SERP Features: What They Are and How to Win Them

SERP Features: How to Win Rich Results and Dominate Search Pages

SERP features are enhanced search result formats that appear alongside or instead of standard blue-link organic listings.

They include featured snippets, People Also Ask boxes, knowledge panels, image packs, video carousels, local packs, sitelinks, review stars, and more.

Appearing in SERP features provides visibility that standard rankings cannot always deliver: a featured snippet at the top of the page captures more attention than a standard position one result beneath it, and a knowledge panel establishes brand authority to anyone searching your brand name.

Understanding which SERP features are available for your target queries and how to optimise for them is a meaningful complement to traditional ranking optimisation.

Featured Snippets

A featured snippet is a box at the top of the search results that shows a direct answer extracted from a ranking page, along with the page title and URL.

It typically appears for question-based queries and informational searches where Google can extract a clear, concise answer from the ranking content.

Featured snippets come in three formats: paragraph snippets (a 40 to 60 word answer), list snippets (numbered or bulleted lists), and table snippets (data in table format).

To win featured snippets, structure your content to answer the target question directly and concisely at the start of the relevant section.

For paragraph snippets, provide a clear 40 to 60 word definition or answer immediately after the H2 or H3 heading that matches the query.

For list snippets, use properly formatted numbered or bulleted lists that cover the complete topic in logical sequential steps.

For table snippets, structure comparative data in clean HTML tables. Pages need to rank in the top 10 for the query to be eligible, which requires the underlying authority that consistent link building produces.

People Also Ask

People Also Ask (PAA) boxes appear in most searches and display related questions that searchers commonly ask.

Each question expands to show an extracted answer from a ranking page. Appearing in PAA boxes generates additional impressions and clicks for your content.

Optimise for PAA by identifying the related questions for your target queries using tools like Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer or AlsoAsked, then adding dedicated question-and-answer sections to your content that address these related queries in the same clear, concise format used for featured snippet optimisation.

Knowledge Panels

Knowledge panels appear on the right side of desktop search results for branded queries and entity searches.

They pull information from Google’s Knowledge Graph and display key facts about a person, organisation, place, or thing.

For brands, a knowledge panel signals strong entity recognition and established credibility.

Building a knowledge panel presence requires consistent entity signals:

• a Wikipedia page where notability criteria are met
• complete and accurate Google Business Profile information
• structured data markup on your own site
• and consistent editorial coverage from authoritative publications that strengthens Google’s entity understanding

The entity SEO guide covers this in detail.

Local Pack

The local pack displays three business listings with maps for searches with local intent.

Appearing in the local pack requires a verified and complete Google Business Profile, consistent NAP (Name, Address, Phone) data across citations, strong review signals, and proximity to the searcher’s location.

For businesses with local service areas, local pack visibility often drives more leads than organic blue-link rankings for the same query, making local pack optimisation a high-priority component of local SEO programmes.

Review Stars and Rich Snippets

Review stars displayed in search results come from structured data markup (Schema.org Review or AggregateRating types) on your pages, combined with genuine review data.

They increase click-through rates for product and service pages by providing social proof directly in the search result.

Implement review schema markup on pages with genuine user reviews or editorial ratings, following Google’s guidelines for review markup eligibility.

Google periodically updates which page types qualify for review rich results, so verify current eligibility criteria in Google’s structured data documentation before implementation.

Image Packs and Video Carousels

Image packs and video carousels appear for queries with strong visual intent. Optimising for image pack inclusion involves using descriptive, keyword-relevant file names and alt text for images, providing high-quality original images rather than stock photography, and ensuring the surrounding page content is clearly relevant to the query.

Video carousels typically feature YouTube content, making a YouTube channel with well-optimised video titles, descriptions, and thumbnails the most reliable path to video carousel inclusion for relevant queries.

Sitelinks

Sitelinks are links to internal pages shown beneath your main listing for branded searches.

They are generated automatically by Google based on your site’s structure and are not directly editable, but they are influenced by your internal linking architecture and navigation structure.

Ensuring your most important pages are clearly linked from your homepage and main navigation, with descriptive anchor text, makes them more likely to be selected as sitelink candidates.

A clear site hierarchy that reflects your most commercially important pages in the top-level navigation contributes to sitelink generation for branded searches.

How Authority Underpins SERP Feature Eligibility

The common thread across all SERP features is that they are awarded to pages and sites with sufficient authority and relevance to be considered reliable answers to the queries they target.

Featured snippets require top-10 rankings. Knowledge panels require strong entity recognition signals.

Review stars require editorial credibility signals alongside schema markup. Building the domain authority and editorial backlink profile that earns competitive organic rankings through consistent link building is therefore the most important underlying investment for SERP feature accessibility, not a separate track to it.

Tracking SERP Feature Performance

Monitor SERP feature performance in Google Search Console’s Search Results report.

Filter by Search Type to see if your content is appearing in rich results. The Performance report shows impressions and clicks separately for web, image, and video results, allowing you to assess the traffic contribution of different SERP feature types.

Ahrefs SERP overview shows which features appear for specific keywords and whether your content is currently winning any of them.

When you win a featured snippet, monitor whether the click-through rate to your page increases or decreases.

Research on featured snippets shows mixed results: for some query types, winning position zero increases clicks by showing your content prominently; for others, the answer is so completely displayed in the snippet that fewer searchers click through to the page.

Track click-through rate changes on pages that win and lose featured snippets to understand the net traffic impact for your specific query types, and use this data to inform whether optimising for featured snippets is a net positive for your programme objectives.

The overall effect of investing in SERP features is cumulative:

• each feature your content wins increases the total click-through rate from your ranking position
• the total page real estate your brand occupies in relevant SERPs
• and the authority signals associated with being selected by Google as the best answer to specific query types

Building SERP feature eligibility into content optimisation as a standard practice rather than an afterthought produces progressively more comprehensive SERP presence as the programme matures and the content library deepens across target query clusters.

Sources

External Sources

1

Ahrefs Featured Snippets: How to Win Them

Ahrefs’ featured snippet research showing that the vast majority of featured snippets are won by pages already ranking in positions 1–10 — the data behind why link authority is the prerequisite for featured snippet eligibility rather than a separate track.

2

Google Search Central Google Knowledge Panels — About Knowledge Panels

Google’s official documentation on Knowledge Panels — how they are generated from the Knowledge Graph, what entity signals Google draws on, and the difference between brand panels and people panels.

3

Google Create a Google Business Profile

Google’s official guidance on verifying and completing a Google Business Profile — the foundation of local pack eligibility covering NAP consistency, category selection, and the profile completeness signals that influence local pack ranking.

4

Google Search Central Review Snippet Structured Data — Google Search Central

Google’s structured data guidelines for review markup — the eligibility criteria for review rich results, the Schema.org types to use, and the content standards that must be met for review stars to appear in search results.

5

Backlinko We Analyzed 10 Million Google Search Results — Featured Snippets Study

Backlinko’s large-scale featured snippet analysis covering click-through rate impact — showing that snippet CTR effects vary substantially by query type, with some snippets increasing clicks and others reducing them by fully answering the query in the SERP.

Internal References

6

LinkPanda FAQ Schema: How to Implement It and What It Does for SEO

The specific implementation guidance for FAQ structured data — one of the most actionable SERP feature optimisations covered in this article, with current eligibility criteria and best practices.

7

LinkPanda Entity SEO: How Google Understands Brands, Topics and Authority

The entity signals that build knowledge panel presence — the editorial coverage, structured data, and brand consistency that produce Knowledge Graph recognition for brands and people.