As competition continues to grow, many fintechs are looking for new ways to stand out and reach their target audience more effectively.
One way businesses of all shapes and sizes traditionally found success was through SEO. But traditional SEO tactics aren’t enough to capture attention in today’s market. Yes, content marketing is a valuable long-term play. However, many fintechs (especially start-ups) can’t wait 6-8 months to see results.
Meet the short-term answer: Google SERP features—dynamic elements that appear directly on search engine results pages (SERPs).
Over the years, Google has consistently added more and more SERP features to its arsenal, making them notable tools that deliver significant value. In this article, we’ll explain what Google SERP features are, what your fintech or financial services company can gain with them, and which are available to you.
Let’s dive in.
What Are SERP Features?
Google SERP features are enhanced elements within the search results page that extend beyond the traditional list of organic search results.
This gives users more detailed and relevant information directly on the search page, so they don’t need to dig through multiple articles to find what they are looking for.
You’ve probably interacted with them more frequently than you realize. At least one SERP feature appears in nearly every Google search, with only a very small percentage (around less than 1%) of Google’s first page results lacking any SERP features whatsoever.
So, what do they look like exactly?
SERP features include rich snippets, which display extra information such as reviews or ratings below the main search result; knowledge panels, which provide a summary of information about a topic; local packs, which show maps and business listings for local searches; and featured snippets, which extract and highlight a specific answer from a webpage.
This list barely scratches the surface, as there are more than 20 different SERP features. But not all of them will be relevant to your fintech or financial services brand—in the sections below, we’ll cover the SERP features that are most probably relevant to you.
Using SERP features that deliver immediate answers and valuable content to your target audience is an innovative way to improve prospects’ experience with your brand. But the benefits are more extensive than that.
Why Fintechs Should Strive to Attain SERP Features
Google SERP features may seem insignificant in the grand scheme of things; why should you strive to appear on search engines when your customers come from different places?
Well, SERP features pack a powerful ROI punch for those who understand 1) the value of increasing brand recall and 2) the fact that the journey to your fintech’s website is far from linear. Here are just some of the ways in which appearing in a featured position can help your brand:
- Enhanced visibility: Appearing in a top-featured position highlights your brand prominently at the top of the search results, which can increase brand recognition and credibility. For example, achieving featured snippet positions highlights your brand as an authoritative source on financial topics, which can build trust with potential customers.
- More direct traffic: When users see your brand more often, they are more likely to engage with your other content or visit your website later.
- Larger share of the user’s attention: By capitalizing on prospects’ information-seeking behavior, fintech brands can reinforce their authority and reliability over competitors, and capture user interest—even if it doesn’t result in an immediate click.
Over time, this sustained presence reinforces your brand’s standing and perception, leading to more substantial long-term engagement and potential conversions.
Here’s a fact: The way people search is changing. Users don’t want to dig through search results and articles the way an archeologist digs through a historic site. They want quick snippets and easy answers front and center.
Companies that adapt to these trends will stay ahead of the curve, ensuring they meet potential customers where they are.
10 SERP Features for Fintechs
There are over 20 different types of SERP features. Some of them—like hotel packs, flight packs, and recipes—are not relevant to your fintech business, so we’ve excluded them from our roundup below.
1. Featured Snippets
Featured snippets summarize an answer to a user’s search query by extracting information from a relevant webpage. They usually appear at the top of the SERP and link directly to the resource from which the data was pulled, making it easy for users to click through to dig deeper.
Landing your content in a featured snippet increases your brand’s visibility and credibility. Not only is your content positioned at the top of a SERP, but Google decided that your content was a worthy source to answer a user’s question, positioning you as an authority on the topic.
2. AI Overview
Introduced in 2024, AI overview leverages experimental, generative AI to provide answers and links to relevant resources.
Similar to featured snippets, AI overview references multiple sources to consolidate a response to a search (featured snippets rely on one single source to answer a search query).
AI overview is still in its infancy. As is the case with many generative AI tools, users are actively training the technology through their interactions, so we’re likely to see changes and improvements to how this tool highlights information back to users and answers questions.
3. From Sources Across the Web
From sources across the web shows information for broad search terms. Most commonly displayed as listicles, it uses knowledge graph information in a carousel style to display broad responses to user searches.
When a user clicks one of the potential responses, Google expands to display additional information in a carousel of cards.
4. Knowledge Panels
Knowledge panels are information boxes on the right of search results that provide a snapshot of businesses, people, or topics. Google leverages information from across the web to automatically generate knowledge panels. Some information may also come directly from the entities they’re about.
Ultimately, knowledge panels are an important SERP feature to pay attention to, as they prominently present key information about your business.
5. Sitelinks
Sitelinks are links to pages across a website that appear below the main search result. They improve navigation and provide users with quick access to specific sections of a website.
Google determines which sitelinks to show underneath the main page based on relevance to the user’s search query. While this information is automatically generated, brands that wish to make it easier for users to find the information they need should ensure proper page titles, and follow other SEO best practices.
6. Video Results
The video SERP feature highlights video content relevant to a user’s search query. More often than not, these videos are hosted on YouTube. This allows users to engage with your multimedia content and drives significant traffic from video searches.
Similar to image packs, Google recommends following video SEO best practices to properly index videos and ensure their appearance in search results.
7. People Also Ask (PAA)
The people also ask (PAA) feature pulls together a list of related questions that expand into brief answers, often sourced from various websites.
This feature increases visibility for multiple queries and promotes your brand as an authority on related topics.
8. Rich Snippets
Also known as rich results, rich snippets provide users with additional information—such as ratings, reviews, or event details—in a small string of text below the main search result.
Optimizing your website/content for rich snippets makes it more attractive and informative, potentially increasing click-through rates.
Depending on what you want to display, there are several types of rich snippets. As a fintech, you likely don’t need to display recipes or movies, but including product markup, review snippets, and FAQs may be helpful to users who are searching for queries relevant to your brand.
Additionally, FAQs are a type of rich snippet that feature commonly asked questions related to the search query. Users can view answers directly underneath the main search result in a dropdown menu. FAQs provide quick answers to user queries and can improve engagement by addressing common concerns.
9. Top Stories
Top stories feature a carousel of news articles related to the search, typically displayed at the top of the search results. Fintechs that consistently release product updates, partnership announcements, and other timely news are well-positioned to drive traffic from news-related searches.
10. Reviews
Aggregated reviews and ratings alongside search results for businesses, products, or services can help build trust, inform potential customers, and influence their purchasing decisions.
How To Optimize for SERP Features
Getting your content into these coveted positions takes strategic planning and careful execution.
First, do some investigative work. Channel your inner Sherlock Holmes and dig into who holds the featured snippet positions you crave. What keywords are they ranking for? What topics are they discussing? And what is it about their content that makes it worthy?
Next, evaluate who is searching for this content and why. Search intent is just as important as the search content. Understanding what searchers want allows you to create content that solves their needs.
Finally, update your content to make it more relevant than the content that currently appears for your targeted featured snippet.
Your content should be optimized for Google, but always keep users top of mind—they are the ones who are searching.
Sure, it’s all easier said than done. Enlisting the help of sophisticated SEO tools like Semrush, Ahrefs and Moz will significantly accelerate and streamline the SEO optimization process from soup to nuts.
That, and working with a partner who knows the ins and outs of SEO and Google SERP features.
SERP Features: Maximize Visibility, Amplify Value
If there’s one consistent truth about SEO and search visibility, it’s that it’s continually evolving.
As Google inevitably introduces bigger, better SERP features over time, optimizing content will only become more complex—and more specific.
At this point, and looking towards the future, expert guidance becomes all the more valuable. More so when it comes from a digital marketing agency who has helped countless fintechs achieve sustainable success in a crowded market.
CSTMR is a trusted marketing partner to fintech and financial services brands striving to grow and scale. And if appearing in coveted Google SERP features helps you accomplish that, then we want to help you get there.
Get in touch to learn how CSTMR can help you create custom marketing strategies to accomplish your goals.
