Anatomy of Google’s Page 1
Not many people will tell you this: ranking in the top 10 results is NOT the pinnacle of your search engine success. Yes, it is pretty good. BUT, you CAN do better to gain even better visibility, drive even more traffic, and potentially close more sales.
Yep, you read that right. It is possible.
The first search engine results page (SERP) offers lots of ranking opportunities besides the top 10 listings. Your small business can leverage these opportunities to unlock unmatched success.
What are these opportunities? The SERP features.
Google uses various SERP features to deliver the required information to its users in the best possible format, making it easier for them to find and understand.
These features change depending on what you search for.
When looking to buy a product, you may come across product listings from various sellers. Searching for a local business, on the other hand, may reveal a box with three relevant businesses and their details.
Each of the SERP features offers unique opportunities for your small business to employ and gain profitable visibility in the search engine world. But that can only happen when you have a solid understanding of what these features are and how you can win them for your website.
A Breakdown of the SERP: Understanding the Anatomy of Google’s First Page
The modern SERP looks a lot different now than how it did a few years ago. Besides having a bunch of plain listings, Google’s first SERP now has various sections; all thanks to the ever-evolving SERP features.
Google has many, many SERP features. But, most of them can be divided into two simple groups: paid and organic.
This means you can either pay to gain a SERP feature or work your way up organically.
Regardless of whether you choose to pay for them or go the organic route, you must understand what they are to benefit from the SERP features.
Here’s a breakdown of some of Google’s SERP features to help you focus on winning the right ones for your business:
Featured Snippet
Have you ever Googled something only to find the complete answer at the very top of the results page? If yes, you have encountered what Google calls a Featured Snippet.
Featured Snippet is a powerful feature that aims to deliver the best, most relevant information quickly and smoothly. It appears for informational keywords and ranks above all the other organic results.
It is also more descriptive than your regular snippet. Google may display it as a bunch of sentences, bullet points, or even a table. This depends on what the users have searched for.
Because it takes a lot of space at the top of the SERP, the Featured Snippet is pretty hard to miss.
This is why websites that win the Featured Snippet get good visibility and more clicks.
The Local Pack
People don’t just use Google when looking for things online. The search engine is often the first thing they turn to when trying to find something, a product, or a service in the physical world as well.
Google helps these searchers by identifying the local search queries and presenting relevant businesses in what is called the Local Pack.
The Local Pack features three relevant and (what Google thinks are) best local businesses along with their details like contact numbers, addresses, websites, etc. Google does not display a local pack for all searches.
These results usually come up when someone searches for a keyword like “SEO agency near me” or other similar keywords that indicate the user is looking for a local service.
If you have a brick-and-mortar business, getting into the Local Pack can help your business get exposure and visibility within your local community. It can even bring increased foot traffic and maybe even more sales!
What small business owner would want to miss that?
Google Guaranteed Local Service Entries
Google Guaranteed Local Service Entry is another local business feature that appears at the top of the SERP and displays a horizontal list of relevant local businesses.
What makes it different is that these business listings appear with a green check mark that indicates that the business has been vetted by Google. This helps businesses win customer trust. It also makes their listing more prominent in the search engine space.
Win-win? Absolutely.
Google Guaranteed Local Service feature is one of Google’s paid features. Therefore, it appears with a little “sponsored” tag at the top.
You have to be advertising through the Local Services Ads on Google to be eligible for the Google Guaranteed tag and a spot in the Google Guaranteed Local Service listing.
Google Shopping Results
Google wants to help make shopping online easier for its users.
This is why it finds the best and most relevant product listings from across the web and puts them on the Google’s page 1.
These results are called Google Shopping Results.
The Shopping Results include all the relevant product information that a user needs before deciding whether to buy a product.
Rich Snippets
Those regular results that you see on Google – the ones with a clickable title and a little description? That’s a regular snippet.
A rich snippet is different. It has more information than just the title and description appearing on the search results.
Have you ever clicked on a recipe or a product page after briefly gazing at its star rating and reviews directly from the SERP? That’s a Rich Snippet.
The Rich Snippet may include price, reviews, and even images of the product. This is why these snippets stand out in the SERP, bring more visibility, and promise increased web traffic.
People Also Ask
Google has a habit of going the extra mile to help its users. And so it not only answers the question a user may type in the search box. You may find the search engine going a few steps ahead and answering some more questions that may be relevant to the original questions.
The People Also Ask section is for these questions.
This section includes questions that are relevant to the original search query. A brief answer is displayed in a clickable dropdown along with the website link. Users may click through to the website to dig deeper into the topic.
The People Also Ask section appears within the organic results.
And you know what the best part is? Your website can secure a spot in this section, even if it does not rank among the top ten.
So, if getting into the People Also Ask section is not part of your online strategy, build a new strategy. And prioritize winning a spot in this section.
Organic Results
The blue clickable title. A small description below. Who doesn’t know what a classic Google Organic Result looks like?
Organic Results on the first page display those incredible websites that have managed to climb to the top in the cut-throat search engine world.
Also called snippets, these are simple results featuring a title and a bit of description explaining what the page is about.
Organic results now appear below the AI overview and Featured Snippet. The users have to scroll a bit to get to them. Nonetheless, they are still valuable since the websites ranking among the organic results are the ones that get the most visibility, traffic, and lead-generation opportunities.
Paid Ads
Google allows businesses to pay to get to the top by featuring them as sponsored ads. These ads appear at the top and bottom of the SERP mostly for keywords that indicate a purchase intent. They have a little “sponsored” tag at the top.
These Google Ads work with a Pay-Per-Click model. You pay only when someone clicks on your ad.
Since rising through the ranks organically can take time, PPC ads help you avoid the wait time and get to the top sooner.
Winning the Spot
Okay, so Google’s first SERP has lots of opportunities. Many features can help you earn unmatched visibility, generate leads, and drive your business to new heights.
Understood.
Now the question is, how do you get those features?
The answer: it depends.
Do you want to rank organically or are you willing to pay for the spot?
If you want to go the organic route, you must invest in a good SEO strategy.
Not all SEO strategies are built the same. A half-decent strategy will drain your resources while generating little in return. Working with an experienced SEO consultant near me to get a solid SEO strategy on the other hand can help your website climb the ranks in the search engine space and earn good visibility for your business.
Whether you want to secure the Featured Snippet or want your website to have Rich Snippets and stand out on the SERP, you can trust an SEO expert near me to help you get it.
There’s just one caveat though. SEO takes time.
You cannot optimize your website today and get to the top tomorrow. It can take from several weeks to even a year for a new website to gain visibility in the search engine space.
If you are in a rush to get to the top, consider the paid features.
You can invest in a PPC campaign to help you get to the top sooner. All you’ll need is a budget, a list of decent keywords you want to target, and a solid strategy and your website will be ranking before you know it.
But if you are a local business, you’ll benefit from something else. Something more than your typical SEO and paid ads.
Something that can help your business attract local customers in the physical world.
Enter: Local SEO.
Local SEO can help you optimize your website so it can reach your local customers.
With a solid Local SEO strategy, you can have an optimized Google Business Profile that can help you appear in the coveted Local Pack. This can maximize your exposure, generate leads, and attract more foot traffic for your business.
Pair Local SEO with Local Service Ads and you’ll be able to get your business the exposure it needs with its customers nearby.
How do you do Local SEO?
Start by claiming your Google Business Profile. Then, create content around local keywords and build landing pages for all the local keywords you want to rank for.
Remember, SEO is not a set-it-and-forget-it kind of thing. Track your progress, continue optimizing, respond to your Google Business Profile reviews, and keep it updated with the latest information.
Overwhelmed?
Visibility in the online space does not come easy.
Gaining online visibility and building the right kind of presence takes time, effort, and lots of resources. And as a small business owner, you might be low on all of that.
Therefore, it may be better to let experts take care of it.
With SEO experts near me working on building a strong digital presence for your small business, you can focus on driving business growth, optimizing your processes, and taking your customer service to the next level.
You may be getting new customers soon so the last one is a must!
Landau Consulting is a New Jersey SEO agency near me that has helped many small businesses in and around NJ gain online exposure with a local audience. With a team of SEO, PPC, and content experts, Landau Consulting has all the resources you need to leverage Google’s potential to grow your brick-and-mortar business.
You can reach out to Landau Consulting at https://landauconsulting.com/contact/ or learn more about their SEO services at https://landauconsulting.com/seo-internet-marketing/. For more information about SEO check out their blog: https://landauconsulting.com/blog/