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Google Rolls Out Updates to Rich Snippets
18
Apr
Apr
Rich snippets provide search engine users with more detailed information about a web page, directly within the SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages). Due to this, they can improve CTR and therefore the number of visits to your site. We’ll explain what they are, the benefits they can bring and two important updates that Google has just announced.
What are rich snippets?
Each result within the SERPs is made up of three elements:
· Page title
· URL
· Snippet
Search engines generally use the meta description of a web page to generate a snippet, however if your website contains “microdata”, search engines can generate a rich snippet with more detailed information about the subject of your web page.
There are many types of rich snippets, with the main types providing information about Events, Products and Reviews.
It is relatively easy to “mark-up” your HTML with microdata so that you give search engines an opportunity to generate rich snippets.
Why use rich snippets?
If your website does not have content which matches one of the supported types of microdata, rich snippets will most likely not be appropriate. E-commerce sites are typically the biggest users of microdata as they can generate rich snippets for tangible products and customer reviews.
Rich snippets make your results stand out from other results (competitors) in the SERPs by using stars and images for example; this ultimately increases your CTR. Around 50% of the clicks on a search engine results page will be attributed to the result in the first (highest) position. As we all know, getting to the holy grail of #1 takes time and effort, but rich snippets is a quick and easy way to gain more click share. For this reason they are a necessity if your main competitors are huge companies with big SEO budgets who consistently rank higher than you.
What are the updates?
1. Previously, product rich snippets were only available to websites based in a limited number of countries but Google have now rolled it out globally. As a truly international SEO team this made us jump for joy!
2. Google have provided a Rich Snippets Testing Tool for a while now however previously the tool would only test live web pages. Now it is possible to insert the code directly into the tool and preview the rich snippet before putting the page live.
Our comprehensive SEO audits cover all aspects of organic search, including features such as rich snippets. Contact us to find out more about our SEO audit and services.
Google SEO: Don’t Swear by Pole Position Only
6
Jan
Jan
A study released in September 2011 and led by True Action Network shows Click-Through-Rates (CTR) for every ranking position of Google's Search Engine Results Page (SERP).
From an SEO point of view, what do we learn? 1st ranking position (what I call pole position) isn't as attractive as before!
Everyone agrees to say that having your website ranked on the 1st page of Google search results is extremely important as it gives you visibility, as well as drives traffic to your website.
However, the 1st ranking position is less important today than a few years ago according to the study. Indeed, the 1st ranking position CTR has decreased since 2006 and actually benefited to the 4 following positions.
The study was based on Google Webmaster Tools data from major e-commerce players which are also True Action Network’s clients.
The data enabled the company to compute the number of times when a search result is clicked compared to the number of times it is displayed (CTR), and then compared to AOL data dating back to 2006.
The sum of all CTRs reached 52.5% in 2011 (vs. 49% in 2006) meaning that over 1 out 2 Internet user clicks on organic results on the 1st search results page. 13% click on ads, and the remaining on other links such as Google Images, Videos, Shopping, etc.
| Position | CTR (AOL, 2006) | CTR (TAN, 2011) | Growth |
| 1 | 23% | 15.1% | -34% |
| 2 | 6.5% | 10.3% | +58% |
| 3 | 4.6% | 7.3% | +59% |
| 4 | 3.3% | 4.9% | +48% |
| 5 | 2.7% | 4.9% | +81% |
| 6 | 2.2% | 2.2% | 0% |
| 7 | 1.9% | 2.0% | +5% |
| 8 | 1.6% | 2.4% | +50% |
| 9 | 1.6% | 1.5% | -6% |
| 10 | 1.6% | 1.8% | +13% |
The 1st ranking position attracts less Internet users than before: less than 1 out of 6 in 2011 vs. nearly 1 out of 4 in 2006.
On the contrary, CTRs of search results ranked between 2nd and 5th positions dramatically improved (over 50%).
What does it mean for your SEO?
Findings of the study should help you understand that SEO isn't about the 1st position only. There are great chances that working to rank several keywords on positions 2, 3, 4, and 5 is more effective than focusing on getting the pole position only.
Related article: CTR comparison between Google and Bing.
Google vs. Bing CTR
26
Oct
Oct
A recent study by Slingshot SEO agency, shows the differences in terms of click-through-rates (CTRs) in the search results pages of the two main search engines in the US, namely Google and Bing.
Google’s CTR
Google’s 1st organic search result has an average CTR of 18.2%, that is to say that almost 1 out 5 user clicks on this 1st result. It is 4 times higher than CTR of the 4th search result on the page.
Overall, more than half of Google's users click on one of the 10 first search results (52.3%).
Google’s CTR Curve
Bing’s CTR is twice lower than Google’s
Bing’s CTR curve follows a similar trend as Google’s, but Microsoft’s search engine click-through-rate on the 1st search result is almost twice lower than Google’s.
Overall, only 1 out of 4 Bing’s users click on one of the 10 first search results.
Slingshot suggests that this gap may come from the fact that Bing's users more often use “associated search” or search image, video or news.
CTRs between Google and Bing
The study was conducted by analyzing user behavior of 170,000 visitors and 624 keywords during the first eight months of 2011.
Additional interesting fact: every month approximately 117 million searches are done for the keyword “google” in Microsoft’s search engine. It seems like Bing users may trust Google SERPs more than Bing.
You can have a look at the full study here. On the same subject, please read our previous article about CTR of standard banners.
CTR Stopped Declining
23
Dec
Dec
A recent global study by mediamind shows that CTR (Click Through Rate) of standard banners has been declining for several years.
Indeed, average CTR was 0.16% in July 2006 and gradually decreased to 0.12% in January 2007, 0.11% in January 2008, and 0.08% in January 2009.
Average CTR stabilized
However, it now seems that CTR has stabilized around 0.09% since January 2010.
Click screenshot to enlarge
More ads means smaller CTR
This overall decline between 2006 and 2010 may be explained by two major reasons:
Frist, an increase in the number of display banners on websites makes them less and less novel to users which in turn effects their willingness to click on ads.
Second, the dramatic development of online advertising has resulted in users being exposed to more and more ads. However, the number of ads that a user clicked on did not catch up with the number of ads displayed, thus resulting in a decline of the overall CTR.
Small display spending doesn't mean high CTR in China
Below is an analysis comparing CTR and average display spending per household in several countries.
Click screenshot to enlarge
The study shows that the more money spent on display banner advertisement (i.e. the more users are exposed to display ads), the more CTR declines.
For instance, countries, like USA and Japan, with higher online display spending per household tend to have a lower CTR. On the contrary, other countries such as Malaysia, Thailand and Russia, with lower display spending, have a higher CTR.
In China, both display spending per Internet household and CTR are rather low compared to other countries.
Google Adwords with Pictures
14
Apr
Apr
Adwords uses pictures now. you can add a text and a picture to your ads. no doubt this will increase the CTR (Click through rate), because pictures are often more appealing than just a text based ad
it also mean that companies will have to produce appropriate images and pictures for such ads. I know most of the companies do, but also many small and medium sized companies don't, and they will have to do it... for economic reasons
.
Remember that the less people click on your ads, the more they are expensive for you, because google considers they are not relevant enough. if users click more on your competitors ads because they are more appealing, because they have pictures, it means your PPC (pay per click) will increase. if you want to keep it low, you'll have to use images
i know google doesn't mix these picture ads with the text ads for now. but i am sure they'll end up doing it. so, prepare...
designers, you should have more work in the next couple of months ;o)
