When you type in a celebrity name on Google, a detailed information panel appears at the top right of the search engine result page (SERP). These are not your typical search results. They’re called SERP features and are shaking up the organic top ten SERP list.

But why should you care? According to the Search Engine Land, about 60% of Google searches result in zero-click searches, thanks to these attention-grabbing features. Optimizing for them can greatly help in boosting your visibility on the SERP.

Want to learn how to leverage them to your advantage? Keep reading to learn in detail about these SERP features and how they can revolutionize your SEO strategy.

What are SERP Features?

SERP features are the unique results that appear on Google’s search results page, unlike the organic listings. These are Google’s ways of giving you quick answers to your search queries or a visual preview of what’s behind the link. 

There are different types of SERP features, from highlighted text snippets and image carousels to local map packs and “People Also Ask” boxes. These features aren’t just there to look pretty. They can significantly impact your website’s visibility and click-through rate (CTR).

When your content appears in a SERP feature, it’s like getting at a prime location on Google’s front page. This can bring more impressions and clicks than a regular organic listing.

Understanding the different types of SERP features and how to optimize them is important for any modern SEO strategy. Curating content to meet the specific needs of these features can enhance a website’s visibility and engagement.

Types of SERP Features

Each SERP feature comes with its own unique purpose and potential to boost your website’s visibility. Here’s the list of different types of SERP features:

• Featured Snippet
• Local Pack
• Reviews
• Sitelinks
• Videos
• Top Stories
• Twitter
• Knowledge Panel
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
• People Also Ask
• Hotel Pack
• Job Listings
• Google Ads
• Shopping Ads

Let’s know about all of these in detail and methods to optimize SERP features for your website:

1) Featured Snippet

Featured Snippets are the preview of the page’s content that pop up near the top of the page, instantly answering the user’s query and boosting your website’s visibility. If you want more clicks and an enhanced reputation, optimizing your content for featured snippets is crucial.

A featured snippet looks like this on a desktop computer:

Optimizing Content for Featured Snippets

You can increase the chances of ranking for featured snippets by following some simple content optimization methods. Here’s what you can do:

• Structure your content with proper headings.
• Use Questions as a heading and answer that question in one flow.
• Target keywords with informational content fitting naturally in the content.
• Break paragraphs with bulleted lists and tables whenever possible.

By following these simple tips, you might see your website on the top, providing value to the readers.

2) Local Pack

The local pack SERP feature shows location-specific results for the user query. Generally, the local pack shows results for queries with commercial intent. Optimizing the local pack can greatly help boost the visibility of your business locally, which means more offline sales. 

For example, if you search for “Italian food” on Google, you will see the following results:

Optimizing Content for Local Pack

Google’s local search rankings are heavily influenced by external factors like backlinks, directories, and reviews. Here are a few things to consider with which you can improve your local search:

• Improve your position on the SERP by doing proper keyword research.
• Optimize your Google Business Profile with an accurate name, address, and phone number (NAP).
• Add photos and videos to your profile and ask customers to leave reviews.
• Adding schema markup can help search engines understand what your business does and its location.

3) Reviews

When users search for a business or product, they can see star ratings and reviews alongside organic search results. This provides a snapshot of your reputation to the user. These review snippets may include average ratings, the total number of reviews, and even a few reviews. Google collects this information from different sources like Google My Business, Yelp, or TripAdvisor.

This is how you will see the reviews feature on SERP:

Optimizing Your Business for Review Snippet

Showcasing your reviews in search results can improve credibility, build trust, and attract more customers. Here are a few things that you can do to gain reviews:

• Verify your Google Business Profile to start getting reviews that will appear alongside your website in search results.
• Create profiles on reputable business listings like Yellowpages and Yelp to allow customers to share their reviews.
• Use review schema markup on your website to display reviews and ratings of your services. If you have an e-commerce website, you can add ratings to those products as well, so the ratings are visible along with the product details in SERP features. 

4) Sitelinks

Sitelinks are convenient links appearing beneath a website’s regular search results, providing a shortcut to most vital pages. These helpful links help users quickly navigate to the most relevant sections of your website. This streamlines their search journey.

Here’s how sitelinks appear on Google SERP:

Optimizing Your Website for Sitelinks

As a type of rich snippet, sitelinks enhance the search experience and can increase engagement with your website. Here’s how you can do it: 

• Improving page hierarchy and creating a logical site architecture can help.
• Your sitemap must be submitted to Google.
• Create unique and descriptive title tags.
• Keep the content fresh and up to date.

5) Videos

The video SERP feature shows relevant video content on the search result page. This Google SERP feature provides users with a visual answer to their query. It often appears for searches related to product reviews, tutorials, and how-to content.

Video results may look like this on your desktop browser:

Optimizing Videos to Show in Search Results

Optimizing your videos for search results can increase your chances of appearing in this SERP feature. Here are a few tips to do so:

• Use VideoObject schema markup to enhance your videos for search results.
• Optimize your videos with the most appropriate and attractive thumbnail, title, description, and tags.
• Follow the relevant factors of Google Search Console and mark the key moments or add a live badge in your video.

6) Top Stories

The top story is a feature block with the appropriate news at the top of search results when you make a search regarding anything about news. Google’s algorithms present the most related and up-to-date news articles to inform you more about the selected topic. You can also click on the “More news” button to look for more news.

Here’s how you see the top stories SERP feature on your desktop:

Optimization to Rank for Top Story

To increase the visibility in Google’s Top Stories feature, priortize the following strategies:

• Create high-quality, news-oriented content by signing with Google’s news policies and guidelines.
• Use schema.org News markup to help Google understand the context and relevance of content.
• Focus on improving the user experience at your site by monitoring and improving the Core web Vitals factors.

7) Twitter 

The Twitter (now X) feature highlights the latest tweets from important people and brands at the top of relevant search results. This feature surfaces for entertainment, news, and famous events searches. When you click the hyperlink, you will be redirected to their feed. This will keep you informed and up-to-date.

If your brand name and username are similar, then you may see search results like this:

How to Rank for Twitter Feature

Here are some tips to increase your chances of your tweet ranking on Google search results:

• Keep your brand name and X username the same, and Google will be more likely to display your tweets.
• Use keywords in your bio and tweets to improve discoverability when the query is searched.
• Add location to your X bio, enhancing local search visibility.
• Link your X profile to the website. This establishes credibility and helps Google connect your Twitter account to your website.

8) Knowledge Panel

Knowledge Panel is a valuable feature of SERP that provides instant access to information about a particular brand, topic, or business. Google carefully collects this data by verifying it with trusted sources, ensuring reliability and accuracy. This feature provides the most important details in a concise and easily understandable format. This saves you time and effort when finding the necessary information.

Here’s how you will see the knowledge panel about Meta:

Optimization to Rank for a Knowledge Panel

Focus on building a strong online presence and ensuring the accuracy of your brand’s information across the web. Here are some tips to help you achieve this:

• Verify your company or brand’s profile to provide a trusted source of information.
• Make sure that your brand’s details are accurate and up-to-date across all online platforms.
• Identify and rectify incorrect information on other sites and reach out to them if needed.
• Create a Wikipedia page for your company or brand to demonstrate authority and expertise.

9) Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

The FAQs feature in search engine results pages (SERPs) provides a convenient way to find answers to common questions related to the query. This feature allows you to scan and find the information you need quickly. Simply click on a question to expand it and reveal the answer, making it easy to get the information you’re looking for without having to dig through multiple websites.

How to Rank for a FAQ?

To make your FAQ page eligible for SERP feature, you must follow the following Google guidelines:

• Follow the FAQ schema to mark up your content.
• Create high-quality content that provides value and answers user queries.
• Ensure that all information is accurate, up-to-date, and sourced from reliable references.
• Keep your content free of spammy or promotional language.

10) People Also Ask

The “People Also Ask” feature displays a list of related questions and answers, providing users with additional information related to their search query. Each question usually has a featured snippet as its answer, making it a prime target for boosting your website’s visibility.

Here’s a visible example of the People Also Ask feature:

Getting Your Content in People Also Ask Box

You can easily improve your website’s visibility with the help of featured content. Here’s how you can get your content featured in the People Also Ask box:

• Provide short answers of about 2 to 3 sentences for popular user queries.
• Put questions in subheadings.
• This SERP snippet also provides images. Use descriptive alt text and informative file names, and add captions to the images.
• Use lists instead of tables in the content.

11) Hotel Pack

The hotels pack feature in SERPs provides answers related to booking accommodations. The searcher’s location or specific hotel queries often influence the results. 

For example, when you search for “hotels near me” on Google, you will get such results.

How to Rank for Hotel Pack Feature?

Use schema markup on your website to increase your chances of ranking in the Hotels Pack SERP feature. This schema helps search engines understand your website’s context, making appearing in the Hotels Pack easier. 

Implementing hotel schema markup can benefit accommodation providers, including hotels, hostels, and campsites. However, using the correct schema type is essential, as different types cater to specific lodging businesses and accommodations.

12) Job Listings

Google’s jobs SERP feature helps provide quick and relevant options when searching for employment opportunities. It shows job openings in the searcher’s location or desired field at the top of the search results. This convenient feature saves job seekers time and effort, directing them to potential career opportunities with just a few clicks.

You can just search for “vacancy near me,” and Google will show you the following results:

Optimization to Rank for a Jobs Listing

If you want your job listing to be on the top of SERPs, follow these tips:

• Post your job openings on high-traffic websites like LinkedIn.
• Add JobPosting schema markup to your listings, making it easier to show in relevant searches.
• Add crucial info like location, date posted, employment type, and company name in your schema markup.

13) Google Ads

Google’s search results page is a mix of organic (unpaid) search results and paid advertisements. The paid ads, clearly marked with “Ads” or “Sponsored” labels, can appear in various positions, most notably above the organic search results. 

Securing these top spots is highly coveted as they often attract significantly more clicks. Google Ads provides bid estimates to help advertisers compete for these premium positions, aiming for maximum visibility and engagement.

An ad top SERP feature will look like this on your result page:

How to Rank for Google Ads?

The position of the ad is determined by the Ad Rank. To optimize for Ad Rank, keep these things in mind:

• The maximum bid amount you are willing to pay for an ad.
• The quality of the landing page of your ad.
• The competitiveness of the bid auction.

14) Shopping Ads

Shopping ads are an engaging way to showcase your products on the Google SERP. These ads display product image, product name, price, store name and additional details. By providing a clear and concise snapshot of your product, shopping ads attract more qualified leads and drive targeted traffic to your site.

Here’s an example of a shopping ad on desktop search results

How to Rank Your Product Listing for Shopping Ads?

To boost your chances of ranking for shopping ads, focus on the following tips:

• Your content for this SERP feature must comply with the shopping ads policies of Google Merchant Center.
• Tailor your needs to the customer’s approach.
• Show the key product features and benefits that can help in grabbing attention.
• Use high-quality and visually appealing images.
• Your product data must be accurate, up-to-date, and consistent on your website.

Role of AI in Evolving SERP Features

As we all know, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer fiction. Every business is leveraging it, and Google is also leveraging generative AI to help users get faster answers on search engine result pages. 

Google’s AI Overviews, a 2024 innovation, is shaking up the search engine result pages. These AI-generated summaries quickly answer user queries by collecting information from various sources on their database. Here’s what the AI overview looks like on the SERP:

As per a press release by Gartner, organic traffic is assumed to decline by 25% by 2026 due to the use of AI chatbots and other virtual agents. Yet, the prevalence of Google’s AI Overviews remains a mystery. Google hasn’t yet explained exactly how often they appear. But it is the top priority now and optimizing for it can be helpful for bringing organic traffic to your website.

Optimization for Featuring in AI Overview

The basics are creating quality and relevant content by following SEO best practices. Here’s what you can do:

• Craft content that genuinely helps users and meets the search intent.
• Establishing E-E-A-T factors (Expertise, Experience, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness).
• Infuse keywords strategically into your content.
• Update and refresh content regularly.

By following these tips, you can improve your content’s overall visibility in search results. As AI overview combines content from different sources, your goal is to be one of those sources. By doing so, you can easily improve your organic traffic and credibility.

Why SERP Features Matter for Your SEO?

SEO is directly related to search engine result pages (SERPs). The objective of SEO is to rank as high as possible in search engines. This can affect a few things, which are as follows:

Organic Click-Through Rate (CTR)

Getting the top spot in search results isn’t just about bragging rights; it’s a CTR goldmine. The average click-through rate for the first position is 39.8%, 18.7% for the second, and 10.2% for the third position. This implies that ranking beyond the first page significantly diminishes the likelihood of users discovering your content.

However, achieving a top position on Google does not automatically translate to substantial traffic. Paid search results often dominate the page, pushing organic listings further down.

Impact of Paid Search Results

For many commercial intent searches, sponsored content comes first and then comes the organic results. As a result, this can result in lower traffic even being in the first position. Those who want to utilize it have to bid for their content to be listed. 

Rise of Zero Click Searches

One of the new challenges arising is zero-click searches. For instance, a query like “how to find SERP features opportunity” can show different features, as shown in the picture.

For this query, we are getting an AI overview as well as a featured snippet, which is enough for the user to get the information they want without clicking on any link. This increases the impressions but reduces your number of clicks.

Targeting Keywords for Organic Traffic

Focus on keywords with fewer SERP features to increase organic traffic. This approach enhances the visibility and clickability of your results. Keywords with minimal competition from featured snippets or other SERP elements offer better opportunities for organic traffic.

How to Do SERP Feature Analysis for Your Website?

Now that you know the different types of Google SERP features and their impact on your website’s SEO, how will you know if your content has one? SERP features analysis becomes very important to do so. 

To monitor SERP features, you can use tools like Semrush. The position tracking tool of Semrush can greatly help to overview whether or not pages on your website are displaying as SERP features. 

Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you understand how to track SERP features:

1. Login to Semrush and click on the Position Tracking tool on the left menubar.

2. If this is your first project, you will see this screen, enter your target URL, and click “Setup Tracking.”

3. Choose your preferred search engine from the given options: Google, Binge, or Baidu. You also have to choose the device and the location where you want to analyze SERP features and then click on “Continue to Keywords.”

4. In the next step, you have to choose the keywords for which you want to know about your website’s SERP features. Enter keywords here and start tracking.

5. Click on overview and scroll down to rankings overview, to know about your active SERP feature on the keyword. You can even watch the live SERP feature by clicking on them.

Once you click the icon, a new browser tab will open, revealing the live Search Engine Results Page (SERP) and showcasing the specific feature you’re featured in. This provides a clear visual representation of how your content appears in search results.

Conclusion

If you are reading this far, then you know that SERP features are your website’s golden ticket to the top of search results. Understand and optimize these features to boost your visibility, attract more clicks, and establish your brand as an authority. 

It’s time to use SERP features and elevate your SEO game to the next level. Don’t let your competition steal the spotlight. Start optimizing for SERP features today and watch your website soar.

Frequently Asked Questions