SERP Features
The SERP landscape is constantly changing and evolving. Searches are presented with a range of SERP features - from images and videos, to answer cards, news stories and many more. Find out more about SERP Features below
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SERP Features
Search engines continue to evolve the search results page to better match how users search, discover, and consume information. What was once a simple list of blue links has become a dynamic, multi-format experience shaped by intent, context, and increasingly, AI.
SERP stands for Search Engine Results Page. Each SERP is generated dynamically based on the query, meaning no two searches are ever exactly the same. Depending on the intent behind a search, Google may surface a wide range of SERP features alongside traditional organic listings.
Today’s SERPs commonly include features such as People Also Ask, image packs, video results, Top Stories, product listings, carousels, and AI-driven results. These features often command the most prominent real estate on the page and strongly influence how users engage with search results.
Because different queries trigger different combinations of SERP features, understanding which features appear, when they appear, and why they appear is critical. Brands that understand the SERP feature landscape can prioritize the formats that drive visibility, align content to real user intent, and compete more effectively against both traditional competitors and emerging creators.
SERP features are not static. They change by query type, industry, device, and over time. Keeping pace with these changes gives you a clearer view of where opportunities exist and where visibility is being won or lost.
From understanding SERP features to tracking performance
Understanding how SERP features work is the first step. Tracking how they impact your visibility is what turns insight into action.
Want to see how SERP features affect your performance?
Explore our SERP Feature Tracking Tools to learn how Pi Datametrics helps teams monitor feature presence, benchmark competitors, and identify new visibility opportunities across the search results page.
SERP Features Frequently Asked Questions
A SERP feature is any result on a search engine results page that goes beyond a traditional organic listing. SERP features are designed to help users find information more quickly and can include formats such as People Also Ask, image packs, video results, Top Stories, product listings, carousels, maps, and AI-driven results like AI Overview.
SERP features appear based on search intent and query type, and they often occupy the most prominent positions on the page. Because of this, they play a major role in determining which brands, publishers, and creators gain visibility in search.
Understanding which SERP features appear for your target searches, and how often they appear, is key to competing effectively and aligning your content with how users actually interact with search results.
SERP features are the enhanced result types that appear on a search engine results page in addition to traditional organic listings. They are designed to surface information in formats that best match user intent and can vary by query, industry, and device.
Common SERP features include People Also Ask, image packs, video results, Top Stories, product listings, carousels, maps, knowledge panels, and AI-driven results such as AI Overview. Some features highlight brand or publisher content, while others surface content from creators or keep users within Google’s own ecosystem.
Because SERP features often appear above or alongside organic results, they play a significant role in shaping visibility, click behavior, and competition in search. Understanding which features appear for your target searches helps you determine where to focus content, optimization, and tracking efforts.
SERP stands for Search Engine Results Page. SERPs are the pages you see after entering a search term into Google or any other search engine.
SERP features appear in different formats depending on search intent, industry, and device. Pi Datametrics tracks the full range of SERP features so teams can understand how visibility is distributed across the search results page and where opportunities exist.
Below are some of the key SERP feature types Pi tracks:
AI Overview
AI-generated summaries that appear at the top of the SERP for informational and conversational searches, shaping early-stage discovery and decision-making.
People Also Ask (PAA)
Expandable question boxes that surface related questions and answers, often influencing content strategy and intent-led optimization.
Answer Cards and Featured Snippets
Prominent results that highlight a direct answer, list, table, or definition pulled from a single source.
Video Results and Video Carousels
Video-based features that surface creator and publisher content, often sourced from platforms like YouTube, and increasingly influential across many categories.
Image Packs
Visual result blocks that appear for inspiration, product, and research-based searches, impacting click behavior and discovery.
Top Stories
News-focused features that highlight timely and trending content from publishers, often driven by freshness and authority.
Product Listings and Popular Products
Commerce-focused features that surface products, prices, and sellers for transactional searches.
Knowledge Panels
Entity-based panels that provide structured information about brands, companies, and topics.
Local Pack and Maps
Location-driven results that surface businesses, reviews, and map listings for local-intent searches.
Carousels and Rich Result Formats
Scrollable formats that group related content, commonly used for travel, shopping, and discovery-based queries.
Classic Organic Results
Traditional organic listings that continue to form the foundation of the SERP, often appearing alongside richer feature formats.
From understanding SERP features to tracking performance
Knowing which SERP features exist is only part of the picture. Understanding how often they appear, who owns them, and how visibility changes over time is what turns insight into action.
Explore our SERP Feature Tracking Tools to see how Pi Datametrics tracks every major SERP feature, benchmarks competitors, and helps teams identify high-value visibility opportunities across the search results page.
There are several ways to rank higher, including creating content relevant to your target keywords, optimising your website, and building links to your pages.
Pi’s SERP Feature Tracking gives you daily visibility into every feature appearing for your keywords, including Featured Snippets, PAAs, Videos, Local Packs, Top Stories and more.
