SERPs are responses that a user receives after putting in an online search query. With businesses vying to acquire the top position on SERPs, competitive measures have to be adopted for better ranking. Read on to know more!

What are SERPs?

A Search Engine Result Page or SERP is essentially a webpage that is displayed by a search engine, like Google, to its users when they make an online search query. In other words, when you search for something on Google or Yahoo, the page that you see with all the search results is the Search Engine Result Page. The SERP layout varies with the different search engines. However, Google is the most commonly used and popular one globally. Thus, the SERP features of Google are most imperative for the growth and digital identity of your business.

Components of a SERP

Providers like Bing, Google, and others, continuously utilize the latest technologies to offer a more responsive and intuitive experience to their users. As a result, the visual layouts of their SERPs are always in flux. In addition to organic results, today’s much evolved Google SERPs display a wide range of options, including paid results, shopping results, images, videos, information cards, Tweets, and more. All these search options can be categorized in the below-mentioned categories:

1.   Knowledge Graph

This appears in a box or panel usually on the right-hand side of SERPs. These graphs are brief information of the searched item, resourced from various online databases.

2.   Snippet

Snippets add an extra visual effect to search results, as images on news results or stars on reviews.

3.   Paid Search Result

This is where your digital marketing tactics will give you the most returns. You can buy paid results by bidding on strategic keywords. These results will however bear a label, indicating that these are paid ads.

4.   Universal Search Result

These search results are relevant and related responses like Tweets, etc., appearing along with the other search results.

5.   Organic Search Results

These are the generic content available online and if strategically managed, can obtain good views on the various SERPs.

Why Does SERP Ranking Matter?

The lion’s share of the online traffic, more than 90% to be precise, goes to the websites that can be found on the first page of a Google SERP. Even among these first-page listings, consumers generally prefer the ones present at the top. Naturally, multiple brands compete for a good ranking position. As a business owner, you can leverage various digital marketing strategies, including Search Engine Optimization, PPC, paid search, etc. to get a competitive SERP ranking and make your business easily found by thousands of interested buyers online.

No two SERPs are the same. Every search engine customizes search results for each user based on multiple factors, such as browsing history, location, search query, and more. It is vital to know the different types of search queries for effective digital content management.

Search Query

The search queries entered by online users fall into three categories:

1. Informational Query

Searches made for the information on certain subjects, such as a How-To Video for any task or Benefits of any scheme or habit, etc., are Informational Queries. Though this type of search has low commercial intent, with the right content placement, you can drive users to your website. For instance, a student looking up information on a particular social leader can be directed to your online shop, selling merchandise with the pictures or quotes of the said leader.

2. Navigational Query

Searches for web destinations without the full URL become Navigational Queries. In these cases, consumers try to locate a service with the help of related search terms. You can resort to paid ads for specific keywords, relevant to your business, and make your offerings available in the top search results.

3. Transactional Query

Searches with high commercial intent are Transactional Queries. When people have a specific product or service in mind, they search for available options to make a purchase. Therefore, these queries have the biggest revenue potential and keywords have competitive bids for PPC or pay-per-click ads.

Paid Search Results vs Organic Search Results

Both Paid ads and Organic results can drive significant consumer traffic in the direction of your web portal and help your business secure good ranking positions. Hence, it is advisable to include both in your digital marketing strategy.

Paid Results

Paid ads are placed at the top of the Google SERPs; usually 3 results on a mobile device browser and 4 on a desktop. With several brands fighting for this coveted space, Google takes the deciding call based on various factors, such as ad quality, quality of the website that the ad leads to, bid amount, relevance, etc.

Organic Results

Through the ever-changing technology of Search Engine Optimization, organic content can earn high positioning on SERPs. However, your website needs to have quality content coupled with SEO strategies to rank higher among other listings. Your content management also needs to stay updated with the latest Google Algorithm rules if you want to reap the most rewards of online marketing.

Parting Thought

SEO, PPC, web designing, content management, and other digital marketing nuances can be daunting yet highly effective and give your business that much-needed boost to outshine the competition. However, these strategies are multi-layered and demand updated skill-sets to make the most of your online campaigning endeavors. If you are wondering how to capitalize SERPs and other ranking parameters, consider partnering with a professional digital marketing agency.