Listicles Perform Well in Classic and AI Search

Listicles continue to demonstrate strong performance in both traditional search engine results pages (SERPs) and emerging AI-driven search interfaces, according to an analysis of 5.3 million search results. The study found that listicles appeared in the top 10 SERP results for 55.1% of 60,000 analyzed queries and reached the top 3 positions for 32.3% of those queries. Query intent emerged as a significant factor, with Google displaying listicles 5.3 times more frequently when queries explicitly requested a set of options. This indicates that Google's algorithms prioritize listicle formats when users are seeking comparative or enumerated information.

The research also addressed concerns about Google demoting listicles, concluding there was no universal demotion. Instead, Google shuffled ranking positions, with only 52.5% of queries retaining the same URL in the top position between January and August. Publishers outperformed brands in listicle rankings, supplying 46.8% of the highest-ranking listicles compared to 19.2% from brands and vendors. Publishers also won 54% of head-to-head matchups on the same SERP, suggesting a stronger organic presence and content strategy for listicle formats.

Performance varied significantly across different industry verticals. The presence of listicles in the top 10 SERPs ranged from 42.0% in entertainment and gaming to 67.2% in beauty and fashion. In the business-to-business (B2B) software sector, brand-owned listicles appeared on 46.2% of SERPs, highlighting the tactic's importance for AI search in this domain. The primary threat to listicles is not direct demotion but indirect competition for user attention. A substantial 92% of listicle SERPs also featured content from Reddit or YouTube, and AI Overviews covered an average of 83.7% of queries, reaching 93.4% in B2B.

Further analysis of over 3,000 listicles identified key characteristics of higher-ranking content. Freshness was the clearest signal, with dates from the previous two years appearing on 66.6% of pages in the top 3 positions, compared to 57.3% of pages in positions 8-10. This emphasis on recency aligns with the preferences of both traditional search algorithms and large language models (LLMs), which tend to favor up-to-date information. Conversely, old or uninterpretable dates were present on 8.2% of top-3 pages and 15.1% of pages in lower-ranking positions, underscoring the importance of current content.