Featured Snippet
Structure pages to win Featured Snippets and Position Zero while staying useful for AI Overviews and PAA.
Overview
Featured Snippet is an agent skill most often used in Launch (also Grow content) that guides on-page optimization for Featured Snippets, Position Zero, and AI-friendly answer boxes.
Install
npx skills add https://github.com/kostja94/marketing-skills --skill featured-snippetWhat is this skill?
- Paragraph, list, and table Featured Snippet formats with answer-first structure
- Query targeting for how/what/why with positions 2–5 opportunity framing
- 2025–2026 landscape: ~19% snippet prevalence and AI Overview overlap called out in skill
- Layered content for classic snippets and AI citation—not snippets-only
- Pairs with schema-markup and howto-section-generator for schema and step lists
- Featured snippets on ~19% of queries (per skill)
- AI Overviews noted at ~47% US search (per skill landscape section)
Adoption & trust: 754 installs on skills.sh; 586 GitHub stars; 3/3 security scanners passed (skills.sh audits).
What problem does it solve?
Your pages rank nearby but Google and AI surfaces show a competitor’s concise answer instead of your content.
Who is it for?
Founders publishing educational or comparison content who want extractable answers without a full SEO agency playbook.
Skip if: Pure technical SEO audits, paid ads strategy, or pages with no informational query intent.
When should I use this skill?
featured snippet, position zero, snippet optimization, answer box, PAA optimization
What do I get? / Deliverables
You get snippet-oriented structure—format choice, answer-first blocks, and query targeting—ready to publish and pair with schema or HowTo skills when needed.
- Snippet-format recommendations
- Answer-first content outline
- Query-targeting notes for paragraph/list/table
Recommended Skills
Journey fit
Spans multiple journey phases - primary shelf plus alternate fits below.
Snippet optimization is a Launch discipline before organic and AI-search visibility compounds. Answer-first on-page SEO and query targeting map directly to the seo subphase shelf.
Where it fits
Rewrite pricing FAQ into a 40-word definition block targeting what-is queries.
Refresh top posts with list snippets for comparison keywords losing to AI Overviews.
Add answer-first H2s to product docs so support articles compete for how-to snippets.
How it compares
On-page snippet copy structure—use schema-markup for structured data and howto-section-generator for step-list sections.
Common Questions / FAQ
Who is featured-snippet for?
Solo builders and indie marketers optimizing blog posts, docs, and landing copy for direct answers in search and AI summaries.
When should I use featured-snippet?
At Launch when tuning SEO pages; at Grow when refreshing content for PAA; during Build/docs when writing definitive how-to and definition sections.
Is featured-snippet safe to install?
Review the Security Audits panel on this Prism page; the skill is editorial guidance and does not execute crawls on your site.
SKILL.md
READMESKILL.md - Featured Snippet
# SEO On-Page: Featured Snippet Guides optimization for Featured Snippets (Position Zero)—direct answers displayed above organic results. Featured snippets appear on ~19% of queries; by 2025, AI Overviews replaced many, but snippet optimization still supports AI citation and PAA. See **serp-features** for full SERP context. **When invoking**: On **first use**, if helpful, open with 1–2 sentences on what this skill covers and why it matters, then provide the main output. On **subsequent use** or when the user asks to skip, go directly to the main output. ## Scope - **Featured Snippet formats**: Paragraph, list, table - **Content structure**: Answer-first, H2/H3, semantic HTML - **Query targeting**: How, what, why; positions 2–5 opportunity - **AI Overviews**: Layered content for both snippets and AI citation ## Current Landscape (2025–2026) - Featured snippets appear on ~19% of search queries - AI Overviews replaced 83%+ of featured snippets in many regions; appear in ~47% of US searches - When AI Overviews show, 83% of searches may end without clicks (**zero-click**)—goal shifts to **citation** as well as CTR. Featured Snippets also cause zero-click when the answer suffices. See **serp-features** for zero-click by feature. - Position zero still captures ~35% of clicks when snippets appear; pages with snippets see ~8% higher organic CTR - Optimize for **both** traditional snippets and AI Overviews ### Featured Snippet vs AI Overview **Not the same.** Featured snippets pull a direct passage from a single webpage. AI Overviews generate multi-source summaries using AI. When both appear, featured snippets still occupy a highly visible spot. Not every query triggers AI Overview—snippet optimization remains valuable. [Semrush](https://www.semrush.com/blog/featured-snippets/) ## Snippet Formats & Share | Format | Share | Use | Optimization | |--------|-------|-----|---------------| | **Paragraph** | ~70% | Definition, "what is," "why" | 40–60 words; direct answer after H2 | | **List** | ~19% | How-to, steps, options | `<ol>` or `<ul>`; semantic HTML | | **Table** | ~6% | Comparisons, stats, specs | Clear headers; target keywords in column/row headers | | **Video** | Rare | Visual how-to | Video schema; timestamps/chapters; see **video-optimization** | **45 words** is the most common paragraph length. Answer-first format is critical. On mobile, featured snippets can occupy ~50% of the screen, pushing competitors below the fold. [Semrush](https://www.semrush.com/blog/featured-snippets/) ## Content Structure ### Answer-First Approach - **Place direct answer** in first 1–2 sentences (40–60 words) before any other content - **H2/H3**: Use clear headings; Google extracts from content under headings - **Semantic HTML**: `<ol>`, `<ul>`, `<table>`, `<p>`—avoid divs styled as lists - **Inverted pyramid**: Answer immediately (for snippet/AI), then add nuance/data that earns clicks - **Objective tone**: Write like a dictionary entry—avoid personal opinions and emotional language; supports E-A-T ### HTML Structure | Element | Use | |---------|-----| | **H2/H3** | Question or topic; Google recognizes and extracts; **list snippets can be compiled from headings** across the page—Google pulls H2s and converts to list items | | **`<ol>`** | Steps, rankings, sequences; list snippets | | **`<ul>`** | Non-sequential items; bullet snippets | | **`<table>`** | Comparisons, specs; table snippets; clean rows/columns; H2/H3 intro; target keywords in heading a