SERP Features in 2020 - Impression
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
SERP Features in 2020
Contents
What Are SERP Features? 2
Search intent 3
Device Comparison 4
Google Ads: Search 6
Google Ads: Shopping 8
Image Pack 10
Top Stories 12
People Also Ask 14
Video Carousel 16
Featured Video 18
Featured Snippet 20
Recipe Cards 22
SOS Alert 24
Knowledge Panel 28
Local Pack 30
Google Flights 32
Google Hotels 34
Twitter Carousel 38
Extra SERP features 40
Food For Thought 41
impression.co.uk 1
What Are SERP Features?
Search Engine Results Page (SERP) features are
additional features on Google that can be triggered by
certain search queries.
As Google moves increasingly more towards a user-centric experience that considers the requirements of
different devices and search intent, it has developed and continues to create features that deliver relevant
information, making it easier for users to access. An example of a modern SERP landscape with features is
displayed below.
FEATURED
SNIPPETS
PAAs
ORGANIC
LISTINGS
impression.co.uk 2
Search intent
Search intent is why the user is making a specific
search query. Aligning your user’s search intent with
related content helps Google to provide the most
relevant results for user’s queries and is an integral
part of any digital strategy.
Search intent is intrinsically linked to SERP features and modifies what is displayed in the results. Search intent
modifiers, such as informational, commercial, transactional or local based searches can dramatically change
what is shown on the SERPs, enhancing the user experience.
A very subtle change to the SERPs, reacting to search intentions, is shown in the examples below in Google’s
search bar. We can see that for the broader search, Google is attempting to guess the search intent best,
with providing short-links to digital marketing news or books. By adding the search intent modifier “buy” in the
keyword search, this reveals more transactional based searches, and pulls through the Google Shopping and
Images tab.
Google’s ever-evolving SERP landscape tends to favour the use of SERP features to answer user intent more
efficiently, whilst providing a better user experience by delivering relevant content to the query.
impression.co.uk 3
Device Comparison
Alongside the organic and paid listings, we’ll outline
key SERP features that are present on a modern day
results page and how they are presented across a range
of devices: desktop, mobile and voice search.
Search intent is intrinsically linked to SERP features and modifies what is displayed in the results. Search intent
modifiers, such as informational, commercial, transactional or local based searches can dramatically change
what is shown on the SERPs, enhancing the user experience.
A very subtle change to the SERPs, reacting to search intentions, is shown in the examples below in Google’s
search bar. We can see that for the broader search, Google is attempting to guess the search intent best,
with providing short-links to digital marketing news or books. By adding the search intent modifier “buy” in the
keyword search, this reveals more transactional based searches, and pulls through the Google Shopping and
Images tab.
Desktop
Search algorithms have developed dramatically across the years due to their use of artificial
intelligence helping to learn from user searches. Their end goal has always been to deliver the most
relevant results to the user. January 2014 saw the initial introduction of SERP features of desktop
results, that included featured snippets and people also ask boxes. The current state of play is
constantly evolving, with Google using these features on desktop as a priority to convey the most
relevant information to the user’s query.
Mobile
With mobile-first indexing being rolled out after July 2019, Google now predominantly uses the
mobile version of a site’s content for indexing and ranking. Therefore, it’s essential to consider
how search results from this on-the-go perspective are being displayed and if it meets the users
expectations. SERP features help those of mobile devices to gain reliable insight on a much smaller
screen to avoid disruption when gaining a relevant result.
impression.co.uk 4
Voice Assistants
Voice search answers quick questions. Because voice search is conversational, queries often
include a question instead of a typed phrase. Think of those main question asking terms: Who,
What, Where, When, Why, and How? We’ve covered how to optimise to voice search here. We will
outline what SERP features are more likely to be pulled through from a voice search perspective
and how you’re able to optimise for this.
NOTE
***It’s important to note that there is not a separate mobile-first index. Google search only uses one index and
displays the URL that is the most relevant for a specific user, whether that be desktop or mobile, within the
SERPs.
We’ll now be diving into the common features seen on a SERPs across the globe. We have discussed a bit about
the feature itself, what devices it is visible on, how you could obtain this feature and some visualisations of the
features themselves.
impression.co.uk 5
Google Ads: Search
Google search ads are some of the most common SERP
features found on Google. The search engine giant
allows third-parties to advertise in its search results
using its Google Ads platform.
The listings can be found both at the top and the bottom of the page for almost any search query, and the
ad can be written to include almost any text the advertiser wants to include, such as product information,
contact details and price. Each ad has a bolded [Ad] label next to it to distinguish it from organic results
(though how this is stylised and formatted has changed across the years and will likely continue to do so
beyond 2020). Ad extensions are becoming increasingly well-utilised and allow advertisers to increase their ad
content with clickable links, call to actions and many other features.
Visible on: How to obtain:
→ Mobile Search ads are obtainable through the Google Ads platform.
→ Desktop
→ Voice
DESKTOP RESULTS
impression.co.uk 6
MOBILE RESULTS
VOICE RESULT
impression.co.uk 7
Google Ads: Shopping
As well as its own search tab, Google Shopping is a
SERP feature which allows users to search for products
on online shopping websites and compare prices
between different vendors.
The shopping listings appear at the top of the SERP and appear for search queries with transactional intent.
Third parties can send product data to Google’s Merchant Centre and create a campaign in Google Ads, which
the search engine giant then uses to create ads. In contrast to search ads, shopping ads display photos in
addition to the text.
Visible on: How to obtain:
→ Mobile Shopping ads are obtainable through the Google Ads platform.
→ Desktop
→ Voice
DESKTOP RESULTS
impression.co.uk 8
MOBILE RESULTS
PRODUCTS COMPARISON SITES
Showcase Shopping ad Conventional shopping ad
(mobile) (mobile)
impression.co.uk 9Image Pack
The image pack SERP feature pulls images into the
results for a query where visual aid is deemed relevant
by Google according to how they understand the
query’s intent.
For example, Google displays an image pack for the search query ‘interior design ideas’ because of its highly
visual intent. The image pack can appear in any position on a SERP and is powered by Google’s image search
algorithm.
Visible on: How to obtain:
→ Mobile Best-practice tips include having descriptive file names, descriptive alt texts,
→ Desktop human-readable URLs and optimized image sizes. Ensure that the page on which
the image is found has a keyword-targeted title tag.
DESKTOP RESULTS
impression.co.uk 10MOBILE RESULTS impression.co.uk 11
Top Stories
Top Stories is a block of news articles relevant to a
query, with time stamps and publisher names. It shows
three results on the desktop version and a carousel on
mobile. It can be found anywhere in the search results.
Visible on: How to obtain:
→ Mobile The SERP feature prioritises relevant current events, and is mostly dominated
→ Desktop by big news outlets. Nevertheless, smaller publications can be featured by using
→ Voice Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) and using the Publisher Center tool to share
content with Google News through RSS feeds, website URLs, or videos.
N.B. Google announced on May 29 that it will consider page experience as a new
ranking factor for the Top Stories SERP feature from an unspecified date in 2021.
AMP will no longer be necessary to be considered for Top Stories on mobile, and
pages that exhibit good page experiences will be rewarded.
DESKTOP RESULTS
impression.co.uk 12MOBILE RESULTS impression.co.uk 13
People Also Ask
The People Also Ask (PAA) SERP feature is a drop-down
according to questions related to a user’s search query.
The PAA feature can be found anywhere on the page, and usually displays four questions, which expands and
provides a short answer similar to a Featured Snippet.
If a question is clicked in this way, two further questions are added to the bottom of the PAA feature. Every
time a further question is clicked, an additional two questions appear. A user can click on the answer to be
taken to the website from which the answer was taken.
Visible on: How to obtain:
→ Mobile Aim to provide short, but complete questions and answers within your content. Use
→ Desktop sub-headings to make the questions clear where possible. Provide information in
→ Voice an objective tone and use concise language.
DESKTOP RESULTS
impression.co.uk 14MOBILE RESULTS impression.co.uk 15
Video Carousel
Similar to the image pack, video snippets can appear in
the results when they are deemed relevant to the user’s
search intent.
Moz detailed on a Whiteboard Friday that a relevant and enticing video thumbnail can help you to rank and to
be pulled through to search queries. Each video has a title, a link, a description and a video thumbnail. They can
also include a duration and upload time.
These videos are primarily pulled from YouTube, as it is the leading video hosting platform and a Google-owned
product. The video carousel can show up to 10 results.
Visible on: How to obtain:
→ Mobile Include relevant keywords in the title of your video, and include a detailed
→ Desktop description of the video content. Include an engaging thumbnail to encourage
→ Voice click-through rates. It is also suspected that popular videos are more likely to
appear for competitive keywords, so promote the video to have a greater chance
of appearing in the Video Carousel.
DESKTOP RESULTS
impression.co.uk 16MOBILE RESULTS impression.co.uk 17
Featured Video
The featured video box displays one sole video at the
top of the SERP. This SERP feature appears for specific
search queries, such as song names and can be shown
as an answer on the SERPs.
If a user clicks on the result, they are taken through to the video provider site (YouTube).
The Featured Video feature can also display lyrics underneath. These are pulled from third-party sources like
LyricFind.
Visible on: How to obtain:
→ Mobile Through YouTube only
→ Desktop
→ Voice
DESKTOP RESULTS
impression.co.uk 18MOBILE RESULTS impression.co.uk 19
Featured Snippet
Featured snippets are sections of text triggered by a
wide range of searches that take the place of the top
organic ranking position.
Featured snippets aim at answering the user’s In certain industries, mobile search traffic is
question right away. Being featured means gaining overtaking desktop traffic. There is also a rise of
additional brand exposure in search results, but at voice-activated digital assistant usage, with more
the loss of ranking in the regular organic results. users completing voice search queries. As a result,
The featured snippet can also be referred to as the traditional 10-blue link SERP layout does not
‘Position Zero’ as Google places this snippet above work universally. Featured snippets are particularly
all over the results. It’s also worth noting that useful from this perspective and provide users with
featured snippet positions usually have a much accessible and relevant responses. More times than
higher click-through rate (CTR) than regular organic not, voice assistants like Alexa, Google Home or Siri
positions, though achieving them doesn’t always will read from the content presented in the snippet,
indicate success for brands. as this is the most likely to answer the user’s query.
For example, with the rise of “no-click searches”, N.B. Alexa and Cortana, two leading voice
featured snippets inherently allow users to obtain assistants, draw their results from Bing rather than
their desired information instantly, without the need Google, meaning the featured snippet used may
to navigate and click-through to websites. It may differ across different devices.
be argued that this can come at a detriment for
businesses, who consequently receive less traffic
and on-site engagement despite often providing
the content needed for the featured snippet in the
first place.
Visible on: How to obtain:
→ Mobile As a good rule of thumb, aim to target featured snippets with paragraphs in the
→ Desktop 40–60-word range. Within the snippet, it’s important to be succinct and avoid
→ Voice large walls of text to make it easier for the user to digest. We also recommend
including your target paragraph near the start of your text, or adding a relevant
subheading if it comes later. Using numbered or bullet lists can help too.. This all
helps Google to understand your content’s importance.
impression.co.uk 20DESKTOP RESULTS
MOBILE RESULTS VOICE RESULT
impression.co.uk 21Recipe Cards
To help your users discover recipe content, you can
outline your recipe and further details to Google,
helping to appear in the Google Search results and
Google Image search results.
A query for a recipe can return an image of the particular dish or drink along with a short snippet of the recipe.
When used correctly, the rich cards are likely to drive additional traffic to your site.
To help enhance your recipes, mark them up with structured data to help Google to better understand your
content and deliver your result in the most efficient way possible. As of April 2020, there are many recipe
enhancements available. These include; guided recipes, recipe on Search only and recipe carousels. These can
further be marked up with Recipe schema to group your recipe into a clear sequence of steps that can be
understood by both Google and the user.
Visible on: How to obtain:
→ Mobile • Write steps that are easy for users to follow.
→ Desktop • Provide visible numbering or steps in a clear format, preferably using HTML
→ Voice search hierarchy.
• Short snippets are much easier to digest on mobile devices and voice
assistants.
• Target question-based keywords for voice search.
• Mark your recipes up with Recipe schema and include all the recommended
fields.
impression.co.uk 22DESKTOP RESULTS
VOICE RESULTS VOICE RESULTS
Google Home Hub Google Assistant
impression.co.uk 23SOS Alert
In response to the Coronavirus virus outbreak, first
reported on the 31st December 2019, Google activated
an SOS alert in the search results in partnership with
the World Health Organisation.
Google launched the SOS Alerts SERP feature back in 2017 with the aim of making emergency information a
lot more accessible within the SERPs for users during a natural or human-caused crisis. Google prioritises and
aggregates content from authoritative bodies, such as governmental agencies, NGOs and first responders to
deliver trusted and accurate alerts to the public.
When these SOS alerts are rolled out, the SERPs are completely ad-free to make it easier for users to view
the resources and read over any preventative safety tips. Google started to display the same results for the
Coronavirus globally during January 2020, but results are much more localised during the current pandemic. We
have included the SERP results from a pre- and post-pandemic perspective, displaying how reactive Google has
been at providing reliable information for users.
Visible on: How to obtain:
→ Mobile N/A - Google-powered
→ Desktop
→ Voice search
impression.co.uk 24DESKTOP RESULTS - PRE-PANDEMIC impression.co.uk 25
DESKTOP RESULTS - POST-PANDEMIC
During the global pandemic, Google continues to support urgent content being displayed from reliable sources,
such as government bodies, health organisations and educational institutes to aid users. Google recently
developed an extension of the SOS Alerts feature and created COVID-19 structured data, allowing users to be
notified about government announcements, quarantine guidelines, accurate statistics and much more.
impression.co.uk 26MOBILE RESULTS DURING THE PANDEMIC impression.co.uk 27
Knowledge Panel
The Knowledge Panel is a SERP feature that pulls
information from Google’s Knowledge Graph and displays
it in information boxes next to the search results.
The Knowledge Graph is Google’s knowledge base of information pulled from sources like WikiData, Google My
Business and private data partnership. This feature allows Google to provide accurate information to its users
in the most accessible way.
Knowledge Panels appear when the search result centres around an entity, whether it be a person, an
organisation, a place or a “thing”. They appear automatically in search, but a person associated with an entity
whose information is included in knowledge panels can provide feedback on the information they feel should be
included.
Visible on: How to obtain:
→ Mobile • Earning a Knowledge panel requires the entity to be cited in multiple sources
→ Desktop around the web.
→ Voice search • Set up a Google My Business page and fill out as many of the available fields
as you can.
• Submit a Wikipedia page for approval. The requirements for having a verified
Wikipedia page are strict, and often references of the entity being named in
authoritative publications and news outlets.
• Verify social media accounts.
impression.co.uk 28DESKTOP RESULTS
MOBILE RESULTS VOICE RESULTS
impression.co.uk 29Local Pack
The Local Pack is a SERP feature that displays a map
of the user’s location and several businesses in the
surrounding area that are relevant to the search query.
The Local Pack appears for searches with local intent, such as ‘restaurants near me’ or ‘digital marketing
London’. The results are often hyper-local, with different results available when searching at different places in
the same town or city.
The Local Pack includes a map andthe top 3 results deemed relevant to a search query. Users can then choose
to expand the list of results to find other options available in their location. Each business listed has their
essential information listed, such as name, address and phone number, as well as their customer reviews,
office hours and imagery. This information is pulled from a business’ Google My Business listings and the local
results are based primarily on relevance, distance and prominence. Local packs differ from traditional organic
search, as they have been noted to use their own algorithm. For example, Google’s algorithm may select a local
listing that’s further away, but is more relevant to your search intent. Discover more on how Google determines
local rankings here.
Visible on: How to obtain:
→ Mobile • Create a verified Google My Business page for your company
→ Desktop • Optimise website for local search
→ Voice search • Build local links/citations
impression.co.uk 30DESKTOP RESULTS
MOBILE RESULTS VOICE RESULTS
impression.co.uk 31Google Flights
The Google Flights SERP feature is a block that displays
flight options relevant to a search query.
For example, if a user were to search ‘flights to New York’, the Google Flights SERP feature would appear and it
would display information on the flight dates, flight durations, the number of transfers and price.
Data is taken from Google Flights, Google’s own flight-booking platform. Google launched Google Flights in 2011
but fully integrated it as a SERP feature in 2018. It appears above the organic results, but below the Google Ads
results.
Visible on: How to obtain:
→ Mobile • N/A - the data is pulled directly from Google Flights, which updates its data by
→ Desktop searching through third party databases.
→ Voice search
DESKTOP RESULTS
impression.co.uk 32MOBILE RESULTS
VOICE RESULT
impression.co.uk 33Google Hotels
The Google Hotels SERP feature pulls data on hotels in
the searcher’s vicinity. The data is taken from the Hotels
section in Google Travel.
Similarly to the Local Pack, it pulls through key information like name, address and reviews, as well as a map
showing the locations of hotels nearby.
Visible on: How to obtain:
→ Mobile • Google Hotels displays accommodations from all relevant properties that
→ Desktop Google has knowledge of, meaning that a hotel can show in this SERP feature
→ Voice search through the same optimisation efforts as the Local Pack.
• Specific booking offers can be made over Google Hotels, for which Google is
remunerated. However, the Hotel needs to set up a partnership with Google to
provide these offers through the SERP Feature.
DESKTOP RESULTS
impression.co.uk 34MOBILE RESULTS
VOICE RESULT
impression.co.uk 35Google Jobs
When a user completes a search query on Google relating
to a job position, Google will return an aggregated source
SERP feature that displays relevant job openings within
the user’s current area.
Google launched this feature back in 2017, helping users to streamline their application process by pulling in
data from sources such as job portals and recruitment websites.
When users are interacting with the Google Jobs feature, they have the ability to save, bookmark and create
alerts for upcoming job openings meeting their criteria.
Dependant on the search query, the job feature will return some or all of the following information:
• Job title
• Organisation hiring
• Location
• How long the job advertisement has been posted for
• Whether the job is full- or part-time
• Where the job posting was originally posted
Visible on: How to obtain:
→ Mobile • Implement JobPosting schema markup to enhance your postings
→ Desktop • Add concise bullet points, location, salary, description of the role in the initial
content
impression.co.uk 36DESKTOP RESULTS
MOBILE RESULTS
impression.co.uk 37Twitter Carousel
Since 2015, Google has displayed the most recent and
trending tweets that relate to a user’s search query.
The Twitter carousel can appear anywhere on the SERPs, but more often than not, it’s positioned closer to the
top of the search results.
Tweets can be pulled through from both verified and unverified accounts and a link will also be included through
to the original tweet.
Visible on: How to obtain:
→ Mobile • Use relevant keywords in tweets
→ Desktop • Optimise your account information
DESKTOP RESULTS
impression.co.uk 38MOBILE RESULTS impression.co.uk 39
Extra SERP features
We’ve covered the most prominent SERP features
presented in Google as of 2020, but as stated throughout,
Google are continually testing new features to present
users with the most relevant information to their search
query with minimal effort.
We’ve outlined further SERP features within the table below.
SERP Feature Description How to obtain
App Downloads The App Pack typically only appears The App Pack is powered by different
when using mobile or tablet devices. It app stores. Performing well in the
highlights relevant apps that take the relevant app store is therefore a key
user to the relevant app store. criteria for appearing in the App Pack.
An application that is ranking well in app
marketplaces is also likely to appear in
an App Pack.
College A SERP feature listing universities and It is currently only available in the USA
relevant information for potential and India. It gathers its data from various
applicants, including: third party sources.
→ Program (course)
→ Location
→ Average Cost
→ Tuition
→ Type
→ Acceptance Rate
→ Campus Setting
Instant Answer Instant answer boxes appear for The data is pulled from Google’s
searches with clear answers, such Knowledge Graph.
as ‘what is the population of the UK’
and ‘how old is Barack Obama’. It is
designed to meet the user’s search
intent as soon as they land on the
SERP.
Podcast A carousel of recent episodes from Podcast owners can create an RSS feed
a notable podcast appearing at the for their podcast, and mention it on a
top of organic results. The podcast dedicated page of their site.
episodes can be played directly in the
browser.
People Also Search A carousel of similar entities related to The SERP feature is powered by the
For the initial search, including businesses Knowledge Graph.
and individuals.
impression.co.uk 40Food For Thought
To recap, SERP features are present to give users content
that Google believes will serve the specific needs of the
user, outlining within their search query.
To keep up to date with SERP feature Another large opportunity offered by SERP features
announcements, we would recommend following is the increasing likeliness to be pulled into voice
Google’s Webmasters Blog, following industry results answers. As this channel is not showing any
relevant publications and digging into SERPs sign of slowing down anytime soon, starting to gain
firsthand to find any changes. exposure within the voice sphere can arguably give
your brand a first-mover advantage.
Looking at SERP features as a whole, there are
both advantages and disadvantages from a Ranking for certain SERP features can provide
website traffic perspective. On the one hand, the tangible results, such as boosting your organic
introduction of SERP features saw a rapid rise in traffic and increasing click-through rates, and
“no click searches” on the SERPs, a worrying trend is something that should be closely monitored
for many webmasters who have seen industry-wide in relation to the competitiveness in the space
drops in traffic as a result. SERP features improve you’re operating in. As a rule of thumb, optimising
the user experience, allowing searchers to meet your user experience and customer journey as
their search more efficiently than before. Google much as possible is likely to coincide with Google’s
will also benefit from keeping users on its SERPs continuous development of their useful SERP
instead of on websites, as the more time people features.
spend navigating the SERPs the more likely they will
be to click on paid results or interact with other
Google-owned properties.
On the other hand, “no click searches” also present
a real opportunity for webmasters to take a more
holistic approach with their digital strategies and
meet user intent at every stage of the conversion
funnel. No-click searches encourage brands to
provide information that truly benefits the user,
establishing trust and becoming their brand of
choice in the process. As Impression’s Head of
Digital PR Laura Hampton explains, those who
create a varied strategy that champions no-click
searches will stand to gain in the long-term.
impression.co.uk 41If you would like to discuss the
trends in this report, then feel free
to contact us directly.
CO WRITTEN FOR IMPRESSION BY
Georgie Kemp Hugo Whittaker
georgie.kemp@impression.co.uk hugo.whittaker@impression.co.uk
EDITED BY DESIGNED BY
Petar Jovetic Ben Garry Beck Lee
impression.co.uk 42You can also read
