by The Computing Australia Group | Google’s passage ranking update quietly changed how search results work back in 2021 – and it’s still influencing SEO in 2025.
Instead of treating every page as a single blob of content, Google can now understand and rank individual sections (passages) of a page when they’re especially relevant to a search query.
For most sites, this isn’t a “drop everything and rebuild your content” kind of update. Google originally estimated it would affect around 7% of search queries, which is small compared to a broad core update – but still big enough to matter.
If you publish guides, how-to content, FAQs or long articles (which most serious businesses do), understanding passage ranking can help you:
- Capture extra long-tail traffic
- Rank for more specific questions with sections of your content
- Get visibility even when your page isn’t perfectly optimised for one narrow keyword
This guide breaks down what passage ranking is, what’s changed since it launched, and exactly how to optimise your content for it in 2025.
What Is Google Passage Ranking?
Google Passage Ranking (originally announced as “passage indexing”) is an AI-driven ranking change that allows Google to:
Identify, interpret and rank specific sections of a page when those sections closely match the user’s query – even if the rest of the page is about a broader topic.
Key points:
- Google is still indexing web pages, not individual paragraphs.
- The update changes how relevance scores are calculated: important passages can carry more weight.
- It’s especially useful for long-form content that covers several subtopics.
Timeline recap
- October 2020 – Google announces the update.
- February 10–11, 2021 – Passage ranking goes live for US English queries, initially impacting about 7% of searches.
- 2021–2025 – Gradual expansion to more languages and countries, and integration into Google’s broader focus on helpful, intent-satisfying content.
In short: it’s not a separate “mode” of search you turn on or off – it’s now part of how Google understands and ranks content.
How Does Passage Ranking Work? (Plain-English Version)
Under the hood, passage ranking uses natural language processing (NLP) and models similar to BERT to understand context within a page.
A very simplified view of what happens:
1. Google crawls your page and indexes it as usual.
2. Its AI systems segment the page into logical sections (passages) based on headings, structure and context.
3. For each query, Google:
- Evaluates how relevant the page as a whole is
- Also evaluates whether specific passages strongly match the query
4. If a passage is highly relevant, Google can:
- Boost the overall ranking of that page for the query
- Highlight that passage in the snippet (often with bolded matching text)
The important bit: a well-written section buried halfway down a long page can rank, even if the rest of the page is only loosely related to the query.
Passage Ranking vs Traditional Page Ranking
Before this update, Google largely assessed the page as a whole against a query. Signals like:
- Title tag
- Main topic
- Overall keyword relevance
- Internal & external links
…all fed into a single relevance score.
With passage ranking, Google is still doing that – but it can also say:
“This specific paragraph is a perfect answer to the question, even if the overall page isn’t laser-focused on it.”
That means:
- Broad, in-depth guides can now compete better for niche, specific queries.
- You have more chances to rank one URL for multiple long-tail searches, provided your sections are clear and well structured.
Passage Ranking vs Featured Snippets (And AI Overviews)
It’s easy to confuse passage ranking with featured snippets. They are related but different:
Featured snippets
- Special “answer boxes” at the top of the SERP
- Pull a short extract (text, list, table, etc.)
- Often satisfy simple, factual questions without a click
Passage ranking
- A ranking change, not a SERP feature
- Your result appears like a standard organic result
- Google may bold the matching text in the snippet, but users still click through to read the section
What about AI Overviews?
Google’s AI Overviews (in regions where they’re live) also rely heavily on well-structured passages they can quote and link to. Good passage optimisation supports:
- Traditional rankings
- Featured snippet eligibility
- AI Overview citations in the future
Who Benefits Most From Passage Ranking?
Any site that publishes long-form, educational or explanatory content stands to gain, including:
- Blog posts and thought-leadership articles
- In-depth product or service pages
- Q&A pages and help centres
- How-to guides and tutorials
- Health, finance, legal and tech explainers
For a typical business in Perth (or anywhere else), that might be:
- A plumbing company with a detailed “Ultimate guide to blocked drains”
- A law firm explaining multiple aspects of “unfair dismissal” in one article
- An IT support provider outlining many common cybersecurity questions on one hub page
Google can now pick out the specific section that answers a long-tail query like “how to fix a slow drain naturally” and rank that passage, even if the main page is just “blocked drains plumbing guide”.
Do You Need to Change Your SEO Strategy?
Short answer: no radical overhaul – but you should adjust how you structure and write content.
Google’s own messaging and subsequent studies emphasise that:
- Passage ranking is a refinement, not a core-update-style shake-up.
- It rewards sites that were already doing good content and SEO basics – clear structure, helpful information, solid UX.
If you’ve been:
- Publishing thin, generic 500-word posts
- Ignoring long-tail questions
- Stuffing keywords into awkward paragraphs
…then passage ranking won’t rescue you.
If you:
- Invest in in-depth, genuinely helpful content
- Use headings, subheadings and internal links intelligently
- Answer real questions clearly
…then this update gives you more opportunities to rank with the content you already have (once optimised).
How to Optimise Content for Passage Ranking
Here’s the practical part – what to actually do on your site.
1. Publish genuinely helpful long-form content
Passage ranking shines with longer content that covers a topic from multiple angles.
Action points:
- Aim for comprehensive guides that go beyond surface-level answers.
- Include definitions, how-to steps, pros/cons, FAQs, examples and use cases in one well-structured piece.
- Don’t pad for word count – Google can recognise waffle. Focus on depth and clarity.
Example: instead of five short posts on different aspects of “Google Ads best practices”, one 2,000–3,000 word master guide with clear sections gives Google many more passages to work with.
2. Map sections to search intent & long-tail queries
Passage ranking is particularly powerful for long-tail and conversational queries (“how”, “why”, “what is”, “can I…”, etc.).
Action points:
- Use tools like Google Search Console, “People also ask” and keyword tools to find question-based queries.
- Group related questions into sections within a single guide.
- Turn core questions into H2/H3 headings, e.g.
- “What is passage ranking in SEO?”
- “Does passage ranking replace featured snippets?”
- “How do I optimise content for passage ranking?”
This makes it easy for Google’s models to link a user’s query to the specific part of your page.
3. Structure pages with clear, descriptive headings
Google uses structure (headings, lists, paragraphs) to understand where one passage ends and another begins.
Best practices:
- Use a logical heading hierarchy (H1 > H2 > H3).
- Avoid vague headings like “Conclusion” or “More info” – make them descriptive:
- “More details”
- “How passage ranking differs from featured snippets”
- Keep each section focused on the topic of its heading. Don’t mix three unrelated ideas under one H2.
- Use bulleted and numbered lists for instructions and key points – these often become strong passages for extraction.
4. Write each section as a stand-alone mini-answer
Think of every section as something that should make sense in isolation if a user only reads that part.
Action points:
- Start sections with a clear, direct answer in the first 1–3 sentences.
- Then provide supporting detail, examples and nuance.
- Use natural language that mirrors how people actually ask the question.
For example, in a section about “What is passage ranking?”, you’d begin with a simple definition, then expand. That opening definition is what Google is most likely to treat as a highly relevant passage.
5. Use semantic SEO & related terms
Google doesn’t just look for the exact keyword – it understands related concepts and entities.
Action points:
- Sprinkle synonyms and related phrases throughout the relevant section:
- “Passage indexing”
- “Passage-based ranking”
- “Passage-based indexing”
- “Ranking individual sections of content”
- Answer closely related sub-questions within the same section or as nested H3s.
- Use internal links to and from topically related articles to reinforce context.
This semantic richness helps Google’s NLP models understand that your passage is a strong match, even if the query wording is slightly different.
6. Maintain strong UX and technical SEO foundations
Passage ranking doesn’t override core ranking factors. Your content still needs solid technical and UX basics:
- Fast page load and good Core Web Vitals
- Mobile-friendly, responsive design
- Clean HTML (no key content blocked by scripts)
- Readable typography and spacing
- Accessible headings, alt text and ARIA where appropriate
If Google finds two equally relevant passages on two different sites, overall page quality and UX can be the tie-breaker.
7. Use internal links to highlight key passages
Internal links help Google:
- Discover and crawl content efficiently
- Understand which sections/pages are most important
Action points:
- Link from shorter posts to comprehensive pillar content that contains strong passages.
- Use descriptive anchor text that reflects the passage topic (“what is passage ranking”, “optimise content for long-tail queries”, etc.).
- Consider adding “jump links” (table of contents) at the top of long pages – these help users and can hint at section importance.
Common Myths About Passage Ranking
There has been a lot of confusion, especially early on. Let’s clear up the big myths:
Myth 1: Google now indexes passages instead of pages
Myth 2: You need special markup for passage ranking
Myth 3: Short content is dead
Myth 4: It’s a one-off 2021 update you can ignore now
Reality: Passage ranking has become part of how Google evaluates relevance, and it aligns closely with Google’s ongoing “helpful content” and AI-driven understanding efforts in 2024–2025.
How to Audit Existing Content for Passage Opportunities
You don’t need to rewrite your entire site. Start with a strategic audit:
1. Identify your long-form content
- Guides, pillar posts, detailed service pages, resource hubs.
2. Check Search Console data
- Look for pages with:
- Good impressions but low CTR
- Many different long-tail queries leading to the same URL
3. Review structure & headings
- Are important questions clearly labelled with headings?
- Are some sections trying to do too many jobs at once?
4. Improve individual sections
- Add a clear opening answer sentence.
- Split overly long sections into 2–3 more focused ones.
- Turn buried paragraphs into their own H2/H3 topics.
5. Add FAQs and micro-sections
- At the end of key pages, add FAQ blocks that directly answer common questions in 2–4 sentences each.
- Update stats, screenshots, examples and internal links.
- Add a “last updated” date for freshness.
How to Tell if Passage Ranking Is Helping You
You can’t see “passage ranking” as a label in Search Console, but you can infer its impact:
- More impressions for long-tail queries where you previously had little or no visibility
- Higher rankings for very specific queries that match a subsection of your page
- Search snippets where:
- Google highlights text from deep sections of the content
- Google shows the right subheading in the snippet
Look particularly at performance for question-based queries (“what is…”, “how do I…”, “can you…”) on your long-form guides.
Google has said that it will not penalise sites for not following passage ranking. However, it is important for site owners to take steps to improve their website’s user experience with good content, user-friendly design, improved navigation and better loading speed to maintain rankings.
Our SEO team and digital marketers at The Computing Australia Group are ready to ensure your website meets all the content requirements for Google’s Passage Ranking update. Our expert content developers can meet all your content requirements – long or short form, well optimised for voice search and other ranking algorithms. Contact us or drop an email to us at sales@computingaustralia.group to know more.
Jargon Buster
SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages) – Web pages that display results to user’s queries when they search for something online in a search engine.
Long-tail keywords – Longer, precise keyword that users type in or do a voice search in a search engine to find exactly what services or products they are looking for.
Algorithm – For the purpose of this article, it means a complex system used by search engines to find, index, rank and return webpages for a search query.
FAQ
What is Google Passage Ranking?
Google Passage Ranking is an AI-driven search enhancement that enables Google to evaluate and rank individual sections (passages) within a webpage. Instead of analysing a page only as a whole, Google can now surface specific paragraphs that answer highly detailed or long-tail queries.
Is Passage Ranking the same as Passage Indexing?
Yes. Google initially referred to the update as “Passage Indexing,” but later clarified the correct term is “Passage Ranking.” Despite the name, Google does not index passages separately—it simply ranks them more effectively within search results.
How does Passage Ranking affect SEO?
Passage Ranking helps well-structured, long-form content rank for more detailed or specific queries. It does not penalise websites, but sites with poorly structured, unclear, or shallow content may struggle to benefit from the update.
Do I need to change my entire content strategy for Passage Ranking?
No. However, improving readability, using clear headings, expanding long-tail keyword coverage, and writing well-structured content will help Google understand each passage better. Small, strategic adjustments can create big ranking opportunities.
Does Passage Ranking replace Featured Snippets?
No. Featured Snippets are extracted answer boxes that appear at the top of search results. Passage Ranking simply helps Google better understand content sections. Your page may still earn Featured Snippets independently of passage ranking.
