A Quick Guide to Search Engine Result Page

Every individual uses search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and Bing to search their queries and get answers. You, too, have indeed performed a search before. The page that appears in fractions of seconds in front of you after typing a word or phrase in the search box is known as the Search Engine Result Page (SERP).

Go through the post to know what the search Engine Result page is and more details related to it.

The search engines provide different sorts of search results for your query, which may be organic search results, paid search results or PPC ads, Featured Snippets, and video results. Over 90% of users like to visit websites that rank on the first page of Google SERPs.

Every website dreams of appearing and glorifying in SERPs, but it isn’t an easy task. Website owners need to optimize their sites for search engines, and only after that, they may get the chance to rank in SERPs.

Now, without further delay, lets us explain what Search Engine Result Page is.

What is SERP?

As we have stated above, SERP is the search result page presented in front of you when you search for something using search engines.

Different web pages are ranked in the first SERP based on the relevance to the keyword used. Search engines offer results that are more relevant to the searcher’s query.

Even though Bing and Yahoo are well known, Google is considerably more popular and favored search engine of all. Therefore, in this write-up, we’ll be discussing Google especially.

The SERPs could be different even for the same queries or keywords, even on the same search engines. The reason behind this is that search engines provide the result based on different factors besides keywords, such as the searcher’s geographical location, browsing history, and social settings in search engines, to customize the user experience. 

The two search results pages may seem alike, but there may still be some contrasts between them. 

SERPs’ appearance continually changes because search engine providers conduct various experiments to offer a more spontaneous and responsive experience to their users.

Types of Search Queries and Search Intent

Search queries are the words or phrases users use to find the answer using search engines, and the purpose of the searcher’s search is termed search intent. Below are the three different types of user search queries. Namely: 

• Informational
• Navigational
• Transactional

Informational queries 

As the name suggests, the query that is entered to get the information on a particular topic is known as an informational query. Informational query wraps the overall topic such as computers, vehicles etc., for which there are hundreds of sites providing the relevant information.

In an informational query, the user is not searching for a particular website, nor does he want to make a purchase. He only wants to find the answer to his question.

Navigational queries 

When a user enters the query to find a particular website or webpage, it is termed to be a navigational query. For instance: when you enter ‘Youtube’ or ‘Facebook’ into the search box instead of using a bookmark or placing the URL into the navigational bar, it is a navigational query. 

The intent of the navigational queries is very clear. The searcher exactly knows what he is looking for. All other websites are irrelevant to him if he is looking for Facebook only. 

Google classifies this query as a “go query.”

Transactional queries

The queries that are made for an intention of purchase or making a purchase are said to be transactional queries. These queries may contain the exact product or brand names, such as Nike shoes or washing machines or else. The searcher is also particular about what he wants to buy. In transactional queries, people may encounter organic as well as paid search results.

Local searches may also include transactional queries, such as wine shops or pharmacies, etc. 

The vertical searches are also transactional queries suggesting users willing to make a transaction in a particular industry. 

Vertical searches include searches for hotels and restaurants and flights etc.

How are SERPs determined?

The process of determining SERPs has changed since then. These are purely based on the Google algorithm, which continually changes from time to time. 

The search results that a user sees when he performs an online search are determined by Google following the three-step process: Crawling, Indexing, and Serving. 

The steps are explained below:

1. Crawling: Google bots or spiders crawls the web with the help of links to look for new or updated pages to index.
2. Indexing: The bots examine the URL, content, images, and other media files and place the data into their database.
3. Serving: Search engines look into their database to decide and order the most relevant pages to the user’s search query prior to presenting it in the first SERP to serve to users.

A web page’s ranking is not guaranteed on the first page of Google SERPs if it only passes through these steps. Web pages should also be optimized for SEO to rank in a higher position on the first search result page.

Therefore, you should keep your users in mind, answer their queries and optimize your webpage for SEO to appear on Google’s first SERP.

Types of Search Results

Whenever someone performs an online search in search engines, two types of results appear in SERPs, namely- paid and organic results. 

According to your query, you may see both types of results in SERPs. 

Let us explain what paid and organic results are.

• Paid Results

The search results that appear at the top are paid.  

Basically, paid results are advertisements, a marketing technique to promote their website or business. Many business and website owners pay to appear at the top of SERPs.

In many cases, when you enter a search query, you are most likely to see the paid ads. They appear above the organic results and even at the top of the search page.

Paid ads are a way search engines earn profit. They are based on Pay-Per-Click (PPC). Whenever someone clicks a paid ad, the owner has to pay for it.

Bidding is organized for the websites to appear at the top of SERPs. The owner with the highest bid gets the opportunity to glorify at the top.

• Organic Results 

Contrary to the paid results, the organic search results are unpaid results that appear on SERPs. These can be seen under the paid results in the presence of paid results, or else they may appear on the top.

These results are decided on the basis of their content and their relevance to the searcher’s query.

A webpage or a website can only appear in organic search results if optimized for search engines. Different on-page and off-page SEO factors determine the organic results and their ranking in SERPs. You need to present the website to Google and other search engines to get it indexed.

A website does not require to pay to appear in organic results.

Websites can also compete to appear in organic search results.

For paid results bidding is done, but websites need to have a strong SEO in competing for the ranks in organic results.

Organic result rankings take time to appear, but they are long-lasting, as Google ranked them as quality content. Therefore, Organic results are considered more effective than paid ones.

The featured snippet also shows organic search results that appear above the other organic search results but lower than paid results.

How To Enhance SERP Rankings?

Every owner wants to improve their site’s ranking in SERPs to enjoy the benefits of higher rankings. You can create brand awareness, boost visitors to your site and generate revenues while being at a higher position in SERPs. Paid and organic methods can help you to enhance your SERP ranking. The paid method involves paid ad campaigns, and the organic method includes different SEO tactics.

Let us explain how you can utilize them.

1. Organize Paid Ads campaign

Paid ads are the one way you can show yourself in SERP. We know these paid ads as pay-per-click ads.

The business and owners have to pay are required to pay whenever a user clicks on their ads. And they bid to compete with their rivals to get the most increased rank in SERPs. The highest bid gains the top position in search result pages. 

With a higher position, they get visibility for the desired keyword in front of visitors. And we all know the highest-ranking website is likely to be clicked more than the below one and gain more CTR. 

For example, PPC ads can help when the competition for a particular keyword is high, and a higher position in organic SERPs is hard to attain.  

You can compete for the highest bidding for the top position in SERPs using PPC ads. 

PPC ads may bring leads for many businesses, but generally, most of the visitors skip paid ads and move to other options on the SERPs. Therefore, if you are willing to spend on PPC ads, you need to be more focused. Before paying much on PPC campaigns, you need to make a solid strategy. 

Below are some tips you can keep in mind if you are planning for a Pay-Per-Click campaign-

• Choose keywords wisely 

To identify keywords that will satisfy a user’s query that is related to your brand, you can take help from the keyword tools such as Keyword Overview and Google Ads Keyword Planner.  

• Define the parameters for the ad to show up 

You can define exactly when you want to show up in the ads and when not. This can support you in cost-cutting. You can use the opposing words to specify search engines when you don’t want the ad to appear. 

For example- If you have created a PPC for Macbook, then you will want the ad to appear for Macbook, not for ‘Macbooks.’ This way, you can set the limits for the ad to appear. It’ll clarify what the ad is actually for.

• Track your campaign. 

You can track and observe your campaign to save your money wisely and improve the weak areas where you need to work on. You can find out how people are interacting with your ad and what they do when they click it. It will help you to determine Whether it is working or the areas that need attention. All these will allow you to improve and strengthen your paid ads. 

You can also withdraw if the ad is not fruitful to run. 

2. Improve Website’s SEO

Paid ads are fruitful if you have enough money to support your ad and you have a solid campaign to market your business. Unlike organic results, paid ads provide quick results. However, you can not go so far with paid ads. 

Contrary to this, Website Search Engine Optimization can glorify for a longer time and is considered to be more effective than paid ad campaigns. The users preferred these more as Google itself analyzed and ranked them based on their relevance with the user’s query. 

Google ranks it on the basis of the quality of content and its website, which can provide a great user experience.

Therefore, to improve your ranking on SERPs, you can enhance your site’s SEO to appear higher in the organic result.

Following are some tips you can involve in your strategy to improve your SERPs ranking.

• Focus and Research the Keyword

To create strong content, you need to focus on the targeted keyword first. This will decide what your content value in front of search engines as well as users. You can use the Keyword research Tool to determine what keyword to focus on. These tools can provide you with the exact and related keywords to improve your content.

• Provide comprehensive content

Keep content always the priority. Whenever you start creating content, analyze the topic thoroughly. Structure the content into headings and subheadings, find out the intent of the searcher related to the topic and try to answer all possible queries related to the topic. Create complete, detailed content to rank on the search engine result page.

• Look for link-building opportunities

Links from authorized sites encourage authority and trust. You can find the possibilities for creating backlinks. After creating solid content, promote it to get noticed and get backlinks to your site.

• Promote your content to boost user engagement

You can use social media platforms to promote your content and your website to boost user engagement to your site. Also, you can use email for promotions.

• Optimize on-page SEO

You can optimize On-page SEO factors other than content for Search engines, such as post’s title tags and meta description, to enhance your search position for your keyword. You can include links to relate to your web pages. Also, you can use an SEO tool such as Semrush’s On-Page SEO Checker to boost your on-page SEO. 

• Focus on local search if needed. 

You can create your Google Business Profile page and optimize it and let your business show in the local pack for local businesses. 

• Improve your content for SERP. 

You can inform Google about your site using schema markups; they are good to go. It assists Google in knowing your website better. 

Both paid and organic methods are suitable for enhancing your placement in search ranking. 

Structure your ads more strategically, and focusing on different SEO factors can help you position on the first page of the Search engine result page.

SERP Rich Results

After understanding SERPs and their working, let’s discuss different types of SERPs rich results. 

Using Google Rich Results Test, you can check whether your web page supports rich results.

To provide a user-friendly experience to users, Google repeatedly tests and enhances these rich results. 

Google provides the following types of rich results in its SERPs.

1. Featured Snippets

The featured snippets, also known as answer boxes, display organic results per the searcher’s query. 

Google highlights the text from a website to provide a direct answer to the user query in the featured snippet. 

Featured Snippets appear at the ‘zero position’ of the SERP, which is above the organic results. 

The snippet may refer to the domain where the text is taken with an image related to the user’s query. 

The featured snippet generally displays the queries related to the personalities, sports, calculations, events, scientific facts, etc. 

You may sometimes witness featured snippets in the form of widgets. For example- A widget may pop up on the screen when you search for the term “weather” or “convert foot into meters.”

Google also displays video featured snippet.

2. Knowledge Panel

These are the boxes that contain information that show up on Google SERPs whenever you search for people, places, things, or organizations. They give you an overview of details, with images and dates.

They generate automatically, and Google gathers the information from different sources all around the web.

You can find Knowledge Panel at the top of SERPs in the right corner on desktops and on the top of mobile phones.

3. Image Pack

Google displays Image Packs when it believes visual content can answer the search query better. 

In SERP, Google may display the images in a row or blocks related to the query. When you click on any image, it will lead you to the Image search tab. 

4. Top Stories

A search query may appear in the form of “Top Stories” in SERPs when Google notices a search query based on NEWS. 

Top stories are significant when users want to find more information concerning news or events. 

Google displays news stories with the date and author related to the search query.

5. People Also Ask

Google automatically generates a section named people also ask in SERPs on the basis of queries asked by users that is related to your search queries.  

These PAA questions are provided with answers that you can click to read further. People can explore their queries more with the PAA.

These may appear below the featured snippet.

6. Related Searches

Google provides the related searches section at the bottom of the search engine result page. It displays other search queries related to the user’s actual search query.

You can click on those to get the answers related to them.

7. Shopping Results

Whenever a user enters a search query suggesting the intent to buy something, Google displays the products available for purchase in the shopping ads of different eCommerce websites.

8. Reviews

Sometimes reviews with yellow star ratings are displayed for search results. Reviews suggest how good or bad the service or website is.

Search results with reviews are more likely to be clicked by users than the others. The sites with reviews have a higher CTR rate.

9. Local Pack

SERPs display local packs when a query involves a local search, such as ‘ice cream parlor near me’ or ‘chicken shop near the market.’

They display the areas near your current location.

A Local Pack search result may contain a map, pins, images, and ratings.

By clicking on it, you may get more details related to the business, such as Working hours, Phone numbers, Pictures, and Reviews.

10. Video 

Google may display a video result if any site contains a video related to your search query. It is displayed with an image and title related to your query.

This video is linked with the platforms like YouTube, Vimeo, etc.

11. Twitter 

Google also indexed tweets in its SERPs when it tie-up with Twitter in 2015.

The Twitter search results display the recent and trending tweets related to the user’s search query. You can find them in SERP after a few organic results.

To Conclude- 

In a fraction of second, you get answers to your queries whenever you perform an online search. These appear within a web page called a Search Result Page.

Google provides the most relevant answer to your query after crawling millions of web pages across the web. The result you may encounter may be organic or paid.

Every website dream of appearing on search result pages; you can optimize your website to promote visitors to your site and achieve a higher position in search ranking.

After reading the entire post, you may now be able to answer what Search Engine Result Page is and the different aspects related to them.