SERP complexity and user engagement have never been more volatile. No-click searches are at an all-time high, above-the-fold visibility is fleeting and elusive and SERP composition has never been more complex. But the real question is, will your brand stand tall amongst the challengers or fall victim to complacency? The old adage of “grow or die” has never been truer.
What’s our data showing for the SERP?
Organic search faces an uphill battle against alternative SERP features, with our proprietary data showing above-the-fold visibility for blue links hovering around 18% in Q1 of 2023.
Looking back at 2022, premium above-the-fold positioning favored paid listings and intent-driven SERP features – our data showed that People Also Search SERP prevalence grew 156%, text ads grew 22% and shopping ads increased 14%. While 2023 still favors intent-driven SERP features, paid listings seem to be losing ground.
In the B2B and insurance industries, Q1 of 2023 favored text ads and People Also Ask, showing above the fold roughly 60% and 85% of the time, respectively.
In financial services, the appearance of text ads above-the-fold fell 10% quarter over quarter, making more room for People Also Search features.
In retail and ecommerce, text ads’ appearance in SERPs was nearly cut in half, shopping ads decreased by 6%, and the appearance of traditional organic blue links fell by 8% YoY. These SERP composition changes seem to make room for product listings, as merchant listings grew by 16% and comprised 45% of the total composition. It’s safe to say that 2023 will be the year of the product listing: if we consider all product listing types, about 50% of all retail SERP elements are products.
We are also staring into the great unknown with the integration of AI into the search experience. Google’s Bard and Search Generative Experience (SGE) and Bing’s Open AI partnership are already underway, adding another layer of complexity to an already intricate algorithm.
So, how do you stay ahead and stay visible?
The answer is a strategic search revolution that knocks down the walls between paid and organic and is firmly rooted in data. The quality of your data, the accessibility of your data across your teams, and how well you interpret that data into actionable insights are non-negotiable for a successful search strategy.
The “strategic search revolution” isn’t as complicated as it sounds. Data is the biggest key, but it’s only half the battle. Here is a five-step process to finding success in an ever-evolving SERP landscape: