A easy information to the SERPs
The SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages) are the lists you see when you type a query into a search engine.
For most of us (63% plus 90% of mobile searches) that search engine is Google. So if your website does well in Google's SERPs, you will see a lot of organic traffic.
When it comes to digital marketing, organic traffic is something of a holy grail. Why? Because unlike paid advertising where you pay to keep an eye on your content, organic clicks = free clicks.
However, the SERPs are no longer as simple as they used to be, and there are several ways they can affect the amount of organic traffic.
So let's take a look at some of the different forms of traffic, how the SERPs affect them, and how you can perceive your website in SERPs.
What types of SERP results are there?
If you look at a Google SERP or any other search engine results page, you will see two types of results: organic and paid.
The results in the red box are paid entries, and all green ones are organic entries. Each has its positive and negative aspects and its influence on the SERPs.
Paid search results
Google AdWords allows websites to appear at the top of the SERPs for the keywords they choose. You pay Google every time someone clicks on your ad.
These results are displayed at the top and bottom of the SERP and "Ad" is written in bold next to the URL.
As you can tell by their prominence at the top of the SERP, these ads can play a vital role in driving targeted traffic to your website. Paid advertising campaigns are often carried out in conjunction with search engine optimization (SEO).
Organic search results
Our example search term for “CRM software” shown above shows the different ways a site can generate organic traffic from the SERPs.
We're all used to the traditional organic listing of a meta title and description, but Google has added more SERP features in recent years. These features, like the Featured Snippet and Knowledge Pack shown in the example, can have a significant impact on organic traffic.
While paid ads are a quick route to the top of the results pages (high bidders generally win), competing for organic results is fierce and more complex .;
However, if you learn how to include your pages in the SERPs and how to earn people's clicks, you will see far more organic traffic.
How does SEO fit in?
The SERP is where the vast majority of SEO's hard work takes place. SEO is responsible for ensuring that your website appears in the SERPS, gets a decent percentage of clicks, and that users find what they are looking for as soon as they click on your website.
The SERPs and SEO are closely related. The steps you take in this area are keys to building organic traffic and achieving your traffic goals.
Too often people hear about SEO thinking that it's too complicated. But it's a process, and simple SEO steps can take you to the top of results.
You can reach the top positions in the SERPs and build a significant volume of organic traffic. All you have to do is be aligned with your SEO and follow the right steps.
Small changes in the SERP results make a big difference to your traffic
The main goal of Google and the other search engines is to provide the user with perfect search results. To do this, Google uses algorithms that use hundreds of different factors to come up with the best possible search results for each person.
Because of this personalization, the SERPs can vary widely. Here are some of the most important aspects of the SERPs that can largely affect your organic traffic.
Ranking on page one
If you get to a page of results, do you ever make it to page two? Or are you skimming the top handful of results to see which ones will help you?
In rare cases, we click on the second page to see what's there. Most of us, however, choose from the top results, which is why the traffic between page 1 and page 2 of the SERPs decreases massively.
On page one, listings earn 88.7% of all clicks, while all other pages fight for the remaining 11.3%. That difference just goes to show the importance of getting on page one – most people never make it on page two.
Not all positions are created equal
So you're thinking, "This is great, if I make it to page one I'll have everything sorted."
Unfortunately this is not the case.
While visiting page one of the SERP is a good place to start, it is only part of the challenge. There's a massive discrepancy between the click-through rate (click-through rate = number of clicks divided by the number of times your listing is displayed) for the top three results and the click-through rate for the bottom results. These locations affect your organic traffic.
This is how the click rate works for each position in the SERP:
- 23.3%
- 20.5%
- 13.3%
- 8.7%
- 6.3%
- 4.7%
- 3.8%
- 3.1%
- 2.7%
- 2.3%
You may have reached page one, but there is clearly a huge incentive to get to the top.
What aspects of the SERP can hold back your organic traffic?
In the last section we mentioned that 88.7% of the clicks go to the results from page 1. However, this does not mean that 88.7% of all searches are for organic entries.
Only 41.45% of searches result in an organic click.
What are the main barriers to more organic traffic?
Paid traffic
Paid ads play a prominent role in the SERPs. Hence, it is not surprising that they attract a lot of clicks. This traffic is significant, but only accounts for about 3.58% of all clicks.
This is because paid ads don't show for every search term.
In general, there are three types of searches: information search, navigational search, and transactional search. Advertisers pay for every click and want a good return on their investment. Hence, they typically focus on transactional search terms with the highest buyer intent.
While it's still possible to get organic clicks for these transactional search terms. However, it's a good idea to use Ubersuggest to find out which search terms are more likely to have a high percentage of paid clicks.
If you look at the cost-per-click (CPC) of your keyword, you can see which keywords are likely to be dominated by ads. As you can see in the results below, "CRM tools" have a high CPC, which means that there are likely to be many people competing for them and a higher chance that you will compete with ads.
You can still get organic clicks with these search terms, but you risk getting pushed off the page by paid ads.
This search for “using CRM software” is a prime example. There are no pre-fold organic results other than a video which means you'll have to scroll down before you can see even a traditional organic listing.
To be successful in SERPs, you need to focus very much on your keyword research to find the search terms and get a realistic chance of getting a prominent position in the SERP.
No-click searches
Google and the other search engines are constantly working to create a better search experience for their users. One way to do this has been to introduce SERP features like Featured Snippets and Knowledge Panels, which allow users to quickly access basic information.
In this search for “Why use CRM?” We can see the power of the presented snippet.
With the Featured Snippet, Google gave the user a fleeting answer without having to click on a link. This means that while Salesforce won the snippet and SuperOffice has the first traditional organic listing, it didn't get a click either. It is a no-click search because the user can read the snippet.
Of course, many people will be curious enough to click on Salesforce or SuperOffice to find out more, but the curiosity of some users will be satisfied by the presented snippet. No-click searches make up 49% of all searches.
How can you use the SERP to get more organic traffic?
Despite the competition with paid ads and the number of no-click searches, there is still more than enough organic traffic to get around. However, you need to know how to use the SERPs to your advantage.
Every SERP has its pack leader and these people put a lot of work into maintaining that position so you will have to work hard to get them off.
So how do you do that
The great thing about SEO is that you have complete control over the content you post and how it appears in the SERP. If you use this wisely, you can significantly increase your click-through rate and positively influence your organic traffic. Here is how.
Produce high quality, relevant content
Google wants to give users the most relevant answers to their searches. In order to rank higher, your page needs to do two important things. First, it has to be relevant to the search query, and second, it has to be high quality content.
If you fail to achieve these two goals, Google has no incentive to put you on page 1 because you are not helping searchers achieve their goals.
In this element, your keyword research will be helpful in figuring out exactly what your target audience wants to see. Knowing what your target audience is looking for means you can provide the hyper-relevant content that will draw people to your website.
The more people click on your website and engage with the content, the more you will be rewarded by the search engines for helping them with their work.
Highlight your entry
You have complete control over what your listing looks like in the SERP. You can edit your title and meta description and use other aspects such as structured data. Take this opportunity to stand out from the crowd.
If you're ranked third for a search term, the top list has an advantage over you. However, you can change that by creating a more engaging, relevant title and description. (Google usually uses the selected title and description of the page, but changes them occasionally.) Your listing is competing for clicks. So treat it like an ad and attract users.
Get these SERP features
Google will continue to use these "additional" SERP functions. So, you might as well take advantage of them and make sure your website is on them.
The SERP features can result in a higher percentage of non-click searches, but they can also result in much higher click-through rates if you win them. Hubspot found that websites that landed snippets on had a dramatically higher click-through rate.
Selected snippets, knowledge panels, local packages, shopping results: they all stand out and attract users. If you can take advantage of these features, you have an excellent opportunity to grow your organic traffic.
If you follow good SEO practices, you have a solid chance of gaining these SERP features. However, there are certain steps you can take to increase your chances of winning, such as: B. inclusion in a snippet.
Conclusion
A SERP is simply the page of results that users see when they type a query into Google or another search engine. However, it can help you get the most out of your website.
While they may seem complicated, there are concrete steps you can take to rank well in the SERPs and get the organic traffic you want. While the search engines are constantly changing the SERPs, SEO and quality, relevant content can help you stay on top of things.
After you have a good understanding of the SERP, it is time to tweak your SEO so that your website achieves its goals.
What goals will you achieve with more organic traffic?