SERP Features in 2026

The Google SERP used to be 10 blue links. Today it is a complex layout with image packs, knowledge panels, featured snippets, FAQ accordions, video carousels, "people also ask" boxes, local packs, shopping carousels, and more. Each of these is called a SERP feature, and each one represents an opportunity for your page to take up more space in search results. This guide is the field guide.

Once you know which features apply to your queries, the free SERP preview tool previews how your snippet will display alongside them.

What Counts as a SERP Feature

A SERP feature is anything on a Google search results page that is not a standard organic blue link. The common ones:

• Featured snippet — the answer box at position 0, pulled from a top organic result
• People Also Ask (PAA) — accordion of related questions Google thinks searchers also want
• Image pack — horizontal row of relevant images
• Knowledge panel — sidebar info card about a person, place, business, or thing
• Local pack — map with three local business results
• Video carousel — row of YouTube and other video results
• Shopping carousel — row of product listings with prices and ratings
• FAQ rich snippet — accordion under your organic result with Q&A from your FAQ schema
• Top stories — news carousel for current events queries
• Sitelinks — additional links to subpages under your organic result
• Twitter carousel — recent tweets for current events or brand queries

Featured Snippets

The featured snippet is the answer box at position 0 — Google pulls a paragraph or list from one of the top organic results to answer the query directly. Pages that win featured snippets get extra visibility and are read aloud by voice assistants.

To increase your chances of winning a featured snippet, structure your page content with: a clear question header, a concise direct answer (40-60 words), then supporting detail. Format-wise, paragraph snippets, list snippets, and table snippets are the three main types.

FAQ Rich Snippets

Pages with FAQ schema (JSON-LD FAQPage markup) can earn an accordion-style preview under their organic search result. The accordion expands inline when clicked, taking up significantly more vertical space than a standard result. Pages with FAQ schema typically see 15-25% higher CTR.

To earn FAQ rich snippets: add at least 2-3 question/answer pairs to your page using FAQPage schema. The questions and answers must be visible on the page, not hidden behind tabs or accordions. Use the schema markup generator to generate the JSON-LD.

Sell Custom Apparel — We Handle Printing & Free Shipping

Image Pack

The image pack is a horizontal row of relevant images, usually appearing for queries with visual intent (products, places, people, concepts). To rank in the image pack, you need: high-quality, relevant images on your page; descriptive alt text; image filenames that match the query; and an image sitemap entry.

Knowledge Panel

The knowledge panel is the sidebar info card you see for branded searches (people, businesses, places, products). It is generated from Google's Knowledge Graph, which pulls from structured data on your site, Wikipedia, Wikidata, and other authoritative sources.

Earning a knowledge panel for your business: add Organization or LocalBusiness schema to your homepage, claim and complete your Google Business Profile, get cited on Wikipedia or Wikidata, and build brand authority through coverage on authoritative sources.

How SERP Features Change CTR

SERP features can DRAMATICALLY change click-through rates for your page:

• Featured snippets increase your CTR significantly even if you give up the click to the snippet itself (because you appear at position 0)
• FAQ rich snippets increase CTR 15-25% by taking up more vertical space
• Image packs above your result can DECREASE your CTR by pushing your result down
• Local packs usually decrease organic CTR for local queries because users click the map results first

Audit which features appear for your target queries and optimize accordingly.

Tools to Track SERP Features

Paid SEO tools (Ahrefs, Semrush, Mangools) all track which SERP features appear for which queries. For free, you can manually check by searching your target queries in incognito mode and noting what features show up. Update your content strategy based on which features dominate your category.