Here is a Google Search for our company, Custom Software Solutions.

Our Listings

You will notice that our company appears both in the Organic Listings on the left below the search bar and on the Right Sidebar in the Google Maps and Google My Business section. Our company website is listed in the first and second organic listings positions and a backlink to our company site is listed in the third position.

Here is a breakdown of the different sections of the Google Search Engine Results page for this query.

Search Term (Keyword)

• This is the word or phrase that you are providing to Google to use for the search
• Even slight variations of the search term can result in very different search results

Number of Search Results

• The larger the number of search results, the more competitive that search term is
• In general, it is more difficult to rank highly if the search term is very popular

Pay Per Click (PPC) Ads

• Google currently places a few ads before and after the organic search results
• PPC Ads can be identified by the Ad symbol next to the listing.   
• These ads used to be on the right side of the SERP, where the Google Maps and Google My Business Listings are now shown
• Each time someone clicks on a PPC Ad, Google collects payment, hence the “Pay-Per-Click” term
• You can get the first place Ad on the page, just outbid your competitors for that search term, but that can be expensive
• Google’s algorithm to determine Ad display ranking is based on many factors such as Bid Amount, Bid Strategy, Click Through Rate, and Quality Score that can be managed and tracked via Google AdWords.

Organic Search Results

• Organic Search Results are listed after the initial PPC Ads and are very valuable since you are not charged when someone clicks on your organic search listing
• Google uses a proprietary algorithm to determine the rankings and suggest that you follow their best practices such as providing quality content, fresh content, authoritative content and have relevant backlinks are a few ways to improve your SERP rankings
• You can use Search Engine Optimization (SEO) techniques to improve your site’s ranking on the Google SERP
• To obtain quality SEO results, you should think about what keywords your potential clients would type into a Google Search to find your business. Those keywords are the ones that you should focus on
• A holistic SEO strategy will include on-site SEO, in context use of keywords, including your keywords in headings and subheadings, quality backlinks from relevant sites, articles and blogs for fresh content, creation of detailed page metadata, social media links and posts, and press releases
• Organic Search listings are the most valuable, but take longer to achieve high rankings and require maintenance to keep the rankings once obtained

Google My Business/Google Maps listing

• The Google My Business and Google Maps listing is located on the right side of the SERP
• Like the organic search results, you are not charged when someone clicks on your listing
• The Google Maps and Google My Business are based on the physical address or service area for the business.
• You will have to verify this is your company and address before Google will approve your listing
• I typically recommend going through the process to apply for and verify your Google Maps and Google My Business listings first, then move on to SEO for organic listings and PPC to increase the amount of traffic to your website