Google's automated systems decide whether a page would make a good featured snippet for a given query. There is no markup to request one: asked how to mark a page as a featured snippet, Google's documentation answers simply, "You can't." When a searcher clicks, they land directly on the quoted passage, highlighted, if the browser supports it. In practice, the snippet usually comes from a page that already ranks well for the query.

To find opportunities, list question-style queries in Search Console where you rank between positions 2 and 10, then check which ones trigger a snippet: on those, rewriting a single paragraph can be enough to take the spot.

The three snippet formats

  • Paragraph: for "what is", "why" and "how long" questions, answered in two or three sentences.
  • Numbered or bulleted list: for steps, methods and rankings.
  • Table: for comparisons, pricing, dimensions or schedules.

Structuring a page to get quoted

Write the question the way people type it as a subheading, then answer right away in 40 to 60 words with a self-contained sentence that restates the subject instead of opening with "Yes" or "It depends". Add nuance afterwards. For a process, use a real HTML numbered list with one action verb per step; for a comparison, use a real table rather than an image of one.

The same structure helps with AI Overviews and chat assistants, which favor short, precise passages that are easy to extract and attribute.

Limiting or opting out

If the snippet gives away the whole answer and costs you clicks, for instance a price or opening hours, you have options: the nosnippet rule removes all snippets for the page, the data-nosnippet attribute hides a specific passage, and a low max-snippet value shortens what can be shown, without any guarantee of leaving the featured snippet.