4 Important Points to Know About Progressive Web Apps
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4 Important Points to Know About Progressive Web Apps

Progressive Web Apps, as the name suggests, are advanced application software installed on a system that helps users get the experience of both a website and an application.

Mobile apps have always proven to be more efficient and handy for users, unlike websites. But, what if you get all the benefits of mobile apps on websites? Now, this is just what the progressive web apps promise.

In contrast to the websites of old, these apps behave more like mobile applications. These applications can be installed on a computer/laptop to enable users to work offline and even be alerted by push notifications.

Technology Used

The common web technologies like CSS, HTML and JavaScript are blended with the latest advancement of the browsers, service workers and Cache and Push APIs to make the progressive web apps real.

What Makes Progressive Web Apps Popular?

Originally conceived by Google in 2015, Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) have become extremely popular among users throughout the world. Here are some traits that make progressive web apps a phenomenon:

They are Progressive

They are a lot more progressive than traditional websites/applications, which is why they are termed so. While the earlier applications were restricted to work on only one platform/browser, these new web applications are compatible with all the possible browsers available in the market.

They are Responsive

Nowadays, a website always needs to be responsive, according to Google. This not only helps the website become popular among the users but is also deemed to be a primary criterion for websites to be recognised by Google. Therefore, PWAs are built with responsiveness in mind to facilitate ease of use across devices.

They can Work Offline

Though we need internet to work on most of the websites, the mobile apps can work even with a limited/no connection. The PWAs caches the app data and are built with the ability to function similarly, where you can interact with them even without any internet connection.

They are Fast and Effective

PWAs prove to be way faster and effective for users, something that makes for great user experience. They will start to work right after you download them on your device and allow faster navigation. Even if you restart the app, it will come back again faster than ever.

PWAs are a result of hard work and inventiveness, which is boosting productivity for users across the world. With premium web development companies in Kolkata, like Sprout Road, you can also avail of the latest technological innovations taking place in website designing and development.

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Top 10 Programming Languages to Learn in 2020: A Crisp Guide
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Top 10 In-Demand Programming Language to Learn in 2020

Computer programming and programming languages have become an elementary part of our lives. Whether you are a school student or a business professional, it is essential to be well-versed with popular programming languages for better prospects.

However, it would be best if you were wise enough to choose only those that are foolproof and resilient in the long run. To ease your quest, here we bring you a list of the top 10 programming languages to learn in 2020.

Python

If you talk about programming languages, Python is to be uttered in the same breath. One of the most powerful among the high-end languages, Python, is an open-source language that is easy to learn and use. Besides, it also enjoys extensive community support.

Java

Java has been one of the most trustworthy programming languages for decades. Furthermore, what’s more important is that it is still as relevant as ever. It is incredibly stable as a language having access to tons of open source libraries. Moreover, Java is also compatible with multithreading and distributed systems.

C and C++

C and C++ forms the base of the computer programming of the present. Being incredibly fast and stable as a programming language, learning C and C++ is indispensable for your growth. Furthermore, it is portable and equipped with a rich library of functions.

Javascript

Javascript is distinguished as a peerless front-end programming language. If you are looking to come up with interactive front-end applications, then Javascript is one of the few options that would lead you the right way. Being a highly versatile language, Javascript is swift and boasts of a wide range of compatible add-ons.

Go

Also known as Golang, Go programming language is a statically typed language designed by Google. Go is mainly intended for effortless multithreading, which is why more and more companies that rely on the distributed system are rooting for this language. Though it is a popular choice in Silicon Valley, Go is yet to be adopted in India.

R

R is a popular language of the present. It is a standard option for graphics and statistical computing in general. Besides, it also exhibits an excellent framework along with built-in libraries fit for the future-proof technologies like Data Science and Machine Learning.

Swift

If you are familiar with iOS devices and applications, then you should know that Swift is one of the programming languages used extensively to develop the iOS apps. Powered by Apple, Swift brings an easy way to add new features and compose clean and comprehensible codes.

PHP

PHP has always been one of the dominant programming languages for backend developers. Though PHP is facing a tough fight with the rise of the programming languages like Python and Javascript, it is still as reliable as ever. Furthermore, it is also backed by a wide range of sturdy frameworks and a colossal community of developers.

C#

C# is an object-oriented programming language with excellent scalability from the house of Microsoft. With its apparent compatibility with Windows, C# is a popular language for building Windows mobile apps. Backend programming and building games are some other use cases of the language.

MATLAB

MATLAB is another language that is widely used for statistical analysis. This also makes MATLAB a prime option for the industry of Data Science. Image Processing and Computer Vision are some other technologies where MATLAB is used.

Programming languages are growing at an unimaginable rate, but not all of them stand out strong in this competitive era we are living. Therefore, we have come up with the top 10 programming languages that will boost your career in 2020.

It is always essential to have a clear idea about the industry you wish to go to choose the appropriate programming language that will benefit you. However, if you are looking for the best website designing and development companies in Kolkata, then reach out to Sprout Road for impressive results without breaking your bank.

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4 Essential Decisions You Must Take To Set Up Your Ecommerce Store
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4 Essential Decisions You Must Take To Set Up Your Ecommerce Store

Opening an ecommerce store and setting it up involves immense hard work and endurance. You must be brimming with ideas, open to change and equipped with quality research before taking the plunge. That said, there are a few more essential decisions you need to take to set up your online store like acquiring a custom domain name or selecting a payment gateway provider. Here are some pointers to help you set up and launch your ecommerce store.

Choose an appropriate Domain Name

Choosing a domain name, besides choosing which product you want to sell, is a task unto itself. An attractive, short and crisp name, both meaningful and symbolic, is what you want should represent your business.

If you are having difficulty finding a domain name, there are name generators like Namelix, Domainhole and Shopify’s name generator to assist you.

Know what products are suitable for e-commerce

Your product details are what customers will be reading primarily. So ensure they are perfect. Product photographs should ideally be taken by a professional photographer so you have quality images with the best lighting and backdrop on display.

Your prices should be competitive and attractive and graded according to product quality and features. And ensure you have a detailed product description with dimensions, colour, number of items and even a returns policy stated clearly.

Select a suitable Payment Gateway Provider

Payment is the holy grail in the relationship between a customer and a seller. Therefore, you must ensure customers have a seamless, secure and hassle-free payment experience. Choose a payment gateway that is secure.

Choose a gateway that accepts Master Cards, credit cards and e-wallet payments. Equally important is choosing whether you will offer cash on delivery payment option.

Select a cost-effective and reliable Logistics Provider

Firstly, you have to decide whether you want to ship locally or internationally.

Secondly, you must decide if you are going to pay for shipping and packaging out of your profit margins or the customer will pay or you both will share the cost. Based on these decisions, you go ahead and set up your ecommerce store.

Remember, an equally important aspect of the success of your store is a great ecommerce website, the door to your store. Sprout Road is a premier ecommerce company in Kolkata. We suggest you sign up for our ecommerce website development services for the best results.

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Why You Should Get a Dynamic Website?
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Why You Should Get a Dynamic Website?

Years ago when the Internet was just taking root, most websites used to be static. They were a bunch of pre-written HTML, images and resource files.

If one had to make a change to the layout of a static website one had to painfully edit each page manually. It was a simple platform but its simplicity was its major drawback.

With the advancement of time and technology, however, websites have come to become dynamic. This means they have a database backup and are powered by a server-side programming language like PHP. Dynamic websites come with a lot of advantages.

1. Easy content updation

It is easier to update content on a dynamic website that is run on a Content Management System (CMS). It is as simple as clicking on ‘New Post’, adding the content and clicking on ‘Publish’.

2. Quick makeovers

Secondly, you can give your website a site-wide change to font or backdrop colour in minutes. In a dynamic website, especially those run on user-friendly platforms like WordPress, you can change the font, images and text.

3. Easy Content Management

It is very easy to manage content on a dynamic website. If you have decided you no longer want a bunch of pages on your website anymore you can just filter them out and delete them, something that would take much longer on a static one.

4. Interactive

A dynamic website is more interactive and engaging. It provides a personalised experience to users with features like last visited page, or recommendations for product purchases. Users like to visit platforms that cater to them specifically.

5. Professional look

Dynamic websites look much more professional and competent as compared to static ones. They show the visitor that you are serious about your business and intent.

If you’re thinking of getting a website developed, make sure you ask for a dynamic site. Sprout Road is a premiere ecommerce company in Kolkata and we always suggest our clients to take up dynamic sites.

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Top Facebook Updates You Can't Miss
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Top Facebook Updates You Can’t Miss

The world has changed over the past two months because of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. As of April 24, 2020, over 27,25,000 persons have been affected by the novel virus and thousands have lost their lives due to fatal infections from the virus.

Nations have decreed lockdowns and economies have come to a grinding halt. In such a situation, business processes like marketing efforts have undergone a change in language and immediacy. Let us review some of the changes Facebook has undergone in these unprecedented times.

Facebook Ads

Facebook announced it no longer holds it mandatory for advertisers to use campaign budget optimization or CBO. “With campaign budget optimization, you’ll be able to set one central campaign budget for all of your ad sets, and we’ll automatically and continuously distribute that budget in real time to your top performing ad sets.” You can access Facebook’s announcement regarding CBO here.

Facebook Marketing

  • Facebook has announced that changes to its moderation process and the fact that its staff is away from work might result in delays and errors in ad reviews.

So it is advisable to design and upload ads for approval much earlier than you need them so you have time to edit or change the ad or even appeal.

  • Facebook is currently testing new features that limit the spread of misinformation regarding COVID-19, on both Whatsapp and Messenger.

Some pieces of misinformation regarding magical cures and government action have gained a lot of mileage on these platforms.

  • Facebook has banned ads and listings that “seek to capitalize on fears” around the coronavirus pandemic.

Test kits, toilet paper, facemasks, disinfecting wipes, hand sanitizers, or even purported “cures” cannot be advertised to exploit people on the basis of their fears.

Facebook Stories

Facebook Stories has introduced a new “Mood” frame for its Stories. The feature applies any GIF a user chooses to the stories panel and tags it as ‘Mood’. This is to signify the fact that the GIF represents the present mood of the user.

Brands can use this feature to call attention to a product review or the launch of a new product by following up a story with a mood GIF. This feature can be used to “express” feelings like excitement over recent news they have shared via Stories.

Facebook appears to be concerned about your business in these uncertain times, evident from these updates. It has also put out a link to its Business Resource Hub where it puts out pointers on connecting with small businesses and taking your business online. For more assistance on these updates or social media marketing and advertising, do not hesitate to contact us. Sprout Road is the premiere most IT company in Kolkata engaged in Facebook marketing. Best, Sprout Road

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Why The COVID-19 Lockdown is The Best Time to Take Your Business Online
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Why The COVID-19 Lockdown Is The Best Time To Take Your Business Online

The deadly COVID-19 pandemic has forced economies across the world to a grinding halt. Countries have issued lockdown decrees and travel bans to abate the spread of the coronavirus that has, as of April 21, 2020, infected over 24 lakh people and caused 1,67,000 deaths.

Small businesses have shut shop, factory production has slowed down and consumption has dipped across the world. In such a situation, while we wait with bated breath for the pandemic to pass over, it will be wise to think of ways to overhaul your business strategy – in other words, take your business online.

Here are a few reasons why you should take your business online.

Online Shopping

In a post-COVID-19 world, more customers will be shopping online than they ever did for fear of contracting infection. In fact, a study by the NRF (National Retail Federation) says

  • 9 in 10 consumers have changed their traditional shopping habits.
  • More than 50% of consumers have ordered products online that they would normally purchase at a store
  • Nearly 6 in 10 consumers say they are worried about going to the store due to fear of being infected

Low Demand, High Supply

For some companies selling luxury or non-essential items, demand has virtually disappeared. Customers are refraining from buying expensive watches or handbags simply because they do not really “need” them though they might “want” to possess them.

In this new need-based economic atmosphere, it would be best to take your store online so that you might be able to make yourself virtually present, 24/7, before your customer even if she is not driving down to your brick and mortar store. Having an online store or a website might as well convert “want” to “need” in these days of a nation-wide lockdown.

Improving Company image

Taking your business online is like presenting your customers and clients with a well-designed and thoughtful calling card. It improves brand visibility on the Internet and it lends your company credibility. You simply lose to competitors who have a professional website to go with their businesses.

Even if your business is not designed to be an online one, you can still have a website and generate leads through chatbots or customer care portals online. You can follow these up the next day from any-where you operate from. Taking your business online is the surest way to convert leads to sales.

So, if you have not already taken your business online, please start planning to do so today. The lockdown has given us ample time to rethink business strategies, so we might as well make the most of it. Best, Sprout Road

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Tips to Increase Your E-Commerce Sales
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Tips to Increase Your E-Commerce Sales

Have an online store and wondering how to boost sales in times like these? Every online store must be thinking on the same lines, actually.

It can be especially challenging to put in place effective business strategies when the spread of the deadly COVID-19 virus has affected economies the world over.

That is why we have put together this article to help you understand some ways whereby you can increase online sales. Read on to know more.

Email Marketing

While you must be engrossed in putting money into paid marketing strategies on the Internet, a less expensive and more profitable exercise is automated email marketing.

It allows you to directly communicate with a customer and send him or her relevant and timely messages, especially if you want to upsell a product.

Upsell a Product

Upsells refer to selling or showcasing a product of higher value and better quality to a buyer who has opted to buy a certain product.

For instance, if you are looking to buy a phone online and your online store advertises or pushes for a higher-grade model of the same series and the same company, it amounts to upselling a product.

That way, you might end up selling a more expensive product to a customer.

Showcase product benefits

Since all you have to showcase a product is photographs, ensure these are professionally clicked against a clear backdrop, preferably white. Ensure the lighting is right and the camera quality good.

Also, polish up your product descriptions and add as many details regarding dimensions, colour and terms of use and your return policy.

Customer Testimonials

Mandatorily ask for user testimonials on the checkout page of you platform so you have an arsenal of feedback that you can use to your benefit.

Be a proud seller and showcase these customer testimonials to prospective buyers. These testimonials can feature anywhere on your web site – on landing pages, on the product page or on the home page.

Manufacture Urgency

There is no harm in creating a sense of urgency around your product sale. It gives the buyer incentive and a time frame to buy you product in.

And do not forget to follow up sales with an after-sale email that is a thoughtful way of building a relationship with your customer.

There are more technical ways to boost sales as well (take optimising your website pages or getting more Ad Clicks with Ad Extensions). But this article sheds light on some of the humbler points to remember while strategizing for an increase in sales that often get overlooked. Hope this helped. Best, Sprout Road

To get an e-commerce website or to setup avenues for your business, get in touch with us here.

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Watch what you Search with the All-New Google Bert Update!
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Watch what you Search with the All-New Google Bert Update!

Every time Google releases a new update, it is almost like a storm running across the world of digital marketers and SEO enthusiasts. The Search engine giant released many such core updates with the likes of Panda, Penguin, Pigeon, and Humming Bird, to get the better of its rivals. Now, when we least expected it, BOOM, came the update, Bert, to watch over your content!

What should you know about Bert?

Google launched the Bert update recently, rolling out what they referred to as the most important update in five years.

Bert (Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers) is the fruit of the rapid progress of Deep Learning infused with the dynamic Natural language processing technology. This update is mainly aimed at making the complicated search queries easier for our favorite search engine, based on which, you will be getting more accurate results.

The esteemed search engine has been grasping our queries quite accurately for a while now but what it lacked is the knowledge of the context and of the nuances of the English language itself. Due to this, the popular search engine may have got you some disastrously wrong results. However, it will no longer affect us, with this latest update.

This is what Google has to say about its brand new update:

“These improvements are oriented around improving language understanding, particularly for more natural language/conversational queries, as BERT is able to help Search better understand the nuance and context of words in Searches and better match those queries with helpful results.

Particularly for longer, more conversational queries, or searches where prepositions like “for” and “to” matter a lot to the meaning, Search will be able to understand the context of the words in your query. You can search in a way that feels natural for you.”

Particularly for longer, more conversational queries, or searches where prepositions like “for” and “to” matter a lot to the meaning, Search will be able to understand the context of the words in your query. You can search in a way that feels natural for you.”

Understanding Bert with Examples

Bert may seem confusing to you but it will help Google ease out. It is an algorithm update that will make things simpler for the technological juggernaut.

For example: if I searched “how to go fish?” before October, Google would have offered me articles, pictures/video links bearing “fish” and “fishing”. The query is a crucial one because “go fish” is also the name of a card game besides portraying the idea of “fishing”.

However, if you type the same query and search now after the update, you will only get relevant pictures and links of the game “Go Fish”.

Now, if you modify the query by changing “fish” to “fishing”, it would return you relevant details about fishing and how you can go about it.

Bert and its Effects!

Ever since the update was rolled out, Bert seems to benefit the websites with lucid, compact content, which are written interactively and punish poorly written/unclear content and subsequently, the websites bearing them.

So, if the thoughts of working on your On Page SEO strategy once again from the scratch are giving you nightmares, then you are in luck. This is because you won’t have to change anything from your end, but rather tweak your content and improve the overall quality of writing them.

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Learn & Earn: The Most Popular Programming Languages for Web Developers
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Learn & Earn: The Most Popular Programming Languages for Web Developers

Want to engage more audience and generate leads? Then consider appointing skilled web developers; their fluency in programming languages and the art of coding is invaluable.

It’s no brainer today’s engineers know an array of programming languages. In this digital age, a majority of IT jobs require them to have a strong grasp on one or more languages. However, the crux is to find the most suitable programming language subject to one’s interests and career goals.

Ahead, we’ve talked about the two most prominent programming languages in the world of web development. They dominated 2018 and the trend continues. Besides, there are several other demanding languages which we will discuss in the later blogs. Stay tuned.

PHP

Hypertext Preprocessor or PHP is one of the most in-demand server-side scripting languages in today’s web development industry. It has proved to be a de-facto coding standard and its significance is evident from the way Facebook, YouTube, Wikipedia and Google uses PHP scripts at the backend. Surely, it helps in building dynamic websites.

PHP runs on various operating systems like UNIX, Windows, Linux and works on different databases such as Oracle, Microsoft Access and MySQL. Plus, it can be embedded in HTML with tags <?php?>.

The USP of this programming language is that it not only gathers form data but also creates, reads, writes, deletes and closes files on the server. Plus, it is perfect for sending or receiving cookies.

Moreover, PHP frameworks play a crucial role in streamlining web application development solutions and facilitate swift app development. The features and functionalities they come with boosts web development process and fulfills business performance needs. Some of the most common PHP frameworks are CakePHP, Opencart, CodeIgniter, WordPress, Magento, Joomla and Drupal.

Why PHP?

  • Fast-track customized app development
  • Simplify maintenance ordeals
  • No need to write additional codes
  • Manage databases resourcefully
  • Automate tailor-made development activities
  • Reduce costs in general

JavaScript

Often confused with Java, JavaScript is one of the major building blocks of the web. More than 99% of websites include some attributes of JavaScript. It is ubiquitous and most of the developers use it to add interactive effects on their websites.

According to Stack Overflow’s 2018 Developer Survey, JavaScript has been the most favored language in the developer’s community consecutively for the last 6 years. More than 65% of developers have incorporated it in the last year.

Basically, JavaScript is simple, light-weighted and well-interpreted language. It plays a big role in front-end development; the server-side too reaps benefits through Node.js.

The compatibility factor is a bonus. JavaScript is highly compatible with most of the browsers and is extremely flexible with the syntaxes they hold.

Wrapping Up!

So, here we are with our IT languages of coding! What’s your preferred programming language and why?

Looking for professional web development services for your company? Reach us at < hr@sproutroad.com >

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How to Feature Your Site Content with Google’s Feature Snippets?
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How to Feature Your Site Content with Google’s Feature Snippets?

Google is exhibiting answers for several search queries right in its search results.

Are you curious to know how to feature your website content there? Yes? Then you are at the right place. We are just going to explain the process of doing that.

In a rush to land on the front page of Google, people resort to the most pertinent and useful tool – featured snippets. The fragments of text at the beginning of several informational searches in Google, featured snippets grabs a lot of attention to your site, hence can be used as an ultimate weapon for digital marketers.

A pool of marketers thinks that only million-dollar budgeted SEO brands possess the ability to implement featured snippets, while the reality is somewhat different.

19% of searches using a question result in a featured snippet on the first SERP, says @stonetemple. #SEO

In fact, you can easily rank featured snippets with the organic content itself, but you must know the procedure.

What do you mean by featured snippets?

Featured snippets are content loaded with information that pops up in Google’s SERPs just after the sponsored and ads posts.

Here, you get to catch a snippet from Marketing Mo.

5 tips to make your content fit for featured snippets

Here are a few easy steps to develop content suitable to rank in the snippets:

Create in-depth content to basically answer questions

Originally, featured snippets are content full of information.

As per Neil Patel, “If your content doesn’t answer questions, it won’t get into the featured snippet. That’s all there is to it,” which is indeed true.

If your #content doesn’t answer questions, it won’t get into the featured snippet. @neilpatel #SEO

Decipher the tentative questions your readers may ask beforehand 

19% of searches using a question result in a featured snippet on the first SERP, says @stonetemple. #SEO

Make sure, you know well the questions your targeted audience can search, and accordingly customize your content to answer the questions.

They may also encompass “why” and “what” questions – for e.g. “what is the life expectancy of humans?”

The best way to tackle this situation is by extending the keyword to the long tail, instead of just concentrating on the exact keyword. Suppose, your target keyword is ‘marketing’, tailor it to the long tail ‘how to do marketing research’ – the latter is more likely to earn a place in the featured snippets box.

Or just type your search question on the Google search box to get an idea from search results. Select a particular topic from all those great topics so that the content can be structured on that topic to get ranked in the snippets.

Content is the king

No matter, how clichéd it sounds, it’s true. The primary focus needs to be given to creating high-quality content. You have to keep in mind that featured snippets cannot supersede Google’s complex ranking system. Therefore, it’s crucial to be in line with all the standard ranking requirements, while creating flawless content.  

.@AnswerThePublic site is a great way to find questions your audience might be asking, says @JuliaEMcCoy.

Your content has to be:

  • High quality
  • Comprehensive
  • Entertaining (to engage the reader)
  • User-focused

Be the BEST at responding

Hitting the featured spot is no mean feat. You need to work to curate the best answers for a given question.

Be the best at responding to a given question to land a @Google featured snippet, says @JuliaEMcCoy.

The readers will always want answers filled with detailed facts, relevant phrases and of course keywords. The best way to do the job is by giving emphasis on these three points:

  • Cover all questions related to the content’s topic
  • Use visual content, like videos, screenshots or infographics
  • Target beginners in your niche

The best part of this is that the readers who find your content through featured snippet are more likely to return to your site again, as they now recognize you as a distinguished platform in your industry.

Create value for users through Question and Answer pages

Q&A pages on your website enhance your probability to make it to a featured snippet. By designing a good Q&A page, you will help your readers find everything at a single place. Don’t make your answers too short or long; maintain a uniform length to provide valuable information without sounding boring.

Now that Google’s focus is on improving user experience, featured snippets will garner a lot of recognition. Useful, convenient, accessible and relevant on almost all virtual platforms, featured snippets are now the key to content concerns across the globe.

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