How to appear in featured snippets

If you’ve searched for anything lately, you’ve seen featured snippets: the short boxed answers at the top of the page. They grab attention, build trust, and often win the click before anyone scrolls. But getting there isn’t luck; it’s about structure, clarity and intent.

At Submerge, we’ve spent years helping clients secure these spots by combining sharp editorial choices with clean, search‑friendly formatting. Here’s how you can get your business to appear in featured snippets.

What are featured snippets?

Are there different types of featured snippets?

Why your business should want to be in Google’s featured snippets

Improved visibility 

Ways to optimise your content for Google’s featured snippets

Need a hand?

What are featured snippets?

Featured snippets are the short answers Google lifts to the top of the results when a question has a clear, direct response. They typically appear as a tight paragraph, a simple list, a compact table or a clipped moment from a video.

The benefit is simple: your answer appears before the standard results, which puts your brand in front of users at the exact moment they need help.

Are there different types of featured snippets?

Yes. The format usually mirrors the question:

• Definitions: often a two‑sentence paragraph
• Step‑by‑step tasks: numbered lists
• Comparisons: small tables
• How‑to videos: a timestamp that jumps straight to the answer

Explore Submerge’s content marketing services.

Why your business should want to be in Google’s featured snippets

Featured snippets show at the top on mobile and stand out on desktop, so they boost visibility. They also build trust: when Google uses your words to answer a question, people see you as credible.

Even with more zero-click results, you can still get traffic because people who want the full story click through.

Improved visibility

Because featured snippets appear at the top of Google SERPs, they’re most likely the first thing users see.

Featured snippets can offer your business some prime online real estate, particularly when users are searching on the go; some featured snippets can take up nearly half of a phone screen!

If your featured snippet is perfectly optimised, searchers will not need to scroll down, keeping all their attention on you.

Enhanced authority

Appearing in Google featured snippets positions your business as a trusted expert in your field.

When Google selects your content to answer user queries directly, it signals to potential customers that your information is reliable and authoritative.

More traffic to your website

Although featured snippets have appeared to contribute to the rise of zero-click searches, they also increase your website’s organic traffic.

Because your website would be in the pride of place in SERPs, you are ideally placed to answer queries immediately. And with the link feature, you could enjoy more clicks from searchers who are also curious about learning more.

Ways to optimise your content for Google’s featured snippets

Focus on information

Google selects featured snippets to provide users with clear, informative answers to their questions. When creating content, focus on delivering accurate, concise, and valuable information that directly addresses common search queries in your industry.

Avoid fluff and make sure that your content is factually correct, well-researched, and up-to-date – this is also an opportunity for link building.

Identify the main questions your audience is asking (using tools like Google’s People Also Ask or Answer the Public) and create dedicated sections or articles that answer those questions in detail.

Target long-tail keywords

Long-tail keywords are longer, more specific search phrases that reflect exactly what users are looking for. They often have lower competition and higher intent and are typically phrased as questions, making them ideal targets for featured snippets.

For example, “why is SEO important for my eCommerce business” and “how to create a paid social media strategy for my business” count as long-tail keywords.

Google tends to pull snippet content from pages that address these specific queries, as they are more likely to closely match the user’s search intent.

Use keyword research tools such as Ahrefs, SEMrush or Google Keyword Planner to discover long-tail keywords relevant to your business and industry. Look for common questions, “how to” phrases, or detailed descriptions that your potential customers might use.

Incorporating these long-tail keywords naturally into your content; particularly in headings, subheadings, and introductory sentences could not only boost your chances of being chosen for a snippet, but also attract more relevant traffic to your website.

Keep it short and sweet

Google’s featured snippets are designed to provide users with quick, digestible answers. Most snippets display answers that are only 2 or 3 sentences long, or in the form of clear lists or tables.

Lengthy explanations or complex paragraphs are less likely to be featured.

When you answer a specific question within your content, aim to summarise the response in a concise paragraph or a short list. Use simple, direct language, and avoid unnecessary jargon or filler.

You can always follow up with more detailed information further down on the page, but make sure that the initial answer is brief and easy for Google to extract.

Formats like bullet points, numbered lists or tables can help make your answers even more snippet-friendly.

Avoid writing in the first person

Content written in the first person (“I,” “we,” or “our company”) can seem subjective and less authoritative.

Google prefers to select content for featured snippets that is objective, general and applicable to a wide audience. Neutral, third-person language is more likely to be chosen because it reads as unbiased and informational.

Review your content so that it is written in a neutral tone. For example, instead of “we recommend using this software,” use “this software is recommended for…”.

You may also want to avoid inserting personal experiences, opinions or anecdotes in sections that you want to target for featured snippets. Focus on clear, factual information that could be useful to any reader, regardless of their relationship to your business.

Pay attention to your SERP rankings

Google generally pulls featured snippets from pages that already rank in the top 10 results for a query.

If your content isn’t performing well in the search rankings, it’s unlikely to be considered for a snippet spot. This is what we meant earlier by featured snippet efforts not being treated as optional; ongoing SEO efforts are essential to improve your chances of being featured.

Monitor your website’s ranking for your target keywords regularly using tools like Google Search Console, SEMrush or Ahrefs.

If certain pages are ranking near the top, but haven’t secured a snippet, optimising those pages further by tightening up your answers, improving clarity and adding structured data where appropriate may increase your chances.

You may also want to work on your overall SEO strategies, such as building quality backlinks, optimising meta tags, improving page loading speed and ensuring your website is optimised for mobile use.

Find out more about our SEO audit services.

Match your content structure to featured snippet formats

While you don’t need to focus on every snippet format, aligning your content structure with the way Google displays featured snippets could dramatically improve your chances.

Google typically favours well-structured and easy-to-scan content, as this makes it easier for the algorithm to extract the right information.

Organising your content using clear headings and subheadings that include your target keywords or questions could increase your chances of being featured.

When answering a question, provide a direct response immediately under the heading, and use bullet points or numbered steps if you’re describing a process or a list; clean, logical formatting helps Google and improves user experience for your readers.

Avoid mentioning your brand

Featured snippets are designed to offer unbiased, objective answers.

Promotional or overly focused content on your brand is less likely to be selected because users are searching for neutral information, not advertisements or sales pitches.

When creating content intended for featured snippets, avoid including your company name, product names or promotional language within the main answer section. Instead, focus on providing value and answering the user’s question as neutrally as possible.

You can include brand mentions or calls to action elsewhere on the page, but keep the specific content you want to appear in featured snippets unbiased and informational.

This increases the likelihood that Google will view your answer as suitable for a featured snippet.

Need a hand?

If you’re ready to adjust your SEO strategy to focus on featured snippets, or you don’t know where to begin with building an SEO strategy, the Submerge team can help.

We provide a wide range of SEO services, including tailored SEO consultancy, SEO audits, competitor analysis and optimising website content for maximum SEO benefits; whatever you need for a robust, scalable and effective strategy that’ll help your business appear in featured snippets.

Book a free consultation with us today, and let’s get your business front and centre in Google SERPs.