As the evolution of the search engine results page (SERP) pick up speed advertisers need to begin asking the question, what does it all mean to me?
The advent of Google’s universal search and the inevitable following suit of the other search engines will signify a new dawn in search engine marketing. I have listed below a few things which I think will be impacted and that must be considered when optimising for the future of search:
PPC: Logic suggests that with the introduction of more information onto the SERP that the number of paid links will be reduced. But then they are the main income source of the page, so will they? I think the likely hood is that the number will be reduced to 6-8 listings per page (as with the new ask.com pages), enough to free up some inventory but not significantly reduce earnings. In fact, this sort of reduction could drive up the price of first page exposure as everyone clambers for prime position so there may be no reduction in revenues at all. This could mean advertisers see a drop off in traffic as the page the are appearing on begins to drop, and a rise in costs as they fight to achieve exposure.
Dependant on the positioning of the paid listings in the page there could also be changes in click through rate. If you are adding in additional elements into the does this mean the clicks are diluted between them? I would suggest this is down how the information is arranged and the prominence each is given.
SEO: Again there could be a drop in the number of natural listings which appear in the SERP as additional inventory is introduced. This makes the importance of front page exposure even more valuable and harder to come by!
There may also be a reduction in the text which is displayed for each result in order to fit in more listings. If this is the case it would become extremely important to ensure that title tags are not only targeted to the keyword but are enticing to the user.
Additional Products: With the addition of “other” results into the SERP it will become increasingly important to take a holistic approach and incorporate all of them into an effective search campaign. Image search, maps, product feeds, book listings, will all become important sources of traffic as their prominence and exposure increases.
There is a big win to be had for the advertiser which embraces the changing face of search and optimises for all elements of the page. Rather than a threat to each individual element this should be seen as an opportunity for front page exposure on numerous fronts. The companies/advertisers which adapt with the SERP will prosper, those that don’t will be left wondering where all the traffic went!