Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs)

The Internet's major search engines, including Google, Yahoo & MSN, will display three types of SERP listings: organic listings, sponsored listings, and indexed listings. For maximum results, it is best to utilize at least a portion of your Internet marketing strategy on each organic, sponsored and indexed listings.

Organic listings contain web pages that have been crawled and indexed by search engine spiders and are found to be most relevant to the entered keywords. Organic listings are normally found on the left side of a search engine results page from the top or middle to the bottom.

Sponsored listings are paid for by advertisers, and are determined by a bidding process in which the highest bidder normally takes the top spot. Sponsored listings are normally found on the top and right side of the search engine results page.

Indexed listings are those that have been checked and approved for listing by actual human beings. These days, indexed listings are not easy to find on most search engines, possibly due to long acceptance processes and low chance of advertising revenue, and are often found only by searching the search engine's directory.

Web River Group employs a team of search engine research specialists whose sole function is not just to ensure that your website appears on all three types of SERP listings, but also that when it does, it displays a listing that is informative, intriguing, and encouraging to potential clients, customers or visitors. Often, the most important aspect of Internet marketing is the ability of your web page's title, description and link to encourage surfers to visit your web site.

If you're handling your own Internet marketing, please take a minute to consider some of the free guidelines below when attempting to include your web pages in SERPs for related keywords:

1. Always research the SERPs you want to show up on, especially in regards to the web pages that have good placement. For organic listings, try to figure out what the top sites have done with content, META tags, navigation and linking that is helping to secure top placement. For sponsored listings, try to figure out what top sites have done to sell their site properly so that they are not losing money or pay per click investment.

2. Analyze your keywords before putting too much time or money in securing either organic or sponsored listings for any given SERP. If it will take, say, 6 months of linking to get top organic listing for a term that brings in no sales, maybe it's not worth the time. If it will take, say, $0.99 cents per click to secure top sponsored listing for a term whose product has a low profit margin or high return rate, maybe it's not worth the money. Investigate each individual listing to find out whether it's worth it.

3. Analyze your competition before putting too much time or money in securing either organic or sponsored listings for any given SERP. There is no sense in getting involved in a bidding war for a sponsored listing if your competitors offer the same product or service at half the price, and there is no sense in working months to get top organic placement for a keyword if your competitors offer better information or higher quality products. Always know which battles to fight.

4. Keep an eye on the search engine algorithms. Most search engines implement algorithm shifts monthly if not more often than that. This means that if you've secured great placement on the SERPs this week, you might not remain there next week. Stay up with all changes and modifications so you know what to do when the listings change.