Enter an online search query, and within nanoseconds you’ll see a SERP (search engine results page). For your reading pleasure, the page displays a list of keyword-relevant websites, all ranked according to specified criteria and input.
Website listings, however, are only part of the picture. The full value of a SERP is determined by the extras it brings to the table – and what they can do for your SEO rank. These extras consist of an assortment of handy info sources that display alongside the standard website listings. When the info source is content from your website, the site gains points – and a nudge up in the ranking ladder.
Advice for SEO marketers? Don’t limit your focus to website listings. Get content displayed via one of these info sources, and profit by the increased exposure. There’s simply more than one way to show up on a SERP.
What are some of the info sources capable of boosting your ranking clout? Particularly useful is the one known as the answer box. As the name implies, this all-important box typically offers a concise answer to a specific query. For instance, if a user asked: “how can I paint like Picasso?” the feature might display the answer as a set of numbered, step-by-step instructions. Instant inspiration for aspiring artists.
A knowledge card is similar to the above-mentioned box in that it provides specific information. The difference is in the length. A knowledge card offers quick, one sentence answers to a question such as “how long would it take me to bicycle around the world … backwards?”
A knowledge panel, as with the two previously listed items, also provides valuable information. The panel, however, usually supplies a paragraph’s worth of verbiage, which makes it ideal for biographical queries such as “Who is Santa Claus?”
Clearly, SEO marketers shouldn’t limit their focus to website listings when designing SERP strategies. By gearing keyword strategies to one or more of the info sources, designers increase the potential for broader exposure and higher ranking via a variety of popular search engines, including Google.
If you have questions or comments about improving your brand’s SERP performance, or about any other brand-related topic, feel free to send them our way.
You can connect with the Young Company team at 949-376-8404 #4033 or bart@youngcompany.com. And be sure to follow us for the latest brand marketing news and tips.