Post Content
Wolfpack Media
The right decision for your social media marketing strategy
22 of the Best Examples of Beautiful Blog Design
According to a recent survey, 70% of customers rely on expert and insider advice. That’s right — that means most people trust bloggers more than celebrities, journalists, or politicians.
But how do you get people to fall in love with your blog in the first place? (Aside from remarkable content, of course.)
Well, just as your website homepage is like the front door to your business, your blog’s design — much like a welcome mat — is the front door to your business blog.
If you’re not attracting people visually, how will you get them to take the next steps to actually read (and, hopefully, subscribe to) your content? Once you’re done creating quality content, you still have the challenge of presenting it in a way that clearly dictates what your blog is about.
Images, text, and links need to be shown off just right — otherwise, readers might abandon your content, if it’s not showcased in a way that’s appealing, easy to follow, and generates more interest.
That’s why we’ve compiled some examples of blog homepages to get you on the right track to designing the perfect blog for your readers. Check ’em out, below.
Inspiring Examples of Beautiful Blog Homepage Design
1. Help Scout
Sometimes, the best blog designs are also the simplest. Help Scout, makers of customer service software, uses a unique but minimalist design on its blog that we love — it limits copy and visuals and embraces negative space.
What we particularly like about this blog is its use of featured images for all posts, including the “Most Recent Posts” section that highlights recent or particularly popular entries. These images catch the readers’ eye and signal what the post is about. And it works — everything about this blog’s design says clean and readable.
2. Microsoft Work & Life
Full disclosure: We’ve totally gushed over Microsoft’s microsites before. We can’t help it — what better way to revitalize an old-school brand than with a blog that boasts beautiful, interactive, and inspiring branded content? Plus, the square images in the layout of these stories are reminiscent of the Microsoft logo. This helps it achieve valuable brand consistency.
Microsoft Work & Life is also a prime example of how a business blog can be a major asset for an overall rebrand. In recent years, Microsoft has worked to humanize its brand, largely in response to a rivalry with Apple.
The “Work & Life” microsite has a simple tagline — “Learn how we’re helping people stay connected, engaged and productive — at work, at school, at home and at play.” It’s the softer side of Microsoft, so to speak.
When you’re trying to convey a certain brand message, you can use your blog to communicate it — both aesthetically and content-wise.
3. Pando
An important aspect of a well-designed blog is a consistent color scheme and style. After all, 80% of consumers say that color boosts their recognition of a brand.
It’s interesting to see how color consistency can unify the more diversified elements of design. Pando, a blog that explores the startup cycle, incorporates a set palette of colors — orange, green, pale blue, lavender, and deep yellow — in several sections of its site. These colors appear in the background, highlight bars, and certain areas of text.
But it also uses several different fonts — all of which manage to look seamless when tied together by a cohesive color scheme.
4. Design Milk
Design Milk, an online contemporary design outlet, uses a simple layout to highlight its posts. If the arrow beside “Read” at the top left points down, you can scroll through featured images and teaser text for a variety of articles. If the arrow beside “Read” points up, you see a perfect showcase of blog topics and highlighted posts.
That’s an internal link strategy, which helps to encourage readers to stay on the site longer.
The social icons at the top of each post are a pleasant addition to the overall look and feel of the site. They’re easy to spot and make it easy to share Design Milk’s content. (And to learn more about adding social buttons to your blog, check out this post.)
5. Fubiz
Fubiz, an art and design blog, is an example of a really sleek design that also includes some cool personalization.
The blog’s homepage makes it easy for readers to side-scroll through “The Highlights.” Below that is the Creativity Finder, where visitors can choose their persona — from “Art Lover” to “Freelance” — location, and the type of content they’re looking for. From there, readers can browse content specifically catered to them.
We can’t help but love the images, too. Each featured image has a distinct style. By using the design to highlight these powerful photographs, Fubiz is able to visually attract visitors to its content.
For a similar look, check out the CMS Hub theme collection on the Envato marketplace.
6. Webdesigner Depot
With a name like “Webdesigner Depot,” it’s no wonder that this design news site is visually appealing.
One thing that we particularly like is the responsive images on each individual post. The subtle motion of the image as readers scroll over a range of articles helps catch visitors’ eyes.
And check out the effective use of the featured image to highlight the most recent article. This approach pulls the viewer immediately into the blog’s most recent content.
What’s more, the color scheme, background, and fonts are all consistent — which keeps this blog looking professional, but still distinct from the basic blog templates you might be used to seeing.
7. Mashable
I mean, just look at that header image — bold colors, recognizable gadgets, and contrasting text. It absolutely catches the reader’s eye — no pun intended.
Mashable breaks its content into three noticeable sections on the homepage:
New posts get attention with a large featured image and three highlighted blocks.
Posts for each section get attention with a featured image at the top of two to three columns with a short list of headlines underneath.
Then “Trending” posts show up to the right, with bold text on top of a shadow box graphic.
This multi-pronged approach to displaying content can help readers decide which kind of news matters to them the most. They can quickly choose between attention-grabbing top stories, the hottest posts, or stories on the topic they’re most interested in.
The “Related Stories” that end each post are also a great feature to connect readers to more of the content they’re looking for.
8. Brit + Co
Everything about the Brit + Co homepage says clean, warm, and welcoming. It’s free of clutter, making the content more digestible, and the layout is extremely organized.
We dig the seasonality of the site, too — from avocado jack-o’-lanterns on the first of October to dinner recipes for Valentine’s Day. Adorable, and replete with colorful, fun photos to illustrate each story’s content.
The subtle “This Week’s Stories” header also serves as a nice way to promote popular content, without being too in-your-face about it. Plus, with such great visuals, we took note of the nod to Pinterest. That icon is important to include when your blog incorporates so much attractive imagery.
9. Tesco Food Love Stories
We love the colorful, consistent design of Tesco Food Love Stories, from British grocery chain Tesco.
Remember how we keep harping away at brand consistency? Check out the way this brand naturally incorporates the logo into its photography and featured video.
What Tesco has achieved is a great balance of simplicity and boldness. The layout is minimal, but not dull. Warm and welcoming shades underscore each content highlight and recipe, and the photos add dashes of colors throughout the site. It’s a great example of how the right imagery can achieve an appealing “less-is-more” appearance, especially if that fits in with your overall brand concept.
10. HubSpot
HubSpot’s blog finds a way to pack a lot of exciting content into the page while still being easy on the eyes. Notice that, above the fold, it features one blog post with a large image, title, and call-to-action to read more. The featured image is unique to the brand with an appealing combination of photography and graphics to draw the eye.
To the right, there’s a list of top posts to engage readers with the wide variety of content on the blog. This makes it easy for readers to connect with HubSpot or learn more.
Plus, there’s that consistency again. As you keep scrolling down the page, each section is visually consistent no matter what topic, podcast, video, or blog post you’re looking for. Using this strategy can help you build brand trust.
11. I Love Typography
If you’re into design, you understand the power of fonts. The right font can make words sing on a web page, while the wrong choice can be a hard-to-read mess. So, a blog that features hundreds of fonts has to get creative with blog design.
I Love Typography gets the balance just right with a clean and simple design. Three vertical columns separate blog themes and top posts from the most recent additions to the blog. Meanwhile, it dedicates the right side column to highlighted blog features. This section features fun clickable graphics (like that sweet cassette tape) that balance the bright colors and shapes that dominate the posts on the left-hand side of the blog.
If you’re creating a blog for the first time, this is a smart approach to borrow from. You can also check out these tips on starting a successful blog.
12. 500px
The photography blog, 500px, leads with one featured article and a big, bold, high-definition photo to draw the reader in. That makes it pretty clear what the blog is about — it boasts valuable content on photography with gripping photography.
Plus, how cool is it that the social links are right there, obviously displayed above the fold? They keep readers engaged with the content and make it easy to share the photography. Plus content with images gets more than double the engagement on Facebook as posts without images do.
13. Wired
The more topics you have on your blog, the more chaotic the experience can be for your readers. That’s why we like the refreshing simplicity of Wired’s blog design.
Depending on the size of your screen there could be eight or more headlines above the fold alone, but this design is still easy to scan and dig in.
Every post includes a featured image to draw you in. Then, striking font choices make it quick to understand the category, author, and headline for each post at a glance.
If your blog started simple and you’re having a hard time making it work as it grows, this blog is great inspiration for a redesign. You can also use this workbook for redesigning your blog website.
14. Golde
Golde is another blog that uses images for great communication. Using the brand name as a starting point for its blog “The Golden Hour,” Golde makes a featured image the focus of each blog post.
Then, the gorgeous photography uses yellow and green tones in each photograph. This creates a consistent, warm, and appealing feel to draw you into each blog post.
Once you click on a post, this blog makes perfect use of the space below the text to highlight products, recipes, and other useful resources.
15. Recode
Ads are a useful way for many blogs to generate income. Many small businesses offer a blog to highlight their products and services. At the same time, other standalone blogs can struggle to balance design with the need to monetize their content.
Recode features the latest tech news using an asymmetrical grid structure. Bold thumbnail images paired with headline text align with larger images with overlaid text in all caps.
This variety of approaches to image and text make it easy for viewers to scan and choose the post they want to read. The layout includes some animation too and this adds excitement to the blog layout.
Besides being a great user experience, this design lets the blog weave in ads that aren’t distracting to the eyes. At the same time, they also don’t blend in with the organic content, letting Recode create an authentic experience for its readers.
16. Pluralsight
This blog is a great reminder that blog designs don’t have to get super fancy.
Notice the bold title at the top and center of the page. Then the featured illustration at the top uses a bright background and simple white-on-black text. That bold brand presence stays constant throughout the company’s blog.
The clean fonts, for example, match the logo and stay in line with the brand’s clear, informative voice. And the grid structure and headers for each section make it easy to understand what you can find on the blog.
We also like the easily-navigable archive links at the top and how easy it is to see the blog archive with minimal scrolling.
17. Crayon
Many blogs want to show readers a little bit of everything they offer. But depth can be just as enticing to readers as breadth. If you want your visitors to dive into what your blog writers have to say, this blog design gives them an easy choice — just start reading.
With an extended teaser in the header, the focus above-the-fold for the Crayon blog is the latest blog post. As a reader scrolls down, they’ll find a grid with more content from the blog.
We also like the color coding by topic, which makes it easy to locate blogs of interest at a glance. You can see more text-forward blog design examples here.
18. Black Travelbox
To clear up any confusion, Black Travelbox doesn’t make suitcases. It makes personal care products for travel. But the company has done a great job of connecting its portable balms, conditioners, and more with the joy of travel.
Plus, the folks at this company’s “Travel and Slay” blog know a thing or two about brand consistency across channels. The blog has a simple color scheme and matching fonts help to create a unified user experience from the shop to general content. At the same time, it throws in bold, colorful images to catch readers’ attention.
Visit the website and have a scroll — we think it’s pretty cool how the images vary, but each blog entry highlights a different “travel crush.” Then, it packs each post with bright photographs, smart interviews, and joyful stories.
19. Pixelgrade
Pixelgrade is a design studio that creates stunning WordPress themes for creative people and small businesses. Their blog page does a great job of highlighting one of their most recent or popular blog posts, alongside a clear call-to-action and a short excerpt.
What I like best is that the design of the page is 100% in line with their brand. If you like the design of their blog, chances are you’ll also want to try one of their smart and beautifully-designed WordPress themes.
For more WordPress blog design ideas, check out this post about WordPress themes for bloggers.
20. BarkPost
We kind of like dogs here at HubSpot. So when a blog dedicated to life as a dog owner came across our radar, it got our attention.
BarkPost, the blog of canine subscription box company BarkBox, is a great example of design for many reasons. First, look at the big fun font in every header — it’s quick and easy to read, even from a mobile device.
Adorable images make the posts for each topic noticeable, too — and, of course, all in the brand-matching, trustworthy blue.
We also like that BarkPost draws attention to its sister companies. Whether you’re interested in doggie dental care or the best food for your pup, this fun blog design makes it easy for dog parents and lovers alike to find the latest news and resources.
21. Goodwill Industries International
Who says nonprofit organizations can’t blog? Nay, they should. Check out this ultimate nonprofit marketing guide to make yours great.
In this example, Goodwill’s clean, colorful navigation (again — the trustworthy blue) draws the reader to the important elements of this blog.
The posts are also neatly positioned and easily accessible to readers. And, visitors can pick the type of information that matters to them the most by choosing a topic from the simple buttons in the graphic above the fold.
Finally, we love the emphasis on personal stories on the Goodwill blog. This design has long-form teasers that lead readers into this organization’s programs. This approach makes it easy to learn why so many people chose to support Goodwill.
22. Springly
Keeping the nonprofit blogging train going is Springly, which makes excellent use of a simple grid format by highlighting the greatest resources of most nonprofits — dedicated people.
This blog has a simplistic design with concise text and a clear color palette for nonprofits looking for useful resources.
Each article card features the first name and picture of the author, shining the spotlight on its contributors. It also shows how long it will take to read the post.
Placing time and people at the forefront aligns with what most nonprofits focus on. This approach makes the blog more valuable to those who are most likely to contribute and use it.
Still looking for more inspiration and ideas? Click here to check out over 70 more examples of website blogs, homepages, and landing page designs.
Use These Blog Design Examples to Build Your Best Blog
Creating a beautiful blog isn’t just about looks. If you want your readers to really fall in love, the design of your blog should match the needs and expectations of your users. What’s most important to them? And what does your blog offer that no one else can?
Don’t just skim through these inspiring blog designs. Use them as a springboard to imagine how your blog can both connect with your audience and improve your blog design. Then, watch your readership grow.
Editor’s note: This post was originally published in 2013 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.
How to Embed Video in Email [Quick Tip]
Nowadays, video is an undeniably popular channel for marketing purposes with 86% of businesses using video as a marketing tactic. But do you know how to embed a video in an email so you can combine two highly effective marketing strategies in one place?
Roughly two-thirds of consumers prefer video over text when learning about new products or services. But it can be tricky to incorporate video into email marketing because major email clients including Gmail, Yahoo, and Outlook don’t support embedded videos.
Fortunately, there’s a creative workaround to help you embed part of your video within your email and incentivize subscribers to click-through to watch the rest. Here, let’s explore how to do just that.
How To Embed Your Video in an Email as a GIF
How To Create a Still Image of Your Video With a Play Button
How To Embed a Video in a HubSpot Email
How To Use HTML5 Code to Embed Video in Email
How To Embed Your Video in an Email as a GIF
There are two options you might consider when embedding a video within your email — you can either embed a GIF of your video with a “click here to watch full video” call-to-action (CTA), or you can embed a still photo of your video and, when subscribers click the “Play” button, they’ll be re-routed to your video’s URL.
Let’s explore the GIF option, first.
A GIF is a great way to leverage video marketing in your emails, grab users’ attention, and encourage click-through to the full clip.
Note: You can use the following instructions on any video from a video hosting platform of your choosing, including YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, DailyMotion. In the following examples, we used a Facebook URL, but a YouTube URL would work just as well.
1. Find the URL of the video you want to include, or download and save your video to your computer.
To create a GIF of a video I wanted to include in my email, I first went to HubSpot’s Facebook page and copied the URL of a video the team uploaded to the site — “How a Senior SEO Strategist Sees the World.”
2. Go to Imgflip.com, a tool that enables you to create GIFs of videos.
You can upload a URL directly to Imgflip, or you can upload a video you have saved on your computer. For our purposes, I copied and pasted the URL from HubSpot’s Facebook page. Alternatively, you can copy and paste a YouTube URL or website URL.
3. Choose a starting point and endpoint for your GIF.
Once your video is finished downloading, you’ll see this pop-up. There are two triangles that can help you choose where you’d like to start and stop your GIF — if you move the green one you’re choosing a starting point for your GIF, and if you move the red one you’re choosing an endpoint.
(It’s important to note, for non-Pro accounts, you can’t create a GIF that lasts longer than 20 seconds on Imgflip.)
Once you’ve chosen a clip you’d like to use for your GIF, click “Generate GIF.”
4. Download your GIF.
Once your GIF has been generated, you’ll have the option to copy and paste the image link or image URL. Instead, click “Download .gif.”
5. Drag and drop your GIF into your email, and add a video CTA linking to the full video.
Now comes the fun part! Simply create your email to send to your subscribers, and drag and drop your GIF from your desktop into the email itself.
Below the GIF, create a video CTA, like “Click to view full video here” with a URL to your video (the URL will likely lead to your own website, YouTube, Facebook, or another social platform).
You can spruce up your email subject line with “Video included” to further incentivize click-through rates.
Of course, you’ll want to use email marketing best practices when embedding a GIF, and ensure the video you want to include is truly a compelling, interesting piece of content for your email subscribers.
This is a unique opportunity to further engage with your prospects and customers, so make sure to use it wisely — don’t just send a video advertisement for your products or services.
Next, let’s explore how you might include a still image of your video with a “Play” button.
How To Create a Still Image of Your Video With a Play Button
1. Take a screenshot of your video.
For this example, I’ll use the same video as before. Instead of copying the URL, however, I simply screenshotted a paused section of the video.
2. Add a “Play” button.
When I paused the Facebook video, it automatically included a “Play” button. However, if you screenshot a video while it’s playing, you might not have a “Play” button.
To add one to a still image, go to the website Add Play Button to Image, upload your image, choose a play button design, and click “Create Play Button Image.”
Then, click “Download Image.”
3. Embed photo and insert link.
Next, simply click “Insert Photo” in your email to include the image with the “Play” button. Then, highlight the image and select “Insert Link.” Copy and paste the link to the full video (in this case I pasted the Facebook URL, but you can also paste a URL to a website with your video).
And that’s it! Now, when a subscriber clicks on your image, they’ll be redirected to the full video. Ensure the video auto-plays so the subscriber doesn’t have to click “Play” again.
How To Embed a Video in a HubSpot Email
1. Drag and drop the video module into your email template.
If you’re a HubSpot email tool user, you’ll see a Video module on the left side of your screen when you’re creating an email.
The HubSpot drag-and-drop email builder makes it super straightforward to add a video to your emails. Simply drag and drop the module into the section of the email you’d like to include a video.
2. Use a URL or upload a video into the textbox.
Next, you have the option to embed a video using a URL or to upload a video to your COS. For our purposes, we’ll copy and paste a YouTube URL into the text box.
3. Edit the video.
Finally, edit the video to suit your needs. You can modify the video’s width and height and even create a custom thumbnail.
4. Review and send your email.
When you’re ready, click the orange “Review and send” button at the top-right of your screen.
How To Use HTML5 Code to Embed Video in Email
Finally, some email clients do support embedded video. If you feel it’s the right strategy for your subscribers, you can embed a video within email using HTML5.
Here’s an example of an HTML5 code you might use in your email:
<video width=”300″ height=”200″ controls>
<source src=”movie.mp4″ type=”video/mp4″>
<source src=”movie.ogg” type=”video/ogg”>
https://www.facebook.com/hubspot/videos/2321291574789962/
</video>
If the video isn’t supported, your subscriber can see a static image linking to another page instead.
If you don’t have experience coding, you might consider asking a developer to help you, or take a look at W3 School’s HTML5 Video article.
However, it’s important to note: We don’t recommend this strategy, since you risk either ending up in your subscribers’ spam folders or using code that many of your subscribers’ email clients won’t support. Ultimately, it could be more trouble for many of your subscribers’ than it’s worth.
To ensure your video can be seen by all your subscribers, I’d recommend one of the strategies listed above, instead.
If you’re looking for other opportunities to boost email click through rates and conversions, take a look at HubSpot’s free email marketing tool.
Leveling Up Your Email With Video
Adding video to your email can increase your engagement and click-through rates. Plus, your video content has another place to shine. Follow the guidance above to get your videos into your subscribers’ inboxes.
How to Find SERP Feature Opportunities [+ Free Tools]
Search engine results pages (SERPs) have become a critical battleground for businesses, with SERP features increasing in visibility and importance.
Considering the fact that the top 3 Google search results get 54.4% of all clicks, SERP features eat up a whopping amount of organic traffic — 18.5% for featured snippets alone.
With SERP features becoming ever-present, understanding how they work and how to maximize them has never been more essential. In this article, you’ll learn how to find SERP feature opportunities. You’ll also get real-life examples and advice from SEO pros.
Table of Contents
What does SERP mean anyway?
How to Rank in SERP Features
How to Find SERP Feature Opportunities
5 Tools to Help You Find SERP Opportunities
3 Free Ranking Tools
What does SERP mean anyway?
SERP stands for Search Engine Results Page. It’s the page that search engines, like Google or Bing, display after a user queries a keyword or phrase. The SERP is usually populated with blue links and different SERP features that are intended to instantly fulfill a search query.
SERP features include featured snippets, local packs, news boxes, images, videos, and more.
SEO pros optimize their content for SERP features to drive more organic traffic to their website.
How to Rank in SERP Features
Search engines use a variety of factors to decide which content is worthy of a SERP feature. To help you optimize your content, we’ve listed some of the most common SERP features and provided practical tips on how to get your content to stand out.
You’ll also see pieces of advice from top-notch SEO practitioners. Let’s dive in!
Featured Snippets
Featured snippets (FS) appear at position #1 of search results about 98% of the time and provide a summary of the best answer to a user’s query.
In most cases, Google pulls out the summary from one of the top 10 ranking pages. When your article wins a featured snippet, you can jump from being ranked #7 to the top spot #1 in an instant.
To optimize your content for featured snippets, you should:
Dig into the questions that your target audience is asking.
Look for such queries in the People Also Ask section and analyze search questions with SEO tools like Ahrefs, AlsoAsked, or Semrush. Create copy that strictly answers the user’s search query.
Use header tags (H1, H2, H3, etc.) to structure your content and make it easy for search engines to understand the main points. Include keywords and search questions in these headings.
The content should be between 54-58 words long for a paragraph intended for a featured snippet.
Include the search question in the page title and rewrite the question in the H1 tag.
Use lists, tables, and other formats that can be easily extracted for a featured snippet.
Supplement content with relevant images that illustrate your main points, meet the user’s search intent and the primary keyword, and make the reading experience a whole lot more enjoyable.
Add an image under the paragraph and use the keyword that triggers the featured snippet as an image alt text to win the thumbnail, from John Ozuysal, Co-Founder and CMO at Datapad.
In contrast to a super structured approach, Sara Bodner from Conklin Media offers a slightly different way to win featured snippets.
She discovered that it’s helpful to include the primary long-tail keyword (a question) you’re targeting in an introduction paragraph rather than allocating a standalone heading. Then, Bodner bolds the question and answer summed up in a couple of sentences.
Another way to beat the competition is to build some internal and external links to the piece. This signals to Google that your content is more worthy to be featured in snippets.
Pro tip: Start your headings with “what,” “why,” “does,” “where,” and other question words to trigger FS and PAA. Sprinkle them within the headings and the copy. This way, you’re increasing the chances to compete for SERP features up to 86%, as a Semrush study shows.
People Also Ask
Now, let’s learn how to compete for the People Also Ask feature. By winning this SERP’s real estate, your organic traffic can double since your content might appear twice on the first Google page.
A People Also Ask (PAA) feature appears as a list of related questions and answers to the search query in the SERPs. The following steps will help you rank in PAA:
“Examine the SERP to spot common questions users are asking about the topic in the Related searches and PAA and use autocomplete data tools like AnswerThePublic and Answer Socrats,” suggests Jaden Oh, Director of Search TRAFFV.
Likewise, you can opt for tools like Also Asked and People also ask by Frase to discover search questions.
Don’t worry about the search volume. Long-tail keywords usually have zero search volume, yet the chances of your content appearing in FS and PAA surge up to 73% as the number of words in the query increases to up to 10 words.
Tweak your H2s and H3s — include the secondary keywords.
Another practice is to dedicate the FAQ chapter at the bottom of an article and answer 3 to 6 subject-related questions. Use FAQ schema markup to provide additional context about your content to search engines.
Olga Mykhoparkina, Founder of Quoleady, agrees with this advice:
“Whenever we write a content brief for an article, we try to allocate a section at the end of the blog article called FAQ. There we put all the PAA questions followed by short, value-packed answers. No vague or watery statements whatsoever. Google usually picks it up and includes one of the answers in PAA.”
Local Pack (3-Pack)
A Local pack or 3-pack appears for search queries with local intent, such as “best Italian restaurant in [city].” This SERP lists relevant businesses with their addresses, phone numbers, and reviews. To rank your site in local packs, you should:
Ensure your Google My Business profile is up-to-date and complete with accurate NAP information, such as your business name, address, phone number, hours of operation, and reviews.
Optimize your website for local SEO by including your city and state in your title tags and meta descriptions.
Encourage customers to leave reviews on your Google My Business profile and other review sites to propel Google to rank you higher in the local pack.
Build high-quality local backlinks from relevant websites in your niche to pump up the site’s credibility and authority in Google’s eyes.
Image Pack
An Image Pack is triggered when a search engine detects the user’s intent to see images. If your business can benefit by showcasing its products through images, we recommend you optimize your page for being listed in the image pack.
Use high-resolution, unique images with descriptive and keyword-rich file names (e.g., image-pack-serp-features-opportunities.png), alt tags, and captions.
Use ImageObject schema markup to provide additional context about the images to search engines. To get your company to rank in the Image Pack “include your image URL in the code, such as a headshot or logo within ‘Person’ or ‘Organization’ schema markup. “Ensure these types of Schema are only used on one relevant page on your site,” says Allie Kotula, SEO Director at Terakeet.
Host your images on a reliable and fast server to avoid any issues with loading time.
Interlink content on your site using relevant keywords in the anchor text to pass link equity and help the article climb in rankings and most likely secure a spot in the image pack.
Video Pack
Google adds Video Pack to the SERP. Video packs typically appear for “how-to” content, webinars, product reviews, etc. To optimize your content for the video pack, follow these rules:
Give your videos explanatory titles, descriptions, and tags. Select an enticing thumbnail image. Consider adding a transcript to make your video more accessible.
Include primary and secondary keywords in the video title and description respectively.
Use casual language to name videos as if you were searching via voice.
Host your videos on YouTube so that Google shows them in the SERP. Plus, YouTube provides an abundance of tools for optimizing your content to be displayed more frequently in the SERPs.
“Always break down the video chapters by using similar H2s and H3s that you put on blog posts. Publish videos on YouTube and add them to relevant articles,” says Juan Bello, Co-Founder at Porter Metrics. This tactic helps Porter win video packs almost every time and drive qualified leads.
Embedded videos hosted elsewhere, like Vimeo, require VideoObject schema markup to be eligible for this feature. Check out best practices on how to get videos in the SERP recommended by Google.
Product Pack
Product Packs appear in a carousel format and showcase a collection of related products based on a user’s search query. These packs often appear for queries such as “best running shoes” or “iphone 12 pro max price” and can be an effective way to drive traffic and sales to your website.
Use these tips to secure your spot in the Product Pack and optimize your e-commerce website for maximum impact:
Ensure your products are indexed by Google by submitting a sitemap to Google Search Console.
Use structured data (schema.org) to mark up your product pages to help search engines understand the context of your pages. Farasat Khan from Scalable Media suggests enriching structured data with the following:
@context and @type that specify that this is a product schema.
The name of the product.
An image with an array of URLs for the product’s images.
A description with a detailed description of the product.
The SKU, or the product’s stock-keeping unit (SKU) number.
The brand of the product.
Offers that include information about the product’s price, availability, and link to the product page.
To validate the product snippets your eCommerce store ranks in, head over to the search console and review the valid items in the “Shopping > Product Snippets” tab.
Optimize your product pages for relevant keywords. Include them in titles, meta tags, and on-page content.
Use high-quality images and videos to demonstrate your products.
Encourage customer reviews on your website, as search engines use them to determine the relevancy and ranking of your products.
Build backlinks to your product pages from reputable websites in your niche.
Pro tip: Use Schema Validator to ensure your product pages are properly optimized and Schema Mark Up generator to speed up the creation of JSON-LD markups.
It is important to note that these are not the only types of SERP features, and the weight given to each factor can vary depending on the search query and other ranking factors.
Additionally, search engines are constantly updating their algorithms, so it’s vital to stay up-to-date with the latest SEO trends and best practices.
How to Find SERP Feature Opportunities
There are several strategies for how to spot SERP feature opportunities to rank in PAA, video and image packs, and featured snippets. Those tactics depend on whether you’re creating new content or updating existing pieces.
New Content Best Practices
All strategies can be boiled down to these two essential steps.
1. Research keywords and topics for your niche.
Look for long-tail keywords and questions with keyword research tools, like Semrush, Ahrefs, or AnswerThePublic.
Utilizing long-tail keywords is essential because these often have lower competition and make great targets for gaining SERP real estate with structured data-rich answers. The more specific the query, the better the chance you appear in featured snippets or PAA.
Lee Moskowitz, Director of Growth Marketing at SetSail, begins the process by establishing demand for certain keywords.
“First, I work to establish that a demand exists. Start with the essentials and leverage keyword tools and the “people also ask” section. Then, I read queries that my audience asks on platforms other than Google, such as LinkedIn or within specialist online communities [Facebook Groups, Slack channels, Discord channels, etc],” Moskowitz says.
2. Conduct a SERP analysis.
When looking for SERP feature opportunities, start by examining competing pages. Take note of the following:
Their page and content structure.
hat keywords appear in the headings.
How many internal and external links are pointing out to this page.
How many images are distributed throughout the piece.
Alt text on images.
Analyze the length of the text of the current SERP features and its formatting (e.g. bold, italic, highlighted, a list, a table, a question, etc.).
If you’re targeting highly competitive keywords, think about how to craft a piece that can outrank existing content in the SERP. Maybe those are missing out on expert quotes, supplementary illustrations, or real-life examples, or their content is overall weak and watery.
If the current sites in SERP features are tough to win over, bet on long-tail keywords considering the user search intent. Target queries that don’t currently have a featured snippet but should have one.
“For example, if Google is using a featured snippet for ‘best gps for truckers’ and there is a high demand for ‘best truck gps with dash cam’ but no featured snippet, it’s possible that Google wants to provide the one but lacks quality content. Hence, I create a page for such keywords,” explains Kyle Fretwell, founder of TruckInfo.
By chasing long-tail keywords, Fretwell regularly wins featured snippets, outcompeting giants like Amazon.
Best Practices for Existing Pages
You may rank high but not get real estate in SERP features. This could result in high impressions but low conversions, as the page that occupies a featured snippet gets the crown. How should you address that? We’ll explain below.
1. Find your top-performing pages and potential winners.
In Google Search Console, find pages that rank for 1-10 positions and copy the URLs. Now, filter out pages from 11 to 20 positions. These are underperforming, though have the potential to grow in rankings and compete for SERP features.
You can also head over to Google Analytics and filter out your somewhat converting pages. Copy their URLs as well.
2. Analyze SERP feature potential with SEO tools.
Put the saved URLs into a rank tracking tool like Semrush, Serpstat, SE Ranking, or Ranktracker and check the keywords these pages aren’t ranking for in SERP features. You’ll see those in gray. Blue indicates the URL wins a concrete SERP feature by a specific keyword.
Update your content following the suggestions above and monitor within a month if there are any changes.
If you haven’t set up rank tracking for those URLs, here’s a simple workaround. Head over to Ahrefs’s Site Explorer and drop those URLs for a batch analysis or simply put your domain.
Apply the filter “SERP features – Where the target doesn’t rank – Choose the feature.” You’ll get the list of keywords that trigger SERP features for someone else but not for your site.
Try to adjust your content to get placed in SERP features.
Pro tip: Find quick wins by checking keywords where your site ranks in the top 10 that have featured snippets, but another website owns them.
6 Tools to Help You Find SERP Opportunities
Whether you’re targeting SERP features for existing or new content, we’ve compiled the top 5 SEO tools to help you discover SERP opportunities. These tools are versatile and equipped with features for backlink analysis, rank tracking, keyword research, and more.
Choose the one that meets your budget and your current needs. The tools are listed in no particular order.
Semrush
Semrush is an all-in-one SEO platform that offers a suite of tools for keyword research, rank tracking, site audit, and more.
With its key feature, the Keyword Magic Tool, you can easily find the most relevant keywords for your content and see which SERP features are appearing for specific keywords and what type of content is ranking in those features.
Pricing: Plans start at $119.95 monthly. A freemium plan is available but is limited to 10 searches per day.
Best for: Finding SERP opportunities for new content through keyword research. Also ideal for medium to large businesses.
SE Ranking
SE Ranking is known for its rank-tracking tool with tons of custom filters, SERP storms, and more. This tool allows you to monitor your website’s ranking for specific keywords over time, giving you a clear understanding of your website’s performance in search results.
SE Ranking’s rank tracker tells you which SERP features your website is appearing in and which ones it’s not. How should you act on that information?
For example, if you see that your website is ranking well for a specific keyword but is not appearing in the “People Also Ask” or “Related Questions” SERP features, you can focus your efforts on optimizing your content for these features, like adding the FAQ section, to increase your visibility in search results.
Pricing: The Essential plan starts at $39 monthly with daily rank-checking frequency.
Best for: Individuals, small and medium teams; enterprises looking for customizable plans.
Ahrefs
Known as the best tool for backlink analysis, Ahrefs offers plenty of professional features for competitor analysis and keyword research. For instance, the Site Explorer tool allows you to see what SERP features your competitors and you are appearing in and with what keywords.
You can also compare the number and quality of backlinks pointing to competing URLs. They might influence the occurrence of SERP features as well.
Pricing: Plans start at $99 monthly. A limited freemium version is available for users who verified the site’s ownership.
Best for: SMB and enterprise-level companies looking for a solid tool for backlink analysis and keyword research.
Serpstat
Serpstat is an all-in-one SEO platform for small and medium businesses that offers keyword research, rank tracking tool, site audit, and its own backlink database.
You can find SERP feature opportunities when exploring keyword research tools (as shown in the screenshot above) and within its rank tracking report.
Pricing: Plans start at $69 monthly. A freemium plan is available for 10 queries per day.
Best for: Competitor analysis and rank tracking.
AlsoAsked
AlsoAsked is your goldmine for geo-specific “People Also Ask” questions. Type any query and get an abundance of suggestions for the FAQ section, H2s, and H3s.
Pricing: Plans start at $15 monthly. A freemium plan includes 3 searches per day.
Best for: Exploring search questions to optimize for featured snippets and PAA.
Ranktracker
Ranktracker is your best choice for both keyword research and monitoring positions in the SERP. It offers 100 keywords for daily tracking and 100 keyword suggestions per search. Like with other tools, you can find keywords with SERP features potential.
Pricing: As low as $16.20 per month with a 7-day trial available.
Best for: Small SEO projects.
Free Ranking Tools
Starting out your SEO journey and are short on budget for paid SEO tools? We feel you. Take advantage of these tools to start tracking whether you’ve secured SERP features.
All the tools are absolutely free.
Keyword Rank Checker by Ahrefs
Open up this tool and enter your keyword and domain to check your position and see the SERP completely for free. Keyword Rank Checker takes a snapshot of the top 10 positions and highlights your current position for the keyword, even though it’s not in the top 10 yet.
You’ll also see what SERP features Google elevates for the keyword.
Google Search Console
Let’s not forget that Google also offers free tools for analyzing your site performance in the Google Search Console.
Head over to the Pages or Queries report and sort the data by low CTR and high position from 2 to 5. The likelihood is that several SERP features are showing up for that query and occupying the entire fold, decreasing your conversions.
Go to Ahrefs’s Keyword Rank Checker or do the research manually in the Incognito mode to prove or refute the theory.
Getting Started
SERP features are your surefire way to leapfrog even major players in the SERPs. Start using schema markup, try bolding your key message, create a solid page/content structure, and provide succinct answers to search questions.
SEO tools can help you find even more SERP opportunities. Soon, you’ll be outranking the competition.