Absolute Zero: Ultimate Research Of Google Answer Box And How To Benefit From It


What is the answer box and how to benefit from it?
Let's say you want to learn who the author of the "Murder on the Orient Express" is, type this query to Google and you'll see the answer:

Answer box may also look like a summary of an answer to a user's question extracted from a webpage from top 10 organic results with the page's title and URL. Such answer box is usually called a "featured snippet."
This article is mostly about answer box without links. I took the random keywords (15 000 000) from our US database and picked those that display answer box element. Then I divided these keywords into categories and here's what I got:

What's the benefit for SEO specialists?
Let's say the person is searching for "unemployment rate in New York," maybe he/she is moving to New York and tries to evaluate the chances to find the work. Provide him/her with a detailed unemployment graph and then offer to look through the open positions you have.
Don't be afraid of answer box, analyze the keywords that display them and modify your SEO strategy.
Featured snippet

Description
Let's dwell on the main differences between the featured snippet and the answer box with no source:
- Featured snippet comes from one of the top 10 organic results. If you get features, you are always listed twice on the first page. Moreover, you don't need to rank #1 to get there, Google chooses the most relevant result.
- It includes URL and title of the source and user may click on the link to get more information. That's why you can and even need to win this answer box.
Examples of keywords:
- how to tie a tie
- energy centers of the world
- energy foods for exercise
- new York events this month
- Grand Opera
How to get there? Check the part of my previous post about SERP elements.
Stats
- wikipedia.org
- webmd.com
- wikihow.com
- healthline.com
- allrecipes.com
- youtube.com
- mayoclinic.org
- quora.com
- nih.gov
- amazon.com

Brief answer

Description
Examples of keywords:
- university of California acceptance rate
- how old is Clinton
- Zahara latest music
- invented radar
- zip code for Jackson Ohio
Stats
- youtube.com
- wikipedia.org
- azlyrics.com
- genius.com
- imdb.com
- metrolyrics.com
- zip-codes.com
- fueleconomy.gov
- biography.com
- zipmap.net

Dictionary

Description
Moreover, you can search for synonyms or antonyms of the words. So if you need an opposite of the word "brilliant," type "opposite of brilliant" and you'll see several definitions of this word with antonyms to all of them.
Examples of keywords:
- Archaic
- Phantom
- meaning of gyrus
- opposite of brilliant
- carbohydrate definition
- synonym of incomplete
Stats
- dictionary.com
- merriam-webster.com
- thesaurus.com
- wikipedia.org
- urbandictionary.com
- cambridge.org
- thefreedictionary.com
- investopedia.com
- vocabulary.com
- businessdictionary.com

Weather

Description
Thus Google offers to visit this website for more info.
Examples of keywords:
- weather in Boston
- Athens weather forecast
- Juneau Alaska temperature
- Texel weer
- thunderstorm in UK
Stats
- weather.com
- accuweather.com
- bbc.com
- theweathernetwork.com
- weatherzone.com.au
- bom.gov.au
- wunderground.com
- timeanddate.com
- 3bmeteo.com
- lachainemeteo.com

Translator

Description
Moreover, you can type the languages you need into the search box and Google will automatically set these languages. So if you need to translate several words of phrase from Spanish to English type "Spanish to English."
Examples of keywords:
- piano translation Italian
- earth translated Mandarin
- till next time in German
- French to Spanish
- I miss you Tamil
Stats
- spanishdict.com
- collinsdictionary.com
- wordreference.com
- google.com
- reverso.net
- youtube.com
- bab.la
- urbandictionary.com
- wikipedia.org
- freetranslation.com

Sports

Description
Examples of keywords:
- Manchester United
- Lakers scores schedule
- Euro 2018
- Man City vs Stoke live
- Aston Villa
- Mavs vs Warriors
Stats
- espn.com
- wikipedia.org
- mlb.com
- nfl.com
- nhl.com
- nba.com
- youtube.com
- cricbuzz.com
- soccerway.com
- espncricinfo.com

Transfer

Description
Examples of keywords:
- 181 Church St to 4797 Broadway
- New York to Los Angeles
- train Paris Trouville
- Dublin Port to Holyhead
- Montreal New York train
Stats
- tripadvisor.com
- google.com
- thetrainline.com
- wanderu.com
- distance-cities.com
- greyhound.com
- mapquest.com
- goeuro.com
- indiarailinfo.com
- makemytrip.com

Flights (Sponsored)

Description
There are two types: flights and destinations.
"Flights" block occurs when you type a certain departure and arrival points i.e. "New York London flights." Here you'll see the schedule of all flights available for the specified cities (both non-stop and connecting), flight time, airlines, and price. Set the required date to get the information.

Examples of keywords:
- London Berlin flights
- New York France flights
- Newark to Toronto
- Stansted Milan
- low-cost airline Dublin
Stats
- google.com
- expedia.com
- kayak.com
- tripadvisor.com
- cheapflights.com
- skyscanner.net
- skyscanner.com
- makemytrip.com
- volagratis.com
- orbitz.com

Unit converter

Description
Here's the full list of conversions you can do:

- lbs to kg calculator
- calories to joules
- pounds conversion kilos
- how many ounces in 600 ml
- whats bigger mb or kb
Stats
- metric-conversions.org
- rapidtables.com
- asknumbers.com
- convertunits.com
- thecalculatorsite.com
- calculateme.com
- theunitconverter.com
- convertnation.com
- wikipedia.org
- youtube.com

Stock

Description
Examples of keywords:
- microsoft stock price
- nasdaq tsla
- nyse usdp
- jpmorgan mid cap value instl
- apollo apo
Stats
- yahoo.com
- marketwatch.com
- moneycontrol.com
- nasdaq.com
- bloomberg.com
- morningstar.com
- google.com
- fool.com
- hl.co.uk
- thestreet.com

Time

Description
Examples of keywords:
- what time is it in California
- time it in Tokyo
- cst to pacific
- time difference England and Dubai
- time now in Bloomington
Stats
- timeanddate.com
- worldtimeserver.com
- time.is
- timetemperature.com
- worldtimebuddy.com
- timebie.com
- greenwichmeantime.com
- worldtimezone.com
- happyzebra.com
- 24timezones.com

Currency Converter

Description
Or you can just type "USD to GBP," and Google will select the specified currencies automatically. To get the instant result, you can type something like "35 dollars in pounds," and you'll see how many pounds you'll get for 35 dollars. In addition to the currency converter, Google also shows the historical chart so that you can see how the exchange rate for this currency pair is changing.
Examples of keywords:
- currency conversion
- USD to GBP
- 35 dollars in pounds
- Myanmar dollar exchange
- Swiss kroner
Stats
- xe.com
- x-rates.com
- themoneyconverter.com
- coinmill.com
- wikipedia.org
- fx-exchange.com
- mconvert.net
- oanda.com
- coindesk.com
- bloomberg.com

When Is

Description
Examples of keywords:
- when is the NBA draft
- Easter date
- world Autism Awareness Month
- Singapore marathons
- date light savings time
Stats
- wikipedia.org
- timeanddate.com
- when-is.com
- almanac.com
- un.org
- nationaldaycalendar.com
- wheniseastersunday.com
- chabad.org
- youtube.com
- huffingtonpost.com

Nutrition

Description
Besides three primary macronutrients (carbohydrates, fats, and proteins) Google can also show the quantity of following elements: potassium, sodium, cholesterol, vitamins, etc.
Examples of keywords:
- calories in watermelon
- fried potato calories
- clementine fiber
- almonds sodium
- banana potassium
- grape vitamin A
Stats
- myfitnesspal.com
- livestrong.com
- sfgate.com
- fatsecret.com
- self.com
- weightlossresources.co.uk
- eatthismuch.com
- verywell.com
- healthline.com
- calorieking.com

Population

Description
This block is also shown in response to population related queries, so if you are searching for "New York unemployment rate" you'll also see this block. Moreover, Google compares the population curve of the searched location with other neighboring ones. So if you search for population in France, you'll also see the number of people living in Madrid and Rome. To choose other cities/countries to compare with the one you're searching for, click on "Explore more" in the bottom of the answer box.
Examples of keywords:
- California population
- population of India
- what is the population in Chile
- US population in 2003
- population of Bermuda
Stats
- wikipedia.org
- suburbanstats.org
- worldometers.info
- tradingeconomics.com
- bls.gov
- census.gov
- countryeconomy.com
- worldbank.org
- worldlifeexpectancy.com
- worldpopulationreview.com

Earthquake

Examples of keywords:
- earthquake California
- earthquake today in Philippines
- when was earthquake in Japan
- recent earthquakes
- Alaskan quake
- earthquaketrack.com
- wikipedia.org
- usgs.gov
- caltech.edu
- twitter.com
- latimes.com
- alaska.edu
- eitb.eus
- mtu.edu
- nationalgeographic.com

Color picker

Examples of keywords:
- rgb(255,255,255)
- color picker
- #ffff00
Calculator

- arithmetic
- functions
- value of physical constants
- base and representative conversion
Moreover, you can also graph complicated equations in seconds. Enter the function you need and you'll see the two- or three-dimensional graph. To explore the function in more detail, zoom in and out and pan across the plane. If you need to plot multiple functions together, separate the formulas with a comma.
Examples of keywords:
- cos(3x)+sin(x), cos(7x)+sin(x)
- a^2+b^2=c^2 calc a=4 b=7 c=?
- sin(x)/x+sin(y)/y
- sec 2x graph
- cosine x
- sqrt cos 2 x
- desmos.com
- yahoo.com
- quora.com
- socratic.org
- algebra.com
- mathway.com
- wikipedia.org
- rapidtables.com
- stackexchange.com
- analyzemath.com

Summing up
BTW, Google SERPs are changeable, thus don't be surprised if you don't see this or that answer box for the listed keyword. It happens that answer box without a source turns to a featured snippet and vice versa. Don't underestimate answer box as they may play a huge role in your website promotion.
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