{"id":12715,"date":"2020-06-04T15:12:12","date_gmt":"2020-06-04T13:12:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordlift.io\/blog\/en\/?p=12715"},"modified":"2021-09-05T15:31:27","modified_gmt":"2021-09-05T13:31:27","slug":"how-seo-changed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordlift.io\/blog\/en\/how-seo-changed\/","title":{"rendered":"How the SEO game has changed \u2014 And why you need a paradigm shift"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n

The SEO<\/a> game has changed. That’s a fact. Just look at any Google<\/a>‘s SERP<\/a> to see how much. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the main things you will notice if you compare the same SERP in the last five years is that the first position is continuously shifting down on the SERP, often falling below the folding line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"SERP:
The screenshot above shows how a specific SERP evolved in the last 5 years. Andy Crestodina explored this evolution on Orbit Media<\/a>.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This is not even just Google or Bing. Have a look at what happens on Baidu’s SERP<\/strong> in the Chinese search market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Here is how a SERP on Baidu looks like today<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What does really happen when a SERP is such rich and visual? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The presence of rich snippets<\/a>, such as a sponsored product carousel, video carousel, featured snippet, a knowledge panel, a PAA, and many others, changes the way a user looks at the SERP. According to a study by the Nielsen Norman Group<\/a>, 74% of the users look at the rich results. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In other words, the visual impact of SERP features influences the path of the user\u2019s gaze and, since the number of features can vary from query to query, the gaze pattern is nonlinear. It bounces around between visual elements, resembling the path of a pinball.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Pinball Pattern<\/a> for the Nielsen Norman Group<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A User Centered Search (and Discover) Experience<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Another few things that you might notice, is that the SERP is moving in two directions that are complementary. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once Google was reactive<\/strong>: the user typed a search, it answered to the search with a bunch of results. And those results were common<\/strong>, meaning that every user would have got the same list of links while typing the same phrase. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nowadays, Google is proactive<\/strong> and the results are personalized<\/strong> and vary by user, location, time in the day, device… and many other factors. In this way you might not have the same SERP twice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Google Discover<\/strong> is an example on how Google is moving from reactivity to proactivity, offering the users a selection of content based on their previous searches and behaviour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which are the winning strategies in SEO today?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Here are some practical tips that could help you get some rich results and therefore the attention of the users. <\/p>\n\n\n\n