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Term

SERP features

SERP features are all display elements in search results beyond the classic blue links — featured snippets, People Also Ask, knowledge panel, local pack, image, video, and shopping boxes.

SERP features — explained in more detail

SERP features dramatically change click distribution — a position 1 without a featured snippet pulls more traffic than a position 1 with an AI Overview above it. Key features:

  • Featured snippet: highlighted answer box, often called “position 0”. Triggers on informational queries with concise answers.
  • People Also Ask (PAA): expandable follow-up questions. Often several slots per page from different sources.
  • Knowledge panel: structured info card on the right or top (Wikipedia/Wikidata-based) for entities.
  • Local pack: three Maps results with ratings — central to local SEO.
  • Image, video, news boxes: universal search integration depending on intent.
  • Shopping carousel: product listings, often Performance Max ads.
  • AI Overviews: AI-generated answer above organic hits (see glossary entry).

Example / In practice

The keyword “Core Web Vitals” typically shows: AI Overview at the top, then a featured snippet pulled from a definition, PAA with “What is LCP?” / “How to improve INP?”, then ten organic hits. Without a structured answer, clear definition, and FAQ markup, you lose visibility to three SERP features at once.

Distinction from similar terms

Rich snippets are enhanced normal results (stars, price, breadcrumb) driven by structured data — a subset of SERP features. Universal search is the older umbrella term for vertical integrations (images, videos). AI Overviews are the newest, generative SERP feature.

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