Direct Answer
A featured snippet is the boxed answer Google shows above the first organic result. To win one, answer the question in the first 40–60 words of the page in a paragraph, list, or table format that matches the query intent. Pages already ranking on page 1 win 99% of featured snippets.
Short version
“A featured snippet is the boxed answer at the top of Google. Win one by answering the question in forty to sixty words at the top of a page-one ranking page.”
Three formats Google extracts: paragraph (definition queries), numbered list (how-to queries), and table (comparison queries). Match the format to the query type.
Ahrefs' 2023 featured-snippet study found 99.58% of snippet-winning pages already ranked in the top 10. Featured snippets are an upgrade, not a shortcut.
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