A Complete Visual Guide to Google SERPs: What Keywords to Use And How to Get Featured


- detailed description of the SERP feature;
- examples of keywords for which this feature is displayed;
- how to be featured there.
For you, we added expert comments on the importance of featured snippets, so that you clarify their benefits, and to summarize, created an infographic with step-by-step instructions.
Note: there are icons next to the names of the snippets showing how they are displayed at the Serpstat service.
1. Answer box
2. Carousel results
3. Large carousel
4. Right/Top/Bottom paid block
5. Side/Top/Bottom shopping block
6. Featured snippet
7. Route map
8. Local Pack
9. Related questions/People also ask
10. Top stories for query
11. Images for request
12. Related queries
13. Knowledge graph
14. Knowledge graph with a map
15. Disease
16. See results about
17. Recipe block
18. Numbered list
Experts' feedback
A tip for featured snippets
Infographic: how to get to featured snippets in SERP
SERP featured snippets: why do we need them?
For some, it is enough to structure the content, and Google itself will display them in the form of a featured snippet. There are more complex methods, but all of them are described in the Google manual, following which you will independently create any snippet.

For example, if you enter "author of war and peace" into Google, we get a quick answer ↓

As mentioned above, we took random 58,848,619 keywords from our Google USA database and chose phrases that are found with a quick Google answer, then divided them into categories.
It turned out such a distribution by percentage ↓

Don't confuse the Answer box with Featured snippet. The info for Answer box is parsed from Google's knowledge database so there will be no link there.
While Featured snippet is formed by the best answer from SERP with a link to the winner-website.
If the searcher disagrees with the info Google provides, the special Feedback button is placed under the Answer box.
Examples of keywords:
- University of California acceptance rate;
- How old is Сlinton;
- Time it in Tokyo;
- Earthquake California;
- USD to GBP;
- Color picker;
- London Berlin flights;
- Archaic;
- Phantom;
- Lbs to kg calculator;
- Calories in watermelon;
- Lakers scores schedule;
- Euro 2018;
- Microsoft stock price
Examples of answers:


















Percentage statistics:
How can I get there?


But now it's shown for commercial ones as well — usually for those search queries starting with "best" or "top." After clicking on any of the carousel options, Google takes you to a new SERP, where both carousel and results for the option you chose are displayed.
Examples of keywords:
- Star wars actors;
- Real Madrid team;
- New York list of tallest buildings;
- Dogs breeds;
- Best backup software;
- IOS best games.
How can I get there?


Examples of keywords:
- Beatles all songs;
- Wagner compositions;
- Paris interesting places;
- Events at Foxwoods.
How can I get there?
Order a free personal demo of the service, and our specialists will tell you everything!


Google has recently redesigned AdWords ads to look more like organic search results, so it's just a matter of time before it's impossible to separate organic results from paid ones.

Examples of keywords
- Buy a bicycle
- Tickets for Barcelona vs Juventus
- Car rental
- Flowers;
- Rent a flat in London.
How can I get there?
The top-3 ad results get the most clicks. Google sorts the ads based on quality score (1-10) — an estimate of the quality of your ads, keywords, and landing pages. Higher quality ads can lead to lower prices and better ad positions.

Ad position is the order of your ad in the auction results as compared to other ads. For example, an ad position of "1" means an ad was the first ad shown, with no other ads ahead of it. An ad position of "2" was the second ad shown, and so on.
The ad auction is how Google decides which ads to show and how they're positioned.

Examples of keywords
- Buy a phone
- Order a ticket
- Best coffee machine.


Examples of keywords
- Apartment for a weekend
- Flowers for a garden
- Best nike shoes.
- Cheap hostel in NY.

Such a special element is displayed in response to requests containing commercial intent, and can usually be displayed:
- over the results of search results by a block of goods;
- in the side part of search results by a block of goods;
- in the side section with information about one item

Examples of keywords
- Oven
- Wardrobe
- Violin.


Examples of keywords
- Galaxy phone
- Laptop
- Child bicycle.

Unlike answer box, the info shown in Featured snippet is taken from one of Google top-10 search results. Google determines which site presents the most relevant content. Moreover, it's not always the first one, it could be any of top-10. Besides the brief answer to the question query, the Title, image and link to the URL this answer in parsed from are also displayed.
This is the only SERP feature mentioned in this post that is not an addition to common organic search results, but is a part of it — one of Google's top-10.

Examples of keywords:
- How to tie a tie;
- How to dye hair;
- Energy centers of the world;
- Energy foods for exercise;
- New York events this month;
- Grand Opera.
How can I get there?
According to Google Help article "You can't mark your page as a featured snippet as Google programmatically determines that a page contains a likely answer to the user's question, and displays the result as a featured snippet.".
Let's be real, there's no sure-fire way to be featured there, but here are some steps that may highly increase your chances to see your page at Featured snippet block:
- Make a list of common questions within your niche. You can do that via brainstorming or use Serpstat's Search questions to save your time.
- Write content to answer these question using the question as a Title (add images and other visual content if necessary). Note that the quality and structure of the answer is more crucial than the authority of your website. Don't go into the details, if the question is quite extensive, split it into several sub questions and write content for each of them.
- Use schema markup. Schema.org – is a set of extensible schemas that enables webmasters to embed structured data on their web pages for use by search engines. In other words, it helps the search engines return more informative results for users. By adding a special schema to your webpage, you help Google to identify the important content on your page and thus you increase your chances to get to Featured snippet.

Here's just a small part of all data Google Maps provides: Quick facts, photos, weather, places nearby (hotels, bars, restaurants), directions.

Examples of keywords:
- Rome map;
- Belgium e19;
- Atlantic ocean on map;
- London park road;
- Andes mountain maps.
How can I get there?

If Map is displayed to help you indicate the location of the establishment, Local Pack is to help you find several local establishments that meet your search query (kind of place + its location).
This block is usually displayed at the top of Google SERP but may be found at the bottom as well. By clicking on "More places," the searcher gets to the Google Maps tab where more listings with additional info (reviews, open hours, images) are displayed.

Examples of keywords:
- Italian pizza Paris;
- Hotel London;
- Rome metro stations;
- Piza bus station;
- Mcdonald's Chicago.
How can I get there?
- Add your business to Google Maps: go to Google Maps, zoom in to the appropriate location and click on "Add New," then select "Add a Place."
- Set up Google My Business account: choose the appropriate category for your business, add profile and cover images, double check the contact info.
- Ask your loyal clients to leave their reviews.

Thus all related questions are the ones that return Featured snippets and the URL that's a winner at the featured snippet is also the winner at the Related questions block. When the searcher clicks on any related question from the list, Google adds the new questions which are related to last-clicked one.

Examples of keywords:
- How to tie a tie;
- Cirrhosis;
- How big is the universe;
- Sea horses;
- Buy a horse.
How can I get there?

It can be displayed as a listing without images (similar to mobile search) or as carousel with a title and image for every carousel card.

Examples of keywords:
- Microsoft stock price;
- iOS best games;
- Nascar;
- Spinners;
- Bitcoins.
How can I get there?

The title above this images is clickable and leads to Google's Images tab. By clicking on any image result there, you'll see the link to its source. Google has a special algorithm for images ranking, which is totally different to common organic search.

Examples of keywords:
- Keyboard;
- Apple;
- Tower;
- Tropical islands;
- Universe.
How can I get there?
- Fill out the image's alt and title tags.
- Name it properly, like "swimmingsuit.png" instead of "1265.png".
- Use semantic URL and optimize the page where the image is located.
- Optimize image size.
- Avoid plagiarism, use only unique images.


Examples of keywords:
- Buy laptop;
- How to make french toast;
- Rent car Miami;
- Rent apartment Сhicago;
- Buy baseball ticket stubs.
How can I get there?

Knowledge graph uses Wikipedia as a primary source to parse the main information about the object. Apart from the block that briefly answers the question "what is this?" or "who is this?", Google knowledge graph could also include some additional info (like quotes, artworks for painters, books for writers, etc.) social media profiles, and "People also search" block.
The last one is formed based on the closely related objects, so if you're searching for Michelangelo, Google will include other famous painters of that time.

Examples of keywords:
- Albert Einstein;
- Formula 1;
- Audrey Hepburn;
- Starbucks;
- Twitter.
How can I get there?
1. Get to Wiki
As Wiki is the main source Google parses data from, make sure to get on there. Start with Wikidata — a free and open knowledge base that can be read and edited by both humans and machines. Here's the guide to help you get there. Then create a Wikipedia page for your brand, you can try to do this on youк own following the Wikipedia guidelines or hire an experienced Wikipedia writer.
2. Verify your social media accounts
As you can see, social media accounts are also included to knowledge graph. To help Google identify your accounts correctly, have them verified. The verification badge on a page means that social network confirmed that this is the authentic page. Each social media has its own guidelines and request form, here they are: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram.
3. Use structured data markup to enhance your site's attributes.
Data markup is code that you put on your website to help the search engines return more informative results for users. The info you put there is visible for search engines only, not people. Follow this Google guide to enable your business and marketing details for search results.
Note, that if your brand is already displayed in the knowledge graph, but some info is incorrect, contact Google and request changes.

This knowledge graph usually includes the following blocks:
- photos and a piece of google map with a pin;
- contact and address data;
- open hours;
- popular times;
- Google reviews (score and examples).

Examples of keywords:
- Empire State Building;
- Village East Cinema;
- Les Deux Magots;
- Tokyo Tower;
- Great Wall of China.
How can I get there?
1. Fill out Google My Business account
Filling out Google My Business account is a crucial step for every local business. Double check everything to make sure that contact info, address, open hours are correct. Pick an attractive picture that represents your business (mouthwatering photo of your best dish if you're running a restaurant i.e.).
2. Pay attention to Google reviews
At the knowledge graph, Google displays the review score (the average value of all reviews) and all reviews ever left. Ask your loyal clients to leave reviews to increase the Google rating and in turn, more people will trust your business.
3. Build citations
The main rule here: the more, the better. Create your business accounts on as many sites as possible. Provide them with all info about your business. The most popular are Yahoo, Yelp, Trip Advisor, Yellow Pages. Double check all crucial info just like for Google My Business.

Google parse this info from high-quality websites like government agencies and partnerships. According to Google Help article, they analyze the info from quality sites across the web and then a special team of doctors reviews and refine the info.

Examples of keywords:
- Asthma treat;
- Cirrhosis;
- Diabetes;
- Mono symptoms;
- Hodgkin lymphoma.
How can I get there?
Getting to these block may lead to awareness and trust growth of the medical agency. By the way, here're the utm parameters added to URL if clicking on Learn more: utm_source=Google&utm_medium=abstract&utm_content=Asthma&utm_campaign=Knowledge-panel

In the freak SERP example, we searched for "orange" and Google displayed french telecommunications company named "Orange" in the local knowledge graph, but as "orange" query is quite ambiguous, at "See results about" block Google offers two other companies with the same name and an Australian city. Clicking on any of these variants triggers a new search.

Examples of keywords:
- Grand opera;
- CSI;
- World war;
- Key;
- King Kong.
How can I get there?

- reviewer ratings;
- cooking and preparation times;
- nutrition information.

Examples of keywords:
- apple pie;
- roasted turkey;
- punch.
How can I get there?

Break up your content with headings and subheadings, use numbered lists. Google also displays step-by-step instructions in snippets, especially if they are question-based, and scans words such as Step 1, Tip 1, Point 1. etc. This way, the entire paragraph from your article can be shown in the snippet.

Examples of keywords:
- how to brew coffee;
- how to record screen on mac;
- how to merge pdf files.
How can I get there?
Experts' feedback
• The "People Also Answer" box with limitless "Related Questions".
• "Top Stories" multiple carousels with unique storylines and "Also in the News"; nabs 5.62% according to @rankranger - Up 0.6987 (Day); Up 1.4424 (Month).
• Review carousels.
Asics & Garmin Italian Ambassador
- Discover for ecommerce with "new" or "exclusive" products.
Video Marketing Expert
- Each question should be a H3/H2 subheading.
- The answer should immediately follow each question/subheading and be concise and to-the-point (factual).
- And most importantly, each answer should align with the query search intent.
3. Featured snippets may steal traffic from ALL the search results as a whole (they eliminate the need for a click, especially if they do a very good job answering the query). Overall, featured snippets help with traffic. In some cases, when a featured snippet starts showing up for your query, you may see a decrease in clicks, but so will your competitors ranking for that query.
A tip for featured snippets


- Gray icon: a featured snippet appeared in the SERP for a keyword with a page from a domain other than the monitored domain.
- Blue icon: a featured snippet appeared in the SERP for a keyword with a page from a monitored domain

Infographic: how to get to featured snippets in SERP



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