What Are SERP Features?

Google’s search results page isn’t just a list of links anymore—it’s packed with all kinds of extras. These are called SERP features, and they include things like featured snippets, local packs, knowledge panels, and image carousels. 

There’s even a new SGE (Search Generative Experience) that makes searching smarter and results more helpful.

Unlike regular blue links, these features stand out with visuals and quick info, so you don’t always have to click a link to find what you need. They’re designed to make searching easier and faster.

For businesses and websites, showing up in these spots is a big deal. They grab attention and often appear right at the top of the page. Here is a screenshot of a search results page showing some, but not all, of the different features that can appear:

That’s why SEO experts work hard to get content into these features—it’s a great way to get noticed and bring in more visitors.

Why SERP Features Matter for SEO?

Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) now display more than just traditional blue links. They include special features that provide quick answers or extra information directly on the search page. These are called SERP features and help users find what they need faster.

Both Google and Bing use SERP features to improve user experience, but since Google is the most popular search engine, we will focus on its features in this article.

A basic search result usually has three parts:

• SEO title – The clickable headline.
• URL – The web address of the page.
• Description – A short summary of the content.

In the past, ranking among the top 10 blue links on page one of Google was the main goal of SEO. However, Google realized it could provide answers directly on the search page. This change reduced the number of people clicking on websites, as they often found answers without leaving Google.

Today, SEO is not just about ranking high—it’s about optimizing for SERP features to boost visibility, build brand awareness, and drive traffic. This often involves structuring content effectively and using schema markup to increase the chances of appearing in these special search results.

9 Advanced SERP Feature and How to Optimize for Them

We’ve talked about how SERP features can help boost your content. Now, let’s break down the different types and why they matter. 

Each one serves a unique purpose and helps users in different ways. Understanding them can make a huge difference in your SEO game. 

So, Here are 10 of the most common features you’ll see. These can really change the way people search and click.

1. Featured Snippets

Featured snippets are special sections at the top of Google search results that show a short answer from a web page. They help users get quick answers without clicking on a link. Here it looks like:

These snippets, also called "Position 0," appear above the first regular search result and are highly valuable because they stand out. They often include definitions, lists, tables, or step-by-step instructions.

For example, if someone searches for “how to tie a tie,” Google might show a snippet from a fashion website with simple steps and a picture, making it easy to follow without leaving the search page.

Here are the main types of Featured Snippets you’ll see on Google:

• Definition Box: A short text snippet that gives a quick and clear definition or description of something.
• Table: A table that Google pulls from a webpage to neatly display data.
• Ordered List: A list that follows a specific order, often used for rankings or step-by-step instructions.
• Unordered List: A simple list that doesn’t follow a particular order, used for things like lists of items or tips.

Featured Snippets can greatly affect how many people click on a link. Research from Ahrefs found that about 8% of all organic clicks go to the Featured Snippet.

So, now what are the strategies to rank for Featured Snippets? First, figure out which search queries bring up this SERP feature. 

Use Jaggery Consulting’s Keyword Explorer Tool to help. Just type in a broad keyword related to your niche, pick your location, and hit “Search.”

You'll see a list of related keywords and the special search results (SERP features) they appear in.

Featured snippets can sometimes answer a search query without users needing to click a link, but they still help bring traffic to your site and boost brand awareness.

Here are some of the other best ways to optimize your content for featured snippets:

• Directly Answer User Queries: Begin with a clear, concise response to the user's question, ideally within the first few sentences. 
• Utilize Structured Content: Organize information using bullet points, numbered lists, or tables to facilitate easy extraction by search engines. 
• Implement Appropriate Headings: Use descriptive headings that reflect common user questions or topics to guide search engines. 
• Incorporate Relevant Images: Add pertinent images with descriptive alt text to enhance content richness and snippet potential. 
• Regularly Update Content: Keep your information current to maintain accuracy and relevance, which search engines favor.

You can also check if a featured snippet appears for a specific keyword and adjust your content using keyword research tools like Jaggery Consulting.

2. Knowledge Panels

Have you ever noticed those information boxes that appear on the right side of Google's search results? These are called Knowledge Panels. They show up when you search for well-known people, places, things, or organizations, providing a quick summary based on Google's understanding of the topic. 

For example, if you search for "Mark Zuckerberg," a Knowledge Panel will appear, offering a brief overview of his life, key accomplishments, Net worth, related topics, and images. 

Think of Knowledge Panels as digital business cards. They provide a concise summary of information, including images, descriptions, social media links, and sometimes curated news. These panels are updated automatically as information on the web changes.

When your brand shows up in a Google Knowledge Panel, more people see it, and that can bring in more visitors to your website. It also makes your brand look more trustworthy. Seeing your brand in an official spot like that tells people it’s legit, which makes them feel more confident about choosing you.

One of the best ways to appear in a Knowledge Panel is to create a dedicated company page, like an "About Us" page, that only links to trusted websites.

This helps Google check and confirm your information easily.

Other useful tips include:

• Claim and Verify Your Panel: Look yourself up on Google, find the "Claim this knowledge panel" button, and follow the steps to prove it's yours.
• Use Structured Data: Add schema markup (like Organization or Person) to your website so Google gets accurate details about you or your business.
• Keep Your Info the Same Everywhere: Make sure your name, address, and phone number match across your website, social media, and business listings. This helps search engines trust your details.
• Be Active on Trusted Platforms: Set up and update profiles on Wikipedia, Wikidata, and Crunchbase. These sources help confirm your authority and improve your panel.
• Get More Positive Reviews: Ask happy customers to leave reviews on Google. Good ratings make your business look more trustworthy.

3. Rich Snippets

Ever noticed those fancy search results with star ratings, prices, or even pictures? Those are rich snippets. They show extra details beyond just the title and link, making search results way more useful. 

Most Google search results usually include a title, a short description, and a website link. Rich snippets add extra details beyond these basics, making results more helpful.

This extra information helps people decide whether to click on a result. For example, some search results show the price and availability of a product right away.

These cool features come from special code added to a website’s HTML, called structured data. When search engines understand this code, they can pull extra info to display. 

If you're looking for a specific product, this feature helps you quickly find the information you need without scrolling through long ecommerce pages. While rich snippets don’t boost rankings, they do grab attention and can get more people clicking on your page.

Another popular type of rich snippet is the FAQ section, which provides quick answers to common questions.

Adding structured data to your page can greatly improve your chances of getting rich snippets, just like any other type of rich result.

4. Sitelinks

Sitelinks are extra links that show up below a main search result, helping people jump straight to important pages on a website. These could be things like product sections, contact info, or popular blog posts. 

Google picks these links automatically, based on how the site is set up and what users do on it. If a site is easy to navigate, it has a better chance of getting sitelinks.

Sitelinks are additional links that appear under a website's main search result, guiding users to specific pages within the site. They come in two primary forms:

1. Organic Sitelinks
2. Paid Sitelinks

Organic Sitelinks are automatically generated by Google's algorithms and appear below the main search result. They help users navigate directly to important sections of a website.

On the other hand, Paid Sitelinks are extensions in Google Ads that allow advertisers to add extra links to their ads, directing users to specific pages on their site, such as a particular product or store hours.

Sitelinks make it easier to find the exact page you need on a website. For example, if you search for 'Sony,' Google might not know if you're looking for the homepage, the about page, or a login page. Sitelinks help by showing quick links to important pages, so you can go directly where you want.

There are also page-level sitelinks, which help you navigate a single page. These let you quickly jump to different sections of the content instead of scrolling through everything.

So, do you want better sitelinks for your website? Here’s how you can do it:

• Keep Your Site Organized: Make sure your site has a clear layout. A well-structured website helps search engines find and show the right sitelinks.
• Use Clear Link Text: When linking between pages, use simple and clear words. This helps search engines know which pages matter the most.
• Write Good Titles & Descriptions: Make sure every page has a unique title and description. This helps search engines pick the right sitelinks.
• Link to Important Pages: Connect key pages through internal links so search engines understand their importance.
• Submit a Sitemap: Give search engines a sitemap so they can find and index your key pages easily.

Follow these steps, and you’ll have a better chance of getting useful sitelinks that improve your site’s search ranking

5. Local Packs

The Local Pack (also called the Map Pack) is a special section in Google search that shows local businesses when people look for nearby products or services. It usually appears at the top of search results.

For example, if someone searches for "best coffee shop in Seattle" or "plumber near me," Google may display a Local Pack with businesses that match the search.

A typical Local Pack includes:

• Three business listings with important details like name, address, phone number, reviews, ratings, hours, and website links.
• A map showing the locations of these businesses.
• A “View more” option to see additional results.

This feature helps people quickly find the best local options based on their search.

Enhancing your local business's visibility in search results can significantly boost both online and in-person engagement. Here's how to improve your chances of appearing in Google's Local Pack:

• Create and Optimize Your Google Business Profile (GBP): Set up a free GBP listing and ensure it contains accurate, up-to-date information about your business, such as address, phone number, and operating hours. 
• Maintain Consistent NAP Citations: Ensure your business's Name, Address, and Phone number (NAP) are consistent across all online platforms, including business directories and social media profiles. 
• Target Local Keywords: Incorporate location-specific keywords into your website content, including blog posts and service pages, to align with common search queries in your area. 
• Implement Local Business Schema Markup: Use structured data markup on your website to help search engines understand your business's local relevance, enhancing your chances of appearing in local search results. 
• Build Local Backlinks: Acquire backlinks from reputable local businesses and publications to boost your site's authority and relevance in local searches. 
• Encourage and Respond to Customer Reviews: Collect positive customer reviews and engage with them by responding promptly. High-quality, positive reviews can improve your business's visibility and increase the likelihood of attracting more customers. 

6. Video Carousels

A Video Carousel is a cool feature in Google Search that shows a bunch of video thumbnails related to what you’re looking for. It can pop up in both horizontal and vertical formats, whether you're on a phone or a computer. 

These videos usually come from YouTube, but other websites can show up too. Each thumbnail gives you a quick preview with the video title, who uploaded it, and where it’s hosted. 

For example, if you search for “how to bake a chocolate cake,” a video carousel will appear at the top of the search results, showing different baking tutorials. 

Watching a video makes it easier to follow the steps than just reading a recipe or looking at pictures.

This makes searching way easier since you can just click on a video right from the results page and start watching.

Optimizing your videos for search engine results, particularly to appear in video carousels, can significantly enhance visibility and engagement. Here are a few simple tips to achieve this:

• Use the Right Keywords: Find out what people are searching for related to your video topic. Use these words in your title, description, and tags to help Google understand your content and rank it better.
• Make High-Quality Videos: Your videos should be clear, engaging, and useful. Better content keeps people watching longer, which signals to search engines that your video is valuable and should be shown to more people.
• Optimize Titles & Descriptions: Write catchy titles and detailed descriptions that include your main keywords. This helps search engines understand your video and makes it more attractive for people to click on.
• Create Eye-Catching Thumbnails: Your thumbnail (preview image) is the first thing people see. Make it bright, clear, and engaging so that more people choose to watch your video over others.
• Use Video SEO Markup: Add structured data (schema markup) to your videos. This is a special way of telling Google that your video is important and should be included in search results and carousels.
• Get More Engagement: Encourage people to like, comment, and share your video. More engagement tells search engines that your video is useful, making it more likely to show up in search results and carousels.

7. Image Packs

An Image Pack is a special section in Google’s search results that shows a bunch of pictures related to what you searched for. It usually looks like a row or a grid of images pulled from different websites. 

If you click on one, it takes you to Google Images, where you can see it bigger and even go to the website it came from. 

This feature makes searching more fun and helpful, especially when pictures can explain things better than words.

Google shows groups of images, called "Chocolate cake design," in search results when it thinks users want visual answers. Sometimes, it's clear that people want pictures, like when they search for "pictures of cats." 

Other times, Google learns from how people search and decides to show images based on that behavior. This is why it's important to make sure your images are optimized for search engines.

Here are a few simple ways to make your images show up in Google’s Image Packs and attract more visitors to your website:

• Use Clear and Relevant Images: Make sure your images are high quality and match your content. Clear, eye-catching pictures get more attention and help improve your website’s ranking.
• Give Images Proper Names and Descriptions: Rename image files with meaningful words instead of random numbers. Also, write short descriptions (alt text) to help Google understand what’s in the picture.
• Use Special Codes to Help Google: Adding structured data (special coding) makes it easier for Google to find and understand your images. This increases the chances of them appearing in search results.
• Create a Sitemap for Your Images: A sitemap is like a map for search engines. It helps Google find and show your images when people search for them, making your website more visible.
• Make Images Load Fast on Phones: Many people use their phones to search. Resize images so they fit all screens and load quickly, making them user-friendly and boosting search rankings.
• Add Captions and Related Text: Put useful captions under your images and include related text nearby. This helps Google understand the picture and show it in search results.

8. Top Stories

Google's "Top Stories" is a special section on the search results page that shows recent news related to what you’re looking for. 

It usually appears as a scrolling list and includes the latest updates from trusted news sources. If you're searching for something happening right now, this feature helps you find the newest and most important articles fast. 

It's especially useful for breaking news or big events, making sure you stay in the know.

This SERP feature works like X (Twitter) cards, where Google tracks trending stories, especially in Google News. When a search matches a popular story, it appears in "Top Stories." However, unlike X cards, Google only includes news from approved websites.

To achieve top stories, here are some effective strategies:

• Publish Timely and Relevant Content: Ensure your articles address current events or trending topics promptly, as freshness is crucial for "Top Stories" inclusion. 
• Implement Structured Data Markup: Utilize schema markup to help search engines understand your content, increasing the likelihood of appearing in "Top Stories." 
• Optimize for Mobile and AMP: Ensure your site is mobile-friendly and consider implementing Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) to improve load times and user experience. 
• Enhance E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness): Build credibility by showcasing author credentials, maintaining transparency, and consistently delivering accurate information. 
• Use High-Quality Images and Videos: Incorporate relevant multimedia elements to engage readers and increase the chances of your content being featured. 

Following these strategies helps your content get a better chance of appearing in Google's "Top Stories."

9. Shopping Results

Google’s "Shopping Results" show product listings right on the search page. You’ll see pictures, prices, store names, and even reviews, making it super easy to compare products. 

At first, these were paid ads called Product Listing Ads (PLAs). 

But in April 2020, Google started allowing free listings too, so stores can now show their products without paying for ads.

Here are simple ways to improve your product listings in Google Shopping:

• Make Clear Product Titles: Write simple, detailed titles with important words like brand, size, and color. This helps Google show your product to the right people and makes it easier for shoppers to find.
• Use High-Quality Images: Upload clear and bright pictures with a plain background. Show the product from different angles. Good pictures attract more buyers and increase trust in your product.
• Set Competitive Prices: Check how much your competitors charge and adjust your prices wisely. If your price is fair and competitive, more people will choose your product over others.
• Write Detailed Descriptions: Explain your product well using easy-to-understand words. Highlight important features, uses, and benefits. A good description helps shoppers decide and improves your ranking in search results.
• Get More Customer Reviews: Ask happy customers to leave positive reviews. More good reviews make your product more trustworthy and increase the chances of people buying it.

Final Words

Want to get more eyes on your website? Optimizing for SERP features is the way to go. When your content shows up in featured snippets, knowledge panels, or local packs, people notice. The trick? Use structured data, answer common questions in a clear way, and keep your info fresh. Search engines keep changing, so staying on top of new trends is key. These steps won’t just bring more clicks—they’ll also make your site more trustworthy. Keep an eye on what’s working, tweak your strategy, and stay ahead of the game.

FAQs

How do I get my content in 'People Also Ask' boxes?

Look up common questions in your niche and answer them in a simple, clear way. If your content is helpful, Google might feature it!

Why does structured data matter for SERP features?

Adding schema markup helps search engines understand your content better. This can boost your chances of landing in rich snippets and other cool search features.

How do I make my videos show up in search results?

Use the right keywords in your titles, descriptions, and tags. Posting videos on YouTube also helps since Google loves showing them in search results.

How can I get a Knowledge Panel for my brand?

Build your brand’s online presence. Keep your info accurate across websites, verify your social profiles, and try getting listed on Wikipedia or Wikidata.

Does user engagement affect SERP features?

Yes. When people spend more time on your page, click around, or share your content, search engines see it as useful. This can boost your chances of being featured.