I also decided that there’s no better way to show this than with pictures – so here we go! minimalistic but pretty self explanatory.

(Tip: click on any of the images to view the full size image).

As always, let me know if you have any questions.

The Anatomy of a Google Search Results Page

Below is the Google result page for the search phrase ‘florist melbourne’ – Fairly generic but with a local search / small business intent.  Lets see what we got….

(click image to enlarge)

Confused?

What ‘result’ would you click on first?  Keep the answer to that question in your head while I break out the various elements below:

Firstly, the Sponsored Links - Ladies and Gentlemen, these are PPC ads!

This is what you can buy via AdWords on a Pay-per-click basis. Quite prominent.

(click image to enlarge)

Secondly, what we call the Google 10 Pack (or 7 in this instance) these are Local, organic listings that Google has deemed most relevant to the ‘local search’ that I performed.

Now I could probably write a whole book on Local search, and I definitely could write many posts on just the Google 10 Pack alone. But as this falls into the SEO for Local Search basket I’ll leave it for now.

(click image to enlarge)

Finally we have the Google Organic results. These are the results that Google has algorithmically determined to be the best match for the given search phrase ‘florist melbourne’.

Heard of SEO people? Search Engine Optimisation? – Well this is what it’s all about. Optimisting your site and you site’s influence onlne to rank highly in the Organic Search Engine Results.

(click image to enlarge)

OK, now that I’ve explained what each element of the results page is, tell me, Which part would you have clicked on? the PPC ads? The Local 10 Pack? or The Organic results?

Interesting Stuff.

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