February 7th, 2018
The Google Answer Box: What It Is and Why You Should Know
When you really think about it, every time we do a Google search, essentially we’re asking a question – and the best answer to that question is what the Google Answer Box feature is all about.
Google something, anything. Put any string of words into that elegantly simple interface (even if it’s not in the natural language form of a question), then press Enter, or click the magnifying glass icon, or say “Search,” or whatever. Let the verb-ified search engine scour the Internet on your quest, displaying virtually instantly the Web’s most relevant results by dint of a powerful, ever-evolving algorithmic ranking.
With every search you make – that is to say, every question you pose – a major piece of Google’s response is the famous search engine’s best guess at displaying the top answers. We’re talking about the Google Answer Box.
The Google Answer Box is found near the top of the results page, immediately below the number of results and perched, outlined, self-contained in its own rectangle, as elegant as the rest of the page sitting atop all the other search results. The Google Answer Box relies upon Knowledge Graph technology to look beyond the searched words to the actual meaning, returning not just results, but answers.
The Google Answer Box the position you want your company to get into – and a smart comprehensive digital marketing strategy overseen by technology specialists – such as TESSA Marketing + Technology – can implement the SEO and SEM strategies to help get your brand’s message up there.
So, what is the Google Answer Box?
- It seeks to immediately and concisely answer a question.
- It is the coveted, mythical Position 0 (Position Zero) on Google search engine results pages (SERPs)
- In digital marketing jargon, it’s known as the “featured snippet”
- It displays the most relevant text, highlighting the most relevant words, from the webpage with the highest ranking content relevance score
- It displays text in either short paragraphs, a bullet list, a numbered list or in table format, depending on the search query
- It displays one accompanying image, one link and one URL
- It converts Internet search users into website visitors, which turns them into customers.
- It’s where you want your company’s or brand’s message to be.
The trick to landing in the Google Answer Box? Answer a question. Answering questions with your content, being specific with unique, reliable fact-checked data, statistics and long-form analysis, is a part of the SEO strategy that, combined with extensive keyword research, accelerates your Google ranking and approaches Google Answer Box status.
What sort of questions do you need to answer with your website content? Start with Who, When, Where, What and How. For example, if your company is a professional carpet cleaner, included on your website a keyword-loaded page which features a concise paragraph or list that answers the question “best ways to clean carpets.” You also want to optimize your SEO strategy to target long-tail and short-tail keywords. A few other basic Google Answer Box strategies we can deploy are discussed on Search Engine Land.
The Google Answer Box is a critically important aspect of the current search landscape. SEO pros like TESSA have witnessed the rollout of this feature take a primary role in digital marketing strategy, and we’ve studied what techniques work best to make your content the “featured snippet.”
To earn Position Zero, let’s put your best foot forward. Contact TESSA and improve your company’s online search ranking with smart technology-driven multi-surface digital marketing. Call 1-800-586-1553 or message us from https://tessa.tech/about/contact-us/.
About TESSA: TESSA is Multi-Surface Marketing + Technology, all in one. TESSA combines our knowledge and creativity in marketing, branding and messaging with our expertise and skill in technology implementation, website design, software development and mobile applications to become perhaps the most unique SEO agency in the USA. TESSA serves clients through the United States of America from our base in Northern Virginia near Washington, D.C. We serve clientele in Virginia, Maryland, DC, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio, Florida, Canada and elsewhere. Through SEO, SEM, content strategy, digital advertising, Internet marketing, branding and messaging, plus customized web design and implementation, TESSA turns what-if into what-is.
