How I Analyze a Google SERP Before Writing a Page

Zahra Hoseini — Wed, 12 Aug 2026 21:03:32 +0000

When I started learning SEO, I thought keyword research was mostly about finding keywords with good search volume.

Over time, I realized that the keyword itself is only part of the story.

Before creating a page, I now like to look at the Google search results first. The SERP can tell you a lot about what people are actually looking for and what type of content Google considers relevant.

Here is the process I usually follow.

1. Search the keyword

The first thing I do is search the keyword on Google and look at the results without immediately focusing on search volume or keyword difficulty.

I want to understand what is already ranking.

For example, if I search for:

best SEO tools for beginners

I might see comparison articles, tool lists, reviews, and guides.

That already gives me an important clue about the search intent.

2. Look at the type of pages ranking

I check what kind of pages appear on the first page.

Are they:

Blog posts?
Product pages?
Category pages?
Tutorials?
Comparison pages?
Official documentation?
Videos?

If most of the results are detailed guides, creating a short product page probably isn't the best match for that query.

The SERP is basically showing me what format Google is currently rewarding.

3. Look at the search intent

Next, I try to understand why someone would search for that keyword.

For example:

"what is technical SEO"

is probably informational.

Someone searching:

"technical SEO agency"

is much more likely to have a commercial or transactional intent.

The words can be related, but the page needed for each query can be completely different.

4. Study the titles and headings

I don't copy competitors' titles, but I look for patterns.

If several pages are covering topics such as:

Crawling
Indexing
Internal linking
Site speed
Structured data

then I know these topics are probably important for the query.

This helps me build a more complete content outline before I start writing.

5. Check what the ranking pages are missing

This is one of the most useful parts of the process.

Instead of asking:

"How can I write something similar?"

I try to ask:

"What could I explain better?"

Maybe the existing articles are too general.

Maybe they don't include examples.

Maybe the information is outdated.

Maybe they answer the main question but don't explain the practical steps.

These gaps can become opportunities to create something more useful.

6. Don't ignore SERP features

I also pay attention to things such as:

Featured snippets
People Also Ask
Videos
Images
Related searches

These can reveal additional questions people have around the main topic.

They can also help me understand whether the query is better answered with a long-form article, a quick answer, a tutorial, or another type of content.

7. Decide whether I should create the page

After looking at the SERP, I ask myself one final question:

Does my planned page actually match what the searcher wants?

If the answer is no, I would rather change the content idea than spend time optimizing the wrong page.

That's probably one of the biggest lessons I've learned while studying SEO.

SEO isn't just about putting the right keyword in the right places.

It's also about understanding the search results, understanding the user, and creating a page that genuinely fits the query.

Final thought

Before writing a new SEO page, I now try to spend a few minutes looking at the SERP.

It doesn't guarantee that a page will rank, but it gives me a much better starting point than choosing a keyword based only on search volume.

The keyword tells me what people are searching for.

The SERP helps me understand what they expect to find.

And that difference can completely change how I create a page.

DEV Community: Zahra Hoseini