You’ve probably heard the terms “SERP feature” and “SERP keywords” before if you are involved in online content creation. Knowing these terms isn’t the same thing as knowing what SERPs mean. What are SERPs? And what are the SERP features?
The Search Engine Results Page is also known as SERP. The SERP features are a combination of search results and other items. Each page can have both search results as well as other things. This guide will explain the top 10 most used SERP features and what they mean.
What Are The SERP Features?
Any additional elements added to a search result page that are not included in the organic results. These four SERP features are standard on almost every page of search results.
Paid results purchased by businesses or individuals who bid on keywords via Google Shopping or AdWords
Knowledge graph data can be displayed in panels or boxes, such as the local weather.
Rich snippets add depth to the results, such as the number of stars in product rating reviews.
These universal results are also available alongside the organic results. They may include featured snippets, new developments, and image results.
All four might be displayed on one page of search results. Other times, one or two of these might be shown. In the early days of Google, most SERP results were identical as noticed by some digital marketing experts in that era. Not much has changed about organic results.
Google AdWords was created in 2001 by Google. It was rebranded as Google Ads later in 2018. Many other results, including non-organic ones, have started to appear on Google search results since the launch of this advertising service.
Local SEO and ranking factors to scale the Google SERP
10 Most Popular Features In A SERP
Many features can be found in SERPs, but these are the most popular. These features are the best for tracking content and site engagement information, as well as other essential factors in online life.
1. Google Search Ads
It shouldn’t be a surprise that Google Ads appears on this list. It is easily recognizable as a SERP feature. These ads come in many forms and have evolved over the years. Google Ads are most commonly found at the top of the organic search results page.
It has an “Ad” label beside it. An ad’s rank is determined by its relevance to a searcher’s query, the bid made by the advertising company, and other factors. Google Ads is often used by companies who want to be found online.
This allows them to appear in the SERPs of their target audiences. Using search terms relevant to their audience will be more successful than those who bid lower.
2. Knowledge Panel
Knowledge panels include:
- Information derived from human-edited resources.
- Google’s index.
- Partnerships that Google has made with companies that collect privately-collected data.
The knowledge panel information for a desktop or laptop search is usually displayed at the top. Due to the nature of the data and the relationships between the data collectors and Google, most websites cannot get their information onto a Knowledge Card.
Understanding what information goes on a knowledge card is still very helpful. This allows companies to identify and prioritize keywords. It also helps them know what data Google has on those keywords.
3. Featured Snippet
Google pulls search results typically from the core knowledge graph. Google will search the index if it is attempting to answer a specific question. Because the information is extracted from the target site creates an entirely different kind of organic listing.
Although organic results can be sufficient to get traction online for most companies, featured snippets will have higher click-through rates (CTRs).
Featured snippets are a great way to give extra visibility to high-ranking pages, such as those appearing in the top five search results for a query. They will only display the best-ranked content. If the pages rank fairly equally, it is possible to have featured snippets.
4. Local Pack
Companies that want to attract customers can use the local pack as one of their most valuable SERP features. Google often includes a local pack if it recognizes a search with local intent.
This could include phrases such as “near me” or a specific area. The pack contains three locations that Google considers the most relevant to the searched keywords.
The local pack feature dominates the SERP, especially on mobile devices. Companies that wish to be found in this manner must know what Google expects. There have been significant changes in local search engine optimization practices (SEO) in recent years.
Google’s local SEO is a separate discipline. Companies need to be familiar with the requirements of Google to make the top three for searchers looking for their services locally.
5. Local Teaser Package
Although the local teaser packs display three results per group, they are similar. This pack includes more information, such as hours and reviews and pictures. This is common in restaurants and hotels, as searchers want more than a list of nearby places.
They want to find out if they are available, how much they charge, what they offer, and if others like them.
This feature, along with the local mobile device pack, is dominant and requires a strong knowledge of Google’s local space. Companies that do not use this feature correctly can be overlooked for the collection and fall behind their competitors.
It may be easier for a company to appear in the results if it focuses on local businesses and meets Google’s requirements.
6. Images Packs
These are images, not text-based SERP feature features, as their name suggests. These images are usually displayed in horizontal rows. Clicking on them will take you to a Google Images search for that subject.
These packs are often found in different places on the page, but they are included wherever organic content would be.
When one of these packs is created, Google considers visual content to be valuable. This algorithm is different from the core algorithm that generates text-based search results. If you want your images to appear in these SERP features for businesses, here are some best practices:
- Use descriptive alt text and filenames.
- A human-readable URL
- Use a proper optimization of the image size.
- A title attribute
Although these best practices don’t guarantee placement in SERPs images, they provide the practical value Google seeks when displaying images.
7. News Box
Some topics are newsworthy and time-sensitive. They may appear in Google News results as a result of a search for a related keyword. These topics are usually identified in their section of the SERPs so that searchers can easily find them and recognize their importance.
Google introduced an “in-the-news” update in 2014 that made it easier to include more information (and more sites) into the search results.
Google News is a different process from traditional organic search results. This process is transparent and gives companies with newsworthy topics a greater chance of reaching people searching for their products or services online.
8. Review
When searching for a company, product, recipe, or unique experience, such as a visit to a theme park, most people prefer to see reviews. You can add additional information such as a star rating to the review search result right after the URL or before the snippet.
It makes it easy for searchers to look at the development and decide whether or not they want to click. Sites with reviews have higher CTRs.
Any site that wishes to appear in the reviews SERP feature must use schema markup. However, the rest of the requirements for this qualification are not known.
Google doesn’t publish the criteria for stars. Different verticals and industries may have additional requirements. A site should follow all the accepted guidelines regarding stars and reviews and hope for the best.
9. In-Depth Article
Sometimes, a search is too broad or ambiguous to yield specific results. These cases will result in the SERPs returning a block of articles that look similar to organic results but are not.
Ranking rules for in-depth articles differ from those used to find traditional results. These SERPs are dominated by large businesses rather than smaller firms and sites.
These in-depth pieces are arranged in one organic position as a three-article block. These are frequently:
- Unique, high-quality writing with dedicated authorship
- Long-form content is typically between 2,000 to 5,000 words.
- Investigative or news pieces
Although other articles may be included in these SERP listings, most in-depth articles are unsuitable for small businesses or ghostwriting. This category is often challenging to get for such content and its creators.
10. Similar Questions
People search for topics and subjects in the most efficient way they know-how. However, there may be better ways to search for similar phrases that will give them better results. Online searchers can use the related questions SERP feature to find more information.
A searcher clicks a question to expand it into a featured snippet. The location of associated queries in the SERP can vary because they are often mixed in with organic results. Some SEO companies https://saawconcepts.com/ provide the SERP features ranking as a seo service.
It is essential to have a site that can be considered for featured snippets to get it into the related question field. The majority of cases:
- The most related question is also a featured snippet.
- Similar questions and featured snippets.
Sites with the most relevant question will see an increase in CTRs. However, these questions have additional value. Knowing the type of questions related to a search is possible, which can help you find more keywords to use in featured snippets.
Sites that search for related questions may be able to find a featured snippet. Then, they can adjust their keywords to “win,” increasing their traffic. Now you have completed learnt that what are the SERP features.
