Google Search on mobile is being updated to include continuous scrolling, which will automatically populate more results as users scroll to the bottom of the page.
Google stated in an announcement:
“At Google, we’re always exploring new ways to help people find what they’re looking for quickly and easily. Earlier this year, we launched a redesign of the Search results page on mobile for a more modern experience that’s easier to scan and navigate.
Today, we’re making browsing search results more seamless and intuitive with the introduction of continuous scrolling on mobile devices.”
For searchers, this is a welcome improvement in quality of life, as it is now possible to scroll through an almost infinite list of results to find the right content.
Previously, Google’s mobile SERPs followed the ‘ten blue links’ format that originated with desktop search.
Instead of a paginated list at the bottom of the results, a mobile search page would show see more’ button.
On mobile, tapping that button is the equivalent of clicking on page two of desktop search results.
These more’ button isn’t gone forever, but Google says users will be able to scroll through “many more” results before activating it.
Because we all know that page two of Google doesn’t get nearly as much traffic as page one, this change could be extremely beneficial to publishers.
According to Google, people looking for information may go as far as the first four pages of search results.
People, on the other hand, are extremely unlikely to click on the results after the first page.
This is revealed in a 2020 study, which discovered that the CTR of page two results is less than 1%.
It’s unclear why people don’t click on page two results, but it could be related to the perceived quality of content that didn’t make it to page one.
With mobile’s continuous scrolling, it’s almost as if all results are now on page one.
This change can give the user the impression that they haven’t left the first page of SERPs, leading them to discover and potentially click on URLs they wouldn’t have clicked on otherwise.
It’s a mobile-friendly user interface design for apps like TikTok and Instagram’s Explore page.
TikTok users can scroll down their feed indefinitely, and the app will keep populating more videos to watch.
This never-ending stream of content keeps users on the app for hours.
When the same design is applied to Google Search, it has the potential to significantly increase content discovery.
Websites ranked on Google’s second page (and lower) may see an increase in traffic as a result of this update.
We’ll see how this change affects traffic to low-ranking pages in the coming months.
It’s a good idea to pay attention to your Search Console reports and track changes in your mobile impressions and clicks.
Continuous scrolling is now available in Google Search for the majority of English searches in the United States.
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