How can changes in search results pages and SERP feature data help identify growth opportunities?

To find growth opportunities in search engine results page (SERP) changes, compare rankings, traffic, and SERP features across different periods rather than looking only at the current results. Look for three types of keywords: those where competitors have lost placements, those where competitors have gained features while traffic has increased, and those where your own rankings have stayed stable but traffic has declined. These changes are leads to investigate, not proof that feature changes caused traffic to rise or fall. Finally, check whether your content is suitable for the target placement, and distinguish tool-estimated traffic from actual clicks to your website.

Compare different periods to identify changes

A results page from a single date shows only a snapshot; it cannot tell you whether a feature is new or has disappeared. A 2023 Semrush article described comparing rankings by day, by month, or over custom periods. You can still use that approach, but do not assume the tool’s interface labels remain the same today.

• Start with overall website traffic and ranking trends, then identify the pages with the largest changes.
• Next, review individual keywords and compare rankings, traffic estimates, and feature changes across periods.
• Distinguish between a new feature appearing on a results page and a competitor losing a feature it previously held. These are not the same thing.

For example, the article describes a page that keeps its third-place organic ranking while an instant answer appears at the top of the results. This illustrates how estimated traffic might change. It does not mean that ranking third will inevitably lead to a loss of traffic; it shows why rankings alone cannot give a complete picture of visibility in search results.

Use three types of traffic signals to identify opportunities

When analyzing competitors, sort SERP features by estimated traffic to identify those that may bring in more visitors, then review the related pages and keywords. This can help you prioritize your investigation, but it cannot predict how much traffic you would receive from securing those placements.

• A competitor loses a feature: Treat it as a potential opportunity, but do not assume your site will take its place.
• A competitor gains a feature and traffic increases: Examine the feature and content format, and check whether organic rankings also changed. Avoid attributing all the growth to the feature.
• Your rankings remain unchanged while traffic declines: Check whether new results-page features have appeared, then verify actual impressions and clicks.

When rankings fall, compare your page with the current search results to check whether it still meets search intent. When rankings remain stable but traffic drops, use Google Search Console to review impressions and clicks. Also examine search demand and the way results are displayed, rather than immediately rewriting the entire page.

Adapt content to the target placement, then check placements and clicks

Once you have identified candidate keywords, examine the features that actually appear. A 2023 Semrush article suggested adjusting answer structure to pursue featured snippets, adding questions and answers to address related questions, and including original, optimized images to pursue image placements. These are suggestions for adapting content, not guarantees that following them will secure a placement.

At Procrustes, our content services also start with the questions customers genuinely care about, with ongoing planning, writing, and updating of articles.

Recipes offer another example of adapting content: the article recommends pairing original recipes with recipe structured data to improve the chances of securing recipe placements. Traffic figures in the example are tool estimates for a particular website, not expected results for other websites. You still need to check separately whether you secured a placement and whether actual clicks improved.