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Glossary: SERP Analysis
Glossary: SERP Analysis

Here we cover the many elements of the SERP Analysis and what each ones means.

Sidra Condron avatar
Written by Sidra Condron
Updated over a week ago

View Cached Page (Historical SERP Cache): We keep a SERP screenshot on every keyword we search to confirm all organic and paid results listed.

Ranking Difficulty/Keyword Difficulty: We’ve calculated how difficult it would be to rank on this keyword. The score is based on a scale of 0-100 (with 100 being the most difficult to rank for). Compare this number to other keywords you're targeting to get an idea of how to prioritize your SEO campaign.

(Number of) Homepages: This is the number of homepages (from any domain) that rank within the first 100 results for this keyword. A homepage might be “https://webmd.com” vs a longer path like “https://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise.”


(# of) .Gov and .edu domains: On some keywords Google tends to give .gov and edu. pages more authority. Expect these government resources to own the highest positions. For example, thousands of law firms compete on the keyword "mesothelioma", but no matter how much SEO they do, they'll probably have trouble moving the NIH.gov and Cancer.gov out of position.

Keyword in Title: This measures the numbers of results in the SERP where the exact keyword is in the page’s title. This is one of the best on-page indicators of a strong ranking. In the grid below you can skim the titles for keywords (in bold) and understand how on-page optimization plays a role in ranking on this keyword.

If many of these ranked domains have low domain strength but also have the keyword in their titles, make sure that you also have the keyword in your page’s title. With a stronger domain strength, you should be able to outrank them.

Keyword in URL: This measures the number of results in the SERP where the exact keyword is in the URL. They are in bold below so you can watch for patterns within the top results. It helps you determine if including the keyword in the URL is important to ranking higher on the term. Usually this plays a role only if the keyword is in the title.

Monthly Clicks/Worth ($) at #1 Rank: This figure relates to the domain that lands in the number 1 organic position. It's an estimate of clicks that a domain could earn if it ranks that high on this keyword.

It's followed by an estimate of value. All of those clicks from the top spot would be worth the amount shown in the display (in terms of equivalent AdWords dollars).

This isn’t exactly the same as Number of Clicks x Cost per Click. We have made adjustments from PPC to SEO value.

Search Results: This is the number of results that Google says they have for this particular search. It will fluctuate over time as content comes and goes. Mostly, this is to help you understand the volume of authoritative content on this topic.

Social: This signals when the results include domains from major social media sites.

We track these results to show you other ways of getting your message into the SERP. It’s a good gauge of the type of content that is going to win.

Rank (Change): This shows the page’s most recent organic rank and how it compared to last month’s position. “New” next to the rank shows that the page did not appear in the Top 100 results last month. You can always verify positions using the Historical SERP Cache at the top of the page.

URL: The exact URL (link) where Google directs you for this result.

Domain: This is the root domain for the resulting URL. We break these apart to help you see the exact domains that rank on this keyword. Click the link below to explore the domain’s stats, competitors, and the keywords it ranks on.

Domain Strength: A strong domain (closer to 100) consistently ranks on top searches. It pulls in high amounts of quality traffic, and it carries high authority across many competitive keywords.

This is a very strong indicator of ranking difficulty. Know at a glance just how strong the competing domains are.

Estimated Clicks/Month: The estimated number of organic clicks that the domain would receive this month from ranking on the keyword at this position.

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