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Google search can now show multiple quick answers to your questions w/ multifaceted featured snippets

Google’s featured snippets are an incredibly handy way to get information quickly, and they’re just one of many things that make Google search so great. Today, Google is improving on that feature in a big way with the introduction of multifaceted featured snippets.

Detailed in a blog post, Google is making it possible for search results to show multiple featured information snippets to better answer your question. As the company says, some questions we might ask could be taken in different ways, so Google has made it possible for featured snippets to show based on a couple of different ways the question could be interpreted.

The example given is “garden needs full sun?” This question could be taken as asking what kinds of garden plants need full sun, or what the term “full sun” means in relation to gardening. In that case, Google would show featured snippets for both interpretations. Google further explains:

There are several types of nuanced queries where showing more comprehensive results could be helpful. We’re starting first with “multi-intent” queries, which are queries that have several potential intentions or purposes associated. The query “tooth pain after a filling,” for example, could be interpreted as “why does my tooth still hurt after a filling?” or “how long should a tooth hurt after a filling?”

As we shared before, we aim to expand multifaceted featured snippets to cover a broader set of nuanced queries beyond just “multi-intent” queries. For example, guidance-seeking queries like “is it worth fixing my foundation?” have several components that could be important, such as cost, duration, methods and financing. We’ll continue to experiment with multifaceted featured snippets over this year to expand coverage.

Multifaceted featured snippets are live now in Google search on the desktop as well as mobile.


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