What is on a Google SERP today
A results page is built per search, so two searches rarely look alike. You can see any of these:
- Text results: a title link, the URL and a snippet for each page.
- Ads, marked as sponsored, above and below the results.
- An AI Overview at the top, on searches where Google decides it helps.
- A map with local businesses for searches with local intent.
- People also ask questions, videos, images, shopping results and featured snippets.
Why the whole page matters more than your position
Position one can sit below four ads, an AI Overview and a map, which pushes it below the first screen on a phone. Two phrases where you rank third can send very different traffic. Look at the page, not only the number.
Read the SERP before you write
What already ranks tells you what the searcher wants. If page one is all product pages, a guide will struggle, and if it is all guides, a product page will. The questions in People also ask are a ready-made list of sections for your page.