SERP Features — Definition & Meaning
What is SERP Features?
SERP features are the non-blue-link elements on a Google results page — AI Overviews, featured snippets, People Also Ask, image packs, video carousels, local packs, knowledge panels, shopping results, and site links. They now occupy 40-70% of a typical SERP and are ranked separately from organic blue links.
SERP features with an example query
| SERP feature | Example query that triggers it |
|---|---|
| AI Overview | "how does keyword difficulty work" |
| Featured snippet | "how to disavow toxic backlinks" |
| People Also Ask | "best running shoes 2026" |
| Local pack | "coffee shop near me" |
| Shopping results | "buy wireless mouse" |
| Video carousel | "how to tie a tie" |
| Image pack | "modern living room ideas" |
| Knowledge panel | "ahrefs" (brand/entity query) |
| Site links | "lemrank" (branded navigational query) |
Query patterns are a starting point, not a guarantee — the same phrase can trigger different features by device and location.
Key points
- Each feature has its own eligibility rules — snippet ≠ AI Overview ≠ PAA. Optimising for one does not automatically win the others.
- Universal features: AI Overview, snippet, PAA, video, image, site links. Vertical-specific: shopping (commercial), local pack (local queries), knowledge panel (brand queries).
- Winning a feature at position 15 can drive more clicks than the #3 blue link on a feature-heavy SERP.
- Track your SERP feature footprint — which features you own vs which competitors own — as a top-level competitive metric.
- AI Overviews and snippets are the two highest-CTR features for informational queries; shopping and local pack dominate transactional and local queries.
Example
A SERP for "best crm software" typically shows: 3 shopping ads, an AI Overview, a video carousel, 4 PAA questions, a comparison-table snippet, and only THEN the blue links — pushing the #1 organic result below the fold on mobile.
Frequently asked questions
What are the most common SERP features?
AI Overviews (30% of queries), featured snippets (~15%), People Also Ask (~50%), video carousels (~25%), image packs (~20%), and local packs (~30% of location-tagged queries).
How do I track my SERP feature ownership?
Use a rank tracker with SERP-feature detection — most log per-keyword feature footprints daily. LemRank tracks 20+ feature types per keyword automatically.
Which SERP features drive the most clicks?
Featured snippets and AI Overview citations for informational queries; shopping and local pack for commercial queries; site links for branded queries.