What are “top questions answered” in Google?

Oh! Hi SEO community!

Happy New Year! I wish you the best for 2020 and even more!

As my first article in 2020, I want to talk about something I’ve never seen before on Google. (and it might just be me living in a cave, but whatever…)

A couple of weeks ago I binge watched The Witcher – like 90% of the people on Netflix – which led me to search the web for the query “Henry Cavill”. By the way, if you haven’t seen The Witcher yet, I really recommend it.

Anyways, I typed “Henry Cavill” in Google on mobile, and here’s what I found:

Videos of Henry Cavill himself answering questions about his life. I have to say I was pretty amazed!

It makes you feel like having some kind of proximity with him (kind of like social media actually)

But, as a SEO I was very curious about how to get those rich snippets.

What is it?

Within a few minutes of research, I found that these videos are part of Cameos, an app released by Google in 2018 allowing verified individuals like celebrities and public figures to answer questions about themselves.

Here is what the app description says:

“Cameos on Google lets you be the authority on you. Record video answers to the most asked questions on Google and then post them right to Google. Now, when people search for you, they’ll get answers directly from you.

ANSWER IN YOUR OWN STYLE: Amplify your presence on Google with videos in your own authentic voice.

AT YOUR LEISURE: See top questions the Internet wants answers to, and you choose which ones you want to answer and when. All you need is your phone.

STAY RELEVANT AND FRESH: Get new questions regularly to help your content stay recent and timely. Your answers get posted directly to Google and your fans will see it when they search for you or scroll through their feed in the Google app.”

What does it mean for SEOs like us?

I think it confirms Google’s intention to keep searchers on Google, as they continue to give more and more information directly on the search engine results pages (especially on mobile where rich snippets are prominent).

Nevertheless, I find this new type of rich results very attractive and very helpful for the user.

Can you benefit from Cameos?

Unless you get verified, you cannot use Cameos to post videos straight into Google search.

However, I think that it is a great opportunity for public figures to share about themselves without relying on other sources that may alter their sayings. It gives them visibility on search (not only on social media) and they can get closer to their fans.

Once again, a smart move from Google in order to control what information they display to their users!

If you own or manage a small business, I would say that you could get creative and use videos in your GMB posts to answer specific questions that clients have around your activity. Who knows? It might get you ahead of the competition!