The document outlines the evolution of search engines and SERP features, highlighting key historical developments and current trends. It emphasizes the importance of understanding SERP features by industry, with examples ranging from e-commerce to mental health, and discusses keyword difficulty metrics. The insights aim to guide SEO strategies for 2022, noting that industry variations exist, particularly in prominence and ranking difficulty.

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● Search engine evolution
● Google interface and SERP Feature
trends
Contents
● SERP Feature trends, by industry
● Keyword difficulty, by industry

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Search engine and SERP evolution

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1990-1997 2019-Present
1920-1945
● 1990 - Archie
● 1993 - Mosaic
● 1996 - BackRub (Stanford University
project)
● 1997-Present - Google
● Plus a lot more!
● 1920-1930 - Patents for a 'statistical
machine' (Emanuel Goldberg)
● 1945 - Information retrieval using
computers (Vannevar Bush)
● 1950-1970 - Automation of several
thousand text documents started
(Gerard Salton)
SERP Trends: Evolution of search and SERP Features
INFORMATION RETRIEVAL
Searching on CDs, databases
and in libraries
WEB SEARCH
Searching for websites on the World
Wide Web
SERP FEATURES
Helping us find information, online,
using a range of different types
of information
● 2000-2002 - Textual Ads and regular
results (10 blue links)
● 2004-2007 - Images, category
hierarchy, top stories
● 2008 - Enriched results (e.g. sitelinks)
● 2009 - Local (i.e. maps)
● 2010 - Video, related searches
● 2013 - Shopping ads
● 2014 - Knowledge Panel, People also
ask, Knowledge panel
● 2015 - Carousel and Twitter
● 2016-2020 - Featured snippets (e.g.
Instant Answers), search refinement

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Google interface trends

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Google SERP interface in 1999 was very basic

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Google SERP interface in 1999 often had titles, 2 line description & URL
SERP feature filters
PPC ads used to
be visually different
compared to
SEO results
Each result had:
1. Title
2. Two line description
3. URL

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Google SERP interface in 1999 often had titles, 2 line description & URL
SERP feature filters
PPC ads used to
be visually different
compared to
SEO results
Each result had:
1. Title
2. Two line description
3. URL

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Google SERP interface in 1999 often had titles, 2 line description & URL
SERP feature filters
PPC ads used to
be visually different
compared to
SEO results
Each result had:
1. Title
2. Two line description
3. URL

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SERP interface in 2017 made SERP Features more prominent

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SERP interface today have a large variety of SERP Features

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Today, it is common for different keywords to have completely different SERPs
Product Listings Ads (PLAs), Maps PLAs, knowledge panel maps People also ask, regular results People also ask, Twitter
Running shoes Sparkling water History of Google Wikipedia

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Some SERP Features are
more common that others

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● Image carousel
4 SERP Features
are very common
in today’s world ● Related searches
● Organic inline sitelinks
● Related questions

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U.K.
U.S.
Percentage of keywords that have images,
related questions, related searches and organic inlinks
Non-branded
27%
24%
U.S.
41%
U.K.
47%
Branded keywords
Otherwise the data is skewed and most keywords have SERP Features (July 2021)

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SERPs with SERP Features are more than just results
Analyse
Searcher processes
information or even use
the SERP itself to do
something (e.g.
calculator)
Develop
Absorbing information
allows searcher to use
new keywords in
another search
Fragments
Searchers collect
information in
fragments
Ranked results lead
by an algorithm
SERPs

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Mode Description Objective
Lookup - Carefully specified queries
- Yield precise results
- Minimal need for result set examination
- Fact retrieval
- Known item search
- Transactional
- Verification
Learn - Requires cognitive processing and interpretation - Knowledge acquisition
- Comparison
- Socialise
Investigate - Multiple query iterations
- Over long periods of time
- Analysis
- Evaluation
- Discovery
- Planning/forecasting
SERP Features align with the three modes of searching
Source: Marchionini, G. (2006) Exploratory search. From finding to understanding [link]

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SERP Features align with the three modes of searching
Source: Marchionini, G. (2006) Exploratory search. From finding to understanding [link]
Mode Description Objective Example SERP Features
Lookup - Carefully specified queries
- Yield precise results
- Minimal need for result set
examination
- Fact retrieval
- Known item search
- Transactional
- Verification
- Featured snippet
- Instant answers
- Knowledge card
Learn - Requires cognitive processing
and interpretation
- Knowledge acquisition
- Comparison
- Socialise
- Local pack
- News
- Recipes
- PLAs
Investigate - Multiple query iterations
- Over long periods of time
- Analysis
- Evaluation
- Discovery
- Planning/forecasting
- Related questions
- Related searches
- Twitter

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SERP Features by Industry
And the ‘Big 3’ SERP Features for each Industry

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eCommerce - PLAs, images and videos
United States and United Kingdom
Desktop & mobile, non-brand keywords, eCommerce, Dec 2021 - Feb 2022

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Food and Drink/Groceries - PLAs, local, images
United States and United Kingdom
Desktop & mobile, non-brand keywords, Food and Drink/Groceries, Dec 2021 - Feb 2022

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Sports - Twitter, News, Featured
United States and United Kingdom
Desktop & mobile, non-brand keywords, Sports, Dec 2021 - Feb 2022

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Food and Drink/Restaurants & delivery - Local, knowledge, related
United States and United Kingdom
Desktop & mobile, non-brand keywords, Food and Drink/Restaurants & delivery, Dec 2021 - Feb 2022

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Mental Health - Featured, related and instant answers
United States and United Kingdom
Desktop & mobile, non-brand keywords, Mental Health, Dec 2021 - Feb 2022

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Jobs/Careers - Jobs, featured, paid
United States and United Kingdom
Desktop & mobile, non-brand keywords, Jobs/Careers, Dec 2021 - Feb 2022

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Law/Government - Jobs, featured, Twitter
United States and United Kingdom
Desktop & mobile, non-brand keywords, Law/Government, Dec 2021 - Feb 2022

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Beauty/Cosmetics - Featured, PLAs and video
United States and United Kingdom
Desktop & mobile, non-brand keywords, Beauty/Cosmetics, Dec 2021 - Feb 2022

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Fashion - PLAs, images, Paid
United States and United Kingdom
Desktop & mobile, non-brand keywords, Fashion, Dec 2021 - Feb 2022

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News/Media - News, featured, item, Twitter, Apps
United States and United Kingdom
Desktop & mobile, non-brand keywords, News and media, Dec 2021 - Feb 2022

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Travel - Flights, hotels, local
United States and United Kingdom
Desktop & mobile, non-brand keywords, Travel, Dec 2021 - Feb 2022

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Keyword difficulty by Industry
And the ‘Big 3’ SERP Features for each Industry

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Keyword Difficulty, a 0 - 100 score, is a measure of how difficult it would
be to rank on the top 20 results for a selected keyword
What is keyword difficulty?
0-20
Easy
Little competition. Long tail
keywords usually sit here
Best opportunities to rank
(short term strategy)
Moderate
More competition as number
increases
Optimization strategy required
(medium- to long-term strategy)
21-80
Hard
Most competition, keywords
usually have a lot of search
volume
Lot of effort required
81-100

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U.K.
U.S.
Average keyword difficulty
34
Average
34
CA
37
AU
35

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Canada
Australia
23
30
United Kingdom
21
United States
24
Beauty & Cosmetics
Medium keyword difficulty

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Canada
Australia
27
31
United Kingdom
30
United States
27
Careers
Medium keyword difficulty

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Canada
Australia
19
25
United Kingdom
21
United States
22
eCommerce
Medium keyword difficulty

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Canada
Australia
20
24
United Kingdom
16
United States
19
Medium keyword difficulty
Fashion & Apparel

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Canada
Australia
20
28
United Kingdom
19
United States
25
Medium keyword difficulty
Food & Groceries

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Canada
Australia
21
27
United Kingdom
23
United States
24
Medium keyword difficulty
Food - Restaurants and delivery

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Canada
Australia
34
42
United Kingdom
37
United States
43
Law & Government
Medium keyword difficulty

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Canada
Australia
44 42
United Kingdom
44
United States
43
Mental Health
Medium keyword difficulty

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Canada
Australia
34
38
United Kingdom
33
United States
34
News & Media
Medium keyword difficulty

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Canada
Australia
24
32
United Kingdom
25
United States
25
Medium keyword difficulty
Sports

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Canada
Australia
23
31
United Kingdom
23
United States
28
Medium keyword difficulty
Travel

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Keyword difficulty summary and comparison
U.K. U.S. CA AU
Beauty & Cosmetics 21 24 30 23
Careers 30 27 31 27
E-commerce 21 22 25 19
E-commerce Marketplace 19 21 25 19
Fashion & Apparel 16 19 24 20
Food/Groceries 19 25 28 20
Food/Restaurants & Delivery 23 24 27 21
Law & Government 37 43 42 34
Mental Health 44 43 42 44
News & Media 33 34 38 34
Sports 25 25 32 24
Travel 23 28 31 23

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Download our SERP Feature whitepaper (keyword difficulty soon)
Get the full report on SERP Feature
Trends Every SEO Must Know
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right for your industry?
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Summary

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● SERP Features have evolved a lot.
Particularly in recent years
● Images, related questions, related
searches, and organic in-links are very
common SERP Features. Look for your
SERP Features
● Industry insights unlock opportunities
- News & Media is the most advanced
industry for SERP Features
- Instant Answers and Local are more
prominent in U.S. vs U.K.
- Food & Groceries is the easiest to rank for
in U.K. vs U.S. and CA
Summary

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