January 2020: featured snippets stop appearing twice as a core update rolls out
Covers January 2020. Part of our search timeline: a month-by-month look at the changes that shaped SEO, AI search, paid ads and social media, written in November 2026 for local businesses with the benefit of hindsight.
Quick answer: In January 2020 Google stopped showing the featured snippet page a second time as a normal first-page result, and it also launched the January 2020 core update. Holding the snippet became a trade-off instead of a free extra, so the sensible approach is to judge each query by clicks rather than by whether you own the snippet.
This post is one entry in our timeline series, where we go back through search, AI, advertising and social changes one month at a time to explain what they mean for local firms. We wrote it in November 2026, so we already know how things turned out. Here we explain what January 2020 meant for local trades and service businesses.
What changed in January 2020?
Google confirmed that if a page was used in a featured snippet, it would no longer get a second spot in the regular first-page results as well. In the same month Google rolled out a broad core update that shuffled rankings across lots of sectors, without naming any particular fix.
Why it mattered for local businesses
Plenty of sites saw snippets as bonus visibility. After this change, the snippet took the place of the normal listing instead. For some searches the snippet answered the question so completely that fewer people clicked through.
Take an electrician whose page wins the snippet for “how often should an EICR be done”. If the box gives the full answer, the reader may never visit the site. That was an early glimpse of the zero-click searching that AI answers have since sped up.
What to do about it now
- Use Search Console to list the searches where your page is the snippet, then track the clicks for each one before and after you edit the page.
- Give a clear answer near the top, but also give people a reason to click, such as a price guide, photos of past jobs or a quote form.
- When a core update arrives, use it as a cue to lift the quality of the whole site rather than hunting for one cause.
Frequently asked questions
Can I stop my page being used as a featured snippet?
You can. Adding the nosnippet or max-snippet rules will block snippets or limit their length. Be careful, because they also cut down the description shown under your normal listing, so test before rolling them out.
Do featured snippets still matter?
Yes, though differently. The clear, answer-first writing that wins snippets is exactly what gets quoted in AI Overviews and AI Mode today.
Sources and further reading
Want help with this? We track which searches really bring you clicks and calls through our local SEO service. Get in touch.
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