The Art of SEO

Understanding Search Engine Results

In the search marketing field, the pages the engines return to fulfill a query are referred to as search engine results pages (SERPs). Each engine returns results in a slightly different format and will include vertical results (specific content targeted to a query based on certain triggers in the query, which we’ll illustrate shortly).

Understanding the Layout of Search Results Pages

Figure 2-1 shows the SERPs in Google for the query stuffed animals.

Figure 2-1. Layout of Google search results

Figure 2-2 shows Yahoo!’s results for the same query.

Figure 2-2. Layout of Yahoo! search results

Figure 2-3 shows the layout of the results from Microsoft’s Bing.

Figure 2-3. Layout of Bing search results

Each unique section represents a snippet of information provided by the engines. Here are the definitions of what each piece is meant to provide:

Vertical navigation

Each engine offers the option to search different verticals, such as images, news, video, or maps. Following these links will result in a query with a more limited index. In Figure 2-3, for example, you might be able to see news items about stuffed animals or videos featuring stuffed animals.

Search query ...