Search engine results page

A search engine results page (SERP) is the page displayed by a search engine in response to a query by a searcher. The main component of the SERP is the listing of results that are returned by the search engine in response to a keyword query.

The results are of two general types, organic (i.e., retrieved by the search engine's algorithm) and sponsored (i.e., advertisements). The results are normally ranked by relevance to the query. Each result displayed on the SERP normally includes a title, a link that points to the actual page on the Web and a short description showing where the keywords have matched content within the page for organic results. For sponsored results, the advertiser chooses what to display. There may be several SERPs in response to a single search (i.e., 1st SERP, 2nd SERP, etc.).

Components

There are basically three main components of SERP, which are

However, the SERPs of major search engines, like Google, Yahoo!, and Bing, may many components, such as different types of results (organic search and sponsored) along with images, maps, definitions, videos or suggested search refinements.

The major search engines visually differentiate specific content types such as images, news, and blogs. Many content types have specialized SERP templates and visual enhancements on the main search result page.

Search Query

Also known as 'user search string', this is the word or set of words that are typed by the user in the search bar of the search engine. The search box is located on all major search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing. Users will look for the topic based on the keywords they enter into the search box in the search engine

Organic Results

Main article: Web search query

Organic SERP listings are the natural listings generated by search engines based on a series of metrics that determines their relevance to the searched term. Webpages that score well on a search engine's algorithmic test show in this list. These algorithms are generally based upon factors such as the content of a webpage, the trustworthiness of the website, and external factors such as backlinks, social media, news, advertising, etc.[1][2]

People tend to view the SERP and the first results on each SERP.[3] Each page of search engine results usually contains 10 organic listings (however some results pages may have fewer organic listings). The listings, which are on the first page are the most important ones, because those get 91% of the click through rates (CTR) from a particular search. According to a 2013 study,[4] the CTR's for the first page goes as:

Sponsored Results

Paid SERP listings are advertisements, or sponsored links, included by search engines in their search results. Websites pay search engines to have their web pages listed here. However, this service is distinct from pay per click, which refers to advertisements placed on websites.

Rich Snippets

Rich snippets are displayed by Google in the search results page when a website contains content in structured data markup. Structured data markup helps the Google algorithm to index and understand the content better.

Google supports Rich Snippets for the following data types:

   Product—Information about a product, including price, availability, and review ratings.
   Recipe—Recipes that can be displayed in web searches and Recipe View.
   Review—A review of an item such as a restaurant, movie, or store.
   Event—An organized event, such as musical concerts or art festivals, that people may attend at a particular time and place.
   SoftwareApplication—Information about a software app, including its URL, review ratings, and price.
   Video—An online video, including a description and thumbnail.
   News article—A news article, including headline, images, and publisher info.

Generation

Major search engines like Google, Yahoo! and Bing primarily use content contained within the page and fallback to metadata tags of a web page to generate the content that makes up a search snippet.[5] The HTML title tag will be used as the title of the snippet while the most relevant or useful contents of the web page (description tag or page copy) will be used for the description.

References

  1. ↑ Facebook SEO and BeastRank: 12 Potential Ranking Factors for the Upcoming Facebook Search Engine. Search Engine Journal. 9 October 2012
  2. ↑ Catherine Juon, Dunrie Greiling, Catherine Buerkle (10 August 2011). Internet Marketing Start to Finish: Drive measurable, repeatable online sales with search marketing, usability, CRM, and analytics. Que Publishing. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  3. ↑ Jansen, B. J. and Spink, A. 2004. An Analysis of Documents Viewing Patterns of Web Search Engine Users. In Web Mining: Applications and Techniques. Editor: Anthony Scime. p. 339-354.
  4. ↑ The Value of Google Result Positioning. Chitika. 7 June 2013.
  5. ↑ Cutts, M. (2007) Video: anatomy of a search snippet. Matt Cutts: Gadgets, Google, and SEO.
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