--- title: SERP — definition and what fills it for local queries | Siite description: "SERP explained: the features that crowd a local results page, why average position means less than it did, and how to read a results page before writing." url: "https://siite.co/dictionary/serp" type: static generatedAt: "2026-10-22T08:21:10.846Z" --- SEO # SERP The page Google returns for a query — now a mix of ads, map pack, People Also Ask, AI answers and organic links rather than ten blue ones. Also goes by Search engine results page [![Siite](/images/layout/logo.svg)Written by Siite](/about/)Updated September 8, 2026 ## Entry contents [All Terms A to Z←Browse the full dictionary](/dictionary/) SERP is simply the search results page. The abbreviation has survived because the page became a layout question rather than a list: what appears, in what order, and how much screen is left for ordinary links by the time you get there. > **Briefly explained** > > - The page Google returns for a search. > - It is several competitions on one screen, not one ranking. > - Position one is rarely the first thing anybody sees. > - What it contains tells you what Google thinks the search means. ## What fills a local results page? On a phone, for a typical service search, in this order: - [Local Services Ads](/dictionary/local-services-ads/), when the category supports them - Search ads - The [local pack](/dictionary/local-pack/): three businesses and a map - [People Also Ask](/dictionary/people-also-ask/) - The first ordinary result, often below everything a visitor sees without scrolling ## Why does that change how you compete? Because ranking is not one competition. It is several, running simultaneously, and they are won in different places. A business can hold the first organic position and still be the fifth thing a customer notices. That is why local visibility work spreads across the profile, the ads and the site, rather than chasing a single number in a report. ## How do you read one properly? Search the query from the area you serve, on a phone, signed out. Then note three things. - **Which features appear.** That is Google’s reading of the intent. - **Who occupies them.** Directories, competitors, or national brands. - **What the top results have in common.** Format, depth, and what they offer. ## What should you do with that? Pick one slot and build for it. If the page is a map pack and three service pages, publishing a long guide is a decision to lose. If it is articles and questions, a thin service page will not break in. See [search intent](/dictionary/search-intent/) for how to read that signal deliberately. ## What do the terms mean? - **SERP feature:** Any block that is not an ordinary blue link. - **Above the fold:** What is visible before scrolling. See [above the fold](/dictionary/above-the-fold/). - **Personalization:** The way location, device and history change what you see. - **AI overview:** A generated answer above the results, which pushes everything else further down. - **[Zero-click search](/dictionary/zero-click-search/):** A search answered on the page, with no click to anyone. Owner questions ## What owners ask us about SERP ### Why does position 1 not bring what it used to? +Because on many searches the first organic result sits below ads, a map pack, People Also Ask and sometimes an AI answer. It is the first blue link, not the first thing on screen. ### Do results look the same for everyone? +No. Location, device, search history and time all change what appears, which is why checking your own ranking from your own office is unreliable. ### What should I look at on a results page? +Which formats are present, who occupies them, and what the top results have in common. That tells you what Google thinks the search means. ### Should I try to appear in every feature? +No. Pick the one that matches your search and your business. Competing for a map pack and a long guide at once produces a page that wins neither. ### How do I check results honestly? +From the area you serve, on a phone, signed out. Anything else is reading a page personalized to you rather than to your customers.Put this to work ## Guides that use this Step-by-step playbooks from the team, written for owners doing the work themselves. No sign-up and no email required. [### The Austin map pack playbook: how to land top 3 in 90 days The map pack takes most local clicks in Austin. Here's the 90-day sequence we run on every Siite account — what to fix first, and the math behind it. Read the guide→](/articles/austin-map-pack-playbook-90-days/)4.9191 reviewsWhere this turns into work ## Built for the page people actually see We read the results page first, decide which slot is realistically winnable, and build the profile, the page or the ad that takes it. [See the service→](/services/local-seo/)[Ask us about it](/contact/) ![Nicklas Dyrmose, SEO Specialist at Siite](/images/team/panel/nicklas-dyrmose.webp) *Our SEO specialist* ## Related entries - [### Local Pack The block of three local businesses Google shows above the organic results for searches with local intent, pulled from Google Business Profile data rather than from your website.](/dictionary/local-pack/) - [### People Also Ask The expandable list of related questions Google inserts into search results, drawn from pages it considers good answers to each one.](/dictionary/people-also-ask/) - [### Zero-Click Search A search that ends without anyone clicking a result, because the answer appeared on the results page — in the map pack, a snippet or an AI overview.](/dictionary/zero-click-search/) - [### Search Intent What the person actually wants when they type a query — to learn, to compare, to find a specific site, or to hire someone right now.](/dictionary/search-intent/) [All terms A to Z Browse every term A to Z Open the dictionary→](/dictionary/)