What is passage ranking (passage indexing) in Google Search and how does it change content optimization?

Question

SEO Fundamentals — Hard

What is passage ranking (passage indexing) in Google Search and how does it change content optimization?

Accepted Answer

Passage ranking in Google Search refers to the ability to rank specific passages within a longer page for queries, even if the overall page is not primarily about that topic. This requires content to be well-organized with clear sections that individually address specific sub-topics comprehensively.