Moz tracks 13 SERP features in its rank tracking tool
Moz's rank tracking system monitors 13 different search engine results page (SERP) features. These are the boxes, panels, and special result types that appear above or alongside traditional blue-link search results — things like featured snippets, knowledge panels, local packs, and image carousels. Knowing which features Moz tracks matters because it tells you what data you can actually pull from their tool when you're trying to understand how your pages rank and what's competing for visibility in your search results.
The 13 features Moz tracks are: featured snippets, knowledge panels, local packs, image packs, news results, shopping results, people also ask boxes, video results, answer boxes, top stories, site links, Twitter results, and app results. Not every feature appears in every search — some show up only for specific query types or in certain industries. Moz's tracking captures which features appear for the keywords you're monitoring, which helps you see whether your competition is winning featured snippets or local pack positions even if they're not ranking in the top 10 organic results.
Key Takeaways
- Moz tracks 13 SERP features including featured snippets, knowledge panels, local packs, and people also ask boxes, giving you visibility into non-organic ranking opportunities.
- Not all 13 features appear for every keyword — some are specific to news, shopping, or local searches, so your tracked keywords may only show a subset of these features.
- Tracking SERP features helps you spot whether competitors are winning featured snippets or local positions even when they don't rank in the top 10 organic results.
- The features Moz tracks change occasionally as Google adds new result types, so the count of 13 may shift if Google introduces or removes prominent SERP elements.
Which 13 features does Moz actually track
The 13 SERP features in Moz's tracking system break down into a few categories. Featured snippets are the text boxes that appear at the top of results and answer a question directly. Knowledge panelsLocal packsImage packs
News resultsShopping resultsPeople also askVideo resultsAnswer boxes
Top storiesSite linksTwitter resultsApp results
Why tracking SERP features matters for your SEO strategy
Tracking SERP features tells you what you're actually competing against. If you're targeting a keyword and a featured snippet is present, you know that winning that snippet could drive more traffic than ranking in position three organically. If a local pack appears, you know local optimization is part of the ranking game for that keyword. Without this visibility, you might spend effort on organic ranking improvements while missing opportunities in other result types that are actually visible to searchers.
SERP feature data also helps you understand why your traffic might not match your ranking position. You could rank number two for a keyword but get very little traffic because a featured snippet, knowledge panel, or shopping results are taking up most of the visible space above the fold. Moz's tracking shows you this dynamic so you can adjust your strategy — maybe you pursue the featured snippet instead of fighting for position one, or you focus on a different keyword where organic results have more real estate.
Competitor analysis becomes more complete when you track SERP features. You might see that a competitor isn't in your top 10 organic results but is winning the local pack or a featured snippet for keywords you care about. This tells you they're still capturing search visibility and traffic, just through a different result type. Moz's feature tracking makes these wins visible so you don't miss them in your competitive analysis.
How to see SERP features in Moz's rank tracking interface
In Moz's rank tracking tool, SERP features appear as icons or labels next to the organic rankings for each keyword. When you pull up a keyword you're tracking, you'll see the top results listed with their positions, and if a SERP feature is present for that keyword, it will be marked. Featured snippets, local packs, and other features show up visually so you can scan across your tracked keywords and see which ones have feature opportunities.
You can filter and sort by SERP features in many cases, which helps you focus on keywords where specific features appear. If you want to see all your keywords that have featured snippets, you can often filter to show only those. This is useful for prioritizing your content strategy — you might decide to focus optimization efforts on keywords where featured snippets are present because that's where you can gain the most visibility.
The data updates as Google's search results change, so if a new feature appears for a keyword you're tracking, Moz's tool will reflect that in your next tracking update. This means you get a historical view of which features have appeared over time for your keywords, which can help you spot trends in how Google is displaying results for your industry or niche.
Limitations of Moz's SERP feature tracking
Moz tracks 13 features, but Google's SERP can display many more variations and combinations. Google frequently tests new result types, and not all of them make it into Moz's tracking system immediately. If Google rolls out a new feature type, there may be a lag before Moz adds it to their tracking. This means you could see result types in Google's actual search results that don't show up in Moz's data.
SERP features also vary by location, device, and search history. A featured snippet might appear for a keyword on desktop but not mobile, or it might appear differently depending on where the searcher is located. Moz's tracking captures the features that appear in their test environment, which may not match exactly what every individual searcher sees. This is a limitation of any rank tracking tool — they test from a specific location and device, so personalization and localization differences won't be fully reflected.
Some SERP features are harder to track than others. Dynamic features that change frequently or appear inconsistently are more difficult to monitor reliably. Moz does its best to capture these, but the data may be less stable for features that fluctuate more often than traditional organic rankings.
Other rank tracking tools and their SERP feature coverage
Moz isn't the only tool that tracks SERP features. SEMrush, Ahrefs, and Rank Tracker all monitor SERP features as part of their rank tracking offerings. The number of features they track varies — some tools track more than 13, while others track fewer. SEMrush, for example, tracks additional features like rich snippets and carousel results. Ahrefs focuses on the most common features but may not track every variation.
The choice between tools often comes down to which features matter most for your industry and which interface you prefer. If you're in e-commerce, shopping results tracking might be a priority. If you're local, local pack tracking is essential. If you're in news or publishing, news results tracking becomes more important. Comparing the feature coverage of different tools against your actual needs is more useful than just counting which tool tracks the most features.
Many of these tools also offer SERP feature data in their free tiers or trial periods, so you can test which tool's tracking aligns best with the keywords and industries you care about before committing to a paid plan.
How SERP features affect your click-through rates and traffic
SERP features can dramatically change how much traffic a top ranking actually generates. A featured snippet at position zero can pull more clicks than an organic result in position one because it appears above all other results. A knowledge panel can reduce clicks to organic results by providing the answer directly on the SERP. A local pack can dominate the visible area for local searches, pushing organic results below the fold.
Understanding this dynamic is why tracking SERP features matters. If you rank number one for a keyword but a featured snippet is present, you might be getting fewer clicks than you'd expect. If you rank number three but there's no featured snippet and the top two results are weak, you might be getting more clicks than your position suggests. Moz's feature tracking gives you the data to understand these dynamics and adjust your expectations around traffic from different keywords.
Some SERP features are opportunities — winning a featured snippet or local pack position can drive significant traffic. Others are threats — a knowledge panel or shopping results section can cannibalize clicks from organic results. Tracking which features appear for your keywords helps you decide where to invest your optimization effort for the best return.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Moz track SERP features for all search engines or just Google?
Moz's SERP feature tracking is focused on Google. The 13 features tracked are specific to Google's search results. Bing and other search engines have their own result types, but Moz's rank tracking tool doesn't monitor those in the same way. If you need to track SERP features across multiple search engines, you'd need to check those engines separately or use a tool that covers them.
Can I see historical data for SERP features in Moz?
Yes, Moz stores historical tracking data, so you can see when SERP features first appeared for a keyword and how they've changed over time. This helps you spot trends — for example, whether featured snippets are becoming more common for your target keywords or whether a local pack has recently appeared. The length of historical data available depends on how long you've been tracking the keyword.
If a SERP feature appears for my keyword, does that mean I have to optimize for it?
Not necessarily. The presence of a SERP feature tells you it's an opportunity, but whether you pursue it depends on your goals and resources. If a featured snippet appears for a keyword you're targeting, optimizing for it could be worthwhile. If a local pack appears but you're not a local business, you probably don't need to optimize for it. Use the feature data to inform your strategy, not to dictate it.
How often does Moz update SERP feature data?
Moz updates SERP feature data as part of its regular rank tracking updates, which typically happen daily or multiple times per week depending on your plan. The exact frequency depends on your subscription level. Higher-tier plans get more frequent updates, so your SERP feature data will be more current if you're on a premium plan.
What should I do if I see a SERP feature in Google but Moz isn't tracking it?
If you spot a result type in Google that Moz doesn't seem to be tracking, it could be a new feature Google is testing, a feature that appears inconsistently, or a variation that Moz hasn't added to their tracking system yet. You can note it in your own analysis and monitor it manually, or reach out to Moz's support to ask if they plan to add it to their tracking. In the meantime, you can still optimize for it based on what you see in actual search results.