Category: Google

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Google’s Golden Triangle is Replaced by the Vertical Slash

Eye Tracking Studies Show How We View Google SERPs Have Changed
Eye Tracking Studies Show How We View Google SERPs Have Changed

Much has been written about eye tracking studies and the importance position in the organic results plays, but with the advent of the smartphone how readers view and react with organic results is drastically changing.

In 2005 an eye tracking study was published and widely shared on the web. The pattern the test candidates repeated over and over as they scanned Google.com’s organic results became known as Google’s “Golden Triangle”. Named for the triangular shape repeated over and over with the test candidate’s eyes typically starting at the top left in the first position of organic results, then moving down to the second position of the organic results and then to the far right to the top paid search results, this pattern shaped how SEO’s tried to position client websites in the SERPs.

Much has changed and the Golden Triangle has now been replaced by a Vertical Slash in a report recently done by the MOZ blog. The MOZ article writer, Rebecca Maynes, states that with the strong use of smartphones eye tracking moved to a more vertical line and started to encompass a wider set of listings in a rapid scanning fashion.

However, with a vertical scan of the Google results page as the preferred method of viewing, the actual length of time the typical person takes reviewing the Google search results is now even shorter than previously recorded in 2005. Google has done much in the last year to counteract that trend!

So we’ve moved from a Golden Triangle to a Vertical Slash that actually is more like a slash and grab as your eye travels the page rapidly scanning for the information you want.

You’ll want to click in and read Rebecca’s excellent article that is complete with images to get a better view of how eyes now travel Google in the search for the best search result.

The key takeaways are that with Google adding more information to the search results page like local listings, the carousel and the knowledge graph, readers are having to search further down the results page to find what they want in a strong vertical fashion that encompasses much more than three site listings. And in some cases readers are never even leaving the search page, but rather interacting with content in the form of the Google knowledge graph (info box that appears on the right with more details, questions and info on a topic) or using the carousel (a black strip of images typically shown for restaurants or hotels that point to Google+ local pages) to find out more about on their information search.

Although this action of trying to keep a reader longer on the search results page is a boon for Google (as it will be able to serve more advertising), it is a bane for business owners who are hoping to use Google organic search results to drive traffic to their website. This means that your meta description tag and title tag have to now work even harder to try to grab attention quickly to get a click in to your website.

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Google AdWords’ First Page Bid Strategy

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McCord Web Services is a Google Partner.

Using a bid strategy in Google AdWords to automatically place bids to move your ads to the first page of ad results seems like a good suggestion, but be careful, in the accounts we have tested this bid strategy on, clicks have fallen to more than half when compared to auto-bid and no bid strategy settings.

In fact monitoring numerous client accounts, I have personally found that not only have clicks nearly dropped to half, but that clicks were sometimes as much as 30% more without an increase in lead conversions.

When you enact a bid strategy in Google AdWords, it is very important to closely monitor and be ready to roll back if you don’t get the results you were expecting.

For one client we did see a strong increase in lead conversions in the first 15 days of use, but by the end of a 30 period we saw a 50% drop in clicks and no substantial increase in conversions. Rolling back the account to remove first page bid strategy and using auto-bidding with a bid cap to boost clicks to appear on the typical average first page bid has provided much better results for the clients we manage.

It is always important to test new features in AdWords, but not to take a set it and forget it strategy. If you need a proactive, smart, and knowledgeable Google AdWords account manager, I invite you to find out more about the services my firm offers for Google AdWords account set up, optimization, and routine management.

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Google Pushes Google My Business Forcing Google+ Pages

The Google+ Carrot and Stick in AdWords.
The Google+ Carrot and Stick in AdWords.

Google will simply not give up on Google+. They have tried over the years to push individuals and businesses into Google+ and now have take the original GMail model to try one more time to build growth in this social media network that simply has not caught on.

Google’s most recent push started in October using the AdWords platform to require participation on a Google+ page in order to use their AdWords location extensions. Here’s how they are doing it:

1. If you did not already have a Google+ location page tied to your same Google AdWords login or used manual address extensions, Google stated that you would not be able to use location extensions anymore.

2. Google then auto-created a Google+ page for every Google AdWords login and automatically tied it to Google AdWords. Too bad if you already had a Google+ page under a different user name, for it to show in AdWords the page had to be tied to your AdWords login. Welcome to your new page.

3. What is even more complicated is that actually Google has auto-created two pages for every AdWords account; a location page with map that points to your website and is pointed to from your AdWords ads AND a new Google+ page that they are hoping will become a new social media portal for your business and a central location for your online reviews.

This heavy handed approach shows how serious that Google is about growing Google+ pages and location identification for local advertising. Google took the exact same model when GMail came out. Google required that to use GMail, you had to set up a Google account forcing everyone to open a GMail account. They are doing it again to force businesses to utilize location specificity via Google+ via AdWords.

If Google thinks Google+ is so important you may want to reconsider if you should consider it important too. We offer minimally priced options to have content created to keep your Google+ page updated. Just a consideration if you are going to embrace what Google thinks is key to them.

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Google AdWords Loves Mobile, But Is It Right for You?

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McCord Web Services is a Google Partner.

Google continues to push advertiser activity into the mobile arena citing that online searches on mobile devices have eclipsed searches done on desktops; but is advertising activity in mobile right for your business?

Of note is the new test that Google has been doing with mobile ads shrinking the ad space landscape to allow them to show more ads on smaller screens. Check out images.

Of particular interest to me is also the boost of app placement in Display ads when shown on mobile devices. Many placements when you look, are simply not a good match for most businesses and to me appear for a way for Google to really bleed you of your cash. Case in point, one industrial client showing in the display network spends more money than I feel he should in the mobile app arena with no way for me to totally block activity there. When I move out of the smartphone space for him, Google simply delivers more clicks on tablets to counteract my strategic changes. I have excluded literally thousands of mobile app sites in his account and Google continues to show his industrial ads on new mobile apps.

Google reps are suggesting that due to mobile trends, accounts should plus up, by 20%, the cost per click to get a better position on mobile screen. What I have seen for the majority (but not all), of my clients is that this strategy simply rings up a bigger bill. When you monitor cost per conversion for mobile, you should not bid up when the conversion numbers do not bode well for your return on investment. A limited two week test may be in order to just do a double check with careful monitoring.

My recommendation is for each account to set and monitor how effective mobile is for your needs and make strategic unique decisions based on your findings. Make sure you evaluate a 30 day and then 6 month period every now and then to give yourself a reality check as to if mobile activity is necessary for your business.

I have personally found that businesses with strong location specificity like stores, dentists, doctors, and pest control firms would do well to be active in the mobile space, but nationwide providers will need to be cautious, as would those selling higher end products, as more evaluation before a purchase will typically be done by desktop or tablet. Bidding up for position on mobile for these types of businesses may simply bleed out cash that would be better spent elsewhere.