“SERPs” is an abbreviation for “search engine results pages.” When we talk about “your” SERPs, what we’re really talking about is what you see when you search online for your own name.
Usually, these searches happen on Google, which has an 85% share of the U.S. digital search market. That number actually might be on the low side, but in any case, Google is the dominant search engine in North America, followed by Bing in distant second place.
So improving your SERPs basically means understanding how Google works and leaning into its preferences. Sharper SERPs improve your digital visibility and reputation, ultimately boosting your career or business prospects. Or they just make you look better in general, which is hard to say no to.
Here’s what you should do to improve the quality of your search engine results pages on Google and beyond.
1. Take Advantage of Niche News & Information Sites
We’ll discuss high-visibility social media properties in a moment. Those can wait.
Your first move should be to claim lesser-known but still highly visible news, information, and directory (see below) sites that you can exert at least some influence over.
Target properties that serve your industry or professional niche. Learn how they work and how to leverage them for visibility. You can tag by individual name, for example, on niche platforms like EPICOS, a digital news and information resource for the aerospace industry. That’s potentially potent if your goal is to appear in searches for your name (or your teammates’ names) and their company name or industry.
2. Claim Key Directory Listings
They’re yours for the taking, in most cases. You don’t have to pay Yelp a dime to claim your company page there — that’s a big one.
Determine which properties your customers and peers search for (and use) most, if it’s not obvious already. On top of the SEO boost, being visible on directories they’re already using somewhat increases the chances they’ll come across you in the wild.
3. Create or Improve Your Social Media Accounts
We tend to overlook social media’s SEO benefits. We shouldn’t. Every major social media site has high domain authority — they’re popular websites, after all. Each active account adds a positive mention to your SERPs, very likely on the first page.
You want your social media accounts to engage those who find them, so it’s not enough to simply throw them up and do nothing more. But that’s another story.
4. Create a Medium Account (And Post to It)
Medium also has built-in SEO power. Technically, you could create one, do nothing with it, and still enjoy the SEO benefit.
But going farther is even better for your SERPs, and for your credibility in general. Use Medium as your primary blogging platform, where you post personal, professional, and/or company updates and write explainers on topics your customers and peers care about. The more you write, the more Google gets to know about your particular Medium subdomain, and the more likely you’ll be to appear in searches not directly related to your name.
5. Publish Resources That Generate Organic Links
Slow but steady wins the race. Nowhere is this more true than in organic link-building, where success is measured in years rather than days or weeks.
To attract links organically — without paid exchanges or even direct outreach — you need to create excellent, relevant content that informs and engages your audience. It should be helpful. It should be unique. It should take time to put together.
Its format should vary too. Beyond blog posts and educational articles, employ video, infographics, scrollers, e-books —whatever resonates with your audience.
6.Mind the Technical Side of Your SEO Game
Notice we haven’t said anything about technical SEO yet. That’s on purpose — it’s important to get the basics in place first.
But once you do have the basics set, make sure your SEO game is as strong as it can be. Technical SEO can be overwhelming for first-timers, but a lot of the confusion comes down to unfamiliar terminology and the learning curve that comes with working in a new part of the web editor. The underlying concepts are pretty simple; Ahrefs has a great beginner-friendly guide when you’re ready.
First Page First
Fair or not, the first page of your SERPs is the most important one by far. The vast majority of searchers don’t venture beyond it; many don’t even scroll past the few results visible when the page loads. So it’s really important to make those results as strong as they can be.
This is a helpful road map for doing that, but it’s not the last word on improving your SERPs. SEO is a constant battle, and when it comes to personal SERPs, it’s challenging for people with common names. You’ll need to work to make sure people can find you online in the first place — and that what they find is, well, what you want them to see.