What are featured snippets and how do you get one?

A featured snippet is an answer box Google shows at the top of its search results. It holds text taken from one web page, with a link to that page. Google picks the page itself, so there's no guarantee your page gets one. You can make your content more likely to be picked, though, with clear answers to the questions your customers search for, in a shape Google can easily lift.

What is a featured snippet?

A Google featured snippet turns a normal search result round. A normal result shows the page title first, with a short description under it. A featured snippet puts a piece of text from the page first instead, in a box of its own, with a link to the page.

Featured snippets appear at the top of the results. You can also find them in the "People also ask" box and next to the information panel on the right of the results page. Google shows one when it thinks a short piece of a page answers the question well. That's handy on a phone, or when someone asks a voice assistant. A search that shows one usually has a single box, though sometimes there are more.

A click on the box takes the searcher to your page and counts as a click to your site, just like a click on a regular result.

Types of featured snippets

Each type suits a different kind of question, so the shape of your content matters as much as the words. Picture your own coffee roastery, which sells beans online at hollowoakroasters.co.uk. For each type, the table gives a featured snippet example from the searches your customers make.

For a table featured snippet, put your grind sizes in a real table on the page, not in an image of one. If you make video content, let each title name the question the clip answers, such as how to clean a coffee grinder.

Why featured snippets matter for SEO

A featured snippet puts your answer at the top of the results page, with your link right under it. For your roastery, that can mean more visitors and orders without paying for ads. For a blog, it can bring in readers who wouldn't have found you otherwise.

The drawbacks of featured snippets

The main catch is that some searchers get what they need from the box and never click. This is called a zero-click search. If the whole answer is one line, such as how long beans stay fresh, you may lose the visit. Aim for a snippet on questions where your page has more to give than the answer itself, like the steps, the examples or the reasons.

A featured snippet also isn't yours to keep. Google's systems decide when to show one and which page to use, and the box can change from one search to the next. So another page can take your place, or the box can disappear altogether. Google also removes snippets that break its policies. If many of a site's snippets break them, it stops showing featured snippets from that site.

Keeping a snippet works like the rest of search engine optimisation: keep improving your pages. Carry out a regular competitor analysis to see who holds the box, and keep up with changes at Google that can move it.

How to get a featured snippet

In most cases, Google takes the box from pages that already show in its results for the search. So your best chances are questions where one of your pages already ranks on the first page. From there, the work is in your content: the questions you answer, how you write each answer and the shape you give it.

Find the questions your customers ask

Start with the questions your customers ask. The "People also ask" box shows related questions for a search, and a tool like AnswerThePublic shows the words people use when they search about a topic. For your roastery, that might be "how long do coffee beans stay fresh" or "which grind for a cafetière".

Each answer then needs a page on your site, and for questions like these a blog is the natural place. If you don't have one yet, here's how to start a blog. Write each post for your target audience, the people who buy your beans, and answer as many of their real questions as you can.

Answer the question straight after the heading

Put the question in a heading, then answer it straight away in the text below, before any background. The detail, the examples and the exceptions can follow. Getting to the point first is a basic rule of good website copywriting too, so your other readers gain from it as well.

Target specific, long-tail questions

A long-tail keyword is a longer, more specific search phrase, such as "best grind size for a cafetière" instead of just "coffee". It's worth writing a page that answers exactly that question rather than one about coffee in general. Its answer fits the search, so it has a better chance of being picked.

Write the answer as a neutral statement

Personal writing is natural on a blog, but an answer built around "I" reads oddly out of context. Instead of "I recommend this blend for espresso", write "This blend is roasted for espresso". Make sure the sentence still makes sense on its own in the snippet box, where the searcher hasn't read the rest of your post. Keep your opinions for the post itself, where readers know who's talking.

What structured data can and cannot do

Structured data won't get you a featured snippet on its own, because Google takes the box from the text on your page. Structured data is code that describes a page to search engines in a fixed format, for example the name, roast and weight of a coffee on your product page. The usual vocabulary for it is schema markup. Google uses it to understand the content of the page and can use it to show rich results, such as recipe details in the search results.

So add structured data for the rich results, and put your work for featured snippets into the wording of your answers. On a WordPress site, you may be able to add it with a plugin instead of editing the code.

FAQ markup is the exception, as Google no longer shows FAQ rich results in its search results. An FAQ section is still a good way to answer your customers' questions in one place, each question with its answer right under it. Add one for your readers, not for a search feature.

Doing all this on every page of a site is steady work, and it's the kind of work you can hand to expert SEO help.

Our SEO team improves the texts, headings, images and internal links on your site, so search engines understand what you offer.

How to track featured snippets

The quickest check is to search for the question yourself, such as "how long do coffee beans stay fresh". Then see whose answer is in the box. For a wider view, open the Performance report in Google Search Console. It lists the searches your pages appear for, with their clicks and position. A featured snippet typically counts as position 1 there. So show the average position and sort the searches by it. Look up each question where your page is at or near 1 to see whether the box is yours. Your own search can still show a different result, because the report shows an average, not one search. Search again over a few days before you decide the box isn't yours.

Frequently asked questions

Can you stop Google showing your page as a featured snippet?

Yes, but the only sure way is to keep that text out of every snippet, including the short description under your normal result. The nosnippet rule does this for the whole page. It's a robots meta tag, a line of code in the head section of the page. The data-nosnippet attribute does it for one part of the page, on a span, div or section element that holds that text. On a WordPress site, you might not have to edit the code, as your CMS may have a search engine settings page for it. To keep your normal description, you can experiment with a low max-snippet setting instead, though only nosnippet is a guaranteed way out of featured snippets. It tells Google not to show a text snippet for the page in any kind of search result.

Do featured snippets still matter with AI Overviews?

Yes. Featured snippets still appear, and the work for both is largely the same. Google says there are no extra requirements to appear in AI Overviews, and the same SEO basics apply, such as helpful, reliable content written for people. Our guide on how to appear in AI Overviews goes into more detail.

Where to start with your own pages

Pick an article that already ranks on Google's first page for a question your customers ask. Move its answer to the top and make it stand on its own, then do the same for the next one. For your whole site at once, our SEO services take that work off your plate.