Search results page

The search results page in modern search engines can be divided into several areas: ^[4]

• organic search results - the main part of the issue;
• contextual ads ( paid links ) - small pieces of text that are placed in the search results for a fee. This is one of the main ways to monetize a search engine;
• shortcuts (one-boxes, sorcerers, etc.) - the area before the main search results, where a ready response to a query, useful information or links can be placed, or a correction of typos in the query is suggested;
• related queries - reformulations and clarifications of the entered query, queries similar to it;
• controls :
  • input field of the search query, the possibility of automatic prompts ( auto completion );
  • Links to go to the next, previous and several adjacent pages of issue.

The main part of the search results are organic (or natural) search results. This is a list of documents found and indexed by the search engine, the ranking and display of which is not affected by the ads sold by the search engine. Usually it is ordered by decreasing the relevance of documents to a search query according to ranking algorithms used in a search engine, but many systems also provide other types of sorting, for example, by date of documents.

Web pages are usually documents, but many systems can also index and display links to files in such formats as .pdf , .doc , .ppt , etc., pages with Flash animation (.swf). Some systems have implemented the so-called universal search ( universal search ) ^[5] - along with regular documents, search results can be mixed in, for example, search results for pictures, videos, news, maps. With the growing popularity of structured data (Structured data), more and more often, in search results we can see “extended” snippets , which occupy about 20-30% of Google’s first page.

For each document, as a rule, at least its title, address and a snippet are shown, showing the query words in the context of the document. Often, next to the address there is also a link to a saved copy of the document in the search engine cache and the search function for similar documents. Google is capable of displaying a sitemap and additional relevant pages from the same site for some documents.

In many search engines, for some types of search query results, specially crafted results appear that immediately respond to a user query, when possible, or provide useful links or information. There is no generally accepted name for these results. Yahoo and some independent researchers ^[4] call them "shortcuts" ( English shortcuts ), Google - "one-box", Yandex - "charioteers" ^[6] , Bing - "quick answers" ( English instant answers ) , QIP - “wizards” ^{[7] [8]} , DuckDuckGo - “goodies” or “goodies” ( English goodies ) ^[9] . Usually they appear above the results of organic delivery. Shortcuts can be considered as part of the universal search technology.

As examples, below are some of the one-boxes implemented by Google : ^[10]

• Calculator . In response to a query containing an arithmetic expression, its value is calculated. Google also supports the transfer of money from different currencies as part of a calculator.
• Search for definitions . For example, the query “what is astrophysics” will display the definition of this term found on a page from Wikipedia.
• Search for facts . Google is able to recognize and respond to requests such as, for example, “the height of Elbrus”.
• A request for MSFT ( Microsoft ’s stock exchange ticker ) provides information on its stock quotes.
• The query “time in Moscow” will show the current time in this city.

• Official description of the Google search results page
• Official description of the Yandex search results page
• Terminological hodgepodge in SEO. The omnipresent "organic" . An example with the use of the term “organic” in relation to search results and optimization has been analyzed. Based on the analysis of these concepts, preferred Russian synonyms for the definition of "organic" are proposed.