Google SERP Features Guide: The New Frontier of Organic SEO

It’s no longer enough to simply rank on page one of Google. In today’s SEO battleground, position one often isn’t what it used to be, especially when your competitors are claiming real estate above you in the form of SERP features.

Think featured snippets. Knowledge panels. “People Also Ask” boxes. Sitelinks. Local packs. Video carousels. These are no longer just nice-to-haves, they’re the digital marketer’s new must-haves.

Welcome to the modern SEO landscape, where organic performance is increasingly dictated not by blue links, but by how you show up on the page.

The Story Behind the SERP Evolution

It started subtly, Google began adding rich results and enhancements to help users get answers faster. But what began as convenience quickly became strategy. Today, Google SERP features dominate the page. Some push organic listings halfway down the fold. Others steal traffic entirely.

For digital marketers, this evolution has become a double-edged sword. On one side, it’s harder than ever to get clicks from standard listings. On the other? SERP features offer a shortcut to the top, if you know how to claim them.

What Are SERP Features, Really?

SERP features (Search Engine Results Page features) are enhanced results that appear on Google beyond the traditional blue link. They’re designed to answer queries faster, more visually, and often without requiring a click. They include:

• Featured Snippets (a.k.a. “Position 0”)
• Knowledge Panels
• People Also Ask (PAA)
• Local Packs
• Sitelinks
• Image Packs
• Video Carousels
• Top Stories
• Shopping Results
• Reviews and Star Ratings
• FAQ and How-To Schema Results

And let’s not forget: these features aren’t just on Google anymore. Bing, DuckDuckGo, and even AI search models like Perplexity or Google SGE are evolving their versions of enhanced SERPs too.

Why SERP Features Matter for SEO

Here’s the blunt truth: if you’re not in a SERP feature, you might not be seen at all.

According to various eye-tracking studies, users are drawn to featured snippets and visual results first. A well-optimised listing in a People Also Ask (PAA) box or local pack can result in a higher Click-Through Rate (CTR), better brand visibility and sometimes even zero-click traffic that still serves your business goals (think brand awareness, authority building, or phone calls from local listings).

So how do you win these coveted spots?

How to Earn a SERP Feature: The Strategic Playbook

Winning a SERP feature isn’t magic. It’s methodical just like the rest of your SEO strategy should be. Here’s how the best SEO experts are doing it:

1. Target Questions to Win Featured Snippets & PAA Boxes

• Do keyword research with intent in mind, especially question-based queries.
• Format your content with clear, concise answers early in the text.
• Use headers (H2/H3) for questions, and bullet points or short paragraphs for answers.
• Aim for 40-50 word summaries for snippet capture.

Use tools like Ahrefs, Semrush, or AlsoAsked to identify snippet opportunities you’re already ranking for and optimise accordingly.

2. Use Structured Data (Schema Markup) to Trigger Rich Results

• Implement FAQ schema, HowTo schema, Product schema, and Review schema wherever relevant.
• Validate your markup through Google’s Rich Results Test.
• This helps you appear with star ratings, accordion-style FAQs, or visual enhancements that increase CTR.

3. Optimize for Local Search to Dominate the Map Pack

• Ensure your Google Business Profile is fully optimised.
• Collect and respond to real customer reviews.
• Maintain consistent NAP (Name, Address, Phone) data across all directories.
• Embed a Google Map on your site and use local keywords naturally in content.

4. Leverage Video and Visual Content for Carousels

• Host your videos on YouTube (IT’s owned by Google after all).
• Optimise titles, descriptions, and audio or video transcriptions with keywords.
• Create supporting blog content to embed and contextualise videos.

5. Build Authoritative, Structured Content for Knowledge Panels

• Claim your brand’s knowledge panel by verifying your identity on Google Search Console and Google Knowledge Graph.
• Create consistent brand mentions across Wikipedia, Wikidata, Crunchbase, LinkedIn, etc.
• Publish long-form, high-authority content that defines you as a subject matter expert.

6. Focus on Core Web Vitals and Page Experience

• SERP features are Google’s user-first approach, and so is page experience.
• Improve your load speed, mobile friendliness, and interactivity scores.
• Faster, more user-friendly pages are more likely to be featured.

Final Expert Tip: Think Like Google, Win Like a Marketer

If there’s a unifying theme to SERP feature success, it’s this: Google wants to serve the best answers in the most digestible format possible. Your job is to be that answer, and format it in a way that Google can easily understand, crawl and display.

This isn’t just about traffic. It’s about building trust at a glance.

In the ever-crowded battlefield of digital marketing, SERP features aren’t distractions. They’re opportunities. The brands winning the future are already investing in the tactics that win them.

So, the next time you type a query into Google and see a rich snippet or video carousel, ask yourself: Why isn’t that me?

Then go out and make it yours.