What does SERP mean and what exactly are SERP Features?

Search Engine Results Pages (SERP) are the results pages that show up in search engines after a user enters an online query. The architecture of a SERP can be varied based on the searchers choice of terminology, phrasing and intention. However, in basic terms, a SERP is list of results in response to a searchers enquiry, often sitting alongside a number of paid advertisements.

In the most basic terms, a SERP feature is any result on a Google Search Engine Results Page, which differs from a traditional organic result.

Every SERP is completely unique and tailored to the users specific search query. Google is constantly evolving to meet the ever demanding needs of users and customising their search results to not just one single result, but to a diverse SERP which offers answers, images, reviews and information way beyond that initial search term.

As we already know, digital moves quickly and every single day we are met with new technologies and new research which interrupts our existing knowledge. That’s why SERPs are constantly in a state of flux and Google and other search engines are constantly testing the best ways to humanise the online experience.

In the early days of 2009, every result on Google’s SERP looked the same; blue title link, introductory text, followed by the URL in green. Nowadays, users have come to expect a lot more from search engines, they want the most relevant answers quickly in the least amount of clicks it takes to get there.

Fast forward ten years and there are sixteen different SERP features which can appear for any given search term. Not only do you have the opportunity to rank in the traditional organic search results, you also have the additional opportunity to appear in one of Google’s SERP features which have transformed the search marketing landscape.

There are lots of SERP features and each and every one of them is important in satisfying user intent, however there is one snippet that does have a huge impact on visibility and traffic. We have fangirled over the featured snippet before but we think it definitely deserves another mention.

Users are often on a quest for as much information as possible about the product or service they could potentially invest in. So as content marketers, we should be tailoring our content to satisfy specific user intent. People are not always in buying mode and do not always want to be sold to so it’s important that you don’t make the same mistake online.

As businesses, we should be offering solutions to peoples problems, instilling trust in the brand and guiding the customer seamlessly along the path to conversion.

Take this featured snippet for example:

Let’s attach a story to this search and apply some context as to why this snippet is such a great tool for converting potential customers:

A business owner may be feeling overwhelmed and increasingly frustrated by the minimal return on investment they are seeing from their Google Shopping campaigns. Not ready to speak to someone just yet and admit defeat, they take to Google to try and work out what’s going wrong.

After a basic ‘help me’ search consisting of “google shopping problems”, our featured snippet pops up listing the common problems many businesses face. Aha! They spot “disapproved products” at the top of that snippet list and think “yes… I have been getting a lot notifications lately on disapproved products”.

…We’ve got their attention.

As the snippet hints that the full article also shows readers how to improve their Google Shopping campaigns, they may also have the solution. So the business owner clicks through to the blog post.

After reading through the blog post and discovering actionable insights that will help them to improve their campaigns, they go away and make their changes.

Oh no we’ve lost them haven’t we? Well not quite…

Because we’ve made a good impression. When something else goes wrong in the future with their campaigns, they no longer have the resource to continue management of the campaigns in house or they are looking to switch agency, it’s us that they think of first.

And there’s the conversion.

The featured snippet offers the most relevant answer to your query as Google trawls through its index to extract the best slice of content from blog posts, guides or website pages.

Getting your content into a featured snippet is tough, there’s a lot of competing content out there online and your page already needs to rank on the first page organically. However, featured snippets have higher CTRs than other organic results and bring in a much larger stream of relevant traffic into your website or blog so it is definitely worth the effort.

Related Questions (labelled as People also ask in Google) are a series of questions that are based on the algorithms that may relate to the original search. Similar to the Featured Snippet, this snippet is usually shown for question-based searches.

When you click on each question the drop down opens up to offer a mini featured snippet or a ‘quick answer’. Whilst the exact location in the SERPs may vary with each search, they always tend to appear alongside a Featured Snippet.

Related Questions are a great way to understand and evaluate search intent. By analysing this snippet, you can determine the other related searches people are conducting and tailor your content strategy to deliver content that meets user’s needs.

Paid Ads in the search results have evolved over the years. At one time, they were completely distinguishable against the organic results but as Google got sharper, so did the design of the Adwords snippet.

There are many different types of paid advertising which can appear in various sections of the SERPs. However, the most common types are the ones that appear at the top and/or bottom of the left-hand column, sandwiching the organic search results. Each ad has an[Ad] symbol beside it to demonstrate the subtle differences between the organic results.

If you want to appear in the Adwords snippet, it isn’t necessarily a case of submit a bid and wait for it to come up in search. As Google explains, “ads are ranked primarily based on how relevant and useful they are to what the person searched for, your bid, and a few other factors.”

Paid Shopping Results (otherwise known as Product Listing Ads (PLAs) are a list of paid or sponsored placements. The rich snippets contain product name, product image, link to the website, reviews and price.

Although Shopping is a paid placement, it’s important to understand which searches offer Shopping Results to prioritise keywords appropriately for your organic search strategy.

The Knowledge Panel (or Graph as it is sometimes referred to) usually takes up a large section of the right hand side of SERPs and is most commonly displayed for businesses, people and locations.

This snippet is a tricky one to optimise as it usually pulled from sources such as Wikipedia and data arrangements with Google partnerships. It can also be extracted from company branded (about us) pages.

There’s not much you can do to affect these snippets apart from ensuring your branded pages have the most up-to-date information on them.

Knowledge Cards work very much in the same way as the Knowledge Panel. The information is once again extracted from human edited sources such as Wikipedia and data partnerships with Google.

This snippet is often shown for data-related searches in Google’s continual search for stats to provide users with the information they need, quickly.

Although it’s almost impossible to gain a top ranking position for searches with this snippet, it’s good to know which search queries Google show the Knowledge Card so you can prioritise optimisation of other search terms instead.

The Image Pack is displayed when searches indicate the need for visual content (i.e. if you’re searching for animals). The results are displayed as a collection of thumbnail images, usually above organic search results. There is an option to click through to a wider collection of images in Google’s image search.

The ranking rules for Image Packs differ from the traditional organic algorithm and there are a number of ways to optimise your images to appear in the pack:

• Include search term in the file name and title
• Optimised image size
• Optimised alt tag with target search term
• Use hyphens (-) as naming convention rather than an underscore (_)

The Local Pack is served for queries which are deemed by Google to have local intent (i.e. Hairdressers in Harrogate). The pack will typically include the top three locations alongside the company name, any reviews or ratings and the all-important address.

These sorts of searches typically dominate a large proportion of the SERPs, particularly on mobile.

Local SEO optimisation is essential here and most important to those businesses with brick-and-mortar locations.

Similar to the Local Pack, the teaser is mainly served for searches on hotels and restaurants and those browsing for options in the local area. The top results are accompanied by a map and any other additional information such as reviews and ratings, opening hours, prices etc.

Again, undertaking Local SEO puts your business on the map and helps you be found by the people closest to you.

Taken from Google News, the Top Stories featured time-sensitive news pieces and newsworthy topics. The option to ‘read more news’ takes you to the full list of Google’s latest news on the search.

Most websites and pages qualify ranking in the Top Stories snippet if they adhere to the Google News submission regulations. These snippets are great for publications, press releases and other related news sources.

Video results appear as thumbnails at the top of SERPs and are taken mainly from YouTube. The favoured result for those searching for tutorials, the top three relevant videos are shown with the option to scroll along without leaving the original search page until you’ve found a favourite.

To feature in the Video snippet, optimisation of your YouTube videos and channel in general is required. Much like Meta Data, consider SEO best practices for titles, descriptions and tags and ensure relevant search terms are used.

Reviews and rating data are often displayed alongside products, hotels, restaurants, recipes and other results to offer more credible listings.

The reviews are often shown in between the organic search results (between the destination URL and the snippet). As you may expect, results with positive review snippets benefit from a much higher click-through rate.

Google’s regulations on which results are eligible for the reviews snippet vary by industry and sector. However, adding schema markup on your website can encourage the reviews snippet to appear.

Tweets are taken directly from the Twitter news feed and displayed directly within the SERPs. They often appear in brand-related searches on searches on people.

While there aren’t any specific SEO best practices to follow, maintaining an active Twitter profile is important. Plug into topical conversations, use relevant hashtags and strengthen your brand awareness with regular, meaningful tweets.

Tracking and utilising SERP features are just one of the many ways we monitor and interrogate the content strategies we outline for our clients. Delivering informative and personalised content which speaks to the right people and provides the right answer to their queries is what will ultimately help to convert potential customers. Find out more about our content marketing expertise and see how your pages can rise up the ranks too.