In a recent Webmaster Hangout, someone asked John Mueller about the relationship between Schema structured data and ranking for featured snippets. Structured data can effectively communicate detailed and precise information, and Mueller discussed how to make it easier for Google to feature your page in snippets.
Is Structured Data Useful for Featured Snippets?
The question involved using structured data to rank in featured snippets and improve visibility in voice searches via the Google Assistant. John Mueller confirmed that there is structured data specific to voice search.
Question Asked:
“Is there a particular kind of schema that is more likely to obtain a featured snippet or voice search results?”
John Mueller’s Response:
“I don’t know. I can’t think of anything offhand.”
Mueller addressed the relevance of Schema.org structured data markup for featured snippets. If it were a crucial factor for ranking, he likely would have been aware.
Does Google Use Structured Data for Featured Snippets?
Mueller’s lack of immediate response may suggest that structured data isn’t deeply tied to the algorithms generating featured snippets. He emphasized:
“…featured snippets in particular I don’t think it has any type of markup specific to that.”
Mueller further explained how to make it easier for Google to understand and potentially rank content for featured snippets:
“So that’s something where you have clear… structure on the page, that helps us a lot.”
By “clear structure,” he was likely referring to a well-organized page of content.
Good Writing Begins with Clear Structure
A good reference for expressing ideas clearly is The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White. It’s recommended for those interested in creating clear content structure. Planning and outlining content with a coherent beginning, middle, and end is essential.
Hierarchical Structure for Featured Snippet Ranking
In HTML, using Heading elements to create a hierarchical structure of ideas helps convey the topic more effectively. Main topics can use H2 headings, with subtopics under H3 headings, showing a clear relationship.
Mueller’s Advice on Using Tables:
“We can recognize tables on a page, we can pull it out easier.”
Tables are an excellent way to organize content. He cautioned against using visual tricks to mimic tables:
“Whereas if you use fancy HTML and CSS to make it look like a table but it’s not really a table, then that’s a lot harder for us.”
Can Named Anchors Help with Featured Snippets?
Another inquiry was about named anchors, which link different sections within a webpage. While helpful in search results, Mueller was unsure about their effectiveness for featured snippets.
This insight is significant. Studies have shown that well-organized content with ordered and unordered lists often appears in featured snippets. Mueller highlighted the importance of structured content, implying that order and coherence contribute to ranking success.
Key Takeaway:
It’s not merely the presence of lists that help content rank in featured snippets; it’s the coherent, organized structure that matters, as emphasized by Mueller.
Conclusion:
Writing content without a structured outline can lead to less effective pieces. Successful content that ranks well is usually planned and well-structured from the start.
More Resources:
Images by Shutterstock, modified by author
