Beyond Rankings: Harnessing SERP Features to Boost Organic Click-Through Rates in eCommerce

Originally published under Causal Signal on Substack, April 11, 2024.

Unlocking the Power of SERP Features

In the fast-paced digital landscape, businesses in eCommerce, OTT, media, and gaming are continually seeking ways to optimize their online presence and drive organic traffic to their websites.

A recent research paper titled "Beyond Rankings: Exploring the Impact of SERP Features on Organic Click-through Rates" by Fubel et al. sheds light on the significance of Search Engine Results Page (SERP) features in influencing click-through rates (CTRs).

SERP stands for Search Engine Results Page. It refers to the page displayed by a search engine, such as Google or Bing, in response to a user's search query. The SERP contains a list of web pages, ads, and other content that the search engine considers relevant to the user's search term.

A typical SERP includes the following elements:

1. Organic search results: These are the web pages that the search engine's algorithm deems most relevant to the user's query, ranked in order of relevance.
2. Paid search results (ads): These are sponsored listings that appear at the top or bottom of the SERP, usually marked with an "Ad" label.
3. SERP features: These are additional elements that appear on the SERP, providing users with quick answers, visual content, or other relevant information. Examples of SERP features include featured snippets, knowledge panels, image packs, and video carousels.

Source: Beyond Rankings: Exploring the Impact of SERP Features on Organic Click-through Rates

Understanding the structure and composition of SERPs is crucial for businesses and marketers aiming to improve their online visibility and attract organic traffic to their websites. By optimizing their content and website structure to rank higher in organic search results and appear in relevant SERP features, businesses can increase their click-through rates and drive more qualified traffic to their sites.

Key Points

1. SERP features, such as knowledge panels, media galleries, and FAQs, significantly impact CTRs and user behavior, beyond just website rankings.
2. The presence of SERP features can either amplify or attenuate web traffic, depending on the specific feature and context.
3. The study utilized a unique, cross-website dataset spanning over 40 US-based e-commerce domains, enabling a comprehensive analysis of 24 different SERP features.
4. An ablation study modeling CTR demonstrated the incremental predictive power of SERP features.
5. Appearing within SERP features can significantly enhance CTR, irrespective of the actual result's position.
6. The impact of SERP features varies across positions, with top-ranking results being more susceptible to decreased CTR due to increased SERP features.
7. Specific combinations of SERP features can substantially influence the importance of high rankings on a results page.
8. Optimizing for SERP feature appearances presents a new focus for SEO efforts, alongside securing high rankings.
9. The integration of Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT could have an even more profound impact on the SERP landscape in the future.
10. Staying abreast of changes in SERP features is imperative for practitioners to adapt their strategies effectively.

Methodology

The research paper employed a robust methodology, utilizing a dataset of 67,000 keywords and their respective Google SERPs, spanning over 40 distinct US-based e-commerce domains. This cross-website dataset, unprecedented in its scope, generated over 6 million clicks from 24 million views, providing a solid foundation for the study's findings.

The authors conducted an ablation study modeling CTR to illustrate the incremental predictive power of SERP features. This approach lends credibility to the research, as it systematically evaluates the contribution of each feature subset to the overall predictive power of the model.

Real-World Applications

For businesses in eCommerce, OTT, media, and gaming, the insights from this research paper offer valuable guidance for optimizing their online presence. Consider the following scenarios:

1. An eCommerce platform aiming to increase organic traffic: By strategically targeting keywords associated with SERP features that positively influence CTR, such as image packs or featured snippets, the platform can enhance its visibility and attract more clicks.
2. An OTT provider seeking to improve user engagement: By optimizing their content to appear within relevant SERP features, such as video carousels or people also ask sections, the provider can capture users' attention and drive them to engage with their platform.
3. A media company looking to boost its online presence: By understanding the interplay between SERP features and CTR, the company can tailor its SEO efforts to target features that amplify traffic while avoiding those that may attenuate it.
4. A gaming website aiming to increase its organic reach: By leveraging the insights from the research paper, the website can focus on securing high rankings for keywords that, in combination with specific SERP features, yield higher CTRs.

Challenges and Future Directions

While the research paper provides valuable insights, it is essential to acknowledge its limitations. The dataset focused on US-based desktop searches, and the findings' applicability to mobile searches or other countries may vary.

Additionally, the rapidly evolving nature of Google's search result pages means that the specific SERP features analyzed in the study may have undergone changes since the data collection period.

Moreover, the integration of LLMs like ChatGPT into the SERP landscape presents both challenges and opportunities for businesses. As these AI models demonstrate their ability to surpass traditional search engines in user experience and problem resolution, businesses must adapt their strategies to leverage these emerging technologies effectively.

Practical Takeaways

1. Analyze your website's current SERP feature appearances and identify opportunities to optimize for features that positively influence CTR.
2. Conduct keyword research focusing on terms associated with beneficial SERP features, and prioritize these keywords in your SEO efforts.
3. Monitor changes in SERP features and adapt your strategies accordingly to stay ahead of the competition.
4. Invest in creating high-quality, engaging content that is likely to be featured in SERP features such as featured snippets, image packs, or video carousels.
5. Collaborate with your SEO and content teams to ensure that your website's metadata and structure are optimized for SERP feature appearances.
6. Stay informed about the latest developments in LLMs and other AI technologies, and explore ways to integrate them into your SEO and user engagement strategies.

Glossary

• SERP (Search Engine Results Page): The page displayed by a search engine in response to a user's query, containing a list of results relevant to the search term.
• CTR (Click-Through Rate): The ratio of users who click on a specific link to the total number of users who view the page containing the link.
• SEO (Search Engine Optimization): The practice of optimizing a website to increase its visibility and ranking in search engine results pages.
• LLM (Large Language Model): A type of AI model trained on vast amounts of text data, capable of understanding and generating human-like language.

Conclusion

As the digital landscape continues to evolve, staying attuned to the latest research and insights is crucial for CTOs and decision-makers in eCommerce, OTT, media, and gaming.

The findings from "Beyond Rankings: Exploring the Impact of SERP Features on Organic Click-through Rates" underscore the significance of SERP features in driving organic traffic and user engagement.

By leveraging the insights from this research paper and adapting your SEO and content strategies accordingly, you can position your business for success in the increasingly competitive online marketplace.

Beyond these best practices, many organizations have turned to prerendering solutions to deliver content more effectively to search engine crawlers. To learn more about how PhotonIQ Prerendering can improve your SERP, view this demo, or chat with an expert.

Photo by Unsplash+In collaboration with Philip Oroni.