Google Search new continuous scrolling feature is now live on desktop devices in the UK and is a game changer for users looking for quick easy access to information. But what does this mean for SEO and how it affects website ranking on Google? In this article we will explore the various impact of continuous scrolling on SEO and how it can affect the way your website ranks on Google Search.
As of writing this article (28th Jan 2023), it is currently live on Google Chrome when signed in to your Google Profile, it will likely be available on all other browsers after a period of testing.
What is continuous scrolling? Continuous scrolling is a feature that allows users to seamlessly scroll through search results without having to click through to multiple pages. This feature has been available on mobile for some time but it is now also available on desktop devices in the UK after being available in the US since Q4 last year.
Does it amalgamate all of the pages into one?
It actually loads the first 6 pages of search results now, once you hit the end it then allow you to view more. This can potentially benefit companies who were struggling to get onto the first page of Google for some time, this is because of user behaviour and how infinite scroll can allow a use to keep seeing results by just scrolling and having no end point means users are more likely to view more results.
How will it impact Google Ads?
Actually it might improve Google ads too – it is likely this feature was implemented with that in mind with Google Ads being a big revenue generator, however when a user scrolls for longer they are displayed more sponsored ads, this allows companies using Google Ads to get more impressions on their search terms but also may not need to rely on paying to be top of search terms 100% of the time.
Will it make anything more difficult?
Potentially, people trying to find out where their website ranks won’t be able to see if they appear on page 2 for example, so finding where they rank without help could become a little harder, there are tools that can help track your ranking, we use various tools of our own that can track up to 200 search results and whether you show up, or opt for a 100 search result cap – we don’t celebrate too much if we managed to get your keyword to the 187th position!
Overall we feel that this is a positive step in moving forward with search and adding some much needed expansion to how the results, specifically on the desktop, feel quite overwhelmingly ad centric & also only a limited amount of websites on the first page when a user may want to look a bit further but have been conditioned to think that second page means it is not as good, when it could be better in reality but the website hasn’t had the chance to rank high for those searched terms.
It is worth noting that Google’s search algorithm is constantly evolving and the company has not stated that continuous scrolling would directly affect a website rank however it’s possible to see this having real world benefits of getting users to scroll through more results rather than just the first page.
Have your own thoughts on how this might impact your SEO or would like to discuss your current website ranking issues, please use the form below to get in touch.
