Google's search results page has not been "ten blue links" for over a decade. In 2026, a typical SERP is a complex landscape with AI Overviews, featured snippets, People Also Ask boxes, local packs, image carousels, video carousels, shopping results, and more. Understanding these features — and how to win them — has become just as important as ranking organically. Here is the complete overview.
What SERP features are and why they change SEO
SERP features (Search Engine Results Page features) are all elements in Google's search results beyond traditional organic text results. They include everything from rich snippets to complete answers like AI Overviews.
According to Semrush, 97 percent of all Google first pages contain at least one SERP feature in 2025 (Semrush, "State of Search Report," 2025). That means no matter what you search for, you will see something more than just blue links.
For SEO, this means a fundamental shift: It is no longer just about positions 1-10, but about which SERP features you can win and which ones steal your traffic. Some features send more traffic than organic position 1, while others generate zero clicks.
Complete overview of SERP features
Here are all the major SERP features you should know about and optimize for in 2026.
Featured snippets appear at the top above organic results and provide a direct answer pulled from a website. People Also Ask (PAA) are expandable questions related to the query. Knowledge panels appear on the right side with factual information about entities. Local pack shows the three most relevant local businesses with a map.
Image carousels display relevant images. Video carousels show videos (primarily from YouTube). Shopping results display products with images and prices. News carousel shows recent news articles. Site links show subpages under the main result. AI Overviews provide an AI-generated answer at the top.
- Featured snippets — direct answer at top of SERP
- People Also Ask (PAA) — expandable related questions
- Knowledge panels — factual entity information (right side)
- Local pack — three local businesses with map
- Image carousel — visual display of relevant images
- Video carousel — videos from YouTube and other sources
- Shopping results — products with price and image
- News carousel — recent news articles
- Site links — subpages under main result
- AI Overviews — AI-generated answer at top of SERP
How to identify which features appear for your keywords
Before you can optimize for SERP features, you need to know which ones appear for the keywords you target. There are several methods for mapping this systematically.
The simplest method is manual search in incognito mode. Search for each target keyword and note which SERP features appear. But this scales poorly for hundreds of keywords. SEO tools like Semrush, Ahrefs, and STAT track SERP features automatically and show you which features appear for each keyword you monitor.
In Google Search Console, you can see click-through rate and impressions per page and keyword, which indirectly tells you if SERP features are affecting your traffic. Lower CTR than expected for a given position may mean a SERP feature is taking clicks. Read our Google Search Console guide for detailed usage.
Optimizing for each SERP feature type
Each SERP feature requires a specific optimization strategy. For featured snippets: Answer the question directly in 40-60 words, use clear lists, tables, or definitions, and place the answer under an H2/H3 that matches the question. Read our featured snippets guide for the complete strategy.
For People Also Ask: Identify the questions that appear for your target keywords and answer them in your content. Use FAQ schema markup. For local pack: Optimize Google Business Profile, ensure consistent NAP data, and collect reviews. See our local SEO guide.
For video carousels: Produce video content on YouTube with optimized titles, descriptions, and chapters. For shopping results: Use Google Merchant Center with complete product data. For AI Overviews: Write citable, authoritative content with clear structure — this overlaps with the GEO strategy in our GEO guide.
Tools for SERP feature tracking
For systematic tracking, you need tools that monitor SERP features automatically. The leading options have different strengths.
Semrush Position Tracking shows which SERP features appear for each tracked keyword and whether you win any of them. Ahrefs Site Explorer shows SERP features in the Keywords report. STAT (now part of Moz) is especially good for large-scale SERP monitoring with daily updates.
LeapJet uses a combination of these tools to give clients a complete picture of the SERP landscape in their industry. Want to know which SERP opportunities you are missing? Book a free SERP analysis.
AI Overviews: The new dominant SERP feature
AI Overviews is Google's most transformative SERP feature ever. It displays an AI-generated answer at the top of the search result, with source citations to the websites it has drawn information from.
According to BrightEdge, AI Overviews now appear in over 30 percent of search results in the US, with the trend rising in Europe and the Nordics (BrightEdge, "AI Overviews Tracker," 2025). For informational queries, the rate can exceed 60 percent.
The implication is enormous: even if you rank number 1 organically, AI Overview can take a significant share of your clicks. The strategy is to become one of the sources AI Overview cites — which requires authoritative, citable content with clear structure. Read our Google AI Overviews guide for detailed strategy.
SERP volatility and how features change over time
SERP features are not static. Google tests and rolls out changes continuously, and a feature that appears for a keyword today can disappear next week. This volatility makes ongoing monitoring important.
Semrush Sensor and MozCast are tools that track daily SERP volatility. High volatility can indicate an algorithm update, a change in SERP layout, or seasonal shifts in search intent.
For your strategy, this means you should diversify — do not bet everything on one SERP feature. If you win a featured snippet today, it can disappear tomorrow. Build a broad presence across organic search, SERP features, and AI search.
Winning multiple SERP features simultaneously
It is possible to own multiple SERP features for the same keyword — and it is one of the most effective strategies for dominating the search results page. An example: You can have the organic position 1 result, featured snippet, a PAA answer, and a video in the video carousel — simultaneously.
To achieve this, you need an integrated content strategy where a main page is optimized for organic ranking and featured snippet, a FAQ section with schema covers PAA questions, a YouTube video with optimized description fills the video carousel, and images with good alt text appear in the image carousel.
This breadth strategy is especially effective for your primary keywords — the 20-30 most important keywords where you want maximum visibility. Read our rich snippets guide and schema markup guide for implementation details.
The Nordic SERP landscape: Special considerations
The Nordic search market has some distinctive characteristics that affect SERP features. First, volume is smaller, which means Google may display fewer or different SERP features for Nordic-language keywords compared to English.
AI Overviews were rolled out in the Nordics later than in the US and as of 2026 are still not as prevalent for Nordic-language searches. The local pack, however, is very prominent for location-based searches, and Google Business Profile optimization is often crucial for local businesses.
Featured snippets for Nordic-language keywords are often pulled from the same sources — large national media and encyclopedias. For niche keywords, however, it is easier to win featured snippets because competition is lower. See /services/seo for professional SERP optimization tailored to the Nordic market, and check our glossary for explanations of SERP, featured snippet, PAA, and knowledge panel.
Sources
Semrush, "State of Search Report," 2025. BrightEdge, "AI Overviews Tracker," 2025. SparkToro, "Zero-Click Search Study," 2025. Ahrefs, "SERP Features Study," 2024. Moz, "SERP Feature Tracking Methodology," 2024.
