How answer boxes work and how a page becomes eligible

What each box is

A featured snippet sits above the usual list of results. It shows a few lines taken from one page, with a link to that page. It answers the question in the search box directly.

People Also Ask is a set of questions that expand when clicked. Each opens a short answer, again taken from a page. Opening one often adds more related questions below it.

Both are chosen by the search engine automatically. You cannot apply for them, and you cannot pay for them.

The shapes an answer takes

Snippets usually show an answer in one of a few shapes. Match your page to the shape the question needs, and make the structure obvious in the markup.

A question that asks what something is wants a short paragraph. A question that asks how to do something wants numbered steps. A question that asks for options wants a short list.

Do not stretch an answer to fill a shape. If a question truly needs a paragraph, write a paragraph. Forcing a list onto an explanation makes the page worse for readers and no more likely to be picked.

• A definition in one or two plain sentences, placed right under the heading.
• Steps as a real numbered list, each step a short sentence.
• A list of items, each on its own line, with a short label.
• A small table when you compare a few things across the same traits.
• A direct yes or no, followed by the reason in a sentence.

Write the answer first, then explain

The page needs a clean passage the engine can lift. Put the question as a heading, then answer it in the first sentence or two. Add the detail after.

Keep that answer self-contained. If a reader sees only those lines, they should understand the point without the rest of the page.

Our guide to answer-first writing shows the pattern in detail, and short answer blocks covers how to shape the passage.

Find the questions people really ask

Search a topic yourself and open the People Also Ask box. The questions inside it are real wording from real searchers. Pick the ones you can answer well and from direct experience.

Your own inbox is another source. Customers ask the same questions again and again, and those questions are the ones worth answering on the page.

Website Builder Studio writes the questions people ask on a page from your answers in the chat, and adds an answer capsule near the top.

What you cannot control

Eligible does not mean chosen. The engine may show a snippet from your page today and another site tomorrow. It may show none at all for your question.

Do not rewrite a page to chase a box. A page that is clear, accurate and complete for a person is the right starting point, and the answer box is a side effect when it happens.

Valid structured data does not secure a box either. Treat it as help to the engine, not a switch.

Check how your pages appear

Search for the questions your page answers and look at the results page yourself. Note whether a box appears and whose it is. That tells you what format the engine seems to prefer for that question.

In Search Console, the performance report shows which searches brought people to your pages. Review it monthly, and refine the opening answer on pages that get impressions but few clicks.

Keep a note of the boxes you notice for your own topics. Over a few months you will see which questions come up again and again, and those are the best candidates for a new page or a clearer heading.

Questions you should not try to answer in a line

Some questions need a professional, not a short answer. Medical, legal and money questions fall here. A page that gives a confident one-line answer to a risky question does readers a disservice.

For those topics, state the general fact, say plainly that it is not advice, and point to a qualified person. A careful answer is the right answer, even if it is less quotable. That is also what a genuinely useful page does.