Search Engine Results Page
The search engine results page, or SERP, is the page you see in response to a query into Google, Bing, Yahoo, or any other search engine.
The traditional text search listed 10 entries for pages that matched the search query. Each entry in the list had with title, description, and URL. The results page was also called "The 10 blue links." Modern SERP can also include advertisements, rich results, as well as a knowledge panel 1 and knowledge cards 2.
In the SERP advertisements are usually limited to "sponsored" entries, that look much like links.
The Role of Search Engine Results Pages in KGO
Knowledge Graph Optimization aims to control the SERP for any brand query 3. If a brand is recognized by Google as an entity 4 in the knowledge graph [^gkg], it is a candidate for a knowledge panel 1 on the side plus for knowledge cards 2 across the top of the SERP.
For knowledge panels to trigger, the entity in the knowledge graph must have a rich set of properties. The properties also must be well corroborated by multiple trusted sources.
Footnotes
Knowledge panels are information boxes that appear on Google SERP when you search for entities (people, places, organizations, things) that are in the Knowledge Graph↩
Knowledge cards are a grid of small information cards across the top of the SERP. Knowledge cards are only shown for entities in the Google Knowledge Graph↩
A brand query is a search query for a brand's name. The name could be that of a product, a brand, or a person.↩
An entity is a "thing" that is well-defined and has an identity. For example, a person, a location, a concept, or an event can be entities in a knowledge graph↩