What is Featured Snippet?
A featured snippet is a highlighted search result that appears at the top of Google's organic results (position zero). It directly answers a user's query by extracting content from a web page.
Types of featured snippets:
- Paragraph snippets: A block of text answering a question (most common, ~70%) - List snippets: Numbered or bulleted lists (common for 'how to' and 'best of' queries) - Table snippets: Data presented in table format (common for comparisons and pricing) - Video snippets: YouTube videos answering the query
How to win featured snippets: 1. Target question-based keywords ('What is...', 'How to...', 'Why does...') 2. Provide a direct 40-60 word answer immediately after the question heading 3. Use structured formatting (lists, tables, clear paragraphs) 4. Already rank on page 1 for the target keyword (most snippets are pulled from top 10 results)
Featured snippets get ~8% of all clicks for the query and significantly boost brand visibility.
Example
Searching 'what is an SEO audit' might show a featured snippet with a paragraph definition pulled from a guide page. The page that wins this snippet gets top visibility without needing the #1 organic position.