Showing Your WordPress Site in Google Answer Boxes
Google answer box is an additional feature of the search engine that helps users to find a quick and short answer to a concrete question. This block appears on the top of all search results if Google evaluates users request as a question and if the search engine has found a good answer to it.
Google answer box shows not only the text, but also the corresponding picture and link to the source of content. Usually users further to search some other information if they simply found the concrete answer in this special top block. But the research shows that the answer block gets up to 50% of clicks from users who see it. That is why this place of Google search results is very valuable for any WordPress admin who wishes to develop his or her project and grow its audience.
Today we will focus on the methods to enhance your chance of appearing at Google answer boxes and getting new visitors for your WordPress website or blog. In this article you will find common advice about SEO and content tricks for making your web pages more relevant to users` question queries.
What Questions Can You Actually Answer?
The question in this subheading should be the leading thought for your strategy of conquering Google answer boxes. It is primarily important to understand which type of content you deliver and how much does it copes with answering the potential users` questions. If you are just writing your personal thoughts into the blog, they barely can answer someone`s concrete questions. In this case, Google answer boxed appear to be the false strategy for your WordPress project.
Other important statement determines the fields of knowledge could hardly be bitten by your website in the battle with Google itself and such monster projects as Wikipedia. For example, when the user question is dedicated to distances, translations or videos, Google will primarily show results from Google Maps, Google Translate and YouTube services respectively. The SEO weight of your WordPress website just can not be compared with these giants and their content database.
So, is there a way to appear on Google answer boxes with the above given restrictions? Sure, there is. Do not forget that there are lots of types of information that frequently changes and always need new answers. For example, a question about the best smartphone on the market is always open and always popular. Good reviews and comparison article would be on top of corresponding search results and will have high chances to appear on Google answer box.
But the interesting and trending content does not grant the place in Google answer boxes by itself. There is a strong competition in almost any topic of reviews and comparison articles. How to stand out of the crowd? Our content and SEO tips will help you to succeed in this struggle.
Keep It Short
To appear at Google answer boxes you should give the concrete, short and full answer as soon as it is possible in the article. Further you can add some extended information, give examples and deepen the information to other than main aspects. But it is foremost crucial to give an answer in one or two short sentences.
To understand this statement you should imagine yourself on the place of search engine. The answer box is limited in terms of text and image content. So, the best answer should contain the most important information as a brief piece of advice or dry conclusion. Do not forget, that you will have a chance to attract a user by the link following to the answer. It means you should not hesitate on draining your answer-content dry and put it on the beginning of the article.
Optimize Webpage`s Description
Meta description is also shown on the Google answer box. Naturally, you can add meta description to any page of your WordPress website via HTML tag “head”. But it is much more convenient to add it by means of WordPress plugins. The most popular decision on this field is Yoast SEO plugin.
With the help of Yoast SEO plugin you can easily add and edit page`s title, description and slug. It is strongly recommended to include keyword (or key phrase) into the title and description fields. Yoast will also give you useful advice on other features related to placing keywords in your meta tags and text.
Use Smart Formatting
Good content should be well formatted. This rule is one of the most important towards the content used by Google in its answer boxes. Google just loves to bring tables and lists to the answer boxes. And indeed, such formatting helps user to understand information in fastest and easiest way.
It is a good habit to use tables and lists on your WordPress posts even beyond the goal to appear at Google answer boxes. When you provide your users with a list of features, it should be a list indeed, not just a row text. When you write some instruction that has steps to perform, it is much better to wrap it up with a numbered list. When you compare some items, there is nothing better ten to put them in a table to show the corresponding and compared features properly.
The other piece of advice is for the long-reads. Do not forget to use table of content, if you are preparing a big text. The navigation through the long-read can be a nightmare for a user, if you do not provide the milestones via the table of content.
Most Important SEO Tips
The content of Google answer box is first of all a well optimized content. So, you need to know and properly use the basic SEO techniques for any text content on your WordPress website. A lot of modern website owners know these techniques but ignore them. Do not repeat such mistakes!
- Focus keywords or phrases should be included in title, description, and keywords meta tags.
- The text should have a clear structure of suitable subheadings, including key words and phrases where possible.
- Categories and tags should be added to any article you create. This helps to build up a strong navigation and linking through the website.
- Always try to cover the topic as full as it is possible. Good content is complete content.
- Internal linking is very important: make sure you have put all corresponding links to your previous posts and pages.
- Do not forget to add “title” and “alt” attributes to all images you use.
Conclusion
Google answer boxes can be a good additional source of traffic for your WordPress website. Furthermore, the optimizing strategies for appearing in Google answer box are also very useful for the overall development of your web project.
Do not ignore the given opportunities and your WordPress website will be appreciated by lots of internet users!
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