What are SERP Features: How to Optimize for Them & Boost Rankings

If you’re only optimizing for traditional rankings, you’re likely missing out on some of the most valuable real estate in search. Search results today are packed with SERP features — rich elements like featured snippets, videos, FAQs, AI-generated overviews, and more — that steal attention and clicks. They not only boost visibility, but also improve click-through rates and generate organic traffic — even if you’re not in position #1.

But how to find SERP features opportunities and how to boost rankings with SERP features?

In this guide, I’ll walk you through 11 of the most important SERP features and also share my strategies on how to rank for each one of them.

But before that, let’s understand what exactly are SERP features.

What Are SERP Features?

SERP features are enhanced elements that appear on Google’s search results page in addition to the standard list of organic links. 

Instead of just showing a blue link and a short description, SERP features offer more interactive, visual, or information-rich results designed to help users find what they need faster.

Take this Featured Snippet, for example. 

It’s a SERP feature that highlights the best answer possible to the query and appears at position zero — above all the other links. 

Similarly, this AI overview is another example of a SERP feature. It gives an AI-generated summary of other results to quickly answer the search query.

In total, there are more than 30 reported SERP features, including free ones like the examples above and paid ones like Sponsored results. Each of these features serves a specific user intent — whether it’s getting a quick answer, watching a tutorial, or finding a nearby service. 

However, for the sake of brevity and value, we’ll only focus on the top 11 free SERPs you need to optimize for in this guide. 

11 Types of SERP Features & How to Optimize for Each One of Them

So, how to boost rankings with SERP features and how to find SERP feature opportunities? 

While there are 30+ reported features, focusing on each one of them isn’t practical. Instead, we’ll understand the 11 top SERP features and learn how to rank for each one of them.

Here are the types of SERP features we’ll cover:

1. Featured Snippets
2. AI Overviews
3. People Also Ask
4. Knowledge Panels
5. Discussions and Forums
6. Image Packs
7. Video Carousels
8. Local Pack
9. Popular Products
10. Rich Snippets
11. Top Stories

Featured Snippets

Featured snippets, often called “position zero,” appear above traditional search results but below paid ads. They show extracted content from a specific search result that Google thinks is the best answer to a search query. 

Here’s what a featured snippet looks like in a SERP:

Featured snippet is one of the most common SERP features and usually appears for informational and commercial queries. In fact, depending on the query, it follows different formats, such as:

• Paragraph snippets
• List snippets
• Table snippets
• Video snippets

As these snippets show up even above the traditional search results, ranking in them automatically means more clicks and traffic.

How to optimize for Featured Snippets

Once you find a keyword that triggers a featured snippet, ranking in it is pretty straight forward. The easier you make it for readers to find the direct answer to their query in your article, the more likely your content is to appear in a featured snippet.

Start by using the exact search query or a close variation as an H2, preferably right after the introduction.

Then, structure the answer to this H2 depending on the type of featured snippet that appears:

• For paragraph snippets: Write a concise definition (40-60 words) that directly answers the question. Start with an “is” statement when defining concepts, like “Featured snippets is a special block above organic search results…” Place this definition under a “What is [keyword]” heading near the top of your page.

• For list snippets: format your content with clear H2 or H3 tags for each step or item. Keep formatting consistent throughout your list. For ordered items, use clear numerical indicators like “Step #1” or “1.” in each subheading.

• For table snippets: Include properly formatted HTML tables with the <table> tag that present comparable data clearly and concisely.

AI Overviews

AI Overviews are AI generated responses that summarize the top SERP results and create a helpful response for the query. Unlike featured snippets that extract content from just one webpage, AI Overviews analyze and combine information from various sources to create more complete responses. 

When you see one, you’ll typically notice:

1. Concise AI-generated text answering your query
2. Links to supporting resources that back up the information
3. Additional links that help you explore the topic further
4. Various formats including paragraphs, lists, tables, and interactive elements

How to optimize for AI Overviews

While Google claims that “no action is needed” beyond following standard search guidelines, following some strategies can boost your chances of appearing in AI overviews. 

For example, AI overviews typically summarize content and display supporting links from the first, or at most, the second page of the search results. That means, your first priority should be ranking in the first couple SERPs. 

AI overviews also tend to favor content that thoroughly addresses user questions with clear, direct answers. So, structure your content by

• Using question-based headings followed immediately by concise answers
• Breaking information into digestible chunks with proper H1-H6 hierarchy
• Including relevant lists and tables where they make sense
• Making content scannable with short paragraphs and clear formatting

AI overviews primarily appear for complex informational queries, so target informational long-tail keywords rather than transactional or navigational searches.

Since AI overviews summarize information from multiple sources, you have a chance to appear at the top of SERPs even if you’re not ranking on position #1. 

People Also Ask

People Also Ask is basically Google’s way of showing you questions related to what you just searched for. These questions typically show up near the top of search results, usually between positions one and four, though they can pop up anywhere on the page. 

What I love about PAA boxes is how they adapt to what you’re interested in. Click through different questions and Google keeps suggesting more related ones, creating what feels like an endless stream of information. 

This helps you navigate through topics without having to bounce back to the search bar.

Each answer links back to the source website. So Google still sends traffic to the respective website if you click on it while also giving a quick answer to the reader.

How to optimize for People Also Ask boxes

Appearing in a People Also Ask box is relatively easy, as there are multiple “slots” and the “slots” keep growing as people click on the questions. 

But how do you make sure you get one of these slots? By targeting long-tail keywords!

Start by inserting your seed keyword, say “organic marketing” into a tool like Keyword Researcher and click on Identify Keywords.

Once you get the keyword report, scroll down to the bottom, go through the keyword lists and find keywords that are long-tail or in question format.

You can also use Answer The People from the same Writesonic suite of tools to find long-tail keywords. Insert your seed keyword in the box and click on Get Suggestions…

…and find all question-based keywords related to the main term.

Once you’ve got a list of keywords, use them as FAQs in the main article targeting the seed keyword to get featured in the People Also Ask box.

Knowledge Panels

Knowledge panels are those information boxes you see on the right side of Google’s search results when you search for specific entities — people, places, organizations, or things — that exist in Google’s Knowledge Graph. 

Think of them as quick snapshots that pull data from various trusted sources across the web.

Look at any knowledge panel and you’ll typically find:

• The entity’s name and basic description
• A representative image or logo
• Key facts about the entity (founding date, location, etc.)
• Social media profiles and official website links
• Related entities under “People also search for”
• Context-specific information (like songs for musicians or books for authors)

What makes knowledge panels different from other SERP features is where they get their information. Rather than pulling from a single webpage, they draw primarily from Google’s Knowledge Graph. It’s a massive database of facts about people, places, and things that helps Google understand how different entities connect to each other.

How to optimize for Knowledge Panel

Knowledge Panel information comes from Google’s Knowledge Graph rather than other SERP results. It’s a massive database that maintains information about people, places, and other things, helping Google connect different data about the same entity.

The best way to appear in a knowledge panel? Put out data about your brand or product and maintain consistency across all panels.

Start by creating an About Us page for your website, if you already haven’t. If possible, having a Wikipedia page also helps bring you to the spotlight in the Knowledge Panel. 

Next, make sure you have a good social media presence — at least active accounts on three popular social media platforms. 

Make sure that you’re maintaining consistency across platforms. Ensure that the same information appears on your website, social profiles, business directories, and anywhere else you’re mentioned online.

Google picks up and verifies information for the Knowledge Panel from multiple sources. To get even more visibility, try getting authoritative mentions in reputable publications, industry websites, and trusted directories.

Once Google generates a knowledge panel for your entity, you can claim it through these steps:

1. Search for your entity on Google
2. Click “Claim this knowledge panel” at the bottom of the panel
3. Verify your identity through an official website or social profile
4. After verification, you can suggest edits to information and select a featured image

Discussions and Forums

The Discussions and Forums feature pulls relevant conversations from places like Reddit, Quora, and other forum sites directly into search results. 

You’ll typically see it labeled as “Discussions and forums” in search results with a bunch of question-answer formatted forum discussions related to your search query.

Today, many users seek and trust community-based platforms and other user reviews. That’s why, getting visibility in this SERP feature is essential to gain customer trust rather than for organic traffic.

How to optimize for Discussions and Forums

Getting visibility in the Discussions and Forums SERP feature is a bit tricky. Many platforms ban any kind of brand promotion, as they want to focus on giving authentic, real user answers and reviews to people. 

To get featured (without getting banned), participate thoughtfully in existing threads that are featured for your target keyword. Give valuable advice instead of just focusing on brand promotions. 

If you want to promote your brand, be authentic and transparent. Mention who you are, give the exact information required, and refrain from sounding salesy.

Read forum or subreddit rules carefully and make sure you’re NOT mentioning your brand in subreddits which explicitly ban such behavior. 

Image Packs

Image Packs show up as horizontal rows or grids of images within search results. Google displays them when it thinks visual content would better answer what you’re looking for. 

When you click any image in the pack, you’re taken to Google Images with your search query already filled in.

How to optimize for Image Pack inclusion

Google picks images directly from your blog posts and website content. These can be featured images or images that appear within the blog post. But here’s the catch: Google can’t actually “see” what the image is, so it relies on information given by you to decide what an image is about.

If you want to get your images featured in these packs, optimize them properly. Use proper captions and alt texts that contain the main keyword for which you want the image to appear.

If your image is too large, compress it to a smaller size as heavy image and video files can decrease page load speed — impacting your website’s rankings.

Video Carousels

Video carousels are those horizontal rows of video thumbnails you see in search results related to what you’re looking for. They show up on both mobile and desktop, typically displaying 3-4 videos initially with options to scroll for more. 

Unlike text-based SERP elements, video carousels are visually striking — making them practically impossible for users to scroll past without noticing. YouTube dominates these carousels, with over 80% of featured videos coming from their platform.

This makes sense considering Google owns YouTube. That said, videos from other sources like Twitter, Facebook, news sites, and company websites can also appear when properly optimized.

How to optimize for SERPs

The strategy to boost rankings with SERP features using Video Carousels is pretty obvious: create video content and properly optimize it for the required keyword. 

Where to upload the videos? I highly recommend YouTube because that gives you a much higher chance of getting featured.  

Start by creating content people actually search for. Use Keyword Researcher to find “how to…,” “what is…,” and other keywords that are clearly “video intent.”

Once you’ve identified promising topics, optimize your videos with these key elements:

• Descriptive, keyword-rich titles that accurately represent your content while encouraging clicks
• Comprehensive video descriptions that use YouTube’s generous 5000-character limit to include related keywords
• Custom thumbnails designed specifically to stand out in search results
• Timestamps that Google can display as “key moments” in search results
• Tags and hashtags to help search engines understand what your content is about

Basic optimization is just the start. For a significant visibility boost, embed your videos on relevant webpages with proper schema markup. 

Focus on creating high-quality videos that keep viewers engaged throughout. Videos with strong audience retention rates perform better in search results because Google prioritizes content that keeps people watching longer.

Local Pack

When users search with local intent, the Local Pack appears as a map with three relevant business listings prominently displayed at the top of search results. 

You’ll typically see it pop up for searches containing location names, “near me” phrases, or when Google detects you’re looking for something nearby.

How to optimize for local pack

Google determines Local Pack rankings based on three key factors: relevance, distance, and prominence. If your business is of the type where it benefits from a local customer base, focus on getting it featured in the local pack. 

Here’s how to optimize for this SERP feature:

• Create and optimize your Google Business Profile by selecting the right business categories. 
• Keeping contact information accurate, filling out every single available field. How complete your profile is directly impacts your visibility.
• Build a consistent online presence by making sure your Name, Address, and Phone number (NAP) match exactly across your website, social profiles, and business directories. Even small inconsistencies can seriously undermine your local authority.
• Develop a review strategy to actively collect and respond to Google reviews. High-quality, positive reviews are crucial ranking signals for showing up in the Local Pack.

On top of the Google Business page, optimize your website with local keywords and location-specific content. If you serve multiple areas, create dedicated location pages for each one.

You can do this by using Article Writer 6 to create multiple, location-specific articles to boost your chances of appearing in the Local Pack.

For multi-location businesses, make sure each location has its own Google Business Profile — don’t try to cover multiple locations with one listing, as this significantly reduces your chances of appearing in the Local Pack.

Popular Products

Popular Products is exactly what it sounds like — an organic search feature that shows relevant products when users search for shopping-related queries. 

The best part? Unlike paid Google Shopping ads, these listings appear naturally in search results without requiring you to spend a dime on advertising.

These products typically appear in a carousel format, displaying product images, titles, prices, ratings, and the number of retailers selling each item. This gives shoppers a quick overview of available options.

When someone clicks on a product, Google takes them to a dedicated product page with comprehensive details including reviews, available stores, and pricing options. From there, they can click through to any retailer’s website to complete their purchase.

How to optimize for Popular Products

Getting your products to appear in this feature requires a two-step approach:

First, make sure your product data is accessible to Google through one of these methods:

• Google Merchant Center: Upload a product feed with required attributes including id, title, description, link, image_link, price, brand, and GTIN. Then enable “free product listings” in your account settings.
• Structured Data: Add product schema markup to your website with properties like image, name, review, offers, brand, and description.

Once your data is accessible, optimize these critical elements to improve visibility:

• Product titles: Create keyword-rich, descriptive titles that clearly identify your items
• Product reviews: Encourage and display authentic customer reviews
• High-quality images: Use clear, professional product photography
• Competitive pricing: Keep prices aligned with market expectations
• Product options: Offer multiple colors, sizes, or variants when possible

Rich Snippets

Rich snippets (sometimes called rich results) are enhanced search listings that show extra information beyond the basic title, URL, and description. 

They pull in elements like star ratings, product prices, cooking times, event dates, or thumbnail images directly in search listings.

Different rich snippet types serve different purposes. Review snippets show star ratings for products or services. Recipe snippets display cooking times and calorie counts. Product snippets reveal prices and availability. 

How you optimize for rich snippets depends on the type of product you’re creating the page for. 

How to optimize for rich snippets

Getting rich snippets for your content requires implementing structured data markup on your web pages. 

You’ll need to add specific code that helps search engines understand what your content means and how it’s structured.

Here’s my step-by-step approach:

1. Choose the appropriate schema type based on your content (Product, Review, Recipe, etc.)
2. Add JSON-LD markup to your page’s HTML (this is Google’s preferred format)
3. Test your implementation using Google’s Rich Results Test
4. Fix any errors the testing tool identifies

If you’re using WordPress, you can take advantage of plugins like Yoast SEO or Rank Math that make structured data implementation much easier without requiring coding knowledge. Another option is using Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper to generate the necessary code for you.

Whatever method you choose, make sure your structured data accurately matches what visitors can actually see on your page. Search engines don’t take kindly to misleading markup and may consider it spam, potentially resulting in penalties.

Top Stories

The Top Stories is a carousel of news articles at the top of search results. Google displays this when it thinks you’re looking for news-related information. 

Rather than just displaying the most recent articles chronologically, Google organizes current, relevant pieces by story groups. 

How to optimize for top stories

Usually, Top Stories is only meant for news websites that are indexed in Google News. It does not display any other type of content, such as blog posts or non-news related videos. 

However, you can rank your website in Top Stories by creating a dedicated News section in your website. Once you create the section, publish at least 3-5 original news stories every day that are relevant to your niche. 

Headlines play a crucial role too—keep them between 2-22 words, clearly describing the content without including dates that might confuse readers or become outdated quickly.

After uploading the news content:

• Implement NewsArticle structured data markup with correct datePublished and dateModified fields
• Create a specific news sitemap containing articles from the past 48 hours
• Update your sitemap whenever you publish new content

💡 Pro Tip: While producing timely news is essential, don’t sacrifice page performance. Core Web Vitals matter a lot for Top Stories placement. Google prioritizes sites that deliver excellent user experiences alongside quality journalism.

How to find SERP features opportunities

Before you optimize for any SERP feature, it’s important to find the right opportunity where you actually have a chance to rank. However, unlike the usual keyword research, finding keywords for SERP features is a bit tricky.

Here are my three strategies to find SERP feature opportunities that you can try:

1. Use Google search

One common method to find SERP features opportunities is to take your top keywords and Google them to find which SERP features they trigger. 

For example, say your seed keyword is “digital marketing.” A simple Google search will show you that it triggers AI Overviews, Knowledge Panel, People Also Ask, and Video Carousels.

However, if you run this keyword through the Keyword Researcher, you can see it’s a very high difficulty keyword, meaning it will be extremely hard to boost rankings with SERP features of such keywords.

You can use this guide on finding low competition keywords to look for keywords that might give you a better chance at ranking in SERP features. 

However, manually searching each keyword on Google is time-consuming, and, ultimately, a hit or miss strategy.

While this strategy is usually used, I’d recommend checking out the next two strategies to find SERP feature opportunities easily.

2. Check content that you’re already ranking for

If you already have a website, have published content, and some of it is ranking — it gives you a much better chance to get into SERP features.

Simply use Google Search Console to find the top pages that are already ranking.

Figure out their primary keyword and check which SERP features are triggered for these keywords using Google.

Then, optimize the existing content for the triggered SERP feature using the guide above. Since these pages are already ranking, it will give you a higher chance of appearing in any of the SERP features.

But what if your content isn’t ranking yet? Then, move on to the next strategy.

3. Let AI find SERP features opportunities

If you’re tired of manually finding SERP features opportunities or want to look for keywords that actually give you a chance to rank, the SEO AI Agent is your best bet.

The SEO AI Agent is connected to the same tools you’d use for keyword research, such as Ahrefs, Semrush, Google Search Console, and so on. But instead of you putting in the manual efforts, the agent does it all.

It analyzes keywords in bulk, looks through multiple Google SERPs, and finds the best SERP feature opportunities depending on your given keyword. 

Create your free Writesonic account and simply use this prompt to get the SEO AI Agent going:

Once you click on Send, the SEO AI Agent starts connecting with the required tools, runs a detailed research process, and generates a comprehensive report with all the SERP features opportunities in it.

The Final Output has the required list of 20 keywords that we actually have a chance to rank for in the SERP features. 

If you scroll further down the report, you’ll also find insights on how to optimize content for a particular keyword and a particular SERP feature. 

Instead of spending hours or days looking for the perfect SERP feature opportunity, you can get the keywords in bulk within a few minutes and boost rankings with SERP features.

In fact, the SEO AI Agent is versatile. After you get the list of keywords, you can actually use the SEO AI Agent to optimize your content for SERP features.

Boost Rankings With SERP Features Using AI

The SEO AI Agent can also help you write blogs, product descriptions, video titles, and descriptions, and much more. Once you generate the list, give further prompts in the same conversation depending on which keyword and SERP feature you want to optimize for. 

Use it to create a section for the featured snippet, or generate FAQs for the People Also Ask section. You can find a list of different prompts to use with any AI tool here. 

Doing this will help you save a lot of time and effort that you’d otherwise spend on manually optimizing for SERP features.

Ready to boost your ranking with SERP features? Sign up for SEO AI Agent for free!

Niyati Mahale

Niyati Mahale is a Content Writer @Writesonic. She specializes in artificial intelligence and B2B, with a flair for combining effective storytelling and SEO best practices to create impactful content.