SERP stands for search engine results page. Twenty years ago, a SERP was just ten blue links. Today, Google's results page is an assembly of elements that changes with the query: Google itself gives the example of a search for bicycle repair shops, which mostly shows local results, and a broader search, which brings up more images.
Anatomy of a standard result
Google documents the components of a text result in its visual elements gallery. The main ones:
- The title link: the clickable line, often taken from the title tag, but which Google may rewrite.
- The snippet: two or three lines of text, mostly drawn from the page content and sometimes from the meta description.
- The site name, favicon and visible URL, sometimes shown as a breadcrumb indicating where the page sits in the site.
- Sitelinks to other pages on the same site, an estimated date, an image thumbnail or enhancements such as review stars.
The other blocks on the page
- Ads: the paid slots of search advertising, labeled as sponsored.
- Rich results: recipes, products, events… They usually rely on structured data, with no guarantee of being shown.
- Featured snippets, also known as position zero, and the “People also ask” box, where each question expands into a snippet.
- Image, video and local results (map and business profiles).
- AI-generated answers (AI Overviews) at the top of some pages, which cite sources.
- Related searches at the bottom of the page.
Why the SERP matters for your SEO
Ranking first no longer means being at the top of the screen: ads, a map or an AI answer can push the first organic result down. Before targeting a keyword, type it in and look at the page. It tells you which format Google considers useful (guide, product page, video, comparison) and therefore which intent lies behind it. If the page is crowded with ads and local blocks, a related query may well be a better bet.
Your “storefront” in the SERP can be improved too: a clear title, an enticing description, a consistent site name and a crisp favicon improve click-through rate, even at the same position.
Tracking your positions
Results vary by country, device, language and the searcher's history: no two people see exactly the same page. Search Console gives an average position per query, calculated from real impressions. For daily tracking of a keyword list, you use a dedicated tool, such as those reviewed in our comparison of rank tracking tools.
For WordPress
WordPress provides the page title through the title-tag theme feature (since version 4.1) but doesn't output a meta description or complete structured data: that is the job of an SEO plugin. The favicon is set in the Customizer or the Site Editor (“Site Icon”). Finally, keep an eye on the SERP for your own domain name with the site: operator: titles in a foreign language or pages you don't recognize are a classic sign of a hack.