A featured snippet is a highlighted search element that tries to give as direct an answer to the search query as possible within a so-called answer box. For the snippet, Google picks out a section of the website and places it at the top before the organic search results and is therefore also referred to as position 0.
The aim of the featured snippet is to provide an even faster response to search queries. Ideally, the user doesn’t even have to visit the website to get an answer. For example, if you enter the word SEO into Google, a short explanation of the term will appear highlighted in a rectangle.
The featured snippet is controversial for website operators, since ideally the user doesn’t even have to visit the website to get an answer. Nevertheless, the featured snippet can improve your site’s traffic. If your website conquers the Featured Snippet, your page will automatically climb to position 0, regardless of which position your website was previously ranked in.
Types of featured snippet
A total of three types of featured snippet are distinguished. These are the text snippet, the video snippet, and the list and table snippet.
The text snippet is usually a pure text excerpt. The Wikipedia website in particular captured many such featured snippets. If Google does not find a suitable, coherent text excerpt that provides a concise answer to the search query, Google also creates list or table snippets from the information on the website. This is particularly the case with recipes and instructions. Both the text snippet and the list or table snippet can contain images. Finally, there are also highlighted videos in the form of video snippets for a corresponding search query.
[werbung] [fotolia]