"Put the answer up top for featured snippets."

"Put the answer up top for featured snippets."

True — but people pick the wrong on-page structure to do it.

The comparison: a punchy intro paragraph versus a structured answer block (a definition sentence, a short list, a table). Both can win a snippet; they win different ones. Paragraph snippets reward a 40-60 word direct answer right under a question-shaped heading. List and table snippets reward actual <ol>, <ul>, and <table> markup that matches a "steps," "best," or "comparison" query.

So the move isn't "write a great intro." It's "check what kind of snippet the SERP currently shows, then build that shape." If the snippet is a numbered list, your gorgeous paragraph can't take it — you need a real ordered list with the steps. Mismatched format, no eligibility, regardless of quality.

And jump-link tables of contents help users navigate; they rarely create the snippet. The snippet comes from the format of the answer, not the presence of a TOC.

(Win the snippet, lose the click — sometimes. Check whether the snippet for your term steals the visit or earns it before you fight for it.)