Glossary
SERP
SERP stands for Search Engine Results Page — the page Google shows after a search, made up of organic results, ads, and features like featured snippets or AI Overviews.
Every search produces its own SERP, and no two are guaranteed to look the same — device, location, search history, and even the time of day can change what appears. That's part of why a single "ranking" for a keyword is really a simplification of something that varies per search.
"Ranking" for a keyword means holding a position among the organic (unpaid) results on its SERP. Everything else on the page — ads, SERP features, related searches — competes for the same attention without counting as a ranking position itself.
Related terms
See it in practice — check a real ranking free.