Google is always updating its SERPs (search engine results pages) to provide users with the best possible experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gone are the days of ten blue links\u2014SERPs today are populated by various elements that go above and beyond traditional organic results. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
These include: featured snippets, video carousels, image packs, and knowledge panels, among others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why should you care? SERP features carry a lot of editorial weight and additional information\u2014and when done right, they help you achieve above-the-fold visibility and drive organic traffic<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s discuss the different Google SERP<\/a> features and tips to help you win a SERP feature for your website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n SERP features are enhanced Google search results. They are tailored to each individual search query and convey the most relevant information to the user. Google \u201cSearch engine optimization\u201d, and you\u2019ll find myriad SERP<\/a> features in action:<\/p>\n\n\n\n This image includes site links (1), people also ask (2), top stories (3), and a knowledge panel (4). <\/p>\n\n\n\n As you can see, they are more likely to catch the viewer’s attention compared to plain blue links.This is just scratching the surface. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There are several other SERP features, each serving a very specific purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n SERP features are important because they are helpful. They help searchers find answers to their queries as quickly as possible. They help Google provide searchers with the most relevant results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you win a SERP feature, you\u2019ll see an immediate boost in visibility, traffic, and brand recognition. SERP features also include answer boxes that provide direct responses to a search query, negating the need to click on any website links. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Two-thirds of Google searches<\/a> end without a click because of this reason. Another SEMRush Sensor data found that only 2.68% of Google\u2018s first page results<\/a> are without SERP features of any kind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, if your website ranks for organic search results but doesn\u2019t for SERP features, you’ll likely get less traffic, and, therefore, fewer clicks. You need to consider SERP features when researching and choosing keywords<\/a> and optimizing your content for organic CTR.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Google is constantly experimenting and running tests to push out new SERP features. While there are various examples, we\u2019ll focus on the 11 most important SERP features that are worth your time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s take a look.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A featured snippet is a highlighted excerpt answering the user\u2019s search query<\/a>, which according to Google, is the best available answer on the web. It\u2019s a concise, direct answer that shows up at the top of organic results. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Unsurprisingly, the featured snippet gets about 8% of all organic clicks<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Best practices for winning a featured snippet:<\/p>\n\n\n\n A Knowledge panel, also known as a Knowledge graph, is a rich card that appears on the right-hand side of the search results page. It provides a short summary of people, places, or things and includes relevant details regarding the search query like dates, images, and a brief overview. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You\u2018ll usually find a knowledge panel for specific entities like a famous person, event, or company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Knowledge panel results appear either because of data agreements with partners or human-edited data. This makes bagging a knowledge panel slightly trickier. (Doesn’t mean you can\u2019t try, though.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Best practices for winning a knowledge panel:<\/p>\n\n\n\n People Also Ask boxes comprise related questions to the search query and appear as a list of clickable dropdowns answering those questions. As you click on these boxes, they expand with an answer and generate even more related questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Think of them as mini FAQs that help users better understand their initial questions without clicking on any web page. Interestingly, People Also Ask boxes appear in 13.88% of all US-based Google search queries (at the time of writing)<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Best practices for winning a People Also Ask box:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Image pack is a series of images that Google displays after determining visual content would be more suitable to answer a search query\u2014or that the user is looking for a particular image. The images appear as a row or block of related images among organic results. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you click on a result, you\u2019ll be directed to the ‘Images’ search tab, from where you can visit the website hosting the image.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Best practices for winning an image pack:<\/p>\n\n\n\n A Local Pack, also called a Map Pack, is a set of three local results that pop up for search queries that Google deems to have local intent<\/a> (think: restaurants near me, best pizza near San Francisco). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Another unique thing about Local Packs is that they have their own parallel algorithm. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The majority of Google\u2018s ranking factors focus on backlinks, but not Local SEO. The latter is more about getting good reviews<\/a>, optimizing your Google My Business profile, and having accurate NAP citations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re a local business\u2014or a business with a physical location\u2014make sure you optimize your website for a local pack. It’ll get you more business and revenue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Best practices for winning a Local Pack:<\/p>\n\n\n\n AdWords Top and AdWords Bottom are the most common AdWords types that appear\u2014you guessed it\u2014at the top and\/or bottom, above and below organic results. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While you need to pay for these SERP features, they give you greater visibility by pushing organic results down the page and increasing your CTR.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Best practices for AdWords top and AdWords bottom ads:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Site links have two important forms. Links that take users to a page on a website:<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Links that take users to a specific section of a page:<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Regardless of the type, site links hold high value for brands. Users get a shortcut to scroll pages on your website and, because site links take up a lot of space in search results (the full pack occupies five organic positions), they also limit your competition\u2019s visibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n All this leads to higher CTR from the SERP and more traffic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Best practices for winning site links:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Similar to image packs, Google displays relevant videos in response to a query it determines has visual\/informational intent. Interestingly, these videos often have timestamps to provide searchers with explicit answers to their questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n A 2020 SEO Inc. report discovered that 62% of all Google searches<\/a> include video carousels and that video is 50 times more likely to rank organically than plain text results. That\u2019s not it\u2014Moz found that YouTube is heavily favored in Google\u2018s video results<\/a> and chosen for video carousels more than 94% of the time. Also, since videos take up a lot of space on a search page, video makes your content more visible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Best practices for winning video carousels:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Top stories is the new and improved ‘news box’ feature. These are a section of trending news articles that Google feels are relevant to the user search query and are displayed at the top of the SERP or within the top half of the results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Google keeps track of trending stories, especially those featured in Google News, to determine when a search matches a story that\u2019s getting a lot of traction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Best practices for winning a top story:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The tweet SERP feature usually favors the most recent and trending tweets related to a query. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Google partnered with Twitter to index tweets in SERPs back in 2015. It shows a Twitter card when you search for something that a lot of people are talking about on Twitter or for certain entities (brands, famous people).<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Note that Google doesn\u2019t simply display a link to someone\u2019s Twitter account but lists out the user\u2019s recent tweets to make the exchange more interactive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Best practices for winning Twitter cards:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shopping results, also known as product listing ads (PLAs), are paid or sponsored placements that work similarly to Google Ads. They enable you to sell products directly with rich information, such as images and pricing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n As products are presented as a carousel, users can quickly browse products across multiple ecommerce websites without having to search for additional queries on the SERPs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Best practices for Shopping results:<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat are SERP features?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
How do SERP features affect your website?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The 11 most important Google SERP features <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
1. Featured snippet<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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2. Knowledge panel<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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3. ‘People also ask’ boxes<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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4. Image pack<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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5. Local Pack<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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6. AdWords Top and AdWords Bottom<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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7. Site links<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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8. Video <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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9. Top stories<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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10. Twitter cards or tweets<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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11. Shopping results<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Get, set, optimize<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n