SEO glossary
SERP
A SERP is a search engine results page — the page Google returns for one query, including the organic results, the ads and every panel and box around them.
The phrase matters because the ten organic results are now a minority of the page. A single SERP can carry ads at the top, an AI Overview, a featured snippet, People Also Ask, a local pack, images, video and a knowledge panel — all above or beside the results you are competing for.
That is why ranking first is not the same as being seen first. Position one under three ads and an AI Overview is a long way down the screen, and it is the reason position alone is a weak measure of how a page is doing.
No two people see quite the same SERP either. Location, language, device and search history all move it, so a rank check is only meaningful when you fix those and keep them fixed between checks.
Common question
- What does SERP stand for?
- Search engine results page. It is the page of results returned for one query, not a single result within it.
Check this on your own site
- Rank Tracking
Track positions on a schedule, with the cost quoted first
Definitions are the easy part
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