Google recently pushed out the ‘humming bird’ algorithm update which has been described as one of the biggest changes in search engine history. However, this may have stolen the limelight from a change in the way Google displays search results on mobile devices. It appears that mobile serps have been given a ‘card based’ makeover. But do the changes have any significance to businesses?
Card ‘Clusters’
You will notice that the results are organised in ‘card clusters’ as described by Google. Google said A new “more unified design” will offer “cleaner and simpler, optimized for touch, with results clustered on cards so you can focus on the answers you’re looking for.” What’s noticeable is the real estate and emphasis given to particular features such as paid search (see below). Upon analysis it appears that Organic results lose real estate slightly as more personalised ‘cards’ are added.’
In the example used above, there are map listings after and the paid search results with organic results appearing further down the page. In other cases, you may see paid ads, news, images and map results BEFORE organic results. This isnt to say that SEO is not a great investment, all these aspects can be influenced by SEO.
Paid Advertising
The very first thing that you will notice is that paid ads listings catch the eye a lot more than in previous designs, with the bright ‘ad’ sign making it obvious to consumers that this is an advertisement. Of course, it’s nothing new that the paid results are the first to appear, however, the prominence and sheer real estate of the ads does have significance.
Every piece of independent research will tell you that mobile traffic is massively on the rise and shows no sign of a plateau, with more and more consumers searching using mobile devices. The prominence of the paid ads is not to be ignored and those investing in PPC services (and effective management) will be the ones to benefit from these recent changes. Contact your marketing agency today to see how you can take full advatnage of this.
Location
Again, personalised search is nothing new; however, what’s interesting is the increasing emphasis placed on location, especially for mobile, which is of great significance. You will notice that next you will see a series of results from Google maps. The results are becoming more and more location and IP address based, meaning that business must increase their local SEO efforts. Speak to your internet marketing agency and see what can be done about increasing your local presence online.
Article by: Michael Alexander
