Rich Answers
Have you ever asked Google a question and gotten a box near the top of the search results page that gave you an answer? If so, that’s called a rich answer. They are becoming more and more common, and there are many forms that they can take.
Google answers appear below the first set of paid ads and above the organic search results on a search results page. For example if you enter “irs mileage rate 2017” in Google’s search engine, you’ll get this rich answer:
Rich answers can take on many forms. They can be dates, charts, photos, text like you see above, times as in movie showings, and more.
Google answers save us a lot of time, but they can have an interesting business use as well. What if your content can get listed as a Google answer? This may lead to more clients and more revenue. Ambitious digital marketers are learning how to get their site content featured as an answer.
This is where content marketing can be of tremendous help. When you have reports such as how to hire an accountant, how a small business can increase cash flow, and tips on how to use QuickBooks, you have the potential to be selected as an answer.
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Experiment with the following searches:
- How to hire an accountant – Wikihow’s 13 steps are what came up for me.
- How to manage cash flow for small business – An Intuit answer can up for me.
- Tips on starting a business – An article from Entrepreneur magazine came up for me.
Think about what questions and answers your prospects might be searching for. This will help you get to know the possibilities for rich answers as they relate to your business. The next step is to generate an original report or article that answers these questions and get it posted to a site that Google selects answers from.
Avoid short answers that are public domain or that could be answered by the IRS or another tax body. Instead provide several tips or steps that are fairly subjective that solve a small business owner’s problems. Even if your content is not listed as a rich answer, it can get noticed in social media, other search results, and elsewhere, which can lead to more business.