When you type anything on Google or any other search engine, the results that come up in front of you are known as SERP, which means Search Engine Results Page. This is the page where Google tries to understand what you’re looking for and shows you the best possible answers.
Search engines like Google are not ordinary websites. Their job is to scan the entire internet and find useful information for the user. When you search something, they first try to understand your intention — whether you are looking for information, want to buy something, or want to compare things.
For example, if you type “Best shampoo for dry hair,” Google understands that you want either product recommendations or tips. So it will show you a mix of:
- Product links
- Blog articles
- Comparison lists
- YouTube videos
- Customer reviews
“People also ask” questions
All of this is shown to help you, even before you open any website.
Structure of SERP
A typical SERP has many parts. At the top, you might see sponsored results, which are paid ads. After that, you’ll see organic results, which are shown based on how relevant and helpful they are — not because someone paid for them.
Sometimes you’ll also see:
- Featured Snippets – A direct answer to your question in a box
- Knowledge Panel – Information about a person, company, or product
- AI Overview – A new section by Google that shows a smart summary using AI
- Videos, images, shopping results, maps, and much more
The whole purpose of the SERP is to help you get your answer without wasting time.
How Does a Website Appear on SERP?
Now, you might be wondering – how does Google pick which websites to show?
It goes through 3 steps:
Crawling
Indexing
Ranking
What You Should Know as an SEO Beginner
If you are starting your SEO journey, understanding search engine and SERP is the first step.
- Know how Google shows results
- Understand what type of content appears where
- Focus on user intent
- Learn how to write helpful, keyword-rich content
- Stay away from shortcuts or black hat methods
Your goal should be to help the user first. If your content is valuable, Google will reward you by showing it higher in SERP.
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