What Is a SERP? A Guide to Search Engine Results Pages
There are millions of pages on the web, but none are more important to digital marketers than search engine results pages, or SERPs. In this beginner's guide to SERPs, you'll learn all about why they're so important for SEO, and how exactly a SERP works.
What is a SERP?
A SERP stands for search engine results page. A search engine results page is a web page served to users when they search for something online using a search engine, such as Google. The user enters their search query (often using specific terms and phrases known as keywords), then the search engine presents them with a SERP. These are the most relevant, high-quality results, including organic pages and sponsored ads, related to the search query.
How do SERPs work?
The appearance of search engine results pages is constantly in flux due to experiments conducted by Google, Bing, and other search engine providers to offer their users a more intuitive, responsive experience. This, combined with emerging and rapidly developing technologies in the search space, mean that the SERPs of today differ greatly in appearance from their older predecessors.
Organic Results on the SERP
SERPs typically contain two types of content – "organic" results and paid results. Organic results are listings of web pages that appear as a result of the search engine's algorithm (more on this shortly). Search engine optimization professionals, commonly known as SEOs, specialize in optimizing web content and websites to rank more highly in organic search results.
Paid Results on the SERP
In contrast to organic results, paid results are those that have been paid to be displayed by an advertiser. In the past, paid results were almost exclusively limited to small, text-based ads that were typically displayed above and to the right of the organic results. Today, however, paid results can take a wide range of forms, and there are dozens of advertising formats that cater to the needs of advertisers.
Ranking Signals and Search Algorithms
Organic results are listings that have been indexed by the search engine based on a number of factors, also known as "ranking signals." For example, the search algorithm used by Google features hundreds of ranking factors, and while nobody outside of Google knows precisely what they are, some are thought to be more important than others.
Search Engine Optimization and SERPs
As its name implies, search engine optimization is the practice of optimizing websites and web pages for discovery in search engines and, as a result, more visible placement on search engine results pages. This is accomplished through a variety of means, from what is known as "on-page" SEO to "off-page" techniques.
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