What Are SERP Features: From Local Pack to People Also Ask
Basics4 minInnovialabs editorial team
In short
SERP features are the special blocks on a results page beyond the ten blue links; a regular business site can realistically win the local pack, sitelinks, snippets, rich results and image placements, while AI answers and news carousels are much harder to control.
What SERP features are
A SERP (search engine results page) is no longer a plain list of ten links. Above, between and beside them, Google and Yandex show special blocks: a map with companies, a list of questions, image strips, a ready-made answer. These blocks are called SERP features (in Yandex they are traditionally called "wizards").
They matter for two reasons:
- they take up the most visible space on the page, often above the first organic result;
- each one is triggered by a specific search intent, so the set of features tells you what the search engine thinks the user wants.
The main features and what triggers them
| Feature | Where it appears | Typical trigger |
|---|---|---|
| Local pack (map + 3 companies) | Google, Yandex | Local intent: "dentist near me", "coffee Tashkent" |
| Featured snippet / quick answer | Google, Yandex | Question queries: "how to", "what is" |
| People Also Ask | Informational queries with related sub-questions | |
| Image carousel | Google, Yandex | Visual topics: design, products, interiors |
| Video carousel | Google, Yandex | How-to and review queries |
| Sitelinks | Google, Yandex | Brand and navigational queries |
| Rich results (stars, price, availability) | Google, Yandex | Pages with valid structured data |
| AI answers (AI Overviews, neural answers in Yandex) | Google, Yandex | Complex informational questions |
| Top stories / news | Google, Yandex | Fresh, newsworthy topics |
| Shopping blocks | Google, Yandex | Commercial product queries |
The set changes constantly and differs by country and language, so always check the live results for your own queries.
Which features a regular business can win
Not all features are equally reachable. Here is a realistic view for a typical company site.
Very achievable
- Local pack. Requires a complete, verified listing in Google Business Profile and Yandex Business: correct category, address, hours, photos, and real reviews. For offline businesses this is often the most valuable feature of all.
- Sitelinks. Appear automatically for brand queries when the site has a clear structure, descriptive navigation and good internal linking. You cannot switch them on manually.
- Rich results. Add valid structured data (Product, Organization, BreadcrumbList, Article and similar) and keep it consistent with what is visible on the page.
Achievable with good content
- Featured snippets and People Also Ask. Answer the question directly in the first one or two sentences under a heading that repeats the question. Use lists and tables for steps and comparisons. You usually need to already rank on the first page.
- Image carousel. Use original images, descriptive file names, meaningful
alttext, and place images next to relevant text. - Video carousel. Publish short how-to videos, ideally with chapters and a clear title; embed them on relevant pages.
Hard to control
- AI answers. You can increase the chance of being cited by writing clear, factual, well-structured pages, but there is no switch for it.
- News blocks. Mostly for publishers with frequent, timely content.
How to start: a short checklist
- Collect 20-50 of your key queries and look at the live results for each one.
- Write down which features appear. That is your real competition, not just the ten links.
- For local queries, finish your Google Business Profile and Yandex Business listings first.
- For question queries, add a concise answer block at the top of the relevant page.
- Add structured data where it fits the page type and validate it with the Rich Results Test.
- Re-check the results monthly: features appear and disappear.
Common mistakes
- Chasing every feature. Choose the ones that match your queries and business model.
- Marking up content that is not on the page. Structured data must describe visible content, otherwise rich results can be removed.
- Long-winded answers. Snippets favour short, direct answers followed by details.
- Ignoring Yandex. In markets where Yandex has a large share, its local and quick-answer blocks behave differently from Google's.