What is the SERP

The SERP is the result obtained by typing a keyword into Google or other search engines.

SERP stands for Search Engine Result Page and, as the translation suggests, it consists of the list of sites that appear once a user enters a keyword into the search bar of the search engine itself.

An example of a keyword could be: "best hotels in Rome" (this is a keyword even though it contains several words).

The results that appear in this search make up the SERP.

Types of SERP Results

The SERP mainly consists of links leading to various websites, but these links can be divided into two major groups:

• Paid SERP: these are the advertisements that appear at the top (
CPC) and are included because there is an advertiser who is investing money to stay visible;
• Organic SERP: this is the main one where everyone wants to appear. It highlights the sites most relevant to the searched keyword, and the optimization of these links' positions is achieved through SEO.

How the SERP is structured

The elements that divide the list of sites are defined as snippets.

In computing, a snippet is a kind of preview. In our specific case, we are talking about previews of websites to visit.

The snippet consists of a title (Title), a description (meta description), and a link.

However, there are also rich snippets, which are those results that feature new elements such as recipes, the author of the post, and reviews.

Viewing a broader structure than the classic link can also be counted among rich snippets (a sort of hierarchy of content in the SERP preview of that result).

There are many types of snippets, including:

• The Google knowledge graph: it is the best organic result for that particular definition. In posts like this one, for example, everyone aims to get into the Knowledge Graph (posts with Know queries);
• Google My Business: business listings are also included in snippets;
  
  In addition to these elements, the SERP is completed with related results found at the bottom of the results before pagination (or the tab to continue browsing on responsive).

Not everyone knows that the SERP is basically personalized.

In recent years, in fact, the search results you get on Google (when not in incognito mode) are personalized based on your interests and your geo-location.

Therefore, not everyone gets the same results for the same keyword.