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Alain Machado

What Does SERPs Mean?

Updated: Nov 27, 2022



SERPs, or search engine results pages, are the pages that are displayed after a user enters a query into a search engine. The SERP will display a list of organic search results, as well as paid advertisements and local listings. In order to appear on the first page of the SERP, your website must rank high enough based on various ranking factors.

In this article, we will discuss the following:

If you are looking to improve your SEO, book a free session with us at Marketing Optimised to help get boost your visibility online:


What are organic search results?


As seen below, organic search results refer to web pages that have achieved a high ranking on the SERP, without any payment from the website owner. These organic search results come from websites that have optimized their content for search engine visibility. In order to have organic search results on the SERP, a website must adhere to certain SEO best practices.


A photo showing an example of organic search results
Example of how organic search results appear on Google.

Search engine optimization (SEO) is a practice that involves optimizing a website’s content and structure in order to increase its ranking on the SERP. There are various components to SEO, such as using relevant keywords, having a fast loading speed and optimized images. In order to achieve organic search results on the SERP, all of these components must be taken into account.


Its also important to understand where ad results fall within SERPs, as seen below, they are allocated at the top and can be optimised by Google to appear as close to organic search results as possible, which falls under PPC.


Example of paid search results on google search
Example of how paid search results appear against organic search results.

By understanding and optimizing these factors, you can improve your organic search results on the SERP.


How do SERPs work?


When a user searches for something on the internet, the search engine will scan its index and generate a list of organic search results. The organic search results are displayed in order of relevance and importance to the query, based on ranking factors such as quality content, backlinks and page load speed. In addition to organic search results, SERPs may also display paid advertisements and local listing.



The organic search results appear in a range of formats, such as text-based listings or images. Each organic search result includes a title tag, meta description and URL link to the page.


It is important that each organic search result contains keywords that are relevant to the user’s query, so that the organic search result is more likely to be clicked on by the user.


What does ranking signals have to do with SERPs?


A photo of a women leading a boardroom meeting

In order to achieve organic search results on the SERP, a website must adhere to certain SEO best practices. This includes optimizing content and structure of the website in order to increase its ranking on the SERP.


There are various ranking factors that can affect a website’s SERP ranking, such as quality content, backlinks and page load speed. By understanding and optimizing these factors, you can improve your organic search results on the SERP.


Example of ranking signals for organic search results include:


• Quality content

• Backlinks

• Relevance to search query

• Page load speed

• Mobile-friendly design


By optimizing these ranking signals, you can improve organic search results on the SERP. This will help you achieve higher organic rankings and organic visibility on the SERP.

Moreover, organic search results can be used as a powerful tool to increase organic traffic and conversions. By optimizing organic search results on the SERP, you can improve organic visibility and click-through rates, resulting in increased organic traffic and conversions.


The two types of SERPs (On-Page SEO & Off-Page SEO)


There are the commonly used abbreviations of on-page SEO and off-page SEO that are used to describe different aspects of SERP optimization. On-page SEO refers to optimizing blog posts, page titles, meta descriptions and rich snippets in order to improve organic search result visibility on the SERP.


On-page SEO


On-page SEO includes optimizing blog posts, page titles and meta descriptions in order to improve organic search result visibility on the SERP. Optimizing blog posts include using relevant keywords and phrases in order to make them more visible to web users. Furthermore, title tags should be descriptive and persuasive, while meta descriptions should be concise yet informative.


Off-page SEO


Off-page SEO focuses on optimizing content from external sources in order to increase organic visibility on the SERP. This includes building quality backlinks through blog comments, social media sharing and guest blog posts. Off-page SEO also involves working with influencers and creating high-quality content that will benefit your brand.


Why should a business should focus on SERPs?

A photo of a business owner working

Maintaining a top ranking on the SERP can help to increase organic traffic and conversions for your website. By understanding and optimizing ranking signals, you can improve your organic search results on the SERP. This will help to increase organic visibility, click-through rate and ultimately, organic traffic and conversions for your business.

Moreover, understanding and optimizing the SERP can be beneficial for businesses to increase their brand awareness and visibility. By appearing higher up on the SERP, your website is more likely to be clicked on by the user, thus creating a stronger presence in the market. It is important that organic search results contain keywords that are relevant to the user’s query so that organic search result is more likely to be clicked on.


Example of organic positions on Google search
Example of organic positions on Google search.

By optimizing for SERPs, a business can improve their online visibility, increase exposure and generate more leads and conversions. By understanding the various ranking factors and optimizing accordingly, businesses can improve their organic search results on the SERP and remain competitive in the digital space.

Conclusion


SERPs is an important acronym for businesses to understand in order to remain competitive in the digital space. By optimizing blog posts and other content, building quality backlinks and understanding ranking signals, businesses can increase their organic visibility on the SERP and generate more leads and conversions.


With a better understanding of SERPs, businesses can stay ahead of the competition and remain competitive in the digital space.

If you need help with your SEO, Marketing Optimised can help. Our team of experts can provide you with the advice and services needed to help your business succeed on SERPs. Contact us today to discuss how we can help you reach your digital marketing goals!

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