Your page may rank well while the click-through rate keeps falling. The reason is usually not your position. It is everything Google shows around the blue links. SERP features are the extra parts of a Google results page. They include featured snippets, AI Overviews, People Also Ask, the local pack, video results and review stars. You can earn some of them. Others you cannot.
In this guide I go through the main features you will see in Google in August 2025. For each one I cover what it is, where its information comes from, and what (if anything) you can do to show up in it.
What Are SERP Features?
SERP stands for search engine results page. A SERP feature is any result that is not a plain title, URL and description. Google’s own help pages split the page into text results, rich results, image results, video results and “exploration features” that help people narrow a search.
The split I use for planning is simpler. Ask where the feature gets its information:
- Your page content. Featured snippets, AI Overview links, People Also Ask answers and sitelinks are built from what is already on your pages.
- Structured data you add. Review stars, product details, recipe cards and event listings mostly need schema markup to qualify. Schema markup is code that labels the facts on a page for search engines.
- Other Google products. The local pack comes from Google Business Profile. Shopping results lean on Merchant Center. Knowledge panels come from the Knowledge Graph.
- Nothing you control. Related searches and some exploration features are made automatically.
No markup or tactic guarantees any feature. Google decides for each search whether a feature is useful. So the same page can earn a snippet for one search and a plain blue link for another.
AI Overviews
An AI Overview is an AI-written summary at the top of the results. It links to the pages it used. At Google I/O in May 2025, Google said AI Overviews were available in more than 200 countries and territories and over 40 languages. They only show on searches where Google’s systems think they help, so many searches still have none.
AI Mode, which rolled out in the US in May 2025, is a separate chat-style tab built on similar technology. It also cites links. But it is a different experience from the overview on the main results page.
How to Earn a Link in an AI Overview
Google’s advice on AI features and your website says there are no extra requirements. A page has to be indexed and allowed to show in Search with a snippet. There is no special markup or “AI file” to add.
In practice, pages that get linked tend to answer one specific part of the question clearly in text. Picture a guide on choosing a boiler with a plain section on “combi vs system boilers for small homes”. That gives Google a clean passage to cite. This is the kind of section I try to build into every long guide.
If you do not want your content shown, the usual snippet controls apply: nosnippet, data-nosnippet and max-snippet. Clicks from AI features are counted in the Search Console Performance report under the Web search type, not in a separate bucket.
Featured Snippets
A featured snippet shows a short extract from one page above or near the top of the organic results. The page’s title and link sit underneath. It can be a paragraph, a list or a table.
You cannot mark a page as a featured snippet. Google’s systems pick the passage they think best answers the search. What you can do is make that choice easy:
- Put a direct answer of two or three sentences right after a heading that matches the question.
- Use real HTML lists for steps and rankings, and real tables for comparisons.
- Rank on page one first. Snippets almost always come from pages already ranking well for the search.
Clicking a featured snippet often takes the user straight to the right section of the page. If you would rather not show, lowering max-snippet makes it less likely. nosnippet removes all snippets for the page.
People Also Ask
People Also Ask (PAA) is the box of related questions. Each one opens to show a short answer and a link. Google calls it a related questions group. Each opened answer works much like a featured snippet.
The box also grows as people click, loading more questions. That makes it a free research tool. The questions show what searchers want to know next. I check PAA boxes before I write almost any article.
To earn a spot, treat each relevant question as a small featured snippet. Use the question, or close wording, as an H2 or H3. Answer it in the first sentence or two, then add detail. In my experience, answering several related questions on one strong page works better than a thin page for each one.
Local Pack and Map Results
The local pack is the map with three businesses listed below it. It shows for searches with local intent, like “emergency plumber” or “dentist near me”. It shows even when the user does not type a place name.
This feature is driven by Google Business Profile, not just your website. Google says local ranking depends on three things:
- Relevance: how well your profile matches the search.
- Distance: how far you are from the searcher or the place in the search.
- Prominence: how well known you are, including links, reviews and ratings.
Google also says you cannot pay for a better local ranking. The practical work is a complete, accurate profile and the right primary category. Add steady reviews with replies, and a website that backs up the same name, address and services. Our guide to setting up Business Profile services and products covers one of the most overlooked parts of that.
Rich Results From Structured Data
Rich results are listings with extra detail, like star ratings, prices, cooking times or event dates. You have the most direct control over these features. Most of them depend on structured data that matches the visible content of the page.
Review Snippets
Review snippets show star ratings under a result. They apply to things like products, recipes, books, software and local businesses reviewed by a third party. Self-serving reviews are not eligible for stars. That means a business marking up reviews of itself on its own site.
Product Results
Product pages can show price, stock, ratings and shipping or returns details. Google supports two routes that often work together. One is Product structured data on the page. The other is product data sent through Merchant Center. Merchant Center feeds also open the door to free listings across the Shopping tab and other places.
Recipes, Events and Other Types
Recipe markup can show images, ratings and cook times. It can also put a recipe into carousels. Event markup can list dates, venues and ticket links. Other supported types include job postings, video, breadcrumbs, organization details, articles and local business information.
The list changes over time, so check Google’s Search gallery before building markup. A few recent changes to know:
- FAQ rich results have been limited to well-known, authoritative government and health sites since August 2023.
- HowTo rich results were removed in 2023.
- The sitelinks search box was retired in November 2024.
- On 12 June 2025, Google said it was phasing out seven features: Book Actions, Course Info, Claim Review, Estimated Salary, Learning Video, Special Announcement and Vehicle Listing. Google said this does not affect rankings.
Leaving retired markup on your pages does no harm. But I would not add it to new pages for Google’s sake.
How to Qualify for Rich Results
- Pick the type from Google’s Search gallery that matches what the page really is.
- Add the required properties, and the recommended ones where you have the data.
- Make sure every value in the markup is visible on the page. Ratings, prices and dates must match.
- Test the page with the Rich Results Test before you publish.
- Watch the enhancement reports in Search Console for errors after Google recrawls.
Valid markup makes a page eligible. It does not force Google to show the rich result.
Sitelinks
Sitelinks are the extra links under a main result, usually for brand searches. A search for a shop’s name might show links to “Sale”, “Delivery” and “Contact us”.
They are fully automatic. You cannot add or request them. Google builds them from your site’s structure. So the best levers are clear navigation, internal links with descriptive link text, and page titles that describe each page plainly. Our guide to title tag best practices explains why titles matter here as well as in the main listing.
If a page you do not want shows as a sitelink, the only reliable option is to remove it from the index with noindex. You would rarely want to do that.
Knowledge Panels
A knowledge panel is the information box that shows for well-known entities: people, organisations, places, films, books and so on. On desktop it usually sits on the right. The data comes from Google’s Knowledge Graph, which pulls facts from many sources across the web.
You cannot create a knowledge panel on demand. What you can do is:
- Make your official website clear about who you are, with an About page and the same name used everywhere.
- Add Organization structured data with your logo and official profile links.
- Keep the same details on trusted third-party profiles.
- If a panel exists, claim it through Google’s verification process and suggest corrections.
Local businesses usually see a Business Profile panel instead. You manage that directly in Business Profile.
Top Stories
Top stories is the carousel of recent news articles that shows for newsworthy searches. It favours fresh, original reporting from sites Google treats as news sources.
There is no application process, and AMP has not been required since 2021. To be in the running, publish timely articles with clear dates and bylines. Use Article structured data and follow Google News content policies. Evergreen guides rarely show here, and that is fine. They target different searches.
Image and Video Results
Images and videos can show as their own blocks in the main results, as thumbnails next to text results, or in the Images and Videos tabs. Google shows them more on searches where people clearly want to see something. Examples are “how to tie a bow tie” or “modern kitchen ideas”.
For images, the basics do most of the work:
- Use descriptive file names and alt text.
- Place images near related text on the page.
- Use standard
<img>elements so Google can find them.
For videos, give each important video its own watch page where the video is the main content. Add VideoObject markup with a thumbnail and upload date. Use clip or seek markup if you want key moments to show. Videos on YouTube show in these features too. So a YouTube channel can earn video results for searches your site would struggle to win.
Discussions and Forums
The Discussions and forums feature shows threads from forums and community sites. It shows for searches where first-hand experiences help. Searches like “is this laptop worth it” or “best way to remove tile adhesive” often bring it up.
If you run a forum or a community section, Google supports DiscussionForumPosting structured data for threads. It also supports QAPage markup for pages built around one question with answers. Most sites cannot just add this feature. It only makes sense if your site really hosts user discussions.
Exploration Features You Cannot Target
Some features exist to help people narrow their search. Related searches at the bottom of the page and “people also search for” suggestions are made automatically. You cannot optimise for them directly. But they are a good source of topic ideas and secondary keywords.
Google also tests new layouts. In late July 2025, it launched Web Guide as a Search Labs experiment that groups results by topic. Our explainer on Google Web Guide covers what that test means for site owners.
How to Prioritise SERP Features for Your Site
Chasing every feature wastes time. I’d match the effort to your type of business:
- Local service business: local pack first, then review snippets through third-party platforms, then PAA content on service pages.
- Online store: product rich results and Merchant Center, then image results, then featured snippets on buying guides.
- Publisher or blog: featured snippets, PAA and AI Overview links, then Top stories if you cover news.
- Brand or B2B company: sitelinks and a knowledge panel for brand searches, then snippets on informational content.
Then measure. In Search Console, the Performance report’s Search appearance filter shows clicks and impressions for many rich result types. Compare click-through rate before and after a change on the same pages. And remember: a falling CTR at a steady position often means a new feature has appeared above you. That is the first thing I check when CTR drops.
Conclusion
SERP features now shape how many clicks a ranking is worth. Some you earn with clear content (featured snippets, PAA, AI Overview links). Some you earn with markup (rich results). Some come through other Google tools (local pack, knowledge panels), and some you cannot earn at all.
Here is the next step I recommend. List your 20 most important keywords and note which SERP features show for each. Then pick the two or three you can realistically win. If your pages also need a cleaner structure, our guide to SEO-friendly URLs helps with the breadcrumbs and visible URLs that show in every result.
