SEO Glossary: Featured Snippet

What are Featured Snippets?

When entering the question "What are Featured Snippets?" on Google, users immediately receive a highlighted answer. Below it is a compact text that answers the question quickly and easily. This is precisely the element that is a Featured Snippet.

 

The snippet is displayed directly in front of all other organic search results. If advertising has been placed for the keyword or question, it is displayed directly above the featured snippet.

 

In the meantime, a featured snippet is no longer placed above PLACED ADVERTISEMENTS displayed. It only appears below them. This used to be different, which is why some webmasters talked about the so-called position zero.

 

 

What are the featured snippets?

Basically, Featured Snippets can be divided into three different types or categories.

 

These include:

 

• Text snippets: With text snippets, a normal text paragraph is displayed in which the question is answered briefly and concisely. Next to it is an image, below which is the title and the corresponding URL to the target page.

 

• Video snippets: If Google finds a suitable video for a search query, the search engine displays the corresponding video snippet. If users click on the preview image, they are redirected to the linked page. This often refers to the large video portal YouTube is often forwarded here.

 

• List and table snippets: If Google finds conventional text snippets unsuitable for a particular search query, it also displays a list or table snippet as an alternative. It does not matter whether a target page has structured data or not. Optionally, a suitable image can also be displayed directly next to a list.

 

How are featured snippets created?

Some website operators are keenly interested in how to create a featured snippet. After all, they attract curious glances and encourage users to click on the linked page. And that means traffic.

 

However, there is no exact recipe for telling Google whether content is suitable for featured snippets. The search engine decides independently whether the content is suitable.

 

Only a small note in the Search Evaluator Guidelines states: Google ranks content in the subgroup "Know Simple", which is formulated correctly and comprehensively in 1-2 sentences. Even a short list with bullets or numbering can prove to be quite useful and informative.

 

 

How to exclude content from featured snippets?

 

To exclude content for featured snippets, a small hint is required:

 

 

<meta name=“googlebot“ content=“nosnippet“>

 

 

This information is simply inserted in the header of the page. Now Google knows and ignores the content accordingly for featured snippets.