SERP search

What is SERP search?

SERP stands for Search Engine Results Page — the page you see when you search for something on Google, Bing, or other search engines. The SERP search tool in WebGPT lets you check where your website (or any website) ranks for specific keywords.

This is an essential tool for SEO (Search Engine Optimization). By regularly checking your rankings for target keywords, you can:

• Understand which keywords drive traffic to your sites.
• Monitor how your rankings change over time after publishing new content.
• Identify competitors ranking above you for the same keywords.
• Discover opportunities to improve your content and SEO strategy.

How to use SERP search

Running a search is straightforward. Follow these steps:

1. Enter your search term. Type the keyword or phrase you want to check rankings for (e.g., "best coffee shops", "wordpress hosting review", "how to learn python"). This is the same term you would type into a search engine. The search language is automatically detected from what you type — for example, typing in Hebrew will set the language to Hebrew, and typing in English will set it to English.
2. Select location. Choose a geographic location using the hierarchical location selector. This is one of the most powerful features of the SERP tool — you can narrow down to very precise locations:
   • Country — select the country (e.g., United States, Germany, United Kingdom).
   • Region — expand the country to see its regions or states (e.g., California, Bavaria).
   • District — expand the region to see districts or counties.
   • City — expand the district to see specific cities (e.g., San Francisco, Munich).

   Each level is collapsible, so you can drill down as deep as needed. Selecting a more specific location gives you more accurate local search results.

3. Adjust search language (optional). The search language is set automatically based on your search term. You can change it manually if needed — for example, to check how an English keyword ranks in German search results.
4. Click Search. Click the search button to execute the query. The system will fetch real search results for your keyword from the selected location.

Reading the results

After a search completes, the results page displays the search engine results with detailed information:

• Ranking position: Each result shows its position number (1, 2, 3, etc.) in the search results. Position 1 is the top organic result.
• Page title and URL: The title and URL of each ranking page, just as they appear in the search engine.
• Domain highlighting: If any of your connected WordPress domains appear in the results, they are highlighted so you can immediately spot your own rankings.
• Featured snippets: The tool detects featured snippets (the answer boxes that sometimes appear at the top of Google results) and marks them clearly in the results.
• Competitor analysis: See which competitors rank for the same keyword and at what positions.

WordPress detection

The SERP tool includes an optional WordPress detection feature. When enabled, it scans the result URLs to determine whether they are WordPress-powered websites.

• Toggle the WordPress detection option before or after running a search.
• A progress indicator shows the scanning progress as each URL is checked.
• WordPress sites are marked with a WordPress icon in the results.
• This is useful for competitive analysis — knowing whether competitors use WordPress helps you understand the landscape and potential technical similarities.

Advanced settings

Expand the advanced settings section to access additional search configuration options:

• Search engine type: Choose which search engine to query:
  • Google — the default and most common choice for SEO tracking.
  • YouTube — check video rankings on YouTube search.
  • Bing — check rankings on Microsoft's search engine.
• Device type: Select whether to simulate a desktop or mobile search. Search results can differ significantly between devices — Google serves different results to mobile users than to desktop users.
• Operating system: Select the operating system to simulate (this can affect mobile results in some cases).

History tab

The History tab stores all your previous SERP searches, creating a valuable record of your SEO monitoring over time.

• View past searches: Browse all searches you have performed, including the keyword, location, date, and search engine used.
• Re-run a search: Click on any past search to run it again with the same settings. This is the fastest way to check if your rankings have changed.
• Track ranking changes: By re-running the same search regularly, you can compare current positions with previous results and track whether you are moving up or down in the rankings.

Favorites

Save keywords you check frequently as favorites for quick access:

• After running a search, click the favorite/star icon to save the keyword with its location and settings.
• Access your saved favorites from the favorites section to quickly re-run common searches.
• This saves time if you regularly monitor the same set of keywords — you do not need to re-enter the keyword and location each time.

SERP searches count against your daily usage limit. For details on search limits per plan, see the plans & usage limits page.

Tips and best practices

• Track the same keywords regularly. Consistency is key for SEO monitoring. Check your most important keywords at least weekly to build a clear picture of ranking trends.
• Use specific locations for local SEO. If your business targets a specific city or region, always select that exact location. Rankings can vary dramatically between cities, even within the same country.
• Compare desktop and mobile. Run the same keyword on both device types to understand how your mobile and desktop rankings differ.
• Save frequently checked keywords as favorites. This makes your regular SEO monitoring routine faster and more consistent.
• Check after publishing new content. After publishing an article targeting a specific keyword, wait a few days and then check the SERP to see if your new content has been indexed and where it ranks.
• Monitor competitor positions too. Pay attention to which domains consistently rank above you. Analyzing their content can give you ideas for improving your own.
• Use YouTube search for video content. If you publish video content or embed YouTube videos, use the YouTube search engine option to check your video rankings.