Featured snippets are highlighted excerpts of content that appear at the top of Google search results pages (SERPs), often called "position zero," above the regular organic results. They are designed to provide quick, clear answers to a user's search query right on the search results page, so users can get the information they need without having to click through to a website. There are several common types of featured snippets:
- Paragraph snippets: Provide brief, concise answers in one or two sentences.
- List snippets: Display information in bulleted or numbered lists, often used for steps or rankings.
- Table snippets: Show data in a tabular format, useful for comparisons or statistics.
- Video snippets: Include a video thumbnail and start time relevant to the query.
Featured snippets are selected automatically by Google's algorithms from top- ranking web pages and include a link to the source site. They help improve user experience by giving instant answers and also benefit websites by offering prominent placement in search results, increased visibility, and potentially more traffic. They were introduced by Google in 2014 and continue to evolve, with recent trends showing some competition from generative AI providing dynamic answers. Despite this, featured snippets remain a valuable SEO target for gaining high-visibility search presence and enhancing site authority. In summary, featured snippets are special answer boxes that highlight relevant, concise content directly on the search results page, helping users find answers quickly and websites gain better exposure. This content can appear as text, lists, tables, or videos depending on what best fits the query.
