This week, Google launched a new series that will discuss some of the behind-the-scenes workings of Google Search. In its inaugural post, Google’s Public Liaison for Search, Danny Sullivan, took a deep dive into featured snippets. Featured snippets are the boxed answers that appear in some desktop and mobile search results. They are also where a majority of voice search results are pulled from. Says Sullivan,
We display featured snippets in search when we believe this format will help people more easily discover what they’re seeking, both from the description and when they click on the link to read the page itself.
The post goes on to describe the enhancements made to featured snippets, all made with the goal of improving the quality of the answer provided. Feature snippets have expanded to include near matches, suggested video clips, and multiple snippets in one. Future enhancements include showing multiple featured snippets related to the original search.
To stay abreast of this series, follow the Google Blog or follow @searchliaison on Twitter.
Source: Search Engine Land, Google