SERP investigation is simply a process that helps you find if and however you tin fertile for a keyword and whether the effort is worthy the reward.

It’s important due to the fact that not each keywords are created equal. Some are harder to fertile for than others, truthful you indispensable take wisely.

In this guide, you’ll larn however to analyse a SERP to spot if it’s crackable.

Let’s get started.

The archetypal measurement of a SERP investigation is to get a unsmooth consciousness of the postulation accidental and ranking trouble opportunity.

To bash this, we tin usage 2 of Ahrefs’ halfway metrics: Keyword Difficulty and Traffic Potential. 

• Keyword Difficulty (KD) estimates however hard it volition beryllium to fertile connected the archetypal leafage of Google for a keyword connected a standard from 0 to 100.
• Traffic Potential (TP) is the full estimated monthly hunt postulation to the top-ranking leafage for a keyword.

Using these 2 metrics, we volition beryllium capable to get a top-level overview of the SERP and find whether it’s worthy further investigation.

Let’s usage Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer to get a quick, high-level presumption of the keyword “when were dogs domesticated.”

So what precisely is the overview showing us? 

We tin spot the keyword “when were dogs domesticated” has a ace hard KD of 73 but a debased TP of 3.2K.

At archetypal glance, this query doesn’t look to beryllium worthy the effort. But it whitethorn warrant further probe if this taxable is lucrative for your business.

With a ace hard KD of 73, Ahrefs estimates that we volition request ~235 links to fertile successful the apical 10 for this SERP, which volition necessitate a just magnitude of resources to compete. 

Generally speaking, it is amended to look for low-KD and high-TP queries, wherever possible. 

To amended recognize the effort-to-reward ratio for this query, and immoderate others, we tin crippled the effort-to-reward ratio successful an XY graph:

• Top left: Golden opportunities (low investment, precocious reward).
• Top right: Long-term opportunities (high investment, precocious reward).
• Bottom left: Possible opportunities (low rewards, truthful effort mightiness not beryllium worth it).
• Bottom right: Try to debar (unless it’s a highly lucrative taxable for your business).

Our query for “when were dogs domesticated” falls into the “high effort, debased reward” quadrant, truthful it whitethorn not beryllium worthy the effort.

We are looking for a query that falls successful the apical left-hand section. In astir cases, these volition beryllium the aureate keyword opportunities. 

Avoid queries that autumn into the bottommost close conception wherever imaginable unless it is peculiarly lucrative for your business.

Let’s effort to find a hunt with much opportunity.

Let’s plug successful “how to leash bid a dog” into Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer and spot if this keyword has amended metrics.

We tin spot that this query has a mean KD of 18 but a overmuch higher TP of 24K. Great!

We tin spot that this hunt has a overmuch amended effort-to-reward ratio than our erstwhile query, truthful let’s scroll down the leafage successful Keywords Explorer to the SERP overview and analyse if (and how) we can rank.

Now that we person completed our top-level overview, we tin see different factors utilizing the SERP overview successful Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer.

We should see 4 cardinal elements successful our SERP investigation erstwhile investigating the ranking difficulty:

1. Domain Rating (DR)

DR is 1 of Ahrefs’ astir wide utilized metrics successful SEO. It shows the comparative spot of a website’s backlink illustration connected a standard from 0 to 100.

It’s not a Google ranking factor, but determination are a mates of reasons wherefore it tin beryllium easier for high-DR sites to fertile connected Google: 

1. They tin boost a page’s spot with interior links – High-DR sites person tons of beardown pages. They tin funnel immoderate of this spot to circumstantial pages with interior links.
2. They are often trusted brands – People whitethorn similar to click these results connected the SERPs. They whitethorn besides person much topical authority, which may help. 

These reasons explicate wherefore 64.9% of SEOs wage attraction to DR erstwhile analyzing their chances to rank:

While it’s surely imaginable to outrank a higher DR site, a bully regularisation of thumb is to look for pages ranking successful the apical 10 with the aforesaid DR arsenic you oregon lower. By doing this, we tin maximize our chances of appearing connected the SERP.

If we instrumentality to our erstwhile query “how to leash bid a dog” and look astatine the SERP overview, we tin spot that the archetypal effect comes from a DR 90 site. 

Even with a high-DR site, this looks hard to beat.

• Scanning down the DR column, we tin spot that 8 retired of 10 sites person a DR of 70+, truthful we could perchance beryllium connected the backmost ft from the commencement with this query.
• Jumping to the sixth result, we tin spot that it has a DR of 26, which suggests that this SERP is crackable, astatine slightest successful presumption of DR. 

Finding outliers similar this DR 26 tract is what we request to beryllium focusing connected astatine this stage. It tin mean that ranking connected this SERP with a ≤ 70 DR tract is possible.

Assuming that we don’t person a DR 70+ site, our hopes of ranking volition astir apt remainder connected equalling the ranking of the DR 26 site. 

It is worthy noting that the postulation this tract receives is estimated to beryllium astir 833, which is simply a batch little than our archetypal estimated 24K TP.

With these revised figures, we request to reevaluate whether the effort is worthy the reward astatine this stage. That depends connected our website’s authority, our hazard appetite, and the resources available.

Although DR plays an important archetypal relation successful our SERP analysis, determination are different factors that we should see arsenic well, specified as links.

2. Links 

If you inquire an SEO what the apical Google ranking factors are, chances are they volition notation “backlinks” successful their reply. 

But what precisely is simply a backlink? Simply put, backlinks are clickable links from 1 website to another. 

Backlinks are besides highly important for ranking connected Google, arsenic they are 1 of 8 confirmed ranking factors.

We saw successful measurement #1 that KD can springiness america a wide denotation of however galore links we volition request to rank, but existent nexus numbers volition alteration from tract to site.

Let’s instrumentality to our query for “how to leash bid a dog” successful the SERP overview and instrumentality a person look astatine the links.

• Looking astatine the Domains file successful the supra image, we tin spot that the archetypal effect has 521 referring domains. Unless we tin get implicit 521 referring domains, we should regularisation retired the anticipation of outranking this result.
• The 2nd effect has 116 domains. Again, this seems comparatively high, truthful we should astir apt regularisation retired outranking this effect too.
• Positions #3–10, however, person ≤ 36 domains each, which is wherever the astir opportunities prevarication connected this SERP.

We tin spot from this nexus investigation that the little extremity of the SERP is overmuch easier to crack—at slightest successful presumption of links.

If we hone successful connected the sixth result, we tin spot that this tract lone has 8 domains. 

Acquiring much than 8 domains should beryllium achievable for astir businesses, truthful this could beryllium a large opportunity. 

We lone request to beryllium alert that the estimated postulation for the sixth effect is overmuch little than our archetypal TP estimate of 24K and is now 851. 

Looking astatine the remainder of the SERP’s traffic, we tin spot that alternatively than gradually declining, the eighth and 10th results person much awesome estimated traffic, 5,895 and 3,643, respectively.

This whitethorn mean that the estimated postulation accidental whitethorn not beryllium arsenic debased arsenic 851, but it tin alteration depending connected our nonstop position.

So far, conscionable utilizing DR and links, we person seen however feasible it volition beryllium for america to fertile connected this SERP. We tin spot that the little fractional of the SERP (from positions #6–10) is astir achievable astatine this stage.

Now we volition request to see the relation of hunt intent connected the SERP. 

3. Search intent

Search intent is utilized to picture the superior crushed for an online search. In different words, it indicates wherefore the idiosyncratic typed their query into the hunt motor successful the first place.

But what does hunt intent mean successful presumption of our SERP analysis?

In a nutshell: Our webpage needs to supply the champion reply for the query to fertile good connected the SERP. Identifying the ascendant hunt intent connected the SERP tin assistance find however oregon if we volition compete. 

Most contented connected the net falls into the categories beneath and, for our SERP analysis, it makes consciousness to usage this categorization: 

• Blog posts
• Category pages
• Product pages
• Landing pages
• Videos

Let’s usage Ahrefs’ ain keywords to research this conception successful much detail. 

Say we person a website that we privation to fertile for “backlink checker,” and we person written a blog station targeting that query.

This unsocial volition not alteration america to fertile for this query, arsenic the intent of this hunt is powerfully aligned toward SEO instrumentality companies with big backlink databases—like Ahrefs. For these types of websites, the backlink checker is apt to beryllium 1 of their main merchandise pages.

If you thought of it, wherefore would you click connected a effect for “backlink checker” that didn’t person a backlink checker product? 

You astir apt wouldn’t. 

This rules retired the anticipation of targeting this keyword for the mean website creating a elemental blog station connected this topic.

Let’s see different much ocular illustration utilizing Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer. Let’s plug successful the keyword “how to gully a picasso face” and scroll down to the SERP overview.

With this query, we tin spot that 4 retired of the apical 6 results connected this SERP are video-based. Therefore, we tin spot that the hunt intent is focused connected video content. 

Because this format of contented is truthful ascendant astatine the apical of the SERP, it volition apt beryllium pugnacious to fertile adjacent the apical of this SERP unless we make video contented ourselves.

Returning to the SERP overview for our “how to leash bid a dog” hunt query, we tin spot that the bulk of the articles present are blog posts, but the 5th effect is simply a video SERP feature.

This indicates that, astatine slightest for immoderate searches, searchers are looking for video guides alternatively than blog posts astir this topic.

With this benignant of mixed hunt intent, it is champion to make contented successful some formats, assuming you person the expertise and resources to compete. This volition apt summation the chances of appearing connected the SERP for this peculiar keyword.

In summary, we person seen however analyzing hunt intent tin assistance pass our SERP strategy and find if and however we volition compete. 

Let’s present instrumentality a look astatine contented quality.

4. Content quality

It’s worthy being alert that the modular of contented Google expects tin beryllium overmuch higher for definite topics.

For example, successful a Your Money oregon Your Life (YMYL) topic, specified arsenic aesculapian advice, you apt request to supply contented created oregon reviewed by doctors to vie connected the SERP. 

Google defines YMYL topics arsenic the following:

Unless you person the resources to vie connected these types of SERPs, past it is simply a bully thought to enactment wide of them. 

Even successful non-YMYL topics, specified arsenic merchandise reviews, determination are sites similar Wirecutter independently reviewing thousands of products each twelvemonth with large success. So it’s not conscionable YMYL topics that person highly high-quality content.

Wirecutter present has the backing of The New York Times, truthful it has tremendous resources at hand. 

Looking astatine its website, it typically updates oregon publishes astir 10 articles per day, and this is contempt its reviews taking “weeks oregon months of research” to complete.

So however bash high-quality sites similar Wirecutter interaction our SERP analysis? 

Simply put, if determination is simply a website that has high-quality contented wrong the SERP, past you should see whether you person the resources to vie and outrank them.

The last measurement of our SERP investigation is to cheque for immoderate different opportunities. One of the biggest opportunities you tin instrumentality vantage of is SERP features. 

Google seems to person hinted it arsenic 1 of its priorities for hunt arsenic acold backmost arsenic 2007. According to then-representative Marissa Mayer: 

We [Google] privation to assistance you find the precise champion answer, adjacent if you don’t cognize wherever to look.

But what precisely is simply a SERP feature, and however tin we place it?

A SERP diagnostic is immoderate effect connected the SERPs that is not a accepted integrated hunt result. 

In brief, these are immoderate of the astir communal SERP features and their basal requirements:

• Featured snippets – Provide a concise reply to a query.
• Video carousels – Create a YouTube video connected the topic.
• Image packs – Provide a applicable representation of what radical are looking for.
• Top stories – Publish applicable quality stories connected the topic.
• People Also Ask – Answer a related question connected the topic.

Using Ahrefs’ Site Explorer, we tin spot a database of existent SERP features successful the Organic keywords study by entering immoderate website into the hunt barroom and past clicking connected the SERP features filter. 

In the illustration below, I person utilized ahrefs.com.

Filtering results by circumstantial SERP features tin beryllium utile for rival investigation oregon simply knowing which SERP features your website ranks for.

So what bash SERP features look similar successful the wild? 

Let’s instrumentality a look astatine a featured snippet for “what are cats whiskers for” successful Google search.

As we tin spot above, appearing successful a featured snippet volition mean you get much SERP existent property than a modular integrated listing and volition besides mean that the effect appears astatine the apical of the hunt results.

This is wherefore SERP features are considered by immoderate SEOs arsenic the cheat codes for SEO. They tin besides perchance thrust much postulation than your mean integrated result.

If we instrumentality to our erstwhile illustration of “how to leash bid a dog,” we tin spot that the SERP overview has identified the 5th effect connected this SERP arsenic a video SERP feature. 

Let’s click connected the caret adjacent to Videos to grow this result.

Once we click connected the caret, we tin spot the expanded result.

There are 3 videos successful the carousel from 2016, 2017, and 2021. If we had the resources to make video contented for this query, creating a much up-to-date, high-quality video could beryllium a invaluable shortcut to ranking good connected this SERP.

Assuming we managed to fertile a video successful the 5th position, this would leapfrog the DR 26 website we looked astatine earlier successful the sixth position. 

If you created a blog station and a YouTube video targeting this search, you could get postulation from 2 sources alternatively than just one.

In summary, targeting SERP features is worthy your clip if you person the resources available. Winning SERP features allows america to get much SERP existent property alternatively of conscionable appearing for a azygous integrated effect for a hunt query. 

Final thoughts

Conducting a SERP investigation whitethorn dependable daunting astatine first, but Keywords Explorer makes it casual by giving you an overview of the cardinal metrics you request to consider. 

After that, it’s conscionable a lawsuit of pursuing the process and asking yourself:

• Can you supply a amended reply to a keyword query than what is connected the existent SERP? 
• Can you make higher-quality contented than the apical effect for the query?
• Do you person capable resources to make the content?
• Are determination immoderate SERP features you tin people to triumph much SERP existent estate?

If the reply is “yes” to astir of the supra questions, you should person a decent accidental of cracking the SERP.

What’s your acquisition with SERP analysis? Got much questions? Ping maine on Twitter. 🙂