Google’s New SERP layout
What Small Business Owners Need to Know About
If you’re wondering why Google’s search engine listings are looking a little bare, you wouldn’t be alone. Google has recently rolled out an update to the layout of its SERP (search engine results pages) to remove paid listings from the right hand side of the page; this means that there are now only seven listings (half of which are located way down at the bottom of the page) rather than the previous eleven. These changes to the landscape of the SERP layout has marketers speculating about the impact it could have on the way we search, and the result for businesses paid and organic listings.
Google’s SERP layout is not something that changes very frequently. Alterations to it are the result of the changes that Google has noticed over time to our own search behaviour. An eye mapping study in 2005 indicated that the listings on the right hand side of Google’s search results were receiving less attention, and that visual patterns were mapping a more vertical reading than the previous F pattern. This, combined with Google’s recent algorithm change towards showing preference towards mobile optimised sites, are just two of the many reasons your search results are now more concise. There are less options clouding users judgement, giving precedence to the listings that remain.
The reduction to the number of advertisements that will make it in the top three paid positions makes it even more valuable to businesses than before causing the battle for top spots to drive the cost per click up. A fourth position will show for ‘highly commercial queries’ which will mean for some searches that organic listings will be further down the page. All of this will mean a cleaner user experience overall but will drive up the importance for all positions on the first page.
For this reason, it is even more important to ensure that your organic listings are looking their best. This includes a strong converting title and description for listings that will set your business apart from your competition. It is also essential to start thinking about mobile optimisation for your website. Sites that are already complying with this are seeing an increase to their rankings for both mobile and desktop search.
If you are a brick and mortar business, you can further improve your exposure and ensure that you are still sitting above the fold for local keywords by creating a Google My Business local listing. This will have you sitting snuggly between paid and organic results as organic search results tend to drop down the page for these queries.
What does this mean for organic listings? Having less listings on the first page may mean that all top listings see more click-throughs as users attention will be less divided. Also, the impact that the increase to the space that paid listings will take up at the top of the search results will have, may mean that new strategies will have to roll out to make the most of these changes for SEO.
For instance, long tail keywords that have long been heralded for their converting value (as they are a more refined search query being further down the buying cycle) will be the most likely to show up on the top of the first page as they won’t have to compete with paid listings. This means creating a keyword strategy targeting long tail keywords and also supporting your Google My Business local listing rankings will be key.
So what should you take away from this all? Improving the quality and ranking authority of your website is more important than ever to secure your position in the new layout of the first page for important keywords. This means having a strong keyword strategy, good content, and ensuring that your website is mobile optimised. Together, these aspects work towards complying with Google’s standards in order to increase your potential to show up for organic queries for both mobile and desktop searches.
Even better, make sure your SEO strategy is working in unison with your Google AdWords campaigns, and there is no one better for this task than SponsoredLinX. Get in touch today on 1300 859 600.