SERP features are the extra kinds of results Google shows on a search results page (the SERP) beside the regular list of links - a quoted answer, a row of videos, a map, star ratings and so on. RankDots records which ones appear for each keyword, because they change how many people click the regular results, and what kind of content gets seen.
Where you’ll see it
On the Keywords screen and in a page’s details, the SERP features column shows a small icon for each feature on that keyword’s results page. Point at an icon to see the feature’s name. An empty cell means Google showed only regular results.
The most common features:
These are the most common features. The three marked “in rich snippets” are extras attached to a single result, not separate blocks on the page.
How to read it
More features usually mean fewer clicks for regular results. Each feature takes space and attention at the top of the page, so the same position earns fewer clicks when the page is crowded. What is click-through rate? [link is coming] explains how clicks depend on position.
Some features are a way in. A featured snippet, a video row or a map can be won. If a keyword shows a video row, a video may reach people your page cannot.
Features hint at what Google wants. Read them with the Google top 20 and the search intent: a local pack points to local searches, a news pack to news, shopping to people ready to buy.
How we get it
RankDots notes which features appear on the same Google results page it reads for the Google top 20: for your project’s country and language, or its set location, once, when your project is created. It is observed, not estimated - a snapshot of that page, and it is not refreshed.
What it doesn’t tell you
- Whether you hold a feature. The icons show what is on the page, not who owns it.
- How many clicks a feature takes. The effect differs by keyword and by layout.
- Today’s page. Google changes its layouts often; the icons show the page when your project was created.
What next
- What is the Google top 20?
- What is click-through rate? [link is coming]