A search engine results page (SERP) is a page that is displayed by a search engine after a user inputs a search query. SERP is a collection of search results that a search engine returns when a user enters a keyword into the search bar to find information about something online. The displayed results are the ones that a search engine thinks will offer the most value and information to the user.
Since there are many search engines out there like Google, Bing, and Yahoo, the SERP design is different for each one of them. Google is the most popular search engine—holding over 80% of the market value.
The results that are displayed on the Google search engine result pages primarily consist of:
- Organic search results
- Pay-per-click (PPC) ads and paid search results
Different Types of Google SERPs
- AdWords
- Carousels
- Featured snippets
- Knowledge cards
- Knowledge panels
- Related questions/people also ask
- Google shopping
- Images
- Videos
- Top stories/news results
- Local pack
- Rich cards
- Site links
- Reviews
- Tweets
SERPs and SEO
SERP is a platform where you can compete with other websites and drive organic traffic to your website by ranking number at the top. You can use this arena to the best of your advantage by implementing some of the most ethical and whitehat SEO practices on your website to boost its online visibility and attract more prospects to your page. How well your web pages are performing on SERPs is entirely dependent on how well you have incorporated keywords that resonate with your brand intent, how relevant your content is, and how many backlinks you are attracting from different high authority and reputed websites.