goals you want to achieve with your social media strategy. 

For example, you could go for explainers if you want to generate leads or choose testimonials if you want to convert those leads into customers.

8. Focus On a Few Platforms at a Time

Considering the number of social platforms out there, each with its own unique requirements and unspoken “rules” for content sharing, knowing exactly which one(s) to focus your efforts on will save you a lot of time (and money!). 

Social media video stats suggest that 88% of marketers share videos on YouTube, followed by 76% on Facebook, 66% on LinkedIn, and 65% on Instagram. 

If the experts favor those platforms, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to follow in their footsteps. Once you know for sure where your audience is, you can just concentrate on those channels as a priority.

9. Mobile Video Is Highly Shareable

If your aim is to increase your reach on social media, then I have excellent news for you! It’s been found that an astounding 92% of users who watch videos on their mobile devices will share that content with others.

This behavior pattern might come as no surprise since it seems we’re always on our phones and are prone to share content we like. In fact, you might be reading this post from your own phone or tablet right now. Maybe someone even sent you the link!

Even if this information is nothing new, it serves to reinforce the importance of optimizing your video content for mobile viewing. So, keep in mind your video’s size, resolution, orientation, and any other elements that can improve the viewing experience, such as activating mute play, including captions, and disabling autoplay.

yum yum video dashboard

92% of users who watch videos on their mobile devices will share that content with others.
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10. Quality Over Quantity — Always

Once you discover how effective social video can be, it might be tempting to start posting videos all the time. 

But, in the long run, it doesn’t matter how many videos you post if they’re not good enough to catch your audience’s eye. 

As with many other aspects of life, quality content rules over quantity. To give you an idea, businesses publish, on average, 18 videos per month, which amounts to about 4.5 videos weekly.

A good idea to keep organized and consistent with your posting is to use a content calendar. With that, you can easily start planning when and how often to share your videos.

Wrapping Up 

If you came here looking for new ways to improve your social media strategy, I hope you’ve paid close attention to the social video trends that are making a big splash in the marketing world. The numbers don’t lie, and they tell us that video marketing is worth it.

The social video stats I’ve shared with you today should’ve helped shed some light on how video content can boost your social media strategy. Hopefully, you can now leverage video with confidence and start reaping the rewards soon!

The post 10 Actionable Social Video Stats to Level Up Your Social Media Strategy appeared first on Convince & Convert.

Did you miss our previous article…
https://www.sydneysocialmediaservices.com/?p=3299

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The Essentials of Account-Based Marketing

In the modern era, adopting an Account-Based Marketing (ABM) approach is a key business strategy for B2B marketers. What used to be purely account-based selling in the past has evolved to include marketing strategies that yield higher ROI at a fraction of its previous cost.

Technology has played the biggest role in this evolution. The latest marketing tools and platforms have paved the way for ABM users to scale their efforts through software and apps that provide predictive analysis, effective lead management capabilities, and the ability to produce highly targeted content.

Using ABM solutions enables users to adopt an automated, programmatic advertising process to identify key personnel or accounts, which in turn help them tailor communications depending on what part of the buying stage prospects are in at any given moment.

Simply put, marketing automation and digital demand management channels have allowed marketers to do more with less.

These factors result in increased focus on business objectives because these new tools allow sales and marketing to align their strategies. With an ABM approach, these two teams work in a collaborative environment rather than in silos.

Through this effective alignment and account targeting methodology, the vast majority of businesses have reported increases in lead quality and ROI.

Here’s a quick video from Zaryn @ Market & Hustle to give you the ABM rundown:

Quick Takeaways:

  • Account-Based Marketing is about personalizing your marketing efforts directly toward your most profitable prospects.
  • ABM helps weed out the less-profitable clients to maximize your profit ceiling.
  • Creating systems that focus your time and resources on the accounts that are most likely to close will save you from wasting said time and resources.

Here are a few things to consider when implementing an ABM approach:

  1. The Role of IT in ABM

Having a dedicated IT team at hand ensures that you’re working within a reliable, secure platform. Not everything is as easy as “did you turn it off and back on again?” They are there to help the integration of ABM tools with your existing network, making the transition smooth and seamless.

They can also address any hiccups that inevitably occur whenever new software is introduced. Originally, spending precious resources and waiting for IT teams to identify, select, and deploy ABM technologies is something businesses were finding difficult to accept.

Thankfully, technological advances in ABM-related software have made it easier and more cost-efficient for businesses to jump on the ABM bandwagon. This has enabled organizations of various sizes to implement ABM tactics to deliver personalized marketing to hundreds of accounts.

2. Funnel Stage Targeting

Source: Blueprint Creative Group

The traditional waterfall marketing funnel casts a wide net to catch as many prospects as possible. ABM attempts to modify this model by narrowing the lead base first instead of last.

The process begins with a thorough understanding of your ideal customer profile, which is made possible by paying close attention to CRM reports and other B2B data about your ideal prospect. Having a set of criteria to work with helps you identify where your biggest opportunities may lie.

This approach enhances your targeting and personalization capabilities so you can increase lead quality and in turn, sales conversion rates.

3. ABM Leverages Existing Customers

Source: Ecomextension

Not only is it cheaper to tap your current customer base, but it also promotes loyalty because of your continued efforts to provide additional personalized products or services that fit your client’s needs. Cross-selling and renewal campaigns can now be more targeted with data-driven marketing tools.

These automated tools allow you to develop individualized cross-selling or upselling techniques such as complimentary product trials that supplement existing products or call to action services that resonate with your customers.

Keep in mind the Pareto Principle, which states that you should be focusing on the 20% of customers that deliver the most revenue so you can increase the ROI of your marketing activities (See How to Get a Positive Return on Your Marketing Investment for more).

4. The Focus Should be on Your Biggest Opportunities

Source: Sticky Digital

In 2020 there was a 171% increase in average annual contract value after implementing Account-based Marketing. Meaning, your deal size with the biggest targets just got bigger.

Expand your current base by building your list of organizations, companies, business roles, and key personnel that fits within a set of criteria you’ve identified.

After you’ve identified your target profile, it’s time for you to increase engagement with awareness campaigns via online and offline channels (like content marketing!). 

Once you’ve gained momentum in your relationship building efforts, it’s only a matter of time before loyal customers become brand advocates. These advocates are the best sources of high-quality referrals and positive recommendations.

5. Marketing and Sales Must Align

Source: The Next Scoop

The primary cause of conflict between sales and marketing stems from the different goals they typically pursue. In a traditional company setting, sales teams are measured against their ability to convert the most number of leads, while marketing sees lead generation primarily as a numbers game.

This means that sales values highly qualified leads with a greater desire to buy, while marketing is more concerned with getting as many leads as possible, regardless of their likelihood to convert.

With ABM, the metrics used to assess whether or not a marketing campaign is a success has to be shifted towards a more sales-centric approach. Overall, marketing has to be measured based on the amount of engagement from each lead instead of focusing on the number of leads in the funnel.

Optimizely.com says,

Account-based marketing encourages marketing teams and sale organizations to work together, identifying target accounts, crafting customized campaigns for them, and working together to align and move individual accounts through the pipeline, both before and after lead conversion.

In short, we’re all playing on the same team! For ABM to work we just need to be on the same page.

6. ABM Means Personalized Communication

Source: Medium

The fundamental basis of ABM is personalized communications. You need customer data for ABM to work because this data will help you personalize communications in the future. This increases your ability to relate to customers’ needs and create the best buying experience.

In a multi-platform world, your website, mobile apps, emails, events, and every other brand communications channel should be tailored to accelerate the buying journey.

This means modifying your messaging, CTAs, social proof and other aspects to deliver the right buying experience to the right customers at the right time.

The Wrap Up

In some organizations, ABM can be better than Inbound Marketing because the former allows for a more targeted approach, only engaging companies that are ideal users of the product or service you’re offering.

With Inbound Marketing, your ability to control your audience is limited—anyone can download your e-book or subscribe to your newsletter, reducing the qualification requirements to become a lead.

ABM allows you to optimize a larger percentage of your prospects because they were chosen based on a list of criteria you’ve made from relevant sources, which includes their digital footprint or predictive tools.

It’s not based on guesswork or a theoretical customer roadmap – but actual data. This, coupled with the ability to scale at a low cost, are the key reasons your B2B should consider applying an ABM approach in your future marketing strategy.

Do you want to use some of the marketing strategies seen here on MIG’s site but need some help or advice? Check out our weekly blog content service or schedule a free consultation. Get started today and generate more traffic and leads for your business!

The post The Essentials of Account-Based Marketing appeared first on Marketing Insider Group.

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