Featured Snippets

In Google searches, you have undoubtedly seen objects that are known as “Google Search Engine Results Page (SERP) features” that display on the page with regular search results. There are all kinds of SERP features that you come across from time to time. One of these is called a “featured snippet,” which provides an answer to a query, such as “Ways to get more YouTube subscribers.”

Micro content that is created in a Flare project can result in custom "featured snippets" in your HTML5 output’s search results. This content is displayed above the search results, and is one of the easiest, most immediate methods to use micro content from Flare. You can use a filter to specifically determine which micro content might display as featured snippets. You can also change its view mode (Plain Text, Truncated, or Drop-Down) in your HTML5 skin.

As with some of the rich objects that you see on a Google search page, the featured snippets in Flare output appear above regular search results, thus making them especially valuable. In other words, you can always ensure that this targeted information is seen before anything else, rather than buried among the rest of the results.

Although these are referred to as “featured snippets,” don’t confuse them with the regular snippets in a Flare project. As you will see, micro content can be created with the help of regular snippets, but that is purely optional.

How to Set Featured Snippet Target Options

  1. Open an HTML5 target.
  2. Select the Search tab.
  3. At the top of the page, make sure the Search Engine Type is set to MadCap Search or Elasticsearch. (Micro content from Flare is not supported with Google Search selected.) See Setting Up a Search Engine.

  4. In the Featured Snippets section, click the Filter drop-down and select one of the options.

    • Do not include in search results No micro content is included in the featured snippets area.
    • All micro content files Every phrase from all of your micro content files may be included.
    • Specific micro content files In the drop-down(s), choose one or more micro content files. Every phrase from those files may be included.

    • Micro content with meta tags In the additional drop-down(s), choose specific meta tag names and corresponding values. Micro content phrases that match may be included. For more details, see Meta Tags.

  5. (Optional) In the Limit number of results field, you can enter a number. For example, if you leave it set at 1, Flare will display only the best match from your micro content file(s). If you enter 3, Flare will display up to the best three matches (if that many exist).

  6. Click Save the active file. to save your work.

Note To create featured snippets for your search results, you need to be using either Elasticsearch or MadCap Search as your search engine (see Setting Up a Search Engine). Also, this feature is supported only with HTML5 skins (Side Navigation, Top Navigation, Tripane), as well as skinless outputs.