When Zero Is More Than One

// By Jim Samuel //

Taking advantage of Google’s Position Zero, or featured snippets, can be an effective way to enhance your brand and drive traffic to your website, particularly for mobile users. While it can be challenging to attain this coveted place in Google’s search results, with planning and effort, it is possible to do.

If you’ve done a Google search over the past year, you’ve probably noticed something different at the top of some search engine results pages (SERP). It’s a featured snippet, also known as Position Zero, and it’s Google’s way of showing users what it thinks is the best answer to their search question.

Position Zero provides the answers to questions, but it also includes a link to the website from which the answer came. That means users can usually get all the information they want from Position Zero without scrolling down the page.

And that, says Sujal Raju, founder and chief technology officer of Enqbator, is why Position Zero can be significant for your organization. Raju presented at the the HCIC (Healthcare Internet Conference) virtual conference in December.

Sujal Raju, founder and chief technology officer, Enqbator

Position Zero is “kind of saying that Google trusts this provider, this organization, or this brand providing that answer for that particular question,” Raju explains. “It automatically increases the credibility of your brand because it [Position Zero] is announcing ‘This is who we, as Google, trust to provide the best answer for your question. You should probably look at their website to find what you’re looking for and interact with them.’”

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