What is Continuous Scrolling?
Google introduced continual or infinite scrolling to make it easier to find social media and review sites. Scrolling down the results page for unlimited results. That’s all over now. Google’s recent update in March 2024 targeted social content and review sites that were irrelevant or spammy. Google completely removed many sites from the SERP and pushed down other pages, making them rarely found again. Now SEO pros can see why the March Update was so sweeping.
The Effects of Google’s Action
It’s important that site managers and digital marketers understand the search implications without continual scrolling. Here are a few considerations:
• Google search will now only show 10 organic results per page
• Navigating to the bottom of the search results page is the only way to get to page-two+ listings
• Page rankings may not change, however visibility for listings past the tenth result will decrease
• This downturn in visibility will result in traffic loss and affect click through rates
How to Counteract the Return to Paginated Search
Google’s move away from continual scrolling is a significant development. But it’s not all bad news. Here are five ways to stay ahead of this shift and support your google search results.
1. Create new or refresh existing content. Google values pages that are relevant to searchers and delivers an engaging and accurate experience for searching audiences. Current page optimization or developing additional rich content increases successful outcomes.
2. Evaluate rankings to prioritize key content optimization. Page rankings below 10 were typically found with continuous scroll. Now these pages will be on page two or further down the rankings. It is important to focus on listings ranked between 11 and 20 for optimization. These listings are close to being on the first page.
3. Keep your writing style engaging. Writing is important for keeping visitors on your site and providing relevant results. User engagement and session time are crucial factors in page rankings. Some ways to do this include:
• Break up long sentences into shorter, multiple ones
• Use simple language applying keywords that deliver visitors to your site
• Use active voice to move readers forward
• Ensure the formality of your tone is appropriate for your audience
4. Make sure your page structure is logical and easy to index. Pay attention to your headlines and subheads. They are critical to search success. Header tags are used to organize topics that will be covered in content. In its simplest form, it is an outline. As with any outline, your page has a main theme and title. The main title is an <H1> or first-heading. Your subheadings must support your main heading and you should mark them in your page code as <H2> or second headings. Using proper headings and search terms help search engines understand and list content correctly.
5. Create meta titles and meta descriptions that are relevant and catchy. Meta titles and descriptions are what searchers see in the organic listings. Although this is not a part of the Google Algorithm, it is essential to do these tasks correctly.
When writing meta titles and descriptions, try to make them catchy to attract searchers and guide them to the content they want. The goal is to create titles and descriptions that catch the attention of users search. This will help them find the content they are looking for. This will keep them on-site, engaged, and your quality score will go up along with your rankings.
Google recently stopped its continuous scroll feature, along with other changes. It’s important to have a partner who can keep up with these changes and adjust your SEO program quickly. This partner can also support your in-house team effectively. After all, how you respond to Google’s ongoing shifts can be the difference between search success or a less relevant site.
