What are Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs)
These are web pages that Google and other search engines display, attributed to a user’s search query.
Every time a user carries out a search, the results are rendered in a descending order from the most relevant to the least relevant.
The results may tend to vary in appearance depending on the query made. However, in most cases, they will contain three components which include:
- Organic Results
- Paid Results
- SERP Features
Organic Results
These are result listings that are displayed based on Google’s Search Algorithm which has quite a number of ranking factors.
They mainly display the title, URL and a description.
Paid Results
Paid Results are results marked with an Ad icon within their snippet.
These results surround organic results and can be placed either underneath them, on top or at the side.
In the example above, a SERP on “best hosting providers” renders paid results on the first listings. Prospective customers are hence in a position to click on the ads and be in a position to navigate to the specific websites.
SERP Features
SERP Features are basically any non-traditional result(s).
Below is a sample on these:
Their aim is to provide relevant information without the need to click on a result.