The Importance of Google SERP Rankings

Everyone seems to be interested in reaching the number #1 spot on Google, whether it’s a marketer who’s just entered this dog-eat-dog world or a business owner who’s just learned the significance of good SEO and SERP rankings. You might be doing everything by the book, including optimizing web content, creating a powerful PPC ad campaign, and adding quality backlinks—but that still won’t drag you from page 20 to 1 overnight. But seeing as how the #1 result on Google gets 34% of all organic traffic, it’s a valid aspiration to have. It’s a long-winded process that comprises multiple steps and stages in order to succeed both in the long and short run. So, let’s get into the basics of SERP tracking and monitoring and how you can get your name up there in the big leagues.

The Importance of Accurate SERP Tracking

A visual cue such as your apparent manual ranking on Google can give you a general indicator of where you stand and how you’re performing. But it’s not an accurate indicator. You need expertise and analytical tools to track SERPs accurately because they account for organic results and PPC advertisements simultaneously, with most viewer traffic concentrated on the first page. Think about it as a user yourself: when you can get dozens of results in less than a second that match exactly what you’re looking for, would you go to the second, third, or fourth page to find what you want? Probably not. Without a clear understanding of your competitors’ chosen methods, techniques, and strategies, you’re unlikely to make real progress with SERP rankings. In addition to looking at their chosen methods, you need to look at your own search engine visibility to know exactly how many people are able to view your website on these results pages.

The Evolution of SERP Results

In recent years, as consumer behavior has changed, technology has evolved and transformed, and SERPs have become more dynamic and engaging. Modern SERP tracking tools now cover a variety of results and outcomes, including:

• Images and videos
• Tweets (now called X posts)
• Guides and reviews
• Similar products
• Business information
• Related products and services (for those who are super clever with their optimization)

Your standard SERP looks like this when you ask for results:

Why do SERPs track and display this information, though? How is it benefiting consumers? And why do you need to care about all of these different results? Why are all these images and video links showing up before the information you truly want? The answer: SERP categories.

SERP Categories Simplified: What They Are and Why They Matter

SERP categories seem like an unnecessary complication. After all, you really just want your website noticed, so you can also enjoy the 39.8% of all CTR by being number 1. However, the truth is a little more complicated than that, with varying categories shaking up the playing field. Most results displayed on SERPs can be divided into the following categories:

1. Organic Results
2. Paid Results
3. Rich Results
4. Global or Universal Results

A great instance of that is one of our top clients ABC Floor Sanding, who benefited immensely from our ongoing SEO efforts to improve their Google search ranking. Through continual, varied strategies and consistent SERP tracking and monitoring, we were able to get them ranked number 1 for 8 keywords, and on 2 and 3 for 10 others. You could say we sanded down the competition with our efforts—pun intended! Here’s a quick result of the current SERP page when searching for “hardwood floor sanding in London, Ontario,” which displays the client right on top as a paid result:

And here’s one of another keyword, “floor sanding in London, Ontario” where they are ranked #1 on the organic results list:

It does take a combination of methods and techniques, both SEO-based and PPC-related, in order to generate the results and dominate SERP rankings, which is exactly what we’ll guide you on.

8 Crucial KPIs to Use for Tracking SERP Performance

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs for short) are simple metrics that indicate and display what works for you and what doesn’t. Our team uses a variety of KPIs to evaluate which components and elements of your SEO and PPC Strategy to evaluate how they affect your rankings on Google and other search engines. By using a multitude of KPIs, including the following, we’re able to identify what’s working in favor of your rankings and what’s hurting or dragging them down. It offers a clearer insight into the changes that we need to make and allows us to holistically track, monitor, and figure out how to organically rank on Google.

• Organic Traffic and Its Various Sources
• Click-Through Rate (CTR)
• Page Load Time
• Bounce Rate
• Conversion Rate
• Keyword Rankings
• Domain Authority and Page Authority
• Social Signals

Conclusion

Monitoring and improving your Google SERP ranking is crucial for any digital marketer looking to succeed in the online world. By understanding the basics of SERP tracking, the different SERP categories, and incorporating KPIs into your strategies, you can drive more organic traffic and improve your overall visibility. AI Source Hub, as a leader in AI marketing services, is here to guide you through this process and help you achieve your goals. Contact us today to learn more or check out our blog for more informative content.