--- title: "Featured snippet formats: paragraph, list, table" slug: "featured-snippets" category: "seo" tags: ["seo", "featured-snippets", "position-zero", "serp-features", "content-structure"] status: "stable" last_updated: 2026-09-27 summary: "Page structures that match Google's three featured snippet formats: a short direct answer under a query-shaped H2, an ordered list under a step H2, and a compact comparison table." related: ["[[seo/serp-features]]", "[[seo/answer-first-content]]", "[[seo/content]]", "[[seo/keyword-research]]", "[[seo/schema-markup-deep]]", "[[writing/anti-slop]]"] --- ## Overview A featured snippet is the extracted answer block Google shows above the first organic result. It comes in three shapes: paragraph, list, and table. Google selects the passage automatically and publishes no selection criteria, so the lengths and limits below are practitioner heuristics from observing SERPs. The structures still pay off without a snippet, because the same short, query-shaped answer is what [[seo/answer-first-content]] recommends for AI citation. For the wider SERP feature landscape, including People Also Ask and retired rich results, see [[seo/serp-features]]. ## Structure paragraph snippets as a 40-to-60-word direct answer under an H2 Third-party SERP studies consistently report the paragraph snippet as the most common type. Google extracts a short passage and shows it above the result. In practice the winning passage is often the paragraph directly after a heading that paraphrases the query, and 40 to 60 words is a common practitioner target. Template: ```markdown ## What is a featured snippet? A featured snippet is a result block at the top of Google's SERP that extracts a direct answer from a page. It appears above the first organic link and credits the source page with a link. Google selects the passage automatically; site owners can opt out with nosnippet controls. ``` The H2 mirrors the query. The opening sentence states the definition or answer. The remaining sentences add one specific fact each. No preamble, no marketing copy, no [[writing/anti-slop|filler phrasing]]. ## Structure list snippets as an ordered list under a step-or-rank H2 Google extracts list snippets from `
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