After that, you can take a methodical approach to optimizing for SERP features.
How to optimize for each SERP feature is out of the scope of this article, but it’s important to get a sense of how different digital channels and features work together to create a traffic-driven strategy for the whole SERP:
| Visibility channel | Example SERP feature |
| Paid search ads | Top search ads, sitelinks, callouts |
| Local ads | Local Services Ads (LSA carousel) |
| Organic | Organic ranking, site links |
| Snippets | Featured snippets, paragraph/list/table |
| People Also Ask | People Also Ask |
| Local | Local Pack, Google Maps listing |
| AI | AI Overviews |
| Ecommerce | Shopping results |
| Video | YouTube results, carousels |
| Things to know | Informational dominance |
| Social signals | “What People Are Saying” panels |
Ultimately, this approach to driving traffic in the SERPs is about owning the decision moment.
For example:
- When someone searches for “best HVAC company near me,” it’s your brand that shows up in LSAs, the Map Pack, and organic.
- When someone Googles “how much does estate planning cost,” your video appears, your blog earns the snippet, and your PPC ad shows a price estimator.
- When they scroll down the SERP, they see your brand again in People Also Ask, with glowing reviews in What People Are Saying.
This approach is also built for how Google thinks.
Google is not indexing pages; it’s ranking experiences that ultimately make Google money.
Your new mantra: Own the SERP
SEO is not dead, but old SEO strategies are morphing: slowly dying and growing.
Today, it’s about being in the business of traffic, wherever that comes from on the SERP.
It’s about building a strategy that supports business outcomes and unifying your teams, tools, and tactics for better performance.
Leading with this approach helps brands stay visible, own the decision moment, and drive traffic in an environment where the rules are changing daily.
Dig deeper: Your 2025 playbook for AI-powered cross-channel brand visibility
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