Investigating Google Snippets
According to Google, "When a user asks a question in Google Search, we might show a search result in a special featured snippet block at the top of the search results page. This featured snippet block includes a summary of the answer, extracted from a webpage, plus a link to the page, the page title and URL." The "featured snippet is that it is enhanced to draw user attention on the results page. When we recognize that a query asks a question, we programmatically detect pages that answer the user's question, and display a top result as a featured snippet in the search results."
Credibility Not Required: It is important to note that the featured snippet does not need to come from a credible source to be selected by Google.
Ask students should consider the credibility of the sources Google uses in their selected snippets. They can also consider how Google ranks the results of an individual's search.
Background
When I was doing research for "Iraq War and Weapons of Mass Destruction," I did a Google search for "weapons of mass destruction iraq." The first link—emphasized as a Google Snippet—was to a highly partisan website.
To get the answer to my "question," Google featured Alexa's "BOMBSHELL: New York Times Reports WMDs WERE Found in Iraq! published by The Political Insider whose purpose is to "break down the barriers employed by government and the liberal media to bring you the truth." Alexa summarized C.J. Chiver's "The Secret Casualties of Iraq’s Abandoned Chemical Weapons" using a highly politicized bias that misrepresents points made by The New York Times.
The vast majority of the first 140 entries that followed the Google Snippet were from other highly partisan websites as well as websites that feature misleading news stories. Without extensive searching and trying a variety of search terms, it was difficult to get non-partisan information about weapons of mass destruction concerning the Iraq war.
Suggestions for Further Reading
Clutter, Ryan. "Optimize Your Site for Featured Snippets." Search Engine Journal. 23 June 2016.
Enge, Eric. "Google’s Featured Snippets: Automated Continuous Improvement." Stone Temple Consulting. 3 May 2016.
Kim, Larry. "Game of Featured Snippets: How to Rank in Position 0." MOZ. 1 Nov. 2016.
