There are three main SERP features that can help guide user intent, and these features can strongly influence search results. SERPs, or search engine results pages, are Google’s list of items or businesses that a user sees when searching for a particular subject. SERPs include both organic and paid search results, but other features are starting to make a splash because they are producing results. Featured Snippets, People Also Ask, and Knowledge Graphs are becoming increasingly popular features because of their success on search engines.
SERP features can direct or redirect the searcher’s attention, modify queries and tasks, provide quick answers, and act as signposts.
Several Features Fall Under the Umbrella of SERPs
There are numerous features that fall under the umbrella of SERPs, but we are only going to look at three of them: Featured Snippets, People Also Ask, and Knowledge Graphs. These particular features can garner attention on the results page and influence the search process, allowing searchers to modify and refine their searches,
Obviously, there are more features other than the three listed, but Google is constantly changing the results page design which means the features could change regularly. However, the three we are going to discuss have been effective in helping user’s find what they are looking for quicker than when searching in the past.
What Are Featured Snippets?
Featured Snippets are pretty much self-explanatory. They are short snippets of information that can be seen at the top of Google’s search results. This helps searchers get a quick answer to their query, and featured snippet content is taken directly from web pages in Google’s index. The most popular types of featured snippets are definitions, tables, step-by-step instructions, and lists.
This feature gives an opportunity for a website to receive more clicks generated from organic search results, and the web pages don’t need to have a high Google ranking. As a matter of fact, some experts have said that featured snippets could be more important than position one on SERPs because it is actually listed above position one. Traditionally, the No. 1 spot has been considered the most important and was the most coveted until featured snippets came along.
Featured Snippets are seen as a digital card and could involve a paragraph, list, table, or a video. Some can include a combination of all of these.
What is People Also Ask?
People Also Ask is another type of snippet feature that provides a little more information than normal queries. These particular snippets are often questions like “how do you change your car’s oil?” or “how do I start a t-shirt company?” The People Also Ask has an amazing feature where questions appear after a searcher asks their original question. The results are actually more questions that could help in the search.
When you ask a specific question, other questions relevant to your query also appear in the snippet. It finds similar, relevant questions that other searchers have asked. These are collections of related featured snippets for whatever is being searched.
What is a Knowledge Graph?
A Knowledge Graph is a visual depiction of how certain things, situations, and events are all related to each other in some way or form. It’s an illustration that shows the relationship between the items in graph form. These graphs pull from billions of bits of information about people, places, and things, and they answer specific questions. Knowledge Graphs are for discovering well-known, factual information that is useful.
Facts in the Knowledge Graph come from a variety of sources that compile factual information and can consist of sports scores, stock prices, and weather forecasts.
Why is SEO Important to SERPs?
By definition, Search Engine Optimization is the process of improving a website to increase its visibility on search engines, especially Google. When your website is optimized it can create the attention you are looking for while satisfying the user intent. The goal is to garner as much traffic to your website as possible, which will hopefully result in sales. You want your website to be known as the authority in your industry, and using SEO practices can help get you there.
If you want your website to be successful, you must understand how people use search engines and how they respond to SERP features like People Also Ask, Knowledge Graphs, and Featured Snippets.
Nozak Consulting Can Help With SERP Features
At Nozak Consulting, we understand that a big part of success with SERPs is using the language that resonates with searchers and using features that can answer questions quickly. Whether it’s Featured Snippets, People Also Ask, and Knowledge Graphs, our SEO team can find the correct SERP feature that can provide the expertise and authority needed for your website.