Serp Feature Opportunity Finder

A powerful, one-time batch analyzer that scrapes Google Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) to detect features like Featured Snippets and People Also Ask (PAA). It checks your domain's presence and generates actionable opportunity reports with content suggestions for your SEO workflows.

Perfect for in-house SEOs, content managers, and agencies who want structured, actionable insights across dozens or hundreds of keywords without paying for ongoing rank-tracking tools.

🎯 Key Features

• Competitor Gap Analysis: Track up to 50 competitor domains. See exactly which competitors own the Featured Snippets or appear in the PAA answers you're targeting.
• Pre-Built Action Views: Don't drown in CSVs. Use our custom dataset views to instantly filter for "Quick Wins" (where you rank well but miss the snippet) or "Content Expansion" (where PAA questions are ripe for the taking).
• SERP Feature Detection: Detects Featured Snippets, People Also Ask (PAA), Video Carousels, Image Packs, Shopping Results, and Local Packs.
• Domain Presence Check: Input your domain to see where you rank organically and whether you hold the snippet or appear in PAA.
• Actionable Opportunity Report: Automatically generates an opportunitySummary and contentSuggestions (e.g., "Format as numbered steps to win the snippet") based on keyword intent and current SERP landscape.
• One-Time Batch Analysis: No continuous tracking required. Run on demand or schedule quarterly via Apify.

💡 Use Cases

1. Competitor Snapshot: Run a client's keywords and input their top 3 rivals in competitorDomains. Instantly see which rivals hold snippets and where the client is lagging.
2. Content Planning: Use the "Content Expansion (PAA)" view to pull PAA questions and snippet-format hints to brief writers or plan your content calendar.
3. Quarterly SERP Audits: Run a keyword list and your domain to prioritize where you can win SERP features. Check the "Quick Wins" view to see where you rank in the top 10 but don't hold the snippet yet.

📥 Input

The Actor accepts a JSON object. Here are the key fields:

• apifyToken (optional string): Your Apify API token. Required if you are on a Free/Starter plan. This Actor relies on the official apify/google-search-scraper to ensure perfect data quality and bypass bot protections. Since that is a "Public Actor", Apify restricts Free accounts from calling it programmatically. By pasting your API token here, you allow the Actor to run the scraper on your behalf.
• keywords (required array of strings): List of search queries to analyze.
• yourDomain (optional string): The domain to check for presence in SERP features and organic results (e.g. example.com).
• competitorDomains (optional array of strings): List of competitor domains to track (e.g. competitor.com). The Actor will check if they hold the featured snippet or appear in PAA.
• country (optional string): Country code for SERP geography (default: US).
• language (optional string): Language code for search results (default: en).
• includePaaQuestions (optional boolean): If true, includes the full list of PAA questions (default: true).

Example Input

{
  "keywords": [
    "how to bake bread",
    "best bread flour",
    "sourdough starter recipe"
  ],
  "yourDomain": "mybakeryblog.com",
  "competitorDomains": [
    "kingarthurbaking.com",
    "theperfectloaf.com"
  ],
  "country": "US",
  "language": "en",
  "maxKeywords": 50,
  "maxOrganicResults": 20,
  "includePaaQuestions": true
}

📤 Output

The Actor outputs one dataset item per keyword. The dataset includes:

• Features Present: Booleans for hasFeaturedSnippet, hasPaa, hasVideoCarousel, etc.
• Snippet Details: featuredSnippetDomain, featuredSnippetType, and featuredSnippetText.
• Your Position: yourOrganicPosition, yourSiteInFeaturedSnippet, yourSiteInPaa.
• Competitor Insights: competitorInFeaturedSnippet, competitorsInPaa.
• Opportunity: hasOpportunity, opportunitySummary, and contentSuggestions.
• PAA Questions: paaQuestions array (if enabled).

Example Output Item

{
  "keyword": "how to bake bread",
  "country": "US",
  "language": "en",
  "hasFeaturedSnippet": true,
  "hasPaa": true,
  "hasVideoCarousel": false,
  "hasImagePack": false,
  "hasShoppingResults": false,
  "hasLocalPack": false,
  "featuredSnippetDomain": "competitor.com",
  "featuredSnippetType": "list",
  "featuredSnippetText": "1. Mix flour and yeast. 2. Add water and salt. 3. Knead...",
  "yourOrganicPosition": 4,
  "yourSiteInFeaturedSnippet": false,
  "yourSiteInPaa": false,
  "yourSiteInVideoCarousel": false,
  "opportunitySummary": "Featured snippet held by competitor.com; you rank #4. Format your content as numbered steps to win the snippet.",
  "hasOpportunity": true,
  "paaQuestions": [
    "How long does bread take to bake?",
    "What flour is best for bread?"
  ],
  "contentSuggestions": [
    "Format your content as numbered steps to win the snippet.",
    "Add an FAQ section answering the 2 PAA questions."
  ],
  "serpUrl": "https://www.google.com/search?q=how+to+bake+bread",
  "scrapedAt": "2026-02-21T14:00:00.000Z"
}

⚖️ Legal Disclaimer

Use of SERP data and compliance with Google's Terms of Service (and any applicable law) are the user's responsibility. This Actor retrieves data from publicly available web pages. You should not scrape personal data or copyrighted material unless you have a legitimate reason to do so. If you're unsure whether your use case is legitimate, please consult an attorney.