Editorial Staff
SERP features are the elements of the search engine result pages that are added in addition to the basic SERP layout.
Without these features, the basic SERP or also known as ‘Traditional Organic Result’ will show the results in the default plain layout.
Meanwhile, with the SERP features, you will see the result pages appeared in the different layout and appearance.
SERP Features List:
SERP are constantly evolving from time to time. Google is improving their system to determine which content satisfies the search queries.
One of the way is to also evolve the way they present the content.
At the moment, there are more than 20 SERP features that Google had developed to help the user find a more precise and instant information.
Here are some of the most common SERP features:
1. Featured Snippets
Featured snippets are the large boxes that briefly highlight specific section of a webpage.
This featured snippets are also known as ‘Position #0’ since it always appeared above the basic SERP #1 spot.
2. People Also Ask
‘People Also Ask’ is the FAQ snippets that are showing a bunch of related questions to the query that the internet user had searched for.
For example, when we searched for ‘Sports That Make You Taller’, Google will also provide the similar question related to the topic such as: ‘Can sports make you taller?’.
With this SERP feature, Google helps the users to know about what people usually asked for related to the search query.
3. Sitelinks
Sitelinks present additional links underneath the basic result.
Most of the time, sitelinks appear underneath a website’s homepage for brand searches.
Why it is helpful?
When a user search a brand name, for instance: ‘Apple’, it is hard for Google to understand what exactly are they looking for.
Hence, sitelinks help the user to quickly find the pages that they’re looking for.
4. Knowledge Panel
The knowledge panel is the SERP feature that provides information extension about a public figure or entity.
Usually, it is placed on the right corner of a SERP if you view it from desktop and at the top if you view it from mobile phone.
Knowledge panel is powered by knowledge graph, a Google’s database that gather factual information from sources such as Wikipedia.
5. Top & Bottom Ads
A brand or business can pay Google Ads to appear as the first result for any keywords.
The obvious sign to see a paid result is from the bold “Ad” label on the top left for each result.
The price per click will vary depending on the volume and competition level for each keywords.
These paid results usually appear before the first organic result.
But in some cases, Google also show at the bottom page before the next page button.
6. Shopping Results
Similar as top & bottom ads, shopping results are another type of paid space on the SERP.
The difference is, the shopping results feature are designed to sell products.
This feature will come out if the users are searching for any queries that are related to a product name or type.
7. Top Stories
Top stories is a SERP feature that shows all the latest news articles that are normally coming from a news website.
Hence, you will not find any top stories that has already been made for quite some time.
8. Image Packs
Image packs is the set of images that Google served to their users when they identified that the users are searching for an image.
Sometimes, it is obvious that the users are searching for images (like “picture of dogs”).
Google can also learn the users past behavior and decide whether to show or not show the image packs.
9. Twitter Cards
As the result of a partnership with Twitter, Google shows tweets box and show them in the SERPs.
These twitter cards can pop out anywhere in the SERP, but commonly after a few organic results.
If Google detects that a twitter account is valuable to the user’s query, they will link to the twitter account and the most recent published tweets.
10. Featured Video
For some specific keywords, Google will show one featured video with a big thumbnail linking to a video.
When Google finds that a search query is most likely to be the video type, they will show this featured video.
11. Local Pack
When the users search for any local service, intent, or geographical location, Google will include the ‘Local Pack’ feature in the SERP.
For example, if you search for ‘Restaurant near me’, Google will show the nearest restaurant to your location.
The local pack feature usually include the map with the location’s pin, the star rating, the address, and the business number.
12. Flight Block
Flight block is a Google SERP feature that takes information from Google Flights and present it into a list with price and duration details.
Both paid and organic results are eligible to show in this SERP feature.
How Often does Google SERP Features Appear?
These SERP features appeared more frequently in the first page of Google result.
According to the data, only 3.13% of Google’s first result page are showing the basic SERP without any features.
This is the reason why you should take SERP features into account when optimizing SEO.
You will learn how to get into each SERP features in one of the chapter within our complete SEO course. So, make sure to not skip any chapters!
