The document is a presentation on trends in search engine results page (SERP) features from 2020-2021. It analyzes data from Similarweb on 12 major SERP features across different industries, keywords, devices and markets (US vs UK). Key findings include the top features being organic/paid listings and images in both markets. In the US, instant answers are prominent while related questions dominate the UK. The analysis also compares feature trends for branded vs non-branded keywords and across industries most impacted by COVID-19 like travel.
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SERP Feature Trends
Every SEO Must Know
with Kevin Indig
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Your presenters
Gerald Murphy
Senior Solution Business Manager,
Digital Marketing Intelligence Solution (SEO)
Kevin Indig
Director of SEO
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Similarweb
empowers you
with the insights
you need to make
better decisions
We provide decision makers with the
most reliable data, offering 360°
visibility of the digital world.
Similarweb insights, from every market,
in every category, enable companies
to find untapped opportunities to
grow their business.
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Similarweb
provides insights
for any website,
app, industry and
market
Websites
100M+
Apps
4.7M+
Countries
190+
Industries
210+
Search Terms
1B+
E-commerce
product SKUs
250M+
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What we will
cover today?
> Key search engine behaviours
> Things that impact a search
> Trends: US vs. UK SERP behaviour
> Trends: The Top 5 SERP features you should be
optimising for
> Top 10 SERP Features of US and UK
> How you can optimise for the most important SERP
features
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Common search user
behaviours
Search is complex, this is one of the reasons
why SERP Features exist
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Factors that influence a search
Income, education
and health
● Reflective of how we engage with
technologies
● Will impact the types of products we have
● No impact on search engine use
Gender
● Male searchers tend to spend more time
examining the SERP and use filters
● Female searchers tend to open more
browser tabs for more complex
searches, less time on SERPs but more
time browsing result content
Location
● Used by engines to increase relevance
● Where the searcher is from doesn’t impact
their search behaviour, just the types of
keywords they use
Age
● 18-60 year olds are very similar
● Older spend more time on the SERP
Sources:
● Belkin, N. J. (2000) Helping People Find What They Don't Know. The Human Element 43(8)
● Cole, M.J., Gwizdka, J., Liu, C., Bierig, R., Belkin, N.J., and Zhang, X. (2011) Task and user effects on reading patterns in information search. 23 23(2011)
● Singer, G., Norbisrath, U., Lewandowski, D. (no date) Impact of Gender and Age on performing Search Tasks Online. --
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SERP Features help drive better results so we can find information
Product Listings Ads (PLAs), Maps PLAs, knowledge panel maps People also ask, regular results People also ask, Twitter
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> See SERP Feature trends in US and UK for
some key industries that were most
impacted by COVID-19
> Find out if SERP Features changed by
device and if there was a different trend
for brand vs non-brand
What we set out to
find
> Identify the top 10 most prominent SERP
Features in US and UK
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What data did we use?
Industries for this analysis
● We have a grand total of 120
industries in Similarweb Pro
● We analysed some of most
interesting from a Covid
perspective
12
SERP Features
● January 2020 to April 2021
● United States and United Kingdom
● Desktop and mobile devices
● Brand and non-brand keywords
27
Keywords
● We collect keyword data using a
range of methodologies (e.g.
public data, anonymous user
data, first party analytics etc)
● Our keyword data is dynamic and
updated daily
11.9T
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Examples of the data we used
Industries
● All industries
● E-commerce and Shopping
● E-commerce and Shopping >
Marketplace
● Food and Drink > Groceries
● Food and Drink > Restaurants and
Delivery
● Health > Mental Health
● Health > Nutrition Diets and Fitness
● Jobs and Career
● Law and Government > Government
● Lifestyle > Beauty and Cosmetics
● Lifestyle > Fashion and Apparel
● News and Media
● Sports
● Travel and Tourism
SERP Features
● Apps
● Featured
● Flights
● Hotels
● Images
● Instant answers
● Jobs
● Knowledge
● Local pack
● News
● Organic (expanded sitelinks, inline
sitelinks, sitelinks, expanded sitelinks)
● Paid (expanded sitelinks, inline sitelinks,
sitelinks, expanded sitelinks)
● PLAs
● Popular products
● Video
Keywords
Brand
● Netflix
● Google Chrome
● PlayStation 5
● Walt Disney World
Non-brand
● Coronavirus
● Champions league
● Standing desk
● Office chair
● Pizza near me
● Fried rice recipe
● Suez canal blockage
● Car rental
● Flights to Hawaii
● All inclusive holidays
● Online yoga
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Number of SERP Features as a percentage in US and UK
United States and United Kingdom
Desktop & mobile, brand and non-brand, all industries, Jan 2020 - Apr 2021
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The number of keywords triggering SERP Features in US and UK
United States
Desktop & mobile, brand and non-brand, all industries, Jan 2020 - Apr 2021
United Kingdom
Desktop & mobile, brand and non-brand, all industries, Jan 2020 - Apr 2021
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The number of brand keywords triggering SERP Features - US & UK
United States
Desktop & mobile, brand, all industries, Jan 2020 - Apr 2021
United Kingdom
Desktop & mobile, brand, all industries, Jan 2020 - Apr 2021
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The number of non-brand keywords triggering SERP Features - US & UK
United States
Desktop & mobile, non-brand, all industries, Jan 2020 - Apr 2021
United Kingdom
Desktop & mobile, non-brand, all industries, Jan 2020 - Apr 2021
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The number of keywords triggering SERP Features by device - US & UK
Desktop
Desktop, brand and non-brand, all industries, Jan 2020 - Apr 2021
Mobile
Mobile, brand and non-brand, all industries, Jan 2020 - Apr 2021
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The number of SERP Features combinations - US & UK
Raw metrics
Desktop & mobile, brand and non-brand, all industries, Jan 2020 - Apr 2021
As a percentage
Desktop & mobile, brand and non-brand, all industries, Jan 2020 - Apr 2021
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The largest quarterly growth of SERP Features by market - US & UK
United States
Desktop & mobile, brand and non-brand, all industries, Jan 2020 - Apr 2021
United Kingdom
Desktop & mobile, brand and non-brand, all industries, Jan 2020 - Apr 2021
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The top 5 dominate SERP Features by most impacted COVID industry
United States
Desktop, brand and non-brand, Jan 2020 - Apr 2021
United Kingdom
Desktop, brand and non-brand, Jan 2020 - Apr 2021
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Top 10 SERP features by market - U.S. and U.K.
United States
Desktop & mobile, branded and non-branded, all industries, Jan 2020 - Apr 2021
United Kingdom
Desktop & mobile, branded and non-branded, all industries, Jan 2020 - Apr 2021
Largest SERP Feature: Instant Answers 31% (only 2% in US)
Largest SERP Feature: Related questions 36% (only 13% in the UK)
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Top tips for SERP
Feature optimisation
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How you can start doing SERP Feature keyword research
Keyword-specific
Looking at a core topic
Domain-specific
Looking at what competitors are doing
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Best practice tips for related question optimisation
Unique content Keyword Generator
Featured snippets Content hubs
Have no duplicated or
similar content on
your domain
Enhance content with
keywords related to
topics that trigger
related questions
Optimise your content
with instant answers
in mind
Become an authority
on relevant,
related topics
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Best practice tips for instant answer optimisation
Unique content Semantics
Quality content Topic focused
Ensure you do not
have any duplicate,
similar or thin content
issues
Utilise semantic
keywords in your
content and HTML
(e.g. H2s)
Answer question in first
paragraph. Related queries
answered implicitly or
explicitly. Authority (e.g.
author, readability level)
Focus on where you
specialise in so you
can win (e.g. internal
links)
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Best practice tips for video optimisation
Title and description Thumbnail
Video transcript Page mapping
Optimise to reflect
what the video
is about
Select an engaging
thumbnail
Also good for web
accessibility
One video on
one page
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Best practice tips for local 3-pack optimisation
Places Analytics
Link and review signals Advanced on-page
Register and complete
your Google My
Business and Bing
Places profiles
Identify and prioritise
stores that are over
(quick win) and
under-performing
Promote your local
businesses using
reviews from loyal
customers
Optimise your content
using semantics, local
language, and include
directions to the store
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Best practice tips for app optimisation
Approval Unique keyword strategy
Title and description Reviews
All public apps must
meet certain criteria.
They need to be
approved
Expand keyword research
with autosuggest. App
optimisation requires a
different keyword approach
Avoid keyword
stuffing, focus on
relevance and value
Like local search,
focus on quality
customer reviews
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Best practice tips for PPC optimisation
Relevance Use extensions
Test Call to actions
Make sure your ads
are only appearing on
relevant searches
Use ad extensions to
provide additional
information and give
your ads more
prominence
Perform A/B testing to
find out what works
best for you and your
audience
Use CTAs in your ads
to drive action
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● We have many SERP behaviours.
SERP Features exist to help us find
quality information as quickly as
possible
● Identify what your top opportunities
are and apply best practice
optimisation to succeed
Drive your SERP
Feature presence
● Whilst US and UK SERP Features are
both growing, they are very different.
International brands need to have
country-specific content marketing
strategies to win in their market