What is SERP (Search Engine Result Page)?

Why is SERP Important?

A SERP orders the pages according to their ranks. Therefore, the more clicks a page gets, the higher its rank on the SERP. Thus, the SERPs have a significant influence on the reputation and the trustability of the pages.

The SERP is highly shaped by SEO efforts, especially in Google's SERP, because the equation is so simple. The important thing that shapes the SERP is the users and their intents. Also, to make the focus clearer, SEO is highly helpful to use in this sense.

The Features of Google SERP

The Google SERP is a rich page with several vital features, like:

Organic Search Results: These results come from the organic traffic. Also, these are related to the user intent, and the algorithm of the search engine tries to order the most relevant results on the SERP to users.

serp showing two organic search results about London from Wikipedia with a view next to it and the page of visitlondon.com

Paid Search Results: If your page's rates don't satisfy you, you would probably apply Google Ads for your page. Since you have paid for your page, Google automatically puts the word "ad,"before your URL in the search result to signify that this is an 'advertisement.'

Your payment is calculated in response to each click on the meta title.

serp showing paid search results of London with an ad icon and sub-results

Featured Snippets: These give the vital details to answer the query, and the most common types are in the form of FAQs, bullet lists, or tables. In addition, they may sometimes have "how to" questions to respond to. Also, if there is extra information rather than meta title, meta description, and the URL, these are called "Rich Snippets."

Direct Answer Box: This is the first box appearing when you ask the question or implement the keyword. Since the box answers directly and without further research, it highly increases the user experience on the SERP.

Knowledge Panels/ Cards and Graphs: These are one of the most valuable features of the Google SERP. The SERP shares the knowledge of the query on the right of the page, including necessary information; this is how the users get knowledge about the topic.

serp knowledge graph telling the details about London with a view picture and the location on the map

Local Packs: They are also known as "The Map Pack," displaying three results. They offer interactive Google Maps and order the local businesses respectively based on the location, the ratings, the opening and closing times, the types of product and service, etc. Also, it should be remembered that local packs appear on the SERP as a result of queries that have local intent.

serp-local-packs showing the London Public Library from three locations with website and directions details

Videos: Google shares the videos as a result of the user intent, they are helpful and practical for people to click on and ease their experience. They are located around the top, and three videos are generally taken from YouTube to discover.

Images: These are mostly shown with the magic of Google because it needs to comprehend the user intent immediately and give images in response. Images are not so common, like videos, but they help users visualize the keyword.

serp-images showing the views and the famous buildings of London

People Also Ask (PAA) Questions: Though these are in a mini box, they are preferred because people don't need to write any other related questions to the query, but SERP gives the answers beforehand.

serp-paa-questions displaying four different questions on a box of people also ask

Twitter Results: The search engine takes Tweets from Twitter to help users enhance their experience. Based on the user intent, Google shares the tweet and these are one of the effective results that SERP displays.

Shopping: It is a feature that can be organic or paid because shopping boxes appear based on the search of Google. Here, Google determines the shopping box or not because if the user query is direct with "buy, shop, how much," that is easier. However, if the user doesn't write these words, Google decides about the situation.

Top Stories: If your query has related news, the top stories are your number one help. Google gives you the trending and latest news so that you can have news from the approved websites of Google News.

serp displaying four top stories with news covers

Tips for Being at the Top of the Searches

Some steps to follow:

You need to give a direct meta title composed of 65 characters.
Also, you have 155 characters for the meta description and must use only the necessary information with CTAs.
Be careful about the URL because the clearer your URL is, the higher the rank is since it affects the UX.

popupsmart Google SERP Preview tool webpage showing the sample and the blanks related to the meta title and meta descriptions

If you look for a place to see how your information looks on the SERP, Popupsmart has a Google SERP Tool to make an easy preview. Just click on the link and see how easy it is to create an introduction of your page on the Google SERP before you fully publish your page.