A search result format where a search engine displays a direct excerpt or summary from a webpage at the very top of the results page, above the standard list of ranked links, typically in response to a question-style query.
Why it matters
Earning a featured snippet can significantly increase visibility and click-through rate for a query, since it appears above every other result — though it can also contribute to zero-click search, since some users get their answer directly from the snippet without ever clicking through.
In a sentence
"We restructured the FAQ page with clearer, more directly quotable answers specifically to try to earn the featured snippet for that question."
Related terms
- Often confused with: Zero-click search (a featured snippet is one common cause of a zero-click search, but not identical to it — some zero-click searches happen through other formats, like a knowledge panel or an AI-generated summary, with no featured snippet involved at all).
- Synonyms: Snippet (in an SEO context — distinct from the "text snippet" defined in Category 3, which refers to reusable pieces of writing, not a search result format).