Research the SERPs

The search engine results pages or SERPS are the proving ground for a successful keyword strategy. 

It is estimated that the number one website in the results will get a 35% share of clicks. This also shows you important areas to consider in your optimization and content tactics. 

Many times it's not just a webpage that you need to optimize for rankings. It can be a product page, a file, a video, or a podcast. Most times you might be up against local results, which takes up a lot of real estate on the page. 

Other times your competition may be Google itself. One of my keywords from my seed list produces a result that looks like this. This is called the knowledge graph. The search engine will attempt to answer your query with content from another source, and present it on the search results page. 

Now, there are two sides to this. For the search engine, especially Google, it gives answers to the searcher immediately. And without clicking the result, the searcher sees the information they need. 

For the site owner, it's a bit more complex. You see, Google can answer the searcher's question without the searcher ever going to my website. So while my content may have answered the searcher's question, I probably didn't get a visit and will have no way of knowing how many people saw. Plus, I didn't get a chance to present my content to the searcher in the context of my website. 

Next, I want to make note of any results that have ads on the page. When businesses are actively bidding on a term that provides ads, it shows you that there is significant competition for that term. 

Additionally, because most searchers are using a mobile device, the first ad will take up most of the screen. They will have to scroll through the ads to get to the organic results, the ones based on the search engine's algorithm. As you can see in this example, my keyword, Dubai visit, has a results page with four ads at the top of the page, and then the organic results. 

This is critical. If someone's on a smartphone, 

they're not going to see my organic result. They're going to see the ads. So make a note in your keyword list of which of your terms results in ads, and which do not. Highlight those that have ads or the Google knowledge graph, as you may have to change tactics in order to gain visibility.

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