Advice and answers from the Advanced Web Ranking Team
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How to track different types of results from Google‘s Mobile search pages
Learn about the different types of search results shown on Google’s Mobile search pages and how you can track them using AWR.
In AWR, keyword ranking positions are tracked separately by the device the search queries originate from - Mobile versus Desktop results pages.
Below you will find a guide with the type of search results that Google Mobile may return in response to users' queries and tips on how to track each using one of the AWR’s dedicated search engines.
Search result types which can be returned by Google in response to queries performed from Mobile devices and which are currently tracked by AWR:
a) Featured snippets
b) Sitelinks
c) Top stories
d) Images
e) Knowledge panel
f) Videos
g) Tweets
h) AMP
i) People also ask
j) Local pack
k) Carousel
l) App
Search result types which can be returned by Google in response to queries performed from Mobile devices and which are currently tracked by AWR:
Disclaimer: Please note that this screenshot was artificially compiled using real Google results.
1. Blended results
Traditional Organic results blended with other special search results (also referred to as SERP Features) from Google's results pages.
Alongside the Organic results, which are present with not a single exception on every regular search results page, the following SERP Features can be triggered when users type in a query using a Mobile device:
a) Featured snippets
Answer display boxes featured on #1 spot (position 0) of Google’s results page. Featured snippets help users find the information faster as they do not have to click through a specific result in order to see the answer.
b) Sitelinks
Hyperlinks that appear below some Google listings in order to help searchers easier navigate to relevant pages from a website.
c) Top stories
News-related results returned when Google finds relevant news or events relevant to the search query. Such results can appear in any position on the search results page and may be enhanced with a small, yet representative image or video.
d) Images
Thumbnail images from Google’s regular web search pages. Such results can appear in any position on SERP and are linked directly to Google’s Images vertical.
e) Knowledge panel
Overview information box displayed at the top of a search results page. The knowledge panel is triggered in response to a query about a brand, a place or a particular topic such as popular people, books or movies.
f) Videos
Snippets featuring a thumbnail of the video alongside the publication date, the names of the video and channel. Video snippets can show up on any position among Google’s regular search results pages.
g) Tweets
Twitter search results returned by Google when significant current interest related to the query’s topic is registered.
h) AMP
AMP stands for Accelerated Mobile Pages, a Google-backed project aiming to help publishers have their websites' pages load quickly on mobile devices.
AMP results are accompanied by a small Lightning Bolt icon which is meant to indicate speed and also inform searchers that the associated pages can be accessed faster.
i) People also ask
Set of accordion-like questions and answers related to the searcher's initial query. A PAA result can appear either right under a featured snippet or on any other position on the first page of search results.
j) Local pack
Packs of search results that appear, usually, at the top of the page and which are comprised of a map and 3 listings featuring the business name and physical address. The listings returned in the local 3-pack are dependent on the searcher’s geographical location and query intent. When clicking on any of the 3 local listings, the searcher is brought to page containing an extended view of the selected business.
k) Carousel
Horizontal slider displayed at the top of the page which allows searchers to expand their search. Clicking on any of the carousel’s listings brings the searcher to a new search results page.
l) App
Listings from Google Play or Apple Store featured among Google's search results when a mobile application relevant to the user's query is being found.
How to track Blended results
Except for featured snippets which can be tracked also with the Organic version, all blended results from Google’s regular Mobile search network can be tracked only with the Mobile Universal search engine.
💡 When tracking a Universal search engine any URL on which the searcher can click is considered as being a top site competitor. Organic entries alongside the URLs from Featured snippets, AMP, Local 3-pack, Images, Videos, etc, that Google includes among its pages will be counted when computing the ranking position of an URL.
Left screenshot: The HTML SERP file retrieved using a Mobile Universal search engine.
Right screenshot: www.comparaja.pt is reported as ranking on the 8th position - the 3 listings from the Local pack and the 7 Organic results were counted first.
2. Regular Organic results
Search results based on unpaid, natural rankings selected by the search engine algorithms based on their quality and also their relevance to the searcher’s query.
How to track Regular Organic results with AWR
Organic only entries from regular Mobile web search pages can be tracked using the Mobile Organic search engine.
Left screenshot: The HTML SERP file retrieved using a Mobile Organic search engine.
Right screenshot: www.comparaja.pt is reported as ranking on the 5th position - the 3 entries from the local pack were not counted when computing the ranking position.
3. Vertical search results
As opposed to a default search page which may return results from the entire spectrum of the web for a topic, a vertical search results page focuses only on a specific niche of online content, as follows:
Images - image content relevant to the searcher’s query.
Video - video content returned from sources all over the web, including the Youtube database.
News - news related articles retrieved from more than 50,000 news sources worldwide.
Left screenshot: Organic search results blended with Top Stories and Tweets SERP Features.
Right screenshot: Google vertical exclusively showing Google News results.
How to track Vertical search results
If in need to track rankings across one of the Google's vertical areas mentioned above you can use one of the specialized search engines - Mobile Images, Mobile Video or Mobile News.
Do you have any other questions? Don’t hesitate to get in touch and we will keep building the FAQ.
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