With an intent to provide quick, direct, and concise answers to a simple search query, Google introduced a feature that shows ‘one true answer’ to a question. This new element is Google’s featured snippets and was first rolled out in 2014. It has a history of prominence and controversy surrounding itself. But regardless, it is still placed in the most eye-catching position there is on Google SERP, the “position zero”, drawing attention and taking clicks away from traditional results.
While it received some harsh feedback during its early days for providing low-quality or offensive answers. With regular updates, featured snippets have now been a highly beneficial component of SEO, driving more than 8% of the total traffic. It is so valuable for search engines that it is mostly placed above the paid ads, making them a perfect spot for driving visibility.
Today, Google selects which content is displayed and how the snippets appear in the search results. This guide will determine how Google displays featured snippets, how they work, and actionable strategies to help your content claim this prime location in Google’s search results.
What are Google’s Featured Snippets?
A featured snippet is a descriptive box that appears at the top of Google’s search results page. It provides a short and clear summary of the most relevant content to the user’s query from a webpage.
A featured snippet is Google’s way to provide direct answers with a change in its usual format. While a regular web listing provides the link first and then the description, featured snippets reversed this format, putting the descriptive text first and then the source it took information from.
It is a very useful feature for mobile users or those performing voice searches, where a traditional list of “10 blue links” isn’t as effective. The featured snippets are also nicknamed “position zero”, due to them appearing before the number one organic result.
Why is Featured Snippets Rankings Crucial for SEO?
Getting featured on these Google snippets has many beneficial advantages in terms of SEO rankings. Collectively these are compelling reasons to make your content rank on featured snippets.
- Position Zero Advantage: Getting ranked on featured snippets is the most desirable place for any content as it appears above all other results on the SERPs. This “position-zero rank” significantly enhances exposure, leading to increased traffic.
- Increased Organic Click-Through Rate (CTR): Organic CTRs have seen a significant boost through featured snippets. While EngineScout reported that snippets received 35.1% of the total clicks, A study conducted by ahrefs suggested that the featured snippet gets 8.6% clicks on average.
Ahrefs also suggested that the featured snippets were stealing clicks from rank one result, as the first-ranked result in pages with no snippets gets 26% clicks. However, in a page with featured snippets, the rank one link gets only 19.6% clicks, while many do not even click on any website due to fulfillment of their query. - Enhanced Visibility: Featured snippets is one prominent SERP feature that often takes up a large portion of the screen, especially for mobile devices. This pushes other competitors down the ranking and ensures your content captures user attention first.
- Support for Voice Search: Voice search uses the information from featured snippets due to its ability to provide quick, easily digestible answers without requiring a click. Voice assistants like Google Assistant, Siri, and Alexa are often witnessed utilizing snippets as their source for information.
- Cost-Effective Marketing: Ranking in the featured snippet section is free of cost. While it requires no more than proper SEO efforts, it can stay in the snippet for several months.
The users coming from featured snippets are generally high-quality traffic too due to their engagement with the content in the snippet, leading to higher conversion rates.
How Does Google Featured Snippets Work?
Understanding the user query and finding the clearest and best suitable answer of the question is tough. Google goes through multiple step verification for selecting this answer to your question.
Here are the four steps Google takes to choose your answer
1. It looks for trustworthy pages: Google looks at websites that are already on the first page of results because it trusts them the most.
2. It wants simple, clear answers: The computer processing natural language loves it when answers are short and easy to understand, like something a five-year-old could read. They especially like answers that are about 40 to 60 words long.
3. It loves neat lists and tables: If you ask “how to tie a shoe,” Google looks for pages that have steps like “Step 1,” “Step 2,” “Step 3”. It can put those steps right into the answer box for you. It also likes tidy tables with information, like a chart of animal sizes
4. It looks for question headlines: Websites that use your question as a headline, like putting “Why is the sky blue?” in big letters and then giving the answer right underneath, have a good chance of being picked.
The featured answer looks different depending on your question. Sometimes it is a paragraph of small definition, sometimes a list. Sometimes it features a table for comparing multiple things, whereas, sometimes it is a video showing you how to do it. Understand the different types of featured snippets for ranking your content among them.
What are the Different Types of Snippets?
Google displays various types of featured snippets that suit the user’s query. It includes:
- Paragraph Snippets
- List Snippets
- Table Snippets
- Video Snippets
- Video Snippets
- Accordian
- Rich Answers
- Tool or Calculator
- Double-featured Snippets
Snippet Type | Description | Best Used For | Example Query |
Paragraph Snippets (Definition Boxes) | Concise definition or explanation answering “what is,” “who,” “when,” “where,” “how,” or “why.” | Quick answers to direct queries | “What is SEO?” → Google shows a short definition box. |
List Snippets | Ordered (numbered) or unordered (bulleted) lists. Ordered suits step-by-step guides, unordered suits collections. | Instructions, rankings, item lists | “Steps to tie a tie” → Shows numbered steps. “Best project management tools” → Shows a bulleted list. |
Table Snippets | Data displayed in structured table format. | Comparisons, metrics, statistics | “iPhone 15 vs Samsung S23 specs” → Comparison table with features like price, battery, display. |
Video Snippets | Short video clips, often auto-jumping to a timestamp. | “How-to” or action-based queries | “How to bake a chocolate cake” → YouTube video snippet with “jump to steps.” |
Accordion | Expandable answers with hidden additional details. | Layered information, FAQs | “How many calories is in an apple?” → Shows expandable nutrition facts. |
Rich Answer | Short bolded call-out with extra context, often factual or metric-based. | Definitions, factual queries, dictionary terms | “Height of Mount Everest” → Bold “8,849 m” shown directly. |
Tool or Calculator | Interactive element that outputs user-specific results. | Conversions, calculators, weather, time zones | “5 USD to INR” → Currency converter. “Time in New York” → Time zone tool. |
Double-Featured Snippets | Combination of formats (e.g., list + image). | Queries needing multiple content formats | “Yoga poses for beginners” → Shows image thumbnails + a list of poses. |
How to be featured on Google's Search Snippet?
To secure the position zero on Google, your content must be more clear and more informative than the existing featured snippet result. This information must be insightful and within the limit of 40-60 words. This involves a combination of strategic content creation with proper structure, formatting and optimization.
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1. Identify Featured Snippets Opportunities
Identify keywords and queries that already have a featured snippet on the Google SERP. Understand the type of snippet Google wants to show for that term. This makes optimizing your page for a specific snippet type very simple. Tools like Semrush, Ahrefs, or Moz Keyword Explorer can help in finding keywords that result in featured snippets.
2. Analyze Competitors
3. Target High-Ranking Pages
To ensure your content is picked for the featured snippets section, aim at making a high-ranking page. Most featured snippets are using content sections from pages already ranking in positions 1-8. Ensure in-depth content, basic SEO, and schema markup for effective results.
4. Optimize for Specific Snippet Format Type
Google needs a specific format to tend to user query. If the existing snippet is a paragraph, provide a concise definition. If it’s a list, use a numbered or a bulleted list. If it’s a table, present your data in a clear table format.
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5. Monitor and Update Content Regularly
Everyday new events take place and Google requires the latest information for each featured snippet. Use Google Search Console to monitor your content’s performance and identify new snippet opportunities.
How to Rank for Specific Queries by Answering Questions
The most certain fundamental behind ranking for featured snippets is to directly answer the questions users are asking. This means you should:
- Transform Queries into Questions: Turn any query you are targeting into a question. For example, “best movies of all time” can be rephrased into “What are the best movies of all time?”
- Provide Short and Direct Answers: Always use a clear, non-jargon structure for your content. Think of rephrased questions that your content answers. Google identifies patterns of information that provide clear, easy-to-understand answers between 40-60 words long, suitable for snippets.
- Laser Focus: Do not make Google look for answers through different parts of your webpage. Concentrate the answer in one specific section of your content. A vague answer often confuses Google’s AI.
Specific Example of Featuring Your Snippet
Consider a “how-to” query like “How to tie a tie.”
Google favors a structured format that’s easy to extract:
- Start with a clear H2 subheading: “How to start a business.”
- Add a relevant image (e.g., how-to-start-a-business.jpeg).
Follow with a numbered step-by-step list:
- Develop and research your idea.
- Plan your business.
- Handle legal and financial tasks.
- Build your brand and presence.
- Launch and grow.
This logical order signals both clarity for users and snippet-readiness for Google.
Now, compare that with a definition query like “What is a business model?”
In this case, Google wants the brief, single-sentence type of response either to define the term, such as, “a business model is a plan describing the products, services and its target along with how to gain value and generate revenue from it.” Short, precise definitions like this are just what Google wants of a definition-style paragraph snippet.
Image Featured Snippet Bonus: Size, Ratio, and Resolution
When a snippet displays some text alongside a relevant, high-quality image, directly from the source webpage, it is an image featured snippet type. When it comes to uploading images for featured snippets, some smart tweaks can increase your chances of being selected:
- Aspect Ratio: Choose a 3:4 aspect ratio as Google’s preferred ratio.
- Width: Choose a width of at least 1000 pixels for clarity.
- File Type: JPEG will work fine, but you will often get a slight preference with PNG with Google.
- Alt Text: Always write descriptive alt text. Remember that snippets often come from Google images, not just your page.
These small details could be the difference between your image showing and your competitor’s.
What Determines your Search Snippet Ranking on Google?
Google doesn’t pick snippets at random. A mix of technical and content signals decides whether your answer makes the cut:
- Quantity of Facts: Pack in clear, complete facts. Short, direct statements are easier for Google’s AI to extract.
- Trigger words: Use synonyms & related words/entities. The more trigger words you use, the better they will do in the search results.
- Freshness: Updated content is a winner. New answers are fresh answers, so don’t let stale content put you at a disadvantage.
- Organic ranking: You need to be ranking between top 9 ranking as snippets usually get picked from rank 2 to 6.
- Readability: Simple, easy-to-read language (think grade school level) is easier for Google to comprehend.
- Site authority: Domains with high authority weight are more trusted than low authority domains. The more authority you have, the more likely Google is to pick your answers.
What To Do If You're Being Outranked?
If you’re beaten for Position Zero, it isn’t over; you just need to improve your content. Here’s how:
- Boost Organic Rankings: You can’t win a featured snippet if you aren’t on page one already. Focus on improving your on-page SEO & backlinks first.
- Add Trigger Words & Facts: Expand upon your answer with more supporting facts, & relevant trigger words that Google can easily parse.
- Simplify Your Copy: Rewrite answers at a 3rd-grade reading level. Featured snippets love short, crystal-clear sentences.
- Use Optimized Images: Add or update images. Use descriptive file names that contain target keywords (cable_deals.png) & strong alt text.
- Build Authority: Accumulate high-quality backlinks to grow your organic rankings and the credibility of your site.
- Study the Competition: Analyze the snippet currently ranking. Spot what they do better and refine your version accordingly.
- Iterate in Small Steps: Start with little things, like defining terms more clearly. If that doesn’t work, rewrite sections or add new data.
- Track Progress: Track what you’re doing with Semrush Position Tracking or Moz Pro by recording keyword rankings and snippet wins.
- Stay Fresh: Often update any evergreen content. Fresh posts indicate to Google that the post is current and trustworthy.
By making consistent changes in these areas, you will essentially be increasing the number of odds in your favor to win that precious Position Zero.
Frequently Asked Questions
Featured Snippets usually show up in “position zero”—right above the main organic search results. They can also appear in the “People Also Ask” (PAA) section.
Gurpreet Bhatt
CEO
Gurpreet Bhatt runs Softtrix Tech Solutions Pvt. Ltd. as CEO and is an accomplished expert in the field of SEO. Using his knowledge of Industry and SEO,
Gurpreet has earned Softtrix a prominent place in digital marketing. Under his leadership, the agency has accomplished notable goals, one of which is being recognized by
Google as a top PPC provider in India. Not only a skilled marketer, Gurpreet is recognized for being honest, hard-working, and passionate about his work.
He commits to helping his peers, colleagues, subordinates and overall industry, joining in discussions and suggesting tips to raise the standards of SEO and digital marketing.
