A SERP (search engine results page) is everything a search engine shows after you search, from text results to maps, images and AI answers. It looks different for almost every query. In its visual elements gallery, Google describes what such a page can contain:
- Text result: with the site name, a title link, a text snippet and sometimes sitelinks or an image.
- Rich result: a result with extra elements based on structured data.
- Image and video results.
- Exploration features: related searches and related questions, also known as People also ask.
Google can also show an AI Overview above the results.
Why does it matter?
Google writes that its systems recognise when a search has local intent, such as “pizza”, and then show nearby businesses. What appears above your result partly decides how many people click through.
Example
Suppose someone searches “plumber Utrecht”. The SERP will probably show local businesses and a map, followed by text results. Someone searching “how to bleed a radiator” is more likely to see a highlighted answer and related questions.
Common mistake
Looking only at your position. A first place below an AI Overview, a map and a block of questions draws less attention than a first place on a bare page. Search your most important queries yourself and look at what is really there.
More in What is SEO and how does it work? and under featured snippet.