Google is constantly testing new features on its search results pages. And we get why - with literally billions of searches conducted on the search engine every single day, the company needs to spend time refining its search UI for the better. However, there’s one feature in particular that has caught our attention recently. It’s called “More Results” and it would replace the “next” button at the bottom of search results pages with a “more results” button - which, when clicked, would load more results on that same page, as opposed to loading to a new page. Let us give you a rundown of the test and the potentially huge impact it could have on your organic and paid search. What is “More Results”?A few weeks back it was reported that Google was undertaking a new test: the “More Results” test. Google has since confirmed that it’s now in the beta stage and they’re experimenting with the feature across mobile. According to searchengineland.com who first broke the news, so far it seems to be visible for many when searching “Google” on their smartphones.So what is the “More Results” test exactly? Basically, the test eliminates pagination in Google search results in favour of a “more results” button that instantly populates the page with content that used to live on page two and beyond. This means that instead of having to click to the next page of the Google search results, a searcher can click the “more results” button and additional search results will load below the current results.
In theory, if “More Results” were to go completely universal, and if Google were to stick with it, pages two and up on the SERPs would be indefinitely eliminated, and all results would exist on page one. The effect this would have on ranking designations however, remains unclear. For now, the appeal is that it would mean the results are right there for you with no need to wait for another page to open up. It also would make it easier to go back up and down the list to check if you missed anything.Mobile vs. desktopBack in December 2017, Google tested a very limited version of “More Results” in mobile, displaying fewer search results on the mobile pages and giving an option to click on a “More Results” button. What Google learnt from this was that the test could be tailor-made for mobile as it didn’t really change much of the current aesthetic but offered searchers the best of both worlds. In fact, the two main benefits to come out of the test for mobile users were:
The prospect of staying on one page is ideal for mobile, especially if you’re remote and load speeds are already compromised - a pretty common mobile occurrence. But what about desktop? The desktop experience already allows for plenty of clicking accuracy and desktop browsing receives the benefits of WiFi connected load speeds. So while it’s still unclear if “More Results” would ever show up on desktop search, on mobile screens it makes total sense.Will it affect my paid ads?Another very important question we need to ask ourselves in light of the experiment is will it affect paid ads? While there will be some loss of visibility on both the organic and paid side of things, the jury is still very much out on how the “More Results” test could affect mobile advertising. Expect to see further details on “More Results” as the experiment continues.Keep up-to-date with the latest Google policy changes and all things search with Bang Digital. Or if you require assistance with your PPC and SEO strategies, have a chat to our team of digital marketing experts today.
