The term “SERPs” or “SERP”, also known as Search Engine Results Pages, is very important for SEO. If you are new to SEO, don’t worry because we are here. In this article, we will explain what SERPs are in detail. If you’re ready, let’s start
The page that the search engine returns after the user submits a search query is called SERP. In addition to organic search results, search engine results pages (SERPs) can often contain paid search and pay-per-click (PPC) ads.
We have previously mentioned it under the name SEO tips: Thanks to search engine optimization (SEO), users are more likely to click on results at the top of the page. So ranking positions on a SERP can be quite competitive.
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What are SERPs or Search Engine Results Pages?
The search engine results page, or SERP, is the page you see after entering a query into a search engine. The SERP design of each search engine may be different. We will conduct the review with Google, the most popular search engine.
A search engine results page (SERP) lists the results returned by a search engine in response to a specific word or keyword phrase query. The highest-ranking search results are either the most relevant results or the results that an organization or individual has paid the search engine to place at the top of the results page—ads.
The search engine uses various algorithms to rank page results. Thanks to these algorithms, links become less relevant as the reader moves down the page.
Google SERPs contain a list of linked web page titles or title tags. Plus, SERPs include the URLs of each listed page, a brief description of each web page called a meta description, images related to the search, a list of questions users have asked about a search term and quotes from search results pages that answer those questions, and advertisements.
Google often customizes SERPs based on data such as the user’s location, search and browser histories.
Search Query Types
SERP features depend on the type of search query entered. Below you can find descriptions of search query types divided into navigation, information, or action:
- Navigational queries: Occur when the user searches for a specific website but does not type the full URL of the site.
- Informational queries: When the user wants to know something, such as how to perform a particular task, they make an informational query. The searcher usually isn’t thinking about making a purchase.
- Transactional queries: Users make transactional queries when they are considering purchasing something, such as a specific product or a product in a broad category. Transactional queries are the query types with the most revenue potential.
How Do SERPs Work?
There are three main types of web pages in a SERP: pages that the search engine spider crawls and indexes, pages that are manually added to the search engine’s index, and pages that appear as a result of paid participation.
Search engines use complex algorithms to analyze these indexed web pages and multimedia content in real time when a user searches. They then position the web pages and their links on the results page from most relevant to least relevant. SERPs also take into account data such as the searcher’s location, search and browser histories when presenting results. Some criteria are as follows:
Number of backlinks
Identifies the number of external web pages that link to a particular page. It is a very important criterion for SERP ranking. Having many backlinks to a web page can indicate that that page is an authority on a subject and is trustworthy. Thus, increased website traffic also develops in a linear proportion.
Number of Relevant Keywords
You can imagine the importance of conducting comprehensive keyword research on a topic. This keyword research has a positive effect on rankings. You can calculate your keywords properly through Google Trends.
Text Layout
Google’s algorithm favors pages organized into simple sections that make it easier for the user to navigate and browse. The algorithm may also prioritize content written in simple terms.
User Experience
User experience details such as web page loading speeds, security, and ease of use are very important in content ranking in SERPs. Search engines also take into account cumulative data such as a website’s security, reliability, traffic, and backlinks over time.
What are the features of a SERP?
SERP features can be determined by the following categories:
- Infographic features: Appears in a panel or box on the SERP, usually on the right side.
- Rich snippets: Add extra visuals to the result, such as stars in product reviews or photos in news results.
- Paid results: You can do relevant keyword research and buy them by bidding. Paid results have a label at the top indicating that the result is an ad.
- Universal results: These are special results that appear alongside organic results.
- Image results: Visual results are one of the most shared SERP features. It is presented at the top of Google search results. Users can also search for an image by dragging and dropping an image file into the search box.
- Video results: Video results are a common SERP feature. Depending on relevance to the search term, video results typically appear at the top of the SERP, above organic results.
- People Also Ask: PAAs are a series of questions related to a searcher’s query that are published at the top of the SERP. When a user clicks on one of the questions, an answer opens from a top-level web page.
- Twitter results: SERPs sometimes include relevant Twitter posts, especially for events with a lot of livestreams.
Don’t forget that you can get more detailed information about SERPs by contacting Pigo Likes!
