SERP
SERP is the abbreviation of Search Engine Resultpages, i.e. search engine results pages.
What does SERP mean?
After entering a certain keyword, the SERPs display the web pages related to this keyword in a list-like manner.
These are displayed in the form of snippets. SERP snippets means that you get a small excerpt of information about the content of the website in advance.
This extract is determined by the information that the webmaster stores in the title tag (the headline) and in the meta description (description text).
Moreover, SERPs deliver not only textual result lists, but also results in image as well as video search.
In what forms can the results be displayed?
Organic results
The organically generated results form a central element of the search engine and are the main area of search engine optimization (SEO). Here the goal is to appear on the first page with the content of the website (if possible on the 1-3 places). Because experience shows that users are more likely to click on the offers on the first page.
The best way to get there is, of course, to create unique and high-quality content. Another requirement for an optimized website are the two main components of a snippet. They must be configured in a keyword-optimized way. These two components are the title tag and the meta description.
While the title tag is the headline, the meta description is the text below the headline and provides users with further content description of the web page.
The main goal is to give the user as much information as possible in advance. This way you can make his decision to click easier.
Therefore, it is strictly advised to optimize these two elements using the keyword so that the search engines understand the content and display the snippet as desired in the SERPs. This interaction forms the basis for the click-through rate of the website, which is an important ranking factor.
Paid ads
Another element that you can see in the SERPs are the so-called paid ads, or Google Ads. These belong to the search engine advertising (SEA). Ads in the list are the ads where you have paid for the keywords.
Search engines such as Google offer the option of paying for individual keywords. You can virtually buy the top places with it.
These ads are specially marked when they are displayed.
The following sample images show the search results for the keyword "BMW" on Google and Bing respectively. In both cases, the company places ads to appear at the top of the list.
SERP design features
By now, search engines are so sophisticated that you don't just get a list of possible websites when you enter a keyword in the search engine box. Instead, a variety of features are available to show your website in the SERPs.
Featured Snippets
A Featured Snippet is a type of info box where a large and highlighted snippet of textual information from the website is displayed directly on the SERPs.
Without having to click directly to the website, users get a wealth of information in advance.
To disable this snippet, you need to specify the nosnippet in the header as a meta tag.
The following images show examples of Featured Snippets in Google's organic search results.
Images
Image search is a part of search engines. They are now a powerful tool, as many users get to the website through the image search itself.
For almost 50 % of the search queries, corresponding images are also displayed at the same time. Therefore, it is recommended to optimize the images of a website according to the guidelines of the search engines.
Direct Answers
This form of display means that answers to questions related to the topic are displayed for approx. 5 - 10 % of the search queries. A question-answer box appears that directly addresses important W questions on the topic.
Maps
This map function is often displayed when keywords are entered in the search that have a connection to the location. This is often the case with specific companies or location-based industries such as restaurants or hairdressers.
Knowledge Panel
The Knowledge Panel are info boxes that contain more basic information about people, institutions, companies, etc... ... are contained. Meanwhile, the infobox is displayed in almost 50% of the search queries.
Videos
Videos are increasingly being displayed in search results. Users who have already shown an intention to click on videos in this regard receive a particularly large number of video results.
A newer form of displaying videos is the so-called video carousel. This is a form of display in which a horizontal and scrollable box with up to 10 videos are provided for selection.
Reviews
In the SERPs, there is the option to have a star rating entered. This is delivered in the search results directly below the headline and the description.
To get this, you have to enter something in the source code itself during organic generation. In this procedure, known as structured data, individual sections are highlighted for search engines to read. More information about this and the required code can be found at Google Developers.
If you would like to start a new project for your website and need help, we are available as a SEO Agency in Munich gladly at your disposal.
