What is a SERP?

A SERP, short for search engine results page, is the page a search engine displays after someone types a query into the search box. Google is the dominant search engine in Malaysia, so when SEO professionals talk about SERPs locally, they usually mean the Google results page, though Bing and others also return SERPs.

A SERP is rarely just a list of blue links anymore. Depending on the query, it can include paid ads at the top, organic listings beneath them, and a set of special features that search engines add to answer the question faster. The most common features are:

• Snippets: short extracts pulled from a page, such as a featured snippet that answers a question directly above the normal results.
• The local pack: a cluster of three map listings with ratings, opening hours, and directions, shown for queries with local intent like "SEO agency Petaling Jaya."
• Knowledge panels, image packs, and "People also ask" boxes: blocks that surface related facts or follow-up questions.

Why it matters: where a business appears on a SERP largely determines whether anyone sees it. A page ranked first in the organic results can sit below several ads and a local pack on a mobile screen, so the position of a listing on the page matters as much as its rank number. For an SEO agency, tracking which features appear for a client's target keywords, and whether the client holds a spot in them, is a routine part of reporting.

SERP layouts change often and differ by location, device, and search history, so two people searching the same phrase may see different pages. That variability is why SEO practitioners treat the SERP itself as the thing they optimise for, not only the ranking position.

The term is a head entry in this directory. It describes the results page itself, not the services used to influence it.