Introduction
SERP or Search Engine Results Page is a page that turns up when you type something to search on a particular search engine. It displays a list of websites related to your search query and keywords. In recent times, SERP has gained immense importance because digital marketers and business organizations' primary focus is to rank on SERP's first page since most of the traffic goes to those websites that rank among the top 5 in any SERP.
List of Topics:
- What is SERP?
- How does SERP work?
- Organic vs Paid Search
- Basic Features of SERP
- SEO (Search Engine Optimization): An Overview
What is SERP?
A SERP or Search Engine Result Page is a page loaded and displayed when you type some query or keywords in the search engines. It is one of the most important components of SEO. It shows many websites ranked from most relevant to least relevant in response to your search query.
The most widely used search engines include Google (which occupies almost 80% of the market share), Yahoo, Bing, and many more. Some of the standard features in their SERP are as follows:
- A list of interlinked webpages and titles.
- URL of each listed page
- Meta description
- Images related to keywords and search queries
- Various search pattern suggestions for similar types of searches
- Paid advertisements
Every SERP is unique to the individuals who search despite having similar features. Often, different search engines try to modify the SERP based on search history, user location, user age, and so on.
How does SERP work?
Three main types of pages you generally come across are:
- Organic Pages (pages that are already indexed and crawled)
- Inorganic or Paid Pages (pages that exist because of paid inclusion)
- Pages manually added to SERP.
Search engines use algorithms and ranking signals to organize and rank websites on SERP. They tend to analyze the various components of SEO, such as texts, keywords, and multimedia content of a website, in real-time. Search engines work by crawling hundreds of pages using their web crawlers, known as search engine bots and crawlers. Search engines navigate web pages, and new web pages are discovered by following the link. Then, it positions the web pages and links them from most relevant to least relevant according to the search term used and user intent. Some of the factors that search engine providers recognize for ranking higher on any SERP are as follows:
Keywords
The number of relevant keywords in the topic helps boost your ranking in SERP. There should not be a keyword cluster, which can adversely affect the ranking.
The Google algorithm simply prefers easy-to-navigate and properly arranged pages. Search engines easily recognize content written in a lucid style.
Backlinks
The number and quality of do-follow links linking a webpage with external websites determine the ranking in SERP. The more quality backlinks there are, the more authority the page has on a subject and its trustworthiness.
Search engines process cumulative information, including website security, traffic volume, backlinks, and more, to allocate rankings in SERP.
User Experience variables such as screen friendliness, loading time, page speed, and ease of navigation affect the ranking in SERP.
Organic Vs Paid Search
Below, we discuss some basic differences between Organic and Paid Searches.
Traffic
Organic- Since it is unpaid, traffic during the initial stage is less.
Paid Search- It involves payment and generates higher traffic.
Position
Organic- Appears in the middle after a paid search and is less attractive.
Paid Search- It appears at the top and couples at the bottom.
Speed
Organic- It takes two weeks to a couple of months to rank organically.
Paid Search- It is a lot faster to rank in paid search. It takes 15 minutes to rank.
Copy
Organic- Organic searches have long headlines and body copy.
Paid Search- It has a character limit, so its headlines and body copy are shorter.
Basic Features of SERP
The SERP includes the following features:
Local Listings
A local listing appears when a user searches for a particular business location. It contains an embedded map, reviews, contact numbers, etc.
Featured Snippets
Search engines typically display featured snippets at the top of the SERP. When a search query includes a question, search engines attempt to retrieve the best answer and rank it at the top.
Images
When you query, every search engine presents image search results. It tries to fetch results based on keyword relevancy. You can also use drag-and-drop features to search images in search engines.
Search engines also provide a tab for video searches. It includes a list of videos related to the search query made. Many times, platforms display YouTube video links and snippets.
Shopping
When users search for a specific product, Google and other search engines offer shopping features. It includes both organic and paid results.
People Also Ask (PAA) provides related questions relevant to the search query at the top of SERP. It includes a list of suggested questions that can provide in-depth knowledge about the existing search made.
These are usually trending news stories related to the search query made.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization): An Overview
It is a proven fact that users generally view the first page of SERP for their searches. So, it has become necessary for website owners and business organizations to rank their websites organically on the first page of SERP.
SEO is the technique of boosting a website's rankings organically for keywords related to your business. When users search, search engines like Google provide them with a list of pages relevant to the search query and keywords.
SEO revolves around improving a website to rank high on a SERP (search engine result page).
The primary aim of SEO involves using techniques and practices with limited knowledge about search engine algorithms to rank higher on SERP. It is an ongoing process and not a time strategy. Ranking higher on SERP means getting more traffic to a website, thereby, more conversions, ultimately resulting in an inflow of revenue to the owners.
Almost all SEO practices and efforts are directed toward Google since it is the primary search engine (which occupies about 80% of the market share) people use nowadays.
The most important techniques of SEO involve:
XML Sitemap
It is a file that lists a webpage for crawling by Google. It informs search engines about the availability of particular pages on the internet so that search engines can crawl and discover their content. It is also known as XML schema definition.
Off-Page SEO
It simply means giving a push to your website in SERP from outside without going inside the coding. It involves blacklining to improve authority and trust signals for a particular website, off-page SEO strategies, local SEO, image submissions, directory submissions, guest blogging, social bookmarking, and many more.
On-Page SEO
This involves boosting the website from the inside. It consists in creating relevant, high-quality, user-friendly content for a website. Keyword-friendly titles, a comprehensive meta description, Img ALT Tag, etc., are a few tactics used in on-page SEO.
Technical SEO
Technical SEO refers to optimizing a website's technical aspects to improve its search engine visibility and organic rankings. It focuses on optimizing a website's infrastructure, coding, and backend elements to ensure that search engine crawlers can effectively discover, index, and understand the content. Technical SEO plays a crucial role in helping search engines understand the relevance and value of a website, which can positively impact its rankings in search engine results pages (SERPs).
Conclusion
Website owners prioritize ranking in SERP, a crucial task with challenges. Keeping pace with Google's frequent algorithm updates requires aligning SEO practices, necessitating SEO Specialists to implement significant changes regularly.
