Google’s Featured Snippets have lengthy been a staple of Search (since 2014), offering fast solutions and easy definitions straight from the outcomes web page.
But, there’s a brand new sheriff on the town.
AI Overviews at the moment are dominating the SERP (search engine outcomes pages) panorama, and so they’ve lately acquired a Gemini 2.0 improve.
Which means AI Overviews will now seem for all sorts of searches, as they had been primarily used for informational queries up till early March 2025.
So, what’s in retailer for Featured Snippets?
Properly, they’re nonetheless a factor, they only seem beneath the AI Overview.
Right here’s what one seems like:
A Featured Snippet highlights probably the most related search outcome for any given key phrase, which is advantageous for entrepreneurs.
Earlier than AI Overviews, featured snippets held the coveted place 0 on Google.
Regardless of being pushed additional down the fold, focusing on Featured Snippets can nonetheless profit your search engine optimization.
Furthermore, the optimization strategies for Featured Snippets and AI Overviews are extraordinarily comparable.
For example, utilizing schema markup in your web site will heighten the possibilities that you just’ll get featured in each snippets and Overviews, so it’s fairly simple to focus on each utilizing the identical strategies.
On this information, we’ll educate you the way to optimize your content material for each AI Overviews and Featured Snippets, so preserve studying!
How GSO (Generative Search Optimization) Differs from Snippets
First, let’s discover how Featured Snippets and AI Overviews differ.
The obvious distinction is that Overviews use Gemini AI whereas Featured Snippets depend upon Google’s search algorithm.
This implies the best way they uncover and show content material is totally different.
For example, Featured Snippets spotlight an excerpt (or snippet) from a single webpage. In different phrases, the Featured Snippet will quote data word-for-word from a chunk of content material it present in Google’s index (like a definition or fast reply to a query).
Since AI Overviews are powered by Google’s Gemini (a state-of-the-art massive language mannequin), they’ll present extra advanced summaries.
Particularly, AI Overviews pull data from a number of sources after which generate an authentic response.
Additionally, whereas structured information is essential for focusing on each AI Overviews and Featured Snippets, it’s extra essential for Snippets.
AI instruments produce other methods of accessing data, corresponding to pulling real-time information from APIs (utility programming interfaces).
Right here’s a desk breaking down the principle variations:
| Featured Snippets | AI Overviews |
| Makes use of schema markup from net pages in Google’s index to search out related definitions, tidbits, and solutions. | Makes use of APIs to tug real-time information from the net to be used in summaries. Makes use of schema markup each time analyzing on-line search outcomes. |
| Quotes data from a single on-line supply. | Summarizes a number of on-line sources utilizing NLP (pure language processing) and NLU (pure language understanding). |
| Makes use of Google’s search algorithm to search out content material to tug for Snippets. | Makes use of Google Gemini 2.0 to generate AI summaries. |
Now that you understand how the 2 search options are totally different, let’s study all of the ways in which they’re comparable.
The place GSO and Featured Snippets Overlap
It’s plain that AI Overviews and Featured Snippets are comparable in nature, particularly since they each serve the identical perform.
Whereas AI Overviews take a deeper dive into a question than Featured Snippets, they each exist to present fast and straightforward assets for customers.
Coincidentally, they’ll each result in an uptick in zero-click searches, which isn’t precisely useful for search engine optimization however can nonetheless increase model consciousness.
A zero-click search happens each time a consumer finds the knowledge they want on a search engine outcomes web page with out truly clicking on any of the outcomes. Most zero-click searches happen due to – you guessed it – AI Overviews and Featured Snippets.
But, for each consumer who clicks away after studying a snippet or overview, there are nonetheless loads of customers who will click on on the supplied outcomes to be taught extra.
The truth is, current analysis by Seer Interactive discovered that your natural click-through fee (CTR) will increase to 1.08% everytime you’re listed as a supply in an AI Overview.
Featured Snippets are much more highly effective, as their common click-through fee is a whopping 42.9%. It is because they solely characteristic one supply, tremendously heightening the possibilities that customers will click on on it (versus the multitude of sources listed in AI Overviews).
So, it’s undoubtedly nonetheless value focusing on AI Overviews and Featured Snippets in your search engine optimization campaigns.
Different similarities embrace:
- Quick, scannable solutions matter for each. If you wish to improve your possibilities of getting talked about in an AI Overview or Featured Snippet, it’s essential embrace brief, scannable solutions to frequent questions inside the first few strains of your content material. DO NOT bury your solutions inside the physique of your publish, as that may make it tougher for crawlers to search out.
- Belief and authority stay key. If Google doesn’t belief your web site, it gained’t take into account you when on the lookout for content material to tug for Overviews and Snippets. Subsequently, constructing belief is paramount, so that you’ll want top-tier content material and authoritative backlinks.
- Inside linking issues. To ensure that Google to completely uncover your content material, it’s essential to embrace inner hyperlinks. That is very true when constructing topical authority by way of content material clusters. If Google can’t uncover your content material, you gained’t have the ability to seem in AI Overviews and Featured Snippets.
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Now that you understand how every search characteristic works, which do you have to goal in your search engine optimization technique?
The reply relies on a couple of components, together with:
- Your objectives. Do you need to increase model consciousness or generate extra clicks to your web site? If model visibility is your purpose, then you must concentrate on AI Overviews. If you wish to drive extra focused visitors to your web site, concentrate on key phrases that set off Featured Snippets.
- Search intent. For those who produce numerous informative content material, you’ll have a better time focusing on Featured Snippets. Ever for the reason that Gemini 2.0 overhaul, AI Overviews have appeared for all sorts of search intent, together with industrial and transactional key phrases.
- Your viewers. Sure industries set off extra AI Overviews than others, as this chart from Semrush illustrates. They generate like mad for Healthcare key phrases, so that you’ll need to prioritize overviews for those who function inside that trade. Conversely, not many AI Overviews set off for Residence and Gardening key phrases, so you must prioritize Featured Snippets for these queries.
Optimization Suggestions for Each AI Overviews and Featured Snippets
Earlier than we allow you to go, right here’s a useful guidelines that’ll enable you optimize for each search options:
- Write concise solutions to focus on key phrase questions. Everytime you goal key phrases that pose questions, reply that query instantly. And once we say instantly, we imply inside the first 1 – 2 strains of your content material!
- Use structured information to make your content material simpler to grasp. AI instruments and crawler bots each use structured information to grasp content material on-line, corresponding to if it’s a product description, weblog publish, or overview.
- Go for readability and easy language. Trade jargon isn’t useful for customers or search engine crawlers, so use easy language as a substitute. Additionally, preserve your paragraphs brief to keep away from massive partitions of textual content.
- Construct robust backlinks and embrace inner hyperlinks. As talked about earlier than, belief is extraordinarily essential for showing in AI Overviews and Featured Snippets, so backlinks are a should. You also needs to be sure that each bit of content material accommodates a minimum of one inner hyperlink.
Do you want assist devising an search engine optimization technique that features AI Overviews and Featured Snippets?
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