What is the SERP?

The SERP (Search Engine Results Page) is the results page Google shows after a search. Besides the classic organic links, the SERP increasingly contains extra elements, such as ads, featured snippets, images and AI Overviews. Understanding what the SERP looks like helps you sharpen your SEO and SEA strategy.

Parts of the SERP

A modern SERP consists of several blocks: paid ads at the top and bottom, organic results in between, and additional features such as a featured snippet, “People also ask”, local results and images. Which elements appear depends on the search query.

Organic versus paid

You earn organic results with SEO; you buy paid positions through SEA. Both appear on the same SERP, often side by side. A strong presence in both increases your total visibility.

SERP features and visibility

SERP features such as snippets and AI Overviews can attract a lot of attention and sometimes lead to a zero-click search. Responding to these features is becoming an increasingly important part of modern SEO.

Does everyone see the same SERP?

No. Location, device, search history and language influence the results, so the SERP can differ from person to person.

What is position 0?

It refers to the featured snippet above the first organic results.

You can climb higher in the SERP in two ways: organically with SEO, or paid with search engine advertising. A combination of the two usually works best.