Images In Featured Snippets & Google Search Console Rankings Can Confuse You

Jun 24, 2019 - 9:07 am 3 by

Illusion

Do you ever notice that your rankings in Google Search Console shows you rank for a particular keyword phrase in position one but you can't figure out why. Sometimes it is related to regional rankings and you need to use the filters to narrow it down, but other times it can be related to featured snippets.

Glenn Gabe pointed out on Twitter last week that he has a access to a site in Google Search Console that shows a 1.4 position ranking in Google. He showed the dips and increases in that ranking and it was all related to that site having an image featured for a period of time in the featured snippet's image box. Yes, since 2017 Google began showing images from different sites for some featured snippets. I wonder what percentage of featured snippets show a different site than the featured snippet box itself (I would suspect it isn't too high).

Here is a random example of a featured snippet showing an image from a different site than what is used for the main featured snippet:

click for full size

In any event, here is the chart Glenn shared:

click for full size

So don't be confused when you see high positions reported in Google Search Console, sometimes digging into the regional or other filters won't give you the answer - sometimes it is a bit less obvious - like in the case of images being used in featured snippets.

Oh and to be clear, Glenn knows how the Google Search Console reporting tools work well, he is just pointing this out because people can easily be confused by it - which is why I am covering it as well.

Forum discussion at Twitter.

 

Popular Categories

The Pulse of the search community

Follow

Search Video Recaps

 
Google Core Update Rumbling, Manual Actions FAQs, Core Web Vitals Updates, AI, Bing, Ads & More - YouTube
Video Details More Videos Subscribe to Videos

Most Recent Articles

Search Forum Recap

Daily Search Forum Recap: March 18, 2024

Mar 18, 2024 - 4:00 pm
Google Updates

Google Urges Patience As The March 2024 Core Update Continues To Rollout

Mar 18, 2024 - 7:51 am
Google

Official: Google Replaces Perspective Filter With Forums Filter

Mar 18, 2024 - 7:41 am
Google Maps

Google Business Profiles Now Offers Additional Review After Appeal Is Denied

Mar 18, 2024 - 7:31 am
Google Maps

EU Searchers Complaining About Google Maps Features Changes Related To DMA

Mar 18, 2024 - 7:21 am
Google

Google Showing Fewer Sitelinks Within Search

Mar 18, 2024 - 7:11 am
Previous Story: Google My Business Team Backlog & Experiencing Delays Of 2-3 Weeks