The Evolution of SERPS
There is no doubt that Search Engines undergo rapid evolution over relatively short spaces of time. Our SEO team constantly re-align and adjust SEO efforts to changes in algorithms, updates and features on Google and the other major search engines. This is a good thing. Not least because it keeps the day job healthy and interesting. We are at the mercy of the Search Engines and as they improve, we have to improve with them. And they improve a lot.
Google has updated its algorithm 83 times since 2011, resulting in an evolution of features and visual aspects. Mobile usage has evolved user behaviour too, as evidenced by users favoring scanning a page vertically as opposed to horizontally in previous years.
A recent research report from Mediative released a new eye tracking study conducted using 53 participants asking them to perform 43 search tasks whilst measuring;
- Time to first look
- time spent looking
- % of participants looking
- Number of clicks
Read the full report by downloading here.
It offers real insights into the user behaviour of SERPS (Search Engine Results Page) and illustrates the progression of the SERPS over a 9 year period.
SERPS in 2005 – The Golden Triangle
9 years ago, if you weren’t in the top three listings, you probably weren’t getting clicks. Users did not scroll. Users first gravitated to the top left corner of SERPs and scanned horizontally to read more about what was in that listing specifically. Long, descriptive title tags and meta descriptions were advantageous because people wanted to know as much as possible about what they’d find before they committed to clicking.
SERPS in 2014 – The ‘F’
The report shows that the users scanned further down the page than in previous years to find what they are looking for. Mobile usage and trusting Google more, have been attributed to this behaviour. For instance, the more someone has used Google, the more they begin to trust the whole page results as being useful. This has come about from Google’s efforts to clear the first pages of spam, and irrelevant results, meaning it is not always the top results that can answer the query or search. as such the user trusts the other listings and uses them to compare listings.
Sure, the number one listing will still get more clicks, but the percentage is getting more evenly distributed between spots two to four.
What do the report findings tell us about local business (dental practice) SEO?
1) SEO strategy is no longer a one-size fits all approach
- A combination of SEO and paid search can maximize the visibility the SERP areas that have the biggest impact on both branding an traffic
2) In 2014, searchers view more search results listings during a single session, and spending less time viewing each one.
- Keywords, meta descriptions, content and reviews are all tactics that can be used to align and take advantage of this scan behaviour.
3) The #1 rank is no longer at the top of the page.
- Whilst the top listing does still get most of the clicks, the other positions (especially 2-4) have grabbed more attention as users scroll down the page more.
Online marketing including SEO, SEM, paid search and content strategy will continue to evolve as the search engines adapt to changing user behaviour. We are dedicated to moving forward with these changes and working with our dental practices to align their online marketing strategy accordingly.
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