Search Engine Results Page

A search engine results page (SERP) is the page you see after typing a query into a search engine, listing the results it thinks best answer you. Beyond the plain links, it now often includes adverts, images, maps and answer boxes that can push the ordinary results further down.

It is like the shelf a shop assistant points you to after you ask for something, with the most relevant items placed at eye level. The search engine results page matters because understanding what actually appears for your key searches shows what you are really competing against, not just other links but ads and answer boxes too.