In late 2021, Google introduced the continuous scrolling function for search results on mobile devices. This replicates the scrolling quality of some social media apps where one can consistently see results without pressing the “See More” command.

With this functionality, instead of only the first 10 results, users see at least 4 pages worth of organic results. This solution contributes to higher SEO search results since users can now click on more pages due to seeing more SERPs. Statistically, the average CTR of second pages is lower than 1% since most users do not go beyond Page 1.

Therefore, the continuous scrolling feature on mobile does increase reach potential. You can take the help of a capable SEO service agency to take full advantage of this. Read on to know more.

Understanding Continuous Scrolling and Why it’s Important- Further Overview

In search engines, the SERPs are broken into different pages, with only the ten organic search results appearing on page 1, and following. They are arranged according to ranking, so users typically expect the most valuable and accurate information for their search on the results that appear on page 1. Therefore, most do not scroll past the first page or pages.

Statistically, only about 5.7% of the pages achieve page 1 ranking annually, so reaching that level is difficult for most sites. To combat this issue, Google now offers the continuous scrolling benefit where the first 4 pages of results appear in one long page that people can scroll through. This benefit is available only in mobile-based searches via the Google search engine and some other apps and websites.

This has impacted heavily on SERPs since the traditional pagination method of breaking results into pages was attracting fewer CTRs. On the other hand, the continuous scrolling solution reduces the need for constant clicks to load more results, improving the user experience.

Influence of Continuous Scrolling

In the context of digital marketing, SERPs and SEO are two critical points of concern for most marketers. Hiring the best SEO services company USA has within its borders, like SEO Company Experts, will help you achieve better SEO for your websites. However, increasing your SERP ranking at the top-most level is challenging, even with the top technical support.

Thus, the continuous scrolling effect is beneficial for changing the dynamics of SEO search results since it changes how viewers interact with them. Statistically, around 63% of all organic search traffic originates from mobile search results. Since continuous scrolling is currently mobile-specific, it can increase organic search traffic further.

There are multiple effects of this function concerning SERPs and SEO. To plan the best course of marketing strategy for your site to increase SEO with professionals from SEO Company Experts, knowing how continuous mobile scrolling impacts will help.

1. Get a clearer picture of search traffic data

For marketing purposes, it is essential to focus on Google Analytics-based insights to gather accurate data on visitors, CTRs, bounce rates, etc. One can also know how much time visitors spend after opening each page.

Besides that, it is also efficient to focus on data gathered from the GSC or Google Search Console. You can determine the ranking of sites on pages for specific search terms and their CTRs. To some extent, continuous scrolling shifts the CTR-related data of SERP results on mobile.

2. Focus on Meta and topic Titles

Search traffic to sites increases or decreases depending on the content you produce. Viewers will get an idea of which links to visit based on the title and meta descriptions. You can heavily optimize your click-through rates when you adjust these elements.

Users want to get quick and straightforward access to data, so only focusing on creating rich results is not practical. Take the help of the best marketing experts from a reliable SEO service provider company ,USA, to make your title/meta description more engaging. Prepare an eye-catching title and focus on matching targeted user intent to make viewers trust your site.

3. Utilize schema markup better

Indeed, the continuous scrolling ability will likely increase the potential of the sites that typically appear in the first four pages to come in front of visitors. You should concentrate on schema markup to optimize your content to get the best benefits of this function.

Schema means a language between search engines and results, and this markup process shows the primary and essential parts of the pages. So, focusing on schema markup helps get a boost in appearing in featured snippets, local results, or the frequently asked question sections.

4. A higher number of zero-click searches

In recent times, there is a noticeable incline in the level of zero-click searches. Statistically, users do not click the URL in the search pages of around 65% of search results. Continuous mobile scrolling can influence that.

Many reasons affect this, including the possibility of users getting what they need from the initial searches via meta descriptions or rich results. So, there is the likelihood of higher counts of zero-click searches since continuous scrolling does increase rich content.

5. Better quality of rich results

You will see more videos and images on traditional social media interfaces, e.g., newsfeeds. On the Google search engines, the variety of results includes featured snippets, shopping, FAQs, and videos, besides the article links.

Google offers rich results in these sections for optimizing user experience, which is more straightforward to handle for most via the scrolling method. Adding too many rich elements into regular static pages is not appropriate. But you can incorporate that with continuous scrolling, making the whole thing easier to handle.

6. CTRs on page one will likely reduce

Since continuous scrolling makes the results in the second, third, and fourth pages more accessible, the previous high CTRs of first page results will decline.

To elaborate, the continuous scrolling ability makes search engine results pages (SERP) interface like a social media newsfeed. People will keep scrolling down to find what they want or casually browsing through options instead of stopping on page 1 only.

7. A higher number of page 2 results

Just like continuous scrolling decreases CTRs for page 1 by giving more options to users in one go, this inversely increases CTRs for results on page 2. While the likelihood of earning more impressions is there, people need time to change their habit of not scrolling for long or going too fat.

Yet, the count of impresses for page 2 is relatively higher with this than the conventional SERP navigation on desktop-based SERPs. Statistically, 0.78% of visitors go to the second page.

8. There will be a version of continuous scrolling for desktop users

At this point, the continuous scrolling function is limited to only mobile-based users. This is because the simple scrolling ability is more suitable for the UI/UX of mobile devices. It is comparatively easier to scroll down and click the See More command at the end of each page on desktops.

However, with high-quality insights on the benefits of continuous scrolling for UX improvement and ad revenue, Google can also adopt this function on desktop devices.

Is Continuous Scrolling the Same as Infinite Scrolling?

There is still some doubt regarding the similarity between continuous and infinite scrolling. However, both are relatively different, given that infinite scrolling indicates an unlimited number of results during the scrolling process. Google offers only the results that conventionally appear in the first four SERPs, and then you have to click the button to see more.

The developers chose to allow this mainly because people that look for information typically go to four pages maximum, even with the See More button. So, with the continuous scrolling update, one can still do that and get a more seamless user experience this time.

Does Continuous Scrolling Affect Google Ads in Any Way?

To note, the introduction of the continuous scrolling functionality does not actively influence the ad auction performance on Google. It also does not affect the ad ranking calculation.

While this feature will change the look of the search result pages, the text ads are still available but at different positions. For example, US-English users can see the text ads at the top and lower-most sections of the pages. Local and shopping ads will still appear as expected.

How to make the best use of continuous scrolling for SEO?

The mobile-based functionality of continuous scrolling via Google will definitely influence SERP interaction and website traffic. URLs of sites will get more SEO traffic on pages 2 to 4 than they did before instead of only the page 1 results. Therefore, visitors would get a more streamlined experience, while marketers can expect more traffic and reach.

To make the best use of this, you should take the professional help of SEO professionals at SEO Company Experts. The team here are top-level marketing professionals with years of experience and a rich skill set. Contact the team as soon as possible to optimize your mobile-based SEO strategies efficiently!