The SERP is an acronym that stands for Search Engine Results Page. It is what comes up when you type in a keyword into Google or another search engine. It contains all websites indexed for that keyword in order of importance. The SERPS or search engine results pages are the results that you get when you type a keyword phrase into Google or another search engine. They have both paid and organic search listings as well as a lot of other elements and features.
Undoubtedly, you have used a search query before. Most people use search engines dozens of times per day. The way that these web pages work is by entering search terms and seeing what comes up. Websites that are indexed for those keyword phrases are the results on a SERP. Websites use search engine optimization techniques to get their sites to rank higher.
What is SERP?
The SERP or SERPS is simply a general term that refers to whatever name you are on. It stands for Search Engine Results Page or Pages. There are two main things that are listed on the search engine results page. Let’s look at both of them briefly.
Organic Search Results: Organic search results are simply the websites that the search engines index and list on the results page. It is what makes up the majority of the listings on the page, and there can be hundreds or even thousands of search engine pages that are made up of organic search results. The search engine companies do not charge anything to index websites within organic search results. You also cannot pay to be listed in the index, or to be ranked higher. They are sort of provided as a community service and therefore the integrity of the results must be very high.
Paid Search Results: Then there are the paid search results; you can see the paid search results directly underneath the knowledge graph, or the information box that is provided by Google for a variety of search terms, often containing exactly the information that you are looking for such as a definition, name, address, phone number of the answer to some general knowledge question. Paid search results are usually offered through a bidding program such as the Google Adwords program. You choose what search terms you want your ad to be listed for and then you choose how much you are willing to pay for each click and the advertiser with the highest bid gets the top spot with the rest ranked by how much they are willing to bid for clicks. Some extremely high value keyword phrases can go for up to $60 per click.
Google and the SERPS
Google is definitely the most popular search engine used today. There are a lot of reasons why this is the case, but the primary one is that they simply do a better job of making sure that the right websites are ranked at the top of the SERPS for an indexed term. Google’s goal is to answer the question that is asked by a consumer. Sometimes, they need to be directed to a website to get those answers. Sometimes, Google provides the answer itself in the right sidebar or at the top – especially in the case of very simple answers.
But the SERPS are an important factor not only for Google but for every other business in the world that has an online presence – which is nearly all of them. Getting ranked higher in the search engine results is the goal of every business and those that do it for a living are called internet marketers. The process of improving a website so that it is ranked higher is known as search engine optimization.
Search engine optimization happens when you know some or all of the factors that Google (and other search engines) use to rank websites and you make improvements to your own website so that you can meet these requirements better. Many of these factors are known. For example, Google wants high-quality content on websites that they rank at the top. They also want clear navigation, content broken up by formatting and pictures, and they want
The SERPS is an important part of having a website on the internet, but even if you do not have a website, there are plenty of reasons to understand the SERPS better. For example, the internet has replaced the telephone directory that was used throughout much of the 20th century. Now if you need to find a business near you, or one that sells a product that you are looking for, you simply type it into Google and the business listings come up. These pop up whether or not you have a website on the internet, as long as you have filled out the Google business profile.
Anatomy of a Search Engine Results Page
Here are some of the things that you will find on a Google search page. Each search page is customized to an individual, including location and interests.
- Local Carousel: Shows you local business results in carousel form. Rarely used today. Instead, the three-pack is mostly used.
- Media Carousel: Type in a search term regarding music, movies or TV shows and you’ll probably get a carousel. For example, type in “best sci-fi movies.”
- Ads: These are the paid search listings mentioned earlier.
- Shopping Ads: If you are shopping for a product, then these listings may come up.
- Direct Answers: Google tries to answer your question directly if possible.
- Image & Video Results: Shown if there are relevant images or video results that may help you with your search.
- Rich Snippets: If Google can provide you with the information you need without visiting the site, they will, through rich snippets.
- News Results: If there are news stories containing the phrase, they are shown at the top.
- Related Searches: So you can try a different search.
- Knowledge Graph Box: Shown on the top right when there is enough information.
