SERP

 

Search Engine Results Page: Short Summary

SERP is an acronym for “Search Engine Results Page” and refers to the pages where Google and other search engines list search results.

SERP: Detailed Summary

Good SERP rankings are essential for a successful website, and website operators will always want to ensure that their pages appear high up in SERP listings because studies show the majority of search clicks are distributed across the first 10 results listed for any keyword. After these initial SERP options, user attention then drops off drastically. According to a recent study conducted by the Mediative Digital Marketing Company, this means the second Google search results page only ever receives around 1 percent of the clicks total.

Search results for SERPs are determined by secret search engine algorithms. According to Google, they apply more than 200 SEO factors when ranking each website. These include the quality of links pointing to other websites as well as user relevance and the quality of the page content.

Depending on the keyword or keyword combinations entered, certain advertising, images, results from Google Maps and a particular order of search results will appear.

In addition, SERPs may also be personalized to reflect user location and recent search history. However, should a user feel his personal rights are being infringed, it’s possible to request that Google remove any results generated via such personal information.

Because ranking highly is so important for site traffic, search engine optimization (SEO) is often used to positively influence a website’s position in SERP listings. SEO experts analyze which search terms users are most likely to use and try to respond with matching website content.

The decisive factor in a website’s SERP ranking is how relevant the site is for a particular search query. So to make search engine content scans more successful, it’s important that the website content contains relevant keywords. Since Google can also detect semantic relationships, it’s always better to have a website optimized not only for particular keywords but also for the whole topic – for example, by integrating other subject-specific terms and synonyms.

Updates on Google’s SERPs

Google refines its search algorithms to offer its users more pertinent search results via regular updates such as Panda, Penguin and Hummingbird.

Google updates have also prompted some SERP changes. For example, with its Hummingbird update, Google has extended its display to include the so-called Knowledge Graph. As a result, this display automatically answers certain search queries, so users will no longer need to click on individual search results.

Successful search engine optimizers must keep up-to-date and adapt their SEO strategies to reflect the latest Google updates. However, Google will also penalize any website that attempts to unfairly manipulate its search engine rankings, such as keyword stuffing. Doing so will negatively affect a site’s rankings and can even lead to complete exclusion from the search index.

Ads on search engine result pages

Another way to improve ranking on SERPs is via search engine advertising (SEA). Google AdWords ads are helpful, and most companies rely on a combination of SEO and SEA to draw traffic to their website.

Conclusion

As high as possible – that’s the motto of website operators when it comes to a site’s positioning in SERP listings because most clicks are attributed to the first page of Google’s search results.

Search engine optimization is an attempt to influence a website’s SERP ranking. In addition, search engine advertising, such as Google Adwords, is used to draw a user’s attention to a particular site.

SERPs have changed in response to Google updates. Instead of just plain text, users now also see images, videos, reviews and maps in the search results. Successful search engine optimizers must always know about the latest Google update and adapt their strategies accordingly.