What are SERPs?

Search Engine Results Page.

This is the list of results that the search engine produces in response to a search query. Simply put, the page you see when you search for something. The SERPs can include content that is displayed in various forms:

• Organic Search Results

Organic results will include a title, URL, and meta description. Each should play its part in describing the content and what to expect from the page.

• Paid Google Ads Results

These either appear at the top, middle, or bottom of the page. Depending on how competitive the keyword is, that is being bid on, will depend on how much the Cost Per Click bid is.

• Videos

Videos will appear if the site has an embedded video, and this is relevant to the search query. The title, time date, and source will be displayed.

• Related Questions

Google’s understanding of people is becoming better and better. With related searches, they suggest related topics and questions which may help their search further.

• Featured Snippets

A small preview of the content, which is considered the most relevant as is it already position 1 on a search results page. Displaying the content before clicking can encourage clicks (if it’s applicable).

• Image Pack

An image pack is displayed as a row of images that are considered relevant. Looking at alt text, files names & page content to determine whether an image is worthy of appearing in the results.

• Knowledge Graphs/ Cards

This is normally a box that displays facts about a subject. The search engine will normally pull lots of information from various sources.

• Local Pack

Displayed with a local map, businesses or locations will appear as pinpoint locations. Underneath small descriptions will provide a little more information and any details.

• News Box

Recent stories and news pieces on the subject will appear here, these are time-sensitive and normally focus on big updates/ news.

• Reviews

Only available if you have reviews with star ratings on your website. Normally those results with 4 or 5 stars will get more clicks.

• Shopping

Paid shipping ads require high-quality images, great pricing, and sales results. These are positioned in the top/ top right of the results page and have a similar layout to an image pack.

So, you can see there are quite a few ways in which results can be presented to you. But this all depends on the search query. E.g. if you search ‘local win bars’ you are most likely to be presented with map search results. Whereas a search for ‘yellow bird’ is most likely to show you an image pack of… yellow birds.

So what actually decides how results are ranked in the SERPs

We all know that Google’s ranking algorithm is complex, ever-changing, and basically top secret. But, Google has given us some insight into what factors have an impact on search results and therefore how to improve them.

• Site Security
• Site Load Speed
• Quality Content
• Keywords
• Mobile Friendliness
• Internal & External Links
• Crawlability
• User Experience
• On-Page SEO

If you’d like to discuss the SERPs or how to optimise your website for search engines, get in touch with us at [email protected]