What are SERP features
SERP features are the results on a search engine results page (SERP) that aren't standard blue links.
Examples include featured snippets and People Also Ask boxes. Local map packs also qualify. Video carousels and AI Overviews are features too. Google adds a feature when it decides a query needs a faster or richer answer. That's what SERP features are, and it's why they appear above the first organic result.
SERP features defined for marketers
For a marketer, a SERP feature is any place on the results page your content can win apart from the ranked link. A page in fifth position can still hold the featured snippet above position one. So track features alongside rankings. A ranking alone doesn't tell you what the searcher sees first.
What counts as a feature
A feature is anything Google shows in a format other than a plain title and description. Snippets and review stars use content from websites, so you can compete for them. Others, like flight boxes or weather cards, come from Google's own data, and no page can win them. Check which kind you're looking at before you plan work around it.
Visibility beyond blue links
SERP features change how much attention a ranking gets. A video carousel takes up screen space and pushes ordinary results down. When a feature answers the question outright, the searcher never clicks. That's why you judge a feature by brand exposure as well as by traffic.
SERP features in AI answers
SERP features and AI citations reward short, direct answers in a clear structure. Google's AI Overviews are a SERP feature in their own right, and they cite source pages next to the summary. A paragraph that already wins a featured snippet is easy for an AI system to quote and credit. So when a page answers the question in its first sentences under a matching heading, both Google's features and AI assistants can use it.
Common SERP feature types
The types worth your effort pull their content from websites. Each one has its own format, and the format tells you what to change on your page.
Featured snippet
A featured snippet is a boxed answer above the organic results, taken from a single page. It can be a paragraph or a list. A table is another option, and Google picks the format that fits the query.
People Also Ask
People Also Ask is an expandable list of related questions. Each answer comes from a different page, and new questions load as the searcher opens them. That gives more pages a chance to appear.
Local pack
The local pack is a map of nearby businesses, built from Google Business Profile listings. It shows up for searches with local intent. For a local service business it's the first result a searcher sees.
Rich results
Rich results add extra details to a normal listing, such as review stars or prices. Event dates are another example. Google reads them from schema markup, so the page needs valid structured data.
A real SERP feature example
Search "how long to boil an egg" and you'll see a featured snippet with the cooking time at the top. Under it there's a People Also Ask box about soft and hard yolks, and a video carousel follows. The first blue link can end up halfway down the screen. Results change by country and device, so run the search yourself.
How to earn SERP features
Start with the features that already appear on your target queries. Google only shows a feature where it judges one useful.
- 011Search each target query and write down which features appear and which pages hold them.
- 022Copy the structure of the page that holds the feature now, whether that's a short paragraph or a list.
- 033Put the answer in the first sentence under a heading that matches the question.
- 044Add schema markup and check it with Google's Rich Results Test.
- 055Look at the results page again after Google recrawls your page.
Related SEO terms
These terms are close to SERP features and are easy to confuse with them:
Now you know what SERP features are, so look at your own queries next. Open your top 10 keywords in a private browser window and list the features on each one. That list shows where your next visibility gains are.