SERP

Description

SERP is the abbreviation for Search Engine Result Pages. The search results of a search query (by searching for a keyword) are listed in the SERPs of search engines. It is the page that a search engine such as Google or Bing returns after a search query is submitted. On a SERP are shown organic (SEO) search results, but also paid search and pay-per-click (PPC) ads (Google Ads on Google).The organic results are arranged in descending order of relevance on the search results page. The ranking is calculated by search engines on the basis of many different factors and updated continuously.

The organic results consist of a headline (the page title) and a description (the meta description). There are usually 10 results per page.

Some of the additional information that can be included in a SERP:

• Knowledge Graph
• Rich Snippets (structured data) which increase the attractiveness of a snippet for the user and therefore the CTR
• Google News results
• Images

Google also offers the option to book a hotel room or a flight directly in the SERP.

Importance of Rankings and CTR

Only a tiny fraction of users click on a result outside of the first page. Since a few years and the increase of the number of paid entries (Google Ads) especially on mobile with no organic results above the fold, the first 3 organic positions are extremely important and get the majority of the clicks: in average and respectively: 30%, 15% and 10%. Optimized Titles and descriptions also offer better CTR potential.

Results Factors

Results for a given keyword are not the same for every user. The main factor which affects the result is the location. But the results which also depend on other factors such as the user’s search history if logged in and the device used.

Ranking Factors

Only indexed pages can show in SERPs. Then the ranking order depends on hundreds of factors such as relevance of the page for the searched term, site/page speed, domain authority and quality of incoming links, etc.