Digital marketing term
Featured Snippet
A Featured Snippet is a highlighted content box that appears at the very top of Google's search results, above the organic listings, providing a direct short answer to a user's question.
Detailed explanation
This box usually appears as a definition, list, table, or step-by-step explanation, made up of an excerpt Google automatically selects from a page's content. It's also known as "position zero" because it appears before the first organic result.
To win this spot, content needs to be written clearly, in a structured way, and to directly answer the question; headings, bullet points, and short paragraphs are compatible with this format. Content that's already ranking on the first page generally has the best chance of being selected.
As voice search has grown, this box's importance has grown with it, since virtual assistants frequently read the information in this box aloud to users.
Frequently asked questions
- How do you win a featured snippet?
- Producing content with clear, well-structured answers to user questions — usually already ranking near the top — increases the chance of winning this box.
- Does a featured snippet affect click-through rate?
- Yes, because it appears at the very top of the page, it typically gets more clicks than a standard organic result.
Related terms
Internal links for the topic cluster — read these concepts together.
- SEOSEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the set of technical and content practices that help a website rank more visibly in organic search results.
- SERPSERP (Search Engine Results Page) is the page of results a search engine shows after a user enters a query.
- On-Page SEOOn-Page SEO: On-page search engine optimization. This digigund glossary entry explains how the term is used in digital marketing.
- Long-tail KeywordA Long-tail Keyword is typically a keyword phrase of three or more words with low search volume but very clear intent, making it effective at attracting traffic with high conversion potential.