What are SERPs?

Search Engine Results pages and SERP features explained

What are SERPs?

Everyone has done a google search before. It’s second nature to type in a simple word or phrase to have millions of results presented to you across thousands of pages. There’s even a name for them.

We call those Search Engine Results Pages or SERPs for short.

Search Queries and Intent

Each user’s search query also has an underlying intent, referred to as search intent.

These unique search queries fit into four categories of intent, displayed in Semrush.

• Informational: learn something new or find an answer
• Transactional: purchasing something
• Navigational: finding a specific site on the internet
• Commercial: users investigating products with the intent to purchase

Additionally, you may view keyword intent in the following tools: Domain Overview, Organic Research, Keyword Overview, Keyword Magic Tool, Keyword Gap, and Keyword Manager: all in Semrush.

Remember, that understanding the search intent and queries can help marketing professionals better present content to their ideal customers. This can further help when suggesting article topics to the content writers and getting the best out of the keyword research.

How Do SERPs Work?

SERPs are determined by the ever-changing Google algorithm.
Those three stages include:

1. Crawling: Google bots looking for new or updated pages to index on the web
2. Indexing: examining the page’s URL, images, content, and other media files and placing this information into a massive database
3. Serving: determining which pages are most relevant to the search query before presenting it to the user

A web page simply going through Google’s three-step process will not be enough to rank on the first page of Google SERPs. Web pages that rank well typically have strong SEO practices implemented to help give them a competitive advantage.

How Do I Improve SERP Rankings?

To help your brand gain visibility, you can improve your positions on SERPs using a combination of paid and organic methods.

1. Using paid ads

Paid Search Ads are just one of the many used SERP features and are referred to as pay-per-click (PPC) ads.

Businesses using PPC will bid a certain amount of money for a position in those search results and are charged each time a user clicks on the ad.

PPC ads can help businesses gain visibility for pages that rank well organically for the desired keyword. For example, if you’re trying to rank for a specific search term, but it’s high in competition, and improving rankings organically has proved difficult, PPC ads may help compete for top billing on the first page of the SERPs.

Check out the tips below if you’re planning for a ppc campaign:

• Select your keywords carefully. Use tools like Google Ads' Keyword Planner or Keyword Overview in Semrush to research terms that relate to your brand and satisfy a user's search queries.
• Carefully define the parameters of when you want your ad to show up. Consider using negative keywords to let Google know when you don't want the ad to appear. For example, you might not want your ad for an iphone to appear during someone's search for "iphones" while also including the word "free."
• Track your campaign carefully. Observe your ad's popularity and what people do when they click through the ad. This will help you determine what is working well and where you might improve to strengthen your campaign.

Improve Your Organic Results

Paid ads are great but it can only last so long. However, building your presence organically, which usually cannot be done overnight, will prove useful in the game of improving ranks. This especially works if you’re working with limited budget. Using SEO tactics, are always an option!

Check out some of the best practices for organic results

• Constant keyword research. Again, Google keyword planner and Semrush Keyword overview are my favourites. It’s excellent because you have so many keyword matches that you can use to improve SEO.
• Ensure your topics are comprehensive. Meaning that you need to make sure to write to the point, incorporate the keywords you have done in your research.
• Be an advocate of backlinking the simplest thing. Once you produce a piece of content, consider promoting it so other sites can share it or link back to your site.
• Encourage engagement with your content. Share it on social media and in email promotions, where necessary.
• Optimize on-page SEO. This includes technical aspects of your page, like title tags and meta information, to help improve rankings for your target keyword. the “on page SEO checker” in Semrush is a brilliant tool for this as it suggests you content ideas as well as keywords to go alongside with it.

If you want more authentic results that last longer than an ad campaign, improving your organic listings should be your primary focus.

Rich Results or “SERP Features”

Rich Results

Rich results or SERP features are any additional element on a SERP that adds something new to the typical format of a results page.
Some examples of rich results are:

• Featured snippets. a featured snippet shows up in organic results and is also referred to as an answer box.Featured Snippets appear at the top of the organic results in what is considered “position zero.”
• Image pack. Image Packs appear when Google thinks that visual content will serve a more comprehensive results page.
• Knowledge panel. Google uses a knowledge panel to provide a quick overview of people, places, or things and often includes significant dates, a brief overview of the topic, and some images. The panel appears at the top right corner of SERPs in desktop results and the top in mobile devices.
• People also ask. People Also Ask (PAA) refers to questions Google automatically generates based on queries it believes are related to your question.
• Sitelinks. These are special links that Google features underneath the website result.Google displays these links to help people quickly navigate to a particular part of a website. Usually, it appears for websites when Google easily understands the navigation system.
• Related searches. At the bottom of the SERPs, Google also provides users with a “related searches” portion, prompting other search queries related to their initial search.

Among the above rich results mentioned are some more, namely; videos, reviews, FAQ’s, local packs, hotel packs, job listings, shopping results etc.

With these tools and tips, SERPs and their features can your site attract your target audience’s attention and improve your digital marketing in all aspects.